Reborn in the 1980s: Nine Stunning Beauties Get Pregnant Before Marriage

A tall altar was erected on the reservoir dam. The altar was made of pine and cypress branches, covered with red cloth, and filled with incense, candles, grains, and fruits.

In the very center of the altar stood a wooden plaque with the words "Position of the Water God" written on it.

Men and women, young and old, numbering at least several hundred, crowded around the reservoir.

Hu Chuyao stood in front of the altar, dressed in traditional sacrificial attire.

Her expression was solemn and dignified, her eyes fixed on the incense and candles on the altar, motionless, as if she were in deep meditation.

The auspicious time hadn't arrived yet. Some people in the crowd whispered amongst themselves, while others murmured amongst themselves, but no one dared to speak loudly.

In such situations, sincerity is paramount; speaking carelessly will offend the gods.

Zhu Zi, along with several young men from Shimen Village, carried the wild boar to the front.

They walked to the altar, placed the wild boar in the designated spot, and then stepped aside.

Hu Chuyao glanced at the wild boar, but didn't see Chen Yongqiang, and felt a strange feeling in her heart.

At this time, Chen Yongqiang had already arrived at the mountain god temple with the villagers.

The open space in front of the mountain god temple is not large. Normally, it can accommodate a few dozen people, but today the entire village, men, women, and children, came. There are at least a hundred people, and there is simply not enough room for them to stand.

Those who came later could only stand on the slope, tiptoeing to peer into the temple.

Yang Dahai stood at the temple entrance, turned around, and gestured to everyone.

The sound of gongs and drums gradually subsided, and the crowd quieted down.

"Yongqiang, what's the next step?"

The villagers of Shimen are all farmers, skilled at farming, but no one knows anything about praying for rain.

Back when there were production teams, in years of drought, people would invite members of the Hu family to take charge.

Chen Yongqiang looked up at the dark stone statue of the mountain god in the temple.

"I believe that sincerity is key to success."

"We don't have the same rules as the Hu family, and we don't know those rituals. But our hearts are sincere. Everyone puts out the offerings, then burns incense and kowtows to the mountain god, asking him to bless our village with rain."

After he finished speaking, he waved his hand behind him.

Qin Shan and several villagers carried the wild boar forward and placed it on the offering table at the temple entrance.

Next, the women carried baskets and laid out incense, candles, yellow paper, grains, melons, and fruits one by one.

Yang Dahai took the lead and lit three incense sticks on the candle flame.

Chen Yongqiang instead took a few steps to the side and took out a wooden basin.

He placed the wooden basin on the ground and poured some water into it from the water bottle he carried with him.

Some more leaves were scattered on the water's surface. People nearby saw this and were a little puzzled, but they didn't ask any further questions.

After Chen Yongqiang finished doing all this, he lit the incense in his hand facing the mountain god temple.

He had his back to the crowd, his lips moving slightly, as if he were muttering something.

Chen Yongqiang was indeed speaking, but not to the mountain god; he was speaking to the invisible loach in the basin.

"Ready? Listen for my signal in a moment."

The water in the wooden basin rippled slightly, and a fallen leaf swayed gently. A loach then hid inside the basin.

Chen Yongqiang had already released it from his spatial storage when he poured the water.

It can stay wherever there is water. When the crucial moment for rainmaking arrives, it will be its turn to step in.

Chen Yongqiang straightened up, held the incense sticks in both hands, and bowed deeply towards the mountain god temple.

Behind him, hundreds of villagers knelt down in unison.

Next comes the part where villagers offer incense to the mountain god.

Next, Qin Shan, Zhao Fugen, and the village elders stepped forward one by one, lit incense, and placed it into the incense burner.

Every time a villager inserts incense into the incense burner, a system notification rings in Chen Yongqiang's mind:

[Villagers who offer incense are rewarded with 1 point of blessing.]

[Villagers who offer incense are rewarded with 1 point of blessing.]

[Villagers who offer incense are rewarded with 1 point of blessing.]

Chen Yongqiang stood to the side, outwardly calm but inwardly surprised.

If each person offers incense, and these hundreds of people offer incense, that's hundreds of points of blessing...

And this is just for offering incense; it doesn't even include the rewards for successfully praying for rain.

At the mountain god temple, incense smoke filled the air, and villagers knelt on the ground.

Meanwhile, things were just as lively at Qingba Reservoir.

On the altar, Hu Chuyao was dressed in shamanic attire, a colorful divine skirt, a copper bell around her waist, and a divine hat with long, colorful strips of cloth hanging from the brim, covering half of her face.

She held a sacred drum, closed her eyes, chanted incantations, and swayed slightly.

The hundreds of people behind him remained completely silent.

Only the copper bells on her body made a soft, intermittent sound as she swayed, like some ancient rhythm.

After Hu Chuyao finished reading a passage, she suddenly opened her eyes, raised the divine drum, and struck it hard.

thump—

She started performing a ritual dance.

In Jinjiatun, a special rain-seeking ceremony was also being held.

Behind Jinjiatun Village, there is an old locust tree, whose age is unknown, and whose trunk is so thick that it would take several people to encircle it.

Under the old locust tree, there is a Buddhist shrine made of stones, which are covered with moss.

Inside the shrine, there is a Buddha statue.

It's less like a Buddha and more like a ghost, ugly and strange, with an indescribable evil nature.

His face was contorted, his features squeezed together, making it impossible to tell whether he was crying or laughing.

It had several arms, some broken, some twisted, in a contorted position like spider legs.

It looked particularly eerie in the dimly lit shrine.

Jin Mancang knelt in front of the Buddhist shrine, with dozens of villagers from Jinjiatun kneeling behind him.

Before them lay offerings, not a pig's head, not a whole chicken, but a black dog.

There was also a bowl of wine, the liquid of which was dark red, and it was unclear what had been added to it.

The three ceremonies were being conducted simultaneously. The changes began first at the mountain god temple.

A gentle breeze blew down from the hillside and lightly swept across the open space in front of the temple.

The wind stirred the red cloth on the offering table and the blue smoke from the incense burner.

Someone looked up; the sky was still clear and there was no sign of rain.

The wind was still blowing, and it was getting stronger.

On the bank of Qingba Reservoir, Hu Chuyao is performing a ritual dance.

thump -- thump -- thump --

The sacred drum was struck again and again, the rhythm becoming faster and faster.

She seemed to sense something and glanced in the direction of the mountain god temple.

The wind blew in from that direction, carrying the scent of the mountains and forests.

A complex emotion flashed in Hu Chuyao's eyes. She withdrew her gaze, raised the divine drum again, and continued dancing.

After the wind picked up, the sky really began to change.

The sky, which was originally a bright blue, suddenly had a few clouds drifting in from who-knows-where.

Then more and more came from all directions, blocking out the sun.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the sky.

"Clouds! Clouds have really come!"

Someone shouted, "The mountain god has appeared!"

That shout made the whole crowd erupt in cheers.

Some knelt even straighter, some kowtowed even louder, and some were so moved that tears streamed down their faces.

"The mountain god has appeared!"

"It's a miracle!"

"Quickly kowtow! Quickly kowtow!"

The villagers' emotions were ignited; some kowtowed, others prayed.

The elderly people were so excited that they trembled with emotion, murmuring words of gratitude.

Chen Yongqiang stood in front of the incense table, looking at the clouds in the sky, and then at the wooden basin.

The water surface was churning violently, and the loaches were restless at the bottom, as if they were also waiting.

The sky grew darker and darker, and the clouds gathered thicker and thicker, shrouding the entire mountain temple in shadow.

It is going to rain.