Chapter 71: Grandpa Divides the Pork
Early in the morning, Su pulled him out of bed, washed him up, had breakfast, and followed Sun Boming.
There are many rains in the Qingming season, and pedestrians on the road want to break their souls.
But Qingming Festival is not a sad festival. There is no sadness in Sunjia Village, but more solemnity.
Passing by the village road, I met fellow villagers, greeted each other, and walked towards the ancestral hall one by one.
The village chief and the elders of the Sun family had already been waiting in the ancestral hall.
Seeing that the time was almost right, he led the descendants of the Sun family into the ancestral hall. Everyone knelt down, and the village elders who were in charge of the sacrifice first burned paper for the ancestors, offered incense, and lit big red candles.
Next to it is the Nanmenlao from the village, who strikes gongs and bowls from time to time, making the ancestral hall look more solemn.
The elders were muttering something, which roughly meant: Today, the descendants of the Sun family gathered together to worship their ancestors and pray for their protection and long-lasting blessings; may the descendants receive their grace and the family prosper. May the spirits of the ancestors always be with us and bless the family to prosper for generations.
After saying this, he took the lead in burning incense to the tablets in the ancestral hall.
Afterwards, the villagers took a stick of incense one by one and inserted it into the incense altar.
Sun Shan saw that there would occasionally be one or two girls in the huge crowd, usually brought by fathers who had not yet given birth to a boy.
After paying homage at the ancestral hall, everyone followed the clan elders and the village chief, carrying hoes and holding sickles, and went up the mountain to sweep the graves.
Sun Shan was holding a large wooden bowl, which he was going to put in the pork that Taigong would give him after he finished paying homage to the mountain.
Uncle Sun Er and Uncle Sun San also came with their children.
De Ge'er also held a large wooden bowl in his hand and said excitedly, "Shanzi, the pig's head distributed during the mountain worship ceremony is delicious. I only had one piece last year, and it was eaten up by my father, eldest brother, and second brother."
Sun Shan nodded and said, "Once you get your share of pork, eat two pieces quickly. Don't wait for everyone else to eat."
De Ge'er was right. After the mountain worship, the pork distributed in the village was particularly delicious.
The method is also very simple. Blanch the half-fat and half-lean pork in clean water, take it out, then slice it, add salt, add some shochu and fry it, and then you can eat it.
De Geer added: "My little brother from Tsinghua and Peking University said that his family would buy roasted pigs to worship their ancestors. Oh, roasted pigs are delicious. We in Sunjia Village can't afford them."
Sun Shan nodded and said, "If you study hard, make a lot of money, and become a landlord, Sunjia Village will have roasted pigs to eat."
The wealthy families here would buy roasted pigs and roast the meat as offerings, while the poor families would buy raw pork and blanch it as offerings.
But Sun Shan thought that the pork distributed by Sunjia Village was more delicious than roast pork, and had a unique flavor.
De Ge'er rolled his eyes at Shanzi. He never thought that Shanzi was such a person. Instead of studying hard and making a lot of money, he required others to study hard and make a lot of money and then sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Humph, Shanzi is not honest.
Sun Shan couldn't understand De Ge'er's resentment, so he followed the adults along the mountain path.
Sun Bomin asked with concern: "Shanzi, are you tired? Do you want daddy to carry you?"
Sun Shan shook his head and said, "Father, I'm not tired. I can walk by myself."
It was actually quite tiring. Although I was a village kid, I seldom went hiking. Before I was 5 years old, I was limited to Sunjia Village. If I went out for a while and didn't see anyone, Sun Boming and my sisters would look for me everywhere.
Now that I go to school, the distance from home to school is just a short one, there is no longer any distance.
Uncle Sun smiled and said, "Brother, I think Shanzi should do more work to make it stronger."
He also touched his nephew's skinny face and made a few "tsk tsk" sounds.
Uncle Sun echoed, "That's right, boys should be more naughty and jump around so that they can withstand falls and beatings."
Sun Boming just smiled and said nothing. What his second and third brothers said made sense, but he was still worried about Shanzi wandering around, so it would be better to keep a close eye on him.
As they chatted, they talked about Dingming's arrival in the provincial capital.
Uncle Sun said worriedly, "Eldest sister hasn't sent me a letter yet. I wonder if she doesn't want him anymore?"
Sun Dingming followed obediently with his hoe on his shoulder. When he heard this, his heart tightened and his mouth felt bitter.
I was afraid of leaving Sunjia Village to go to the provincial capital, but I was also afraid that I could not go to the provincial capital. I felt very conflicted.
Sun Bomin comforted her and said, "Sister must be busy with Jing'er's imperial examination. She will write to you when she is done. Don't worry. Sister is very thoughtful. Don't you understand?"
Sun Boming was not worried that his eldest sister would not bring Dingming to the provincial capital. He was more worried about Jing'er's imperial examination, which the He family had been looking forward to for a long time. If Jing'er studied well and had a bright future, his eldest sister would be unrivaled in the He family.
Uncle Sun echoed, "Yes, second brother, don't worry. The eldest sister knows how to act properly. She must have her reasons for not writing to me. Just be patient and wait."
While climbing the mountain, Sun Shan listened to the conversation between the three Sun brothers and glanced at Mingge who was silent.
She said comfortingly, "Ming Ge, my aunt must be busy with my cousin's exam. She will definitely write to you after he finishes the exam and arrange for you to go to the capital. Don't worry."
After a pause, he continued, "Brother Ming, although you are not in school now, you must keep reading every day. When you go to the capital, it is a big city with guests from all over. When you greet them, you must speak the Shangjing dialect. If you don't speak the Shangjing dialect, others won't understand you."
Sun Dingming was originally worried about his future. When he heard Shanzi say that he wanted to study and speak the Shangjing dialect, he said nervously, "I, I don't speak the Shangjing dialect very well. What should I do?"
Sun Dingming had studied in the school for several years. Master Zheng used Mandarin in class, so he could speak it naturally.
Since graduation, I have been staying at home and have not had the opportunity to speak Mandarin. I am afraid that I have forgotten it.
Sun Shan also said that he would have to speak Mandarin when he went to work in the provincial capital. He was afraid that he would not speak Mandarin well and would be disliked by his aunt, and he became inexplicably panicked.
De Geer added fuel to the fire and said, "Oh, Brother Ming, Shanzi is right. There are so many people in big cities. People from other places can't speak Guangnan dialect, so they have to chat with people in Mandarin. Brother Ming, you have to speak Shangjing dialect well during this period.
If you don’t speak well and you don’t know what others want to eat when they order food, your aunt will definitely dislike you.”
After De Ge'er's words, not only Ding Ming became nervous, but Uncle Sun also became nervous.
What Shanzi and Deger said makes a lot of sense. When you go to the provincial capital, there are many people from other places. Others cannot speak Guangnan dialect, so you have to communicate in Mandarin.
If Mingge can't speak, how can he work?
She said anxiously, "Ming'er, don't be lazy. You still have to practice your Beijing dialect well, or your aunt will dislike you."
Gradually, Sun Boming, Sun Sanshu, as well as Qing'er, Guang'er, and Yong'er all persuaded Sun Dingming to practice Mandarin well and not stop studying just because he had left school.
The group arrived at the top of the back mountain, where the ancestor of the Sun family was buried, at the highest place in Sunjia Village, looking down on the descendants of the Sun family.
We divided the work and cooperated. You cleared the grass while I loosened the soil, and we cleaned it up quickly.
The village chief and clan elders burned clothes paper, lit incense and red candles, and poured tea and wine in front of the ancestor's grave.
The descendants of the Sun family bowed three times to the grave.
After visiting one grave, I went on to visit the next one. It started early in the morning and ended around 2pm.
The village chief and the elders found a slightly flat place and began to prepare the pork-cutting that Sun Shan was most looking forward to.
There were as many portions as there were households in Sunjia Village. Each portion was placed on the straw. When the head of a household was called, he would come forward and take a portion.
When Sun Bomin was called, Sun Shan held up the large wooden bowl and picked up a portion at random and put it into the bowl.
The elder smiled and said, "This is from Bomin's family, right? Eat more and ask the ancestors to bless you to be healthy and smart."
Sun Bomin said happily: "Shanzi, thank the grandfather quickly."
Sun Shan thanked them, took the pork he was given, and went down the mountain with his family.