Annual Ceremony

Chapter 22 Beginning of Summer (Part )

Zhenyi's life in Jilin gradually became orderly. She went to the private school early in the morning and studied at home for an hour in the afternoon. After that, she played with Chen Ningtian and the children in the neighborhood or helped Mother Lu with needlework. In the evening, her grandfather would guide and correct her homework. After dinner, she could sit in the yard to watch the stars.

From a very young age, Zhenyi showed a strong interest in the sky above her head.

The reason why Zhenyi studied mathematics so hard was not only because she liked it, but also because of what her grandfather once said - learning mathematics can trace the truth of all things in the world.

My grandfather also said that if you want to understand this galaxy, you can't do without calculations: "First, study the calendar, take calculations as the basis, and astronomy as the verification - if you are not proficient in calculations, you dare not talk about astronomy."

So Zhenyi kept in mind that astronomy and calendar are closely related to calculation.

As the seasons changed and the stars moved, Zhenyi followed her grandfather to observe the stars. By winter, she had recognized all 28 constellations in the east, west, south, and north.

Orange, who learned skills from a master, also had a lot of experience: There is a moon and many stars in the night sky. The moon is small, but there are many stars. The moon is big, but the stars are small.

This winter was Zhenyi's first winter in Jilin, and also the most lively winter she had ever experienced in her life.

This lively winter day begins when Orange got up early in the morning, stepped out of the door, and suddenly stepped on empty air and disappeared mysteriously.

There is too much snow in Jilin.

The orange tree fell into a snow hole. There was no trace of the cat, only waves of snow mist.

Zhenyi went to save Juzi and also jumped into the snow.

Wang Zhefu cried out, waded into the snow, and pulled the man and the cat out of the snow, one in each hand.

Wang Xichen and Old Lady Dong came over when they heard the noise, and there was constant laughter in the corridor.

Ji Wu and Wang Xichen's servant shoveled the snow in the yard together, and Zhuo's mother cooked a big pot of hot and sticky rice porridge.

In the following days, Zhenyi could no longer go to class, and Wang Zhefu no longer went out to teach. The family stayed at home, sitting around the warm kang, burning the stove, brewing jujube tea, and chatting about family matters.

It was still snowing outside. Zhenyi was curled up on the warm kang reading a book. Occasionally, she felt sleepy due to the warmth. In a half-asleep state, she listened to Juzi's snoring and the voices of her grandparents, her father, and Zhuo's mother. She had a peaceful dream.

When the snow stopped, a path was waded out outside. Zhenyi went out with Orange in her arms to see the rime. Both the man and the cat stared with their eyes wide open in amazement.

The New Year is coming soon.

The sound of firecrackers exploded in the snow. Children, wearing thick and heavy cotton coats and hats, carried paper lanterns, chased each other, played, and sang nursery rhymes.

Orange hated the sound of firecrackers, so he hid in a haystack, but saw the yellow dog also hiding there shivering. Orange wanted to share the treasure land with the yellow dog, but the dog bared its teeth at Orange. Orange raised his paw and punched the dog in the face. The yellow dog ran away crying again and found another haystack to hide in.

A group of children were singing and dancing as they passed by with lanterns. One of the older children said to a little girl, about seven or eight years old, "Rongrong, there's chicken shit under your lantern!"

The child named Rongrong screamed "Ah" and quickly turned the lantern upside down to see that her beloved lantern was immediately burnt with a big hole. Rongrong started crying and the older child laughed.

Orange slapped the older boy's lantern with his paw, causing the kerosene to drift and a hole to be burned in the older boy's lantern. Everyone started laughing at him again.

The older child had a bad temper and couldn't stand being laughed at by others, so he threw the lantern, snorted angrily and ran away.

After seeing the "evil hearts" of people, Orange no longer had time to hide and rushed to find Zhenyi. He had to protect Zhenyi's lantern.

Zhenyi also had a very beautiful lantern. Although it was not as exquisite as those colorful lanterns in Jinling, it was made by Wang Zhefu himself. Thin bamboo strips were used to form a round outline, and a vivid fat cat was painted on it - Orange didn't think that was it, because it wasn't that fat.

On this New Year's Eve, Juzi took on the role of the lamp-guarding priest and followed Zhenyi around until the time of Jiaozi, when Taoer came to call Zhenyi back to eat dumplings.

On the first day of the new year, the Chen family came to invite them, and the Wang family brought prepared New Year gifts to visit.

Zhenyi received New Year's money from the elders of the Chen family. When she came to pay her New Year's greetings to Old Madam Bu, her expression and movements were unusually proper, which made Old Madam Bu couldn't help laughing and she smiled a little.

Zhenyi stayed at Chen's house the whole day. Chen Ningtian was very happy. Today she finally didn't have to wait for Zhenyi to finish her homework before they could play together.

After a lively dinner, the elders sat inside the house and talked, while Chen Ningtian and Zhenyi followed the other older children of the Chen family and went out to walk along the ice, holding lanterns.

There was thick ice on the glacier, and many children were running and playing on it.

Orange stretched out a front paw and stepped on it, and couldn't help but marvel - the ice was harder than a cat's life.

When Zhenyi was doing needlework years ago, she made a small jacket and four cotton shoes for Juzi. The stitching was not very neat, but Juzi liked it very much. The whole set was made of floral fabric, which was warm and festive.

Chen Ningtian pulled Zhenyi to sit on the dog sled. Two big dogs with thick fur and sturdy limbs were running wildly on the ice. Zhenyi was scared, curious and excited. Her heart was beating very fast. She held the thick hemp rope tightly in her hand. After running a circle and getting a little accustomed to it, she dared to laugh out loud with Chen Ningtian.

Some children took small stones and corn cobs and threw them on the ice, trying to see who could make the things they threw slide farther. The stones rubbed against the ice, making a crisp buzzing sound and echoing, and cheers and laughter rang out one after another.

There were also people on the ice hitting a tortoise with a small whip. The whirring tortoise attracted Orange's attention, and Orange turned around and followed the tortoise, staring at it.

Zhenyi met many classmates from the private school. Those Manchu girls were all cheerful and outgoing. They pulled and dragged Zhenyi to slide on the ice. Chen Ningtian "rescued" Zhenyi, and a group of girls ran and chased her playfully.

Zhenyi was looking back while running, and was not paying attention, and was knocked away by a figure who was running towards her and also looking back.

"Deqing!" Chen Ningtian shouted, and everyone quickly stopped joking and ran over to surround him.

The person who bumped into Zhenyi was a young man, about thirteen or fourteen years old. He was wearing a sable hat, brocade clothes, deerskin boots, and a whip wrapped around his waist. Most of his face was covered by the hat, leaving only a pair of dark, bright eyes exposed.

When he reacted, he immediately wanted to help the person he knocked down, but Chen Ningtian got there first. Then he saw a big cat wearing a flowery jacket rushing over and blocking the way.

The boy had no choice but to ask: "Hey! Did you fall anywhere?"

Zhenyi, who was helped up by her classmates including Chen Ningtian, shook her head. Children in this season wear layer upon layer of clothes, and it is normal for them to fall down while playing on the ice. It’s just that the young man ran too fast and had too much strength.

Being stared at by a group of girls with blaming eyes, the boy felt embarrassed and kicked the other fat boy who followed him: "I told you to chase me! You made me bump into someone!"

The fat boy was obviously a little afraid of him, and hurriedly apologized to Zhenyi on his behalf.

At this time, someone came running over and shouted, "Young General, your servants are here to urge you to come!"

"Coming!" the young man responded, turned around and left quickly, and the fat boy hurriedly followed.

"Fortunately, he didn't get hurt from the fall, otherwise I would definitely go to General Aru to complain and ask General Aru to punish him!" Chen Ningtian said dissatisfiedly towards the young man's back, and explained his identity to Zhenyi. His father was a Mongolian general from the Borjigit clan.

Although the Qing court had the power to appoint officials to the Manchu and Mongolian nomads who lived on the border, most of these aristocratic forces had their own tribes and armies, and maintained a relationship of obeying orders but not decrees from the court. The court also tacitly agreed to a certain extent that they would follow in their father's footsteps, so everyone called the young man the Little General.

Zhenyi was not injured, so she did not ask any further questions and soon forgot about the matter.

Classmates invited each other to hang out together. Zhenyi spent the entire New Year's Day until the Lantern Festival, which was something she had never experienced in Jinling. After the fifteenth day, she had to concentrate on preparing for classes.

Playing is fun, studying is peaceful. Zhenyi feels that everywhere is good now, except that she always misses A Niang and Chun Er when she goes to bed at night. Whenever this happens, Zhenyi will hug the soft and furry orange to relieve her longing.

Once, Zhenyi muttered before going to sleep: "It would be great if my mother could come to Jilin..."

However, Juzi felt that there was nothing she could do. If Yang Jinniang really came and saw Zhenyi acting so "crazy", she would probably be so scared that she would lose her soul and cry until her tears dried up. She would even tie Zhenyi up and take her back to Jinling overnight.

In February, a letter came from Jinling, bringing good news.

Wang Jie passed the imperial examination last year and became a scholar at the age of fifteen.

Wang Xichen was overjoyed and excited with tears in his eyes: "Father, Mother... our Wang family has hope again!"

Wang Jie is sixteen this year and can take the autumn examination in the second half of the year. If he passes, his future as a young scholar will be limitless... As Wang Xichen thought about it, two lines of tears flowed out.

When Zhenyi came back from school and heard about this, she was also very happy for her second brother.

Wang Xichen was also preparing to return to Nanjing. He had failed the exams for many years and had lost interest this year, but now his fighting spirit was rekindled - just imagine, if both the uncle and nephew passed the exams at the same time, what a glorious story that would be!

Thinking of this, Wang Xichen's eyes sparkled. He wanted to go back to Jinling to take another exam!
Before leaving, Wang Xichen tried his best to arrange everything for his parents. After thinking about it, there was only one thing that made him uneasy. After he left, apart from his father, only his mother and other female relatives would be left. Ji Wu was busy with farm work and couldn't take care of the family. After all, there was a lack of someone who could go out and do odd jobs...

Wang Xichen thought about it again and again and decided to keep his servant Qisheng.

Mother Zhuo: "How can the Second Master not have a servant boy to serve him? It would be a joke..."

"In previous years, I was very respectable, but what's the point?" Wang Xichen made a decision: "If I can pass the imperial examination, it will be more respectable than any other ceremony."

Wang Xichen pays attention to decency, but he values ​​filial piety more.

Qisheng was left behind, and he was reluctant to leave the Second Master. When he saw him off, he made a great gesture and said, "When the Second Master passes the imperial examination, I will return to Jinling one day and serve the Second Master with writing!"

Wang Xichen nodded and told him to take good care of this place. He then said to his daughter, "Zhen'er, you must also serve your eldest mother well on behalf of your father. This is a top priority, far more important than your studies and play. Do you remember this?"

Wang Xichen originally wanted to take his daughter back to Jinling, but the old couple refused to allow it. Now that he was gone, it would be too desolate for the two old people to be left here alone... Well, let's wait until he finishes the autumn examination and then make plans.

Zhenyi agreed to her father's words, and repeatedly asked her father to remember to write a letter to Jilin when he had time after returning to Jinling to see A'niang. It should be a long letter, saying more about A'niang's recent situation, as well as Mother Zhao, Chun'er, and her elder sister.

Looking at his twelve-year-old daughter, Wang Xichen felt a little warm and reluctant in his heart. He nodded and said "OK", gently touched his daughter's head, then bowed deeply to his parents and left.

Juzi squatted at Zhenyi's feet and watched Wang Xichen get on the ox cart and disappear into the green paths.

Wang Xichen wanted to take an ox cart to the county and rent a horse and carriage instead. It would be easier for him to travel alone and he could return to Nanjing in a month at most.

After her father left, Zhenyi would calculate where her father should be in her spare time.

When the summer solstice came, Zhenyi opened the Yueling Jijie in the morning and guessed and said to Juzi: "Dad should have returned home and seen Mom..."

While Zhenyi was talking, she was sitting on a small stool and Taoer was combing her hair.

After combing her hair, Zhenyi stood up and reached out to touch the orange in the chair beside her: "Orange, I'm going to the private school."

Orange meowed and opened his eyes casually, but suddenly felt a little dazed.

After taking off her heavy cotton clothes and putting on a light dress, Zhenyi seemed to have grown up a lot.

Zhenyi's hair was fine, black, shiny and thick. Half of it was combed up into two buns, and the other half was left down and braided into two braids, tied with a red string and hanging on her shoulders. Under the fine hair, her forehead was full and smooth, her big eyes were black and bright, and when she smiled, her two tiger teeth and dimples were exposed. She looked lively and bright.

The small window was wide open, and the fragrance of flowers and plants wafted in. The girl in Orange Eyes was as fresh and vibrant as the scenery outside the window.

The heaven and earth are at the beginning of summer, and Zhenyi also begins to grow at the beginning of summer.

Orange squinted his eyes with satisfaction. My daughter has grown up. Look, she has taken good care of Zhenyi.

Twelve years old is the time when children grow taller. Recently, Zhuo's mother was asked by the old lady to concentrate on making a few more pairs of new shoes for Zhenyi at home.

Mother Zhuo sat by the window, watching Ji Wu hunching over and barefoot in the yard to pack up farm tools. After thinking about it, she made a pair for Ji Wu as well.

When Ji Wu got the clean new cloth shoes, he was stunned at first, and then he happily bowed to Zhuo's mother repeatedly, and made "ah ah ah" signs.

Mother Zhuo couldn't help but laugh. She didn't quite understand what was going on either. She waved her hand and said to Ji Wu, "It's nothing. Go and get busy!"

Ji Wu nodded, held the new shoes lovingly in his arms, walked a few steps, then turned back and nodded gratefully to Zhuo's mother.

One day, the wife of an official in the county invited Old Lady Dong to come over and talk.

After Tao'er sent Zhenyi to a private school, she accompanied the old lady there.

Over the past year, Old Lady Dong has managed her social relations very well. Within a radius of 70 to 80 miles, everyone who mentions the Wang family praises them.

Tao'er had told Zhenyi early in the morning that she might not be able to pick her up at noon, so she asked Zhenyi to stay at Chen's house for another hour and wait for her to pick her up.

Taoer was unable to pick her up on time, but Juzi was still punctual.

Zhenyi had walked the road home alone many times. Chen Ningtian had caught a cold recently, and Zhenyi did not disturb her friend to recover. She picked up her book box and took the oranges home.

The breeze at the turn of spring and summer was just right. Zhenyi and Juzi were chatting all the way back home. They pushed open the half-open gate, only to find that the house was empty.

Zhenyi went to the kitchen to look for Zhuo's mother. Seeing that the stove was still hot, she subconsciously thought that Zhuo's mother had gone to visit with the bowls.

Zhenyi put down the bookcase and thought, since the meal is ready, why didn't Ji Wu come back to eat? Is he still working in the fields?

Ji Wu was busy weeding at the beginning of summer. He went to the fields early every day without having breakfast and just waited for lunch.

Zhenyi thought about it and went to the field behind the house.

Orange, who had just finished drinking water, followed, but soon discovered something was wrong.

　Good evening, everybody.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)