At the foot of the mountain, Wang Yougui was already waiting. He called out to Fangzheng, and Fangzheng rushed over.
In One Finger Village, the Wang family was a large family with the most people. In Wang Yougui's words, the village was originally called Wang Family Village, but it was later renamed. Now, although the Wang family did not dominate the village, they still occupied half the village's population. The rest were families with other surnames.
The Wang family had an ancestral grave. Once someone passed away, they would be buried in the ancestral grave. The other families would search for treasured lands …
Wang Yougui had already arranged for Fangzheng to head to the Wang family's ancestral grave first.
Wang Yougui shouted, "Let's go!"
However, Fangzheng did not move even after everyone stood up. Instead, he looked calmly at a woman in a flowery dress. Although the weather had turned warm, the northeast was not as warm as the south. Few people wore dresses in April, but he had encountered one today.
"Fangzheng, is there a problem with me?" Wang Yanan looked down at her dress and asked perplexedly.
Wang Yougui added, "That's right. Venerable Fangzheng, is there a problem?"
Fangzheng shook his head. "Patron, wearing a dress up the mountain is disrespectful to the ancestors. Honoring the ancestors is a very serious matter. If you dress too brightly, it will make the ancestors think that you are treating this matter lightly. "
Wang Yanan was stunned. "There's such a saying?"
Wang Yougui smacked his forehead. "Yes, yes, yes … There's such a saying. I heard a story in the past. A woman wore a dress every time she visited the graves. Her daughter ended up attracting bees and butterflies from a young age. She did not behave properly and was later treated by a master. The cause was because she dressed too brightly when visiting the graves. It displeased the ancestors and caused a problem with her child. Of course, that's just a story. "
"Grandpa, what era are we in? Why are you so particular about such things?" Wang Yanan rolled her eyes in complete disbelief.
Fangzheng said with a serious expression, "This story might be fake, but think about it. Honoring the ancestors is such a serious matter, yet you can dress in such a manner and treat it lightly. Then, what's the point of honoring the ancestors? Honoring the ancestors is to express respect for the ancestors. It's to promote filial piety. Descendants see the filial piety of their predecessors and emulate them. If everyone were to learn from you, after a few years, generation after generation, what would the final result be? Do you think anyone will come to pay their respects to their ancestors? This is a kind of inheritance and also a kind of education. "
The moment that was said, Wang Yanan blushed and grinned. "Fangzheng, I never expected you to change so much ever since you became abbot. You even reprimanded me."
"So what if I scold you? Was Fangzheng wrong? Did I go to university for nothing? Go back and change your clothes! "Wang Yanan's father scolded.
Wang Yanan pouted and said, "I know, let's change … I'm not saying that he's wrong, it's just … the feeling of being lectured by someone of the same age … it's so … awkward."
"I think as a college student, you feel uncomfortable being scolded by a dropout, right?" It was still a mother who understood her daughter. Wang Yanan blushed and ran away quickly.
After such a thing happened, Wang Yougui also paid attention to it. Not long after, a pregnant woman was also sent back.
Monkey asked in confusion, "What happened to that person?"
Fangzheng whispered, "Pregnant."
"I can't go even if I'm pregnant? Among us monkeys, pregnant ones can go anywhere. "Monkey was puzzled.
Fangzheng said, "In traditional terms, when a pregnant woman goes up the mountain to pay respects to the ancestors, the place where the ancestors are paid respects is filled with Yin energy. It can easily affect the fetus. For example, ghosts can possess the body of the fetus and turn it into a ghost fetus. You probably won't understand these things even if I explain them. However, the real intention is that the mountain is dangerous. Furthermore, there are many snakes and insects on the mountain. It's easy for a pregnant woman to lose her balance and fall while walking, much less going up the mountain. If she were to fall while walking on the mountain, it would result in a miscarriage or worse. That would be a huge loss. As for paying respects to the ancestors, if they don't go, they just need someone to offer incense at the grave on their behalf and inform them. "
Only then did Monkey understand what was going on. However, he couldn't figure out why the reason behind it was so simple. Why did they have to use such complicated reasons to scare people?
When Fangzheng saw Monkey's puzzlement, he whispered, "This is where the wisdom of our ancestors lies. The gods are three feet above us. It instills fear in people and prevents them from acting rashly. By the same logic, the ancients believed in ghosts and gods. If anything was related to them, the ancients would be afraid or treat it seriously. If it wasn't said that way, many people with big hearts would take risks because of their good health. "
Monkey scratched his head. Although he understood, he was still puzzled.
Fangzheng wasn't in a rush. Monkey had just come into contact with human society, so it was normal that he didn't understand.
Before long, everyone was ready. The men moved the items while the women followed. The group went up the mountain in a grandiose fashion.
After circling around Mt. One Finger, there were countless mountains behind it. They were the Changbai mountain range. Beneath the mountains were tiny mountains. Some of them had names, while others did not. As for the Wang family's ancestral grave, it was on a mountain named Mt. Wang Fushan.
The group walked for more than two hours before arriving at the Wang family's ancestral grave.
Wang Yougui knew all the procedures. He was even more meticulous than Fangzheng, and Fangzheng had nothing to say. Everything was carried out in an orderly manner. Even the children were held back by the adults to prevent them from running around.
Fangzheng was in charge of reciting the scriptures. That was the only thing he needed to do.
After the Wang family was done, Wang Tian rushed to the other families to help. Dog Song's family, Yang Hua's family, Yang Ping's family, Tan Juguo's family … Finally, he came to Sun Qiancheng's family.
Sun Qiancheng's family's grave was buried beside his family's field, so they did not need to walk far to reach it.
Sun Qiancheng looked up into the sky and said, "Venerable Fangzheng, my family moved here not long ago. There are only three of us. The rest of our siblings are working in the south and can't make it back in time. There are only our parents' graves here. Our ancestors' graves aren't here, and some of them can't even be found. Paying respects to our ancestors is really difficult … "
Fangzheng shook his head slightly and said, "Patron, don't worry. Paying respects to our ancestors doesn't mean paying respects to our ancestors when everyone comes together. Since your parents' graves are here, everything will be easy. "
"Oh?" Sun Qiancheng looked at Fangzheng in astonishment. There was a solution to this?
Fangzheng said, "You have three incense sticks with you, but don't use them all at once. Take one stick of incense first. When you pay your respects, say: 'All the generations of the Sun family have received this incense and are here to enjoy the offerings.' This is equivalent to paying respects to all the ancestors of the entire family.
The second incense stick is the main incense stick. Since it's to pay respects to your parents, say: 'Father and Mother, today is your memorial day. Please come to enjoy the offerings.'
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