Chapter 13 – July Sacrifice

When Chen Qing emerged from the alley, he had difficulty finding his way. He wanted to go to a shop that sold only incense, candles, and spirit money. Since these kinds of shops weren’t on the main road, Chen Qing kept his head down and walked toward the edge of the city.

Just as he was about to reach a quiet street, however, someone tugged on his sleeve. His heart skipped a beat. Before he could react, he felt a wave of warmth cover his hand.

He looked down and saw two steaming meat buns wrapped in wax paper. Still a little dazed, he looked up again and saw a tall figure at the end of the road.

It was Zhou Yuan.

Chen Qing stared at the two big meat buns in his hand, unsure whether to eat them. Zhou Yuan had bought him buns—did Li Xin know?

Two buns cost four coins. Should he give Zhou Yuan the money later in front of Li Xin?

After hesitating for a moment, Chen Qing lowered his head and started eating. Each bun cost two coins in the city. The bun was almost as big as Chen Qing’s face. The dough was perfectly fermented—fluffy and soft with every crack oozing the smell of oil. There were also bamboo shoots in the filling, which made it extra chewy. No wonder they sold for two coins apiece.

Chen Qing ate one and carefully tucked the other into his arms, planning to bring it back to his mother.

Soon, he found a shop selling incense, candles, and spirit money. Since the Mid-Autumn Festival was only two days away, however, the place was crowded with buyers. His scalp tingled at the sight of the bustling crowd. He waited a long time by the roadside before going in to buy things when the crowd had thinned out.

It took a while. He made his way back to the main street with his purchases on his back, unsure of what to do next. As he stood there, lost in thought, Li Xin startled him from behind.

“Why did it take you so long to buy things?” Li Xin looked at his purchases. “Just this?”

Chen Qing nodded. “The Mid-Autumn Festival is in two days. I bought some for him.”

“You miss Meng Tao that much?” Li Xin looked a little odd.

“Isn’t it just the right thing to do?” Chen Qing said casually. ” Are you done shopping?”

Li Xin had only come to the city to buy medicine for his mother. He had bought it and was now waiting for Chen Qing.

Chen Qing wanted to ask about the buns, but he held himself back.

“Shall we head back then?” Chen Qing asked.

“Okay.” The two of them walked to the ox cart parked in the city and saw Zhou Yuan sitting by the cart, waiting for them.

Chen Qing had thought that Zhou Yuan would have left by now since it had taken quite a while, but he didn’t expect that Zhou Yuan would wait so long for Li Xin.

The three of them were still together on the way back. Chen Qing held the four copper coins in his hand, unsure of when to give them to Zhou Yuan and wondering if Li Xin knew that Zhou Yuan had bought the buns for him. If Li Xin didn’t know, Chen Qing was afraid that giving him the money would affect their relationship.

Li Xin looked at Chen Qing, took his hand, opened his palm, and saw the four copper coins. “Why are you holding coins?”

Zhou Yuan turned to look, too.

Chen Qing lowered his head and softly mumbled, “It’s nothing.”

Zhou Yuan said, “That’s money for the ox cart. I usually pay when I ride.”

Chen Qing turned to look at him. For some reason, he felt like Zhou Yuan’s words carried a hint of sarcasm. “No, I don’t have it.”

Li Xin glanced at the two of them, then told Chen Qing, “Just keep the money, then.”

“Oh.”

The three of them didn’t talk much on the way back. When they reached the village entrance, Li Xin jumped off the cart. “Ah Qing, I’ll come hang out with you this afternoon.”

Once Li Xin left, only Chen Qing and Zhou Yuan remained in the cart.

Chen Qing stretched out his hand, revealing four copper coins in his palm. “These are for the meat buns you bought me. Li Xin was in the cart earlier, and I was worried…”

“Worried about what?” Zhou Yuan didn’t take the money, but he responded calmly.

“Huh? That, Li Xin, you…” Chen Qing hesitated for a long time, still unable to explain clearly. Finally mustering his courage, he held Zhou Yuan’s hand, shoved the coins into it, jumped out of the cart, and ran off with his backpack.

Zhou Yuan looked down at the coins in his hand and almost laughed out of frustration.

When Chen Qing arrived home, Aunt Sun pulled him aside to ask about his day. His mind was blank, and he just replied, “They were selling the hunt together…”

Aunt Sun smiled and said, “That’s good.”

Chen Qing remembered the bun and quickly handed it to her: “Mom, here, have the meat bun.”

“Oh, you bought this for me? Did you eat already? Did you spend all your money? I’ll give you some pocket money later.” Aunt Sun rarely ate big meat buns from the city. No one would usually spend their spare money like that.

“I still have some left.” Chen Qing took a deep breath. “I’ll rest in my room for a bit.”

“Alright.”

Just as Chen Qing got back to his room and lay down, Zhou Yuan arrived. Aunt Sun smiled teasingly and said, “Oh? What’s going on? You look so excited. It’s true that people glow when they’re happy.”

Zhou Yuan frowned and asked, “What’s the happy occasion?”

“Why are you asking me? You tell me.” Aunt Sun grinned. “What’s up?”

“The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming up. I went to the city today to buy incense, candles, and spirit money, but everything was sold out.”

Aunt Sun glanced at what Chen Qing had bought and said, “Here, take some. Ah Qing bought a lot. We won’t use it all.”

“Thanks, Aunt.”

Aunt Sun added, “He spent his own pocket money on this. He said he wanted to do something for Taozi.”

Zhou Yuan: …

Zhou Yuan’s face didn’t change, but he took four coins out of his pocket. “I ate a steamed bun this morning and realized he hadn’t had breakfast. I bought him two meat buns, but he insisted on giving me money. Aunt, please give these back to him.”

Aunt Sun was stunned. She glanced toward the room and felt a little awkward. “Steamed buns aren’t worth as much as meat buns…”

“Then remember to think of me next time you make steamed buns.” Zhou Yuan handed the coins to Aunt Sun. He took the incense, candles, and spirit money from Chen Qing’s small backpack. Then, he gave Aunt Sun some more money and left before she could refuse.

Aunt Sun knew Chen Qing was a sensitive boy, so she didn’t say anything. Instead, she focused on preparing offerings for the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.

This day, the Zhongyuan Festival, was an important day for sacrifices in Luohe Village traditions.

That morning, Aunt Sun got up early to slaughter a chicken. Chen Qing boiled water on the side. He watched as she held the rooster and snipped its neck with scissors. Then, blood flowed out.

He shrank his neck and brought a bowl to catch the blood.

The pot was full of boiling water. He used a ladle to scoop hot water into a bucket. Then, Aunt Sun dunked the chicken into the bucket. Once scalded, the feathers were easy to pluck.

The feathers weren’t thrown away. Chen Qing collected them and washed them in the river, then dried them on a bamboo comb. Since it was summer, they would dry quickly.

Their family didn’t kill chickens often—maybe twice or three times in five years—so the bag Chen Qing used to collect feathers was small.

After plucking the chicken, Aunt Sun gutted it and removed its internal organs. She put them in a bowl, washed the intestines, gizzard, heart, and liver, and stir-fried them with pickled cabbage to make a fragrant bowl of chicken offal noodles.

While Aunt Sun cooked the chicken, Chen Qing squatted beside her to clean the innards. The chicken’s intestines were small, so he used a bamboo stick to turn them inside out and rinse them clean. The outer membrane of the gizzard was carefully peeled and set aside to dry because it is a medicinal herb.

By the time Chen Qing finished, the chicken was cooked.

After being boiled, the once-soft whole chicken had firmed up. Aunt Sun propped its head up. On the plate, it looked just as spirited as it had been in life.

This chicken was going up the mountain to be placed on Meng Tao’s grave as the most important offering.

After the offering was made, they could eat the chicken.

Before Meng Tao came back, they never killed a chicken for their worship of his father. They would just buy a piece of pork from the butcher, which was considered equivalent. But this year, there was one more person to worship: Meng Tao. Aunt Sun still felt heartache for her son.

After packing up, they headed up the mountain. Many other families were doing the same thing that day, so they could go together.

“Are you going to Old Meng’s or Meng Tao’s first?” Aunt Liu asked. Her family was going to pay their respects to their elders first.

“Of course, Old Meng first. He’s the father. How could we honor the son before the father?” Aunt Sun replied.

Chen Qing followed them with a backpack, neither rushing nor dragging.

When they reached Old Meng’s grave, it was overgrown with weeds. Chen Qing didn’t do anything; she just watched as Aunt Sun, with red eyes, held an axe and slowly cleared the weeds around the grave.

She cleared the weeds and talked, and Chen Qing listened with a heavy heart.

Aunt Sun talked about the past, the present, and the future. Chen Qing kept her company and helped burn incense and paper.

Once the last spark had gone out, Aunt Sun wiped her eyes and went to Meng Tao’s grave.

Since Meng Tao’s grave was new, there weren’t any weeds yet. Chen Qing placed the chicken in front of the grave and lit incense with Aunt Sun.

He was supposed to speak to Meng Tao like Aunt Sun did, but they didn’t really know each other, and he wasn’t good with words. He didn’t know what to say, so he stayed quiet.

Seeing that he didn’t speak, Aunt Sun took the initiative to speak up herself. She made a point to mention that Chen Qing had bought all the incense that day, hoping that Meng Tao would bless him from heaven.

Chen Qing could only smile and agree that it was the right thing to do.

Many people went up the mountain to offer sacrifices and burn paper that day. The village chief had reminded them days earlier to wait until the fire was completely out before leaving. Chen Qing waited by the roadside until the flames died down. Then, he went down the mountain with Aunt Sun.

Aunt Sun didn’t wait for the others, who said they would come pay their respects. Everyone knew where Meng Tao’s grave was, so there was no need to gather.

No one was in the mood to talk, so people just nodded quickly when passing each other and headed home.

Aunt Sun looked at the plump chicken wrapped in a blanket and smiled. “Thanks to those two, we get to eat well today.”

Chen Qing smiled, too.

But before their smiles could fully settle, the door creaked open.

Aunt Sun’s smile froze instantly, turning sour.

“What are you doing here?”