On the eve of the Midyear Festival, the lands of the Taiping Holy Kingdom are peaceful and prosperous. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

On July 14, in Youjia Village, three miles south of Guilin, You Mazi was busy early in the morning.

"In the house, I will go to the city in the morning, buy some paper money and sacrificial incense clothes, and buy a big animal, you boil a pot of hot water at home, so that those little rabbits and cubs are washed and cleaned, today my You Mazi family wants to worship their ancestors, so that my father and mother in the underworld can take a good look at their children and grandchildren, and their current life." You Mazi shouted at his mother-in-law while cleaning up.

In the countryside around Guilin, the mother-in-law who calls himself is called the house. As for the ancestor worship in the Zhongyuan Festival, You Mazi, like other Guilin people, takes July 14 as the ghost festival and worships the ancestors on this day.

It's just that a few years ago, the land in Youjia Village was basically owned by Master You alone, and You Mazi, like everyone else, relied on renting four acres of land from Master You's family, and then caught some fish in the Li River to sell in the city, and then relied on his mother-in-law to do some helpers for You's family, sew and mend clothes, and make a difficult living.

You Mazi's family, although there is no father and mother to support, but there are three underage children in the family to support, and they can't eat enough, where do they get the heart and money to buy sacrifices to worship their ancestors?

Therefore, for two years, You Mazi didn't go to worship his ancestors, let alone go to the city to buy so many sacrifices!

"Oh, you loser, you're just a little better this day, and you're going to be lavish? Ancestor worship? Is this good day blessed by your dead ghost father? It's the Holy King! If it weren't for the Holy King driving away the Qing Demon, our family would still be hungry now. It is better to worship the ancestors than to thank the Holy King! "You Mazi Mother-in-law--- You Huang --- a neat and spicy woman, while cooking on the fire, she opened her throat and shouted.

"You damn, don't you have itchy skin! The holy king has to give thanks, and his ancestors have to sacrifice. Besides, what do you know about the dead woman, this mid-year festival, I heard the gentleman in the training center say that it is a sacrifice to the dead ancestors. Long live the Holy King, how can you thank you at this time? You Mazi has a very big tone, life is getting better and better, and his confidence is enough, before the change, the family was hungry all day long, he owed You Huang in his heart, and he didn't dare to talk to You Huang like this.

You Huang did not relent: "You Mazi, you ungrateful thing!" If you go to the city today, if you don't buy a holy statue of the Holy King and come back, hang it on the front wall of the house to bless our family, the old lady is not finished with you! ”

Hearing the Holy King Statue, You Mazi didn't object, pouted and said, "I need your mother-in-law to say, Lao Tzu has already thought about it, buy the most expensive and largest kind!" ”

After speaking, You Mazi carried a load of empty baskets and went to the city leisurely.

Two hours later, it was almost noon, and under the shade of a roadside tree one mile outside the south gate of Guilin City, You Mazi passed by carrying a heavy basket, and someone greeted him under the shade: "Hey, isn't this Brother Mazi?" ”

You Mazi turned his head to see that under the shade of the tree, a person was sitting on a flat pole with two baskets to rest and cool off, it was You Langli from the same village.

"Lizi, are you also in the city today? Do you sell fish? You Mazi also put down the painful burden on his shoulders, and sat on the flat shoulder to rest like You Langli.

"No, I haven't been fishing lately. Now tending to the more than 5 acres of paddy fields divided in the town, two seasons a year, excluding the cost of seeds and the grain tax handed over to the town, there are nearly 3,000 catties of millet. In addition to what you eat at home, you can sell a lot of it to the county grain depot, and you can earn twenty or thirty taels of silver. You Langli said with a happy face.

You Mazi couldn't help but say with some envy: "Yes, your family is developed." I heard that your brother is already the battalion commander of the Holy Army, and he will be a big official in the future. I have to take care of you as a big brother again. ”

"Not really! However, your news is already at the end of last year, and in the spring of this year, he has been promoted to deputy head of the regiment, and I heard that there are thousands of people under him. Speaking of his younger brother who joined the army, You Langli was proud.

"Really!? Then those two stinky boys in my family will grow up in the future, and they will have to go to the romantic brothers and join the army! You Mazi looked envious, and after a while, he talked about today's festival: "By the way, Lizi, see what I invited today?" ”

After speaking, You Mazi picked up a bronze medal in the basket, which was only a little smaller than the basket, maybe the bronze medal was a little thick, and a little heavy, he happily handed it to You Langli to see. It seems that he is very happy to be able to buy this bronze medal.

"Oh, Brother Mazi, you also invited this? What a coincidence, I was invited too. You Langli also took out a bronze medal from the basket, which was exactly the same, but it was on the front, and it looked like a cast bronze figure.

I saw that on the bronze statue, it was the bust of Feng Yunshan, the holy king of the Taiping Holy Kingdom, standing on the top of a mountain, and below, it was a towering mountain peak, and the image of white clouds surrounding the mountainside.

But it turned out that he didn't know that the shrewd boss, seeing that the people in the Guilin Mansion were grateful to the Holy King, he referred to the pattern of the copper coin, asked a skilled craftsman to carve the master, and cast this exquisite statue of the Holy King with copper, and sold it at a high price, which was very sought after by the people.

The last time they entered the city, You Mazi and You Huang saw someone buy this kind of bronze statue of the Holy King, they were very envious, and they always wanted one, but because the price was very expensive, they asked for five taels of silver, which was changed to a year ago, and it was a price that You Mazi couldn't think of, but now, just a few days ago, after You Mazi sold half of the excess grain, the You family had nearly twenty taels of silver, so that they had the ability to invite the statue of the Holy King that they had been looking forward to home.

"Unexpectedly, Lizi, you also invited the holy king's icon?" You Mazi was a little embarrassed, he wanted to take the holy statue out and show it off, but he didn't expect You Langli to buy it too. It seems that he can't compare to his family, who let his family be romantic to join the Holy Army.

However, I don't have to compare myself with his family.

Compared with before, compared with the people who are still living in the Qing Demon Ruling Area who are suffering and suffering, this is already a fairy-like life!

"yes. It's not about time to give my ancestors a meal, so my mother asked me to buy more sacrifices. But when I saw the image of the Holy King, I thought, "Now this harvest is so good, it is all from the Holy King." Bring it back to my mother, she will definitely like it! My mother is grateful to the Holy King, and she always talks about the Holy King who saves the suffering, and she often says that 'no matter how deep the water of the Li River is, there is no deep kindness of the Holy King.' This time, with this statue of the Holy King, she will be able to offer incense to the Holy King in the future, bless his old man's life to be 100 years old, and always seek happiness for our people. ”

After You Langli finished speaking, he got up and stood up: "Brother Mazi, it's not early, let's go home." ”

So, the two carried the basket together and returned to Youjia Village.

When You Mazi returned to his yard, You Huang was already waiting in front of the house, and when he saw You Mazi coming back, he saw the bronze statue from afar, and greeted him eagerly: "Master, you really invited the statue of the Holy King back, great!" In the future, we can pray for the holy king every day, bless his old man and his family to live a hundred years, and lead us to a better life. ”

After speaking, You Huang's baby carefully invited the cast bronze statue to the house, hung it in the position that had been prepared on the main wall, and then went to cook and work with a smile.

When night falls, it's time to worship the ancestors. You Mazi's family arranged it like this, after dark, before dinner, welcome the ancestors back to the house, start the sacrifice, and send the ancestors away at about midnight to complete the ancestor worship.

Lighting incense and burning paper money, You Mazi and You Huang took their three children and began to welcome the arrival of their ancestors. You Mazi said something in his mouth: "All the ancestors, especially Daddy and Auntie, you are going back to the house, come back and get money for dinner!" ”

After reading it, he burned a lot of paper money, and You Mazi then sang: "Daddy and Auntie, come back and take a look, the family has changed a lot!" Now that there is a holy king in the yang world, leading the people to live and work in peace and contentment, your children and grandchildren will be blessed to follow the holy king, and they will never have to starve again. ”

You Huang also silently muttered in his heart: "Father-in-law and mother-in-law, the ancestors of the You family, bless the three children of our You family with peace and security, and bless the Holy King with a long life!" ”

Thinking of his parents, who have worked hard all their lives and are still hungry, have not eaten a full meal, have not enjoyed a day of happiness, have no money to see a doctor when they are sick, and passed away at a young age, You Mazi is a little sad. He sang with a crying voice: "Daddy and Auntie, it's a pity that you went early, if you had waited until now, with the Holy King here, you would not have starved, and you would not have been sick and had no money to see a doctor." ”