Wear ancient times with a house

Chapter 340 Sacrifice
Song Nian was the busiest, he didn't have many people available, and the county government had even fewer people who could be trusted, so he managed to figure it out, and the auspicious day he had circled by someone had arrived, and he had to change into a scarlet scarf embroidered with orioles. Colored official uniforms—yes, it is indeed the oriole of "two orioles singing on green willows, and a row of egrets on the blue sky".

The egret is also one of the embroideries on the official uniform, but it belongs to the sixth-rank official, and Song Nian will have to wait until the day he wears it, but Wang Qi has already put on this official uniform.

The official uniforms are uniformly issued by the imperial court. There are two pieces in total. One is spring and summer, and the other is autumn and winter. There are corresponding accessories from the neckline to the feet, and it is only issued once. If it is worn out, you can find the official designation Shop for repairs or buy new.

A set of new spring and summer official uniforms also costs about ten taels of silver, while a county magistrate like Song Nian only has a yearly salary of 50 taels.

Therefore, official uniforms are only worn on major festivals, court meetings, sacrifices, and promotions.

At other times, ordinary clothes are still the main style. If you want to show your status, you can hang official seals on the waist, or wear some colors that only officials can wear.

The reason why Song Nian put on the official uniform so solemnly today was for the sake of offering sacrifices, but also to make an official appearance in front of all the subordinates of the county government.

If receiving the letter of appointment and official seal from the imperial court means officially becoming a county magistrate in the legal sense, then choose an auspicious day to worship the Town God's Temple and the Lord of the Land under the witness of the people of the county, and then go to the county government to be greeted by all the officials in the county government , it became a county magistrate in a practical sense.

If there is an analogy, it is probably the relationship between legal marriage and de facto marriage in some modern places where traditional concepts are more important.

Legal marriage is protected by the law and officially recognized, but in the hearts of the uncles and aunts in my hometown, if there is no banquet, it is not considered a marriage.

It would be hooligans to only hold a banquet without receiving a certificate, but if you only obtain a certificate and do not hold a banquet, it is inevitable that your relatives in your hometown will gossip.

Of course, in matters like marriage, as long as you have a strong head, no one's gossip will be useful, but it is different for officials, and you still have to consider the customary thinking of the local people.

Therefore, Song Nian at this time is like a newlywed who has already received a certificate and is about to hold a wedding banquet. She gets up early to dress up, and dare not take an extra bite of food, for fear that she will suddenly want to perform some metabolic activity in the middle of the ceremony.

The rest of the family was similar, just like the natal family who was sending them off for the wedding. They felt a little bit uneasy. Sitting together, their legs couldn't help shaking.

Finally, the morning light was dim, and the road could be seen clearly when walking, so the family took a car together to the Chenghuang Temple in the east of the city.

Song Yun has seen her grandmother pray to gods and worship Buddha in a practical way, and she has also gone to Taoism to watch the rituals of Zhai Zhai, but her family, to be precise, her father as the protagonist to perform sacrificial activities, she is quite looking forward to.

She couldn't help thinking of the solemnity and solemnity she felt when she visited the Temple of Heaven and Earth. She wondered if the Town God's Temple in Qinxi County had the same solemnity?
Of course not.

After getting out of the car, Song Yun only took a look, and then quickly asked and answered.

This Town God's Temple is quite simple. Although it has been slightly modified and decorated for today's sacrificial activities, the simplicity of the building is still clearly visible. There are only three rooms in total, surrounded by a thick wall.

The main room enshrines the City God, dressed in military uniform, with majestic eyes, looking forward, holding a sword in one hand and a seal in the other, and there are probably boys and the like on both sides.

On the left is the small room where the Taoist priests of the Town God's Temple sit, sleep, and live, and on the right is the room for passing guests.

Other than that, there is nothing else to see.

Compared with the various temples that Song Yun has seen in Liyang County, Jinzhou Prefecture, and the capital these years, this is probably the worst condition.

However, Song Yun thought it was a good thing.

Poverty is not terrible, what is terrible is that being poor has no hope, no hope leads to ignorance, and one can only count on the blessings of illusory gods and Buddhas.

If Qinxi County is poor, but the religious places are luxuriously built and the incense is flourishing, then Song Nian's top priority is not revitalizing the economy, but reforming the mind.

When the ceremony was in progress, Song Yun and the others had to withdraw, leaving only Song Nian and a few officials from the county government to worship inside.

Song Yun and the others could only stand outside together with the people who were watching around, and worshiped or rose together with the sound of chanting the ritual steps from the Town God's Temple.

After the sacrifice was over, Song Nian went to the county government office non-stop, and the family members were not allowed to watch, so the old lady Song made the decision, and the whole family went home first. send him off.

This is another very legendary ceremony.

According to legend, before the county magistrate took office, he went to the local Town God's Temple to fast and sleep. If there was a case of injustice in the city, the Town God would inform him in a dream.

There have always been legends among the folks that the city god entrusted a dream and the upright officials settled the case. There is also a story about Bao Gong praying in the Town God's Temple, and then thunder and fire fell from the sky and burned down the wild temple where boys and girls were sacrificed.

Regardless of whether it is true or not, the officials who take office have to show their determination to govern the local area and benefit the people after becoming a parent official. Over time, it has formed a practice.

To Song Yun, this is actually a very convenient reason for the new official to take office and burn three fires. If any illegal activities are detected in advance, and the city god entrusts the dream to perform the operation, it will cause the least backlash from the people.

When Song Nian came back after three days of fasting in the Town God's Temple, and rested for another two days, it was time for the Song family to hold a formal banquet.

For such a banquet, no matter how small or small they are, the people invited must show enough sincerity to participate, otherwise they will not know how to praise themselves, and they will be used by the new county magistrate to make an example of others.

As for the Song family, they also want to take advantage of this banquet to show a friendly and harmonious attitude, in other words, to stand on the moral high ground early.

As the first family in Qinxi County, the Song family made a lot of troubles for this public appearance:

How many tables are arranged, who is sitting at each table, who is next to whom, who is separated from whom, who will invite guests to sit, and who will entertain certain people, what topics need to be started when entertaining...

How many dishes should be served on each table, what kind of dishes are they, whether they are based on the local characteristics of Qinxi County or combined with the usual tastes of the Song family, when will the dishes be served, and how long is the interval...

What activities need to be prepared after the meal, what emergency measures should be prepared in advance when the guests are drunk or unwell or there are old people and children who need to rest, how to deal with troubles...

How to arrange for the guests to go home, which one comes first, and what gifts to prepare...

It's not that I haven't held similar banquets before, but because I'm new here, the guests' positions are unclear, so many things seem to be at a loss, and I need to think again and again before making a decision.

At the same time, several families that are very close to the county government are also thinking about this banquet...

　The festive atmosphere of Qixi Festival is too strong. I visited a certain app today and liked it, and several Qixi animations appeared
　　
　
(End of this chapter)