Druid's Country Retirement

Chapter 144
In the sky, the sunset is slanting, the dusk is heavy, and the birds return to the south.

The Eight Immortals table was set up early under the old oak tree, Shan Xing and Cui Jie, who came back early, were busy in the kitchen.

It is an old rule in the countryside that when inviting someone to do a big job, no matter how close or distant the host is, the host will set up a table and feast, invite the head of the village to have a drink, and notify in advance that the family will build a house and break ground, so if there is anything to worry about.

This time is different from the last time the old house cleared the water canal, building a new house and renovating the old house all need to move the foundation.

There are clear taboos about building houses in rural areas. Building a yin house means breaking the ground, and building a yang house means breaking the ground. Building a house and breaking ground is a major event, especially before starting construction. There are four famous sayings.

Good day and auspicious day, advance investigation, size details, follow-up matters.

An auspicious day means to choose a good day, first perform the soil ceremony, and then start the construction of the house, which is conducive to the construction of the mansion and the feng shui of the mansion.

Investigate in advance. The investigation content includes whether there are weddings and funerals in the home of the construction workers. If there is, then they should avoid it, so as not to affect themselves and the owner's family, and it is also very unfavorable to the building process.

The size details, the drawings before the construction of the house must be clearly finalized, accurate to every detail, so as to avoid mistakes and cause problems such as structural instability of the house.

The follow-up matters include a series of actual construction details during the construction of the house, which cannot be fooled at will, so as not to affect the stability of the house.

There are also some other taboos, such as no building on the old school site, no building on the threshing ground, no building on the road, no building on the fire kiln, no building on the cemetery, no building on the pit filling, etc.

These taboos are prevalent in rural areas, and they are also warnings passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth for thousands of years.

It's a pity that as time goes by, these warnings have become feudal superstitions, especially in cities, where these warnings are not avoided at all. Developers buy a piece of land, find a Fengshui master to brag about, and it becomes a treasured land of Fengshui.

Next to the smelly ditch, it is called the scenery of the waterfront.

Digging a pond is called living by the lake.

If there is a small soil bag, it is called living by the mountain.

Little do they know that there used to be random graves, fire kilns, and peanut shooting ranges. Otherwise, how did the piles come from.

……

"Uncle Red Soldier, here we come."

Tie Zhu's loud voice sounded from the courtyard gate, and Li Hongbing stepped forward to greet him with a smile.

Village head Li Huaizhong walked in the front, followed by Tie Zhu, Da Kui, Fu Sheng, Lao Gen, Shui Sheng, and several village gentlemen who could talk, followed by the blind man and the idiot who just got off work.

"Uncle Hongbing, I heard from Tie Zhu that your family is going to build a house. This is a big deal. You may have to drink a few more glasses later." Li Huaizhong congratulated with a cheerful old face.

Li Hongbing took out his cigarette case and scattered cigarettes, "There are so many people in the family that we can't live anymore. I don't want to rebuild a house next to the old house. By the way, I ask you to help check it out."

What Li Hongbing said is very particular. Although he has a high seniority in the village, someone must admit it. You can't always borrow the shade of your grandfather. It doesn't matter if you use it occasionally. Poke the spine.

Therefore, you have to be hardworking yourself, otherwise Li Hongbing would not agree to be a village doctor and accept Captain Xu's special appointment as a veterinarian.

Li Huaizhong is the head of Caogou Village. Although there are only more than 30 households in the village, he is a village official, and he still has to give him the face he deserves.

Hearing Li Hongbing's compliment, Li Huaizhong smiled a little more, took the cigarette, "As expected of a talented student from our village, he speaks well."

A few other gentlemen listened to the confusion, and talked to the Red Soldier who was next to him, to heighten the atmosphere.

Talking and laughing, they walked into the yard and took a seat.

Naturally, Li Huaizhong was left with the seat on the table, and Dakui and the others followed suit.

The silly boy and the blind man brought dishes on the table.

Stewed pheasant with mushrooms, fried bacon with wild onions, red rabbit, roast beef, pickled pork with preserved vegetables, braised big carp, pork trotters with potatoes...

A table full of delicacies that are delicious in color, fragrance and taste.

Watching a few elders swallowing saliva uncontrollably.

The standard of food is a bit over the top.

For a dinner party in the village, two or three meat dishes would be enough. Uncle Hongbing is lucky, and he will serve all hard dishes. In the future, if the host invites workers to drink, how can this dish be served?
Li Hongbing took out a clay pot from the main room, the mouth of the pot was sealed with mud.

"Come, come, this is the medicinal wine left by my grandfather. I don't know how many years it has been stored. I won't return tonight if I don't get drunk."

The medicinal wine left by the old man.

Hearing this, the eyes of the gentlemen on the table were wide open, they said it was a waste, but they took the wine very honestly.

"Da Kui, Tie Zhu, you two are not lucky enough to drink this wine." Fu Sheng prodded with a smile.

"Uncle Red Soldier."

The two gentlemen looked at Li Hongbing eagerly. Both of them were taking medicine now and could not drink alcohol, but the alcohol bug in their stomachs quit.

"It's okay to drink less medicinal wine." Li Hongbing smiled and tore off the seal.

As for the jar of medicinal wine, it wasn't left by grandpa at all, but he bought grain wine in bulk from the town, brewed it with medicinal herbs in the backyard, and put a few ginseng in it.

"I know that Uncle Red Soldier will let you drink it, so bring it to you."

Dakui's face brightened, he snatched the wine jar from Fu Sheng, carefully patted off the sealing soil, and lifted the sealing cover.

Suddenly, a strong aroma of wine wafted out.

"This wine is good."

"It smells good."

"You can tell it's good wine just by smelling it."

A few old men drank wine for most of their lives. Although they had never drunk any high-end wine, they could smell the quality of the wine with their noses.

"Grandpa, the dishes are all served. My little aunt, Aunt Shan Xing, and Aunt Cui are eating in the kitchen. It's unreasonable." The blind man said to Li Hongbing as he served the last dish on the table.

In terms of seniority, the blind man and the foolish boy should be called Little Aunt Anna, but Li Hongbing didn’t intend to let the two brothers call them that. They have their own opinions. Anna is still young and can’t bear the title of aunt, but the two brothers are stubborn. Just like a donkey, if you have to enter the Li family, you have to follow the rules of the Li family.

Li Hongbing persuaded them several times to no avail, so he left them alone.

"You two brothers also sit down and pour wine for the elders."

The blind man nodded, and took the bewildered fool to sit in the wine seat, and took the wine jar from Dakui.

Li Huaizhong and a few old men showed gratified smiles. The blind man and the silly child were poor children who grew up eating a lot of food. Uncle Hongbing asked the blind man to serve wine as a junior of the Li family, which meant that the Li family officially accepted them. With Uncle Hong Soldier taking care of them, the two brothers are enjoying themselves.

Seeing the wine bowl in front of him slowly being filled, Li Huaizhong teased deliberately, "Uncle Hong Bing, one bowl of wine will send us away. According to the elders, at least a big banquet must be held to invite the whole village to eat."

"That's fine. This is not going to be done together with the completion of the house, but the procedures for building a new house. You have to pay attention to it!" Li Hongbing replied with a smile.

Li Huaizhong waved his hand, "It's a small matter, take time to come to the village committee tomorrow, just file a case with the village committee, I'll give you a certificate of opening, and then go to the town to register."

See, this is the right of the village chief. A good relationship is a matter of one sentence. If the relationship is not good, the certificate cannot be issued without running away.

Li Hongbing offered a cigarette to express his thanks.

Seeing that the wine on the table was full, he picked up the wine bowl and stood up.

"I would like to invite everyone to have a kick-off dinner tonight. When the groundbreaking date is settled, I hope everyone can help, thank you!"

After finishing speaking, Li Hongbing raised his head and choked up the wine, and finally turned the wine bowl over to indicate that it was dry, it's up to you.

hiss!
Make it so big as soon as you play?
Everyone's eyelids twitched, looking at the wine bowl in front of them that could hold more than a catty.

Recalling that Uncle Red Soldier had killed all the people at the banquet a few days ago, he was secretly afraid.

Be careful today.

However, the host family has set an example, and it is impossible not to drink this bowl of wine.

Dakui and Tie Zhu had quit drinking for a month, and their hearts were already tickled by the smell of wine, so they picked up the wine bowl and poured it into their mouths without saying a word.

Someone started, and the others were unambiguous, followed by picking up the bowl and drinking it in one gulp.

There is nothing between men that cannot be brought together by wine.

If not, have another bowl.

This bowl of wine is also an appetizer.

Rural life is less stressful, the pace of life is slower, and the rural people are hospitable, so there is often a habit of three or five neighbors meeting to drink, and the amount of alcohol is exercised over time. It is no problem to eat two or three catties .

As soon as the medicinal wine was swallowed, the spirit of the wine rushed to the head, and they pushed and changed the cups one by one.

Three rounds of wine.

The topic leads to building houses and renovating old houses.

Li Huaizhong squinted his eyes, looked up at the old owner's house, and said, "This wooden house is almost a hundred years old, and it should be tidied up. The thatch on the roof has not been turned over since the old man left. I guess the thatch underneath is rotten." gone."

"That's right, every time I enter Uncle Red Soldier's main room, I can smell musty grass. I don't know how Uncle Red Soldier can bear it." Tie Zhu took the conversation.

"If you want to do it, it should be done as early as possible. The rainy season is coming soon. If you can't finish the work, it will be troublesome."

"That's right, when it rains during the rainy season, you won't be able to work at all."

Several other men interrupted in a hurry.

Li Huaizhong thought of something, and frowned, "Building a house, repairing a house is a good thing, but now the village really can't spare manpower, tomorrow's kiln factory will fire, and the production team will go to work, your side."

In the forest area, each village is a production team. Although collective work is not practiced as in the past, the name of the production team is still retained. The village head is also the team leader. Occasionally, the production team will be called on to do some collective work, such as Building roads, clearing weir ponds and the like.

The kiln factory is owned by the village collective. Naturally, all members of the production team must participate in the re-opening of the kiln. Li Hongbing's private work is private work, and private work cannot affect the village collective activities. This is what makes Li Huaizhong difficult.

"I don't need the help of the villagers." Li Hongbing quickly waved his hands to explain. "In two days, my second brother-in-law will arrange a decoration company to inspect the old house, and then come up with a plan."

"I would like to invite everyone to dinner tonight. One is to tell the village in advance, lest the village gossip that I, Li Hongbing, don't understand etiquette, and the other is to prepare some slate stone monastery walls at Wuya Ridge. This slate stone waste is also the property of the village. See How much is appropriate to pay?"

pay?

The gentlemen sitting there were stunned for a moment, and after realizing it, they all laughed and scolded Li Hongbing.

"Uncle Hongbing, if you want those waste rocks, you can just pull them, how much will you pay for them?"

"It's not like that. If you do this, no one in the village will dare to go up the mountain to gather firewood."

"A few days ago when I repaired the sheepfold, I cut some logs from the back mountain. In my arms, do you want money?"

Li Huaizhong looked at the flushed Fusheng, and laughed and cursed, "I want money for your egg, I ask you for money, and Yuzhi can't smash the glass in my house in the middle of the night."

After finishing speaking, he turned his head to look at Li Hongbing and shook his head.

"Uncle Hongbing, look at what you're doing. It's all from the villagers. It's just some waste rocks. If you want it, just say it and let Tie Zhu and Da Kui pull it. The money is not a slap in the face. Why are you still doing it in the future? When you start work in the village, you people in the city are more thoughtful."

Got it!

"My fault, I punish myself with a bowl."

Li Hongbing picked up the wine bowl with a smile and drank it down.

Just now I deliberately proposed to pay for the waste stone, because it depends on the village's attitude towards the Li family. After all, I haven't come back to live in the village for more than 20 years, and the sophistication between the village and the village has faded a lot. talk about favor
In fact, Li Hongbing prefers to talk about money.

I pay the money, you give the goods, one yard is one yard, favors can be big or small, if you talk too much, it will be troublesome if you pay back.

"Okay, cheery man."

"Tomorrow, I'll finish my kiln work and help Uncle Hong Bing go to Wuyaling to pull stones."

"Just for this drink, if you don't go, go."

The bridal sedan chairs were carried by everyone, several gentlemen yelled, Li Hongbing naturally responded with wine, and after drinking a round, he picked up the wine bowl and walked in front of Shui Sheng, whose temples were frosted and his face was thin and sallow.

"I'm done with work recently, help me make some furniture."

Shuisheng is the father of the scholar among the four unlucky ones who was rescued last time. When he was a child, because there were many children and mouths in the family, he was sent to a carpenter to learn the art. After he came back, Shuisheng lived a good life.

Because in the early years, rural people built houses and made furniture, and their daughters married and made wooden furniture. Carpenters were inseparable from everything.

Although it was said that the carpenter’s wages were low at that time, only 2 yuan a day, but three meals a day were eaten by other people, and the carpenter had to make an appointment and line up. Only when the carpenters were happy to serve, would they treat you Do your homework well and do more.

But today is different from the past. Nowadays, furniture is basically bought in the furniture city. After all, it takes a while to get the furniture if you find a carpenter to make furniture. If you buy it directly, you can use it. The profession of furniture and carpentry is gradually being eliminated.

And the current situation of Shui Sheng is like this. He has a good craft, but he is so poor that he can't even find the money for his son to marry a wife.

The main reason is that the workmanship is good, and the quality of the furniture is good. The village did not cut corners when looking for him to make furniture.

As a result, the better the craftsmanship, the better the furniture, and finally starved to death.

Knowing that Uncle Hongbing was going to beat the furniture, Shui Sheng, who hadn't received a job for a long time, stood up excitedly.

"Just tell me what kind of furniture you want to buy. Chairs, tables, cabinets, and beds are all available. I'm not bragging. No one in the world does not agree with the furniture I buy."

"Sit down, I'll let you know in advance, I've packed a lot of furniture, let's talk about it later."

Li Hongbing leaned on Shuisheng's shoulders and sat back in his seat, the two touched a bowl of wine.

As the banquet came to an end.

The matter of building new houses and renovating old houses is almost the same. The land is their own, as long as the village committee does not object, there is basically no problem.

When sending them out, Li Hongbing raised his chin at the blind man, who walked into the main room and took out some things wrapped in newspapers from the main room, one for each of the six people sitting at the table.

"Uncle Red Soldier, you are out of touch."

"That's right, it's enough to eat, what to take!"

"Treat me as an outsider, don't you?"

Several gentlemen repeatedly declined, but Li Hongbing forcibly stuffed things into their arms.

"Take it, I understand the rules of breaking the ground, don't fool me that I'm from the city."

After delivering the things, he slammed the door shut.

Da Kui looked at the closed door and tore open the newspaper mutteringly, holding a stick of red plum cigarettes inside, which cost 5 or 60 packs even if he paid for it.

"Uncle Hong Soldier, he is a particular person."

Li Huaizhong glared, tightened the newspaper bag under his arm, convinced that his own must be better than Dakui's and the others, "Pack up your things, don't worry about the old women in the village gossip, you should get off work early to bring back the waste rocks .”

……

(End of this chapter)