Liu Jinxia opened her mouth upon hearing this, "You mean to hold a ritual for the living?"
Normally, there is no such thing as a ritual for the living because the rite for the deceased during a funeral is to ward off evil spirits. Holding a rite for a living person would be like transferring the misfortune from that person onto oneself; nobody would want to do that.
The so-called "ordination" refers to temporarily breaking ties with one's family and severing karma, but after a period of time, one can return to secular life.
In China's remote areas and in Southeast Asia, it is still a tradition to send children from the family to monasteries for a while before bringing them back home to continue their lives, while inland, there is a simplified version of this custom through the practice of appointing "godparents" for the children.
Li Sanjiang looked at Liu Jinxia, asking, "Do you think it's possible?"
Liu Jinxia nodded, "Since you are willing to pay such a price, then it must be possible."
She entered this trade halfway through her life and mostly learned through self-exploration, but in her earlier years, she had thought about learning some real skills from Li Sanjiang.
The reason it never happened was that she found Li Sanjiang to be unreliable.
You might say he is inept, but whenever there was trouble, he always managed to come up with some method; but if you say he is capable, he often made a complete mess of things and muddled through, just time.
But one thing Liu Jinxia was certain about was that this old guy had an indescribable quality.
When she first married into the family, her father-in-law told her that Li Sanjiang had been conscripted three times during the Republic of China era. Everyone else seized with him vanished without a trace, yet he managed to sneak back unscathed every single time.
Despite dealing with taboo trades, he had always been free from illnesses and disasters. Even calling him a lonely man felt far-fetched because, unlike her, he never started a family and always seemed to live a carefree and comfortable life.
There were so many reasons why he should have perished by now, yet he was the picture of health and vitality. Liu Jinxia was a whole generation younger than him but felt she was more likely to die before he did.
This ritual for the living, transferring misfortune, is based on whether you have the fate to take it on, and undoubtedly, Li Sanjiang did, and he even had it overflowing.
Li Sanjiang stood up, extinguished his cigarette butt on the ground, and prepared to leave but was stopped by Liu Jinxia:
"Say, Uncle Sanjiang."
"Uncle Sanjiang, I was too anxious about my son's situation earlier and spoke harshly. I'm sorry."
Li Sanjiang glanced at Liu Jinxia and said, "Got something to fart out?"
Liu Jinxia put on a smile, "Since you're already planning to do it, whether it's one child's ritual or two, it's just the same effort. How about I send Little Cuihou over to stay with Little Yuanhou as a companion at your place; what do you think?"
"Indeed, nothing but hot air."
Li Sanjiang walked away without turning back. Holding a ritual for Little Yuanhou was partly his responsibility and also for the sake of Hanhou's provision and care in old age.
He had lived a carefree life all along, and taking a small hit in his old age to ensure this was not a loss at all, far more worthwhile than those elders who spend the greater part of their lives tending to their children.
But as for holding a ritual for Liu Xiazi's household, Li Sanjiang felt that if he dared to perform it today, he might as well prepare to drop dead tomorrow!
"Little Yuanhou, come, Grandmaster will take you home!"
"Coming, Grandmaster."
Li Sanjiang took Li Zhiyuan by the hand and left Liu Jinxia's house. On the way, he said, "Little Yuanhou, Grandmaster wants to discuss something with you."
"Grandmaster, please speak."
"Your house is rather crowded with children now, and it's hard to find space to sleep. Grandmaster's house is spacious, and it's lonely living alone. How about you come stay at my place for a while, to keep me company, would that be alright?"
"Is there something wrong with me?"
"Err..." Today, Li Sanjiang finally realized that too much intelligence in a child can also be problematic, "Rest assured, Little Yuanhou. Whatever is troubling you, Grandmaster will help you solve it. No need to be afraid."
"It's fine, Grandmaster, I can get used to it."
"Quick, spit! That's not something you can get used to!"
Li Zhiyuan was brought back by Li Sanjiang while Yingzi was playing rubber band skipping with her two younger sisters on the dam.
Two long benches were spaced four meters apart, laid horizontally at both ends, with elastic bands looped over the legs of the benches.
"Little rubber ball, fragrant banana pear, the marigold blooms twenty-one. Twenty-five six, twenty-five seven, twenty-eight twenty-nine thirty-one..."
"Yuanhou, have your grandparents come back?" Li Sanjiang called out and asked.
"Ah, Grandmaster, Yuanzi." They noticed the people, "Grandpa, grandma just got back."
Li Sanjiang let go of Li Zhiyuan's hand and stepped inside, where he saw Li Weihan and Cui Guiying.
The old couple thought Li Sanjiang had come about the "statement" matter and quickly volunteered their report.
After listening, Li Sanjiang nodded reassuringly and told them, "Alright, the business with Big Beard's house is settled. There shouldn't be any more entanglements, I suspect."
Li Weihan asked with some concern, "Uncle, did you deal with Little Huang Ying?"
Li Sanjiang's eyelids twitched, dealt with, how? Should he take a shovel to dig at the bottom of Big Beard's fishpond and then shout to check if she's still there?
Reasonably speaking, a freshly dead Corpse couldn't possibly be that vicious. The fact that it managed to come ashore and chase all the way to their house was already beyond comprehension.
However, whether Little Huang Ying had dissolved away after getting her revenge or was still lurking in the pond, keeping an eye on Big Beard's old house as a malevolent presence, Li Sanjiang didn't intend to delve into.
"She won't come for your family anymore. Remember the dates and hold a ritual for her next year. A simple gesture will suffice."
"Sure, uncle, we'll keep that in mind."
"Mhm, however, there's another matter I need to discuss with you."
Li Sanjiang talked about the issues concerning Li Zhiyuan but omitted his own mishandling, no need to lose face.
Hearing this, Cui Guiying's lips turned pale again with fear: "Oh heavens, when will it end."
Li Weihan was calmer and said to his spouse, "The most dangerous hurdle is past us, this is nothing. Doesn't uncle have a solution? Let's just do as he suggests. Go prepare some clothes and luggage for Little Yuanhou."
Li Sanjiang waved his hand: "Staying at my place isn't like going to prison. You can visit. Just bring over his things tomorrow. It won't be for long, just about half a month at most. Think of it as a chance for me to spend time with a child and to enjoy being a grandfather, heh heh."
Li Sanjiang's casual tone settled Cui Guiying's heart quite a bit. Wiping away the tears at the corner of her eyes, she said, "We're really troubling you, Uncle Sanjiang."
"Ah, don't mention it, we're family, family. Alright, set up a table, light some candles, pour out three bowls of yellow wine. Let's just go through the motions and perform the leaving-home ritual."
The ritual was simple. A table was placed in the dam area with candles on it. Li Sanjiang muttered some words while leading Li Zhiyuan to circle the table three times.
Finally, he had Li Zhiyuan pick up three bowls of yellow wine in succession: one was sprinkled towards the sky, one poured over himself, and the last one thrown in the direction of his family standing inside the house.
The biggest attention to detail during the ritual was that Li Weihan, Cui Guiying, and their brothers and sisters were only allowed to stand inside the threshold, unable to come out or make a sound to disturb.
"Alright, Yuanhou, see you tomorrow." Li Sanjiang gestured with his hand, "I'll be taking the kid home now."
After speaking, Li Sanjiang picked Li Zhiyuan up on his back and walked beyond the dam.
Li Zhiyuan, being carried, twisted his body, maintaining his smile, waved goodbye to his family as though he was simply going to visit a relative.
Inside the threshold, Li Weihan wrapped his arms around Cui Guiying's shoulders, their gazes fixed on their kin. Panzi, Leizi, Hu Zi, Shitou, despite being told to remain silent, all covered their mouths while squeezing their heads out from behind their grandparents, looking on.
At this moment, as the sun was setting in the west, the warm orange light spread across everything, casting a gentle aura on the scene.
A sudden sense of daze overtook Li Zhiyuan's heart; he vaguely felt that this moment would remain forever in the deepest part of his heart, often to be recalled in the future.
Like flipping through...
An old, yellowed photograph.