Embers Ad Infinitum

"After each feeding, the baby should be held upright for 20 to 30 minutes;

"Babies should be fed before they are extremely hungry...

"..."

Ren Jie's preaching voice echoed softly in the room, and Shen Du and the others listened very carefully, and from time to time took out the pen and paper they had prepared long ago, and wrote down what they thought was important.

Shang Jianyao always maintained the initial posture, looking at Ren Jie intently, but his eyes seemed a little out of focus.

After twenty or thirty minutes, Ren Jie stopped, glanced at the crowd and said:

"That's it for today.

"The above are the teachings of the gods."

"Praise for your tolerance!" Before Shen Du and the others could speak, Shang Jianyao had already stretched out his arms, as if holding a baby and gently shaking, looking very positive.

"..." The rest of the congregation froze for two seconds, and finally imitated Shang Jianyao, side by side arms, bent their elbows, and said with a slight shake, "I praise you for your tolerance!"

Ren Jie opened her mouth, but said nothing.

She glanced at the old electronic watch on her wrist and said:

"It's getting late and we need to get back to our homes before the lights come on.

"Next is the last link, the Holy Communion."

After finishing speaking, she and the woman surnamed Li passed the road and entered the inner room.

In less than a minute, they came out one after the other, one holding various tableware, including small bowls, large bowls, plastic lunch boxes and porcelain spoons, and the other holding a large cylindrical container filled with dark things.

The rich fragrance quickly floated into Shang Jianyao's nose, and he couldn't help but raise his right hand and wipe the corner of his mouth.

That's the aroma of sesame and sugar!

Similar things, including ordinary dim sum, cost 60 contribution points per catty, which is more expensive than pork!

As for high-end products, they cost about 720 points per catty, and Shang Jianyao’s daily breakfast only costs 8 to 10 o’clock.

Soon, the woman surnamed Li distributed the tableware to everyone, while Ren Jie held the translucent plastic container in one hand and a spoon in the other, and scooped the dark food inside into the bowls and lunch boxes of the believers. a spoonful.

For each person, she would say:

"This is today's sacrament, black sesame paste."

Those who receive communion will solemnly respond:

"Praise be to your tolerance!"

As a new member of the church, Shang Jianyao was the last one to be distributed besides Ren Jie and the woman surnamed Li. That spoon was quite a lot, almost filling the small bowl in his hand.

"This is today's sacrament, black sesame paste." Ren Jie said as usual.

Shang Jianyao responded devoutly:

"Praise be to your tolerance!"

Ren Jie, who distributes the sacrament, is to some extent equivalent to the incarnation of the "executive year" Siming, so "you" refers to Si Ming, not Ren Jie.

The woman surnamed Li observed the change in Shang Jianyao's expression, and asked with a smile:

"Isn't it touching?"

"Moved!" Shang Jianyao held the bowl with one hand, raised it with the other, and wiped the corner of his mouth.

Ren Jie and the woman surnamed Li didn't say anything else, they returned to the bed, shared the remaining black sesame paste, buried their heads slightly, and said in a low voice:

"Praise be to your tolerance."

Everyone agreed, and then began to enjoy the communion.

The sacrament seems to have been prepared a long time ago, and it is a little cold, but this does not affect its taste, which is fragrant, sweet, and has the unique temperament of sesame.

Shang Jian Yao took a sip carefully, then paused for a moment, moved the spoon like flying, and continuously sent the black sesame paste into his mouth.

Dang, dang, dang, he didn't even let go of those sticking to the bowl wall, and scraped it clean.

After eating, he glanced left and right, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

When the Holy Communion was over, everyone praised Siming who was in charge of December in unison, and lined up to return the tableware to the woman surnamed Li and Ren Jie.

When it was Shang's turn to see Yao, the woman surnamed Li smiled and asked:

"This is your first time attending a party, how do you feel?"

Shang Jianyao replied seriously:

"delicious."

The woman surnamed Li had a stagnant expression, and asked instead:

"What advice do you have for us?

"Don't worry, since you have joined the cult, you are all relatives, and there is nothing that cannot be said between relatives."

Shang Jian Yao thought for a while and said:

"More communion."

"...What else?" The woman surnamed Li forced a smile.

Shang Jian Yao's eyes moved slightly and said:

"Brush your teeth in advance."

The woman surnamed Li couldn't help coughing:

"Everyone can leave now. Shang Jian Yao stays, the 'guide' has something to say to him."

Shen Du and others left one after another, and the woman surnamed Li entered the inner room together with her husband, holding the tableware.

Ren Jie walked up to Shang Jianyao, smiled and said softly:

"You have just joined the sect, and you need to master the knowledge of prayer as soon as possible.

"Don't worry, it's all very simple. My master is the real god in charge of the years, and I don't care about these, there is no red tape."

Shang Jian Yao nodded, indicating that he was listening.

Ren Jie slowed down and said:

"We don't have a fixed prayer time, but we often choose to wake up in the morning and thank Si Ming for keeping us alive.

"We attach the most importance to the birth of a baby and the departure of the deceased, so our formal sacrifices or religious ceremonies are usually similar sermons when the new life is full moon or the deceased is buried, and the time is not fixed.

"Well, on the first day of December, there will be a high sacrifice ceremony to welcome the arrival of my lord, and on the last day of December, there will also be a high sacrifice ceremony. May my lord open the door to the new world.

"You have already learned the way to salute, which is to imitate the way you hold a baby and shake it gently. The corresponding language is mainly divided into three categories: when it comes to the topic of death and passing away, say 'will eventually belong to the commander'; when referring to life When referring to the nobleness and the grace of our Lord, use 'praise your tolerance'; when it involves new life, you can say 'new life is like the sun' or 'life is the most important'.

"Basically that's all. As for the Holy Communion, it's different every time. It may be black sesame paste, or it may be milk, fruit juice, soy milk, broth, vegetable soup, yogurt, hehe, have you found something in common between them? ?”

Shang Jian Yao slightly thought about it:

"They were all delicious."

"..." Ren Jie kept smiling, "They are all liquid food or close to liquid food, and liquid food is the main food for new life and dying people."

Before Shang Jianyao could speak, Ren Jie pointed to the door:

"Okay, you can go back."

Shang Jian Yao glanced back, did not take a step, and asked instead:

"Aunt Ren, how many Zhisui are there?"

"After a normal person understands the definition of Zhisui, he must think that there are twelve, but it is not." Ren Jie laughed, "There are thirteen Zhisui, and one of them is the Zhisui representing the leap month. Where the leap month is not mentioned, it symbolizes the whole year."

"What is His honorific title?" Shang Jianyao asked.

Ren Jie shook her head:

"I don't know either. What we believe in is Si Ming, and we don't need to know other executives."

Shang Jianyao didn't ask any more questions, turned around and left the room at No. 35 in Area A.

With the help of the flashlight, he returned to No. 196, Area B. Every time he approached the intersection, he learned to be calm, turned off the flashlight, and passed by the wall.

Back home, Shang Jianyao went to the sink, picked up toothpaste that was so thin that it seemed to have only a thin layer, and after a lot of effort, finally squeezed a little onto the toothbrush with sparse hair.

After seriously brushing his teeth and washing his face, Shang Jianyao saw that the ceiling was still not lit, so he sat down at the wooden table, leaned against the back of the chair, and closed his eyes.

He raised his hand and squeezed the left and right temples, and then put it down.

…………

Shang Jianyao's figure emerged from the spacious hall densely covered with "stars" above.

He first glanced at the cold and dark metal wall nearby, then raised his head and looked up at the sky.

The countless bright spots of light are just like the stars described in textbooks, forming one galaxy after another, and one galaxy after another constitutes multiple river systems.

There are boundaries between these "galaxies" of star clusters, but they are not so sharp.

Shang Jianyao had already counted how many "galaxies" there are here, and now, he began to count silently again:

"One, two, three... eleven, twelve, thirteen.

"Thirteen……"

He fell silent, his figure gradually faded away, and disappeared into the star-like hall.

…………

After waiting for a while, Shang Jianyao saw that the outside of the window suddenly became bright.

The fluorescent lamps on the ceiling of the street turned on at the same time.

The underground building ushered in dawn.

Still wearing the dark green thick cotton coat, he took his plastic lunch box, walked out of the room, and headed to Area C.

Target location: "Material Supply Market".

On the way, Shang Jianyao met Long Yuehong who lived not far away. Obviously, the other party got up early and did not queue up for the public toilet.

"The distribution results are coming out today..." Long Yuehong deliberately waited for Shang Jianyao on this road, just to share the tension in her heart.

"Yes." Shang Jianyao looked forward and saw a woman at the door of the room gently comforting the crying baby.

His expression changed instantly, as if he was thinking about something, but also a little confused.

Long Yuehong glanced at him, and while walking with him, asked:

"What’s wrong with you?

"Did you have a nightmare last night?"

Shang Jianyao was silent for two seconds and said:

"Doubt life."

PS: Ask for a recommendation ticket~