1979 The Life of Idle Fish

Chapter 276 Ice Cart and Laba Festival
First snow in 1984.

There was no sound for a long time, a little later than in previous years.

Generally, the first snow will fall at the beginning of the solar calendar year, and then the solar calendar year will be spent along the end of the lunar calendar.

Snowflakes will almost fall in December.

Little October has been nagging about this a lot these days, she has put on the big thick skirt, but the snow hasn't fallen yet, so it's just a little bit less interesting.

Fortunately, it's freezing cold, and the ice on the Houhai lake is very thick, and now many people are skating on it.

Taking advantage of nothing else in the morning, Luo Tao took the ice cart that was made last year.The ice cart is a small stool made of wood, with two long wooden sticks added to the bottom, so that it can slide.

Luo Tao is planning to take Little October and Luo Shaoyi's grandfather and grandson to Houhai by bike to play with everyone.

"Dad, hurry up, my nose is freezing." Luo Tao was outside the gate, standing next to the tricycle. When the wind blew in the hall, it was so cool.

"What's the hurry? You're not cold. My precious grandson is cold." Luo Shaoyi came out holding the well-dressed little October.

The whole body was armed, and all that was left of the little guy was his chubby face.

Luo Tao didn't dare to retort, he was suffering from it all his life. Who told him that he wanted to be a filial son, a loving father and a good husband in this life.

Luo Shaoyi hugged Little October and got into the car. He faced backward and let Little October lay in his arms, facing him, for fear that he would catch a cold from the wind on the road.

"Sit down, we're leaving now."

It's cold and the road seems very long.

Luo Tao drove the two of them to the place, and there was already a lot of sweat on his forehead.

There was no time to rest, so he was busy looking for a place to lock the car.

After pushing the tricycle around the lake for a while, I couldn't find a good place to park. It looked like it was not close to where Mr. Luo Shaoyi and his wife got off the car just now.

I saw that there was a small tree nearby that was not very thick. The more I looked at it, the more I thought it was suitable, so I might as well just do it.

The chain of the cart was taken out, and after two detours, the cart came to a solid stop.

Then he went back to find Luo Shaoyi and his father.

"Dad, please rest, I'll come."

Luo Shaoyi had already made preparations. Little October was sitting on the small stool and fastened the "seat belt".

"Okay." He gave Luo Tao the rope for pulling the ice cart.

The power of this ice cart is supported by two sticks on the left and right, just like skis.However, it is impossible for Xiao Shiyue, who is now a few years old, to do such a difficult technical task.

Luo Tao slowly pulled the ice cart across the ice of Houhai.

This can't be fast, because Luo Tao is afraid of falling.

The distance from one side of the lake to the other side of the lake is not far, but Luo Tao has several buttocks on it.

Luo Shaoyi looked so scared that he didn't dare to let him play with Xiao Shi. Fortunately, Luo Shaoyi didn't make a statement, otherwise Luo Tao would have wanted to die.

Little October likes to watch Luo Tao wrestling. When he is happy, this kid still needs to be beaten and applauded.

As time passed, the ice surface of Houhai attracted many people, usually children and young men.

They are also very courageous and can slide very fast without any protection.

Some play by themselves with a "sled", some play with someone like Luo Tao, and there is also a way of playing without friends.

One person sat on the ice cart, and another person pushed it from behind. Then it suddenly hit the ice truck, and it either traveled a long way or fell to a place not far in front of it.

This is a test of one's skills.There were more and more people, and the three generations of the Luo family were enjoying themselves so much that they no longer wanted to continue the fun with them.

It's better to go home and find other interesting things to do on this cold day.

For example, the upcoming Laba Festival.

On January [-]th, the Laba Festival comes as scheduled, which is more punctual than the first snow.

"Every family cooks a lot of Laba porridge, and the minister is sent to Yonghe. Shengci, who is also the current Buddha, comes to cook the second pot."

This poem tells a simple process of how the Qing royal family celebrated the Laba Festival.

This year, the Huguo Temple also held an event to serve Laba porridge. Su Guilan and Sister He went to get two portions early in the morning.

The Laba porridge in this temple is also simple, including rice, lotus seeds, five kernels, etc., which are all ordinary ingredients.

Two bowls of Laba porridge are eaten by several members of the family, just to get some Buddhist energy to ward off bad luck and wish for good luck in the new year.

There is an old saying: "Laba [-] and Laba [-] will freeze to death." The Laba season has come to a time of freezing temperatures.In the past, the royal family used to cut ice from the Three Seas and store it in ice cellars for use in the scorching summer.

This has led to a folk custom of eating Laba ice.To eat Laba Ice, one or two days before Laba Festival, a ceramic basin is filled with cold boiled water and placed in the courtyard to form ice. On the morning of Laba Festival, the whole family eats the ice cubes. The old saying is "Eating Laba Ice Cream" Bing, no stomachache in the coming year."

Just listen to it, don't try it yourself.I don’t know if you’ll have a stomachache in the coming year, but I’m sure you’ll have a fit that night.

On this day, people in the capital have the habit of making Laba garlic and Laba wine.

We just had Laba porridge today, and Su Guilan and Sister He were busy making Laba garlic.

The wine is not soaked. This year, dozens of catties of wine have been soaked, and I haven’t drunk it yet, just to keep it for the New Year to entertain relatives and friends.

There is also a saying for Laba Garlic. "Garlic" is homophonic to "calculate". In the old days, many shops in the capital had a custom of calculating their profits during the twelfth lunar month.

There is also a saying that "after eating Laba Rice, you will take care of your annual affairs." In the old capital, it was called Laba Festival, also known as "Laba Calendar".

The Luo family has been in business for generations, and this Laba garlic will never be forgotten.What's more, Luo Tao's business is so big now.

In addition, in the past, there was an unwritten custom in the old city of Beijing on the day of Laba Festival, which was to hire girls and marry wives.

The common people at that time believed that the twelfth lunar month was a season of great joy and happiness, and it was commonly known as the auspicious lunar month.

The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is the most festive and auspicious day, so many families will choose to hold weddings on this day, or choose this day as an engagement day to show auspiciousness.

Every day on this day, in the streets and alleys of the old capital, there are often wedding ceremony guards playing auspicious music and walking through the crowd.

The children were running and jumping while singing a song: "It's a good time in Laba. How many aunts become sisters-in-law."

This is the old custom of giving a speech on Laba Day in Beijing.

As the times move forward and ideas are reformed, some are lost and some are still passed down.

"Mom, how much garlic are you planning to soak?"

The garlic is grown at home, so I eat it when I don’t want to eat noodles with soybean paste.

"Not much, just use this small jar to soak."

This small jar can hold a lot, weighing a full thirty kilograms. It is a civilian jar made in Mentougou in the late Republic of China.

It has a general belly, a deep helmet, and a sky-blue suit. There are many impurities on the surface. This piece of porcelain has been used as a pot in the Luo family for many years.

After everything is over, you can seal it, cover it, pour a circle of wine on it, then light it, wait until the alcohol burns out, then add water to cover the joint of the lid.

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(End of this chapter)