After the whole village had eaten vegetarian food and held Taoist rites for seven straight days, the Mazu procession began on the morning of the eighth day. The villagers gathered outside Mazu Temple early to watch.
Two ceremonial music ensembles had been hired to take turns playing at Mazu Temple. At around nine that morning, when the appointed hour arrived, an elderly woman carefully carried out one of the two Mazu statues standing before the main statue. Another middle-aged fisherwoman took it to the sacred palanquin, set it upright, and secured red silk around it.
The village chief placed three more sticks of incense in each of the three incense burners before the statue, then signaled for the people outside the temple to sound the gong and clear the way.
At the very front were the large-gong bearer carrying a "Clear the Way" flag and the people setting off firecrackers. Behind them, people on either side held "Make Way" plaques, followed closely by young and middle-aged men carrying plaques inscribed with "Peace Throughout the Four Seasons," "Prosperous Country, Peaceful People," "Favorable Weather," and similar phrases.
One ceremonial music ensemble marched in the middle and another at the rear. Mazu sat in a wooden sacred palanquin carried by eight young and middle-aged men in the center, with eight village girls dressed as attendants walking beside her.
Ye Huimei had also been chosen as an attendant. Holding a flower basket, she stayed by Mazu's side throughout.
When the Ye family's children spotted her, they all cried out, "It's Auntie! It's Auntie!"
"Auntie put on powder today! She looks so pretty!"
With such a rare spectacle to watch, almost everyone in the village had come out, accompanying Mazu's procession on either side. Since it was the weekend and there was no school, it