I trade in both worlds

Xu Jizong brought his two sons with him. Xu Xu said to Xu Jizong, "Second uncle, please take them with you to announce the death to everyone. Do you want to bring some food with you? I'm afraid they are too young to walk such a long distance."

Xu Jizong agreed, "Of course, let's go to the village first, and then borrow your second grandfather's ox cart to go to your eldest aunt and your husband's family to announce the death."

After handing the twins over to Xu Jizong, Xu Xu went to the inner room and changed Xu's mother's clothes with Aunt Xu, and also put some daily makeup on her.

Relatives from the clan came one after another outside the house. The second grandmother sent Youyin to the next village to invite a fortune teller to come over to choose a time for the burial, a site for the grave, and then arrange for other people to help set up the mourning hall.

In less than half an hour, Xu Youyin invited a fortune teller over. The fortune teller took the horoscope, looked at the date and calculated the time, and said that the most suitable time for burial would be the end of the morning.

Xu Xu said to the Yin-Yang Master, "Sir, my parents are going to be buried together. Is it convenient for you to go and see my father's grave now?"

Mr. Yin Yang nodded: "Of course."

Seeing the clan leader standing nearby, Xu Xu turned around and bowed to him, asking for help: "Second Grandfather, you see I don't really understand these things. My second uncle is busy with his younger brother. Can you help take Brother Youyin to take a look?"

The clan leader hurriedly helped and said to Xu Xu, "This is just a matter of lending a hand. If it's not a big deal, don't feel burdened. Just tell us what you need us to do. We all have the same ancestors, so it's only right that we help each other."

Xu Xu thanked him, and the clan leader waved his hand and called Xu Youyin: "Youyin, let's go." He then said to Mr. Yin Yang: "Sir, please come this way." Mr. Yin Yang nodded and followed him.

Arriving at Xu Jizu's tomb, the Yin-Yang master looked around and said, "We can start digging at the end of the Wei hour tomorrow. Find a few more people and make sure it's done before the end of the Shen hour."

Seeing that Mr. Yin Yang had given such detailed instructions, Xu Youyin asked in confusion, "Mr. Yin Yang, are you not coming tomorrow?"

Mr. Yin Yang said angrily: "Who said you can't come? If I don't come, would you dare to dig? Do you know how to dig?"

The clan leader knocked Xu Youyin's head and said, "You are so old, but you still can't speak." Then he turned to Mr. Yin Yang and said, "Don't mind it, sir. He is just a fool."

Xu Youyin scratched his head and smiled at Mr. Yin Yang. Mr. Yin Yang looked at his silly look, waved his hand and said, "It's okay."

The chief thought that the weather was so hot that if the coffin was left at home for too long, the smell would probably affect the dozens of households around. He also didn't know if there would be a good day recently, so he asked the Yin-Yang master, "Sir, is there a good day recently to take out the coffin?"

The Yin-Yang master turned around for a while, counted with his fingers, and said, "The most suitable day for their family is the tenth day. After the tenth day, they have to wait until the twenty-third day. The funeral will be held at si hour on the tenth day, and the burial will be at si hour."

The clan leader nodded and took Xu Youyin and Mr. Yin Yang back with him.

Xu Xu finally chose the tenth day of the lunar month. After all, it was early summer and it would not be good to keep the coffin for too long. That night, Xu Xu took the twins to keep vigil, and Xu Youliang accompanied them.

By the end of the Xu hour, the twins could no longer hold on and fell asleep leaning against Xu Xu. Xu Youliang saw this and asked Xu Xu to carry them back to the room, and then he went back to the mourning hall to continue guarding.

At midnight, Xu Youyin came to replace Xu Youliang and advised Xu Xu to take a rest: "Sister, you should take a rest. You will have a lot of things to do tomorrow."

Xu Xu said as he burned paper: "I can't sleep, so I just want to stay awake."

Xu Youyin forced Xu Xu to sit on the chair next to him: "If you can't sleep, you can sit down and close your eyes to rest. I'll be watching over you. Xiaojin and Xiaozhun, as well as Weiwei and Tiantian are all looking at you. What will they do if you fall?"

Xu Xu had no choice but to sit down and close his eyes. He thought he would not be able to fall asleep, but he fell asleep without knowing when.

After the body was buried at the end of Mao hour on the next day, at the end of Wei hour, the clan leader selected fifteen men to bring their tools and a fortune teller to go dig the grave.

It was not until the fourth day, the tenth day of May, that the Xu family began to prepare for the funeral at daybreak, and the wails of the funeral procession echoed throughout Xu Village.

At the beginning of the Si hour, the Yin-Yang master bids farewell to the spirit. First, the "stuffing jar" is filled with the food for the last memorial service. During the funeral, Xu Xu holds it in his arms and finally buries it in front of the coffin.

As the slogans were chanted, the coffin bearers lifted the head of the coffin. The Yin-Yang master handed eight copper coins to Xu Jin and asked him to put them under the coffin. Then he took a new broom and dustpan to sweep the loose dust on the coffin lid, and then poured the loose dust under the kang mat. This mainly meant "bringing wealth to get promoted."

The coffin bearers moved the coffin out of the door, the clan leader took out the prepared offerings, and the Yin-Yang master presided over the ceremony. Xu Xu and his two siblings knelt down, and the Yin-Yang master read the sacrificial text. After he finished reading the sacrificial text, Xu Xu and the twins walked around the coffin three times. The Yin-Yang master tied the coffin with a rope and closed the coffin lid.

The Yin-Yang Master shouted, "Carry the coffin."

Xu Jin was in the front, holding the banner, Xu Zhun was holding Zhang Yunxiang's spirit tablet, Xu Xu was holding the "stuffing pot", and other relatives were holding "crying sticks" wrapped in white paper. The coffin bearers followed the Yin-Yang master's slogans.

At the same time, Aunt Xu took apart the pillow Zhang Yunxiang had used during her lifetime and burned the buckwheat husks and pillowcase inside in the brazier. Xu Jin smashed the clay pot used to burn paper in front of the coffin.

This basin is called the "Yin Yang Basin" and is commonly known as the "funeral basin", but it is also called the "auspicious basin". The basin should be broken into pieces at once, and the more broken pieces the better, because according to custom, this basin is the pot of the deceased, and the more broken it is, the easier it is for the deceased to carry.

After arriving at the Xu family's ancestral tomb, the clan leader arranged for people to tidy up the grave pit again. At exactly 9 o'clock, Xu Xu placed the burial stuffing cans in the grave pit, and then slowly lowered the coffin, and the Yin-Yang master used a compass to correct the direction.

Xu Jin and Xu Zhun each scooped up a handful of soil and threw it onto the coffin. The clan leader arranged for people to shovel the rest of the soil to cover the coffin and pile it up to form a grave.

There was no tombstone for this burial, and it had to wait until the winter solstice to erect the tombstone.

Xu Xu and his brother knelt in front of the grave, lit incense and burned paper, and were reluctant to get up for a long time. Aunt Xu saw this and walked over to help the twins up, and said to Xu Xu: "Xu Xu, it's time to go back. Don't let your mother worry about you and feel uneasy."

Xu Xu nodded, stood up, and took the lead to walk back with the twins. Mr. Yin Yang shouted from behind: "Keep going forward, no one should look back. Remember, don't look back, just keep going forward."

It was already noon when we got back to the Xu family. The invited chef and the aunties from the village had prepared all the dishes and were waiting for the host to come back before serving the food.

After the banquet started, Xu Jizong took Xu Jin and Xu Zhun to each table to express their gratitude.