Chapter 305: The Day of Joy 6

1.

The next day, when the sky was hazy and the spring was still asleep, Xu Dan got up early.

According to the rules of marriage customs in the Hushan area, the new daughter-in-law should get up early on the second day of marriage to "burn the bottom of the pot".

Literally, "burning the bottom of the pot" refers to burning a fire under the stove, which generally refers to cooking vegetables. In ancient times, women's cooking for their families was called "the Lord's feed". Like the female celebrity, the middle feed is the responsibility of ancient women for the family, even if the women from the Zhong Ding family, they must learn the art of cooking. There is the Tang poem "The New Bride" as evidence: "Three days into the kitchen, wash your hands and make soup." If you don't know how to eat your aunt, you will send your sister-in-law to taste it first. ”

The marriage custom in the Toyama area is that the day after the woman gets married, commonly known as the "second dynasty", to go to the kitchen to cook, which means that the new daughter-in-law will take over the work and task of "burning the bottom of the pot", and the mother-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, father-in-law and other mother-in-law are the examiners responsible for the evaluation of the new daughter-in-law. After the "Three Dynasties", the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for many years finally became a mother-in-law, and she could retire with honor, and the new daughter-in-law took up the post to feed and become a veritable "bottom of the pot".

On the eve of Xu Dan's wedding, her mother told her a thousand instructions, saying that the new daughter-in-law's work of burning the bottom of the pot in the "Second Dynasty" is very important and must be paid attention to. This is not only the foundation of whether the new daughter-in-law can gain a foothold in the mother-in-law's family, but also related to the face of the mother's family.

Xu Dan has been out for so many years, and he is not afraid of housework at all, and he is also very confident in his cooking skills. So he comforted his mother with a smile, and secretly thought about how he could do a good job in the "second dynasty".

Xu Dan finished washing lightly, and then went to the kitchen to get busy. Noodles, pancakes, porridge, and cold dishes, everything is done in a clear and orderly manner.

From the moment Xu Dan got up, Chun Shuli and Zhang Xiuli had already gotten up, but according to the marriage customs of the Hushan area, the father-in-law and mother-in-law could not interfere with the new daughter-in-law's first "pot burning", and they had to let go of their hands and feet and let the new daughter-in-law toss. Therefore, the old couple had to stay in the house, whispering and guessing what their daughter-in-law's cooking skills would be like for the first time.

After making breakfast, Xu Dan had to go to say hello to his parents-in-law who had already gotten up.

In ancient times, the bride's "two dynasties" to her in-laws not only had to offer fragrant tea, but also to bow down, and in some places to sweep the floor of the in-laws' bedroom, pour the urinal, fold the bed and sweep the bed. With the development of society, the custom of "please good morning" for the bride has slowly changed, and now it is generally the bride who greets her parents-in-law, and those who pay attention to it still have to serve tea.

While the in-laws and family members were washing up after getting up, Xu Dan quickly brought the prepared meal to the hall, set up the dishes and chopsticks, and waited for Chun Shuli, Zhang Xiuli and others to dine.

Xu Dan's first breakfast at Lao Chun's house was really painstaking, the white flour cake was thin, transparent, bright, and soft, which was very suitable for the elderly with bad teeth; the rice porridge was full of grains, the grains were crispy, the consistency was just right, and it exuded a fragrant and attractive aroma; the two kinds of small pickles were also full of color and flavor, which made people have a great appetite when they saw it.

Of course, this meal is enjoyed by everyone, listening to the praise of Chun Shuli and Zhang Xiuli and others, Xu Dan's heart is full of sweetness and warmth, and he left the unhappiness of last night's wedding night behind.

2.

After breakfast, the old Chun family began to get busy again.

First of all, as the bride, Xu Dan wants to give the relatives of the old Chun family a "small rice", and Xu Dan divides the "small rice" with the spring cousin-in-law and a cousin, Xu Dan will be from the mother's family to replace the pastries, flowers, sugar cubes, peanuts and other things, divided into several parts, and then by the spring cousin-in-law or cousin Xu Dan divided the "small rice" with a tea tray, door to door and person by person to send over, these relatives who are assigned to the "small rice" to send back the pressure plate of the happy money, the happy money is not much, based on the financial resources and relationship of each family and the relationship and self-determination.

The matter of sharing "small rice" couldn't help in the spring, so he had to prepare various supplies for "Second Dynasty" and "New Tomb" with his cousin.

According to the wedding customs of the Toyama area, the newlywed "two dynasties" have to feast on the elders of the same clan, and the bride and groom also have to go to the "wedding grave" of the deceased ancestors of the husband's family, also known as "going to the new grave", so that the bride can be fully approved by the husband's family from the living to the dead. Therefore, the noon banquet of the "Second Dynasty" and the "new tomb" are very important etiquette.

"Going to the new tomb" is also a wedding custom that has been handed down from ancient times to the present. In the past, on the second day after the wedding, the newlyweds who had a family temple ancestral hall should bring sacrifices to the family temple and ancestral hall to worship their ancestors accompanied by their families. Newlyweds are required to wear wedding dresses, with pink paper on the man's ears, small red flowers on the top hat, and peach paper pressed under the woman's phoenix hairpin. Accompanied by many men and women of the same generation, they went to the family cemetery to "go to the happy grave". Because women had small feet and it was difficult to walk, the groom had to carry the bride and sister-in-law or sister to the cemetery in a wheelbarrow.

After arriving at the cemetery, the first step is to press the red grave paper, that is, to press a pink paper on the top of each grave or stone tablet. Offerings are generally made of three wholes, that is, whole chicken, whole fish, and whole meat, with red vermicelli as the head of vegetables, and pink pieces of paper should be sandwiched in the chicken's mouth, which is offered in front of the grave of the deceased elders of the direct line. Other graves are generally a stick of incense, a piece of origami paper, and a steamed bun. When the main grave begins to burn paper, firecrackers are set off. After burning the paper, spread the red felt mat, a couple kneel forward and bow three times, and the groom will pour wine and food forward. Then a couple of newlyweds bow to the grave, and the groom must introduce the identity of the deceased ancestor to the bride in front of each grave, and each grave must bow three times. This is called recognizing the ancestors and returning to the ancestors, this worship, even if it is recognized by the ancestors, officially become a member of the family, in the bride's lifetime, the ancestors will bless her safe, and after she is a hundred years old, she is also allowed to come to the ancestral cemetery to rest in peace.

Today, the contents of the "new grave" in the Toyama area are basically the same, but the links have been greatly simplified. Worship the elders, do not bow one by one, but bow to the groom's parents and other elders three times together, even if they bow all, some even save the bow, just say hello. There are also "going to the new grave", the bride only accompanies the groom to a tomb for the Lord, and the other only by the groom to "run to the grave", where he burns paper and incense and presses red grave paper, kowtows and leaves. There are also individual brides who do not go to the ancestors to "go to the new grave", and only the man goes alone.

Lao Chun's family had already arranged the accompanying personnel and procedures for "going to the new tomb", preparing to let Spring and Xu Dan go to worship their ancestors with great fanfare. However, the sky is not beautiful, it was almost noon, the sky was dripping with light rain, and then the rain became heavier and heavier, and the ground was getting more and more muddy, and the road was slippery one step at a time, which disrupted the original plan and arrangement of the Lao Chun family's "going to the new grave", so they had to send Spring and his cousin as representatives to the ancestral tomb to worship at the ancestral grave, Xu Dan and others could only sit and wait at home.

The ancestral tomb of Lao Chun's family is more than three miles away from the village, on a low hill in the east of the village, Spring and his cousin with umbrellas, rain boots, and worship items, stepping on the muddy and slippery mountain road, embarked on the road of "going to the new grave".

Spring's grandparents have been dead for many years, and Spring has no impression of his grandfather at all, only the amiable grandmother still remains in the memory of Spring. Although there are many children of the grandchildren of the Lao Chun family, the grandmother of the spring only loves the spring alone, and the delicious food must always be kept for the spring, and she likes to take the spring with her wherever she goes. Therefore, Spring's relationship with his grandmother even exceeds his relationship with his mother Zhang Xiuli.

When I arrived at the grave of my grandparents, my cousin held an umbrella, and in the spring began to press red grave paper, place offerings, and burn paper and incense according to the procedure. Kneeling in front of my grandmother's grave, spring was full of mixed feelings, tears and rain rolled down my cheeks. Is it the longing for grandma? Or the troubles and confusion of facing a new life? Spring doesn't know, but I know that the sourness in my heart is irrepressible.