After sleeping hastily for less than an hour, Chen Yin'er woke Lu Qi up again: "Qi'er get up quickly, you have to go to the grave on the first day of the new year, and you need to get up early." ”

As she spoke, Chen Yin'er brought two bowls of steaming rice balls.

Tangyuan this kind of food has been recorded as early as the Tang Dynasty, the north is called the Lantern Festival, the south of the Yangtze River or called the water balls, the Ming Dynasty palace is popular with all kinds of preserved fruits, roses, walnut kernels to make filling, the folk prefer black sesame filling.

The glutinous rice dumplings are rolling in the sweet soup, like a bright moon in the night sky, and the familiar taste is no different from hundreds of years later, but there are fewer familiar people around you......

After breakfast, Lu Qi put a hanging copper coin wrapped in red paper under the pillow into his arms.

Chen Yin'er pouted and said: "Others are pressing three or five New Year's money, but you are the only one who presses it, don't you panic when you fall asleep?" ”

"Sister-in-law, you don't know, this New Year's money is originally a folk prayer technique, used to beg for peace and suppress evil spirits. Since you want to suppress it, how can three or five coins be enough? I call it a miracle. ”

Lu Qi tied up his hair with a black scarf, and draped a cross-collared bucket pattern robe that covered his feet.

Chen Yin'er also changed into a brand-new green silk cloth dress and a pink jacket, with a blue and black paddy field coat pressed on the outside, and a few silver hairpins coiled in her hair, although it was only a little fat powder, it was also beautiful.

Out of the door, you can still hear the sound of firecrackers, the people on the road are carrying more burdens, the local custom of Yu County is to gather in the morning of the first day of the new year, under the leadership of the patriarch, climb the mountain to worship the ancestral grave, and then visit the family and friends in the afternoon to pay homage to the New Year.

The children nearby already knew that Lu Qi had a soft face and a gentle temper, and when they saw that they were going out, they hurriedly came up and kowtowed: "Xiucai old man and lady Nafu!" ”

Lu Qi took out the prepared copper coins from his arms and gave them to them: "Thank you, little friends." ”

After two laps, Lu Qi was able to get out after all the children got the money. The sun was about to come out, and the two of them were busy going out of the city, and if they were late, they would not be able to catch the ferry.

When they arrived at the embankment outside the city, there was a long queue of people in front of them, but there were few boats in the water, which caused people to be quite dissatisfied.

"Where are the big ships? How many people can this little sampan cross at a time? ”

"It's a late time to pay homage to the grave!"

Lu Qi looked around, a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes.

As one of the most important transportation hubs in Yu County, Baishidi is always flocked to and from countless large and small ships, salt ships transporting salt, merchant ships transporting various materials, ferryboats of ferrymen, pleasure boats of big families, and so on.

Therefore, the chartering industry is also very developed, usually this is a good time to charter a boat, the big boat ferry can collect a lot of silver at a time, those chartering merchants will not let go of such an opportunity to make money, why are there few ships on the river at the moment?

In this way, he may not be able to get on the boat until noon, and the two were about to return to the city, but they heard someone calling him: "Brother Lu! ”

As soon as he turned around, he saw a square-headed boat rowing on the river, and Qi Ming, dressed in a Confucian inlaid black and blue shirt, was smiling brightly, standing on the bow of the boat and waving to him.

……

"I'm afraid that Brother Qi's family is about to use a boat, and I will be delayed by me." Lu Qi confessed.

"It's okay. Brother Lu didn't know that the younger brother's ancestral home was Yangzhou, and there was no tomb in Yu County, so naturally there was no need to sacrifice and sweep.

It's just that this morning, I heard my father say that the big boats on the Yujiang River were hired by one person, and I thought that Brother Lu would also need a boat to sacrifice and sweep, so he hurriedly grabbed the boat to pick you up. ”

"Grab ...... Grab a ship? Lu Qi blinked.

Qi Ming complained: "Yes, my father rented the family's salt boat to a seller of Yue porcelain this morning, and this boat was forcibly stopped by my younger brother." ”

Lu Qi then remembered that Qi Ming's family was a salt merchant, and he must not lack ships.

But it is a chartered ship on the river, and it is a salt ship of salt merchants, how much cargo does the hired ship have to transport, and can use so many ships?

Can't figure it out, can't figure it out.

Fortunately, I got up early today, and I was still in time to join the ancestor worship team in the clan when I resisted Lujia Village.

"Master is here?" Lu Taigong stood up: "Please come in and have a hot tea!" ”

Brother Lobby greeted Lu Qi and Chen Yin'er into the door, and a woman had already handed over the cushion, so Lu Qi and the two saluted to Lu Taigong: "Taigong New Year's blessing!" ”

"Huh! Nafu! Mrs. Lu smiled so much that he couldn't see his teeth, and personally helped Lu Qi and the two of them up, and gave them two red paper packets, which were heavy, and there must have been a lot of money.

After the ceremony, a few juniors rushed in outside, and it was indispensable to kowtow and scatter money.

After this ritual activity was over, Lu Taigong, with the support of Brother Lobby, led the clansmen to board the boat and go to the ancestral tomb.

The custom of worshipping the grave in Yuxian area is very grand, and the importance is equivalent to that of the Qingming Festival.

The Lu clan has a large population, and the long house takes the lead, and each house jointly pays for the purchase of chickens, sheep, fish, incense, candles, paper money, etc., and rows there with tables and chairs.

Men over the age of 13 are required to participate in this ceremony, while women are confined to their homes to prepare their belongings for the upcoming New Year's greetings.

Lu Qi disagreed, could it be that the ancestors of men were lying in the ancestral grave, not the ancestors of women?

Chen Yin'er pulled Lu Qi and whispered: "As the saying goes, men don't worship the moon, and women don't go to the grave." It's inconvenient for me to avoid suspicion, Brother Qi is going to worship your brother later, so I'll prepare incense and candles for him. ”

……

The red tape will not be repeated, but in the interval of worship, Lu Taigong pulled Lu Qi to see the ancestral tomb prepared for "Lu Qi".

It turned out that the prince had always remembered the agreement of the day, and had already made preparations for moving the grave in private, only waiting until the Qingming Festival to find an auspicious time to break ground, and now the brother went to where he should go, and the sister-in-law should be at ease.

When I came back, it was already late noon.

Lu Qi climbed the mountain for more than four hours, and was so tired that he was beating his legs, when he heard a faint sound of talking from the boat behind.

“…… I don't want to take care of the family. ”

"Yes! Didn't the four-room brother-in-law commit an accident at home a year ago? Ask him for a hand and get him out, aren't you? ”

"If you want to touch his light in the future, I think it's difficult!"

As soon as Lu Qi turned around, he found the clansman who came to look for him and walked through the back door in the crowd, hissing...... What's it called?

"Hmph." Lu Qi sneered.

Seeing Lu Qi's expression, Mrs. Lu looked at them along the line of sight: "Hey, what are you muttering over there?" ”

Lu Qi hugged his shoulders, stood up and said, "Fortunately, the prince and all the houses in the clan are gathered here, so please come and comment!"

The cousin of the brother-in-law of the fourth cousin stole two gold rings, and was sued by the bitter lord to the yamen, and some clansmen came to me to talk to me and wanted to ask me to intercede with the county master.

Princess, do you think I should help with this? ”

Mrs. Lu stood up tremblingly under the support of the lobby brother: "Good calves, don't tell me such a big thing?" It's not that Brother Yun broke it today, I'm still in the dark!

Don't mention anything else, I have made it clear to you farmers: the state has national laws, the clan has clan rules, and the clan rules will never go beyond the national law!

Hugh said that the brother-in-law of the fourth room is not surnamed Lu, even if our clan violates the law, those who should be punished will be punished, and those who are not punished by the national law will be punished by our clan law! In the future, if someone chews such a tongue, don't blame the old man for having a tight face! ”

With Lu Taigong's words, no one dared to chew his tongue anymore, and Lu Qi got a burst of ear purification.

After returning to the village, Lu Qi took Chen Yin'er to the mass grave.

Qi Ming had already lit incense candles and paper money in front of the monument, put some food and pastries, and poured a cup of rice wine on the ground.

Looking at the words on the stone tablet, "The Tomb of the Virtuous Sister Lu's Qi", Chen Yin'er's eyes turned red all of a sudden, and she knelt down on the straw mat in front of the grave: "Husband...... Sister Ki. ”

The two people around him sacrificed themselves, and they were also crying, Lu Qi only felt uncomfortable, and quickly helped his sister-in-law up: "Don't cry, sister, she has a spirit in the sky, and I don't want to see you sad like this." ”

"I heard from the women in the village that the patriarch of the Lu clan plans to move Ling Mei into the ancestral grave, and now that she has entered the ancestral grave, the younger brother will no longer be able to come to worship and sweep as soon as outsiders are introduced, so let's burn more paper money today." Qi Ming added paper to the brazier.

"This ......"

Lu Qi didn't expect this: "Xiaosheng really admires Brother Qi, I don't think this post is unlucky, and I came to worship in person." ”

Qi Ming's eyes were gloomy: "The little brother doesn't believe in ghosts and gods, so he can't talk about bad luck or bad luck." ”

"Oh?" Lu Qi was a little surprised, I am afraid that there are not many people who don't believe in ghosts and gods in this era.

"The younger brother doesn't believe in ghosts and gods, he only believes in his true heart."

... ...

After returning to the city, he went to Wu Zhixian, Wang Zhushu, Wu Yicheng and many other colleagues and officials to pay New Year's greetings, and when he returned home, he came to visit the New Year, and the melon seeds knocked one dish after another, and the fire of boiling water and tea on the stove burned for a long time, and he was busy until dinner time before resting.

Until he finally sent off the last guest, Lu Qi collapsed on the bed and didn't want to move anymore: "I'm too tired on the first day of the Lunar New Year!" ”

made Chen Yin'er laugh: "Master, is this tired?" On the second day of the new year tomorrow, my mother's brother will come to visit the door and take me back to my mother's house. ”

"Oh my God......"

Lu Qi wrapped himself in a quilt and didn't want to face reality anymore.