sinovels Chapter 1693 Carpenter Jiang's Fastener
Chapter 1693 Carpenter Jiang's Fastener
Chapter 1693 Carpenter Jiang's Fastener
In the early days of the People's Republic of China, the average life expectancy was only 35 years, and old men and women were rarely seen.
By 1988, the average life expectancy in China had reached 67 or 68 years.
Older people think differently from younger people. Take Xing San, for example. He always says that when older people go to bed at night, whether they can even put their shoes back on the next day is another matter entirely.
So these days, people around fifty years old start preparing for their funerals.
The state promotes cremation, but does not completely prohibit burial. In the forest area, burial was the norm until Zhao Jun's rebirth.
For people of a certain age, their funeral clothes and coffins are prepared in advance. This is not a taboo, and many people even personally go into the mountains to choose their own burial plots.
Although Xie Chen's family lived in a rural area, burial was not prohibited. However, since the area was not near a mountain, they could only be buried in their own fields.
In recent years, things have been better. There's a saying that "a good man doesn't covet the soil from graves," meaning that when farming, one shouldn't plant crops too close to the graves of one's ancestors.
But in twenty or thirty years, people will value money more and more. Also, by then, many rural people will have moved to the city, renting out their land. Will the landowners still tolerate that?
Therefore, by that time, very few people would still practice traditional burial in rural areas.
But right now, when elderly people in rural areas pass away, they are still buried on their own land. If they are cremated, their sons and daughters-in-law will be considered unfilial by their neighbors.
Logically speaking, at Xie Sunshi's age, she should have prepared her funeral clothes and coffin long ago, but she still has nothing.
However, this is not because the Xie family children are unfilial. More than ten years ago, after Xie Chen's father died, Xie Zhong and his two younger sisters began to plan for Xie Sun's old clothes and coffin.
Because their father passed away suddenly, and at just over forty years old, the family was unprepared, leaving Xie Zhong in a state of chaos.
So Xie Zhong said that they would need it sooner or later, so they might as well prepare in advance.
In rural and forested areas these days, such things are not considered taboos at all, let alone unlucky. In most families, the elderly are happy when their children prepare these things for them.
But Madam Jie was no ordinary old woman. Upon learning of this, she threw a huge tantrum, insisting that Jie Zhong and his two siblings wished for her death. Then she picked up the rat poison that had been scattered around the stove in the outer room, saying that she was going to go with Jie Zhong's father.
This terrified Xie Zhong and his sister, and they had to comfort Xie Sunshi for a long time. It was also because of this incident that Xie Sunshi discovered the wonderful use of rat poison.
From then on, no one in the Xie family dared to mention preparing those things for Xie Sunshi again. Xie Sunshi was a carefree person, always thinking about food and drink. In addition, she was in good health, even stronger than her daughter-in-law Liu Lanying. She wouldn't do chores, but if she really wanted to, she could carry a hundred pounds of potatoes.
Therefore, Xie Sun never thought of preparing funeral clothes or a coffin for herself.
But judging from the old lady and Xing San's excited expressions, Xie Sunshi knew without asking that the horse coffin was a good thing.
Since it was a good thing, Xie Sunshi wanted to have what other old men and women had.
Another thing is that Xie Sunshi was somewhat moved by Zhao Jun's attitude towards Xing San and the old lady. She thought that Zhao Jun and the two old people were not related by blood, yet he could think so much about them, while her second son, whom she had raised with great difficulty, was completely indifferent.
Xie Chen was also a carefree person, just like his mother, Xie Sun. At this moment, Xie Chen was completely unaware of the look his mother was giving him. He was only focused on the interaction between Zhao Jun, Xing San, and the old lady, finding the scene incredibly heartwarming.
Just then, Jie Chen felt someone nudging his back. He turned around and saw Li Tongyun raise her chin and move aside slightly.
Following Li Tongyun's directions, Jie Chen looked over and was met with his mother's dark face.
Xie Chen was startled and instinctively took two steps to the side. Seeing that Xie Chen not only didn't respond but was also avoiding her, Xie Sunshi immediately started cursing, "You pretty little thing!"
Everyone: "..."
"What are you doing, Mom?" Xie Chen felt wronged, while Xie Sun glared at him and said, "You didn't even say anything about arranging these things for your mother, and I have to arrange them all myself?"
"You're not..." Xie Chen was about to say something, but Liu Lanying stopped him.
"Mom, don't be angry." Liu Lanying stepped forward to comfort Xie Sunshi, saying, "This isn't Xiao Er's fault. It should be me and Xie Laoda who prepared it for you. Don't worry, we've arranged everything clearly for you."
Hearing Liu Lanying's words, Xie Sunshi's expression improved considerably, but she still glared at Xie Chen.
Even if Jie Chen was stupid, he knew what to do at this point. He hurriedly said to Zhao Jun, "Brother Jun, talk to Captain Song the other day and see if he can bring a few more trees."
"Okay." Zhao Jun replied with a smile, then said to Xie Chen, "He found some good timber over there, you can take it yourself."
As Zhao Jun said this last sentence, he gave Xie Chen a wink, and Xie Chen immediately understood, saying, "Brother Jun, no problem. For my mother, I'll carry it all back, no matter what."
"Hahaha..." Xie Chen's words amused everyone, and Xie Sunshi cursed with a smile, "Go to hell!"
……
Tonight, the Zhao family's meal was very simple: braised pork and cabbage stew with vermicelli, just two dishes served in two large bowls on the table.
There's no way around it; there's very little food available in Northeast China at this time of year. The cabbage, radishes, potatoes, and scallions we stored up in the fall are almost all gone, and the sauerkraut is completely sold out.
At this time, chickens, ducks, and geese start laying eggs one after another. If you can collect a few eggs here and there, you definitely won't eat them.
At this time of year, the livestock in the mountains—the roe deer are mating, and the wild boars and deer are carrying pups—are unwilling to go up the mountain to hunt.
Normally, braised pork is made with pork, preferably the pork belly. But Zhao Jun's braised pork today contains pork, venison, and even bear meat.
This meat was taken straight from the refrigerator. A couple of days ago, Zhao Jun hunted a brown bear and got about 300 jin (150 catties) of meat, but most of it was fat. Apart from giving some to relatives and friends, the rest was rendered into fat.
As for the lean meat, it couldn't be stored for long at this time. Apart from giving it away and eating it for the next two days, the remaining twenty-odd pounds of lean bear leg meat were all stuffed into Zhang Yuanmin's refrigerator.
These days, refrigerators are small. To make this braised pork today, we not only emptied the Zhao family's refrigerator, but also took two pieces from Zhang Yuanmin's refrigerator, which together weigh about ten pounds of bear meat.
There were few side dishes, but the staple food was quite plentiful. In addition to rice, there were also large fried pancakes made with bear oil.
Zhao Jinhui has been suffering on the train these past few days. Whenever he sees braised pork and flatbread being served, he keeps pursing his lips.
This chubby boy, though greedy, is very well-behaved. He resists his cravings until the elders have started eating.
With Zhao Weipeng absent, everyone took good care of Zhao Jinhui. Zhao Youcai personally greeted him, saying, "Kid, stop staring and eat!"
As he spoke, Zhao Youcai placed a piece of bear meat on Zhao Jinhui's plate, and then Zhao Jun handed Zhao Jinhui a large fried pancake.
As everyone started eating, Zhao Jinhui also began to indulge. He arranged the braised bear meat, venison, and pork in the flatbread, then picked up a scallion.
The scallions stored from last autumn are now mostly discarded, with the green leaves no longer usable and several layers of the white part peeled off. The remaining scallion whites, about the thickness of a finger and a hand's breadth long, are placed on the pancake along with the meat.
Then, Zhao Jinhui rolled up the flatbread and took a bite, his mouth oozing with oil.
Seeing this, Zhao Youcai smiled and then put several more pieces of meat on Zhao Jinhui's plate.
"Grandpa, you should eat too!" Zhao Jinhui managed to find a moment to reply to Zhao Youcai amidst his busy schedule.
Since moving to the big house, the two large tables for men and women have been used to eat in the outer room.
Watching Zhao Jinhui eat, Wang Meilan couldn't help but say, "This child is too demanding."
Wang Meilan meant that Zhao Jinhui had been suffering lately. Upon hearing this, Zhao Youcai asked Wang Meilan, "Lan, what else is there at home? Let's get the kids all set for tomorrow!"
"There's nothing left at home." Wang Meilan frowned, then called to Zhao Jun, "Son, how about we go catch a pig in Yongxing tomorrow?"
"What do we do with the leftover meat after we catch the pig and slaughter it?" Zhao Jun's question stumped Wang Meilan.
You buy a pig, slaughter it, have a meal, and then have a lot of meat left over. The refrigerator doesn't hold much, so you give the leftover meat away?
"Brother, how about this?" At this moment, Zhang Yuanmin nudged Zhao Jun with his elbow and said, "Let's wear our rubber boots and go fishing with nets tomorrow."
At the end of March, the major rivers and streams in Heilongjiang Province were still not thawed.
The ice in the middle of the Dongdagou River outside Yong'an Village has melted and loosened. It's definitely not possible to go up and chisel a hole in the ice like Ma Dafu did a few days ago.
But if you walk upstream along the water source and look for small tributaries and ponds, they will have already dissolved.
They say the four great delicacies are: fresh river fish, laying hens, a nap, and a second wife.
Nobody wants to eat the laying hens, so let's have some fresh river fish instead.
Some say not to eat fish in April, and others say not to eat fish in March, meaning that fish spawn at this time.
Zhao Jun had lived two lifetimes and had never seen such a meticulous person. If there were, they would have to be a saint.
It turns out that Zhao Jun planned to get up early tomorrow, take his hunting dogs up the mountain, and patrol the area around Xinlengchang.
But after returning, it was decided that Xu Changming and Song Laowai would be taken up the mountain the next morning. Since that's the case, after returning from the mountain area tomorrow, we'll have a meal at either Xu's or Song's house, and then go fishing.
As for Xinlengchang, we'll stick to the original plan and go there the day after tomorrow.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the women helped Wang Meilan clean up, and then they all gathered together to watch TV for a while. Around 8:30, the diners went home.
Zhao Jinhui followed the Li family, but he didn't live in the Li family's house; instead, he lived in the Zhao family's old house.
The Zhao family's old house has been cleaned up and is temporarily lent to Zhao Weipeng and his family.
After the diners left, Zhao Jun washed up and washed his feet, then took his wife into bed.
Ma Ling's relatives came this morning, so the young couple couldn't share a room, but they could cuddle while sleeping.
With no plans for the evening, the young couple chatted away.
Ma Ling instructed Zhao Jun, "When we go fishing tomorrow, make sure you don't pick up any rotten or dead fish."
“Why not?” Zhao Jun smiled and said, “If I find it, I’ll take it to my father-in-law. He’ll be so proud of me.”
“Then your mother-in-law will be really annoyed with you,” Ma Ling said, which made Zhao Jun laugh.
……
The next morning, before six o'clock, Zhao Jun and Zhao Youcai left their house and headed straight for the east end of the village.
At this point, the funeral music began.
When the father and son arrived, Jie Chen, Li Dayong, Li Baoyu, and Li Ruhai were already there.
Li Dayong had a good relationship with the Song family; the deceased Song Laowai's nephew was even Li Dayong's apprentice.
So early in the morning, Li Dayong and Li Baoyu came over to help, while Li Ruhai was just there to watch the fun.
It was already six o'clock when Zhao Jun arrived. Just then, Song Zhuzi led someone over.
The man was in his forties, with a weathered face, messy hair, and nose hairs sticking out of his nostrils. He was clearly an unkempt person.
Zhao Jun recognized him; this was the carpenter Jiang he had mentioned to the old lady yesterday.
This carpenter Jiang is different from the carpenter Wang, the second son of Yang and Wang Jiusheng. This carpenter Jiang calls himself a fine carpenter. He does not do big work or use a large saw. He only uses a traditional carpenter's saw to make some mortise and tenon boxes, boxes and objects.
Besides that, he also makes coffins.
Because carpenter Jiang doesn't use a large saw, he doesn't do the work of splitting timber into planks. If you want him to make a coffin, you have to split the wood into planks yourself and then deliver it to his house.
Just like Zhao Jun told Xing San a few days ago, first bring the big red pine logs home, let them air dry in the shed until they're completely dry, then take them to the forest farm workshop to be split into boards. After that, deliver them to the carpenter's house.
The carpenter Zhao Jun mentioned at the time was this carpenter Jiang.
Despite his many rules, in the Yong'an forest area and even Yushu Township, people recognize him as the master carpenter who makes coffins.
The fact that the coffin was made by carpenter Jiang was a symbol of his strength and his son's filial piety!
This carpenter Jiang had another rule: he would only come to fasten the coffin if it was made by him.
The term "刹扣" (shà kòu) is a northern expression referring to the process of sealing a coffin with nails.
According to the old traditions, there should be no iron in the coffin when it is buried, so the nails for the coffin are all made of wood.
This requires making nail holes in the coffin according to whether it's for a man or a woman when preparing the coffin. When sealing the coffin, a carpenter can simply drive the wooden nails in.
Why is it based on gender? Because there's a reason for this. If the deceased is male, then one nail is driven into the coffin, two into the left, two into the right, and finally, a longevity nail is driven into the front left side of the coffin.
If the deceased is female, the nailing method is reversed for men.
Xu Changming and Song Laowai had amassed considerable wealth over the years by building makeshift shelters in the mountains. Since they could afford to use wild horse antlers for their coffins, the carpenter they hired was naturally Jiang the carpenter.
At this moment, carpenter Jiang arrived at Song Laowai's mourning shed first and took the wooden nails handed to him by Song Zhuzi.
These wooden nails were a matching set with the coffin. After they were made, they were wrapped in cloth and placed inside the coffin.
Carpenter Jiang glanced at the coffin and saw that Old Man Song had died a violent death; his head had been smashed open with a hammer, and his appearance would never be well preserved.
Carpenter Jiang frowned and stepped aside. At this moment, the geomancer hired by the Song family stepped forward and instructed people to put a coffin on Old Man Song.
As the coffin lid was closed, the geomancer spoke, and the Song brothers, along with their two sons, knelt before the coffin.
This is what they mean by: "If your nephew is standing in front of your door, you're not considered a childless man."
At this moment, carpenter Jiang stepped forward, inserted a wooden nail into the nail hole, and then took out a hand axe from his large pocket.
Carpenter Jiang, axe in hand, chanted: "On this auspicious day, heaven and earth open; the coffin is closed, and descendants prosper. Filial sons and virtuous grandsons kneel before the names of the deceased, calling out to the dead to scatter the nails!"
As he uttered the last word, Carpenter Jiang raised his axe, the hammer-like end striking the wooden nail, and shouted, "Get out of the way of the nail! Get out of the way of the nail!"
Seeing this, a thought suddenly flashed through Zhao Jun's mind: "It's a good thing my wife didn't come, otherwise she would have to learn another poem."
(End of this chapter)