Back home, his mother, Zhang Yuehong, had already steamed the cake batter and washed the vegetables and meat, waiting only for Li Yi to return to cook.
Seeing her son return with several female educated youth, Zhang Yuehong hurriedly invited everyone inside.
Tang Xue, Sun Lu, and the others knew exactly why they were there, so as soon as they entered, they immediately pitched in to help.
Yesterday, Li Yi had bought ten pounds of meat; he planned to use half for stir-fries and half for stews.
The meat for stir-frying was sliced thinly, while the meat for braising was cut into triangular chunks.
By the time the meat was cut, Tang Xue and the others had already peeled the potatoes, and the other ingredients were nearly ready.
Li Yi immediately began preparing the stew, since it took the longest compared to stir-frying.
He heated oil in a wok, added the meat, and stir-fried it to render some of the fat. Then he added scallions, ginger, garlic, and dried chili peppers to sauté until fragrant, before adding the potatoes and continuing to stir-fry.
Finally, add water and simmer over low heat.
As for the side dishes—such as Chinese cabbage, tofu, and glass noodles—there’s a specific order for adding them to the pot; different ingredients require different timing.
While the stew was simmering, my mother had already started frying the oil cakes on a makeshift stove with Zhang Xinyao and Feng Qian.
These fried cakes are a local specialty of the northern frontier, made from millet flour.
Those not fried are called plain cakes, while the fried ones are called fried cakes.
These treats are usually only eaten during festivals or family celebrations, mainly because they use so much oil that most families simply can’t afford them.
Originally, Mother had thought that since it was just a house-raising ceremony, steamed buns would suffice for the main meal.
After all, the family was planning a celebration soon, so there would be plenty of time to enjoy the fried cakes then.
But Li Yi strongly disagreed. Putting the ridge beam in place was a joyous occasion in itself—how could they skimp on it?
Anyway, for him, a meal of fried cakes was no big deal—it certainly wouldn’t break the bank.
After setting the stew aside and chopping up the other side dishes, Li Yi hopped on his bicycle and headed over to the new house.
For such a “big event” as the beam-raising ceremony, how could he, as the homeowner, not be there in person!
By the time Li Yi arrived at the new house, the carpenters had already finished preparing for the beam-raising ceremony. All the purlins were in place, ready to be hoisted onto the roof.
The reason people place such importance on the beam-raising ceremony is, on the one hand, because building a house is a major undertaking in rural areas—it can potentially drain a generation’s lifetime savings, and the house will be home to several generations after it’s completed.
That’s why rural people pay close attention to so many details when building a house.
Secondly, the process of “raising the ridge beam” is not only relatively dangerous, but the alignment of the beam—whether it’s straight or crooked—also affects the quality of the house. After all, if the ridge beam isn’t straight, the rest of the structure will be crooked!
Consequently, many people in rural communities place great importance on the “raising the ridge beam” ceremony.
The date for the Li family’s beam-raising ceremony was specially chosen by the old master, all for the sake of good luck.
The master also stated that today’s date avoids inauspicious influences like the Tai Sui, making it an auspicious day.
Not only that, but the time for the beam-raising ceremony was set for noon.
The master explained that as noon approaches, yang energy is at its peak and yin energy is entirely absent, making it an auspicious time.
Upon seeing Li Yi arrive, Master Zhao, who was presiding over the beam-raising ceremony, immediately asked him to come forward to “hang the red cloth.”
“Hanging the red cloth” refers to wrapping a piece of red cloth around the center of the beam before the ceremony and affixing red paper at both ends of the beam inscribed with auspicious phrases such as “Great Auspiciousness for the Beam-Raising” and “The Azure Dragon supports the jade pillar; the White Tiger spans the golden beam,” as a symbol of good fortune.
After “hanging the red cloth,” the “beam offering” ceremony follows. Before the formal raising of the beam, the host family must perform a ritual offering.
For the “Beam Sacrifice,” three trays of offerings must be prepared, along with fresh flowers and the carpenter’s chalk line and T-square. Incense, candles, and joss paper are then lit for the ritual.
During the ceremony, after lighting the incense and candles, Master Zhao chanted: “Today, we perform the ‘Beam-Raising Ritual.’ Heaven and Earth open wide; wealth flows abundantly; people and horses thrive. Golden Boys and Jade Girls lend their strength to lift us upward; the roof is completed in perfection; all gather in this magnificent hall. Finally, firecrackers are lit to dispel ‘evil spirits.’”
Once everything was ready, the beam-raising ceremony officially began!
There are specific rules for this as well: eight young men whose parents are both alive and who have auspicious birth charts must be selected to climb onto the wall to “pull the beam.” Young men whose parents are not both alive or who have inauspicious birth charts are not permitted to “pull the beam.”
As the “beam-pulling” begins, the carpenter chants aloud: “Below, the golden rooster crows; above, the phoenix descends. Everyone, give it your all—let’s build this magnificent hall!”
Once the beam is hoisted onto the ridge, its position must be adjusted—a process commonly known as “stabilizing the beam.”
During “stabilizing the beam,” the principle of “the Azure Dragon on the left, the White Tiger on the right” must be observed: the left end of the beam is raised slightly, while the right end is lowered slightly.
Once the beam is in place, the final step is “throwing the beam,” which refers to scattering sorghum.
Master Zhao stood atop the beam and tossed sorghum mixed with candies, peanuts, and colored paper from the air.
At the same time, firecrackers prepared earlier on the construction site outside the new house were lit, and amid the lively crackling sounds, the beam-raising ceremony was finally completed.
Seeing that it was about time, Li Yi immediately called out to his father and the other workers to pack up and head home for lunch, while he rode ahead on his bicycle.
Back home, his mother immediately asked about how the beam-raising ceremony had gone.
Li Yi patiently recounted the details of the ceremony, and upon learning that everything had gone smoothly, his mother was overjoyed.
The biggest fear with a beam-raising ceremony is that some kind of accident might occur. After all, those heavy solid wood beams—if one were to fall from above and hit someone, it could truly be fatal.
Even if it didn’t kill anyone, it wouldn’t be a good omen!
People in the countryside take this very seriously, so hearing that everything went smoothly naturally made her very happy.
Li Yi, however, hadn’t cared much about this before; he didn’t believe in ghosts or spirits.
But after experiencing rebirth, for some reason, he too began to feel a sense of apprehension.
After all, if something as extraordinary as rebirth could happen to him, what else was impossible?
Fortunately, everything went smoothly—a good omen!
In a good mood, he got to work with renewed energy.
Before the workers returned, Li Yi took charge of the wok and started cooking!
Zhang Xinyao, Feng Qian, Sun Lu, Zhong Na, and the others were seeing Li Yi cook for the first time. They watched as he skillfully handled the spatula, and one after another, dishes that were visually appealing, fragrant, and delicious came fresh off the stove.
Everyone looked at Tang Xue with envy!
Originally, after the two were caught in bed together, they had all felt sorry for Tang Xue, thinking that such a fine young woman had been taken advantage of by Li Yi, that good-for-nothing.
Even after the Li family agreed to marry Tang Xue into the family, no one still held out much hope for them, because Li Yi really wasn’t a suitable match.
But looking back now, they actually found themselves envying Tang Xue a little.
Ever since they’d made their relationship official, Li Yi had been like a different person—not only had he started working hard to make money, but his previously violent temper had also mellowed considerably.
And his treatment of Tang Xue was beyond reproach—the cupboard in their dorm was packed with all sorts of delicious food and useful items, each one making them green with envy.
Now he’s even learned how to cook—he’s practically the perfect man!
But while they were envious, they weren’t jealous.
They all understood Tang Xue’s character; a kind-hearted girl like her deserved to be treated well.
So, everyone was genuinely happy for Tang Xue that she’d found such a good match!