Annual Ceremony

Chapter 19 Grain Rain (Part )

After Wang Zhefu went to Jilin to guard the border, he would send one or two letters back to his home in Nanjing every year.

From Wang Zhefu's past letters, we know that he was an old friend of Chen Tu, the official in charge of local border defense affairs. In addition, because the Jilin government has always been kind to exiled Jiangnan scholars, Wang Zhefu, who has a good reputation, was also well taken care of. Although he had to serve in the army, his basic living was still guaranteed.

Wang Zhefu mentioned Chen Tu's care for him many times in his letters.

This time, the letter came from Chen Tu.

Wang Xichen saw the most eye-catching four words in the letter at a glance - Lord Wang is seriously ill.

Wang Xichen was extremely worried, and looked at the person sitting at the head of the hall with a questioning look: "Mother..."

The gray-haired old lady Dong said firmly, "After the New Year, we will leave for Jilin."

Wang Xichen held back his tears and replied “yes”.

It was the twelfth lunar month, and the weather was cold and the roads were frozen, making it difficult to travel. There was a lot to prepare for such a long journey, and there were only ten days left before the New Year.

Now that the matter has been settled, the next step is to decide who will go.

There was no need to consider Wang Xipu. Chen Tu's letter only said that he was "seriously ill", so there might be a turn for the better. Wang Xipu naturally could not leave his post rashly.

Wang Xirui is the eldest son in the family, but he has difficulty walking and has to take care of private school affairs. In comparison, Wang Xichen thinks he is the one with the least time, so he took the initiative to take on this matter.

Wang Yuan wanted to go with his second uncle, but Mrs. Dong looked at the eldest grandson who was already 20 years old and said, "You should stay at home. Your father is not in good health, and your third uncle is working outside. After your second uncle leaves, you should take care of the family affairs."

Looking into his grandmother's old eyes and thinking of his grandfather who was seriously ill and whose life or death was unknown, Wang Yuan was stunned for a moment and then responded seriously, which was rare for him.

Old Madam Dong looked at her second grandson again and said, "Jie'er should stay here too and prepare for this year's college entrance examination. If it really comes to that, it won't be too late for you youngsters to carry the coffin."

Wang Jie responded respectfully.

Wang Xirui hesitated and said, "But if it's just my second brother, I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to handle it..."

Jilin is a strange place thousands of miles away, and there must be many people and things that need to be taken care of.

Mrs. Dong: "I'll go with you."

The Wang brothers were both shocked: "Mother!"

"Your body..."

"I'm still very healthy." Mrs. Dong interrupted her son and said, "When it comes to socializing, you may not be as good as an old woman like me."

The old lady was a man of her word. She ignored her sons' reactions and looked at her little granddaughter who was standing obediently beside her: "Let Deqing go with me."

Wang Xichen was even more stunned: "Mother, this..."

"Deqing is her grandfather's favorite child...let her go and take a look."

Wang Xichen attached great importance to filial piety, and after hearing his mother say this, he found it difficult to refute.

Zhenyi couldn't believe it: "Grandmother, can Zhenyi really go?"

Mrs. Dong: "But you don't want to?"

Zhenyi hurriedly said, "No, Zhenyi wants to go!"

Zhenyi dreamed of going to Jilin to find her grandfather, let alone hearing that her grandfather was seriously ill, which made her even more worried and anxious.

But in Zhenyi's current understanding, going out to study and work is usually only for men in the family, and she has no chance. If she brings it up, she will definitely be blamed. Zhenyi is not afraid of being blamed, but she doesn't want to cause unnecessary trouble and unhappiness to the family at this time, so she has been very quiet recently.

At this moment, Zhenyi was suddenly asked by her grandmother to accompany her. She felt as if she was in a dream. Thinking that she would soon see her grandfather, Zhenyi's eyes were filled with tears, but she tried to restrain herself from letting them fall.

Yang Jinniang was very surprised when she learned that her daughter was going to Jilin.

But she, like her husband, was a person who valued filial piety and obeyed her mother-in-law's orders. Therefore, although Yang Jinniang did not agree, she did not dare to object. She could only give her daughter many instructions, repeatedly mentioning the two most important things: "You must serve your mother well, and you must not behave inappropriately when you are outside, and you are not allowed to make decisions on your own..."

Zhenyi agreed.

Yang Jinniang was still worried and reminded Chun'er every day.

In addition, Yang Jinniang was not comfortable handing the father and daughter's luggage to the servants, and had to handle it all personally.

Yang Jinniang had thought it through very carefully. It was still cold when she set off in the first month of the year, and her return date was uncertain, so she had to prepare clothes for all four seasons. It was inconvenient to make clothes outside, and they might not fit her well, and it would also be very expensive... Zhenyi was growing taller, so last year's clothes would inevitably be shorter, so all winter clothes that could be increased in size would have to be increased by an inch, and she would have to rush to make a few more summer clothes.

Yang Jinniang took Zhao Mama and Chun'er to get busy. In addition, the New Year was just around the corner, and by the beginning of spring, Zhenyi's birthday was forgotten about.

The house was in a mess and Zhenyi never mentioned it, but when she got up early that morning, she found three sparrows neatly placed on the table.

But Juzi didn't forget. After this birthday, Zhenyi would be eleven years old.

As for why there are three this year, it’s because the oranges include Chun’er’s share - last year when Chun’er roasted the sparrows, the fragrance was so delicious that I could only drool.

Zhenyi walked over and asked Orange, who was squatting on the table, in surprise how it remembered it.

Orange looked vaguely proud.

Juzi couldn't count long days, but he had a trick - Zhenyi's birthday was the beginning of spring, and every year on the day before the beginning of spring, a clay ox would be prepared in front of the Jinling government office for beating the spring ox. Juzi kept in mind that whenever the clay ox was about to be beaten, it was Zhenyi's birthday.

A few days after the beginning of spring, the New Year arrives.

This New Year's Day, the Wang family fried New Year's goods, offered sacrifices to gods, prepared incense and candles, and strung money to ward off evil spirits... Their life was very routine and no one was in the mood to celebrate.

After the third year of junior high school, Wang Xichen also began to pack up his bookcase. For a scholar, especially a scholar, one cannot go on a long journey without books.

When Zhenyi saw this, she also went back to the room, spread out a bag, put the several mathematics books given by Zhan Mei into it, and took out the book "Collected Explanations of the 72 Seasonal Changes in the Lunar Calendar". When she was about to turn around and put it in, she saw Juzi squatting upright in her bag.

Zhenyi blinked: "Juzi, do you want to go to Jilin too?"

"Meow."

Zhenyi understood: "Wait, I will go and discuss it with my father!"

Zhenyi put down the book and ran out.

About a quarter of an hour later, Zhenyi came back dejected and said to Juzi apologetically, "My father didn't agree."

Orange, who was already lying in the bundle, was slowly wagging his tail without caring.

It's a cat.

Does a cat need permission to go out? I have never heard of such a reversal of the principles. Orange has made a decision - Little Jilin, is it difficult to follow?
...It is indeed difficult.

After running, Orange had to admit this fact.

Zhenyi set off with her family on the seventh day of the first lunar month.

Chun'er did not go with them. Yang Jinniang might have been tired recently, and she was worried, so she had a poor appetite and her old illness recurred. Zhenyi felt that Mother Zhao was old and might not be able to handle the situation alone, so she took the initiative to suggest that Chun'er stay and take care of her mother.

Yang Jinniang was worried, so Zhenyi said that she was already eleven years old and could take care of herself. Besides, her grandmother had the always capable Zhuo Mama by her side, so if there was something she couldn't do, she would ask Zhuo Mama for advice.

Wang Zhefu was an honest official. The Wang family's situation in the past two years had changed, and many servants had been dismissed. This time, everything was kept simple. After Chun'er was left behind, only three servants were brought with them. There was a Zhuo Mama and a maid of fifteen or sixteen years old beside the old lady, and Wang Xichen brought a little servant boy.

The horses and carriages were rented, and the driver was also from the horse trading company. The carriage was not driven very fast, traveling at most a hundred miles a day, and had to stop to rest every twenty or thirty miles. If it drove faster, it would hurt the horses, and that would be a different price.

Even so, Orange ran all the way out of Jinling City and almost lost him several times.

After leaving the city, the carriage got on the official road and went even faster. Orange had no choice but to run as fast as he could, making his four legs appear to be moving like an illusion, but it still felt not enough - dead legs, go faster!

Although the carriage was no longer visible, fortunately the official road was straight and we could just run along it.

Twenty miles out of the city, the carriage stopped to drink water and rest. Zhenyi sat in the carriage, holding her bag in a daze. This was her first time leaving Jinling. As soon as she left the city, she began to miss home, her mother, Chun'er, Mother Zhao, and Juzi.

Zhenyi buried her face in the bundle in her arms, on which were still a few strands of orange-white cat hair.

I don't know whether half an hour had passed or not, the driver called everyone to continue on their journey.

Mother Zhuo helped the old lady back into the carriage, and Zhenyi also reached out to help her grandmother. After her grandmother sat down, Zhenyi raised her hand to close the two rear doors of the carriage. When she was halfway through, she suddenly saw a ball of orange and white running towards them.

While Zhenyi was stunned, the carriage had already started moving.

"Please wait a moment!" Zhenyi shouted hurriedly, clinging to the car door and shouting at the shadow: "Orange? Orange!"

Orange used up his last bit of strength to try to catch up, stretched out his front paws, and jumped into the air toward the car.

Zhenyi caught it and hugged it tightly, extremely surprised: "Juzi! Why did you follow me?"

The carriage continued to move forward, and Zhenyi asked her grandmother for advice: "Grandmother, can I take the oranges with me?"

"Mother, Orange will be very obedient!"

"Oranges can hunt! Catch lots of birds!"

"Oranges can catch fish! Lots of fish!"

"Juzi can also give people massages! She is very good at it!" Zhenyi said, urging Juzi: "Juzi, give Grandmother a massage too!"

The orange, so tired that its hair was dirty and it felt like it had lost all desire to live, closed its eyes to escape: "..." Otherwise, it should just go back.

Old Mrs. Dong laughed and nodded, saying, "If you catch up, take it with you. This cat is really smart."

Zhuo's mother smiled and said, "Like a person, like a cat..."

Orange was allowed to catch up, and Zhenyi no longer had time to miss home. She wet a handkerchief with water and wiped Orange's paws, only to find that the four paws were not only dirty, but the pads were also worn out.

Zhenyi felt very distressed and blew on Orange again and again.

The spring breeze blew again and again, giving the earth and mountains a new layer of green.

The further north you go, the more different the scenery becomes. Zhenyi leans on the car window to look out, her eyes filled with the new and wonderful scenery, and she often exclaims in amazement.

Orange, who considered himself knowledgeable, remained calm and quietly watched Zhenyi, who was seeing the world for the first time. One day, when they stopped to rest, they saw that the farmlands on both sides of the road outside the car were planted with winter wheat.

Orange's eyes widened into balls.

——The people here are so nice! They actually planted so much cat grass for the cats!
The orange jumped into the wheat field and rolled around happily.

After walking for a few days, they passed a peony garden. Wang Xichen stood with his hands behind his back, admiring the peonies that were about to bloom. He said to his daughter, "Look at the peonies three days after the Grain Rain... Peonies are also known as Grain Rain Flowers. When peonies are about to bloom, Grain Rain is coming."

After a rain, Grain Rain arrived, and the peony flowers really abided by the agreement with the heaven and earth and bloomed after the rain.

Zhenyi thought quietly, and couldn't help but feel that all things in the world were worthy of praise, because they were all honest and kept their promises, so there was order between heaven and earth - then, who created such an order?
My mother always said that it was the gods who controlled everything.

So, has anyone seen a fairy?

My mother once whispered that His Majesty the Emperor had seen the gods - the emperor was the Son of Heaven, the child of God, chosen by the gods to rule the world, so disobedience was a great sin and must not be offended.

Just as Zhenyi was about to say something else, A'niang covered her mouth and told her seriously that she could not talk nonsense or she would be beheaded.

On this day, Mother Zhuo picked several handfuls of fresh and tender toon shoots on the road. When she arrived at the inn where she was staying, she borrowed the fire from the kitchen and cooked two plates of scrambled eggs with toon shoots.

Orange lay at Zhenyi's feet and listened to health blogger Wang Xichen say: "The Grain Rain season is the right time to eat Chinese toon... Chinese toon has the effect of strengthening the spleen and regulating qi."

Orange had no intention of tasting it, as he could not accept the taste of Chinese toon. And for cats, disliked smells often mean they should avoid the food. Orange also wanted to live a long and healthy life with Zhenyi.

After dinner, it started to rain again. Zhenyi stood on tiptoe and looked through the window into the backyard. She saw the innkeeper and two waiters holding porcelain jars in the yard to collect rain water.

Zhenyi remembered that her father had said that the rainwater on the day of Grain Rain could be used to make tea, which was called Grain Rain Tea, and it could brighten the eyes, clear the orifices and remove evil spirits.

After the continuous rain, when the sky cleared up, Zhenyi smelled a hint of the sun drying everything in the air. After Grain Rain, the sun was closer and summer was about to come.

We finally arrived in Jilin.

On the day of arrival, the Chen family personally came to greet him. The one who came was Chen Tu's son, who was also a scholar. He bowed very politely, feeling a little ashamed and not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "My father made too much of a fuss. In the early winter of last year, the prince only coughed for a few days... My father hurriedly wrote a letter, and now the old lady and my brother have come all the way here in vain!"

Old Madam Dong heaved a sigh of relief and said, "The cough is in the lungs, which is a life-threatening disease. It is all thanks to Master Chen's care and the doctor and medicine he got... Otherwise, how could a criminal in exile get better so quickly?"

Wang Xichen was also very happy and thanked and greeted Chen Tu's son repeatedly.

Zhenyi also understood - grandfather is fine!

Zhenyi was extremely happy, but she followed her mother's instructions to keep quiet, so she just reached out to pull her grandmother's clothes. She really couldn't wait to see her grandfather.

Juzi also stretched out his claws to pull the corner of Zhenyi's clothes. It also wanted to see Old Wang as soon as possible!
　Grain Rain has ended, and the six solar terms of spring have all ended, and the chapter on summer solar terms has begun. This article is 1/4 complete.

　　(Note: From the records about Wang Zhefu, it can be inferred that Zhenyi went to Jilin at the age of 11, not to attend a funeral, but to visit a relative. Wang Zhefu was still alive that year. And if Wang Zhefu had died that year, and he was exiled when Zhenyi was six or seven years old, then he had no chance to really teach Zhenyi effectively. However, the collection of essays left by Zhenyi also repeatedly mentioned that she was taught a lot by her grandfather and was deeply influenced by him.

　　So in my personal opinion, the statement circulating on the Internet that "Zhenyi went to Jilin at the age of 11 to attend her grandfather's funeral" is wrong and lacks verification.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)