Dreaming of 1988, I have the ability to see ghosts and ghosts

The grandparents finally finished their noodles happily. I wanted to wash the dishes but grandma wouldn't let me, saying it was my birthday and I couldn't do any work.

It happened to be Sunday, so I didn’t have to go to school and could just have a good rest at home for the day.

After washing the dishes, grandma went to the backyard to dig the vegetable patch since there was no fish to sell today. I always felt that grandma had endless work to do, and I had nothing to do, so I followed her to the backyard.

My grandmother is 73 years old this year. Looking at her hunched figure digging the soil with great effort, my nose felt sore and I wanted to help her, but my grandmother wouldn't let me.

At noon, grandma finished digging the vegetable garden and prepared to cook lunch.

There was a figure coming from the distance. When I got closer, I searched the original owner's memory and found that it was our previous neighbor, Aunt Huang.

"Auntie Huang!" I called out.

"Oh, Feng'er is at home today too. Where is your grandma?" asked Aunt Huang.

"I'm here, Aunt Huang, what's the matter with you coming here?"

Grandma had already heard Aunt Huang's voice in the inner room.

"Aunt Xu, you are at home. My second son's baby is having a full moon banquet the day after tomorrow. I came to write you a letter today and give you some red eggs."

Aunt Huang walked into the main room and put four red eggs on the table while speaking with a smile.

"Then congratulations, you have another grandson. We will definitely go the day after tomorrow."

Grandma also smiled very happily.

"Then bring Feng'er here early the day after tomorrow."

Aunt Huang looked at me meaningfully and turned to say goodbye.

People in the village thought that my grandmother was so old and still had to work so hard to make money to support me. In addition, I had killed my parents, so I was regarded as a disaster. They all disliked me and most of them were unwilling to talk to me.

I have also become accustomed to this kind of indifference since I moved to live by the river with my grandma.

Apart from going to school and greeting some acquaintances politely after school, I rarely communicate with people in the village.

Our Huangjia Village has 7 production teams, and each production team has about 30-40 households.

The team my family is in is Team 6. Whenever there is a wedding or funeral in the team, almost everyone in the team will go to congratulate.

Because the banquets are always held at home, relatives, friends and people with good relationships will go in advance to help.

After Aunt Huang left, grandma picked up the red egg on the table, cracked one, peeled it and handed it to me: "Come, Feng'er, eat a red egg and get some good luck."

The red eggs in the countryside are made by boiling the eggs, rolling them in water soaked with red paper, and then dyeing them red.

I also peeled one and handed it to my grandma. This time she didn't refuse. She took a gentle bite with a kind smile on her wrinkled face.

After school on the third day, my grandmother took me to Aunt Huang’s second son’s home.

Since rice is grown in the Central Plains, every household has a threshing ground of about 200 square meters at the door.

A shed was built with oilcloth on half of the threshing floor. Inside the shed were four square tables, which were filled with chicken, duck, fish and meat, which were only affordable for ordinary families during the New Year and other festivals in that era.

There are also two square tables in the main room, where the first group of people who arrived were also having a great time eating.

This kind of square table is available in every household in the village. A square table is equipped with 4 long benches, and each table can only seat 8 people.

Things were borrowed from each other when doing things at home, and the tarpaulin used to build the shed was also rented in the town, mainly to provide shelter from wind and rain.

Generally, when a child turns one month old, a year old, an elderly person celebrates their 60th or 70th birthday, or an elderly person passes away, they all have three meals, one in the evening of the first day.

The next morning and noon are both main meals. Depending on the family situation, there are 12 to 18 dishes on the table, and they can only be even numbers.

Another reason is that there is limited space at home, usually only 6 to 8 tables, so it is a buffet.

After one group finished eating, the people who came to help cleaned up immediately, and another group sat down immediately. Those who didn't get a seat could only wait on the side.

Because there is no limit on the number of people allowed at a banquet in the countryside, as long as the family is willing to attend, the whole family can go, so there are quite a lot of people.

In addition, some people were waiting at the table in advance, and sat down as soon as the table was cleared.

In fact, the seats were all grabbed because no one wanted to eat at the end.

Otherwise, the roads in the village are difficult to walk on, there are no street lights, and they are muddy roads, uneven, with one step deep and one step shallow, and you may fall into the ditch if you are not careful.

My grandma and I arrived late, and as we were an old person and a young child, grandma didn't want to argue with others about anything, so she waited until the last wave to sit at the table.

Soon after we sat down at the table, the chef who helped carry the dishes served the first dish, which was the famous local specialty fish cake.

This kind of fish cake is made by peeling the skin off the fish's back and grinding it into a paste with a meat grinder. Then add a little lard, cornstarch, ginger, scallion, and egg white, mix thoroughly, and spread it evenly in a steamer.

Beat the egg yolk and spread it on the surface. After steaming, it becomes a delicious dish with good color, aroma and taste. Cut it into slices when eating. It can be steamed or boiled, and can also be used in hot pot.

The fish skeleton or fish belly after making fish cakes is used to make fried fish or steamed fish.

The bowl of fish cake that was brought up was only covered with a layer of fish cake on the surface. There were 32 slices in total, which was limited. Each person could only eat four slices.

Everyone knew that the bottom layer was boiled lotus root. Grandma picked up a piece and put it in my bowl, and put the other three pieces in a plastic bag prepared in advance.

Everyone else at the table did the same thing, because everyone wanted to pick up the good dishes and take them home, and take them out again a few days later to satisfy their cravings, and only eat the side dishes and stir-fried vegetables during the banquet.

Grandma picked up the fried fish, braised pork, etc. that were served later and put them into the plastic bag.

The plastic bags used to hold vegetables are usually used when buying things. After being washed and dried, they are used to hold other things.

Host families with better financial conditions will prepare new plastic bags for the guests and distribute them to those in need before the meal.

To me, the dishes on the table are not delicacies from land and sea, but they are all organic food. The pigs are raised by ourselves and the fish are caught in the river.

Of course, I need to buy more things for my daily needs, and the things I buy are also fished out of the river like my grandma did.

Grandma and the others ate more than two bowls of rice. It was a rare opportunity to have such delicious food, so of course they ate more.

Besides, it's a favor to me, and it feels to me like they want to take back the money I gave away.

I was full after eating just one bowl of rice. My grandma wanted to give me another bowl of rice, but I refused. Knowing that I usually eat little, she gave up.

After dinner, I exchanged a few pleasantries with the host. Then, holding my grandmother’s hand, we slowly walked home in the dim moonlight.

"Aunt Xu, Aunt Xu."

We were walking very slowly, and just as we reached the door of our house, we suddenly heard someone shouting loudly.

As we turned around, the man said breathlessly:

"Aunt Xu, you're back. I don't know what happened to Wang Erming, the second son of the Wang family. He became sick after the banquet and came home. I want you to go and help him."