Chapter 401 [Rural affairs]
After winter, the temperature is getting lower and lower; the further north you go, the temperature is getting lower and lower.
The combination of the two made Fang Chang's journey northward a journey to witness the people wearing more and more clothes.
And it’s not just the common people, the grass and trees on both sides are getting more and more withered and yellow. The dew on the tip of the grass in the morning gradually turns into hoarfrost, and the hoarfrost is getting thicker and thicker.
The leaves on the tree became less and less, and the branches became more and more bare, until one day the temperature dropped sharply and beautiful tree hangings appeared. There are naughty children who often lift their feet to give the tree trunk a slam when their companions walk under the tree, and then the two sides play and fight in the ice powder that falls on the branches one after another.
There is also a layer of white snow on the ground.
Houses, fields, distant mountains and near waters are all covered under soft white blankets, and there are occasional façades that cannot hang the snow, which looks a bit dark in contrast.
People have reduced their activities, but there are all kinds of footprints on the snow, which are the marks left by rabbits, foxes and sparrows.
This place has not yet left the Central Plains, but the scenery and customs are quite different from those in the south, but the accent is still similar.
In the villages and small towns near and far, the construction methods of the houses have also changed. It seems that less wood and stones are used, and more bricks, straw, and mud embryos are used. If the snow disappears after spring, the color tone of the earth must be closer to the color of the earth than in the south. .
Fang Chang took off his bamboo hat, hung it on his back, and continued to walk forward.
The snow on the road has been trampled firmly, and it is slippery and tight. Of course, when he occasionally does not walk on the right path, there will be no traces left on the soft snow surface.
I don't know where this is.
There are not many pedestrians around, and those who occasionally pass by on the road, all wrap themselves tightly and don't talk to each other. Looking at the surrounding open fields, Fang Chang planned to find a village and ask about the nearby geography and administrative divisions.
After all, although he has a map in his hand, the accuracy is really impressive, and there are no obvious landmarks to confirm the location.
There is a small village not far away, and there is a faint sound of blowing and beating in it.
Fang Chang got off the official road and walked in that direction.
On the road around, there are also several people walking there, it seems that they are for the same purpose.
Walking into the entrance of the village, the situation inside is different from the outside. Compared with the cold wilderness outside, the popularity of the village suddenly became stronger. Although the temperature is low now, adults and children are wearing as thick clothes as possible, standing outside to watch blowing.
There is a shed next to it, and a coffin is parked in it. Some people beside them have white cloths around their heads, and their immediate descendants are wearing filial piety clothes and doing funeral affairs.
Whenever guests came to express their condolences, they came out to return the gift. People on both sides of the coffin sobbed in unison, and there were special people beside the deceased's children to help them, lest they cry so hard that they could not continue the funeral. Everyone behaved differently, but because of this Orderly, sad but not hurt.
An ordinary platform was set up nearby, on which a gong and drum team hired from a nearby village was playing with sheng, drum, flute, xylophone, suona, cymbal, etc.
"It's also that the past few years have not been good. Otherwise, who would not hire two gongs and drums teams to handle business. Bin on both sides played vigorously, trying to suppress the other side. That kind of scene is beautiful. Now, some people see it. It's not bad, don't pick..."
The expression of the person next to him seemed to be saying, "Who picked it?! It's you who are chattering", but in the end they didn't dare to say anything, nodded and continued playing in the stands.
There is a faint smell of gunpowder smoke after the explosion of firecrackers in the air, and the smell of smoke and food wafts from a certain yard.
After thinking about it, Fang Chang flipped through his backpack, turned around and walked towards a yard with yellow paper on it.
The small stove in the house was burning very vigorously, and there were people in the village who could write as accountants, rubbing ink and dipping pens on large booklets, writing the names of visitors, and accompanying accounts. The amount of the ceremony is negotiated by the visitors according to their own distance, the closer the more the more.
Fang Chang looked at it, and found that the surname Yun was all on the booklet, so he put down two strings of copper coins and said:
"The clouds are long, and the long and short are long."
The person who wrote the account book looked up and felt that the person in front of him was very close and familiar, so he didn't ask any more questions, nodded and wrote "Yun Chang Thirty Wen" on the account book, and then the person next to him gave Fang Long a short strip of cloth to signal the next person to come forward.
Fang Chang didn't go to express his condolences. After walking a few steps, someone beside him had already started to organize dinner for the guests. This is an important item in the reception ceremony.
In the two relatively spacious alleys, sheds were built with bamboo poles and coarse cloth to shelter from the wind. This shed can also keep out rain in rainy days, snow in snowy days, direct sunlight in summer, and dust in dusty days. It is a must-have item for entertaining guests.
There are some tables in the shed, with different shapes, including the benches around the tables, which are also of different heights and materials, and some have written or marked, which are obviously put together by the neighbors. The world is relatively poor, and the objects for such a big event often have to be borrowed everywhere to get together.
Fang Chang was arranged to sit down in front of a rough yellow lacquer table. The table was very mottled and the paint surface was peeling off badly. Glossy layer.
Immediately, a young man carried a long tray and brought four plates to the table.
Inside are two plates of eight pieces of pastry, one plate of fried peanuts in the sand, and one plate of fried pumpkin seeds.
Although the family in charge of the work is a well-to-do family, they are still not very particular about the conditions. According to the people around them, those who are more wealthy and particular will use four dry, four fresh, four cold and four snacks on the table, and tell that they participated in such activities. The experience of the banquet made the people around, especially the little doll, feel envious for a while.
Then came cold dishes, but they were preserved egg tofu, radish mixed with dried shreds, very thinly sliced pork head meat, and pork skin jelly. Everyone had already eaten some tableware to fill their stomachs. At this time, a young man from the village came over with a jug and poured some dirty wine for the drinkers at each table.
You can’t afford to drink sorghum wine in this kind of thing. It is brewed with a lot of grain, which is a bit expensive for ordinary people, so it is popular here to persuade guests to drink more of this good stuff.
The atmosphere in the shed became lively, thick bowls were intertwined, and they began to chat with each other.
Then the hot dishes were served, including vinegared cabbage, stewed pork liver with fatty intestines, fried fungus with eggs, fried bean sprouts with shredded pork, stewed radish with mutton, potherb mustard with oil residue, as well as a plate of torn roast chicken and a bowl of stewed fish. The problem of difficulty in obtaining, chicken and fish are not whole, and even the types of fish in the bowl are different.
Fang Chang drank two bowls with the people next to him. After chatting about the years and the surrounding anecdotes, they became acquainted, and asked about the geography of the surrounding area.
I didn’t get home until four o’clock in the morning. I just woke up and went to work after finishing writing.
(end of this chapter)