introduce
There is a saying: "A hundred miles of different winds, a hundred miles of different customs." The custom of my husband's rural hometown is that Tomb-Sweeping Day can't go to the grave. So on the second day of our small holiday, we went to a sunny hillside near the village to pay homage to our father-in-law.
The word "Taiyuan County" is almost engraved on the tablet of every tomb in Yamanoda in this area. The owner of the village is surnamed Wang, and there is a "Sanhuaitang" in the village.
Lanxi, Zhejiang and Taiyuan, Shanxi, are separated by clouds and moons for 3,000 miles, and have a long history.
According to Baidu data, Taiyuan County was first located in Wang Xiang, Qinzhuang for three years (247 BC) and Jinyang (east bank of Fenshui, southwest of Taiyuan). The royal family in Taiyuan was very prominent in the Wei, Jin and Tang Dynasties, and it was tied with Longxi Li, Zhaojun Li, Qinghe Cui Shi, Boling Cui Shi, Fanyang Lushi and Xingyang Zheng for five surnames and seven cases. Sanhuai Hall, whose real name is Sanhuai Wangshi Hall, is a branch of Wangshi in Taiyuan. Now it is the largest branch of the Wang family, famous all over the world and thriving.
Eight years ago in the autumn, my father-in-law's name was engraved on the tombstone of Taiyuan County, at the age of 92. Growing up in the north, I experienced the funeral for the first time in the countryside of Jiangnan. During the Qingming period, it was arranged in writing to express nostalgia and provide dinner for readers interested in folk customs.
(Part I)
The night was deep and it was raining. Cars on the national highway come and go, bright lights sweep each other again and again, and there is a fog in front of us. After more than an hour, the car lights lit up the road in Gaohei Village, and candlelight flashed in my brother's garage.
Sitting on the bed, my husband burst into tears. The family said that they kept the old man waiting, but the old man had driven the crane to the west an hour ago.
I can't understand what my mother-in-law and sisters are saying when they watch the vigil. I silently continued to burn paper and tin foil in the brazier. 10 days ago, the old man with crossed legs, elegant fingers and deep eyes is now placed on the coffin cover in the corner of the garage like a wrapped zongzi, wrapped in a navy quilt and wearing a white belt, with a blue hat and a yellow paper on his head and face.
My husband led me through the dark corridor to the room on the third floor. He must accompany me to wash and sleep before going downstairs. He's worried that I'm scared. Afraid of what? I couldn't feel the smell of death. I said, "I'm sorry, I tried my best." 90' s is a funeral. He loves you the most, so he doesn't want you to send him. " In the dark, my husband sighed softly: "Alas, it's too late to fly."
Trouble sleeping, I went downstairs again and was carried back by my husband. He hugged me and patted me on the back, and his voice gently put me to sleep. I've been driving for so many years, and tonight is the most difficult and stressful. I haven't slept for almost a night.
During the day, the old man still lies on the coffin lid in the corner. The sad fat woman was invited to sit on a small bench and fold gold ingots. When someone came to pay homage to her, she just babbled and sang. I don't know what she was singing, but she heard "Ya Ya". Is it "Grandpa"? A thin old man stuffed a black umbrella and led us to the village intersection to set off firecrackers, which is said to be a "funeral service".
In the afternoon, I took people to the county to buy food, and my husband and brother went to the town to order flower rings. The wreaths in the shop are all ready-made, and can be put away at will, like a long-handled umbrella. Men look at the cemetery, order tombstones, women fold gold ingots, and pull white cloth as mourning belts. Tie a white cloth belt around your wrist and a thin hemp rope around your neck. My mother-in-law found me a white skirt that had been made early. Sisters go to town to buy Beijing black cloth shoes.
The feng shui master is waiting for dinner. He is a handsome young man with a moustache. He said that the craft is ancestral, and it is the only one in the county who dares to start business. The title of the business card is "Forecaster", which includes researchers from various international organizations, senior feng shui planners, authoritative experts and so on. Services range from factory and mine planning to baby naming. He said that he studied metaphysics. Seeing him carrying a broken schoolbag and riding a loud broken motorcycle, I always feel a little empty.
The old man in the village "turned his back" (died) and stopped at the "Sanhuaitang" near the pond in the village, which was called "Shangting". A thick wooden coffin was waiting in the hall. In the evening, the family members waited in the ancestral hall. Several powerful villagers carried the old man on the coffin into the mourning hall with thick hemp rope, put it in the coffin and covered it. The moment the old man was "picked" into the hall, my tears burst out. The crowd dispersed, the door creaked shut, leaving only a huge coffin in the silent hall. No one is waiting tonight.
As night falls, smoke rises, "autumn wind blows dark rain." Like a cat, I slipped out of the house quietly, wandering on the drizzly village road, walking in the "Sanhuaitang" with closed wooden doors in BBK, imagining the old man lying in the coffin. Tomorrow, the old man's body will be reduced to ashes. At this moment, only the ancestors' souls in the ancestral hall will protect him.
When I got home, I was soaked to the skin. Men are still drinking, which is a good deal for cremation and funeral. That night, on the bed, I slept with three relatives and six relatives. (To be continued)