Lunar calendar, twelfth lunar month twenty-seventh day, three days before the New Year, according to the custom of Su Tianyu's hometown, they have to go to the grave to worship their ancestors before the New Year. However, the Su family is an exiled family, the living have passed away, the dead are hard to move, the family's ancestral graves are still in the hometown of Huaqu, so they can only use traditional customs, at crossroads, ports and other places to burn paper money and other items to express their grief.
Before Su Tianyu came to Longcheng, he would buy some offerings and burn them at the crossroads every year during the Spring Festival to commemorate his parents. This year was his first year back home, so Su Zheng made it more grand and asked his third sister to prepare a lot of things in advance, hoping that Gou Liuzi would go to comfort his parents and tell them that he had grown up and become an adult.
In the evening, around seven o'clock.
Dozens of people from the Su family, pulling half a truck full of offerings, came to the Haiyankeng and began the sacrifice.
The third sister drew many circles on the ground and placed the offerings in batches. Then Su Zhengcai lit incense and burned paper for his parents, grandparents, and various elders.
When the ghost money was about to burn out, Su Zhengcai took the lead, knelt down, and shouted: "Kowtow!"
For a family with a large population, this kind of traditional ceremony is quite shocking. Dozens of people bend down and kneel on the ground, kowtow and worship towards the distant east. The smoke from the burning slowly dissipates, representing the living people's concern for their deceased relatives.
After Su Zhengcai finished offering sacrifices to his parents and elders, he stood up and stepped aside, saying to Su Tianyu: "Kowtow to your parents as well, and burn some paper."
Su Tianyu originally didn't feel much sadness because his parents had passed away several years ago, but the Su family's grand celebration today somehow touched the softest part of his heart.
Su Tianyu stood beside the circle, lit paper money, and placed white wine and offerings.
As the sea breeze blew, Su Tianyu inexplicably thought of the scene when his father was about to go to prison. At that time, he had been tortured by the relevant inspection department and was unrecognizable. He was thin and his face was pale. But even so, Su's father still told his son in a calm tone: "Our generation all survived with burdens, but your generation is different. Son, live well, live well, I will always be proud of you."
After his father was arrested for political reasons, Su Tianyu was depressed for a while. But his mother, who was already bedridden at the time, still encouraged him to apply for the military academy and follow his own life plan without being influenced by his family.
Before her death, his mother did not add any negative emotions to Su Tianyu. She was always optimistic and strong. The night before she passed away, she was still in the hospital with Su Tianyu to watch courseware and chat with her.
Thinking of this, Su Tianyu felt a little uncomfortable. After burning the paper money, he knelt on the ground, kowtowed, and whispered softly: "Dad, Mom, I graduated... It's almost the New Year again. I'll give you some money to spend. You don't have to worry about me down there. I know how to live my future life."
The three heads knocked to the ground, and Su Zhengcai touched Gou Liuzi's head lovingly: "Okay, you have made it. The two of them closed their eyes watching."
The memorial service is over.
A car stopped at the intersection, and the two brothers from the Bai family pushed open the door and got out. Bai Hongbo said to Gou Liuzi, Su Tiannan, Su Tianbei and others, "Let's go, let's find a place to get together?"
"Why do you get together every day? Is there something important to do?" Su Zhengcai lectured Bai Hongbo.
"Uncle, the meaning of life is not just to live, it is also important to enjoy the process." Bai Hongbo bared his teeth and said, "Let's go, how about we go together?"
Su Zhengcai put his hands behind his back and cursed, "Go away, get lost!"
Bai Hongbo chuckled and shouted to Su Tianyu and the others, "Let's go, it's almost New Year, let's go out for some fun."
The most important thing for Chinese people during the New Year is to have fun, so Su Tianyu and the others did not refuse. After simply dealing with the memorial site, they followed Bai Hongbo and the others.
…
In the evening, around nine o'clock.
After dinner at the hotel, everyone went to the entertainment city on the central street of Zhannan, where they sang karaoke and had a big party.
In the private room.
Bai Hongbo said to the third sister very directly: "Miaomiao, do you want to play dice?"
"Just the two of us, what's the point?" The third sister replied without interest while eating fruit.
"It's us who are having fun. If you win, you can assign me to do a task; if I win, you just have to kiss me." Bai Hongbo spoke lovingly about the rules of the game.
The third sister glanced at him and said, "I won. If I ask you to eat shit, will you eat it?"
"As long as you're willing to watch, I won't even ask for sugar." Bai Hongbo replied with a firm look.
"Go away, go eat in front of your baby!" The third sister had obviously heard a lot of gossip about Bai Hongbo recently.
"Ah, are you jealous?"
"I ate your momma."
Next to him, Su Tianyu sang a song, then sat on the sofa with sweat all over his head. He turned his head and saw Bai Hongbo’s younger brother, Bai Hongtao.
Bai Hongtao is 23 years old this year. He looks gentle and clean. He doesn't talk much and has a fierce personality. When he fought with Lu Feng in Fumanlou before, he was the backbone of the Bai family. If he hadn't been there that day, Dabai would have had his face chopped in half by the other party.
"Why don't you sing?" Su Tianyu asked with a smile.
"Oh, I don't like singing." Bai Hongtao replied while playing with his phone: "It's okay if I play mahjong or something."
Bai Hongtao and his brother have different hobbies. One loves women, the other loves gambling, but neither of them loves them to the point of losing their minds.
"Let's do it tomorrow. If we have nothing to do tomorrow, we can set up two tables and play mahjong or something." Su Tianyu said with a smile.
"Sure!" Bai Hongtao put down his phone, sat up straight, and started chatting with Su Tianyu: "Hey, when can our business on the sea be restored?"
"I don't know either, but Mr. Yu has been trying to build relationships these days. I heard that he is in contact with code gangs in other districts. I didn't ask for the details..." Su Tianyu responded softly.
…
In the unplanned area outside Longcheng City, a dozen men gathered together. This group of people were the old Leizi who were hired by Yu Mingyuan before to rob the goods.
Everyone gathered in a shabby little bungalow. The leader took out a bag of money and distributed "salary" to everyone: "The New Year is coming soon, let's all be quiet, go home if you should, and relax if you should. But remember, it's best not to contact each other, and don't tell others your contact information. In short, keep a low profile. When there is more work, I will notify you."
"good!"
After the old Leizi responded, they took their money and dispersed. Those who had homes went home to celebrate the New Year, and those who didn’t have homes took the money and went out to have fun.
A day later, an old Leizi found a friend before going home and whispered to him: "I have some goods, can you help me move them? It doesn't matter if the price is lower."