Ba Zong's rural life [farming]

Around the Qingming Festival is one of the busiest times in the village. It is not only busy with spring planting, but also busy with worshiping ancestors, killing pigs and chickens, grinding rice to make steamed rice dumplings, in short, every household is busy. , the chimney was smoking all day long, and all kinds of things were cooking in the pot.

Aunt Zhang really sent a tray of hair cakes over the next day. Early in the morning, Ruan Xishi just woke up to make breakfast when he heard a knock on the door. He hurried to open the door and saw Aunt Zhang holding a tray of hair cakes. He said: "Shizi, you got up so early, come on, take this plate of hair cake back, and bring it with you when you go up the mountain to pay respects to your grandfather."

Ruan Xishi quickly took the tray, the steamed cake was still warm, probably steamed overnight last night, and Aunt Zhang brought it to him early in the morning, which moved Ruan Xishi very much.

"Aunt Zhang, you brought me so many cakes so early, is there enough for your family?"

Aunt Zhang smiled cheerfully: "Hey, not too much, not too much. Auntie has steamed a few times, which is enough. Isn't it because you have an extra person in your family? Lu Ze eats a lot, I'm afraid you don't have enough." , I just brought a whole tray with me.”

Ruan Xishi said gratefully: "Then thank you Aunt Zhang, why don't Aunt Zhang come in and sit for a while, have you had breakfast?"

Aunt Zhang waved her hand and said, "I've eaten, so I won't go in and disturb you two. There are still a lot of things waiting for me at home, so I'll go back first. You can go to our house to play when you have time, Zhi Chao has been talking about playing with you all day long."

Zhichao is a child of the Zhang family, Ruan Xishi's childhood friend.

Ruan Xishi replied: "Okay, I'll go play with him after I finish my farm work."

After sending Aunt Zhang away, Ruan Xishi brought a plate of cakes into the room, just as Lu Ze got up, saw this plate of chocolate-colored things, and asked him curiously: "Xiao Ruan, what is this, can I eat it? "

Ruan Xishi smiled and said: "This is fat cake. Yesterday we saw Aunt Zhang and the others make rice milk in the old house. It's delicious. Would you like to try it?"

Lu Ze has been in the village for so long, and under the guidance of Ruan Xishi, he has tried many delicacies that he has never eaten in the past 30 years, so after hearing Ruan Xishi say that this is the cake, he happily moved a stool and sat at the dining table, waiting for Ruan Xishi to give it to him. He distributes cakes to eat.

Ruan Xishi put down the hair cake, went to the drawer to find a turn of thread, cut a section and took it, put the thread under the hair cake, took both ends of the thread and crossed it on top, and a piece of hair cake was neatly separated, no need to use a knife at all .

Looking at Ruan Xishi's skillful technique, Lu Ze couldn't help being amazed. He attributed it to the wisdom of the working people in the countryside.

Ruan Xishi put the cut hair cake in front of Lu Ze and said to him, "Come and taste it and see if it tastes good."

Lu Ze was not polite, picked up a piece and put it in his mouth.

The rice milk made by stone mill is not as fine as the rice flour made by machine, because there is too much baking powder, and the holes inside are very large and small, so the hair cake tastes a bit rough, and brown sugar is added. There is a bit of sourness in the sweetness, and there is a scent of rice brewing. Generally speaking, it is still an acceptable local specialty snack.

Ruan Xishi also took a piece to eat, and said to Lu Ze vaguely while eating, "Let's eat this first in the morning, and I will go up the mountain to pay my respects to my grandfather in the afternoon, and I will cook it earlier for lunch."

Lu Ze nodded: "Okay."

Filling his stomach with fat cakes, Ruan Xishi began to prepare what he wanted to worship his grandfather. He boiled a large pot of water, put the pork trotters he bought yesterday into it, and put a bundle of rice noodles in it. When it was half-cooked, he scooped up the meat and put it on a tray, put rice noodles on top of the pork, sprinkled a little salt, and the sacrifice was complete.

Then he took out a few apples and oranges from the bag and put them in the basket, cut half of the fat cake and put it in, made a pot of tea with boiling water, let it cool, poured it into an empty bottle, put it in the basket with rice wine, and lit the incense. Paper money and firecrackers are packed in bags, and everything needed to go to the grave is ready.

Lu Ze just watched from the side without asking any questions. Every place has its own customs and customs. Non-interference and curiosity are basic respect.

Ruan Xishi prepared the things needed to go up the mountain, and it was noon in the blink of an eye, and Ruan Xishi was busy making lunch again.

Because I bought pork yesterday, Ruan Xishi doesn't plan to buy vegetables today, but the pork still needs to be taken to the grave, and I can't eat it at this time, so Ruan Xishi can only fry lettuce and fry a few eggs for dinner.

During the meal, Ruan Xishi said to Lu Ze very apologetically, "I will eat like this for lunch for the time being, and I will cook a few more dishes for you in the evening."

Lu Ze expressed his understanding. After eating, he saw that Ruan Xi was going out with so many things alone, so he couldn't help asking, "Are you going alone?"

Ruan Xishi replied: "Yes, brother Lu Ze, you can just take a nap or watch TV at home, I should be back soon."

Seeing his small body carrying so many things, Lu Ze frowned and said, "These things are too heavy, can you do it by yourself, you have to go up the mountain, right?"

Ruan Xishi weighed the heavy basket, smiled and said to Lu Ze: "It's okay, I can do it by myself, I went there by myself before, don't worry."

Because of Ruan Xishi's words, Lu Ze's heart felt a little sour and aching. Such a child who had just grown up would act like a spoiled child with his parents if he was a child in the city, but Ruan Xishi had no one to rely on and faced life alone.He couldn't help but said to Ruan Xishi: "Would you like me to go with you, and help you get something."

Ruan Xishi shook his head and said: "No, no, the road outside is slippery, and the mountain is wet, so it's easy to get my clothes dirty. I'll go alone. Besides, there are too many graves on the mountain, and you're a foreigner, so I'm afraid it will be unlucky for you to go up rashly. "

This is a superstition in the village, but Lu Ze is a modern person who has received scientific education since he was a child. He is a standard atheist, and he is not afraid of retreating because of what Ruan Xishi said.Ruan Xishi's attitude was firm. If you blindly ask for his opinion, there will be no result, so Lu Ze walked over to him, took the basket from him, and said uncompromisingly: "It is precisely because of this that I don't trust you alone. people go."

Ruan Xishi's hands were empty, seeing that Lu Ze had already stepped out of the house, she hurriedly followed and said, "Brother Lu Ze is really unnecessary, you go home and rest, I will be back soon, the mountain is really unlucky."

Lu Ze doesn't believe in the saying that it's auspicious and unlucky. It's not that he hasn't been to other people's tombs to worship at his age, so he's still alive and healthy until now?

Although he didn't believe it, Ruan Xishi firmly believed it. In other words, if there was any risk, Ruan Xishi would not let Lu Ze fall into it. This kind of thing would rather be believed than not.

Lu Ze was blocked by Ruan Xishi, and seeing his anxious face, he had no choice but to comfort him and said, "Besides, I live in your house now, so I am a family with you. I will accompany you up the mountain to worship the elders. I miss you." Grandpa will not be unhappy."

Ruan Xishi was stunned when he heard Lu Ze's sincere words. While he was digesting the words, Lu Ze easily bypassed him and walked outside the door.

When Ruan Xishi came to his senses, he couldn't stop Lu Ze anymore. He had no choice but to close the door, trot to follow, and said worriedly behind Lu Ze: "Is this really okay? Brother Lu Ze, I'm still a little worried, the old man in the village People who have told many stories like this say that some people went up the mountain indiscriminately and then were fascinated by ghosts and became crazy."

Lu Ze chuckled and said, "This is all made up by old people to scare children and make them obedient. Little Ruan, why do you still believe this like a child?"

Ruan Xishi blushed when Lu Ze said that, and forgot to worry about going up the mountain with Lu Ze.

The mountain road became more difficult to walk because of the rain during this period. Fortunately, this mountain is not too steep, and because there are many people walking, a road has been walked out on the mountain, so that it will not be difficult for people to walk.

Ruan Xishi was still a little scared. He was worried that Lu Ze would be rejected by his ancestors sleeping on the mountain, so he followed Lu Ze closely all the way, and kept silently saying in his heart: "Ancestors, this is Lu Ze. He is a good friend of mine, and he accompanied me up the mountain because I was worried about going up the mountain by myself, and he didn't mean to disturb you, so please don't hurt him."

Because Ruan Xishi was thinking about this matter in his heart, his whole body was in fear and trembling. He was startled when he heard the slightest disturbance, and he was so frightened that he quickly grabbed Lu Ze's hand.

Lu Ze's hand was wide, dry and warm. Almost as soon as he grabbed it, Lu Ze subconsciously held his slightly cold hand, then turned around and asked him, "What's the matter, little Ruan, are you afraid?"

Ruan Xishi looked around and found that there was nothing around, he was relieved, and then realized that he had suddenly held Lu Ze's hand just now, he looked at the hand he and Lu Ze were holding, and even He could still clearly feel the temperature of Lu Ze's palm, the temperature flowed from his palm all the way to his heart, and then rushed to his face, and his face instantly became hot.

He moved the hand held by Lu Ze unnaturally, but Lu Ze didn't understand his intention, fearing that he would be scared again, instead he held his hand even tighter.

Ruan Xishi's face was getting hotter and hotter. He struggled a little, but didn't pull out his hand. He even felt Lu Ze's grip tightened. gone."

But Lu Ze said: "The road here is slippery, you should hold my hand, don't fall."

After Ruan Xishi heard this, she really felt that going up the mountain this time was much easier than last time, and she didn't know if it was a psychological effect, or if it was because Lu Ze was leading her, it was really much safer to walk this way.

He felt the strength of Lu Ze's strong hand, as if with Lu Ze holding him, he could feel much more at ease.

Lu Ze's holding Ruan Xishi's hand was just a conditioned reflex at first, and when he realized it, he was already used to the feeling of Ruan Xishi's hand in his palm.Ruan Xishi's hand was different from his, a circle smaller than his, with some thin calluses, thin and long fingers, cool palm, very comfortable to hold, and he was reluctant to let go after a while.

Soon they arrived at Ruan Xishi's grandfather's grave, and because of several spring rains, a lot of grass grew here.Ruan Xishi shoveled the grass with a shovel, put the sacrifices in front of the grave, lit the incense, poured tea into the cup, then knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying to himself, "Grandpa, I'm coming to see you again." Yes, but this time I didn't come by myself. The person next to me is Lu Ze. He lives in our house now. He will accompany me to visit you today. Please don't take offense and bless him so that he can recover his memory as soon as possible. "

Lu Ze watched him kowtow three times, and bowed three times beside him, and said to the grave, "Hello, Grandpa, I am Xiao Ruan's friend, I have bothered you for a while, but please don't worry, I am at home I'll take care of him for you during this time."

When Ruan Xishi heard Lu Ze's words, the corners of his mouth unconsciously bent when he burned the paper for his grandfather, and he added silently in his heart: "Grandpa, I already have the courage and motivation to live. You don't have to worry about me too much. I will live a good life." .

Lu Ze also squatted down to burn paper with him, and while putting paper money into the fire, he comforted him and said, "Xiao Ruan, don't be too sad, otherwise your grandpa will worry about you when he sees it. Now that I'm by your side, you Tell me anything, and I will do my best to help you."

Ruan Xishi was moved and nodded firmly, and replied: "Thank you, brother Lu Ze."

The author has something to say:

I'm hungry qwq