Manor Romance

Chapter 29 Double Rice Festival

Even though his behavior is so different, Yunli is not a difficult person to get along with. People often make jokes about him and tell jokes, but Yunli doesn't care much. It's just that he is too unique. In the eyes of others, he will inevitably be deceived. A veil of mystery.

Due to the poor signal, it was very difficult to send out a message. Yunli couldn't reply to them one by one, so he had to write down his recent situation and best wishes to everyone in the personal description.

After reading it, Yunli felt a little tired. Just as he was about to put down his phone, the screen of the phone suddenly turned on. When he turned it over, a chat box popped up, with a line of words and a picture being loaded.

"When people talk about Cambridge, the first thing that comes to mind is the talented Xu Zhimo, or the university here, but the first thing I think of is you, Yunli."

Yun Li read this line silently, and the photo didn't move when it loaded a third of the way, and it could be vaguely seen that the upper part was a stone arch bridge, crossed on the river bank.In fact, Yunli knew where it was and who the sender was without looking.

Before the photos were fully loaded, Yunli put down his phone, turned off the lights and went to sleep.For some unknown reason, he fell into that strange dream again tonight. He was still in the manor, but he was alone, surrounded by big white birds and spotted deer, as if he was waiting for something, but he couldn't see it. .

For Yunli, Chinese New Year is not much different from usual. He still patrols the Jifang Garden and the fields every day, records the growth of various crops, and compiles them into a scientific and systematic database for future planting plans. for reference.

Every year on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, there will be a special and grand festival here. Different places have different names and celebration methods. In Shanglu Village, people call this festival the Double Rice Festival.

How long this festival has been passed down, not many people remember it. Everyone only knows that after the ancestors opened up terraced fields, there was this Double Rice Festival.Every year on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, young people from every household in the village gather together, bring home-grown rice, or vegetables and fruits, and hold worship activities on the terraced fields on this day, praying for good weather and a good harvest in the coming year.

The word "double" in the Double Rice Festival not only implies a good harvest in the coming year, but also means to be in pairs.In the past year, farmers only had time to spare during the Chinese New Year period, so taking advantage of this rare opportunity, the elders encouraged the young children of the right age to go out and make friends, and find someone early to start a family and start a business. This is also the birth of the Double Rice Festival. one of the reasons.

Generally speaking, only young people living in the village can participate in the sacrificial offerings. Even people in the town are not allowed to participate if they do not have certain origins or kinship.Xu Ping specially invited Yunli to participate in this year's Double Rice Festival in Shanglu Village, saying that he also settled here and made contributions to the village, and the villagers have long regarded him as a part of it.

Although he didn't really believe in offering sacrifices, Yunli was very happy to experience the customs here, so he agreed.Besides, this is also an expression of everyone's recognition of themselves. Participating in more group activities and building a good relationship will be of great benefit to the construction of the manor in the future.

Originally, Yunli wanted to drag Lu Ci along, but after thinking about it, he gave up. Although the villagers' opinion of her has changed somewhat, it is still too early, and he expected that Lu Ci would not agree to go. .

Early in the morning on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the temperature was cold and the mist was drifting. Yunli had already packed a large bag of things and was preparing to attend the New Rice Festival.

"Have you two had breakfast yet?" Yun Li came down from the yard on his bicycle and said to the visitor.

Two young people came by bicycle, a man and a woman, both about seventeen or eighteen years old.The man is tall and thin, with tanned skin and a straight nose, looking very sunny.The young woman was petite and exquisite, with curly hair, fair skin, and two shallow dimples on her cheeks, very cute.

From the appearance, it is impossible to tell that they are two siblings, and they are still a pair of twins. The elder sister is Xu Xiangjiao, and the younger brother is Xu Xiangming. They are a pair of children of Xu Ping.

"I've eaten, there will be a lot of things to do later, I can't do without eating." Xu Xiangming said with a smile.

"What do you have to do, don't you just want to play, don't forget what our dad told you to take good care of Teacher Yun." Seeing his younger brother's foolish appearance, Xu Xiangjiao raised his fist in a gesture, and said old-fashionedly.

"You don't understand what our dad means. On the surface, he wants us to take care of Mr. Yun. After all, it's the first time Mr. Yun participated in the Double Rice Festival, but in fact, Mr. Yun is taking care of us. You know, please God Things like worshiping Buddha still have to be judged by face and education. Our teacher is so handsome and has a high education, so he will definitely be blessed by the gods. We just wait to be blessed." Xu Xiangming analyzed seriously.

"Don't you dare to talk about it in front of our dad, let's see if he doesn't tear your mouth off, and be more sincere when you pay your respects, and don't smile like a hippie." Xu Xiangjiao warned helplessly.

The Xu family's two siblings have such personalities, the elder sister is steady and decent, and the younger brother is quick-witted and active, so Yun Li is not surprised.He has been to Xu Ping's house many times, and has had dinner with their family several times, so he is no stranger to the siblings.Xu Ping was very thoughtful and knew that Yunli was very interested in these custom activities, so he asked his own children to guide Yunli and learn more about the customs of the village.

Seeing the siblings bicker, Yun Li recalled that he and Bai He were also like this back then. After a while, he smoothed things over and said, "Would you like to say hello to your uncle?"

"I went in when I came here. He was still sleeping, so I didn't wake him up." Xu Xiangjiao glared at his younger brother before seriously explaining to Yunli.

"Then let's go, you guys lead the way." Yun Li suggested.

"Okay, give me the package, I still have a lot of space here." Xu Xiangjiao responded, took the package behind Yunli's bicycle, put it behind him, and then motioned for Xu Xiangming to drive, and the three left Xiaolushan , rushed towards the direction of the village.

The terraced fields in Shanglu Village are all concentrated on the hills on the west side of the village. The mountains here are gentle and the soil is mostly red mudstone. The terraced fields are opened up one by one because of the mountain.

The irrigation of the terraced fields adopts a double-track strategy. Many depressions on the top are dug with deep water pits, which can store part of the water during the rainy season.At the bottom, there is also a water supply system that goes up layer by layer. There are water tanks on each floor. When the rainfall is insufficient, farmers can use water pumps to supply the river water from the bottom layer upwards.

There are two roads into the terraced fields, one is at the entrance of the village, and there is a very narrow pedestrian path with a width of less than one meter, which is impassable for cars.In the middle of the village, there is a lime road that crosses the farmland in the west of the village to the terraced fields. This road is also connected to the lime road by the river. Farmers mainly pass through here when they enter and exit the farmland terraces.

When the three of Yunli and the others came to the foot of the terraced fields, there were already many motorcycles and bicycles parked here, and many people were carrying big and small bags, chatting and laughing while walking up the terraced road.

Now at a glance, most of the terraced fields are bare, without the usual oil painting tone, and there is a small winding stairway dug at the foot of the mountain, which can lead directly to the top area.

"We have to hurry up. After worshiping in our own fields, we all have to gather together for group activities. We also eat lunch in the terraced fields." After parking the car, Xu Xiangjiao came over and explained to Yunli.

"Well, let's go up too." Yun Li asked for the package left at Xu Xiangjiao's place, and Xu Xiangming also carried the things he had brought with him, and the three of them stepped into the steps and walked up the terraced fields.

In the first half of the Double Rice Festival, everyone scattered to their own terraced fields to worship the mountain god.Yunli didn't have any terraced fields, so he had to follow the Xu family siblings to watch them in their terraced fields.

The terraced fields of their family are in the middle of the hill, close to Banlu Mountain. In fact, the hills on the side of the terraced fields are an extension of Banlu Mountain. The terrain is relatively flat and can contain water and soil well.

Rice is mainly grown in the terraced fields, and people in this area have always liked to grow that kind of glutinous rice. This kind of rice contains much more starch than ordinary rice and has a sticky taste. It can be used as a staple food or as a Make a variety of pastry snacks.The yield of this kind of rice is not high, and the benefits are average, but people here still insist on growing it, and use it as a staple food. They believe that eating this kind of waxy rice will give them more energy.

Most of Xu Ping's terraced fields are also used to grow rice. After the harvest, only some dry rice roots are left in the terraced fields, and weeds are hard to see.Each terraced field is reclaimed according to the mountain. The size and shape are different. Most of them are long strips.

Every terraced field is closely connected, and every inch of land is used as much as possible. This is also the best embodiment of the farming wisdom of the people here for thousands of years.

After arriving at their own terraced fields, the Xu family sisters and brothers immediately started the worship ceremony. In fact, it was nothing special. They just placed offerings such as tea, wine, fruits or pastries on the terraced fields, lit three sticks of incense, worshiped devoutly, and prayed silently for auspiciousness. If so, then a handful of new rice will be taken and thrown into the field, and the ceremony will be considered complete.

However, every household in the village has several terraced fields, and it is very cumbersome to worship in each of the four directions of each terraced field.The sisters and brothers of the Xu family basically had their elder sister Xu Xiangjiao come to light incense and pray for blessings, and Xu Xiangming helped carry things, but judging from their expressions, they all attached great importance to this matter, even Xu Xiangming, who has always been playful and active, was also very serious I am helping to place offerings, kneel down and pray for blessings.

Although Yunli doesn't believe in these customs, he doesn't think they are feudal superstitions or bad habits. Everyone's living environment is different, and the beliefs formed are naturally different. There is no distinction between high and low, high or low, everyone is Work hard towards a better life.

(End of this chapter)