Qingming Festival
After everyone had been busy for a few days, they finally finished planting seedlings. Shen Yanbei was relieved, then he took both Gu Changfeng and Shen Laifu to find someone in the county to renovate the restaurant, preparing for the opening of the restaurant.
The previous owner was really stingy. After the ownership changed hands, all the tables, chairs, stools, also pots and pans in the kitchen, including the things in the backyard were moved away. Only left an empty building!
Shen Yanbei was a little dumbfounded, but he didn't care that much. He originally planned to redecorate and didn't have any intention to use the shabby configuration. Even the kitchen setting had to be redesigned.
Since Shen Laifu had been in the county for so many years, he was familiar with many things. So he immediately found skilled plasterers and carpenters.
The restaurant had two floors: the lobby on the first floor and the private rooms on the second floor. Shen Yanbei didn't want to change the layout of the restaurant, only needed to spend more time on decoration.
It might take too much time and money to create furniture with carved patterns and leaves. So Shen Yanbei asked the carpenters to make customized tables and chairs simple and elegant. The majority of the decoration cost was on hardware, the rest was mainly spent on buying kitchen utensils and tableware. Besides, Shen Yanbei also bought some half-person tall green plants and potted flowers. Different from other restaurants, several tables were set up at random in the lobby for guests to eat. These designs were referred to the restaurants with various modern decoration styles that made full use of space. Plants and wooden boards divided the lobby into three spaces. There was a row of seats against the wall on the left and right like a corridor, which were separated by wooden boards in the middle. Between the seat were separated by wooden boards to use it as decks which were decorated with plants and flowers.
Shen Yanbei in the private room on the second floor did not plan to give elegant names like those lofty restaurants he ever visited before. Passed the name like spring, summer, autumn, winter plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, he preferred to choose: sour, sweet, salty, bitter, and spicy for the name.
These sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty with the same taste similar with up and down, joy, anger, sorrow, and shame, meant that we could pass through it together; wealth and longevity, meant that we prayed for God's blessing together.
The overall decoration style of the restaurant had been set. Now all he had to do was to hire the waiters, the shopkeeper, and the kitchen helper. Shen Laifu directly recommended the guys whom he had worked with before to Shen Yanbei. After Shen Yanbei did some investigation, he decided on the fixed workers. After they signed the contract, they were trained before doing their job.
...
So busy decorating the restaurant, Shen Yanbei did not pay attention to the crops in the fields for a while. Now all the small seedlings of corn, soybeans, etc, had grown up to half a foot tall, and the seedlings had grown into small green leaf and had rooted.
It meant that he could let the ducks live in the fields in half a month. Because it might need a lot of ducks in the eight-acre paddy field, Shen Yanbei asked someone to find out who had ducks nearby to buy a batch of ducklings.
In the middle of the busy time, the Qingming festival came.
Qingming festival had been a very important festival since ancient times. Everyone was very cautious preparing everything that needed to do sweeping tombs and offering incense to ancestors.
In modern times, Shen Yanbei always went to the cemetery to pay homage to his mother regardless of the Qingming Festival or the anniversary of his mother's death. Now since that time and space had been changed and he took over someone else's child's body, Shen Yanbei was even more attentive to the Qingming Festival. There was a lot of rain during the Qingming Festival. The weather was still fine in the first two days, but on the day of sweeping tombs, a drizzle suddenly dropped from the sky.
Shen Yanbei and Gu Changfeng walked side by side holding an umbrella, fortunately, that the rain was not that heavy. Shen Yanbei was holding a bamboo basket with incense, candles, paper money, and etc, inside. Gu Changfeng was carrying a hoe, with a box was hung on the hoe. There were food and wine for doing a ceremony to respect the dead inside the box.
The parents of the original owner were buried at the foot of Huaqiu Mountain. Around this place was full of burial areas. At first glance, they were all graves of different sizes and simple or had been neatly repaired.
The white paper was flying, and the white flags were surging. It even looked more strange and bleak in the rainy weather.
The ancients really paid attention to be buried in the same place. The tomb where Father and Mother Shen were buried together was a small grave with a tombstone on the side. The tombstone was written with cinnabar: Shen Father's name Shen Changqing and Shen Mother's name Shen Wang-shi, Shuya. The soil pack* was washed away by rain all year round and even was covered with green weeds.
*tǔbāo: refers to the tomb.
The two put down the food basket and proceeded to clean up the weeds.
"Let me do it." Gu Changfeng hurriedly held Shen Yanbei's hand when he Yanbei was about to pull the weeds.
Shen Yanbei smiled and said, "It's okay, it faster if two people do it."
Thinking that this was the tomb of Shen Yanbei's parents and his parents-in-law, Gu Changfeng's face flushed slightly. He didn't speak more, but he was weeding much faster.
The weeds around the tomb were also cleaned, revealing dark brown soil. Gu Changfeng leveled the ground, piled up the rest of the soil, turned the small soil pack into a big one. Following what Shen Yanbei said, he hoed a large piece of turf and pressed yellow paper on the soil bag.
Shen Yanbei took out three bowls of white rice, a chicken, and a plate of fruits from the food box and placed them in front of the grave. Then he took out three wine glasses and placed them, filled them one by one.
On the other side, Gu Changfeng took out the joss stick paper, etc. from the basket, and lit the joss stick with the fire.
Putting the red candle on the head of the grave respectfully, Shen Yanbei bowed down in front of the incense. Gu Changfeng also knelt beside him without hesitation.
"Father and Mother, I came to see you." Uncle Shen and Aunt Shen, hello, I am Shen Yanbei. Although it wasn't my intention, now I indeed do occupy your son's body. I am deeply sorry about it. Since it's for the sake of Shen's Family, please forgive me for continuing to live with your son's body and identity.
"This is my fu lang Gu Changfeng." This is my wife Gu Changfeng, and the daughter-in-law of your Shen's Family.
"I have taken the land back and also planted crops. Although I am not rich now, my life is going well. So please don't worry." Because the wood is already made into a boat*, I shamelessly use your family's resources. I may not have many abilities, but I will make my wife live a good life, and will not discredit your Shen's Family's name.
*something that happened in the past and cannot be changed.
After talking for a while, Shen Yanbei put the incense stick on. Then sternly knocked his head three times.
"Father, mother, I will take good care of my husband. Please rest assured."
A man's low and severe voice came from his ears. As soon as Shen Yanbei looked up, he saw the dark hair of Gu Changfeng. His depressing mood immediately improved.
An igniting fire tongue rolled over the money paper, the wind helped the fire burning bigger. The paper money and ingots that piled in front of the grave burned. The fiery flames warmed Shen Yanbei's cold palm. When the money paper burned to ashes, Shen Yanbei spilled the wine. This tomb sweep ceremony was finished.
"Okay, wife, pack your things and go back." Shen Yanbei smiled slightly at Gu Changfeng who had been staring at him.
Gu Changfeng nodded gently.
The two walked side by side as they did when they came. The drizzle was flying, and it was a bit cold on the face. But the warm temperature from the palm spread to Shen Yanbei's heart.
"Husband, don't be sad. I will always be with you in the future."
The man beside him clasped his hand tightly, comforting him awkwardly but sincere. Shen Yanbei wanted to say that he was not sad but regretful. He finally had found someone that would stay together for the rest of his life, but he couldn't bring him to his mother's grave to introduce him.
But it didn't matter. As long as he had a good life, his mom in heaven must be very happy!
The gloomy mood was swept away, Shen Yanbei clasped back his wife's warm palms, said with a smile, "It is said that the ugly bride isn't afraid to meet her parents-in-law. Since you have met your in-laws now, you are a part of my Shen's Family! "
The other party was not embarrassed while he said that but looked directly at him with those quiet black eyes, and solemnly said, "En".
The heart suddenly became too soft.
Shen Yanbei directly reached out to grab his shirt and pulled the person over, and kissed his lip fiercely.
"You're not allowed to say such nice words in the future!"
Gu Changfeng's ears were red, his eyes looked so confused.
What did he say?
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