Chapter 814: Captured It

No one had expected their Goddess Mazu parade blessing event to be so popular — it had only just set out, only just paraded through the first village, and the crowd's cheers had already pushed the event to its absolute peak.

Ye Yaodong never in his wildest dreams imagined that an entire village would kneel to welcome Goddess Mazu — this had never happened in his previous life either.

This could be considered the grandest Goddess Mazu parade blessing since reform and opening — no, it should be the grandest in all of history.

He had never seen what the parade blessing ceremony on Meizhou Island was like, but today's was the most awe-inspiring one within his memory. In later generations, the masses would only come to watch the excitement, rarely so devout — they certainly wouldn't kneel to welcome her.

It might be because the older generation had been through more, and elders believed in these things more. Many people liked to entrust their spiritual wishes to gods and Buddhas, which was why one call got a hundred responses — when one knelt, everyone knelt.

In the future, one call might still get a hundred responses, but everyone kneeling would no longer be possible.

Such a scene, yet he hadn't brought his camera out — what a pity. Last night he had only told his wife to take a couple of photos of the outing, and he didn't know whether she had followed along or just snapped two shots at the Goddess Mazu gate.

Thinking about it, there's still a baby at home — she probably really hadn't followed along.

What a shame. He was carrying the palanquin and the procession was moving, otherwise he could have run home to grab it, then ridden his bicycle to catch up — he should still have made it in time.

The entire village was in high spirits, faces fervent, and as the procession moved, everyone followed alongside, from start to finish.

By the time they finished parading through one whole village and came out, everyone had spontaneously fallen in behind, the group growing ever larger, and their chants louder than the gongs and drums.

Many people from nearby villages had also run to the roadside, watching the excitement while waiting to welcome Goddess Mazu into their own village.

Around here, villages were packed tight against one another — separated at most by a small bridge, a few fields, or a short stretch of main road.

When the Goddess Mazu parade reached the second village on the edge, people from other villages also came running over, regardless of distance, and followed along to watch.

It was like this the whole way.

Some people followed from start to finish, and when they stopped for a midday rest, they stopped too. While the villagers munched on flatbread with water, seeing those followers ravenous and unwilling to leave, the kind-hearted ones shared whatever bread they had on hand.

This was the first Goddess Mazu parade blessing they had ever held — he could say that right now, within ten li or eight villages, the whole county, the whole city, probably only their village had successfully held one.

The culture of faith had long since transcended clan power.

The culture of faith could bind hundreds of villages of different surnames together.

To reach a common ideal, there must be a spiritual pillar.

This was the rallying power of worship in Min Province — everyone shared the same faith, the same spiritual pillar.

The parade ceremony went on continuously, from morning till night, and every village they passed was warmly welcomed by the masses lining the streets. Some people followed the entire way, just waiting for Goddess Mazu to enter their village.

There actually weren't that many nearby villages — they only followed the route through about ten — but the villagers were simply too enthusiastic. At every village, everyone shouted for dragon dances, and each village had to dance two or three times, so they kept stopping and starting along the way.

Ye Yaodong carried the palanquin, shifting it from his left shoulder to his right, then back to his left, until they returned to Huicheng in the evening, when he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

On the way back, fewer people followed — only on the roads on either side of the village were there still some people seeing them off. Many who had followed all day were exhausted, and once the procession passed their village, they no longer followed.

On the way back, everyone quickened their pace too — no need to enter other villages, just head straight for their own, and the speed picked up considerably.

When the divine palanquin stopped in front of the Tianhou Palace, Ye Yaodong simply collapsed and sat right on the ground.

"Oh my god, it's killing me."

"Haha, good thing I didn't sign up to carry the palanquin — setting off firecrackers at most just makes your feet sore after a day." A Zheng, laughing and joking, sat down beside him too.

A Guang walked over too, smiling, and said, "Good thing I went to carry the flag."

"Me too! Good thing I wasn't tricked by you — anyone could tell it was a tough job." Xiao Xiao came over too, gloating.

Ye Yaodong rolled his trouser legs up above his knees, handed each of them a cigarette, and then they bit down on their cigarettes and borrowed light from one another.

"Can't be helped — who told me I'm a young and able-bodied man, strong and sturdy, so I have to do this kind of work. You guys are too weak, can only do the easy stuff."

A Guang smiled and reached out to pat his shoulder twice. "Then keep at it, young and able-bodied man!"

"Hiss—" Ye Yaodong winced in pain, quickly swatted his hand away. "You did that on purpose."

"You're a young and able-bodied man — a day like this is nothing, there's tomorrow and the day after too. Enjoy it."

"Ugh, is anyone covering for me tomorrow?"

The three of them shook their heads in unison, speaking as one: "No!"

"I'm done for — I don't even need to lift my shirt to know it's definitely red all over."

"When you get home tonight, have your wife rub some tea oil on it for you," Xiao Xiao suggested. "After all, there's still two more days…"

A date, then a stick!

A Zheng glanced back at the old site. "There's holy water enshrined in the temple — go beg for a bowl, take it home and rub it on. Forget it, I'll go with you to ask for a bowl."

"Now that's what I call brothers!"

"Mm, no need to thank us — after all, you're currently the 'disabled' among the old, weak, sick, and pregnant."

"Damn…"

Ye Yaodong reached out to smack him, and he quickly stumbled forward, laughing, and ran off.

After everyone else had piled the big flags and other tools in a corner, waiting for the person in charge of inventory to move them all into the temple together, they all sat down on the ground in twos and threes, waiting for dinner. After a tiring day, of course they had to eat before heading home.

The few of them sat on the steps too, waiting for dinner.

A Zheng brought over a bowl of water for Ye Yaodong. "Drink up — they say drinking it is good, and whatever's left can be used to rub on. Guaranteed to cure whatever ails you."

"Laozi isn't sick."

"Close enough — it can strengthen the body anyway."

Ye Yaodong looked at that clear bowl of water — just because it had been enshrined before the Buddha, everyone had attributed to it the miraculous powers they imagined…

He smiled and took a sip, then passed it to the others. "Go on, everyone gets a share."

Each of them took a sip, and only then did Ye Yaodong take off his shirt and let them pour the remaining bit of water on his shoulder — then he felt they were doing it on purpose, because they actually rubbed hard!

"Stop, stop, stop… I don't need you guys doing it for me — when I get home, my wife will rub it for me."

"Your wife's hands aren't as strong as ours — guaranteed to activate blood circulation and dissolve bruises…"

Ye Yaodong quickly got up and dodged aside — just a bowl of water, and they wanted to activate blood circulation and dissolve bruises? Although he did believe in the power of gods and Buddhas, he figured going home and rubbing tea oil on it again would be better — a two-pronged approach!

"Dinner's ready, dinner's ready…"

The moment he stood up, someone called out that dinner was being served, so he hurried over first to grab a spot.

Four or five tables were set up, each with the same four dishes and one soup — meat, vegetables, and fish, all served in soup basins, generous portions, with unlimited food and rice, and refills available once finished.

It wasn't a banquet, but as long as there was enough to fill everyone up, people were happy. After a whole day of work, everyone was starving; each person grabbed a spot and stood there eating, wolfing down their food.

After Ye Yaodong ate and drank his fill, the first thing he did upon getting home was ask Lin Lin Xiuqing, "Did you take pictures with the camera this morning?"

"I did. Didn't you tell me to take two?"

"Then did you take them at the Tianhou Temple gate, or where?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing looked at him, baffled. "Look at you, all worked up. The night before, you told me to remember to take pictures, so after I finished my morning chores, I took the camera and went to wait at Tianhou Temple. When the whole group had lined up and was about to set off, I took one picture, and I took one of you alone too…"

"Ah, what's there to photograph of me? Later, when we came out of the village and reached the first neighboring village, all the villagers there knelt down. Did you get a shot of that scene?"

"Yes! I didn't want to follow out at first, but Ye Ye Dasao and Ye Ye Ersao kept pulling me along, telling me to come and take a few more shots, and kept asking me to take pictures of them. I said there wasn't enough film, so I couldn't. Then we followed to the entrance of the neighboring village, and I was about to head back when I happened to see everyone kneeling. I was pretty excited at that moment, so I quickly took a picture too."

Ye Yaodong was thrilled—so it had been captured after all.

"You got it? Good that you got it. This morning I was wondering if you'd followed out and taken the shot. I thought you'd at most have followed as far as our own village entrance."

Lin Lin Xiuqing said with a chuckle, "I had planned to just follow to our own village entrance, but Ye Ye Dasao and Ye Ye Ersao kept pulling me, saying the neighboring village was only a few steps away, so I tagged along too."

"They were looking for a chance to get you to take a couple of pictures of them."

"Hehe, what's the rush? The moment you're back, you ask about this."

"Of course! That scene was so rare. At the time, I was even regretting not bringing the camera with me."

"It really was rare. It's the first time in my life I've seen Goddess Mazu so grand, so lively." The old lady said with a smile too.

"From now on, it should be this lively every year—we'll get to see it every year."

"That would be the best."

"Have you eaten? Did you eat your fill at Tianhou Temple? You've been tired the whole day…"

"Definitely ate my fill, plenty to go around."

"Are your shoulders red? Take your shirt off, let me see your shoulders. They must be red all over. Let Aqing get the camellia oil and rub it on for you. You still have to carry the sedan tomorrow, and the day after too. How about this—let your dad carry it tomorrow, and you rest for a day."

Ye Yaodong took off his shirt as he spoke and said, "No need. I just drank a couple sips of the consecrated holy water and wiped myself down with some water. After I finish bathing later, I'll rub camellia oil on once more. It should be better by tomorrow."

The old lady's heart ached at the sight of his bright-red shoulders on both sides, but hearing about the holy water put her mind at ease.

"Good, good, good. Holy water is fine, then. Go take your bath quickly."

Lin Lin Xiuqing went to the washstand to get a basin and mix hot water for him.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi walked over to his feet at that moment, tugging at his pants.

Ye Yaodong squatted down with a big smile and looked at her. "What's up? Have you eaten? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Ye Ye Xiaoxi pouted, leaned toward his shoulder, and blew on it with all her might.

He felt not only a faint breeze but also cool little droplets, and his heart melted from her warmth. He lifted her onto his lap and kissed her cheek.

"It's okay, it's okay, Daddy's not in pain."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi blinked her big eyes, then cupped his cheeks and gave him a kiss too.

Ye Yaodong was over the moon.

"Daughters really are little padded jackets. Where on earth did those two little brats Ye Chenghu and Ye Ye Chengyang run off to? Why aren't they watching TV either?"

"They came back and made a fuss. I wouldn't let them watch, so they just ran off next door."

"Why wouldn't you let them watch?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing said, a little embarrassed, "I had nothing to do today and watched all day long, and it was getting pretty hot. Just when I needed to start cooking anyway, I turned the TV off to let it rest for a bit. When they came back, the TV was still hot."

Ye Yaodong had a look that said, I knew it.

When it had first been bought, she'd been angry and yelling about wanting to sell it, giving him the cold shoulder. In the end, she watched it more enthusiastically than anyone, even watching the whole day long, so the kids came back and didn't even get to watch.

Lin Lin Xiuqing felt a bit awkward too, glared at him, set the water down on the ground for him, and said, "Go take your bath already, stop dawdling here."

"Got it."