Chapter 81 Sun Banxian's Funeral
I didn't bring lunch today, so at noon, Su came early to pick us up, taking Sun Shan and De Ge'er, followed by a group of Sun brothers, and walked back to Sunjia Village together.
In fact, Su didn't need to come to pick them up, and Sun Shan also said that he would go back with his cousins.
But Su just wouldn't listen. In this respect, he was exactly like Sun Boming, very stubborn.
When they got home, Huang and others were already waiting there. They brought incense, paper money, a string of firecrackers, and a piece of pork, and went to Sun Banxian's small courtyard with the three families.
As soon as I arrived, I saw the yard was full of people and smoke. A little boy of five or six years old, wearing a white hat and mourning clothes, was kneeling in the mourning hall.
Sun Banxian's nephew was kneeling on the side with his arms tied with white cloth.
Huang led the first, second and third wives into the yard and came to the mourning hall.
First, the pork was handed to the person in charge of the funeral. Then, incense, candles, paper money, and firecrackers were placed in the basket in front of the mourning hall, which was already full of these things.
Afterwards, he led Sun Shan and others into the mourning hall. He first spoke a few words to the filial little boy, not sure whether he understood or not. He then said a few words to Sun Banxian's nephew and his family. The general meaning was: the deceased has ascended to the immortal world, and the living should mourn and accept the change.
Then he picked up a bunch of incense from the side, lit it, and passed it to the family members. One by one, they bowed three times to Sun Banxian and lit the incense.
Huang also instructed her family to burn clothes paper for Sun Banxian.
Sun Shan picked up a piece of paper and put it in the brazier, muttering to himself, "Grandpa Sun, have a safe journey.
After the Sun family had offered incense and burned paper money, the funeral attendant lifted up the towel covering Sun Banxian's face and muttered, "Bomin sent someone to see you. After seeing you, dust to dust, earth to earth, and we'll meet again in the next life."
Huang, along with Sun Shan and the others, glanced at Sun Banxian, who looked very calm, just like he was sleeping normally.
When everything is done, the deacon in charge of the funeral will give the person who paid the respects a red envelope, wrapped in red paper with a pin and pine and cypress on it, and a copper coin inside.
Huang took her family out and handed the silk money to the village chief.
Because the funeral of Sun Banxian is still the responsibility of the village, it will be officially handed over to Sun Banxian’s step-grandson only after everything is settled.
At this time, the person who presided over the funeral took Huang and others to the open space outside the yard to eat.
The funeral meal in Sunjia Village is very simple, just stir-fried vegetables and meat.
The villagers picked some vegetables for you and some for him, and put them together.
As for the meat, it was brought by the Huang family and other people who came to pay homage. The rich brought more, and the poor brought less.
The meal they ate was left by Sun Banxian.
When a farmer holds a funeral, the most expensive thing is the coffin. Other expenses can be covered by the vegetables, meat and condolence money brought by the villagers.
After all, Sun Banxian was a well-known and accomplished person in the village, so the coffin he bought would naturally not be of bad quality. The village chief and others were afraid that it would delay his practice of Taoism and his path to becoming an immortal.
The poor families in Sunjia Village would store wood early on and make their own coffins.
Those who are a little richer will buy red or black oil to paint the coffin after making it themselves.
Those who are slightly wealthier and more filial will go to the coffin shop to order coffins, which have carvings on them and are more exquisite.
An ordinary coffin weighs about 5 taels, while those made of better materials may weigh more than taels, and some may even weigh dozens of taels.
As for those worth more than a hundred taels, Sun Shan had never heard of them, and no one within a hundred miles had ever used them.
The village chief hurried to the coffin shop in town to order a black coffin.
The custom in Sunjia Village is to use red coffins for people over 80 years old. Death at this age is not a sad thing, but a "lucky" funeral. Using a red coffin will bring blessings to future generations and improve the family's luck.
Sun Banxian is not yet of that age, and this kind of funeral is a sad thing, so black is the most suitable color.
Based on Sun Banxian's identity and wealth, the village chief bought him a 7-liang coffin, hoping that after his death, he could go to where he wanted to go.
Sun Shan and others left Sun Banxian's yard and walked to the open space next door.
The aunt in the village said, "Come and eat, come here."
After Huang said a few words of condolence to the aunts in the village, she took her family to the nearby funeral dinner.
Su said anxiously, "Mother, Shanzi and the others have to go to school later, let them finish eating and leave."
Second Aunt Sun and Third Aunt Sun echoed: "Sister-in-law is right, go eat quickly and don't delay the class."
Su was hurriedly filling the bowl with rice and some other dishes, and handed them to Sun Shan: "Hurry up and sit aside to eat. You still have to go to the school later."
Sun Shan nodded and found a big rock to sit on.
Su said to the four Guyu sisters, "Pack your own food and eat quickly."
They stood there one by one, motionless, and didn't know how to get their food. If they didn't eat now, others would have eaten it all.
After saying this, he filled another bowl for his mother-in-law, Huang, and then filled his own bowl.
Second Aunt Sun and Third Aunt Sun did the same. They quickly asked their children to serve the food and eat until they were full.
As for Uncle Sun, he had been busy here and had already eaten. The Sun family sent him as a representative to help.
Sun Shan looked at the full bowl of rice, sweet potato rice, and stir-fried pork with Chinese cabbage.
Funerals here must have vegetables and meat, which means that the dead can live a life with vegetables and meat in the afterlife. Similarly, they also hope that the living can live such a life.
After dinner, Sun Banxian’s funeral was still going on. From morning to noon, people from Sunjia Village brought funeral items to see Sun Banxian for the last time. The afternoon was left for Sun Banxian’s friends and distant relatives to come and visit.
The village chief found a fortune teller from a few villages next door, who calculated a time for burial of Sun Banxian based on his date of birth.
As for finding a tomb, there was no need to look for it, because Sunjia Village had its own cemetery, and all the burials were arranged on one mountain. As long as Sun Banxian's tomb was lower than that of his parents and grandparents, it would be fine.
Of course, if conditions permit, you can directly ask a Feng Shui master to choose a cemetery. Sunjia Village has never produced anyone rich or powerful, and the villagers do not have the capital to do so.
A fortune teller from a few villages over gave the burial time as Youshi (5pm to 7pm), so the villagers first sent villagers to the grave mountain in Sunjia Village to dig a hole, and when the time came, they would go up the mountain to bury the body.
After lunch, Su sent Sun Shan and De Ge'er back to school.
On the way, he said, "Shanzi, Dege'er, quickly open the red envelopes you just received."
Whether you enter your own home or someone else's door, you are not allowed to bring money related to the dead. You must remove the red paper to ward off evil spirits.
Sun Shan and De Ge'er obediently took down the red paper and received 1 copper coin.
Then she handed Su the embroidery needles pinned on the red paper. She could take them home.
Su watched Sun Shan and De Ge'er enter the school before returning to Sunjia Village with peace of mind.
We will have to go to Sun Banxian's place to help later. After the burial, the village will have a meal, and Su and other women in the village will have to help.
Sun Shan and De Ge'er said hello to Zheng Bo and returned to the school.
Fortunately, my brothers had already returned home before the afternoon class.
Dingnan from the village chief's family sighed and said, "I never thought Grandpa Sun would leave so suddenly. Alas, life is unpredictable."
Who says it’s not true? The person you saw yesterday is now far away from you.
Some people are gone forever in the blink of an eye.