Chinese Almanac Master

On New Year's Eve, it was said that Xiao Nanzhu had to teach Qingming a lesson because he couldn't see it, but to be honest, Xiao Nanzhu really had no interest in fussing with Qingming, who had a bad temper.This is because he knows that New Year's Eve actually cares about Qingming, otherwise he wouldn't talk about him again and again, and the second is because Qingming belongs to one of the eight festivals of the year.

The eight festivals of the year refer to the eight festivals of New Year's Eve, Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Zhongyuan Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Winter Solstice.In the past, people in Chaoshan area used to regard these eight festivals as the eight most important traditional festivals of the year, and they were also inherited after the confusion between the solar calendar and the new calendar.Since they have withstood the test of time and still have clear festival origins and customs, the divine power of these calendar gods is relatively prominent.As a special one among them, Qingming has dual meanings of festival and solar terms, so Xiao Nanzhu, as a calendar teacher, doesn't need to get too stiff with him, so when Qingming comes out to work, Xiao Nanzhu just He told him about his day-to-day arrangements in a routine manner, and handed over all the housework to him by the way, and heard with his own ears that Xiao Nanzhu actually asked himself, the god of calendar, to wash clothes, wash dishes and mop for him After the ground, Mr. Qingming, who changed into a pear-blossom white shirt today, looked more and more like a crown jade, suddenly opened his eyes wide, and then clenched the Qiushuang sword in his hand, and shouted angrily,

"I never do these things! I don't know how to do it! I don't want to do it! As the God of Calendar, the duty is to kill evil spirits. No wonder the Master of Calendar asked me to do this to humiliate me!!"

Dazed by his words, Xiao Nanzhu glanced at him subconsciously, and frowned impatiently when he saw his blushing face, but for the sake of New Year's Eve, he finally didn't He wanted to argue with Qingming too much, so he smiled playfully, then pointed to the bathroom and said,

"Since you think I'm humiliating you, then so be it... But aren't you going to kill Xie Chong? There's something in it, if you can get rid of that Tai Sui for me today, I won't bother Qingming Lord with anything from now on." You, what do you say if you are regarded as the number one festival in our old almanac?"

What he said was quite ironic, Qingming became annoyed when he heard it, staring at Xiao Nanzhu, wishing he could raise his sword and chop this third-rate calendar master who made him embarrass him everywhere.But he himself also understands that even if he personally takes action on New Year's Eve, he may not be able to kill the Sui Xing in the bathtub who has lived for more than 600 years, and he himself cannot do it. Xiao Nanzhu wasn't provoking him, he just looked out from the balcony to see that the weather was not bad today, so he simply left the Ching Ming Festival at home and went out alone to burn the paper money that was going to be given to his old lady this year.

When it comes to the habit of burning paper, in fact, many young people don't know how to do it now.After all, it's 2027, and the older generations who believed in this are almost gone, and the rest of them naturally can't remember the custom of burning paper on the first and fifteenth day of the new year.

However, there are some big festivals, such as Qingming and Zhongyuan festivals, some people will burn some paper money under the reminder of their parents, but compared to the past, people nowadays just buy it casually in paper money shops. Some ready-made folded ones were taken over and burned, but there was really not much left for the genuine mourning for the ancestors.

It is inevitable that people can't help but want to refute it. After all, burning paper is really feudal and useless in the eyes of some people.However, people in the past set the rule of burning paper and floating money. It does not mean that they completely believe in the existence of ghosts and gods, but because in the sad days when relatives and friends pass away, people will one day forget them because of the fading of memory. The specific date is forgotten, and people can still remember their former family and friends on a certain day.At this time, they naturally need something to convey their feelings for the deceased, and these yellow paper money and ingots have become the best sustenance.

"Xiaowei, mom burned more paper for you this year. Mom dreamed of you last night. You told me that the prices below have risen and you can't afford to eat. You made mom cry in the middle of the night. Mom I'll burn some more for you now, don't be too frugal, buy whatever you want..."

When carrying the gold and silver ingots in his hands to the cemetery, Xiao Nanzhu happened to see an old lady with a hunched waist holding an umbrella in the drizzle while chanting these words, because Xiao Nanzhu was far away. Zhu didn't hear what the old man was saying at first, but when he walked over, he just heard clearly.

I can't say what I felt in my heart for a moment, but Xiao Nanzhu suddenly felt a little emotional.When a person dies, the one who is sad and sad is always the one who survived. Even though he knew that the other party would not be able to hear what he said, he still wanted to tell him all the things he had kept in his heart. Thinking like this, he endured He couldn't help speeding up a few steps and walked towards the cemetery area on the mountain. Seeing a familiar tombstone in front of his eyes, Xiao Nanzhu paused for a while, then walked away slowly. past.

The old lady's tombstone was cleaned up very cleanly. Situ Zhang and his grandfather were buried near this mountain, so every year in the past, he could help himself look at it and burn some paper money by the way.Now that it is Xiao Nanzhu's grandson who is back, it is natural for him to come here in person, and seeing the old lady who left a black and white photo pasted on the marble tablet, Xiao Nanzhu's expressionless face is also full of emotions. With mixed emotions, after squatting down in front of the tombstone and lighting a cigarette for himself, he put a bundle of white floating money on the tombstone, and took a lighter from his pocket.

"I'm here to see you."

Paved with yellow paper to spread gold ingots, paper money and the like, Xiao Nanzhu frowned while talking to himself while lighting these piled up ghost coins. The dim yellow light of the fire shone on his pupils, reflecting his indifferent eyes. His face softened a little, and some messy things passed through his mind, but more of them were memories about his past.

Xiao Nanzhu knew very early on that he was picked up by his grandmother.

Although his grandma would not mention it to him, there are always some idle adults and children who will take the initiative to remind him that those words mixed with ridicule and sarcasm have been said since he was seven or eight years old to his teens, and even if he tried hard not to He cared, but when he saw other people had parents, he would always feel a little jealous.

Because of his precocious personality, Xiao Nanzhu would not foolishly ask his grandma where his parents are, because he knew that this crazy old lady with a bad temper would definitely beat him up, so he never dared to ask any more questions , and one day when a boy of the same age as him troubled him with this matter again, Xiao Nanzhu heard a detailed explanation that he had never heard of from this child.

"My aunt said that you were picked up by your grandma from the trash when you were four or five years old! When you picked it up, you couldn't even speak human words, but only shouted. You are a wild child from the mountains! Ah! How dare you kick me! Xiao Nanzhu, you grandson! Don’t let Situ Zhang help you if you have the ability! Ah! Help! Dad! Mom!"

The child crying for his father and mother does not sound like a lie, but since Xiao Nanzhu can remember, he has no memory of what happened when he was a child, so naturally he can't be sure whether it is true, but what the child said It still made Xiao Nanzhu, who was still holding a glimmer of hope, completely convinced that his parents did not intend to raise him, so he abandoned him. Thinking of this, Xiao Nanzhu, who had already ignored these things, looked at The picture of Mrs. Xiao on the tombstone suddenly became obsessed.

What he regrets most in his life is not being able to repay Xiao Ruhua well.When he was young, the old lady gave him everything, but when Xiao Ruhua got old, Xiao Nanzhu had nothing in time to give her.

The disease was about to take her life, Xiao Nanzhu was helpless, he hid uncontrollably and used violence to vent his irritable emotions, but it was useless, he tried to maintain Xiao Ruhua's treatment by suspending school and working part-time. Sometimes he even secretly sold blood, he just hoped to use all the methods he could think of to save the life of his only relative in this world, and the reason was just because... Without Xiao Ruhua, there would be no more in this world. his home.

"I'm fine now, I haven't learned bad things, I'm at work, you can't guess what I'm doing... I'm still smoking, I haven't quit, and then, I'm in love..."

Talking like this with a cigarette in his mouth, it's boring to talk like this alone, but Xiao Nanzhu didn't stop, and he didn't know who he was talking about, but he always felt that his grandma was He could also hear it at the other end. If he was at that time a few years ago, he might not be able to say what he said today, but he probably finally found some meaning in life recently, so Xiao Nanzhu is not ashamed at the moment. I explained it to his grandma.

"Everyone is nice, but they have a bad temper. You used to say that you need to find someone who can restrain me in the future to be reliable. This time I will definitely be able to do it... But you also know that I can't stand other people's kindness the most." Well, this person is just like this. Well, I want to be nice to him too... But when I am with him, I will definitely be responsible, so I hope that I can guard him alone in this life and love him For a lifetime, for his lifetime..."

Saying this, Xiao Nanzhu's eyes suddenly changed. The photo of the old lady in front of him stared at him and smiled, and he suddenly couldn't help laughing. After all, after he was sure that he fell in love with New Year's Eve, he figured out some things. So right now he knelt in front of his grandma's grave and kowtowed a few times, then murmured to himself,

"Anyway... I always die before him."