America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

"Ok."

"Where's Li Qun? Is he in his room?"

"It's with Dad."

"I'm going to find him."

"Don't run around," Uncle instructed Gwen.

After walking a few blocks, Gwen saw Li Qun locking the pawn shop; her father had already driven away in his Mazda.

"Hey."

Gwen secretly stood behind Li Qun, trying to scare him, but Li Qun was not frightened.

"My God, what are you doing here?" Li Qun asked.

“They didn’t tell me about the holiday, so I came to check it out. Now I really regret it,” Gwen said.

"Has anyone explained this to you?" Li Qun asked.

“Hmm.” Gwen nodded.

"Very good...no, not good at all."

"Why?" Gwen asked.

"The sun hasn't set yet, Gwen, you should go home quickly."

"What's the reason? You need to make it clear to me."

"Listen, after midnight, the gates of the underworld will open, and the souls of the dead will return to the world of the living. It sounds a lot like your Halloween, but we won't be dressing up as ghosts and hanging out with ghosts."

“We burn paper as offerings for the deceased, including paper money, paper houses, and paper figures, so that the deceased can enjoy these offerings in the underworld.”

"Paper money?" Gwen looked incredulous.

"Look at this, it's gold made of paper."

Li Qun showed Gwen the fruits of his labor for the day.

"It's quite interesting."

“I’ll stay and take a look,” Gwen said.

"Then you should remain quiet, don't touch anything, and spend the night quietly."

“Call your dad and tell him you’re not coming home,” Li Qun said.

“Anyway, he’ll be working overtime at the police station and won’t be going home,” Gwen said.

“A question.” Gwen raised her hand.

"explain."

“Can I burn some money for my mother?” Gwen asked.

“The settings are different, how do we burn it?” Li Qun asked Gwen.

"What setting?"

“According to your beliefs, your mother should be in heaven after she passed away,” Li Qun replied.

"I also celebrate Halloween. The origin of Halloween has nothing to do with Christianity."

"Alright. Since you're going to get involved, you have to see it through to the end."

"Liqun, tell me what to do."

Li Qun led Gwen into a general store. At the very back of the store, they sold related items, which were quite expensive. Li Qun helped Gwen choose the items, and Gwen paid for them.

The two returned to the Chinese restaurant. This time, the uncle looked back and saw his nephew returning with his female classmate.

"Uncle, Gwen also wants to burn something for her mother."

Uncle laughed.

"Did you prepare that for her?"

Liqun nodded.

Do you know what to do?

Li Qun shook his head.

"Wait, when we're burning it at the intersection, have Gwen burn it next to us."

“Draw a circle on the ground at the intersection with chalk, but don’t seal the circle completely. Leave a gap, and make sure the gap is facing the direction of Gwen’s mother’s grave.”

"Write down her mother's name, along with her birth and death dates. Don't greet passersby, and don't reveal anyone's name."

"She only cooks for her mother, so there's no need to follow the order. Liqun, we need to be careful when we cook."

The uncle then pointed to the bucket placed at the entrance of the shop, which contained some pomelo leaves.

"When you come back, rub yourself with the pomelo leaves from the bucket, and take a shower before going to bed."

“Gwen, would you mind sleeping in Li Qun’s room tonight?” her uncle asked.

"Where will Li Qun sleep?" Gwen asked.

“He slept with his cousin.”

As evening fell and the sun set, my uncle led his family, carrying their belongings, to the crossroads.

Before setting off, her uncle gave Gwen a serious reiteration of his instructions.

Gwen acted as if her mother was really coming home that night.

The uncle lit the incense and candles first, then drew a circle on the ground, not a closed circle. Gwen watched and followed his example, learning step by step to burn the paper money, paper offerings, and bundles in accordance with the thousand-year-old tradition.

It was completely dark when everything at Li Qun's place was finally burned and cleaned up. Gwen waited quietly to the side.

The uncle stood up and beckoned to Gwen, who knew they were going back now.

Gwen doesn't know how to do the Asian squat; she sits on the side of the road.

Back at the shop, after patting himself with pomelo leaves, the uncle went into the kitchen, picked up some things, and went out again.

"Who are you sending food to?" Gwen asked curiously, feeling a little flustered after not speaking for a long time.

“It’s for wandering ghosts,” Li Qun replied.

They had already eaten dinner before the sun had set, and now the routine was to take turns showering and then go to bed early.

“Gwen, I guess you’ll have a hard time falling asleep this early, but you need to stay in bed and not make any noise in the bedroom,” Li Qun reminded Gwen once again.

"So many taboos are to avoid unnecessary trouble."

"know."

Li Qun carried his blanket and pillow into his cousin Shuangxi's room, where he slept on the floor. Shuangxi wanted to invite Li Qun to share a bed with him, but Li Qun warned him that he would elbow people while sleeping, and that letting him sleep alone on the floor was the best option.

Chapter 16 High Salary Income in 2000

Did you sleep well last night?

What if I answer that I didn't sleep well?

"Then go back to bed and sleep again."

"Your breakfast is very lavish."

Gwen walked to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. This morning, they had wonton noodles, one bowl for each person.

The aroma of hot soup noodles alone is enough to fill one with anticipation for a new day.

The breakfast wonton noodles only briefly caught Gwen's attention before she looked at the offering table against the wall, which was laden with offerings of chicken, pig, fish, apples, bananas, and pomelos. She stared at it intently, her eyes full of curiosity.

“That’s for the deceased,” Li Qun said to Gwen.

"How many days will it be stored?" Gwen asked.

“It won’t just sit there, and it won’t go to waste,” Li Qun said.

Gwen planned to do the same when she got home.

She slept very soundly and comfortably last night. Gwen was surprised that she could fall asleep so early, and she felt particularly refreshed after waking up.

Gwen felt that, on the one hand, Li Qun's bed was very comfortable, and on the other hand, perhaps her mother's soul had come from another world to visit her.

In the past, she and her father, George, would only visit their mother's grave on the anniversary of her death, lay some flowers, and exchange a few words. The traditional customs of the Aurora Mongols, as described by Li Qun and his family, were an eye-opener for Gwen, full of ritual and offering profound spiritual comfort.

Gwen didn't know how to describe this cross-cultural experience, but she felt that she should continue the same ceremony next year, and hoped that someone would remember her with the same ceremony after her death.

“What are the festival rituals like without simplification?” Gwen asked Liqun.

“I don’t know either, but I’m sure it will be a very grand affair,” Li Qun replied.

"Ok."

After breakfast, Li Qun checked the almanac for the day and chose an auspicious time period from morning to afternoon to take Gwen home.

Even at midday when the sun is high in the sky, the gates of the underworld are open, and taboos still apply; one must not break them.

Gwen bought a pork chop, a roast chicken, and some fruit from a deli in Chinatown, and then some fried fish from a restaurant near her apartment. As soon as she got home, she solemnly placed the roast chicken, pork chop, and fried fish in front of her mother's photo, and clasped her hands together in front of the photo, speaking her heartfelt words.

"I'm going back."

"See you tomorrow, Liqun."

After leaving Gwen's house, Li Qun didn't wander off anywhere else; today wasn't a day for him to roam around.

……

Back at the community canteen to continue her community volunteer work, Li Qun greeted everyone warmly after she hadn't been there for two days.

During the two days that Li Qun was away, if someone hadn't asked Ms. Martha, they would have thought that Li Qun wasn't coming and had dropped out halfway through.

No one requires community volunteers to complete the initially agreed-upon working hours. Volunteers are completely free to leave or stay; only a record is kept indicating when they ended their community volunteer work early.

"Everyone's waiting for you, Lyon."

"You're waiting for my fried rice, aren't you?" Li Qun smiled.

"Fried rice is only part of the story; only your fried rice is the best."