Siheyuan: Becoming a cadre after graduating from technical secondary school

Today is the ninth day of the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, Renyin and Xinhai, a time for us to worship our ancestors and move into a new home.

Originally, Lin Zongxuan thought that his father was just talking casually. After all, it was not a festival, and it was too casual for him to suddenly run back to his hometown to worship his ancestors just to find a job for his son.

But this morning, he was hurriedly woken up and got on the green bus with his parents in a daze. When he woke up, more than an hour had passed.

"Really, really going back..."

When the time came, Lin Zongxuan suddenly became a little timid. After all, he didn't know what state he was in. His experience as a time traveler made his worldview even more mysterious.

What if the ancestor of the Lin family is really still alive in heaven, he wouldn’t suddenly give him a big bag, right?

Should I be more respectful? As the saying goes, one should not hit a smiling person. Are these bags of yellow paper candles and gold ingots enough?

"Didn't I tell you a long time ago? You are a cadre now, so at least tell your grandfather and ancestors the good news."

Father Lin looked at his silly son strangely and whispered, "It's because the government is strict now. If it were in the past, not only would we have to worship our ancestors in a grand manner, but we would also have to hold a banquet in our hometown."

"You kid, do you know what this is called? This is called improving your status. It will be recorded in the family tree."

"..."

Lin Zongxuan thought about it and it was true. Even if it happened decades later, if a village produced a key university student, it would be a big event worth showing off.

What's more, he is now much more valuable than college students in the 21st century.

Fortunately, the weather is nice today and the sun rises early in the morning. Let's just go for an outing.

In fact, the Lin family's ancestral home is actually in the Central Plains. During the Republic of China period, when two warlords were fighting, Old Master Lin fled to the north with his family and finally settled in Changlin Village on the outskirts of Sijiu City.

Later, Lin Zongxuan’s great-grandfather and grandfather also moved here. When it came to his generation, they returned to Changlin Village to worship their ancestors.

At about 11 o'clock in the morning, the three members of the Lin family (Lin Keke did not come because she had to go to school) arrived at the entrance of Changlin Village.

As soon as I got off the bus, I saw two young men driving a donkey cart towards us.

One of the sturdy men in his thirties ran over and respectfully called out to Lin's father, "Seventh Grandpa." He then greeted Lin Zongxuan, "Thirteenth Uncle."

Oh my god, that’s a huge increase in generation.

Since ancient times, the youngest branch of the family has been the eldest. Old Master Lin was the youngest in his life. In terms of seniority, Lin Zongxuan is indeed the uncle of the man in front of him named Lin Erniu.

It was already late, and after a few greetings at the intersection, the three members of the Lin family got on the ox cart together and headed towards Changlin Village on the bumpy ride.

On the way, Lin's father also introduced these two young men to Lin Zongxuan, who had not returned to his hometown for several years. These two young men were his nephews, one was named Lin Changhe and the other was named Lin Erniu.

Compared to the slightly older Lin Erniu, Lin Changhe was obviously more talkative. Along the way, he kept asking Lin Zongxuan about his feelings about studying outside, and his words were full of envy.

"Uncle Thirteen, the situation has not been good in the past few years, and our family has not been busy for a long time. This time, the village specially slaughtered a big fat pig to show our ancestors that our family is now thriving."

Soon, after crossing a muddy path, we saw a row of low thatched houses in the distance. A few half-grown children, dressed simply and not minding the cold, were playing in the mud at the entrance of the village. When they saw the group of people, they happily surrounded them.

"Grandpa Qi, you're back. My dad asked me to pick you up here."

"Uncle Qi, the ancestral hall is open. My grandfather is waiting for you here."

Accompanied by the chattering of children, Lin Shuming also smiled kindly and took out small oranges and fruit candies from his bag to give to the children.

Even the two adults driving the car were not left behind.

After Lin Zongxuan's grandparents passed away, the house was given to his uncle. They didn't find a place to rest, but went directly to the ancestral hall on a donkey cart.

After a while, everyone arrived at the entrance of the ancestral hall. The ancestral hall belonged to a large manor and was the largest house in the entire village.

There is a plaque above the ancestral hall with the characters "Lin Family Ancestral Hall" engraved in a flamboyant style. Many uncles and aunts of the Lin family are busy working in it.

Some were distributing firecrackers, some were making candles and paper money, some were helping to wash the pots and dishes, and some were watching the children stealing the offerings.

In the very center of the ancestral hall courtyard, there was a huge fat pig weighing over 100 pounds, which was being plucked and bled. The sight of the white pork made the children nearby drool.

Sitting in the main seat of the ancestral hall, an old grandfather wearing glasses was directing the overall situation, jumping up and down in anxiety. When he saw Lin Shuming and Lin Zongxuan, he didn't say anything polite. He simply greeted them and then assigned tasks.

"Shu Ming, go help kill the pigs. Zong Xuan, follow me and prepare the things."

The Lin family father and son agreed obediently.

This is the patriarch of the Lin family of this generation, named Lin Guangzheng. He is a kind person and one of the few elders of Lin Zongxuan’s grandfather’s generation. Therefore, he is generally in charge of the major affairs of the clan. This time, he will also preside over the ancestor worship.

After a while, seeing that everything was almost ready, the women and children stayed behind to help with cooking and setting the table. Nearly a hundred able-bodied men of the Lin family marched towards the ancestral tomb in a mighty procession, setting off firecrackers along the way. The most eye-catching thing was the big fat pig carried on a board.

When they arrived at the ancestral tomb, the clan leader first instructed the young people to place food, bowls and chopsticks, wine glasses, tea and other offerings in front of the ancestral tombs (some of which were cenotaphs that had not been moved), and then lit three incense sticks in front of the tombs.

After placing offerings to the land god who looks after the graves, a piece of yellow paper is burned. This custom is called "worshiping the land god" or "offering offerings to the grave god" to thank him for guarding the graves all year round and keeping the ancestors safe and sound.

When the incense is half burned, paper money and clothes prepared in advance are burned on the ancestral graves, and a small amount of money and other items are left to be burned on other graves, for fear that other ghosts will steal money and clothes on the ancestral graves after the visitors leave.

When the three incense sticks are burned out, the offerings are removed and scattered around the grave. This custom is called "worshiping the four directions."

It means to throw food to the distant relatives and neighbors who go to visit the graves, so that they will not grab food from the graves of their ancestors after the visitors leave.

Finally, the clan leader prayed to the ancestors with the sacrificial text he wrote. The general idea was that the Lin family had flourished here for several generations, and the descendants of the clan were also striving to be good, so the ancestors could rest assured.

At the same time, we also hope that the spirits of our ancestors in heaven will continue to bless our descendants with a bright future and help them avoid disasters.

After going through the whole process, Lin Zongxuan, who traveled through time from later generations, was greatly enlightened and even developed a sense of identity in his heart.