After dinner in the evening, Aunt Liao said she was going to a show tomorrow and asked Xiang Jin if her family had prepared all the money for the fragrant wax paper. If not, she would bring it back to them then.
Xiang Jin was a little confused. She didn't understand why Aunt Liao, who was so good, suddenly mentioned the money to buy scented wax paper?
Is it some family in Wan Tou who wants to celebrate their anniversary?
Just as she was about to ask, her grandmother suddenly put down her bowls and chopsticks and said with a sudden look on her face:
"Yeah, the day after tomorrow is July and a half. Oh, look at my memory, how could I forget this matter?
When you two go back, remind your wives and ask them to go to the street to buy some scented wax paper and bring back money tomorrow."
When she said the last words, she looked at Xiang Jin's two uncles.
The two people hurriedly responded with "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa".
Only then did Xiang Jin realize that they were talking about the Hungry Ghost Festival. However, there was a leap month this year and the Hungry Ghost Festival came a little late, so she didn't pay much attention to it.
Then she heard her mother say, "If you want it, Sister Liao, bring some back for me tomorrow."
Aunt Liao asked her how much she wanted to bring. Yang Juyun said how much scented wax and how much white paper she would bring. Then she asked Xiang Jin to take the time to write out the blessing paper.
Xiang Jin was immediately confused.
Blessing paper?
What is a blessing paper?
She's never seen it before, okay?
In her previous life, she had seen people burning paper money to their families and relatives during July and a half, and their homes were also burned.
Every year, the paper money is burned by the river, but the paper money is the finished paper money that the family buys directly from the shops in the city that specialize in making ghost utensils.
As for writing blessing papers, it seems that there is no such custom in their city.
Aunt Liao said, "Yes, yes, help me write it when the time comes. In previous years, I would go directly to your Grandpa Zeng to help him write it. This year, I won't bother him. Girl Jin,
Please write it for me."
Xiang Jin felt like crying, no, she didn't know how to write it?
But no one in the family noticed the slight expression on her face. Xiang Jin finally had to say, "Auntie, who are you going to write about then?"
She knows this, because when everyone burns paper money for someone, they will call that person's name and ask him or her to come and spend it. This is mostly the same.
Aunt Liao said, "I'll tell you when the time comes. You'll know after you make a list."
Xiang Jin nodded, then looked at her mother, "Mom, where are we?"
Her mother said, "We are still burning it as usual. We will burn it for the same people we usually burn it for this year."
Xiang Jin was very depressed. She just didn't know who to burn it to.
So she said, "You'd better tell me, I've forgotten some people's names."
Yang Juyun said angrily, "You kid, you have such a bad memory, how could your ancestors forget it?"
Xiang Jin thought to himself: They have all severed ties with the old Xiang family, so what kind of ancestors do they have?
But she couldn't say this in front of everyone, so she pretended to be impatient and said, "Oh, why don't you tell me then?"
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you when the time comes. Why are you kid so hot-tempered today?"
Xiang Jin pretended not to pay attention to what she just said, but added, "Tell me the names of grandma and her relatives too?"
"Okay, okay, I understand, I understand, let's eat quickly?"
After the topic was settled, everyone started to eat again.
The next day, Aunt Liao came back from the show. Xiang Jin saw her taking out some incense sticks, some wax sticks, and some white paper from her basket. Then she mixed a handful of incense sticks with the wax,
There was also a piece of white paper and he handed it to her, "Girl Jin, your mother asked me to bring this back, should I give it to you now?"
"Oh," Xiang Jin reached out and took it, but in his heart he was thinking: My dear, do you want to cut it yourself?
Then she heard Aunt Liao say again, "Why don't you hand me that piece of paper, and when I cut it in the afternoon, I'll cut it out for you together. This will save your children's hands from having to be cut off?"
Xiang Jin handed the knife and paper back to her without hesitation, "Then I'm sorry, Auntie, I really didn't cut this well."
Aunt Liao said, "Hey, it's not troublesome. It's just a matter of convenience. Why don't I have to trouble you to write blessing papers for me?"
The smile on Xiang Jin's lips suddenly froze. Is she trying to catch a duck?
Oh, forget it, then she will go to Grandpa Zeng to get some advice. I think for someone as smart as her, it shouldn't be difficult.
Thinking this way, she felt relieved!
After Aunt Liao cut the paper money, she stamped it with real money, the kind of hundred and fifty yuan notes, and then started wrapping the blessing paper.
The so-called blessing paper is to use the same cut square white paper to divide the rubbing paper into envelopes. The thickness is the same as the thickness of a hundred genuine rolls stacked up.
After meeting Xiang Jin, she also learned to do it together. After all, when she lives in Huangye Bay, she may often do such hands-on work, so it is better to learn something.
Their family packed a sieve, and Aunt Liao's family also packed a sieve. They were piled into a thick pile, at least thirty or forty centimeters high.
Seeing so many envelopes of paper money, Xiang Jin wailed in her heart. She didn't know when she would have to finish writing tomorrow?
So after breakfast the next day, Xiang Jin took the list that their family and Aunt Liao's family had made before and went to Mr. Zeng for advice.
When she went there, Mr. Zeng and Yan Chen were writing blessing papers.
Mr. Zeng was writing about his own family, while Yan Chen was writing for people in Wantou. There was a high pile in front of both of them.
"Girl Jin, what's the matter with?" Mr. Zeng greeted her when he saw her coming.
"Our family also writes blessing papers, but I have never done so before, so I came to you to ask for advice."
Mr. Zeng immediately became interested, then put down his pen and looked at her with a smile, "You want to learn too?"
Xiang Jin nodded slightly, "Well, it wouldn't hurt to know more about these traditional cultures."
Mr. Zeng nodded approvingly, "It's good for you to understand these traditional local cultures. Don't let us older generations leave by then and you don't know anything. That would be bad!"
Then Mr. Zeng explained to her how to write this blessing paper, and then Xiang Jin listened carefully and took notes on the paper from time to time.
She didn't expect that the writing method of a simple blessing paper is quite particular. People with different kinship relationships have different writing methods. People of different generations also have different writing methods. The relationship between relatives and friends between the father's family and mother's family has different writing methods.
.
Xiang Jin listened there for a long time, then picked up the blessing papers that Mr. Zeng and Yan Chen had written before, looked at them carefully, and then asked a few targeted questions, and finally understood the blessing paper thoroughly.
How to write on paper.
Yan Chen asked, "How many do you have? If there are many, you can bring some over and I will write them for you."
Xiang Jin wanted to say yes, but when she saw two more people coming to them with sieves to write blessing papers at the end of the bay, she immediately shook her head, "No, we don't have many at home, I can do it myself."
Yan Chen nodded and said nothing more, and Xiang Jin went back.
It took her more than two hours to finish writing the two sieves of blessing papers.
I originally planned to take Xiang Lan to the town to buy clothes the next day, but the older generation in Baytou said that around July and a half, it is best for children not to walk around to avoid touching those dirty things, so
Even Xiang Jin was ordered to stay at home.
On the half day of July, almost no one in Wantou went out to work. Everyone was preparing for the evening sacrificial activities.
Such as scented wax paper money, and meals used to sacrifice relatives and friends.
Xiang Jin's family also started preparing it early. In addition to some necessary stir-fry dishes, there was also a bowl of rice with soup.
Although she didn't know why it had to be rice with soup instead of dry rice, the adults told her to prepare it that way, so she had no choice but to prepare it that way.
When it got dark, everyone came out with money and food in scented wax paper. Everyone lined up on the roadside to burn it. Some burned loose money, and some burned blessing paper.
Looking at the tall stack of blessing papers, Xiang Jin said with some worry, "Is this burned thoroughly? I don't think it's convenient to burn loose money."
Aunt Liao said, "Burn here for a while, and then poke it twice with a stick and it will be completely burned. People below are taking the loose money. They don't know which one is which. When the time comes, because
What should I do if a fight breaks out over money grabbing?
It’s safer to wrap them in this blessing paper, with the name of each one written on it, so everyone can collect them separately so there won’t be any confusion.”
Xiang Jin was a bit dumbfounded and made up this idea for them.
However, Xiang Jin saw Aunt Liao and her mother taking some loose money to burn there, and the name they were mumbling was Xu Heng.
Her heart suddenly moved, and then she squatted down and took a stack of loose money and started burning it, but the name she silently recited in her heart was Yang Juyun's real daughter "Xiang Jin". She hoped that she could live a better life there, and then in the next life
When you are reincarnated, you can be placed in a good family.