Chapter 75 Departure

Chapter 75 Departure

Chapter 75 Departure
When he got home, Chen Yongwei was already on the roof helping to pick up and repair tiles. The two of them worked together for a whole morning before they finally fixed the leak.

Li Changle thought about buying a bag of cement and getting some bricks to press down the tiles a few times, so that the replaced tiles would not be blown away by the typhoon next time.

Just as I came down from the roof, Li's mother came back from outside, "A Le, I went to the rice field to check, not many rice plants were blown down, I picked them up and tied them up with straw.

A lot of corn planted in the field next to the rice field was blown down. Come with me and chop up the fallen ones and bring them back, and pick back the edible corn."

After she finished speaking, she thought about it and added, "Your father and I used to do these jobs, but now his leg is injured, so only you can go with me."

"Okay, I'll go cut it right away." Li Changle patted the grass clippings on his pants, and Zhou Ruonan took out the knife and rope. "It'll be just in time for dinner when you come back."

"Yes!" Li Changle took the rope, and Chen Yongwei reached out to take the sickle, "Brother, I'll go with you to help you."

Li Changle nodded, "Your corn wasn't blown down by the wind?"

Chen Yongwei: "As soon as the sky was light, my grandma called me to get up and chop the fallen corn back home."

Mother Li came out carrying a basket and said to Li Changle, "Let's go!"

"Okay!" The two followed her out.

Seeing Chen Yongwei also helping, Li's mother said gratefully, "Awei is really hardworking." Then she glared at Li Changle and said, "He can't even remember where the fields at home are."

"Mother, you underestimate your son!" Li Changle looked at her with a smile, "I remember, it was right next to the saline-alkali land."

Mother Li rolled her eyes at him amusedly, "You want me to cook you an egg to praise you?"

The three of them chatted and laughed as they followed the long pond to the edge of the rice field, only to see that the rice seedlings in the middle of the field had been blown down by the wind to a size of a bathtub, and Li's mother had tied it up with straw.

After walking across the narrow ridge, you will reach the sloping land next to the rice fields. These lands were opened up by Li's father, his two brothers, and occasionally him, after they were distributed to each household.

In less than two acres of land, corn, potatoes, taro and sweet potatoes were planted.

A lot of corn rows on the side were blown down by the typhoon. Chen Yongwei grabbed one, chopped it off with a knife and put it aside.

Li Changle and his mother picked off the ripe corns on the corn stalks.
, throw it into the basket.

He thought about it and said, "Mother, we won't plant this kind of corn next year. The glutinous corn planted by Grandma Chen is delicious."

After hearing this, Li's mother pointed to the corn field and said, "There are two rows of corn on the slope. Some of them are ripe. If you want to eat them, go pick them."

"Wait until you finish these."

The three of them were busy for about ten minutes and had chopped down all the corn that had been blown down. They also broke off the corn cobs and put them into baskets.

Li Changle followed Li's mother to the edge of the slope and found that beans were planted in the cornfield.

The mother and son pointed at the ripe corn cobs, broke off a dozen or so, and carried them back to the edge of the field. Chen Yongwei had already tied all the corn stalks together.

"Brother, you carry the basket and I'll carry the corn stalks."

"Okay!" Li Changle picked up the basket and walked back unsteadily, "This ridge is too narrow!"

"This one is already considered wide. Look at the one next to it, it's only as wide as a shoulder pole. If it's dug like that, we can plant at least two more rows and harvest more than ten kilograms of rice."

After hearing this, Li Changle thought about the future generations, when these fields, which were regarded as the lifeblood of the older generation, were all used to grow vegetables and grass.

When the three of them returned home, Li Xiaotao ran over and picked up a bag of corn, "Grandma, we want to roast it and eat it."

"I want one too." Li Xiaozhou also ran over.

Mrs. Li laughed and said, "They are the greediest two in our family. When it comes to food, they run away the fastest."

Li Xiaotao pouted his lips so hard that an oil bottle could be hung on them. "You didn't even cook for us, so we cooked for ourselves, and you said we would set the house on fire."

Li's mother: "Your mother is right. We don't have the money to build a new house. If you set the house on fire, the whole family will have to beg for food."

"Grandma, please cook it for us." Li Xiaozhou picked up a bag of corn and handed it to her.

Mother Li peeled back the corn leaves and took a look. "It tastes better when cooked. Grandma will pick some for you."

"We want it too." The others ran out of the house.

"Okay, okay, we have everything!" Mother Li took Li Xiaohui and Li Xiaoqing to pick out more than a dozen bags, and went to the kitchen to cook corn.

After lunch, Li Changle and his friends continued to make ground traps and crab cages.

Li's mother cleaned out all the fishing nets and other items in the house, mended those that needed mending, and packed up the good ones and gave them to Li Changle.

It rained again in the afternoon, and the wind was much stronger than in the morning. We didn't want to go fishing anymore, so we just rested at home for a day.

After the heavy rain, the drizzle continued until dark. Li Changle felt that it was really comfortable to sleep in in such weather.

The sun didn't come out until noon the next day, but the wind was still a little strong, and the sunlight shining on the eaves made people feel hot.

Li Changle thought of Father Li's injury, brought out a chair, went to his parents' side, and carried Father Li from the house to the steps, "Dad, get some sun, it's good for your health."

"I get sun all year round, but I've never heard of anything good in the sun." Father Li looked at his grandson playing with a smile in his eyes and felt that it was more comfortable to be at home.

Li Changle lifted his legs and put them on the stool. "Dad, you see, crops need the sun to grow strong and produce more fruits. People must be the same." "That's true!" Father Li leaned back in the chair comfortably. "I feel like I'm going moldy after being in the hospital for a few days."

"Grandpa, if you expose yourself to the sun, you won't get moldy."

"Yeah! No more mold, no more mold!"

At this time, Chen Yongwei came over and said, "Brother, let's go see if the tide has receded?"

Li Changle thought for a moment and nodded, "Let's go and take a look first. If the waves are not big, we will go to the grove to look for traps."

Mrs. Li was also a little moved after hearing this, "Xiaoyang, go with your uncle. When you see the tide recede, come back and call us."

"You can follow me. I want to go to the beach with you too!"

"We want to go too." said Li Xiaohai and Li Xiaozhou on the side.

Mother Li came over with a basket of vegetables and said to the group, "What are you looking at? When we were having lunch, A Lai came back from the beach and said that the waves at the pier are still more than ten meters high. It would be a waste of time if we went there now."

Li Changle stroked Li Xiaoyang and said, "Did you hear that? Your grandma said we can't go now."

"If you don't want to go, then don't go!" Li Xiaoyang picked up the spinning top and said, "Let's go to the back to compete with Ashan in spinning tops."

"Oh! Let's go to the competition!" Li Xiaobo patted Li Xiaohai, and several big ones ran away in a swarm.

"Brother, wait for me." Li Xiaozhou followed with his short legs.

"You are so nosy. You always want to follow me, but you can never run fast enough." Li Xiaohai complained, turned around and pulled him to follow.

"They are the ones who quarrel and they are the ones who make peace!" Mother Li watched her grandson run away happily, then turned to Li Changle and said, "Go to the master's hall and burn incense and pray."

"Okay, I'll go wash my face and then I'll be there." Li Changle put down the wire, went back to the house to wash his face, and came out, taking the vegetable basket handed to him by Li's mother. Chen Yongwei also followed him out the door.

"Brother, I'm going to the beach."

"Okay!" Li Changle agreed and walked towards the master's palace at the east end of the village with the vegetable basket.

The village temple in Shatou Village enshrines the Goddess of Childbirth, the City God, and the God of Land.

The main sea gods worshipped by fishermen are: Dragon King of the Sea, Lord Fish, Bodhisattva of Boat Guard, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Lord Boat Dragon, Mazu...Pingshui King, the Pingshui King here is actually Dayu.

The village temple is built at the foot of the mountain. It is quite old and is repaired every few years. Sometimes all villagers share the cost, and sometimes villagers who earn money donate.

The small ditch at the foot of the mountain had become turbid due to heavy rain, and the water that was crystal clear before had become muddy. Several boys were picking fish and snails in the ditch with dustpans in their hands.

When we arrived at the temple at the foot of the mountain, there were very few people coming to burn incense unless it was the first or fifteenth day of the lunar month.

When Li Changle arrived, he happened to see Agen's wife and her mother-in-law coming out with baskets. The two of them glanced at him and left without saying hello.

When you walk into the courtyard, there are several large incense burners against the wall where you can burn incense. However, people from the village who come to worship usually go into the main hall first, worship the Bodhisattva, and then come out to burn a stick of incense in each incense burner.

Li Changle entered the main hall and saw the altar filled with fruits, cakes and pastries.

He stood in front of the altar, took out the cakes from the basket, placed them respectfully on a plate, then knelt devoutly on the cushion and kowtowed three times.

Then he stood up and took out three incense sticks. He held the incense in his left hand and placed it on the candle next to him to light it. He then fanned the incense up and down with his right hand to extinguish the flame on the incense head.

The older generation taught them that if the incense stick is burning, one should not blow it out with the mouth, as this would be disrespectful to the Buddha.

Li Changle stood up holding the incense sticks, and bowed to the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas while holding the incense sticks in both hands. After the ceremony, he inserted the incense sticks into the incense burner one by one with his left hand.

Then, he lit a pair of red candles and offered them as an offering. He knelt on the mat again and kowtowed and made a wish, "Lord City God, please bless my family with safety and happiness, and a full harvest at sea..."

After making a wish, he kowtowed respectfully, then stood up and paid his respects to the statues of the God of Land and the Goddess of Childbirth.

"Oh! It's Ah Le! With such good fortune, you still come to pay respect to the master?"

Li Changle opened his eyes and turned his head, and saw his aunt Lin Xianmei standing beside him with a basket. She said in a calm voice, "I have to come to visit you for good luck."

Among the several branches of the Li family, the eldest uncle and aunt are the most calculating and like to save face the most.

"Yes, is your father feeling better? Can he walk a few steps now?"

"I've been discharged from the hospital. The doctor said I'm recovering well."

Li Changle couldn't bear to see her pretending to be worried, so she took the vegetable basket and walked out of the main hall. She lit several incense burners outside and bowed three times, then walked back with the vegetable basket.

Halfway through the journey, I met Chen Yongwei. "How is it? Has the tide receded?"

Chen Yongwei shook his head, "They have already started to retreat. They should be able to retreat after dark."

Li Changle thought it was already past three o'clock, "Go back and have a nap, we'll go to the beach after dinner."

"Take the plastic can with you." Chen Yongwei followed him back, "Brother, when the boat is repaired, I will take you to the island to pry open the Buddha's hand snails!"

"Don't pry the Buddha's hand snails first. I'm going to take you to a place tonight. The oysters inside are bigger than my feet." Li Changle whispered.

(End of this chapter)