Chapter 31: The Boy Who Guards the Rice
Tan Xiao directly exposed his mother's past. Maomao hesitated and said, "Then you, give me something to defend myself."
"Yes, yes, Master, does anyone have any magical tools that can ward off evil spirits that I can buy?" Mother Wu looked like she wanted to swipe her card on the spot.
"Sister Maomao, didn't I tell you that all our old magic tools have been donated to the Folk Customs Exhibition Hall?" Tan Xiao himself was wearing a bunch of talismans, pendants and the like, but many of them were from Tan Chunying, genuine cultural and creative products, which he wore for display.
"Ms. Wu, don't worship these things at home anymore. The big stove god is quite good." Duan Yang is more authoritative in this regard. He took out some cinnabar and said, "This is cinnabar. Let Tan Xiao draw a peace charm for each of you."
Cinnabar is another name for cinnabar, and it is authentic cinnabar. The cinnabar produced in Chenzhou is recognized as the best. Chenzhou is also a Chu area, and the witch culture has a far-reaching influence. The Chenzhou talismans drawn with cinnabar are quite famous and are also a kind of folk witchcraft.
The spiritual master's talisman also has various effects. Tan Xiao dipped cinnabar in the talisman to draw a talisman to suppress evil. He used snake feet to write the four words "The Peacock is Here" on the talisman head and the talisman tail, and then folded them up and wrapped them skillfully with a rubber cover.
He also gave Wu Tianyu an extra soul-soothing talisman.
Duan Yang used salt and rice mixed together to wipe Wu Tianyu's hands and feet. These are common things in people's homes and can also drive away evil spirits. The people of Southern Chu have always had the tradition of mixing salt, rice and tea in a cloth bag as a way to drive away evil spirits.
Maomao watched curiously and helped Wu Tianyu wipe it, because he didn't believe it before, but now he is particularly interested. As he watched, he found that Tan Xiao was squatting beside him and watching seriously.
"What are you looking at ?" Momo asked.
"...I want to learn from you if there are any special techniques." Tan Xiao also knew many methods of exorcising evil, but he actually wanted to see if people who had really been possessed by evil spirits would have any special reactions when exorcising the evil spirits.
Maomao: “…”
Duan Yang: “…” You must be kidding. Why don’t you learn my technique?
The conclusion is that there was no special reaction, Wu Tianyu was still unconscious. Of course, this might also be because he was embarrassed to wake up.
After the exorcism was completed, Wu's mother and Maomao helped the people to go to the hospital, while Tan Xiao and his party stayed behind to clean up the mess and purify the room. Duan Yang sprinkled salt and rice while chanting the exorcism spell: "The heaven and earth are natural, and the foul air is dispersed..."
After reciting about two sentences, I heard some clinking sounds and strange noises in the kitchen.
Tan Xiao had heard some unusual movements when he was steaming buns in the kitchen before, and at that time he just thought it was caused by the thing that , that is, Zhong Da Hu Zi. But now Zhong Da Hu Zi has been arrested and the evil has been exorcised, so why is there still movement?
Tan Xiao and Duan Yang looked at each other, then looked at A Jin... okay, they couldn't see A Jin's eyes, and they walked towards the kitchen carefully together.
Duan Yang took out the compass, gestured a few times, and said uncertainly: "It seems like there is something...?"
Tan Xiao asked, "Then do you want to go?"
This is not necessarily a good thing, just like he could not see the abnormality of Wu Tianyu at the beginning. Duan Yang thought of Zhong Da Hu's ferocity just now. His waist was still a little painful now. He said hesitantly: "You should do this. I'm afraid I can't handle it."
Tan Xiao didn't feel any great danger. He walked in towards the sound and observed carefully. The sound came from the cupboard and was getting louder and louder.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Tan Xiao was ready to make a decision with one hand and opened the cupboard with the other hand, only to see an electric rice cooker inside.
Just as he was hesitating, the rice cooker was pushed by something from the inside, and the lid popped open, revealing a translucent little man lying in a large bowl, tied up with bacon ropes, with a soy sauce bottle cap stuffed in his mouth.
The little man had distinct facial features like a human. He was wearing a turquoise round-necked robe and a black gauze hat with two wings on the back. His robe was torn, leaving several wounds from being bitten by teeth. He started whimpering when he saw them.
Apparently, that was the sound it made.
That's it. Tan Xiao picked up the little man with one hand and said, "It doesn't seem that scary."
Duan Yang: “…” I should have gone up earlier if I had known.
Tan Xiao had rarely seen monsters before, so he looked at it curiously, "What kind of monster is this?"
Duan Yang took a look and seemed to recognize it. He pointed at the image of the Kitchen God and said in disbelief, "Just like the God of Wealth has a boy who attracts fortune, and Guanyin has a dragon girl who is kind and wealthy, the Kitchen God also has a boy under his seat. He is called the rice-guarding boy, who is responsible for guarding the pot after the rice is cooked to prevent evil spirits from stealing it. But this is the first time I have seen the real one..."
At this point, Duan Yang suddenly realized, "I said that his family had pasted the Kitchen God, but it was useless. It turns out that the boy guarding the meal was tied up."
He was bitten all over and had wounds all over his body.
The Kitchen God is also very busy, so he will not do everything himself. He needs minions like the boy who guards the food, who are active in thousands of households. Zhong Da Huzi only dared to tie the boy who guards the food here, but did not bite him to death directly, probably because he was afraid that he would complain, and he was also afraid that something would happen and attract the attention of the Kitchen God.
When Tan Xiao heard that he was not a villain, he untied the rope of the boy guarding the food. The boy looked very weak.
The boy guarding the meal staggered to his feet. Perhaps he was too badly injured, and he could not make out what to say. His red eyes fell on the garbage bag in Tan Xiao's hand, and he recognized Zhong Da Huzi inside.
“Ahhh——” With a low roar, the boy guarding the food leaped up, pulled out a rice spoon longer than his body from the thin air behind him, and chopped it down in mid-air!
It hit Zhong Da Huzi's head with a dull thud.
The boy guarding the meal picked up the spoon and landed on the ground gracefully, but one hit was not enough. He jumped up again and hit Zhong Da Hu Zi madly. He hit Zhong Da Hu Zi with the spoon for more than ten times without any reason and at a fast pace. He actually woke up the unconscious Zhong Da Hu Zi, and a big bump appeared on his head.
Tan Xiao looked at the height it jumped to, and suddenly realized: when he saw Wu Tianyu in the cafeteria that day, there were some bruises on his legs, and he never understood how they came about...
Now I know.
"Oh! Oh!" Zhong Da Huzi was furious. He was tied up and couldn't resist. He just turned his head and cursed, "How dare you, kid!"
Why didn't the boy who was guarding the meal dare to continue knocking? It was just that it didn't have enough energy, so it jumped up and poked with a spoon, cursing incoherently, saying that someone dared to hurt my believers, and it was very angry.
Tan Xiao and Duan Yang were standing nearby, looking down. It wasn't that it was intentionally giving the boy guarding the meal a chance to take revenge, but the beast was jumping around and hitting Zhong's big beard, making a big scene but with very little noise, just like the clanging sounds of mice in the house.
Tan Xiao didn't know where to start. He made an effort to grab the boy guarding the meal after he saw the right spot.
At this time, the boy guarding the rice was also exhausted and fainted...
What should I do? Tan Xiao looked at the soul body lying in his palm. It was a bit like the soul body of the Peacock God, but it was more translucent, like a projection.
Tan Xiao didn't dare to use too much force with his hands. He pinched the collar with two fingers and asked Duan Yang: "Do you want to take it back to treat its injuries?"
Duan Yang was also dumbfounded, "I do want to take him back. This is the first time I've seen the true form of the boy guarding meals, but I don't know how to cure him." He knows medical skills, but they really don't include curing the boy guarding meals.
Tan Xiao was somewhat puzzled: "This is your first time seeing this, too?"
Tan Xiaoxin said that it was okay if it was his first time seeing it, but how come Duan Yang, an old hand, had never seen it before?
Don't say that, Duan Yanghan said: "I thought I saw it because I followed you. After all, apart from the boy guarding the food, this is the first time I have seen the real body of the great god be invited..."
Speaking of this, Tan Xiao suddenly remembered that there was a peacock god in his family. Duan Yang couldn’t cure it, but Peacock should be able to, right?
Tan Xiao put the boy who was guarding the food into his pocket, and that was it.
Duan Yang bowed to Tan Xiao and said, "Spiritual Master, let's contact each other via WeChat."
"Okay, you're welcome." Tan Xiao also waved.
The two parted ways, one took the food-guarding boy back to heal his wounds and write a new sequel to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and the other took Zhong Da Huzi back to 404 to report, register, write materials, review, and close the case...
…
When Tan Xiao was returning home, he happened to meet the courier at the door, and Tan Chunying was helping him sign for the package.
When Tan Chunying saw him, she asked, "Did you order this? It was sent from the master. What kind of mask is this?"
"The mask is ready?" Tan Xiao said in surprise. This was exactly the image of the deity he had customized for the Peacock God. He said casually, "Yes, I have decided to choose a patriarch god, the Peacock."
Kong Xuan heard the noise and walked out slowly, just in time to hear Tan Chunying say, "What peacock?"
Kong Xuan: “…”
"Don't be too ridiculous," Tan Xiao also felt that his biological mother was incredible, and emphasized, "Kong Que, the son of Yuan Feng!"
"Oh, yes, Yuan Feng gave birth to two sons, Peacock and Dapeng," Tan Chunying slapped her forehead, "Alas, I am old and my memory is not good."
Kong Xuan: ...Forget it, Yuan Feng, please give Tan Xiao some face.
"Oh haha, you've done it alone twice, you really want to set up your own altar, right? When I was a kid, didn't you watch TV and see Calabash Brothers being made the chief deity?" Tan Chunying said cheerfully, "Then do it yourself, I'm going out to play."
Kong Xuan:?
"Bye." Tan Xiao tried his best not to look at Kong Xuan's eyes...
Tan Xiao took the express box and went into the house, then went straight to his room on the second floor. Before Kong Xuan could open his mouth to complain, he took out the boy who was guarding the meal.
"Master, you should know what this is, right?" Tan Xiao said.
"The boy guarding the food." Kong Xuan recognized him. He said nonchalantly, "Why did you pick it up? It can't stop your mother from stealing the offerings."
Tan Xiao: “…………”
Stop cursing, stop cursing.
"…This is a gift from Wu Tianyu's family. It seems that they discovered the existence of the Gray Fairy and lost the fight with him." Tan Xiao said, "I just saw that it was seriously injured. I want to ask if the master knows how to treat it?"
"It will be fine if you eat more." Kong Xuan didn't seem to care.
Well, it's okay if I eat more, isn't that the same as the Great God? Tan Xiao said in his heart.
However, the boy who guards the rice is also a boy under the throne of the Kitchen God, and both Peacock and the boy have public office. The difference is that Peacock is a second-generation god, while the boy who guards the rice is a grassroots civil servant guarding the front line.
After the Emperor's Slurry, they must be as busy as the 404 Office.
When Tan Xiao heard that everything was fine, he put the boy guarding the food aside, opened the express box, and took out a wooden mask about 40 cm long.
According to Tan Xiao's request, the mask is mainly gold and green, after all, it is a peacock.
In fact, when making masks, green is often used to depict judges, bull-headed and horse-faced people, etc., but the green used by the master is close to turquoise, and is embellished with glittering gold. There is also an openwork hollow feather frame, which immediately eliminates the gloomy and terrifying feeling of the judge's mask.
This is a craftsman who uses the finest poplar wood to carve it. It must be placed in a cool and ventilated place for more than half a month. Then the shape is drawn, the flesh is dug, and the seal is carved. The facial features are dug one by one, and then it has to go through the steps of polishing, coloring, frying, etc. And the polishing is not just once, but several times.
The openwork carving on the relief makes the mask more layered, no wonder it took so long. Now it is in Tan Xiao's hands and only the last step is left, the consecration.
According to the rules of spiritual masters, Tan Xiao is actually Tan Chunying's assistant when he does not open the altar himself, strictly speaking, he is just a junior spiritual master. Now that the mask has arrived, Tan Xiao can open the altar himself, and finally take the Peacock God out of the pile of masks and worship him separately.
In some places the masks are displayed, in others they are placed in boxes or covered with curtains.
As for Tan Xiao, he planned to hang it in front of the table beside the bed, so that the table could also be used as an offering table. Kong Xuan was very satisfied, because in this way, when Tan Xiao offered sacrifices in the future, he would just put it in the room, and he didn't have to worry about Tan Chunying coming to steal it.
But as usual, Tan Xiao had to make some offerings first.
Because it was a ceremony to establish the clan leader god, in order to show its importance, Tan Xiao spent a lot of his pocket money to buy good food.
Now is the best season for eating crabs. Lake crabs are still the best, and Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs are the most famous. Tan Xiao didn't know if the ones he bought were Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, after all, many crabs that go to Yangcheng Lake can be called that now. But he assured that he had carefully selected them.
Most of the time, people eat crabs alone without adding other ingredients.
But today, Tan Xiao did something fancy and made a lotus crab dish. After all, it was the day of the god's initiation, so he could be a little fancy. Especially since he waited until Tan Chunying was not at home.
Nanchu has many water systems, so the people of Nanchu are very good at eating seafood such as fish, shrimp and crab. Tan Xiao first steamed the crabs, picked out the crab meat and crab roe, then cut the mushrooms, bamboo shoots, shrimps, chicken breasts and other side dishes into cubes, added seasonings and crab meat and crab roe, and stir-fried them together to make the filling.
At this point, the delicious aroma has already filled the kitchen.
Kong Xuan stood at the kitchen door with his arms folded, watching the work.
Tan Xiao said, "Do you really have nothing else to do?" Don't you see if there are other believers in the world who can take care of their business?
"It's okay." Kong Xuan said honestly. He had finished his physics homework long ago, so he didn't know whether it was correct or not.
All right. Tan Xiao continued to grease the crab shells with oil, stuff them and steam them. He cooked the minced fish, beat the egg white and rubbed it on the minced fish, sprinkled some ham, and steamed it again. Finally, he thickened the sauce and poured it on the crab. The minced fish and crab were placed on a plate together, shaped like a lotus, and when the hot oil was used, the freshness was fragrant.
This crab wrapped in lotus leaves is not only exquisite in appearance but also delicious. When Kong Xuan saw it, he felt very proud and satisfied!
"This should be eaten while it's hot." Kong Xuan was at home anyway, so Tan Xiao didn't need to be so particular about the ceremony. The dish tasted better when eaten while it was hot, so he asked Kong Xuan to pick up his chopsticks first, and he would continue to make other things.
God has already arrived before he is established. It is so willful.
However, when the crabs were served, the steam came out and a wisp of it floated onto the unconscious boy guarding the meal. His soul became clearer visibly, and his wounds healed!
Until the end, it had a form similar to Kong Xuan's. If you didn't look closely or touch it, it was almost indistinguishable from a physical entity.
"Uh..." The boy guarding the food groaned.
Tan Xiao heard the sound, turned around and saw that he was really awake.
This thing is formed by the aroma of rice from thousands of homes. Kong Xuan also said that it wakes up after eating something. This is what it needs to eat, the aroma of rice.
The boy who was guarding the meal rolled on the table twice, stretched his legs with difficulty, jumped up, and looked at Tan Xiao dazedly. He had been listening to the movement in the pot before, and this was the spirit witch who saved him. There seemed to be a spirit witch's family offering sacrifices nearby, and I don't know which god it was, enjoying the sacrifice with his back to it.
At this time, he usually thanks the main person. He knelt on one knee. Because his body was solid, his knee made a sound when he knelt down: "The spirit witch is polite, but I haven't thanked you for saving my life yet!"
The boy who was guarding the meal knelt down, still holding his rice spoon, which was taller than his body, like holding a spear. Tan Xiao also held a spatula in his hand, and bowed slightly to look at him. The two of them looked mysteriously similar. Tan Xiao looked at him curiously, "It's okay, are you okay? Do you want to eat more?"
The eyes of the boy guarding the food lit up. It was different from those ghosts that stole food. It had a regular organization and would only eat food offered by the owner. The tastier the food, the better the effect for it.
After hearing what Tan Xiao said, it hesitated for about 0.3 seconds, then wiped the spoon on its body and said, "Thank you very much!"
Kong Xuan, who was sitting with his back to them, snorted, "Enough is enough."
He shared a wisp of the food because he saw that Tan Xiao wanted to save the boy guarding the food. Tan Xiao actually wanted to invite the boy guarding the food to continue eating.
Kong Xuan taunted, "Why , you want to invite it to the altar as well?"
The boy guarding the meal was indignant. Yes, no one would invite him to the altar, but there was no need to say that. He had a bad temper. He said indignantly: "After all, I am also a boy under the seat of the Kitchen God..."
Kong Xuan looked back at it.
The food-keeping boy recognized who it was and nearly choked on himself, "Ahem, ahem!"
Although it felt resentful, it also admired the man's martial arts ability and said with its head lowered, "It's His Majesty Peacock. Excuse me."
Everyone knows that the Peacock God has a bad temper, and sometimes even Yuan Feng can't control him.
"Don't do these things when eating. I made a lot more. The crab is yours. Give it a little side dish, okay?" Tan Xiao made a little gesture.
Kong Xuan folded his arms and looked up at the sky: "You decide."
Tan Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. It was okay. In fact, what the Peacock God said made sense.
Shoufan Tongzi was also surprised. Although he had never had the opportunity to meet this great god face to face before, why did his temper not seem as bad as the legend said?
At this moment, Kong Xuan secretly glared at the boy guarding the meal, with murderous intent in his eyes and full of threats.
The boy guarding the meal: “…”
Tan Xiao turned his head again, and Kong Xuan continued to look up at the sky indifferently.
The food-guarding boy was so angry that he punched the air, helpless and furious.
"?" Tan Xiao looked at it, wondering why it suddenly went crazy again, "You...are you still going to eat?"
The boy guarding the meal was in a dilemma. "...Just give me some leftovers. I'm not hungry. I, I'm in a hurry to go back and report."
Tan Xiao couldn't help laughing and took a bottle of Coke from the refrigerator, "Why don't you drink something first."
Kong Xuan disdained to drink this stuff. After taking a bite, the boy guarding the food burped for a long time and said with bright eyes, "Yes, it's interesting. I've never eaten it before, just watching others eat it."
——It is said that it also relies on food sacrifices, usually the sacrifices to the Kitchen God. Ordinary people don’t use Coke to sacrifice to the Kitchen God.
Tan Xiao felt like he was watching a cartoon. If he was still in primary school, he would probably ask the boy who guards the food to accompany him to school. He smiled again and continued cooking.
The boy who was guarding the food sat on the spice jar and looked around. This witch was really omnipotent! He could beat the rat spirit that stole food and cook delicious food.
He touched his feet together and whispered, "It's just like a dream. I used to dream that the places I worked in were all like this. The masters were kind, generous and delicious, and I sat behind the pot, watching the smell of rice..."
Tan Xiao was about to join in when he heard the boy who was guarding the meal pause, glanced at Peacock, and whispered to himself, "I wouldn't dream about this."
Tan Xiao: "..."
Is this an insult or a compliment? Tan Xiao felt like laughing.
Kong Xuan didn't know if he heard it or not. He just saw Tan Xiao was still chatting with the boy guarding the meal. He knocked on the table and said unhappily, "Don't you know how to concentrate, be serious and take it seriously when preparing for the sacrifice?"
Otherwise, how can you show your importance?
Tan Xiaoxin said that you had eaten it first, and you didn’t complain that the ceremony was not strict enough.
"Master, I take this very seriously, otherwise I wouldn't be using a lotus to trap crabs. But you have to admit that we have been working together for a while, and this is just a ceremony. There's no need to get hung up on the details."
Tan Xiao looked at the offerings he had prepared, and suddenly remembered that this was a mandatory contract to begin with, so he jokingly said, "Hey, if Ah Jin were here, would he say it's marriage first, love later, or getting on the bus first, then buying the ticket?"
Kong Xuan: “…………”
Kong Xuan fell silent and buried his head in eating.
