Jing Xingzhi’s Daily Life in Ancient Times - Chapter 79
After waiting for three to five days, the archway was initially built, and a running water mat was held at the entrance of the village to show off to other villages.
Since Liu Fang opened a store, life in Jingjia Village had become increasingly easier. It was an enviable “rich” village in the ten miles and eight villages, and the village also had the money to do these things to increase its reputation. However, Jing Xingzhi couldn’t ask everyone to contribute and pay for it, so he paid for the ingredients for the sacrifice himself.
After a night’s rest, Jing Xingzhi got up early the next day. He picked up his basket and went to the graveyard in Jingjia Village.
Walking through the winding mountain road, stepping on the weeds and wildflowers that grew overbearingly on the road, Jing Xingzhi arrived in front of the tombs of Father and Mother Jing.
It was said to be a tomb, but it was actually just two graves. These two graves were no different from other people’s graves. At most, in front of Father Jing’s tomb, the stone tablet was bigger and better looking.
When Father Jing passed away, it was Mother Jing who arranged the funeral. A lot of money was spent on the tombstone to have someone carve the inscription. Now, after years of rain and wind, the inscriptions on the stone had become much lighter.
When Mother Jing died, Jing Weizhi and Lan Cao took the money but pretended to have no money. Even Mother Jing was buried with the help of the villagers.
At that time, the village was poor and there was no reason to spend a lot of effort on a dead woman’s grave, so it was a little simpler.
At present, the weeds in front of the two tombs had been removed cleanly, making them look quite neat.
In front of the tombstone, there were fruits and melons placed separately, and there were even signs of burning paper money. Jing Xingzhi thought the villagers must come and tell the couple the happy news as soon as possible.
Jing Xingzhi looked at the two tombs with gentle eyes. He opened the cloth on the basket and added the sacrifices he had prepared.
After placing the sacrifices, Jing Xingzhi took out the paper money, made a pile, and lit it with a fire starter.
Clusters of yellow paper money ignited, lighting up with orange flames.
Jing Xingzhi frowned and sighed.
He looked at a tomb with a larger tombstone and said, “I passed the provincial examination and will take the imperial examination later. Your deeds will definitely be written on the genealogy that future generations will read.”
He then turned to look at Mother Jing’s tombstone: “The little scholar and the little shuanger are both very good. Although their lives are hard, they are both very good. Don’t worry…”
Before coming here, Jing Xingzhi was happy to return to his hometown, but when he got here, he felt heavy in his heart.
He fulfilled Father Jing’s will, but this meant that Father Jing’s had not fulfilled his own ambition; he came to tell the two ancestors that their child was very good, which meant they could not see it with their own eyes.
After burning the paper money, Jing Xingzhi sprinkled a pot of wine, picked up the basket, and walked back into the world of mortals.
But not far after Jing Xingzhi walked out, the tips of his ears moved and he could really hear the crying and chewing sounds behind him.
Jing Xingzhi listened again to confirm that he heard nothing wrong, then raised his eyebrows and walked slightly toward the grave.
Standing ten meters in front of the grave of Father and Mother Jing, Jing Xingzhi saw a figure huddled in front of the tombstone. The figure was eating the tribute he brought, crying while looking at the tombstone.
The figure looked like a young man, probably about the same age as Jing Xingzhi, but his clothes were made of the worst coarse cloth and were still patched.
“Which family are you from?” Jing Xingzhi walked over and asked in a loud voice.
No matter which family the children belong to, if they lived in poverty, there was no reason to eat the sacrifices without saying hello.
Furthermore, Liu Fang also talked to Jing Xingzhi about the fact every household in the village could get money from his store. Was there any other family in the village that was so poor?
The figure was frightened by Jing Xingzhi’s sudden voice and almost sat down in the pile of paper money.
But when he turned his head, his face was revealed.
Jing Xingzhi felt he looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t remember who he looked like.
He set a straight face and asked sternly: “Tell me honestly which family you belong to? Why did you secretly eat the sacrifices given to the ancestors? Otherwise, I will ask around myself, and your end will be even worse.”
Jing Dabao, who had lost weight, looked at the uncle he hated, pursed his lips, and wanted to cry, but Jing Xingzhi looked too fierce, so Jing Dabao could only hold back his tears.
Jing Dabao replied in a mosquito-like voice: “I… I’m hungry…”
Jing Xingzhi stared at the person and asked impatiently: “Which family are you from? Are you from the village?”
Jing Dabao tightened his grip on the hand. After taking a bite of the big meat bun, he cried, “I am Jing Dabao!”
Who was Jing Dabao? Jing Xingzhi obviously had no memory of him and couldn’t recall any useful information for a while.
Jing Xingzhi asked again: “Who is your father?” He might not know the boys in the village, but he could recognize the names of the elders.
Jing Dabao thought of his father and felt even more frightened when he looked at Jing Xingzhi in front of him.
This uncle was so cruel to his father and even sent his father to jail. Who knew what he would do to him?
But besides this uncle, he had no other relatives. The house was also lost. He should be more obedient. Could this uncle help him get the house back?
Jing Dabao was hesitating between pleasing his uncle and being afraid. He forgot to eat the meat buns in his hand.