Lion Dragon with a Hundred Lanterns
The 36th of the Republic of China was an extraordinary year for the people of Maple Ridge. This year, they built Qingli Primary School. This year, they won a lawsuit against Yan Village. Someone suggested that they should play tigers and lions to celebrate and show off.
It was still winter, but this kind of cry had already started. Mei Yu was the first to speak. He found Li Ren and said,"Big Brother Liren, I have an idea. We should play Lion Dragon once in our house. We haven't played it for a long time.”
"Why did you suddenly think of this question? It's not an easy thing to do."”
Mei Yu said," You see, playing Lion Dragon this year is an opportunity. We built Qingli Primary School, and we won the lawsuit against the people of Yan Village. Shouldn't we celebrate and publicize such a victory? I also know that this is not an easy matter, so I came to discuss with you. I need your support.”
Li Ren said,"That's right. The ancients said that the name of the family is famous and shows the parents." Light shines in front, and wealth shines behind. If you can think like this, it's also a kind of encouragement for the Maple Ridge people.”
Mei Yu said," I think you should come forward and organize this matter. You have the highest prestige in the house and the most charisma. If you come forward, no one will disobey."”
"I can't do this anymore. Do you know how old I am this year? I'm already 53 years old. My master would have been buried in the mud for years at my age. "Moreover, I've already delayed many things at home to build Qingli Primary School this year. If I continue to do this, my family will have to drink the northwest wind.”
Mei Yu said,"That's true. What should we do then? If you don't come out to be the leader, then who should we call out to be the leader?"”
Li Ren said,"You? Isn't it good for you to come out?"”
"Can I?" Mei Yu asked. Will they listen to me? What right do I have!"
"You can do it, why can't you? You're thirty-two years old this year, and you're in the prime of your life. You've also been the captain of a plainclothes team, so you have a certain level of organizational skills.”
Mei Yu walked out of Li Ren's house. He was inspired. He thought that this activity should be mainly for young people. He wanted to make the young people of Maple Ridge full of vigor and enthusiasm to participate in this activity. With all the young people up, there was hope for this event to succeed.
Mei Yu first gathered Nan Heng, Chun Yan, Mei Mao, Chao Fan, and the other old members of the team. He told them his thoughts and Li Ren's opinions. The old members became enthusiastic. They rubbed their sleeves and clenched their fists, expressing that they would seriously organize an activity. They did not want the old people of Maple Ridge to look down on the young people, and they did not want outsiders to look down on the people of Maple Ridge.
Nan Heng said,"There's nothing to say. We'll do whatever Big Brother Mei Yu says."”
Chun Yan said," Big Brother Mei Yu, you should be the leader. If anyone doesn't listen to you, I'll beat them up. My fists can guarantee that they'll listen to me."”
Plum Cat said," Count me in if you want to be a fighter. If Chun Yan gives you the first punch, I'll give you the second."”
Chao Fan said," How strong are you guys? Chun Yan and Mei Mao, come and fight with me for a round. If you win, I'll acknowledge you as my master. If you lose, I'll be your master."”
Chun Yan said,"Uncle Chao Fan, don't talk big. I will beat you up by myself."”
Mei Yu said,"Stop arguing, stop arguing. Let's talk about serious matters." Although this event is an all-house event, because it's a fun event, there's no need to hold a meeting with the eight major departments. We will first hold a youth meeting to let everyone know their responsibilities. Then, we will hold a general meeting to let everyone know their responsibilities. We will also set a few rules. Those who violate the rules will be severely punished.”
As soon as Mei Yu finished speaking, they made a division of labor. Who was in charge of which area, who was in charge of which houses, and who had to be notified of the meeting. There was a limit to the number of people in the Youth Conference. Those who participated in the conference could not be older than 40 years old or younger than 16 years old.
Fei Zhang, Kun Zhen, Bo Sen, Xiu Dun, Mei Ji, Mei Tuo, Mei Xun, and Mei Hua were informed by Nan Heng. Nan Heng hesitated when he saw Xiu Dun. Should he tell him? He really couldn't see outsiders like this. His image was too bad. However, he also thought that since he was playing at night, if he was playing with a lion, he would hide his head in the lion's head so that no one could see it. Thinking of this, he still informed Xiudun. Including Nan Heng, there were nine people in this group.
Zu De, Feng Xian, Di Chu, Sui Chu, Qi Mou, Qi Jing, Ling Chu, Guo Chu, Gu Chu, Sheng Zu, and Xiu Ding were informed by Mei Yu. Sui Chu said to Mei Yu,"I'm doing official business in the township government. How can you lump me together with you? How can I play lion dragon with you when I'm just doing official business?”
Mei Yu said,"As long as you are from Maple Ridge, you must play Lion Dragon with us. If you don't play lion dragon with us, you can't be a Maple Ridge person.”
Sui Chu said," This is ridiculous. Who made such a rule? Is there any law?"”
Mei Yu said,"My words are the law, the law recognized by the people of Maple Ridge."”
Sui Chu said," Even so, I'm already forty years old this year. I don't have to attend your meetings, and I won't play lion dragons with you.”
Mei Yu said,"Alright, you won't attend the meeting, but you still have to attend future events."”
Including Mei Yu, there were twelve people in this group. Subtracting Sui Chu, there were eleven people left.
Man Ying, Marquis Kun, Xiu Xin, Xiu You, Xiu Qiu, Mei Chen, Mei Gu, Mei Heng, Jiu Ru, Xin Rong, Zhi Rong, Xiu Can, Chun Yan, and Liu Shi were all notified by Chun Yan. "I won't be attending this meeting. I rarely participate in activities in the house, and I'm not familiar with the situation in the house."”
" Who are you?" Chun Yan asked." You're making so many excuses about the whole house. Who would still recognize you as a Maple Ridge person?" If you're not from Maple Ridge, then don't live in Maple Ridge.”
"How am I not from Maple Ridge? Of course I'm from Maple Ridge."”
Chun Yan said,"I won't let you participate in the event so that I can free up time for you to go whoring and gambling, right?"”
"We're Old Hua, don't make it sound so ugly."”
Including Chun Yan, there were fifteen people in total.
Mei Yang, Mei Wan, Yao Shan, Ji Xian, Mei Gan, Mei Jun, Hui Min, Lan Xin, Xiu Bing, Xiu Wo, and Xiu Fa were all notified by Mei Cat. There were only a few people, but it was not smooth for him to inform them.
Mei Yang said," Why would I go play with lions? It would be strange if the people who see lions wouldn't be scared half to death by me."”
The Plum Cat said," As the saying goes, people don't know how to look ugly, and horses don't know how long their faces are. You still know how to look ugly." When the time comes, I'll get someone to draw a mask for you to wear so that you won't scare people.”
Yao Shan said," I'm limping like this. I definitely can't play with lions. I can't even hold a lantern. I'll shake the oil off and burn the lantern."”
"No one provoked you, why do you always scold their mother?" asked Mei Mao.”
Yao Shan said," Aren't you provoking me? You're just saying that I'm jumping up and cursing. You're just saying that I'm a cripple. Aren't you provoking me?”
The Plum Cat smiled and walked away. As she walked, she said," Do whatever you want."
Xiu Bing touched his bald head and said to the Plum Cat,""This copper skull of mine glows at night. I can't play with lions, so I can carry a lantern. However, I don't want a lantern.”
Including the Plum Cat, there were twelve people in total.
Xiulang, Qimei, Dacai, Yan Nan, Meilu, Meiyi, and the others were informed by Chao Fan. Xiulang said,""I'm 38 years old this year, Chao Fan, you're also 38 years old. I think you're already old, but who knew that you still treat me as a young man. I don't recognize this world anymore, the world has been turned upside down.”
Chao Fan said," Why do you say that you're already old? Aren't you ashamed to call yourself old when you're not even forty years old?”
Xiu Lang said,"You see, I've been doing this for more than twenty years. If the two cubs that I made earlier didn't die, they would have grown up." Look at how tall Lan Xin is. My eldest son is the same age as her. If he's still alive, I'll let him play with a big lion with Lan Xin.”
Chao Fan smiled and said,"You've really worked for nothing for decades!"”
Xiu Lang said," You can't say that. Last year, we had another baby. When our Fan Yaoyao gave birth to him, she was already thirty-six years old. Do you think he's old?"”
There were seven people in this group, including Chao Fan.
These five groups of people added up to fifty-four people. One night, they gathered in the main hall for a meeting.
Mei Yu said," I'm a sponsor. I want to organize a house-wide lion dragon activity. The end of the year is coming, and there are still forty days left. These forty days will be the time for our training. There were a few reasons for organizing such an event. First, lion and dragon dance was a traditional activity to celebrate the Spring Festival. Secondly, there are two major events in Maple Ridge this year. We built Qingli Primary School and won the lawsuit against Yan Village. These two events are worthy of our special congratulations.”
Before Mei Yu could finish her sentence, there was a commotion below. Everyone raised their hands and shouted,"Let's play Lion Dance Dragon!""Let's play Lion Dance Dragon!""We want to play Lion Dance Dragon!"
Mei Yu walked to the center of the hall and waved her hand in all directions. She then said,"Everyone is enthusiastic. There were still many things to do in order to organize this event. First, they had to elect a team and a leader to lead the team. Everyone could not be kings. They had to listen to the team and the leader. Then, he had to set a few rules, and everyone would be the same under the rules. The third was the preparation work. They needed money and goods. Where the money came from, where the goods came from, everything had to be unified.”
Nan Heng rushed to say: " In my opinion, this team is the original five members of the plainclothes team. The leader is Captain Mei Yu. What do you all think?”
Everyone agreed that it was fine. It was just a temporary team anyway. Besides, if you didn't agree with the five of them, wouldn't you be asking for a beating? Mei Yu was also a very responsible person, and everyone believed that he would do a good job. With a team and enthusiasm, the next thing to do was to prepare money and supplies.
Mei Yu said," We still have to set a rule. Tonight, we will first announce two rules. One is that all Maple Ridge people who are eligible to participate in the event must participate. Whoever refuses to participate will be expelled from Maple Ridge. The second was to follow orders. Whoever was assigned to do something had to do it. No bargaining was allowed, and no refusal was allowed. Whoever refused to listen to orders would be punished the same as the first one.”
Lan Xin returned home after the meeting and told Old Master about what happened tonight. After hearing this, Wan Ren said,"This Mei Yu is really not bad. She has the demeanor of a general." It's just that it's very difficult to organize this activity well. In our house, we played the lion dragon the year we wrote the score. It's been twelve years now.”
Lan Xin said," It's difficult. The young people are very enthusiastic. They should be able to do well."”
Wan Ren said," You're twenty years old this year. It's time for you to contribute. I guess you'll have a part in playing lions. This is the most tiring thing.”
"I'm ready," Lan Xin said."Let them arrange it.”
Mei Yu's team held another meeting to prepare for this event. They were going to play with two lions and a dragon, a tiger, a lotus picking boat, a clam shell, and twelve boring tools. Those who played with lions and tigers had to prepare two teams. One was to let them take turns to play, and the other was to prevent anyone from falling ill.
Mei Yu told Li Ren about this plan. Li Ren said,"The content of the event is quite rich, but the problem is that it's very old-fashioned. Every house is like this, and we've always been like this.”
"I was thinking about the same thing, but I don't know how to pique people's interest." To make people feel fresh, there had to be new content.”
Li Ren said," I have an idea. We can hire a troupe. Every time we play the lion dragon, we will sing a play. Let the lion dragon play together. That way, it will be fresh."”
Mei Yu said,"It's good to add a troupe, but it's still a fly in the ointment.”
Li Ren said," That's it then. Add a hundred lanterns. When the team walks on the road, their prestige will be majestic. The team was gathered on a flat ground, which was brightly lit.”
Mei Yu said,"Lanterns are still a necessity. At least 20 lanterns should be prepared. This is a tradition of playing with lions. We can't throw it away." Twenty lanterns, a hundred lanterns, and all kinds of players and handymen, at least two hundred people were on their way.”
Li Ren said," That's right, that's right. In this way, we must make a rule. Men, women, old and young, regardless of age, must be on the road. Those who violate this rule should be punished."”
Mei Yu's team had already decided who would play with the lions. Two lions required four people, and according to the two teams, eight people were needed. Bosen is matched with Xiudun, Sude is matched with Fengxian, Meijun is matched with Lanxin, and Yannan is matched with Meilu. The people who played with lions were the most bitter and tired. They needed people with strong bodies and flexible minds. These eight people were all around twenty years old, and the oldest was only twenty-four years old.
The training officially began. Mei Yu had invited a master surnamed Li from Yuezhou. Master Li gave a lecture to the lion team. He said,""Playing with lions and dragons during the Spring Festival has a long history in our country. It is a kind of cultural activity that can delight people's spiritual life. Whether it's playing lions or dragons, there's a reason for it. Your team is playing lions. Today, I'll tell you about the reason for playing lions.”
Master Li said," Playing with lions is usually performed in two ways: literary play and martial play. The literary play shows the static and gentle side of the lion. There are scratching, tongue hair, stretching, rolling, picking ears, yawning, squinting, etc. If these actions are done delicately and vividly, it can show the lion's charmingly naive appearance.”
"The reason why lions are called lions and the king of beasts is not because of their gentleness, but because of their ferocity. Therefore, there were also martial arts routines to play with lions, including rolling, standing, jumping, turning, soaring, pouncing, and so on. Through these actions, the lion's dynamic and ferocious side was displayed.”
Master Li continued," To truly play a lion well, it takes three to five years of hard work. You only have a month of training time. You can only learn a little. The person who plays the lion head is especially difficult. If the person who has martial arts among the eight of you wants to play the lion head, he must be agile and full of physical strength. Otherwise, he won't be able to do it.”
"The most fascinating thing about playing with lions is the skill. This skill is to play with the Eight Immortals table, the stool, or the Eight Immortals table and the stool stacked together. The more he played, the better his skills were, and the more fascinating it would be. Do you want to play with skills? How many do you want to play? Is it one Eight Immortals table, three Eight Immortals tables, or six? This is up to you to decide. I will teach you how to decide.”
Borson, Lan Xin, and the others were dumbfounded. They didn't expect that playing with lions was so difficult. Among the eight of them, five of them had learned kung fu and were quite good at it. Boson and Lan Xin had learned kung fu before. After Master Li had finished, they discussed it for a while. After obtaining Mei Yu's agreement, they told Master Li that they would train the lion according to the technique of playing six square tables.
The lion team had eight people, but the dragon team was bigger. Two dragons required twenty people. Mei Tuo had one dragon head, and Jiu Ru had one dragon head. The people in the dragon in Meituo were Fei Zhang, Kun Zhen, Qi Mou, Qi Jing, Sheng Zu, Xiu Ding, Man Ying, Xiu Xin, and Xiu You. The people with Jiu Ru's dragon face were Xiu Qiu, Mei Chen, Mei Gu, Mei Heng, Xin Rong, Zhi Rong, Xiu Can, Chun Yan, and Hui Shi.
Master Li gathered these people and gave them a lecture. Master Li said," From the material of the dragon, the dragons played during the Spring Festival are divided into cloth dragon, gauze dragon, paper dragon, grass dragon, money dragon, bamboo dragon, brown dragon, bench dragon, hundred leaf dragon, lotus dragon, fire dragon, chicken feather dragon, meat dragon, and so on. As far as I know, the dragons you play have the characteristics of cloth dragons, bamboo dragons, and paper dragons.”
"The main purpose of playing the dragon is to organize the dragon dance. Our southern dragon dance is exquisite, meticulous, lively, and agile. The dragon dance could be divided into yellow, white, green, red, black, and so on. The yellow dragon was the most honorable. The composition and movements of the dragon dance were generally round, rolling, twisting, interweaving, leaping, and so on. The traditional performance of the dragon dance was usually to invite the dragon, show the dragon, dance the dragon, and send the dragon off. There was a saying among the people,'Seven or eight years old play grass dragons, fifteen or sixteen years old play small dragons, and young adults dance big dragons'. If the number of dragon dancers is small, one person will dance two dragons, and if it is large, a hundred people will dance a big dragon. We are now tentatively setting it as ten people and one dragon.”
"There is a technique called Rolling Golden Dragon. During the performance, two people will enter the dragon's body and be draped over it. One will dance the dragon's head and the other will dance the dragon's tail. The whole performance process was divided into eight dance segments: opening ceremony, surrounding and patrolling the cave, swimming in the pool and playing in the water, stretching muscles and washing scales, hibernating and hearing thunder, dancing in the face of thunder, riding clouds and flying, and returning the ceremony at the end. The movements imitated in the performance were dragon spinning dance, playing in the water, pondering and waking up, soft and quiet coiling, brave and advancing. Accompanied by the powerful and majestic, loud and open brand big gongs and drums, big suona according to different performance plots to play different tunes, there are GongE resentment, crying emperor heaven, hillside sheep, eight boards and other songs. The basic characteristics of this dance were rich expressions, numerous routines, wonderful dance segments, and good skills.”
"Master Li, can we do this dragon dance?" asked Mei Tuo.”
Master Li said,"You can't fool me. This dragon dance requires a lot of people, a few years of training, and a lot of money. It's just a show during the Spring Festival, so it's not worth it.”
Jiu Ru said," We can also imitate a little. Look at the dragon dance of surrounding and patrolling the cave, swimming in the pool and playing in the water, stretching the tendons and washing the scales, lying in the hibernation and hearing the thunder, dancing in the face of the thunder, and flying on the clouds. How interesting it is!”
The team playing the lotus picking boat was Meiji, Xiulang, and Qimei. Qimei played the lotus picking girl, Meiji played the prostitute, and Xiulang played the prostitute. Li Ren said to Mei Yu,"This group of people is really the best choice. Qi Mei is originally a woman, very delicate; That handsome man had a belly full of jokes and was an expert at flirting. Coupled with the bachelor Meggie as a prostitute, this group was a perfect match.”
Master Li also gave them a lecture. He said,"The way to play the lotus picking boat is: when the gongs and drums sound, the boat will start playing. The lotus picking girl will stand in the boat and imitate the various postures of the lotus picking boat. Outside the boat, there are a man and a woman. The man is holding the pole and the woman is at the helm. The boatman was holding a bamboo pole and performing all kinds of lyrics. Behind the boat, the boatwoman dressed up as a clown and waved a big cattail leaf fan to make fun of him. The three of them coordinated their movements and danced to show the plot of sailing, poling, crossing the beach, stranded, pushing the boat, etc. In the big circle of the dustpan, the top of the boat turned around the boatman, the old woman chased the stern fan, the boatman commanded the boat to turn, and the gong and drum directed the boat to play. When the gong stopped and the song started, the lyrics were mostly improvised and self-composed, full of congratulatory content.”
"Master Li, I don't know how to write lyrics," said Mei Ji."I can still curse.”
Xiu Lang said," Master Li, don't listen to him. He has a belly full of wild words. Let alone making up a few lyrics, it's not a problem for him to make up a few lyrics.”
Master Li said,"There are so many scholars in your house. You're afraid that no one will write lyrics for you. Go find them."”
The clam shell player chose two people. The clam shell spirit was a woman, played by Xiu Wo. The mussel hunter was a man, played by Mei Xun. Master Li also gave them a lesson.
Master Li said," Clam Shell Dance is commonly known as Clam Shell, Clam Shell Spirit, Clam Dance, Clam Shell Lamp, and Clam Shell Play. It is a folk lantern dance. There were also such dances as "Fisherman Playing with Clam" and "Crane Clam Fighting". It was performed by the clam shell girl Xiao Dan and the clam beating clown. There were also three people performing it. The female lead was very beautiful with makeup. She hid in a clam shell made of bamboo strips, and her dance movements were light and beautiful. The clown carried a fish basket on his shoulder and held a fishing net in his hand. He wanted to get the woman hiding in the clam shell. His actions were humorous, humorous, and optimistic. The man and woman danced in the cheerful sound of gongs and drums, performing a charming performance. The music was beautiful and had the characteristics of a water village. It could dance alone, or perform with dragon dance, lion dance, and flower drum. There had to be gimmicks and lyrics in the mussel dance, and these gimmicks and lyrics were all up to the mussel fighters themselves.”
"The basic movements include casting a net, pulling a net, touching a clam, treading water, and so on. The movements had the characteristics of opera. The performance of the clam shell spirit was elegant and subtle. Its basic movements included crossing steps, walking steps, grinding shells, and pinching shells. Its movements were smooth and smooth, and its footwork was light. The two of them cooperated with each other, such as gripping the head, gripping the buttocks, putting the shell together, crossing the clam, rolling the fur, and so on. Accompanied by percussion music."
Master Li said," It's not easy for you to practice these movements well. It takes a lot of time and effort. The most important thing is that the two of you have to cooperate seamlessly.”
The last lesson taught by Master Li was dance. There were fourteen people in the dance team of Maple Ridge. They were Di Chu, Ling Chu, Guo Chu, Gu Chu, Mei Chen, Mei Gu, Mei Heng, Xin Rong, Zhi Rong, Xiu Can, Chun Yan, Hui Shi, Mei Yang, and Mei Wan. Nineteen-year-old Di Chu was the lead dancer.
Master Li gave them a lecture and said,"Tang is a kind of ancient weapon that originated in the Ming Dynasty. The flying boring performance had a history of 300 to 400 years. At first, it was a form of entertainment for the soldiers after the war, and later it spread to the people. During the performance, there was no limit to the number of people. They could dance alone or in groups. It was suitable for both men and women, old and young, as long as they had a good time.”
"There are twenty-two moves in the flying boring performance. Single fishing, double fishing, single move, even top, double move; The back of an immortal is thin, and the two dragons scratch the itch. Snowflakes cover the top, Zhang Fei rides a horse, and the moon is in his arms. Tossing, picking, throwing, swinging…As the series of movements unfolded, the five to six jin equipment in his hand flew up and down, making a dazzling sound.”
"During the performance, there are both overall movements and group movements. The forms of the performance are flexible and varied. There are one-person boring, two-person boring, three-person boring, five-person plum blossom boring, and so on. All the performers had to wear red knickerbockers. Before the performance, a man would beat them with a flail stick. When the handkerchief on the flail came into contact with the onlookers, the onlookers had to consciously retreat and give up the performance venue.”
Di Chu said,"What is a flail rod?" We've never seen a flail."
Master Li said,"The flail stick is two wooden sticks connected by iron chains. There is a handkerchief tied to both ends of the stick.”
Di Chu said,"What if you hurt someone? It's so dangerous."”
Master Li said," Therefore, this requires you to train very, very skillfully. If you are not skilled, there will be problems. It may even cause trouble and cause disputes.”
Conglomerate said," This matter is not a big problem. Xinrong is very good at this. With a little training, he can go on stage.”
Master Li said," The dancer holds a five-foot phoenix wing drill in his hand. His hands, eyes, feet, and body cooperate at the same time. His palm, back of his hand, and arms keep turning back and forth. Sometimes he throws it more than a meter high in the air, and sometimes it slips over his back to his palm. One moment, it was like a dragonfly skimming the surface of the water, the next moment, Su Qin carried his sword on his back, the next moment, he was like a flood dragon emerging from the water, and the next moment, he was like a fallen leaf in the wind. Once you reached this level of proficiency, the audience's eyes would be firmly attracted to you.”
Master Li lectured for two days. While lecturing, he had to demonstrate and answer questions for the people who asked questions. The players admired Master Li very much. They all thought that he was an expert in playing the Spring Festival. They all wanted to be friends with him and hope to get his help.
After a month of training, the players were already very familiar with their own games. At least they would not embarrass themselves when they appeared. Master Li received his salary and went home for the New Year. Mei Yu and the others had almost finished their preparations. They had bought a hundred lanterns and two large barrels of lamp oil. All kinds of clothes and toys had been prepared. Twenty bamboo paper lanterns had been set up. The last thing left was to arrange the number of people on the road. After calculating it, they needed a total of two hundred people.
Two hundred people on the road was a difficult task for Maple Ridge at that time. Mei Yu's team made a rule after they had a clear understanding of the population of the entire house farm: Men who were seven years old and below seventy years old had to be on the road. Women over ten and under sixty must be on the road. As a result, there were very few people left in the house. Considering that the adults in some families had gone out, leaving only girls under the age of ten and boys under the age of seven, these children were assigned to the elderly who stayed behind to look after them.
Mei Yu said,"We must hold a meeting for all the villagers. As long as they are from Maple Ridge, regardless of gender, age, or age, they must all participate." In the past, we announced two rules, and now we have to add one more, which is the rule of the people on the road. If anyone uses an excuse to resist this rule, our people will go to his house to kill pigs and eat until he is poor until he agrees.”
Chun Yan said," This rule is good. I just hope that someone will violate it. That way, we will have a reason to go to his house to kill a pig for dinner. I haven't eaten meat for a long time. I really want to eat meat."”
Nan Heng said,"Me too. I want to eat meat too."”
The Plum Cat said," Who doesn't want meat? The problem is that this rule is very harsh. How many boys are there between the ages of seven to ten? They were tired from playing during the day and wanted to sleep after dinner. If you asked him to run dozens of miles with the adults at night, it would be difficult for him to walk empty-handed, let alone carry a lantern.”
Chao Fan said," There are still some practical problems that need to be addressed. For example, the Qin girl is only seventeen years old. According to the rules, she should be on the road. But she just gave birth. How can she be on the road?" The other was Mei Yu's wife, the daughter of the Pan family. She had also just given birth this year. How could she go on the road? According to the rules, the daughter of the Fan family had to go on the road. She had just given birth this year, so how could she go on the road? Mrs. Zhang was forty-four years old. According to the rules, she had to be on the road. Her child was only one year old, and it was her only child. How could she be on the road? There were some boys between the ages of seven and ten. The seven-year-olds were Qihua, Xiucun, Xiuzai, Xiuceng, and Meidian. The eight-year-old had Xiuli, the nine-year-old had Qilin, Yanlin, Yusheng, and Xiudong, and the eight-year-old had Xiuli. The ten year old ones were Guoliang, Xiuding, Qirong, and Meizheng. There were fourteen of them in total.”
Nan Heng said," Uncle Chao Fan, what do you mean? Out of the fourteen children, your family only has two. Are you trying to deny this rule?"”
Chao Fan said," I'm just stating the facts. As long as this agreement is passed, I have nothing to say. Our family's plum steamer and plum shop will definitely be on their way." I'm talking about those pregnant women. Some of them are this year's pregnant women, some of them were last year's pregnant women. When these pregnant women leave, their children will starve to death and freeze to death. We can't let people die just because of a fun activity, right? It's not worth it!”
Mei Yu had not thought of such details when he made these rules. His wife was right beside him, as if he did not see her. When Chao Fan said this, he was shocked. Seriously, his precious son was only two months old. How could he leave his mother? The five of them discussed and finally decided that mothers of children under the age of two could not participate in the activities. The rest would remain unchanged.
On the 25th of December, Maple Ridge held a meeting of all the villagers in the main hall to announce the new rules and arrange the order of the Spring Festival activities. After the meeting, there would be a few days off to let the people prepare the supplies for the New Year.
When Xigui returned home, he couldn't figure it out. His wife, Shen Shi, had already given birth to four sons. The eldest son had died, and the second son, Xiucun, was just seven years old. According to the rules, he had to participate in the activity to hold the lantern. Could he walk? He was already fifty-three years old this year. He was already an old man. If his son couldn't walk, shouldn't he carry him himself? How could he carry a lantern and do things?
Xi Gui couldn't figure it out, so he went to the ice house to plead with Meiyu and asked for forgiveness of his family's labor service in Xiucun. "Did you hear the rules announced by the meeting?" Mei Yu asked with a serious face.”
"Of course I heard it. Everyone heard it. How could I not hear it?"”
Mei Yu said,"I heard you and you're still here to talk. Aren't you asking the obvious?"”
Xigui said," Our Xiucun hasn't been seven years old for a few days. What can he do? We raised him, and he was afraid of melting in our mouths. He has never done anything."”
Mei Yu said,"There's nothing we can do about it. A rule is a rule. No one can violate it."”
Xigui said,"Our Xiu Village isn't going anyway, so go to hell with your rules!"”
Mei Yu said,"Alright, I see that you're ruthless!"”He walked to the main hall and shouted,""Xigui's son, Xiucun, isn't participating in the event. Go to his house to kill pigs, go to his house to eat, everyone come!”
As soon as he shouted, dozens of people gathered in the main hall. Mei Yu told everyone about the situation, and people rushed into Xi Gui's house. Chun Yan went to the pigsty to drive the pigs, Nan Heng brought the knife over, and a few young men caught the pigs and pressed them on the slaughtering bench to kill them. Xigui quickly came over and said," Alright, alright. We'll go to Xiucun. You're really a bunch of bandits. You're unreasonable."”
Mei Yu said,"You can't say that. We still have to kill your pigs and eat your food." Because I've already tried to reason with you, but you didn't listen. Instead, you said that we were unreasonable.”
Xigui said," Alright, alright, alright. I'm a bandit. I'm unreasonable, alright?"”
"That's more like it." You have to remember, if you go back on your word again, it won't just be killing a pig, but driving your family away and forbidding you from living in Maple Ridge.”
This matter was settled just like that, and no one raised any objections in the future.
On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Yue family's troupe was also invited. Because this was a lion and dragon opera, singing was only one of the programs. They had to rush for more than ten performances every night. It was impossible to sing more than three or four people. These people were going to stay in Maple Ridge until the Lantern Festival was over.
On the afternoon of the first day of the first lunar month, the whole Maple Ridge was in an uproar. The villagers came to the big terrace in twos and threes, and the players began to rehearse. The 100 lanterns and 20 paper lanterns were placed in the warehouse on the west side of the cave entrance. Kaifeng was in charge of filling the oil here.
After watching the rehearsals a few times, the Maple Ridge people were satisfied with their playing skills. They were full of confidence in the prospects of the event, and their faces were filled with happy smiles. The rehearsal ended at 11:00 pm, and the first stop was Old House. Zha Lao House was the home of Maple Ridge. They treated Maple Ridge Lion Dragon Team to dinner very carefully.
The sky turned dark, and all the lanterns were lit up. The people of Old House Zha also brought their own lanterns out to help. The ground was crowded with people. Some people climbed up the trees, and some climbed up the fields. Clang! Cl
The lions appeared first. Lan Xin and Mei Jun played with a lioness, while Zu De and the Fengxian brothers played with a lion cub. The lioness would occasionally scratch the ground, stretch her tongue, roll around, or stand up and jump over. The cubs did the same thing as the lioness. They were more active and charmingly naive. The lioness picked her ears, yawned, and narrowed her eyes again. The cubs also imitated the lioness. At this moment, the lioness rolled over and suddenly stood up. She soared into the air and pounced on her prey. The cub followed closely behind. After doing these actions, he began to play the Eight Immortals Table. First, he played one, then three, and finally six. The lioness brought her cub up and down the table, stepping on the circle. The Eight Immortals Table was playing both upside-down and upside-down. The spectators 'hearts were jumping to their throats. After playing all the games, the lion show came to an end and they began to praise the lion. Mei Jun squatted down while Lan Xin stood majestically on Mei Jun's knees with her lion head held high. The little lion was Feng Xianqing's lion head and her tail was her tail. They stood there like lionesses and listened to the praise.
The person singing the praise was still Qi Zhen. Qi Zhen sang, The sound of firecrackers welcomed the new year, and the Lion Dragon Troupe players entered the door. The family treated them well, and they ate in their mouths to warm their hearts. A praise of the family's population is flourishing, old age and young children grow up. Second praise family wealth is prosperous, gold and silver like a mountain water soup soup. Three praise family harmony, universal love in the heart without confrontation. Praise after praise, then praise Elder Liu Yongxin…
After Mister Rain heard the praise, he said to Li Ren,""This Qi Zhen Yazi is not bad. He's quick-witted and quick to do things.”
Li Ren said,"That's right. This Yazi is smarter than his brother praying for rain."”
Next, they played with the dragons. The two dragons meandered on the ground of the old house. They played with a variety of tricks, dazzling the people. The third performance was playing with the lotus picking boat. The old man took a pole and the old woman carried a fish basket on her back. They made the appearance of rowing a boat. With a cry of "Oh", the lotus picking girl sat on the lotus picking boat and went on stage. The old woman said,"Granny, what are we going to do today?" Hubby, we're going fishing today." "I thought it was lotus picking." "If only I could pick lotus flowers, and see if I could meet a Sori girl," the shrew said." We're here to fish and pluck lotuses. Isn't there a girl on this boat?" The prostitute said," Yo, yo, yo, I can only blame this girl for being too beautiful. The light dazzled my eyes and I couldn't see her." The prostitute said," If only your eyes couldn't see for a lifetime, I wouldn't have to owe you to find a girl."
After saying a witty remark, the old woman started singing, The lotus seed picking boat comes yo yo, come a busy come word shuttle, come to a house ah Yi Zi yo, pick lotus come word shuttle.
After singing for a while, he pushed the boat away with a "hoho". After a few more steps, he sang again: The pretty girl came by boat, her face was like picking flowers and shuttles, her heart was jumping and jumping, and she was pregnant with spring and shuttles.
The wild words and lyrics of the prostitutes made the people laugh. They went off the stage, and the spectators were still immersed in the happy atmosphere. Next was the game of boring. The twelve boring games were extremely loud. Looking at their figures and the way they played, people realized that these people all had unique skills.
After playing with the boring, it was time to play with the clam shell spirit. This was another program that amused people. In order to perform this program to the best level, besides the tacit cooperation between the mussel hunter and the clam shell spirit, the mussel hunter must be a person with rich interests in life. He must be able to speak humorous words casually and have a rich background in life.
The last performance was an opera. The opera tonight was ordered by the people from the Old House. They ordered " Buying a Mother as a Slave." At the performance venue, the mother Sun Shuyun's deep love for her child and the hardships of searching for her child for more than ten years made many audience members cry. When the plot progressed to the point where the eldest daughter-in-law advised her husband not to acknowledge her biological mother, the audience became excited and the venue boiled over. There was a lot of shouting and fighting! After the show ended, the audience was still immersed in the plot for a long time.
On the first night, the lion dragon show at Maple Ridge had been played four times and went to four houses. When they reached the last house, the people had already fallen asleep in their beds. It was only after the storm-like gongs and drums woke up the sleeping people that they organized to watch the performance.
On the night of the second day of the Lunar New Year, the team set off early. When they played, the pace quickened. That night, they played eight houses and only returned home to sleep at dawn. This game lasted until the 14th day of the first lunar month. Every night, they had to play six to eight houses, and every night, they would go home to sleep at the time of dawn.
Xigui's Xiucun could walk half the way every night. When it was noon, he couldn't walk anymore and wanted to sleep. Xigui had to carry him on his back. What are we doing this for? Aren't we asking for a beating? If you made others happy, what could they give you? We are sacrificing the happiness of an entire house for the Spring Festival!
The Lantern Festival had arrived, and the Spring Festival Lion Dragon Show in Maple Ridge had also ended. On the last day, they were going to receive guests. They were going to bring all the ladies and sons-in-law of Maple Ridge to watch the Lion Dragon Show. The ladies and sons-in-law of whichever family would receive them. The Lion Dragon Show was arranged to be held in the afternoon. This time, the players were more energetic than any other time. They played the whole set without any reservations. This play was not only attended by Maple Ridge people, but also by several hundred people from the Sun, Yan, and Fan villages, which filled up the large terrace. Many people also climbed up the trees in the forbidden garden and sat on the thick branches to watch the lion dance dragon.
It was a performance at night, and the Yue family had invited all of them. Mei Yu asked Mister Rain to write a couplet and paste it on the stage. The couplet was written like this:
The spring scenery is bright, the spring breeze is faint, the flowers are thousands of miles away,
The lights are bright, the lights are bright, and the lovers are happy.
After the couplet was pasted, many people came to read the couplet. Sun Yun Qing also came. After reading the couplet, he said,"This couplet is well written. It's written about the good scenery and the good mood of the people of Maple Ridge.”Sui Chu was also looking at the couplet, so he said,"Mr. Sui Chu, you are also a well-educated person. You have also done paperwork for decades. Can you make such a couplet?”
"How can we compete? I've already seen the couplet he wrote, and I've already been preoccupied. No matter how talented I am, I'll still fall into his trap.”
Kai Feng said,"If you can't win, then you can't win. What reason are you looking for?"”
When the time came, the troupe officially began to sing. The first play was " Qin Xuemei." The high-pitched voice of the female character filled the sky in the maple trees, then spread out and disappeared into the vast universe.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。