The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 465 Autumn of 78
After the beginning of autumn, the scenery of Lao Liu's courtyard becomes more and more beautiful day by day.

The house is dotted with clumps of flowers and plants, some of which are herbaceous, while others are potted or planted in the ground.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is the time when all flowers are in full bloom. The okra, hydrangea and canna planted in my mother Deng Ru's yard are in full bloom.

When her daughter Liu Shuxian saw this scene, she began to sketch. She had been practicing oil painting since she was a child and her skills were quite good.

Looking at the lifelike flowers on the drawing board, her grandmother Deng Ru, who loves painting, laughed out loud.

At this time of year, what excites children like Liu Wen and Liu Wu the most is picking dates and grapes.

There are three towering jujube trees outside the Liu family’s old house. These jujube trees are quite old.

By the Mid-Autumn Festival, the dates were ripe, and my aunt gathered the children from the neighborhood to eat them.

The adults climbed up the tree and used long poles to pick up dates. The dates on the tree fell down with a clatter. The children on the ground picked up the dates despite getting hit. "Oh, why does it hurt so much? It turns out I was stung by the thornberries." The child endured the pain and continued to pick the dates.

In the end, everyone picked up a kang full of dates and distributed their share to each person. Everyone in the family ate all the dates.

…………

As soon as the tenth day of August arrives, you can see that the streets in the capital city become bustling.

The biggest changes this year are the mooncake stalls and fruit stalls that have not been seen for many years, stalls selling "Moonlight Horses", stalls selling rabbit dolls, stalls selling edamame with branches, and stalls selling cockscombs and other flowers, all appear one after another.

Even the steamed bun shop set up a stall in front of its own store, and people flocked to buy.

Even the poorest families would buy two pieces of red or white cake, cut them into small pieces on the evening of the festival, and share them with the whole family.

It's the Mid-Autumn Festival! Some people also buy puff pastry to celebrate the festival, and even if adults don't eat it, they will give it to children.

The day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, my aunt and mother Deng Ru, the sisters-in-law, started to get busy.

They will set up an altar in the yard and offer sacrifices on the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Because this traditional Mid-Autumn Festival ceremony hasn’t been held at home for ten years.

This year the Liu family has restored the old tradition, so the two elders are very enthusiastic.

The table was filled with a variety of fruits, including red watermelons, dark purple grapes, large fresh apples, and large pomegranates full of seeds.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Liujiazhuang is in the season of autumn fruits on the market, and the fruits are particularly abundant.

The orchard in Liujiazhuang has everything, including Yar pear, sand apple, white pear, water pear, apple, crabapple, European plum, fresh dates, grapes, late peaches, as well as edamame, lotus root, and watermelon.

In addition to fruits, there were moon cakes on large plates on both sides of the table.

My aunt also made big steamed cakes, which were round in shape and filled with layers of sesame oil. In between the layers were various dried fruits, and sprinkled with green, red and golden cake strips. They looked very beautiful.

Of course, when it comes to the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival of old Beijingers, the most indispensable old item is the "Rabbit God".

In the early years, this was a top-notch toy.

Every time after the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, the streets and alleys in the capital city are filled with stalls selling "rabbit gods".

Some are tall, some are short, some are fat and some are thin; some are riding deer, some are riding phoenixes, some are wearing armor, and their appearances and makeup are different.

Someone asked, why do people in Beijing buy "Rabbit God" during the Mid-Autumn Festival?

Legend has it that one year, a plague suddenly broke out in the capital city. Almost every family had patients and none of them could be cured.

When Chang'e in the Moon Palace saw this, she sent her Jade Rabbit down to earth to cure the people.

After the Jade Rabbit came down to earth, it turned into a young girl. She rode a horse, a deer, a lion, and a tiger, and traveled all over the capital city to cure people's illnesses.

In order to express their gratitude, people gave her gifts, but the Jade Rabbit refused to accept anything. She just borrowed clothes from people and changed her clothes wherever she went, sometimes even wearing men's clothes.

After eliminating the plague in the capital, the Jade Rabbit returned to the Moon Palace.

Therefore, in order to commemorate the Jade Rabbit, people used clay to shape various images of the Jade Rabbit, which have various postures and are very cute.

In order to thank her for bringing good luck and happiness to the world, every family will offer sacrifices to her on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, present her with delicious fruits, vegetables and beans, and respectfully call her "Rabbit God".

Most of the "rabbit gods" are human-shaped with rabbit faces, made of clay and painted. The largest one is about one meter long, and the smallest is two or three inches long.

They all have wide-petaled mouths, protruding ears, fair cheeks, and wear "battle robes", "helmets and armor", and a flag on their backs.

Some rabbit gods "ride" tigers, some "ride" lions, some "ride" elephants, and some "hold" a rabbit holding a pestle to pound medicine.

Although it is made of clay, it still looks majestic.

…………

On the night of August 15th, the moon is shining brightly, casting silver light.

The Liu family was very particular, so they lit many lamps in the yard and in the house, so that the moonlight in the sky and the lights on the ground could complement each other.

An incense table is set up in the courtyard facing the southeast and facing the moon, filled with fresh fruits such as watermelon, apples, grapes, dates, pears, chestnuts, etc., as well as cooked edamame, spiced peanuts, taro and the like.

Hanging behind the table is the "Moonlight Horse", also known as the "Rabbit Code" and the "Moon Palace Code".

This is a woodcut watercolor print that can be bought at incense and candle shops and southern paper shops.

The longest one can reach seven or eight feet, and the shortest one is only two or three feet.

In the upper half of the picture, there is an image of Taiyin Xingjun (the moon god) and the legendary Guanghan Palace, while in the lower half, there is a picture of a jade rabbit standing like a human holding a pestle and pounding medicine.

When offering sacrifices to the moon, this painting is pasted on a frame made of sorghum stalks and placed behind the sacrificial table.

A sprig of raw edamame is inserted into the incense burner on the table, representing the laurel tree in the moon.

You also need to insert cockscombs, which symbolize the swaying trees in the moon. Of course, cooked edamame with branches is also indispensable, because edamame is rabbits' favorite food.

These things placed on the table all have meanings and are not placed randomly.

The edamame branches represent the laurel tree in the moon; the cockscomb flowers symbolize the sal tree in the moon; and the nine-node lotus roots symbolize the supreme meaning of “nine-nine”.

In addition to the placement of fruits on the altar, there are also requirements for the mooncakes used for offerings. They must be "self-made red" and not "self-made white".

It is said that one is to bring good luck, and the other is that it looks good and tastes good.

After the offerings are placed, a red felt is laid in front of the offering table for people to worship.

Everything was ready. My aunt brought all the female members of the family, big and small, to light red candles, burn incense and worship the moon.

The ceremony is held in the same manner as the Spring Festival sacrificial ceremonies, after all arrangements are completed.

When worshiping the moon, people usually do so with bare hands looking up into the sky. In addition, the so-called moon worship means worshiping Chang'e from a distance, so during the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is usually women who worship the moon, while men do not.

Therefore, in the custom of the capital, there is a saying that "men do not worship the moon, and women do not worship the kitchen god."

The moon was seen rising gradually from the southeast. Led by Liu Zhiye's aunt, the women in the family, in order of age, bowed to the moon one by one.

After the moon worship, the "Moonlight Horse" can be burned together with the "Thousands of Papers" and "Gold and Silver Ingots", and then "invite" again next year - you cannot say "buy", you have to say "invite".

But, you can’t come without buying.

After the offerings were made, the whole family sat together, drinking and admiring the moon.

Share offerings such as fruits, moon cakes, etc.

The mooncakes are homemade "Zilai Red" and "Zilai White", and the wine is homemade "Osmanthus Wine".

My aunt is an expert at making mooncakes. She bought grain, oil and seasonings yesterday, went home to knead the dough, mixed it with the filling, filled it into molds and then knocked out the mooncakes. There are also molds with the words "Fu" and "Shou" engraved on them.

The mooncakes she made were crispy, fragrant, and layered with each other. They were rich in oil but not greasy, and had a sweet and salty taste, which was quite popular among her family.

Let’s talk about the Beijing people drinking osmanthus wine.

According to legend, the original brewer of osmanthus wine was a widow who made a living by selling homemade wine. She had a nice name - the Wine-Making Fairy.

At the beginning, she did not brew osmanthus wine. It was just by chance that she met an old man on the mountain. The old man must have been injured on the way to chop wood in the mountain, and was sitting on the side of the road asking for help.

The wine-making fairy wanted to rescue the old man, but she didn't even have a kettle with her, so she didn't know how to save him.

Looking at the old man with chapped lips, she had no choice but to bite her finger, wanting to use her own blood to quench the old man's thirst.

At the moment when the blood flowed into the old man's lips, the old man suddenly disappeared. After a gust of wind, a yellow cloth bag flew in from the sky. The bag was filled with many small yellow paper bags, and there was also a yellow paper note with the words:

"The Moon Palace bestows laurels to reward good people. May the laurel tree be green and full of flowers for good fortune and longevity. Pick the flowers and brew laurel wine, and send it to my father and mother first. Wu Gang helps the good and brings disaster to the treacherous."...

The yard is surrounded on all sides, enclosing the family's simple happiness.

The courtyards are numerous and the courts are deep, and this is the moment of reunion when the whole family gathers together.

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival is the most reunited time for the whole family.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival two years ago, Liu Zhiye led the way and was at the front line of the disaster area, directing the earthquake relief work in an orderly manner.

At the same time, Liu Zhitai and He Hongmei did not reunite at home.

Instead, they are also in the disaster area, wearing white clothes, devoting themselves to intensive medical work day and night to protect the lives and health of the people in the disaster area.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival last year, the family suffered an unexpected change. The old man unfortunately fell seriously ill. This sudden illness hung over the hearts of the whole family like a dark cloud, bringing unprecedented gloom to the originally warm and harmonious family.

Fortunately, after a series of treatments and careful care, the old man finally overcame the disease and gradually recovered after half a year.

However, this serious illness still caused great damage to the old man's body, making his physical condition much worse than before, and even making people worry about his remaining life.

But the old man seemed unusually open-minded and optimistic. He smiled kindly and comforted the younger generations around him: "Haha, I'm already in my old age, what else can I be upset about? As the saying goes, the King of Hell won't take you away! I've earned enough to live to this age in this life, so don't be sad for me anymore!"

Although we know that birth, aging, illness and death are inevitable in life,
However, the brothers Liu Yuansheng and Liu Jingzhai, as well as their grandchildren Liu Zhiye, Liu Zhitai, Liu Tielin, Liu Yucui, Liu Zhiruo and others, found it difficult to get over this.

In their hearts, the old man is not only a close relative, but also the spiritual pillar that supports the Liu family and the eternal beacon in the hearts of the family members.

Because of this, when the old man fell seriously ill, the entire Liujiazhuang was shrouded in a haze, and everyone was anxious, as if they had lost their backbone.

In fact, what they are most worried about deep down in their hearts is that once the old man’s generation passes away, can the Liu family still maintain its current cohesion and continue to move forward steadily?

Although Liu Zhiye has been tacitly recognized by the Liu family as the undisputed leader, under his outstanding leadership, the Liu family has indeed achieved brilliant achievements that have attracted worldwide attention.

However, compared with the old man's deep-rooted prestige in the Liu family, Liu Zhiye is still slightly inferior.

The old man's influence in the clan is like a towering mountain, difficult to reach.

……

Liu Zhiye knew that the old man was already in his twilight years and that the flame of life was about to go out, and he was extremely sad.

Although he possesses extraordinary powers, he cannot reverse the ruthless natural law of birth, aging, sickness and death.

Faced with this unchangeable fate, the Liu family chose to cherish every remaining moment of the old man, to stay by his side, to give him warmth and comfort, hoping that he could reach the end of his life peacefully and without regrets.

Therefore, Father Liu Jingzhai made a major decision. He resolutely bid farewell to the education career to which he had devoted decades of effort and chose to retire early.

He longed to spend more time with his elderly grandfather at home, spending warm time together and making up for the lack of companionship in the past due to his busy work.

At the same time, uncle Liu Yuansheng also made a similar decision.

He confidently handed over the breeding business that he had held in his hands for many years to the young and promising descendants of the Liu family, and he himself retreated to the second line to enjoy a leisurely life in his later years.

In this way, the older generation figures such as uncle Liu Yuansheng, father Liu Jingzhai, and third uncle Liu Yuanhai retired one after another, and the Liu family officially ushered in the era of the second generation.

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival is the most reunion day for the Liu family in recent years.

All the adults and children in the family gathered together.

Although the old man is very old and hard of hearing, and often cannot hear the conversations and laughter of his younger generations, he can truly feel the strong family atmosphere.

He was lying on a lounge chair in the yard, covered with a towel blanket, his eyes kindly sweeping over the fourth generation of children playing and fighting in the yard.

Those childish laughter and lively figures were like a clear spring, nourishing his heart that had experienced many vicissitudes of life.

The smile on the old man's face was extremely bright, it was a kind of satisfaction and happiness that came from the heart.

At this moment of reunion, the old man seemed to see the continuation of the family bloodline and felt the warmth and strength of the family.

The joy of reunion made him forget the passage of time and his heart was filled with beautiful visions of the Liu family's future.

Liu Zhiye half-knelt in front of the old man, tightly holding the hands that were full of traces of time, and asked with concern: "Grandpa, are you tired? Otherwise, I will help you go back to the house to rest for a while?" His eyes were full of worry.

The old man turned his head slowly, his eyes fell gently on Liu Zhiye's face, and he shook his head gently, with a faint smile on his lips. "No hurry, let me take a good look at these little guys."

His words were full of reluctance and expectation.

Then, he raised his hand and pointed at the children playing not far away, with a determined light in his eyes, "Zhiye, you have the heaviest burden. From now on, this family will depend on you to protect it!"

Liu Zhiye's eyes were filled with tears, but he smiled and nodded to the old man, "Don't worry! With me here, the Liu family will surely prosper!"

The old man gazed at his most beloved grandson with great satisfaction, his eyes full of pride and expectation.

He noticed the fine lines creeping up on the corners of Liu Zhiye's eyes, and couldn't help but sigh softly: "You are also in your forties, take good care of yourself, and make sure they don't go astray. Don't force some things, just let it go!

The moon is less bright when it reaches the 15th, and people stop doing anything when they reach middle age. Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings, so don’t be a horse or a cow for them.

As the grandfather and grandson were talking, the aunt quickly brought out a large basin of "Shengfang crabs."

"The crabs are here! Everyone, eat them while they're hot!"

"Oh! Time to eat crabs!" The group of little ones stopped making noise, and rushed forward impatiently, grabbed the still hot crabs and started eating.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, people have the custom of eating crabs.

Old Beijingers have a saying about eating crabs: eat the roe of crabs with pointed navels and the roe of crabs with round navels! Steaming crabs is the most common way to eat them.

In fact, people who are particular about food eat drunken crabs.

It has a fresh and fragrant taste, with fresh meat and a tantalizing taste, and is known as "the most delicious food in the world".

However, eating drunken crabs has certain requirements on the quality of crabs. The best one is of course the "Shengfang Crab" produced in Liujiazhuang.

People in Beijing love to eat crabs and cook them. There are all kinds of ways to cook crabs, such as steaming, boiling, and frying. Crabs have become an indispensable home-cooked delicacy on the Mid-Autumn Festival table of people in Beijing.

The "Shengfang Crab", a specialty of Liujiazhuang, is a shining pearl in the Beijing aquatic products industry. Around the Mid-Autumn Festival, it floods the market and becomes the focus of everyone's attention.

Although the crab production in Liujiazhuang has been quite considerable in recent years, it is still difficult to meet the huge market demand and is often in a state of supply exceeding demand.

But even so, the street office did not lack benefits for the people here during the holidays.

Huaihua is now a regular worker at the Liujiazhuang Bicycle Factory and is very diligent in her daily work.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, the bicycle factory gave the workers a day off so that everyone could enjoy this reunion moment.

As soon as the sky was getting light, Huaihua couldn't wait to come to the factory to collect her Mid-Autumn Festival benefits.

Four pounds of sweet and delicious mooncakes, two lively carps, six pounds of fat and tempting "Shengfang crabs", and two bottles of mellow and sweet "Taihang" wine, these generous gifts made Huaihua very happy.

Along the way, Xiaodang was in a particularly good mood. She was eager to go home and pedaled her bicycle like a Hot Wheels.

The benefits offered by the bicycle factory this year are much better than in previous years. Not only are the varieties rich, but the quality is also high.

Xiaodang couldn't help but smile happily as he thought about the beautiful scene of the family sitting together in the evening, savoring these delicious dishes and spending the festive season together.

When she opened the door, a familiar smell hit her in the face.

"Grandma!" Xiaodang shouted crisply, with excitement that was hard to conceal in her voice, "Mom! I'm back!" As she shouted, she gently placed the package in her hand on the table, her face filled with joy of returning home.

"I'm back, so what are you yelling about?" Banggeng walked out of the house, frowning, with a bit of displeasure in his tone. His eyes revealed a hint of irritability, as if he was troubled by something.

Xiaodang couldn't help feeling puzzled when he saw his brother Banggeng looking like he deserved a beating.

She turned to look at Huaihua who was busy cleaning the place and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong with our brother? He's so angry so early in the morning. Who messed with him?"

Huaihua leaned close to her ear and said in a low voice, "Hey! Is he angry with our mom?"

Xiao Dang asked with a puzzled look on his face: "It's a big holiday, why is he so angry?"

Huaihua rolled her eyes in disdain and replied, "What other reason could there be? It's just because of the gift for his father-in-law!"

(End of this chapter)