Chapter 61

Qing Mengzhu: "You drove here alone? You'll have to drive back later, won't you be tired?"

Ming Chunxi walked over and stood in front of Qing Mengzhu: "It's alright, not too rushed. It's a holiday today, the driver is off, I'll drive slowly."

Qing Mengzhu led him into the house, feeling a little happy. "You came all this way back to keep me company?"

Ming Chunxi: "It's a big holiday, having a boyfriend and not having a boyfriend should be different."

Qing Mengzhu's eyes crinkled into a smile. She almost put her arm around Ming Chunxi's shoulder, but mindful of the preparations for the sacrificial ceremony, she refrained and simply moved closer, saying, "Mm!"

Ming Chunxi looked at the bag on the table. "What am I supposed to do?"

Qing Mengzhu raised her chin. "You can sit over there and drink tea, just keep me company. I'm almost finished writing."

Qing Mengzhu wanted to offer sacrifices to all the ancestors whose graves were still there, but he wouldn't offer sacrifices to the ancestors whose graves could no longer be found. There were only about twenty of them in total, and he remembered all their names, so he could write them down quickly.

As Ming Chunxi watched, she was reminded of Qing Yan writing about paper money bags on the big desk when they were young. Now, Qing Yan had become a spirit to be worshipped.

Thinking of this, Ming Chunxi suddenly felt a strong urge to hug Qing Mengzhu.

Qing Mengzhu noticed Ming Chunxi's gaze. "Do you want to write it?"

Ming Chunxi and the others also perform the sacrificial rites, but they should return to Ming Lexin's place in the evening before writing about it.

Qing Mengzhu's question was merely a polite inquiry.

Ming Chunxi stood up. "Go ahead and write. Do you have any more bags?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, I prepared ten extra, and I also prepared a lot of paper money. If it's not enough, I'll go to the supermarket to buy more."

After Ming Chunxi had read through it, she nodded. "That's enough."

So the two stood together and each wrote down their ancestor's name.

Ming Chunxi rarely wrote these kinds of things before; most of them were prepared by Ming Lexin. Writing them now gives me a sense of the passage of time.

He looked up at Qing Mengzhu. Although their relationship had changed, they were preparing for the sacrificial ceremony at the same table, as if their youthful days had been rekindled.

After finishing writing on the bag, Qing Mengzhu took Ming Chunxi to catch ducks.

This is their local custom. It is said that if duck blood is dripped onto the envelope of the paper money bag, the bag can float across the Yellow Springs and reach the hands of the ancestors.

They did not verify such a custom; whatever the custom may be, it is generally meant to comfort the living.

Life flows slowly through these customs, year after year.

After a busy afternoon, they went to the roadside to burn paper money at dusk.

Qing Mengzhu handed the wooden stick to Ming Chunxi: "Draw a circle first, leaving an opening when you draw the circle, with the opening facing the direction of the grave. Then you can put the paper money inside the circle and burn it."

Ming Chunxi: "Okay."

Qing Mengzhu walked a few steps and found another spot nearby to start burning paper money.

His ancestors lived locally, so there was no need to draw a circle around their remains; they could just burn the offerings directly.

As she burned the paper money, Qing Mengzhu watched the flames rise, wondering if her father, Qing Yan, and mother, Meng Zhenyu, would receive it. If they could, they would have already reunited in another world.

In previous years, he would always look forward to the reunion of his family of three, but this year, that feeling has completely disappeared.

When people grow up, they always have to leave their parents and live independently. He is now capable of being independent and no longer depends on his parents.

After the fire was extinguished, the twilight deepened.

Not only did they come out to burn paper money, but other villagers did too.

They walked back side by side. When they got home, Qing Mengzhu took out the things she had prepared and asked Ming Chunxi to give them to Ming Lexin.

Ming Chunxi put her things in the trunk and stood in front of it with Qing Mengzhu: "Suddenly, I really don't want to go back."

Qing Mengzhu: "Go back now, come back after work tomorrow."

"Okay." Ming Chunxi agreed, but opened her arms, indicating that she wanted to hug him.

Qing Mengzhu smiled, went over and hugged him. "See you tomorrow."

This embrace, filled with their warmth, was fleeting, yet it was their first since they established their relationship.

Qing Mengzhu gently pushed him, her tone becoming lighter. "Go back, don't walk at night."

Ming Chunxi: "I'll leave work early tomorrow."

Ming Chunxi slowly started the car and drove away from Qing Mengzhu's house. Qing Mengzhu waved goodbye from behind.

Evening Star had already emerged, with the Dharma Protector and Guard standing behind Qing Mengzhu, occasionally wagging their tails.

He looked up at the stars. He was spending the Ghost Festival alone again this year, but he didn't feel lonely at all.

Author's Note:

See you this afternoon!

Chapter 61

After Qing Mengzhu's family had too many lotus pods, he couldn't harvest them all by himself.

It would be too tiring to do it all by himself, so he simply asked Qing Pingdun to help him pick the fruit.

Fortunately, the lotus pods are mostly taller than the lotus leaves, so once you enter the pond by boat, you can easily tell which lotus pods are ready to be picked and which are not by scanning the area.

They discarded the lotus stems, cutting off the lotus pods directly and throwing them into the boat's hold. Once the boat was full, they transported it ashore and then used a small tricycle to haul it back to Qing Mengzhu's home.

Qing Mengzhu didn't buy a tricycle, so when Qing Pingdun helped Qing Mengzhu transport chili peppers, he also took the lotus pods back with him.

A small tricycle can transport all the lotus pods picked that day without having to make a second trip.

Because fresh lotus seeds are difficult to sell at a good price, after the lotus pods were brought home, Qing Mengzhu had people peel the lotus seeds, then manually remove the outer shells, thread the lotus hearts out, and dry them separately.

This step was rather troublesome, Qing Mengzhu didn't like doing such meticulous work, so she also asked someone from the village group to help with peeling the lotus seeds.

He originally wanted to invite one or two people, but the elderly people in the village said they wanted to come to his house to peel lotus pods and chat.

After discussing it, Qing Mengzhu finally decided not to hire a fixed person. Anyone in the village who wanted to come could peel the leaves, first come, first served, and once they were all gone, that would be the end of it.

It just so happens that his lotus seed production is unstable, sometimes plentiful and sometimes scarce, making it difficult to calculate the price for hiring a fixed person.

After agreeing on the terms, the village elders would come over every day after breakfast to help him peel lotus pods and thread the lotus seeds through the shells. They would sell them for two yuan a pound and clean the lotus seeds thoroughly.

The price is the same even when you get help processing lotus seeds in the town outside.

Some people in town have even bought special lotus seed peeling machines. They put the lotus pod in, and the lotus seeds come out in just a few seconds.

The machine can not only peel off the hard outer shell, but also grind off the red seed coat of the lotus seeds, so that farmers can get white and tender finished lotus seeds, which can then be dried and sold.

Qing Mengzhu doesn't care about appearance, and since the lotus seed coat also has health benefits, he keeps it all. Therefore, his lotus seeds are the rarer type of red lotus seeds on the market.

The elderly people came over to help peel lotus seeds, not only to earn some pocket money, but also to chat together.

When Qing Mengzhu returned from feeding the ducks, the old people pulled him aside and asked him all sorts of questions:

"Mengzhu, your lotus seeds are so good, are you going to keep the seeds?"

"If you want to save your seed, I'll buy some from you?"

"Mengzhu, do you sell lotus seeds? If so, we'll get our relatives and friends to come and buy some for you. We peel the lotus seeds ourselves, so we know they're safe to eat."

The elderly people, who have been dealing with crops for many years, are very knowledgeable about quality. They could tell at a glance that the lotus seeds from Qing Mengzhu's family were of good quality, and their enthusiasm increased considerably.

Everyone has relatives and friends, so it's not easy to buy good quality goods.

Qing Mengzhu took a small stool and sat down beside her, asking with a smile, "If I were to sell them, how much could I get for these lotus seeds?"

"A pound of freshly peeled lotus seeds can sell for 25 yuan outside. Your lotus seeds are so good, I think they could sell for 35 or 40 yuan."

"That won't do. My family sells dried chilies for 1,000 yuan a month. Lotus seeds can't be cheaper than chilies."

"Wow, it's so expensive!"

"My lotus seeds are special. Everyone could see it from the moment I planted them. I personally nurtured the seedlings from the lotus seeds, and I did every step of the transplanting, management, and fertilization more meticulously than others. Not to mention anything else, the fertilizer I use is fermented from fish that cost 2 yuan per kilogram."

"You're right, your pond is clearly better managed than others'."