pjbooks Chapter 47 Top beam
Chapter 47 Top beam
The auspicious time is very early, so everyone needs to arrive even earlier, because a lot of preparations still need to be done when raising the roof beam.
Yunyi got up around four o'clock, and after washing up, she led her family to the new house in a grand procession. Even the youngest, Qibao, had no complaints. On the contrary, he was very happy because he knew that once the house was built, they would no longer have to live under someone else's roof.
Although it was early, most of the villagers arrived one after another.
Gao Shunfang led the women to start a fire and cook. For convenience, they set up two large pots next to the new house so that everyone wouldn't have to run around.
There are no carpenters in Xiajiazhuang. The carpenter who came here, Huang, is from Pozigou Village, which is next to Lijia Village. It takes an hour to walk there and half an hour to take an oxcart.
Carpenter Huang brought his younger brother with him to work. The early stages of building the house weren't busy, but starting yesterday, the two brothers moved in here. They built a shed next to the new house, which kept Old Zhou company.
Before discussing the matter, we need to "make the beams," which means to treat the roof beams. Actually, the beams were already treated yesterday, and today we only need to do some simple decorations. However, before we start, the homeowner needs to drape the carpenter with red silk, which is a way to ward off misfortune.
With Xia Tianyin not around, Da Bao took care of these tasks.
Although Da Bao is only eight years old, he is quite skilled at doing these things.
Carpenter Huang shouted "Good luck and prosperity!" and then began his work. He cut a hole in the middle of the wooden beam, put two copper coins inside, nailed them in place, and then wrapped red silk around it.
Then, Xu Laonian, a respected elder in the village, took a pen and applied cinnabar to the beam, and the beam was considered complete.
Of course, some wealthy families would have dragons and phoenixes carved on the beams, but ordinary people didn't need to.
The village chief posted couplets written by his son Xia Gang on both sides of the house. The first line read: "Azure dragon coils around jade pillar," and the second line read: "White tiger rides golden beam." The horizontal inscription read: "Great fortune for the raising of the beam."
At the same time, an offering table was set up.
The long table was covered with mahogany, and on it were placed a pig's head, a whole fish, a whole chicken, whole steamed buns, and a whole block of tofu, as well as six kinds of pastries and candies, and two jars of Shaoxing wine.
The village chief led everyone in lighting incense and candles to worship heaven and earth, praying for good fortune and longevity for the family.
The six young men who had been assigned earlier went straight up to the roof, tying the other end of their ropes to the main beam.
Da Bao lit the firecrackers.
Standing on the roof, as the firecrackers went off, Huang the carpenter waved his hand, directing the young man to pull up the wooden beam, shouting, "Go! Good luck!"
It's considered bad luck for the beam to be raised unevenly, so everyone listened to the carpenter Huang's shouts and exerted force simultaneously to ensure the beam rose steadily. Only after the carpenter Huang shouted "It's stable!" did everyone shout "Good!" and the beam raising was completed.
Next comes the most exciting part, "throwing the beam," where the host stands on the roof beam and throws prepared sweets, coins, steamed buns, and other treats to the onlookers, causing everyone to scramble for them, symbolizing "wealth rolling in."
It is said that only the head of the family can go up there.
If the host family has no male members, they can designate someone to perform the beam-laying ceremony on their behalf.
The eldest son, Da Bao, was sent to the roof beam. First, as Huang the carpenter had instructed, he tied the bag of abundant grains, which contained red dates, peanuts, wheat, and evergreen plants, representing "fortune, prosperity, longevity, happiness, and everlasting prosperity."
It was already broad daylight by then.
The happiest people were the children; they were even happier than during the Lunar New Year.
After all, Yunyi had prepared a lot of things. Everyone could see that there were three large baskets, full to the brim, containing copper coins and various snacks and candies—things that people wouldn't even dare to eat during the New Year.
"Da Bao, throw it this way." Gou Dan kept jumping around below, gesturing for Da Bao on the beam to look at him.
Donkey Egg also kept waving, after all, they were good friends, so he was bound to favor them a little.
Da Bao nodded, indicating that he understood.
"Let's begin..." Xia Guozhong shouted.
The carpenter Huang instructed Da Bao to grab a handful from the basket and throw it down, chanting: "Throw the beam into the cave, and the sun will rise in the east, bringing a house full of red; throw the beam into the west, and the unicorn and pine cones will bring double happiness; throw the beam into the south, and your sons and grandsons will become top scholars; throw the beam into the north, and your granaries will be full of white rice every year."
Da Bao kept throwing things, and when Huang the carpenter finished shouting, he simply picked up the basket and overturned it.
Everyone:...
Then, with a commotion, they happily picked it up.
Da Bao is so generous!
Yunyi couldn't help but give the little guy a thumbs up. He was small and his hands were small, so he couldn't grab many at a time. If he threw them handful by handful, who knows how long it would take.
Da Bao naturally saw Yun Yi's actions and realized that she was praising him. He blushed and then dumped the contents of the two baskets behind him.
Picking up things inevitably involves bumps and knocks, but Xiajiazhuang is a small village where everyone is familiar with each other and there's no animosity between them, so they usually just laugh it off.
However, a fight still broke out.
"I clearly picked up this coin first, why are you trying to steal it?"
"What? You clearly picked it up? I was the first to get it, otherwise how could it be in my hands?"
"Xia Xiaocao, you're already married, yet you still come back to our village every day to take advantage of others. Have you no shame?"
"How am I shameless? I'm married, but aren't you? If you can come back, why can't I?"
"I came here with my man to deliver bricks. What about you? You came back to freeload."
"Why are you sending bricks? It's been three years. Even a hen would have laid eggs by now. Be careful you don't get divorced."
"Xia Xiaocao, I'll tear your mouth apart."
……
The two people arguing were Xia Xiaocao and Xia Baolian, who were cousins of the same grandparents.
Xia Baolian is Xia Tianyou's eldest daughter, and also Donkey Egg's older sister. She married into Lijia Village. Her husband, Li Kan, owns a brick kiln. This time, Yunyi ordered blue bricks from him to build her house.
However, his own family didn't have that many bricks, and even if they kept burning them, they couldn't keep up with the demand. Therefore, he also had to clear out all the bricks from the other brick kilns in the entire Lijia Village.
The people of Lijia Village are very grateful to Li Kan; if it weren't for him, they wouldn't have been able to sell any of the bricks from their kiln.
However, Xia Baolian has been married to Li Kan for three years but has not conceived, and seeking medical treatment has been ineffective.
Xia Tianyou and his wife were extremely sexist, having given birth to four daughters before finally having their son, Donkey Egg. So, even though Li Kan didn't blame her for not being pregnant, she was still incredibly anxious, and having a child became a taboo subject for her.
Yunyi was speechless as she watched the people around her trying to separate the two who were pulling each other's hair. Just as she was about to intervene, she saw the village chief walk over and slap each of them, saying, "Stop it, both of you."