Poor Family

  Chapter 4 Li's Ancestral Hall

Before dawn, Li Yanqing used a camphor wood box as a table, lying on his back under a soybean oil lamp that was flickering and dimming. He was writing the story of the Monkey King fighting the red boy. He told Qing'er twice the story. , I have already been familiar with it in my chest, and I can write it with a pen.

  The grain tank has bottomed out, and there are only two holes left in the money bag. Their family is impoverished. It is impossible to count on their father to make money. He can only rely on himself.

There were various versions of the story of Tang Monk learning Buddhist scriptures in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Wu Chengen’s Journey to the West is just a masterpiece. The story is more imaginative, thrilling, and more tortuous and thrilling, full of suspense, which makes readers want to stop.

  He has been writing this vernacular ghost novel for ten days, with nearly 50,000 words in it, and it is about to end. He needs to leave a big suspense and let the shopkeeper of the bookstore come to him.

At this time, father coughed on the kang, and the wound medicine sent by Mrs. Hu was very effective. In just three days, my father's injury gradually recovered, but his body was too weak. Mrs. Hu stewed an old hen for my father Don't say thank you for your kindness, Li Yanqing will silently remember this kindness in his heart.

   "Qing'er, what time is it?" Li Daqi asked weakly while lying on the kang.

   "It's still early!"

After Li Yanqing finished writing the last line, he was done. He put down his pen, put away the manuscript, took a bowl of chicken soup from the pot and brought it to his father, helped him sit up, and said with a smile: "Daddy, drink the chicken soup before going to rest. "

  Li Daqi drank a few sips of chicken soup, turned his head and looked outside the door, it was still dark outside, he frowned, "Qing'er, what are you doing up so early?"

   "I'm practicing calligraphy!" Li Yanqing casually gave a reason.

  Li Daqi was very pleased to see his son so hardworking, nodded and taught him: "The sage of poetry once said that wealth must come from hard work, and a man must read five books. Qinger, if you work so hard, you will definitely be named in the gold list in the future."

  Father's three words were always about the imperial examination, and Li Yanqing heard it very harshly. He served his father after drinking the chicken soup, helped him to lie down, and walked to the courtyard.

   "Qing'er, where are you going?"

   "I'm going to chop firewood and send it to Uncle Jiu's house early in the morning."

  Chopping firewood is a job given to him by his neighbor Uncle Hu. The father and son are so poor that they can’t even eat. Li Yanqing chops firewood for the villagers in exchange for some food and rice.

  Li Daqi's eyes were moist, feeling ashamed and relieved in his heart, looking at the dark roof and muttering: "Yun Niang, look at our child, he is only six years old, how sensible!"

It was getting brighter, and Li Yanqing was chopping firewood in the courtyard. It is still unknown whether the manuscript can make money. Even if it can make money, it will take at least ten and a half months to get news. empty.

  Li Yanqing let out a low cry, and slashed the hatchet in his hand like lightning, and a round firewood as thick as the mouth of a bowl was instantly split in half.

With a flick of his hand, the two sticks of firewood landed precisely on the pile of firewood one foot away. He didn't know how he could have this ability. Although the foolish boy he possessed was stupid, he had extraordinary abilities in another aspect. talent.

  Li Yanqing took another round firewood and set it up, and chopped it with a knife, 'Boom! ’ A piece of firewood flew out and almost hit Li Daqi who had just walked to the door.

   "Daddy, why are you up?"

   "Daddy remembered something very important."

   "What's important?"

  Li Daqi cleared his throat, "Qing'er, Daddy will take you to the ancestral hall to offer incense later."

   "I'm not going!" Li Yanqing's expression darkened immediately, and he ruthlessly split the log in half.

He doesn't have a good impression of the so-called Li clan's ancestral hall. He has never seen his clan help them, especially Liu Chenghong, who injured his father, is the chief steward of the Li clan's patriarch's family, which makes him extremely disgusted with this clan. There is also a hint of hostility.

   "You have to go!"

Li Daqi raised his voice. He would compromise with his son on many things, but he was not ambiguous at all when it came to going to the ancestral hall. He said to his son very seriously: "You can survive a catastrophe by falling into a well because you have the protection of your ancestors." , I have already made a wish for you in front of the ancestor's spirit, and you must repay this wish yourself, thank you for your ancestor's blessing."

   "Let's talk about it when Daddy recovers completely!" His father had just recovered from a serious illness, and Li Yanqing didn't want to quarrel with him, so he changed his strategy.

  Li Daqi understood what his son was thinking, and shook his head resolutely, "My health is fine, and I can't delay going to the ancestral hall. Anyway, you will go sooner or later, so it's better to end this matter today."

  Li Yanqing thought for a while and said: "Then I have something to say first, I don't want to kowtow!"

  . ． ． ． ． ．

  The Li family is a big family in Tangyin County. It is said that they are also celebrities. The clan mainly lives in Xiaohe Township, Tangyin County. It is divided into Lushan, Qianshan, Wencun and Songhe Sifang, named after the location.

The ancestral hall of the Li clan was built in Lushan Town. The Lushan House is of course also the backbone of the Li clan. Every generation of the head of the Li clan comes from the Lushan House. The current patriarch is called Li Wenyou, who is also a famous squire in Tangyin County, Li Daqi It is to raise a horse for Li Wenyou to pay off the debt.

  The ancestral hall is built alone at the foot of Lushan without relying on official roads. It is surrounded by lush pine and cypress trees.

Li Daqi washed his hands and face devoutly in the stream outside the ancestral hall, but Li Yanqing caught two small fish in the stream and was going to take them home to make a bowl of fish soup. With great reluctance, he walked into the gate of the ancestral hall.

  Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, the ancestral hall has been the political, cultural and spiritual center of the major families, and it is also the bond that unites the entire family. Even the royal family will have its own ancestral temple.

Even the poorest families will set up an open space in the corner of the thatched hut and set up an altar to worship their ancestors. Although there is only a square inch of space, only a stick of incense and a spiritual tablet, it is also an extremely sacred spiritual world for the poor. .

Every year on the first day of the first lunar month is the day when the Li family holds an annual sacrifice. The whole family has to put on the best clothes and gather in the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors. It is necessary to pay homage to the ancestors.

  In addition to the first day of the first lunar month, small sacrifices to ancestors are also held every year on Qingming Festival and Zhongyuan Festival, and even each family has to gather in the ancestral hall to worship separately on the anniversary of the death of their ancestors.

  Sacrificing ancestors is as important and common to the people of the Song Dynasty as eating and sleeping, and the biggest punishment for violating the rules is disqualification of the clan sacrifice, which will become a great shame in this person's life.

There will obviously be sacrificial activities in the past two days. The yard has been covered with carpets, and red ribbons and lanterns have been hung on the big trees. yard.

Li's ancestral hall is not big, covering an area of ​​about two acres. It is built with blue bricks. In front is the sacrificial compound. When there are too many people, everyone can only stand in the courtyard to hold the ceremony. An old pagoda tree is planted in the center of the courtyard. The branches are twisted and vigorous, full of cracks, at least a hundred years old,

  The pentagonal building in the middle is the main hall dedicated to the ancestors and ancestors. On both sides are the left and right wing rooms. On the left is the meeting hall where the family elders discuss major issues in the clan, while on the right is the patriarchal hall for punishing the clansmen and maintaining the authority of the family.

  Below the township, the laws of the Song Dynasty have no meaning, and the family patriarchal law is the kingly way.

   On the left side of the wing room is a corridor leading directly to the backyard. The backyard is very small, with only two huts, which should be the residence of the guardians of the ancestral hall.

  Li Daqi was extremely pious. When he entered the yard, he knelt down respectfully and kowtowed three times.

  Although Li Yanqing knew that the ancestral hall was important, he didn't have the heart. At this moment, his legs were like two hard iron bars, and it was impossible to bend them and kneel down.

  Li Daqi understood his son's thoughts, but he didn't dare to let his ancestors know, so he could only sigh secretly, and didn't force his son to kneel down and kowtow in the courtyard.

   "Qing'er, I'll ask your fourth uncle for two incense sticks. You go to worship your ancestors first, and Daddy will come right away."

  Li Daqi hurried to the backyard to find the ancestral hall keeper. Li Yanqing looked around the yard. He was only interested in the pair of beast-head copper incense burners. After guessing how much they might sell for, he walked towards the main hall.

The door of the main hall was ajar, and there seemed to be a shadow moving inside. Li Yanqing looked through the crack of the door, and saw a middle-aged man with gray hair standing in front of the altar, stealthily holding the jug on the altar to a Fill wine into a small gourd.

   Li Yanqing was stunned for a moment, someone actually stole wine in the main hall.

  (end of this chapter)