She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

After Shen Man nodded in agreement, she picked up the basket and left the village head's house.

Shen Man was in an exceptionally cheerful mood throughout the journey. She walked home slowly, humming a little tune, with light steps.

Halfway there, they happened to run into Li Mufeng and his servant Tingxian, who were returning from school.

Today is the last day of classes at the village school; tomorrow the holiday will begin in preparation for the Chinese New Year.

"Sir, look what I brought back!" Shen Man greeted Li Mufeng with delight and handed him the bag of dried fruit from the basket.

"What are these? Where did you get them?"

Li Mufeng took the dried fruit, opened it, pointed to the pine nuts inside, and asked Shen Man.

“These are pine nuts, they grow on pine trees. I just delivered some things to Grandpa Village Head, and this is a return gift from Grandma Sun,” Shen Man explained to him.

Li Mufeng had never seen anything like this before, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Was this found on the mountain? Is it edible?"

"Of course you can eat it!" Shen Man smiled, took a pine nut out of the bag, peeled off the shell, and put the pine nut kernel into Li Mufeng's palm. "Try it, sir."

Li Mufeng hesitated for a moment, then took a bite of a pine nut. Instantly, a fragrant pine aroma filled his mouth.

"How is it? Is it delicious?" Shen Man looked at him expectantly.

Li Mufeng nodded, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "Hmm, it's delicious. But why are these pine nuts so small?"

Shen Man smiled and explained, "Pine nuts are not very big to begin with, and they need to be dried and roasted, so they become even smaller. But they are very nutritious and good for your health."

“I see…” Li Mufeng said thoughtfully, “I never imagined that such a small pine nut would have such effects.”

“Yes, there are many other treasures in our mountains!” Shen Man said proudly. “When I have the chance in the future, I will bring some other things for you to try.”

“Great! I’m really looking forward to it.” Li Mufeng replied with a smile. “Tingxian, you should try it too; it has a very unique flavor!”

Tingxian tasted the pine nuts and praised them highly. The three of them ate pine nuts and chatted, and soon arrived home.

At home, Lanxiang had already prepared lunch. Seeing them return, she immediately set out the bowls and chopsticks and invited them to eat.

After everyone had finished eating, Shen Man suddenly remembered that tomorrow was the Little New Year, and the village would be holding a sacrificial ceremony. She then said to Li Mufeng, "By the way, sir, tomorrow is the Little New Year, and the village will be holding a sacrificial ceremony. Would you like to go and take a look?"

"A sacrificial ceremony? What's that like?"

Li Mufeng was very interested in this. He grew up in the capital and had never participated in a rural sacrificial ceremony before.

"It's just the villagers worshipping the mountain god together, praying for good weather and peace in the coming year," Shen Man explained simply. "There's also a dragon dance performance; it's so lively!"

“That sounds interesting,” Li Mufeng said. “Let’s go check it out.”

"Great! Let's go together tomorrow," Shen Man said happily.

The next day, upon learning that the village's sacrificial ceremony would be held in the open space in front of the ancestral hall, Li Mufeng and Tingxian brought Shen Man there early in the morning.

When they arrived, the open space was already crowded with people and extremely noisy.

At the northernmost end of the open space, there was a huge table with three incense burners in the center: one large and two small. The large one was in the middle with nine incense sticks inside, while the two smaller ones were placed on either side of it, each with three incense sticks burning inside.

In front of the incense burner, three plates of sacrificial snacks and fruits are neatly arranged.

In front of the altar was a large brazier with burning charcoal.

Apart from Lanxiang and her daughter, all the villagers in Xiaoyao Village come from the same family—the Sun family.

Therefore, today's sacrificial ceremony will be presided over by the eldest member of the Sun family, Grandpa Sun Er.

Behind him followed a group of young and middle-aged men dressed in sacrificial attire.

These people are representatives carefully selected from each household, and they will accompany Grandpa Sun to complete this important sacrificial ceremony.

The sacrificial ceremony began. Master Sun led the group of men, each holding a handful of paper money, toward the altar.

Their steps were steady and powerful, as if carrying the hopes and faith of the entire village.

Upon reaching the altar, the group stopped and gazed silently at the offerings on it.

Grandpa Sun spoke first, his voice deep and solemn: "Mountain God, please bless the land where my Sun clan lives, so that the weather may be favorable and the harvest plentiful! Please bless my clan with good health and peace!"

As he spoke, he placed the paper money in his hand into the brazier and lit it. The flames roared up and illuminated his weathered face.

Others followed suit, throwing their paper money into the fire pit while chanting incantations to express their respect and prayers to the mountain god.

Then, Master Sun poured himself a cup of wine and poured it on the offering table, symbolizing sharing this joy with the mountain god.

Immediately afterwards, Grandpa Sun led all those participating in the ceremony in singing a hymn of praise. The song echoed through the village, expressing their reverence and love for the mountain god.

After the hymn was sung, a wonderful dragon dance performance followed.

Of all the parts of the sacrificial ceremony, Shen Man's favorite was undoubtedly the dragon dance performance.

Moments later, the villagers dressed in sacrificial attire donned the dragon scales used in the performance, transforming themselves into part of the dragon's body.

Amidst the rousing sounds of gongs and drums, a golden dragon soared out, and the dragon dancers, dressed in brightly colored costumes and holding dragon poles, moved the dragon with agile steps.

The dragon sometimes coils and raises its head, sometimes rolls and dives, so lifelike, as if it wants to break free of its restraints and fly into the sky.

The dragon dancers worked closely together, using the swinging of their arms and the twisting of their bodies to vividly display the form and spirit of the dragon.

Their movements were synchronized, combining strength and grace; every turn and every jump was full of power and rhythm.

The villagers were captivated by the wonderful performance and applauded enthusiastically. The children danced with excitement, creating a lively atmosphere filled with cheers and applause.

As the drumbeats reached their climax, the dragon's movements became increasingly intense.

It soared through the air, spewing flames from its mouth, bringing the entire performance to a climax.

Finally, led by the dragon dancers, the giant dragon slowly descended, bringing this spectacular performance to a close.

The end of the dragon dance performance signifies the complete conclusion of today's sacrificial ceremony.

Grandpa Sun called over a few of the youngest children in the clan and distributed the fruits and pastries used for the sacrificial ceremony to them.

"Man'er, come up here too!" Master Sun waved to Shen Man, who was standing in the crowd.

"Second Grand Uncle, what do you want with me?" Shen Man stepped forward, looked at Grandfather Sun, and asked in confusion.

Shen Man and Shuan'er are good friends. When she heard Shuan'er call Master Sun Second Uncle, she also called him that.

"Now that you've come to my Xiaoyao Village, you're considered a member of the Sun family. This fruit is yours; eat it and you'll be free from illness and disaster, and live a peaceful and safe life!"

Grandpa Sun handed a large, red apple from the sacrificial table to Shen Man and said this to her.

"Thank you, Second Grand Uncle!" Shen Man took the apple and looked up at Grandpa Sun to express her gratitude.