Chapter 721: Mazu Temple raising the beam

The next morning, just as the sky was getting light, the village started to become lively.

The Mazu Temple was going to raise the beam.

Raising the beam is the most important part of building a house. The time must be carried out at the "rising tide" hour, implying that the water rises and the boat rises.

The men of the whole village basically got up early and went to the Mazu Temple to see if there was anything they could help with. When the beam was sung later, they also had to help cheer below. The more people, the better, and the more popular, the better.

This Mazu Temple beam raising was no different from raising the beam of one's own house, the process was about the same, and it was also very grand.

The whole process can be divided into several procedures: sacrificing the beam, raising the beam, receiving the package, throwing the beam, waiting for the craftsman, etc.

The saying goes: "If there is a beam on the roof, there is grain in the house; if there is no beam on the roof, the six domestic animals will not prosper."

People believe that only when the house beam is installed straight, stable, and lively can the family business prosper. The temple is the same, and it can also have prosperous incense and protect the coastal fishermen.

Before raising the beam, one must sacrifice to the gods. The offerings include "whole pig" (i. e., one pig head, one pig tail, meaning whole pig).

Fish, goose, tofu, egg, salt, and soy sauce in five or seven colors, placed on the end of the offering table with wooden red lacquer offering trays, and other dishes of twenty-four bowls and twelve basins of north and south fruit products.

This was prepared in advance early in the morning. When Ye Yaodong arrived, the offerings were already set up, several large tables full, and the Mazu Temple was also full of villagers.

He looked left and right, wandered around, greeted familiar people, stood with a few friends, and waited for the time to raise the beam.

At this time, the pillars on the side had already been pasted with the couplet, "Raising the beam meets the auspicious day, standing the pillar meets the Ziwei star."

Most of the villagers came, and the carpenters basically all arrived. The masters had to tie red silk strips around their waists; red cloth has the effect of avoiding evil and breaking evil spirits.

The teacher presiding over the beam raising was also there, now just waiting for the time.

Hearing someone shout that the time had come, the host checked the time, confirmed the time had come, and started to sacrifice the beam.

Ye Yaodong and the others all watched carefully below, listening to him sing and pray in the local dialect to the gods of the temple, the masters of the three realms, the five directions of the house gods, the master Lu Ban, the beam god, etc., to preside and invite the gods.

Then the mason, carpenter, etc., toasted while saying good words.

After the beam sacrifice, the host used a vermilion brush to dot the two ends of the beam, called "dotting the beam eye." After dotting the beam, two people born in the year of the dragon and tiger, according to the direction of the temple's left green dragon and right white tiger, raised the beam.

They had a saying in the local area of "Dragon and Tiger Subduing Position," which is to take the dragon and tiger as a relatively auspicious and powerful match, which helps the temple to be peaceful and prosperous.

Usually, it's just a symbolic lift, and then the big wood master and assistant execute it.

The two ends of the beam were also hung with red silk, and a Qing Shunzhi copper coin was hung under the red silk, meaning "peace and smooth."

When the middle beam was raised, firecrackers were set off outside the house, and the incense burner on the side also started to burn gold ingots.

The beam-raising master also sang the beam-raising song, shouting loudly: "Raise it, great luck and great profit!"

And the villagers inside and outside the Mazu Temple all shouted loudly: "Enter! Enter!"

Everyone cooperated, and in the lively and prosperous sound wave, the beam was raised to the roof and completed.

Then the host placed the red cloth bag containing red dates, peanuts, rice, wheat, evergreen, etc., in the center of the beam, implying "fortune, prosperity, longevity, happiness, and eternal youth."

After the beam raising, it was receiving the package, but because it was a temple, this link was omitted, and the beam was thrown directly.

"Throwing the beam" is the liveliest link in the beam-raising ceremony. The craftsman must say auspicious words while throwing, and the villagers are all smiling, waiting happily to catch candy, peanuts, steamed buns, etc.

Ye Yaodong and the others were also chatting and laughing below, "Waiting for this link."

"Grab a little more, great luck and great profit, smooth sailing!"

"Didn't eat breakfast, just waiting here..."

The carpenter cheered: "Fu Yi ah!"

The villagers responded: "Good ah!"

"Hand holding golden chicken phoenix calling."

"Good ah!"

"Sacrificing the beam golden chicken auspicious star arrives."

"Good ah!"

The villagers stopped chatting when the carpenter started throwing and sprinkling, cooperating with the shouting.

One call and one answer, unique charm.

Everyone grabbed it with a roar, very lively.

Ye Yaodong relied on his height and long hands. While throwing and sprinkling, he specifically stood on tiptoe, both hands spread out and grabbed accurately, his palms full. After stuffing them into his clothes pocket, he continued to grab.

Until his pockets were full, he grabbed two big steamed buns and stopped.

White and tender, soft, just out of the oven not long ago, still a bit hot, grabbed one in each hand, opened his mouth and bit.

He hadn't eaten breakfast yet, also waiting here.

"You're cheating!"

Ye Yaodong listened to A-Zheng's depressed voice, smiling and deliberately standing on tiptoe, standing beside him.

"Damn, get away, don't stand beside me."

Don't touch me!

Ye Yaodong followed behind him as usual, still standing on tiptoe. Although he didn't say a word, his behavior was already killing people invisibly, making A-Zheng's teeth itch with anger.

"Break up!"

Ye Yaodong followed behind him as usual, until he saw a group of people standing in the corner of the main hall wearing Zhongshan suits, with fountain pens in their pockets, looking like cadres, and several leaders of the village committee were also standing beside them accompanying with smiles. Only then did he quickly stop playing and walk over with a smile.

Because he saw that Chen Juzhang of the Maritime Bureau was also there.

If there were no acquaintances, how could he have such a big face to go up and say hello?

It was different with Chen Juzhang there, at least he was a bit familiar.

"Leaders, hello. Didn't expect the leaders to be so busy, yet still be able to take time to come over and watch our Mazu Temple raise the beam."

Chen Juzhang smiled: "Agreed to come over to join in the fun today, but came late in the morning, didn't expect it to start so quickly."

The village head quickly accompanied with a smile: "Not late, not late, it's our honor that the leaders can come. This beam raising is already over. We'll wait for the villagers to go out, then take the leaders to stroll around the Mazu Temple. It's still early before the banquet starts..."

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. Just wandering around nearby or in the village when the time comes will be fine. You can also go to Comrade Ye Yaodong's house to sit for a while."

Ye Yaodong hurriedly nodded and replied, "Yes, yes, yes, come to my house to sit, have a cup of tea, and rest your feet first."

"Good, good, how is the trawling recently? Are there many fish?"

"It's okay, so-so. After Mazu's birthday ends, guess it won't be long before we have to prepare to catch cuttlefish..."

"That's very good, there's money to be made, cuttlefish is the big head..."

"Sigh~ it's all hard-earned money..."

Ye Yaodong also followed along to keep them company, chatting idly there for a few moments while watching the fellow villagers inside the Goddess Mazu Temple slowly walk out.

Originally, after the beam throwing ended, everyone had to withdraw, and then the nylon bag on the very top of the house had to be uncovered to let the sun shine directly on the house beam, which is called "sun beam."

After people left, they also strolled around in the Mazu Temple.

A few friends stood for a while, and they all went out first very sensibly, not standing in the way, after all, they didn't know each other, so they didn't thicken their faces to get close.

Those people from the village committee took these leaders whose names he couldn't call out, strolled around the Mazu Temple, and introduced them while walking.

After the Mazu Temple also started to set up tables and chairs, they walked out.

Ye Yaodong, having nothing to do, also accompanied them at the back; he was still waiting to invite people home to sit.

Outside the main hall, rows of large round tables had already been set up, and the cooks and helpers in the open space on the side were also busy preparing the banquet at noon.

This beam-raising ceremony was quite complicated. Just singing the beam took more than ten minutes. The whole process took more than two hours, but because it started early, it was not even ten o'clock.

Today happened to be the weekend, and the children were happily drilling around and playing. They felt that these few days were simply too happy, happier than the New Year, and more lively.

After Ye Yaodong came out, he looked for his own children and divided the two pockets full of candies and peanuts between the two brothers, with exactly one pocket for each.

And Ye Chenghai and the others only discovered that the candy and peanuts they got were not even half of Ye Chenghu's.

"Third Uncle, why do you have so much?"

"Because I'm tall, and my hands are long, grab first. If you have nothing to do, jump rope more, you can also grow tall."

Ye Yaodong pondered whether he should buy them a basketball when he goes to the city next time.

Their southerners are generally too short, the older generation, one meter seven in the village is considered tall...

Can't give it for nothing. Wait until Ye Chenghu gets two 100s, when taking him to the city, buy him a basketball as a gift, which is okay.

Let him become the most handsome boy in the whole village!

"Not dinner time yet, I'm going back, do you want to go back with me?"

Everyone shook their heads in unison, "Don't want to!"

It's so lively here, who is willing to go home?

The children scattered in a swarm and started running around again.

Ye Yaodong shook his head; they wouldn't be going back just yet, and they would all have to go back later for the banquet. It was impossible to bring all the children to the banquet.

"Your family's children are quite many?" Chen Juzhang asked curiously, "Didn't seem to see so many the last few times, they are brother's family's, right."

"Right, my two brothers each have three, I also gave birth to three. Their brothers and sisters are not much different in age, and they all play quite well."

"Looking at it, it's lively, fortunately born early, children will be fewer in the future."

"Hehe, right."

He wouldn't take this topic for the fine for over-birth.

"This Mazu Temple has been strolled, go to my house to sit for a while, drink some tea, talked so much, should be thirsty."

"Can."

But before he had walked many steps, Ye Yaodong saw his dogs again, all six or seven of them, having climbed into the sidecar of someone's sidecar motorcycle...

Good guy, when did they come out, how did he not know?

Still addicted?

Really know how to enjoy, people haven't sat, they are enjoying first, and again.

He couldn't laugh or cry and quickly went up to drive away and scold, "Quickly get down for me, shrinking into someone's side-car again, be careful of being pulled back by a car and stewed for dog meat!"

"Woof woof~"

"Woof woof woof~"

Barked at him wildly, but didn't see them move position!

"Quickly get down, don't be shameless."