Era: Craftsmen in the Siheyuan

Chapter 228 Dharma Ship
"In July and a half, there are many ghosts; during the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, there are ghosts everywhere."

Xu Deyong went to his grandfather's grave in the evening to burn paper, and then went to He Lao's grave for Xu Huizhen.

When we came back, it was already dark, and there were still many pedestrians coming in and out of the city.

On these two nights, there were definitely not too many guests in the tavern.

Inside the tavern.

"give it to me."

Xu Deyong smiled and took Xiao Li'er from Xu Huizhen's arms.

Seeing Xu Deyong coming back, Xiao Lier grinned happily and stretched out his two little hands as if he couldn't wait.

Compared to Xu Huizhen, Xu Deyong is better at playing with her.

Seeing her daughter like this, Xu Huizhen felt a little bit snacky and patted her little butt lightly.

He Yumei glanced at him, with a hint of sweetness rising from the corner of her mouth.

The two of them did not sit down, but came to the door of the tavern to chat.

Vendors in ordinary street markets and alleys sell extremely cheap lotus leaf lamps, which are made of natural lotus leaves and lit candles.

It seems that the small family formed by the two is very harmonious.

Send these lanterns into the river and float naturally down the water, forming a line of "water lanterns", rippling with the waves, and the candlelight reflects the stars, making each other interesting.

From the Republic of China to the 50s after the founding of the People's Republic of China, ancestor worship during the Ghost Festival on July was still lively in the capital, with business and government support.

Cai Quanwu grinned and said without replying: "How about two taels?"

In the old capital, there are special shops selling lotus lanterns in Dong'an Market, Longfu Temple, Chongwenmen Flower Market, Tianqiao, Shichahai Lotus Market, etc. The lanterns are made of various flower baskets composed of colorful paper lotus petals or birds and animals such as cranes and herons. , extremely delicate, only for one night's use.

However, it was gradually considered to promote feudal superstition and was gradually marginalized. With the public-private partnership, commercial offices were transformed, and without official support, no one hosted ancestor worship festivals, and they gradually disappeared.

Xiao Li'er kept looking around in his arms, looking at the street, looking at Cai Quanwu, and touching the beard stubble on Xu Deyong's chin with her little hands, which seemed to be fun.

At this time, Cai Quanwu also came in from outside. Judging from his appearance, he must have just returned from visiting the grave.

Xu Deyong smiled and said: "I'm holding the child, maybe next time."

Xu Deyong nodded and said: "Yes, there are not as many people selling lotus lanterns on the street as before!"

"Sure." Cai Quanwu said without any reluctance: "Then let's wait another day."

What's even more unique is that the eggplant with incense sticks is called "eggplant lantern"; the watermelon scoop with wax inside is called "watermelon lantern".

Every night when He Yumei was working, he would come to pick her up, and sometimes he would have a few drinks.

"Brother Quanwu is here to pick up my little wife again." Xu Deyong joked with a smile.

Some children from poor families tie incense heads with large wormwood trees, or use lotus pods with incense heads instead of lotus lanterns.

As we chatted, we talked about the current Hungry Ghost Festival.

Cai Quanwu said with a trace of nostalgia: "This year's Hungry Ghost Festival should not be as lively as before."

Xiao Li'er chuckled and turned around, hiding her butt in Xu Deyong's arms, tilting her head to look at Xu Hui's true happiness.

At that time, Shichahai, Beihai, Jishuitan, Paozi River, the Second Gate outside Dongzhimen, Yuhe, the moat and other places were full of candlelight during the day, and people gathered under the moon, making it very lively.

Cai Quanwu said: "I remember when I was a child, the most exciting thing was the "Burning Dharma Boat". At that time, everyone was rushing to see it."

The purpose of burning the Dharma boat is to save wandering wild ghosts.

It's all done by Mingyi Shop, where craftsmen use sorghum straw to tie up the frames and paste colored paper or white paper for colored paintings.

The bow is a tiger's head, and there are lotus leaves on the blue water waves. Standing on the bow deck was a Pathfinder Ghost, holding a steel fork and leaning forward, as if aiming at the target and about to thrust it in. Behind him stood a pair of black and white Impermanent Ghosts.

Next to the Ghost of Impermanence is the cabin. The roof of the cabin is in the form of a palace with one volume and one hall. The doors and windows can be opened and closed, so you can see the furnishings and people inside. There is a mast hanging above the palace with a flag of "Obon Festival" on the front and "Cihang" on the back. Pudu', there are several sailors holding oars on the decks on both sides, and a helmsman holding the rudder at the stern. Xu Deyong nodded, and some vague pictures flashed through his mind: "There may not be any Dharma-burning boats tomorrow, but there should still be river lanterns in Beihai, Shichahai and other places."

The two of them chatted while enjoying the cool air.

Times are always like this, some things disappear quietly with development.

……

In the evening, the tavern closed early.

When Xu Huizhen returned home, she seemed a little exhausted and sat down on the chair.

Seeing this, Xu Deyong hurriedly came over, touched her forehead and said, "What's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

Xu Huizhen leaned her head against him and said, "It's nothing. It should be a normal reaction of pregnancy. It will be fine after a while."

Xu Deyong stroked her short hair and said, "Then don't be pushy. If you feel uncomfortable, just rest. Just leave everything to me at home."

Hearing this, Xu Huizhen said with warmth in her heart: "It's okay, I'm not that delicate. People still work in the fields even with their big belly. Where am I now? Besides, there's no heavy work for me to do."

Xu Deyong said: "Then you have to pay attention. Just tell me what you want to eat. Whether it's flying in the sky, running on the ground or swimming in the water, I will definitely get it for you."

Xu Huizhen rolled her eyes at him and said, "Then if I want the moon, you can pick it off for me too!"

Xu Deyong said with a playful smile: "If you say you want it, I will take it off for you."

"Screw you, you were coaxing a child." Xu Huizhen patted his thigh.

"ah……."

Xiao Lier crawled to the bedside and looked at them with her big round eyes.

It seems that the two of them were tired of not playing with her or Xu Huizhen was protesting against Xu Deyong.

The two of them smiled. Xu Huizhen seemed to be in better spirits. She looked at Xiao Li'er and said with a smile, "Hey, our Li'er has some objections."

After a brief wash, the two went to bed.

Xiao Li'er crawled around energetically on the bed, grabbing the mosquito net and buckling the mat, full of curiosity about everything.

Seeing the two people coming up, he climbed on them again.

Xu Huizhen's belly didn't seem to have changed much. Seeing Xiao Li'er trying to climb onto Xu Huizhen's belly, she still gave her a hug.

Well, let’s let this little ancestor torment himself.

How do you say that? Adults are children’s best toys!
Until Xiao Li'er got tired from playing, his little body leaned under Xu Deyong's arm and fell asleep.

Xu Deyong immediately moved her to the small wooden bed next to her. The couple whispered and agreed to take her grandma to put out river lanterns tomorrow night, and then fell asleep slowly.

……

The next day.

Xu Deyong got up to exercise and vented his energy on the two stone locks.

Even if he has thousands of troops, he can't rush into that tiny place!
After exercising, he opened the blind box with a thought.

"Snapped."

A box falls into the blind box space.

Xu Deyong took a look and saw that it turned out to be a box of candles. Inside were packages of white candles wrapped in yellow paper. There were ten candles in a package, which meant hundreds of candles.

Power outages are common at this time, and oil lamps and candles are usually kept at home.

This is going to take a long time.

(End of this chapter)