บท 10: Buying Decoration: Fu Characters

Alright, the next is...

"Couplets!"

Err... I would like to ask what "Couplets" was. This led me to ask my mom,

"What are Couplets?"

"Have you ever seen the red paper that you were getting annoyed every time when you were putting it?"

So... That weird red paper had made me do a yearly stunt for placing that... Was named "Couplets"?

Yup. If I remember it correctly, it was a line of calligraphy or what you name it. Which contains some Chinese words which sound pretty rocket scientific to me.

However, I'm aware as well that it was a must thing. So, I asked my mom.

"What kind of Couplets you need to find?"

And she just walked away and headed towards the stall that sells so many weird Chinese characters stuff.

I followed her and then, she stumbled in the way of going. Then, she looked at the right as well as she wonders if she should buy something back or not. And then, at last, she had seen something interest which she took it. And she said,

"This is what Couplets are."

Err... I knew that in fact. The long red paper decoration has unique Chinese characters on it. And it was usually being placed in the front door as a sign of prayer for those who come to our house. And thus, I looked at the Couplets that my mom had chosen. To be honest, it had four Chinese words with unique Chinese decoration design out there.

Thus, she took her eyeglasses, and then, she looked at the text as she said,

"Zhang chang zhang chang zhang zhang chang; chang zhang chang zhang chang chang zhang."*

Holy! It was basically the same words! Don't make a meme out of it!

"Hey, stop saying that! It's unauspicious to swears." She reprimanded me which had led me to have a bit of a guilty feeling. Thus, she translated it as she said,

"Grow long, grow long, continue to grow long;

always growing, always growing, continually growing"

That was pretty bizarre. Yet, it was pretty interesting anyway. I mean... It might be able to attract people easily to the house. But I have to remember as well about the healthy protocol.

Healthy Protocol hmm..... Screw it. I bet this is gonna be an interesting banner to be placed...

And I can hear the slowly stop the voice of my hype when my mom had picked another couplet as she said,

"Tian zeng suiyue ren zeng shou; chun mnn qiankun fu manmen"**

But wait, it sounds much more interesting. Especially when my mom said,

"Heaven adds time and people get older; spring fills the world and blessing fills the door."

Lowkey. It sounds pretty nice. However, I can't afford to be say anything wrong or else...

"This one is pretty nice. How about we are buying this instead?"

"Up to you, mom," I replied to her, and then. I decided to ask her as I said,

"Can you help me to explain what that was mean?"

My mom was stopped for a while. While she was placing the couplets at the table stand where the owner was entertaining the others. She looked at me and she said as she patted my left shoulder,

"The more people age. The more the chance that people will be left the world. I'm choosing this is because that I want to wish everyone to stay in bliss. Even if their mortality is close."

That was a nice quote... From my very mother. So... I decided to pay it anyway.

After things had done, we decided to regroup with my sister with myself, looked at my credit card bills as I said.

"Ten thousand rupiahs. Not bad."

Then, I asked my mom if she wanted to buy something else. And she just smiles and we decided to regroup with my sister before we were returning home.