At five o'clock in the morning, it was dawn, and there was a knock on the door of Liang Qu's house. It’s not like someone is here to cause trouble. Everyone in Yixing City now knows Liang Qu's identity, and no one dares to cause trouble. The person who knocked on the door was Chen Zhaoan's grandson Chen Tongming. Chen Tongming cupped his hands and said: "Brother Shui, my grandpa asked me to ask you if you are familiar with the process of sacrificial rituals. There is also a sacrificial text. There is no need to memorize it, but you must read it as smoothly as possible without any bumps." "Let me read it to you. How about you listening?" "This..." Chen Tongmin hesitated, then nodded, "Brother Shui, please, let me listen." When it comes to worshiping the river god, Liang Qugui cannot be careless as Master Yang personally teaches. If you don't do well, you will be scolded by the villagers. Of course, if you do well, you will be praised by everyone. It is said that you are the number one person in Yixing City, which has advantages and disadvantages. He went home last night. Although he was very tired, he still managed to read it more than ten times and thought there was nothing wrong with it. Liang Qu and Chen Tongmin faced each other and began to read the memorial rites.
"The River God is above, I borrowed the land of Yixing City, and the water of the Huaihe River. In order to inherit the people's wishes and gather the people's hopes, I led the people to worship in front of you and present this memorial text..." A quarter of an hour later, Liang Qu stopped. Chen Tongmin nodded: "Brother Shui's work is really reassuring. With this level of performance, the villagers will definitely praise him." "Not as old as Chen Li." Liang Qu said modestly. "There is no problem with the memorial ceremony. Are you familiar with the process?" "I grew up in Yixing City. I come here twice a year. I have never eaten pork and I have seen pigs running away. You can ask me whatever you want." Chen Tongmin was not polite: "After the priest calls for the sacrifice, what should the officiant do?" "First burn incense, then offer wine, and finally recite the sacrificial inscription. After reciting, ask the villagers to kneel down and worship, and then get off the altar after setting off the firecrackers." Chen Tongmin nodded. He was familiar with the ritual text and process, so there would be no problem. As long as it was generally correct, that would be enough. "Okay, the sacrifice begins at a quarter past noon, and I will come to fetch Brother Shui at three quarters. You will need to wear a clean and neat dress by then. If you don't have one, I will find one for you." "That's not necessary, I have a way." "Okay, see you in three minutes then." Watching Chen Tongmin leave, Liang Qu felt a little excited in his heart. Thousands of people had to burn incense, offer wine, and recite sacrificial rites in front of so many villagers. It was the first time for him to face such a big scene, so he was inevitably nervous. He hoped that there would be no problems then. Take a shower first. Liang Qu closed the door and boiled water to make soap. He hadn't fished with his own hands for many days, and the fishy smell on his body had dissipated so much that ordinary people couldn't smell it. After washing, tying up his long hair, and putting on the clothes and treasures given by his senior brothers and sisters, he felt very handsome. Walking to the table, Liang Qu tapped his fingers rhythmically.
The blue bead on the table trembled, stretched out, and turned into a six-inch long centipede, with blue armor flashing and shining brightly in the morning light. The Tianshui centipede crawled along Liang Qu's palm to his wrist, connected end to end, and tightened the centipede inch by inch. It fit tightly and turned into a blue jade bracelet. Liang Qu hid it under his arm guard and pushed the door open. As the sacrifice approaches, Qingshi Street is much busier than usual. The cloak is not a cloak, but a loose robe with sleeves. Liang Qu is tall and tall, and when draped on his body, he has a sense of elegance when walking. He is significantly different from ordinary people wearing linen clothes, and is very eye-catching. Seeing this, many villagers had mixed thoughts. Yesterday, the onlookers were only a small part of the people in Yixing City. Many people learned about it through word of mouth. Now that I see it, I can think of everything. There is envy, jealousy, happiness, and regret. Regret that he did not marry Liang Qu as soon as possible and that his golden husband-in-law slipped away in vain. "I wanted to marry Ah Shui back then. If it were successful, wouldn’t I be as beautiful now? Maybe I will be the one carrying the animals today? " "Is your daughter suitable for Ah Shui? If you don't think it's shabby, I don't think so. Why don't you take a pee and take care of yourself?" "How can you talk? What's wrong with my daughter? Ah, what's wrong with my daughter?" "What a fuss, what a fuss, Liang Qu is so promising, I think he is worthy enough to be worthy of the daughter of the county magistrate's family!" "That's true." Someone shouted loudly and gave a thumbs up: "Ah Shui, be generous! The bricks and tiles are ready. I will go to your house to build a wall another day!" Liang Qu cupped his hands and smiled: "Thank you, Uncle Tiger!" "You are so polite. I have a lot of strength. I can earn a hundred cents with just a little effort. I don't know where to find such a good thing." "Yes, I don't have many other things, but I have a lot of strength! Feel free to do whatever you want!" The labor force in the countryside is the lowest, especially in winter, when there is no money to be made. Even if there is a meal, there are always people competing for work. Now, if you go and do a favor for two days, you can get a hundred cents, which is a good job to squeeze your head. At noon, Chen Tongmin came to see Liang Qu, and they went to the port together. Villagers came out one after another from the alleys on both sides of Qingshi Street and gathered at the port. The tall trapezoidal altar is set up on a bluestone brick platform with thirteen wooden steps. Going up to it is a large square table filled with fruits and vegetables. There is a person on each side of the altar standing outwards holding a big flag, and there is a team beating gongs on the side. Liang Qu also saw Chen Jiechang and Li Libo. The three of them practiced martial arts together in the martial arts hall, and Chen Zhaoan naturally arranged for them to be the strong men who killed the animals before offering them. One of them grabbed the sheep, the other grabbed the cow, and they waited for the animals. A quarter past noon.
Everyone is here. The village elders and Liang Qu stood on the left side of the altar, under the eaves of a tall courtyard, with two stone lions squatting on both sides, making the crowd look majestic. Thousands of villagers stood in front of the altar, all waiting silently. Clang! Clang! Clang! Dong, Dong, Dong! Three gongs sounded. The old priest walked along the central axis of the altar, then turned left and stood at a quarter of the altar, with his back to the altar and facing the crowd, shouting loudly. "Send the animals!" Chen Jiechang took the lead, grabbed the nose ring of the cow and walked forward, followed by Li Libo, and finally Chen Tongmin led a pig. The three came to the right side of the altar, and someone came forward to hang up the three animals. The three animals struggled hard, but they were entangled in the chain and it was useless. The three people each took a sharp knife and pointed it at their necks. "Stab!" At the priest's command, the sharp knives stabbed into the necks and cut the arteries. The bright red blood splashed out and fell into the wooden barrel, emitting steam. The strong smell of blood rose to the sky and spread to the entire wharf along the cold wind. "Rise!" The three of them lifted the wooden barrel and followed the drum sound to the shore. "Pour!" The wooden barrel tipped over, and the blood plasma rolled out and splashed into the water, spreading like a ball of black ink. The only thing left in the wind was the strong smell of blood. "Shaman, reset!" Five gongs sounded. Liang Qu saw two shamans walk out from beside him, standing on both sides of the altar singing and dancing, and couldn't help but clench the manuscript paper in his hand. After the shaman came out, it was his turn to go on stage. "Master priest, go!" Nine gongs sounded. The gong sound was deafening. Liang Qu was stunned.
He saw a black shadow crawling over the tiled roof, flashing from the eaves in front, and disappearing behind the fire-proof wall. Withered and skinny, his skin was as brown as an old tree.