When the people in the clan heard the "shouting", they walked towards the ancestral hall with their "pestles" one after another.

Li Jiashan's people carry things, in addition to having to use the back, they are also inseparable from the two things of "carrying a mat" and "beating a pestle". The geographical location of Lijiashan is special, and the "back mat" and "pestle" they use are different from those used by people in other places.

There are two kinds of memorization of Li Jiashan. One is a "sieve back" woven with thick strips made of bamboo. As the name suggests, this "sieve back" has many holes like "sieve", which are only used when carrying some heavy things. The "clamp back" that Li Zaihao asked everyone to carry today is a kind of double-layer backing made of fine strips, the outside is a basket woven with fine silk, and the inside is an inner layer of mat inlaid with fine strips, this kind of backing has no holes, and is suitable for carrying grain, flour and other fine items.

Another tool used by Li Jiashan people to carry things is called "back mat", also called "back dazi". This is a kind of cushion like a long vest woven from brown silk or old cloth strips, and when you carry something with a back, you can put it between the back and the back to prevent the back from wearing down the skin. This "back mat" also has the advantage of being moisture-proof and warm, and you can wear it with you to protect yourself from rain and cold. Even when you don't carry things, you can also use it to cushion the ground, or sit, or sleep, which is very convenient and practical.

Another tool is the "pestle" that the person carrying the object holds in his hand. This is a T-shaped tool made of two pieces of wood. The person who carries the thing can use it as a crutch in his hand, and when he is tired and can't find a place to carry it, he can put it under the back basket to let people breathe. Usually, the person who carries things holds the "pestle" in his hand, which can also be used to pick up dogs, fight snakes, and can also be used as a flat shoulder to carry things.

These tools are all good things that people in the mountains can't do without when they carry things. Today is the Chinese New Year's Eve, and when the men of Li Jiashan heard the "shouting" people asking them to put on their backs and gather at the ancestral hall, they thought they were going to the ancestral hall to receive New Year's goods! Anyway, today is the New Year, and every family is busy eating a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, and the men have nothing important to lose. When everyone heard the "shouting", they all put on the "back cushion", put on the "clamp back", picked up the "pestle" and walked to the ancestral hall.

Li Hu put his back on his back, and walked with the old man to the bottom of the ancestral hall, and saw Li Dequan waiting at the intersection from afar. Seeing them coming, Li Dequan shouted at them respectfully: "Father, mother are here!" ”

Li Dequan's son Li Chongpin also ran over from the vegetable field and said to Li Zaihao and his wife: "Happy New Year, grandpa and mother-in-law!" ”

"Chongpin, it's the New Year, what are you still busy with?" Lee Jae-ho asked with a smile, his tone still full of an old-fashioned flavor.

"I'm not busy with anything." Li Chongpin put his hands on the apron tied around his waist and rubbed it repeatedly, and hurriedly took the back of Li Hu's back and held it in his hand.

Li Dequan glanced at his son with satisfaction, turned around, and said to Li Zaihao: "We want to dig out the land early, let the wind and snow 'kang' (the meaning of erosion) for a few days, and wait for the New Year, and I would like to ask you to arrange a few laborers to come up, so that the artichoke on the edge of the ancestral hall can be 'pointed' (the meaning of planting)." ”

Lee Jae-ho listened to it and said with satisfaction: "I want it!" Fine! When the time comes, you should speak in advance, lest I have a bad memory and forget it for you. Oh! When people are old, they are inexplicable! ”

Li Dequan took Li Zaihao and his wife to the courtyard, while complimenting Li Zaihao and said to him: "Where are you old? We, the people of Li Jiashan, count your complexion. ”

When Lee Jae-ho heard this, he laughed happily.

Everyone walked into the courtyard of the Li family ancestral hall, Li Dequan pointed to a row of side rooms next to him, and asked Li Zaihao: "Father, are you going to my house to roast the fire?" Or into the ancestral hall? ”

Li Zaihao knew what Li Dequan meant by his question, and if he led me to the ancestral hall to sit, he would be a little embarrassed if there was an ice pot in the ancestral hall. He wanted to invite me to his house to sit, but he was afraid that he would violate the taboo, and the rule of the mountain people was that they should not visit other people's homes in the Chinese New Year's Eve, let alone the elderly, let alone the homes of the juniors. When I went, I turned it upside down, and I became an elder to pay New Year's greetings to my juniors.

Li Zaihao looked at Li Dequan's embarrassed appearance, and said with a smile: "We are all a family, and we still pay attention to what we do, so we will go to your room and sit." ”

Li Dequan listened, flattered, led the couple into the house, and invited them to sit on the two circle chairs next to the Eight Immortals table against the wall. He sat with him on one of the benches below. Li Zaihao was not polite, and sat there with a grin, smoking dry tobacco with a "horn, horn". After walking for a while, the addiction to smoking came up, and I sat down and smoked a few puffs, which was more comfortable than eating anything.

Li Dequan's wife Li Chen and daughter-in-law Ju Ying were busy cooking "Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner" in the "stove house" (another name for the kitchen), and when they heard the sound of talking outside the house, Li Chen quickly put down the work in his hand, ran out with a handful of sunflowers, pumpkin rice, walnuts, and persimmons, and said happily: "It's my father and my mother who are here!" Sit, sit! ”

Li Chen hurriedly greeted Li Zaihao and his wife, put the scoop on the table with both hands, turned around and lifted the large copper teapot simmering by the firepit, poured out two bowls of steaming tea, held them respectively, and said, "Quick, take a sip of hot tea to drive away the cold." ”

Li Chen also poured a bowl of tea for Li Dequan, and said carefully: "You sit with your father and mother." ”

After Li Chen finished speaking, he turned around and went back to the stove house. At this time, Li Chongpin had already put his back under the eaves, he walked into the house, quickly picked up a pair of tongs from the side of the firepit, bowed his body, and cut open the lumps of firewood covered with ash in the firepit. He stood up, took out a few pieces of wood from the pile of chopping wood that hung on the iron rack hanging from the fire, put them on the lumps, and crouched down again, took the blowtorch that was placed in the corner of the wall, put it in his mouth, and blew it against the flames.

"Daddy! Which one is coming? With a sweet crunching sound, a little girl with a pair of pigtails and about three years old ran out of the back room. She climbed on Li Chongpin's back and looked at Li Zaihao and his wife curiously.

"Good, don't make trouble, Dad is 'passing' (meaning fire)!" Li Chongpin puffed out his cheeks and blew a blowtorch while scolding his daughter.

Li Zaihao's wife, Li Hushi, saw it, and hurriedly shouted happily to the little sister: "Good, come here, take brown sugar and eat." ”

As he spoke, Li Hushi stood up, walked under the eaves, took out a packet of brown sugar wrapped in banana leaves from his back, turned around and entered the house, and said to the little sister, "Be good, come here." ”

Li Chongpin also twisted his back and said to his daughter, "Go to Grandma and get brown sugar to eat." ”

When the little sister heard this, she turned her head and opened a pair of bright big eyes to look at Li Hu. I looked at the packet of brown sugar in her hand again, still crawling on her father's back and not moving.