God blessed Meizi. As the Dragon Boat Festival was approaching, Meizi finally had a downpour of rain. The rain widened and muddied the Meizi River, and made the water level rise above the big stones in the riverbed. With the rise of the river, many people went to catch eels in the paddy fields. Zhao Damao led a group of kids to look for eels. On seeing a bubbling hole, a kid stuck two fingers into it. An eel slipped out from another hole. However, the kid immediately caught the eel with his other hand. Thick as a finger, the eel wriggled in his hand, trying to escape.
The kids took the eels to the riverside and roasted them. When the eels were well-done, Simei rushed towards them and said, "Damao, give me an eel!" Annoyed, Zhao Damao incited the other kids to swallow the remaining eels. Without getting an eel, Simei put out the fire with a basin of water.
Failing to have eaten a roasted eel, Simei hiccupped from hunger. She carelessly smoothed out her clothes, then walked back. While she was listless, other townsfolk were busy irrigating their paddy fields. Although it was a little late, they had not missed the season yet. The men spoke gruffly while the women spoke in high-pitched voices. Even the cats were happy, and the dogs wagged their tails with joy.
After returning from the riverside, Simei started to hang her clothes on a rope in the courtyard. A big yellow dog followed her and sniffed her round bottom. Sulking, she grabbed a worn shoe and threw it at the dog. However, the dog dodged it and the worn shoe hit a man in the face.
The man was tied to a manglietia tree. She took a closer look and recognized, "It's Luozi!" The shoe had bruised his face and set his nose bleeding. The nosebleed dripped down on the ground and attracted a swarm of black ants.
The night before, Luozi had snuck into Fuyuan Hall to steal a piece of precious evil-suppressing jade. As he was about to sneak out, he accidently knocked over a porcelain vase, waking the gatekeepers. He was subsequently tied up in the courtyard to await punishment by Tan Shanguozi. In the morning, Tan Shanguozi ordered some guys to give him a sound thrashing, then tie him to the manglietia tree and starve him for a day.
After being beaten and starved for a day, Luozi fell asleep. Suddenly, he was hit by something. He opened his eyes and saw Simei. As Luozi was notorious, Simei did not regret hitting him by accident. She continued to hang her clothes. Looking up, she saw the blood welling out from Luozi's nose. Frightened, she plucked some mugwort at a corner of the wall, crushed it and tried to stuff it into his nostrils. Luozi was so annoyed that he did not allow her to do so. She pressed his head against the trunk, and stuffed the mugwort into his nostrils. Stuffed with mugwort, his nostrils stopped bleeding. Simei laughed with complacence in the courtyard. After laughing for a while, she wiped his face with a rag. Looking down, she saw a swarm of ants scrambling to drink his blood on the ground. She thought to herself, "If ants drink human blood, they will become spirits and the man will lose his soul." As such, Simei used a shovel to bury the blood under the soil.
Luozi felt mixed emotions. Simei's fingers were flexible and tender. She exerted some strength, but it was temperate. At that moment, Luozi became submissive. Her body fragrance reminded him of his mother ... Growing up in Meizi, Luozi had never wanted for food or clothing, but he was despised by everyone. No one liked him! Afterwards, Simei turned away carrying a wooden barrel. Staring at her figure, Luozi quavered, "I'm hungry!"
Failing to have eaten any eels, she was eager to eat something delicious. Upon hearing Luozi's words, she felt hungry as well and her belly cried out for food. At that moment, she sympathized with him. Seeing no one around, she ran into the kitchen, took a hot cake from a steamer, ran back and quickly stuffed it into his mouth.
As Luozi had just swallowed the cake, Tan Shanguozi returned and ordered his men to untie him.
After leaving Fuyuan Hall, Luozi walked along the empty street. The next morning, he got up early and staggered to Mr. Shi's stall. The leaves of the maidenhair tree were haloed in the red morning light. Dewdrops decorated the overhanging eaves of the old street and rolled on the tips of the grass. Reeking of alcohol, Luozi said, "Mr. Shi, I want to get married!"
Mr. Shi gazed at the Meizi River. The rising sun shone on the river bend in the distance with bright orange rays. However, the immediate vicinity was still in darkness. Gradually, the orange sunlight extended and the sun emerged from behind Wugong Mountain. Mr. Shi waved a cattail leaf fan to expel the alcohol odor as he watched the scenery. Luozi knelt down and clasped Mr. Shi's feet, imploring him, "Mr. Shi, I want to marry Simei. Please give me guidance!"
"It's too late!" Mr. Shi said coldly.
Luozi felt puzzled. "From now on, I'll turn over a new leaf, and join the porters on the Salt Road!" he said.
Without responding, Mr. Shi closed his eyes to rest.
Luozi got up from the ground and turned away in a huff. "You said it was too late, but I don't believe it. After I marry Simei, I'll pour shit all over your stall!"
When he returned home, Luozi took out all of his gambling gadgets, threw some away and smashed the others. He tossed out a double-faced coin and it fell on An Er's instep. An Er grabbed it and studied it carefully. "No wonder you always won!" he said with a grin. "You have a cheating tool!"
"You can have it if you want!"
An Er laughed cheerfully as though he had found a gold ingot. "If I use it on the Salt Road, I will surely win a lot of money."
After An Er left, Luozi called all of his followers together and told them that he would turn over a new leaf. His followers felt puzzled. "He's repented and decided to reform himself after being punished by Tan Shanguozi?" one speculated. Luozi asked them to disperse and said that he would make money on the Salt Road after recuperating.
While Luozi was convalescing at home, planning to thoroughly reform himself for Simei, Tan Shanguozi and his wife were discussing taking a concubine. Since they had gotten married, they had only had two daughters. Both daughters were nice, but they could not continue his family bloodline. His wife suggested, "Why not take a concubine? Then you may have a son in the future." Tan Shanguozi had had the same thought himself, but had not wanted to destroy his harmonious relationship with his wife. As such, he acquiesced to her suggestion.
Next, the couple discussed looking for a suitable girl. On seeing Simei passing by with a bucket to hang out her clothes in the pavilion, the couple smiled at each other. "Simei is the perfect choice," his wife said. "With her big buttocks, she will surely give birth to a boy!"
They reached a consensus. However, when the matchmaker they employed proposed it to Simei, she tactfully refused. Simei had no parents. She planned to earn some money from the Tan family, then marry a man and enjoy a life of freedom. Although the Tan family was wealthy, it would restrict her life if she became a concubine. She thought to herself, "Mrs. Tan is virtuous, but our relationship would become complicated if we were to share the same husband. Moreover, I don't know how to treat Mr. Tan." Thus, no matter what benefits the matchmaker described, Simei still refused.
Mrs. Tan had a well-thought-out plan. "Simei is a glutton," she thought. "If we provide her with delicious food, she will agree sooner or later."
The next day, Mrs. Tan ordered the cook to prepare tasty dishes for her, such as Braised Chicken, Stewed Mutton, Roasted Duck, Braised Carp and so on. After eating such dishes for several days, Simei gained a large amount of belly fat. However, the cook then changed the menu suddenly and only provided her with meager meals. She had to eat boiled radishes with rice soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner. After eating so many delicious dishes, Simei was unwilling to have such meager meals. She plunked her bowl onto the floor and cursed, "Damn it! Do you want to starve me?"
The cook replied, "The previous dishes were for Mr. Tan's concubine. Since you are unwilling to be his concubine, you'll have to eat meals for the servants."
On hearing this, Simei left the table and went upstairs in a sulk.
After being starved for two or three days, Simei felt dizzy. At that moment, Mrs. Tan untied a bunch of keys from her waist and handed them to Simei, saying, "When you become my husband's concubine, I'll let you manage household affairs, including the kitchens ... " On hearing "kitchens," Simei could not help but salivate. Excited, she said, "Sis, I'll consult you before making any decisions in the future ... " Upon hearing her words, Mrs. Tan knew that she had agreed.
The wedding was fixed for the fifteenth day of the fifth lunar month. As Simei was about to be a concubine and had no relatives, there was little etiquette. Mrs. Tan tidied up a secluded room in the backyard, and placed some furniture in it. She also revamped the carved rosewood bed that her parents-in-law had once slept in. Coated with red paint, the bed looked both festive and gorgeous. She had some servants do paper-cutting, make lanterns, purchase bed nets and wedding supplies ... Everyone was busy, but worked methodically. Tan Shanguozi smiled at everyone with his eyes half-closed, looking forward to being a bridegroom again.
To seek auspiciousness, the Tan family planned to provide an open-air banquet on the wedding day, and offer lanterns and coffins for free. In addition to their relatives, even porters, passersby and beggars could attend the banquet.
In preparation for the wedding banquet, the Tan family engaged all the competent women in the town to assist with cooking. Huang Cuihua, the Tan family's chef, went to the Pickle Store early in the morning and said, "Qingping, the Tan family has decided to buy all of your pickles. They are preparing a big banquet, and all of your pickles are far from enough."
"If I had known this earlier, I would have prepared more pickles!" she replied regretfully.
"We're not mind-readers!" Huang Cuihua laughed. "Mr. Tan made no mention of taking a concubine for so many years, and then he suddenly announced his decision. Unexpectedly, the glutton Simei is about to marry into a wealthy family!"
According to the Tan family's plans, several people in a room downstairs were busy making lanterns. Adults and kids worked together, cutting bamboo strips and paper, making lantern frames, pasting mulberry paper ... A large heap of materials was piled in the corner of the room. The lanterns were made of bamboo strips and paper: the bamboo strips were woven into nine rings, a layer of rough paper was arranged at the bottom, the periphery was surrounded by mulberry paper, and a tung oil lamp was arranged therein. The mulberry paper was immersed in tung oil before being used. As such, it was capable of keeping out of the wind and being pervious to light, and the lanterns could thus be used to light the way in darkness. The Tan family planned to make nine hundred and ninety-nine lanterns. From the wedding day onwards, these lanterns would be given to passersby for free.
For weddings and funerals in Meizi, it was important to have an organizer, followed by a person in charge. The person in charge had to be a man of worldly wisdom who was both slick and reputable. Weddings and funerals required jollification. A cash gift was less important than a lively atmosphere. When guests came, the person in charge should entertain them on behalf of the host, for example by providing them with tobacco and tea. Etiquette was necessary for a banquet. In Meizi, the most famous person in charge of weddings and funerals was Mr. Wu. Whatever the scale of the wedding or funeral, he could make sound arrangements, and never made any mistakes. As it was Tan Shanguozi's wedding, he would surely spare no efforts. He arrived at Mr. Tan's home on the afternoon of the thirteenth day of the fifth lunar month for the purpose of adjusting the seating arrangement according to the invitation list. There was a rule for arranging seats. As the saying went, "People of the same type seem to gather together." If the poor and the rich sat at the same table, the rich might feel it beneath their dignity, and neither of them would enjoy the banquet.
The fifteenth day of the fifth lunar month was an auspicious day. Everyone in town had been looking forward to it. Every important ceremony came too late. The joyful atmosphere of the Tan family influenced the entire town. The firecrackers in Maqiao Town exploded from morning to night, ranging from sporadic to intensive. Even the maidenhair tree next to Mr. Shi's stall was decorated with red lanterns. One passerby coming from afar exclaimed, "It's gorgeous! Whose wedding is it?"
Mr. Shi smiled from ear to ear and replied, "Tan Shanguozi, Zhulisheng (Ritual Master) of Fuyuan Hall, is about to marry a concubine! They will provide a banquet soon. You may attend the banquet before you leave!"
The passerby laid down his goods, washed his face in the river and patted the dust from his clothes in anticipation. Hordes of beggars came as well, and sat quietly waiting for the banquet. All the kids went to the Tan residence to watch the scene unfold. A talkative man, Mr. Shi muttered, "There was a state known as Diemin. Emperor Shun had a son named Wuyin who was demoted and transferred to Die. His descendants were the so-called Wudie people. Surnamed Pan, the Wudie people ate five cereals. They did not engage in spinning, but still had clothes; they did not engage in farming, but still had food ... " The beggars did not understand what he was narrating, and they all stared at his mouth in terror with wide eyes. "I preach to deaf ears!" Mr. Shi suddenly said, then broke off his narration and lay back in his chair, snoring.
Before noon, the Tan family started the banquet. All the distinguished guests sat in the central room; relatives of the Tan family and decent people sat in the courtyard. The banquet tables for the street folk were placed in an open courtyard under the maidenhair tree, closely packed and seemingly stretching off without end.
An Er was certainly unwilling to miss the banquet. The banquet tables under the maidenhair tree had no seat order. Guests could eat as they arrived. He sat on an unoccupied seat. When a bowl of braised pork was served, he quickly grabbed it and ate all the pork slices. After eating several rounds, An Er finally felt full. He put the bowl down, then started on his way home without haste. He thought to himself, "How I wish I could drink Eagle tea at Mo Laojun's home! His tea has the effects of cleansing the palate and promoting digestion." Before he reached Mo Laojun's courtyard, he heard his belly rumbling. He had to go to the toilet!
After entering Mo Laojun's house, An Er rushed to the toilet. Afterwards, he asked for antidiarrheal medicine from Mo Laojun. Mo Laojun grabbed a handful of croton and ground it in a stone roller. He then handed An Er the croton powder, saying, "This is effective for treating diarrhea!" The croton was a laxative. After drinking it, An Er suffered from severe diarrhea. With a straw mat around his body, he went to Tang Yaomei's home. Tang Yaomei said, "It's not hard to treat your diarrhea, but you must apologize in front of the Goddess of Mercy! Don't sleep tonight. Make twelve pairs of 40 cm straw sandals for passersby."
When the roosters crowed, An Er finally finished the twelfth pair of straw sandals. Lying on the bed, Tang Yaomei enjoined, "Sweep the courtyard and hang the straw sandals on Mr. Shi's stall!" With red eyes, An Er staggered to the maidenhair tree with the sandals.
