The Complete Works of Lu Xun's Novels

Chapter 19

"'Heaven doesn't beat people who eat food', why did you lose your temper today, you even beat chickens and scolded dogs while eating. What do these children know." Fourth wife said suddenly.

"What?" Siming was about to say something, but when he turned around, he saw that her sunken cheeks had bulged and changed color, and her triangular eyes were shining with a terrible light, so he quickly changed his words and said, "I also I didn't lose my temper, I just should be more sensible in teaching courses."

"How does he understand what's in your heart?" She was even angrier. "If he was sensible, he would have lit the lanterns and torches long ago and found the filial daughter. Fortunately, you have already bought her a piece of soap here, and you only need to buy another piece..."

"Nonsense! That bachelor said that."

"Not necessarily. Just go buy another piece, wash her whole body, and offer it up, and the world will be peaceful."

"What? What does that matter? Because I remembered you had no soap..."

"Why is it irrelevant? You bought it for a filial daughter with sincerity, and you wash it off. I don't deserve it, I don't want it, and I don't want to be honored by a filial daughter."

"What are you talking about? You women..." Siming faltered, and his face was also sweating greasy like after Xue Cheng practiced Bagua, but most of it was also due to eating too hot food.

"How about us women? We women are much better than you men. You men are either scolding eighteen or nineteen-year-old female students, or praising eighteen or nineteen-year-old female beggars: it's not a good intention." , is simply shameless!"

"Didn't I already say that? That's a bachelor..."

"Si Weng!" A loud cry suddenly came from the darkness outside.

"A Daoist? I'll come!" Knowing that it was the famous He Daotong, Siming happily said loudly as if he had been pardoned. "Xuecheng, hurry up and light the lamp on Old Man He and go to the study!"

Xuecheng lit a candle, and led Daotong into the west wing, followed by Bu Weiyuan.

"I'm sorry for the disappointment." Siming came out and cupped his hands while still chewing his rice. "How about eating light meals in the dormitory?..."

"It's already passed." Wei Yuan went up to meet her, and also cupped her hands, saying. "We came here overnight just for the No. 18 essay topic of Yifeng Wenshe. Isn't tomorrow 'every seven'?"

"Oh! Sixteen today?" Siming said suddenly.

"Look, how stupid!" Daotong yelled.

"Then, I have to send it to the newspaper office overnight and ask him to publish it tomorrow."

"I've already drawn up the title of the article. What do you think, do you need it?" Dao Tong said, he dug out a note from his towel bag and handed it to him.

Si Ming walked to the candlestick, unfolded the note, and read it word by word:
"'Respectfully draw up the words of the people of the whole country to appeal to the President of your university to issue a special decree to pay attention to the Bible and worship Mother Meng in order to save the quintessence of the country'.——Excellent, excellent. But the number of words is too many?"

"It doesn't matter!" Dao Tong said loudly. "I've done the math, and there's no need to add more advertising fees. But what about the title of the poem?"

"A title for a poem?" Siming suddenly became respectful. "I have one here: filial piety. That's a fact, and she should be commended. I'm on the street today..."

"Oh, that won't work." Wei Yuan waved her hands quickly, interrupting him. "That's what I saw too. She is probably an 'outsider'. I don't understand her words, and she doesn't understand mine. I don't know where she is from. Everyone said she was a filial daughter; but I asked her if she Poetry, she shook her head. It would be great if she could do poetry."

"However, loyalty and filial piety are major festivals. If you don't know how to write poetry, you can get by..."

"That's not true, but who knows otherwise!" Wei Yuan spread her palms, ran towards Siming shaking and pushing, and tried to say. "If you can write poetry, then it will be interesting."

"We," Siming pushed him away, "use this title, add explanations, and publish in the newspaper. First, we can praise her; second, we can use this to criticize society. What is the current society like? After looking around for a long time, I didn't see anyone giving me a piece of money, isn't it heartless..."

"Ah, Siweng!" Wei Yuan rushed over again, "You are simply 'swearing at the monk for being bald'. I didn't give the money, and I didn't have it with me at that time."

"Don't worry, Wei Weng." Siming pushed him away again, "You are out of course, it's another matter. You listen to me: there is a large group of people in front of them, no respect, just joking. There are two Bachelor, that is even more unscrupulous, one of them simply said, 'Ah Fa, you go buy two bars of soap, and wash them all over your body, it's very good.' Think about it, this..."

"Hahaha! Two bars of soap!" Daotong's loud laughter broke out suddenly, making people's ears scream. "You buy it, haha, haha!"

"Daoweng, Daoweng, don't shout like that." Siming was taken aback and said in a panic.

"Shoot, slap, haha!"

"Dao Weng!" Siming's face darkened, "We're talking about serious business, why are you just messing around and making people dizzy? Listen, we'll use these two topics and send them to the newspaper office immediately, and ask him to It must be published. This matter has to be done to the two of you."

"It's fine, that's natural." Wei Yuan agreed with all her heart.

"Hehe, wash it up, heck... Xixi..."

"Dao Weng!!!" Siming shouted angrily.

Daotong gave this a drink and stopped laughing.They drew up the explanation, Wei Yuan copied it on the letterhead, and ran to the newspaper office with Dao Tong.Holding the candlestick, Siming sent it out the door, and returned to the outside of the main room. He felt a little uneasy, but after a little hesitation, he finally stepped across the threshold.As soon as he entered the door, he saw the small sunflower-green rectangular bag of soap in the middle of the central square table. The gold seal in the center of the bag shone brightly under the light, and there were small patterns around it.

Xiu'er and Zhao'er squatted on the floor under the table to play; Xue Cheng sat on the right side and looked up the dictionary.Finally, I found Mrs. Fourth on a high-backed chair in the shadow farthest from the lamp. Where the lamp was shining, I saw that there was no joy or anger on her rigid face, and her eyes were not looking at anything.

"Shoot, slap, shameless..."

Si Ming slightly heard Xiu'er talking behind his back, and when he looked back, he didn't make any movements, only Zhao'er scratched his face with the fingers of her two small hands.

He felt that he couldn't stay, so he put out the candle and walked out of the yard.He paced back and forth, and accidentally, the hen and chicks started chirping again, and he immediately stepped lightly and walked a little further away.After a long time, the lamp in the main room moved to the bedroom.He saw the moonlight all over the place, as if it was covered with a seamless white gauze, and the moon like a jade plate appeared among the white clouds, without any gap.

He was a little sad, and seemed to be like a filial daughter who had become a "people without notice" ① and was lonely.He slept very late that night.

But by the next morning, the soap was hired.This day he got up later than usual, and saw her lying on the washstand and wiping her neck, the soap bubbles were like the blisters on the mouth of a big crab, piled high behind her ears, compared to when she used acacia before. There is only a very thin layer of white foam, and the height is really different.From then on, the Fourth Wife always had an inexplicable fragrance that seemed like olives but not olives; after almost half a year, it suddenly changed, and everyone who smelled it said that it seemed to be sandalwood.

March [-], [-].

This article was originally published in the Beijing Morning Post Supplement on March 27 and 28, [-].

Everlasting light

On a cloudy spring afternoon, the air in the only teahouse in Jiguangtun was a little tense again, and there seemed to be a subtle and deep voice in people's ears—"Pull him out!"

But of course not all people in Tun are like this.Residents in this village don't travel very much, and they have to check the almanac to see if it says "not suitable for travel" when they move;Sitting in the teahouse without restraint is only a few young people who consider themselves open-minded, but in the eyes of the hikikomori, they think that all of them are prodigal sons.

Now it is nothing more than the air in this teahouse is a little tense.

"Is it still like this?" The triangular face picked up the tea bowl and asked.

"I heard that it's still the same," Fangtou said, "I still keep saying 'put him off, put him off'. His eyes are getting brighter. Damn it! This is a big harm in our village, don't take it too lightly .We should think of a way to get rid of him!"

"It's nothing to get rid of him. He's just a... what! When the temple was built, his ancestors donated money, but now he wants to blow out the eternal lamp. Isn't this an unworthy descendant? Let's go Go to the county and send him to disobey!" Kuo Ting said generously, clenched his fists and hit the table.A slanted teacup lid also turned over with a groan.

"Impossible. If you want to send disobedience, it must be his parents, uncle..." Fangtou said.

"It's a pity that he only has one uncle..." Kuo Ting immediately became depressed.

"Kuoting!" Fangtou suddenly shouted. "How was your poker style yesterday?"

Kuo Ting opened his eyes and looked at him for a while, then answered if he didn't; the fat-faced Zhuang Qiguang had already let go of his throat and shouted:

"If the lamp is blown out, our Jiguangtun will still be what Jiguangtun is, isn't it over? Don't the old people say: This lamp was lit by Emperor Wu of Liang, and it has been passed down and has never been extinguished; even the long-haired rebels The time has not been extinguished... Look, tsk, isn't the fire glowing green? Outsiders who pass by here have to take a look and praise... Tsk, how good... What does he mean by being so nonsense now? ?..."

"Isn't he crazy? You don't know yet?" Fang Tou said with some contempt.

"Hmph, you're smart!" Zhuang Qiguang's face was oily.

"I thought: it's better to use the old method to trick him," said Aunt Hui Wu, the owner and worker of the shop, who was originally an observer, but when she saw that the situation was a little bit out of her focus, she hurried over to divert the dispute and pull it off. Get down to business.

"What's the old way?" Zhuang Qiguang asked in surprise.

"Didn't he go crazy for a while before, exactly the same as now. His father was still there at that time, and he was cured after he lied to him."

"How did you lie? Why didn't I know?" Zhuang Qiguang asked even more surprised.

"How do you know? At that time, you were still little tricks, only knew how to drink milk and pull arrows. Even I, I was not like that at that time. Look at my hands at that time, they are really pink and tender..."

"You are still pink and tender..." Fangtou said.

"Fart your mother!" Aunt Hui Wu laughed angrily, "Don't talk nonsense. We are serious. He was still young at the time; his old man was also a little crazy. It is said that one day he His grandfather took him into the temple and taught him to worship the master of the society, the general of plague, and the master of Wang Lingguan. Discuss about blowing out the eternal lamp on the main hall. He said that if it is turned off, there will be no more locusts and diseases. Have you met Mr. She? Is your tea not cold? Just some hot water. Well, he broke in later by himself to blow. His father loves him too much and refuses to lock him up. Heh, Wasn’t Quantun aroused public indignation and went to quarrel with his father? But there was no way—fortunately, the dead ghost of my family was still there at that time, so I thought of a way: surround the ever-burning lamp with a thick quilt, and it was pitch black. ground, showed him, and said it was blown out."

"Alas, it's thanks to him that he figured it out." The triangular face exhaled and said, as if he was overwhelmed.

"What kind of hands and feet does Fei use?" Kuo Ting said angrily, "If you kill something like this, it's over. Scary!"

"How can that be done?" She looked at him in surprise, and quickly waved her hands, "How can it be done! Didn't his grandfather pinch the Indian target?"

The Kuo Tings immediately looked at each other, feeling that apart from the wonderful method of the "dead ghost", there was really nothing else to think about.

"It was all right after that!" She wiped some white foam from the corners of her mouth with the back of her hand, and said more quickly, "It's all good after that! He never went into the temple gate again, and never mentioned anything again. Come, many years. I don’t know why after watching the game for a few days, I went crazy again. Oh, it’s exactly the same as before. He passed here in the afternoon, and he must have gone to the temple again. You and the fourth master Discuss and discuss, or lie to him again. Didn't the fifth brother Liang light up the lamp? Didn't it mean that once the lamp goes out, this place will turn into a sea, and we will all become loach? Go and discuss it with Fourth Master Let's discuss it, or..."

"Let's go to the temple first to take a look," Fangtou said, and then he walked out the door.

Kuo Ting and Zhuang Qiguang followed suit.The triangular face was the last to go, approached the door, turned around and said:
"This time, I'll keep my account! Enter him..."

Fifth Aunt Hui agreed, and went to the east wall to pick up a piece of charcoal, and drew two lines under a small triangle and a series of short thin lines drawn on the wall.

When they saw the temple, they saw several people together: one was him, two were idlers, and three were children.

But the temple gate was tightly closed.

"Okay! The gate of the temple is still closed." Kuo Ting said happily.

As soon as they approached, the children seemed to be emboldened and gathered around.He, who was standing opposite the temple gate, also turned to look at them.

He is still the same as usual, with a square yellow face and a ragged blue blouse, only a strange gleam in the big and long eyes under the bushy eyebrows. An expression of grief, indignation, suspicion and fear.There were two straw leaves stuck to his short hair, which the child must have secretly put on him from behind, because after they looked up at his head, they all shrank their necks and quickly stretched out their tongues with a smile.

They stood still, each looking into the other's face.

"What are you doing?" But the triangular face finally took a step forward and asked.

"I asked Lao Hei to open the door," he said softly and softly. "Because that one lamp must be blown out. You see, the blue face with three heads and six arms, three eyes, long cap, half-head, bull's head and pig's teeth, should all be blown out... Blow out. Blow out, and we'll There will be no locusts, no swine-mouth fever...."

"Xi Xi, nonsense!" Kuo Ting laughed contemptuously, "If you blow out the lights, there will be more locusts, and you will have swine mouth fever!"

"Xixi!" Zhuang Qiguang also laughed along with him.

A shirtless child picked up the reed he was playing with, aimed at him, opened his mouth like a cherry, and said:
"Bar!"

"You'd better go back! If you don't, your uncle will break your bones! I'll blow the lamp for you. You'll know after a few days." Kuo Ting said loudly.

His eyes shone even brighter, and he looked at Kuoting's eyes like nails, causing Kuoting's eyes to change quickly.

"You blow it?" He smiled mockingly, but then said firmly, "No! I don't want you. I will put it out myself, right now!"

Kuo Ting immediately slumped to the point of being powerless after sobering up; Fang Tou stood up and said slowly:
"You are always sensible, but this time you are too confused. Let me enlighten you, maybe you can understand. Even if you blow out the lights, aren't those things still there? Don't be so stupid, go back !Go to sleep!"

"I know, it's still there even after it's turned off." He suddenly showed a sinister smile again, but immediately restrained himself, and said solemnly, "But I can only do this for the time being. I'll do this first, it's easier. I'll just You have to blow him out, and put it out yourself!" As he said, he turned around and tried to push the temple door.

"Hey!" Kuo Ting got angry, "Aren't you from here? Do you want all of us to become loach? Go back! You can't push it away, you can't open it! You can't blow it out! It's better to go back!"

"I'm not going back! I'm going to blow him out!"

"No! You can't drive!"

"........."

"You can't open it!"

"Then, in another way," he said quietly, turning to them.

"Hmph, let's see what else you can do."

"........."

"See what else you can do!"

"I set fire to it."

"What?" Kuo Ting suspected that he didn't hear clearly.

"I set fire!"

The silence is like a clear chime, swaying to the end, and the living creatures around are condensed in it.But after a while, several people whispered to each other, and after a while, they all backed away; two or three people stopped at a little distance away.Zhuang Qiguang's voice shouted from outside the wall of the back gate of the temple:
"Old Hei, it's wrong! The gate of your temple must be closed tightly! Old Hei, do you hear me clearly? Close it tightly! Let's go and find a way to come!"

But he didn't seem to pay attention to other things, only flickering fanatical eyes, quickly searching the ground, in the air, and on people, as if looking for a kindling.

After Fangtou and Kuoting shuttled in and out of several gates, the situation in Jiguangtun suddenly became disturbed.In the ears and hearts of many people, there is a terrible voice: "Set fire!" But naturally, there are many deeper hikikomori who have no ears or hearts at all.However, the air in the whole village became tense, and everyone who felt the tension felt very uneasy, as if they were about to turn into loach, and the world would be destroyed from then on.Naturally, they vaguely knew that it was only Jiguangtun that was destroyed, but they also felt that Jiguangtun seemed to be the world.

The center of this incident soon took place in fourth master's living room.Sitting in the first seat was Guo Laowa, who was young and Deshao, his face was already wrinkled like a dried orange, and he was still stroking the white beard on his chin with his hands, as if he wanted to pull them off.

"In the first half of the day," he relaxed his beard, and said slowly, "Xitou, old Fu's stroke, his son, said it was because the gods of the society were disturbed. In this way, in the future, if there is any, What, the restlessness, it is inevitable to come to the mansion... yes, they have to come to the mansion, troublesome."

"Really," Fourth Master also stroked the gray catfish whiskers on his upper lip, but said leisurely, as if he didn't care at all, "This is also his father's retribution. When he himself was alive, he didn't believe in Bodhisattvas What? I didn't get along with him back then, but he couldn't do anything about it. Now, what else can I do?"

"I think, there is only one. Yes, there is one. Tomorrow, tie him to the city and let him stay overnight in that, that City God's Temple, yes, stay overnight, drive him away, evil spirit."

Kuo Ting and Fang Tou, for their achievements in guarding the whole village, not only walked into this difficult-to-see living room for the first time, but also sat under the old baby and above the fourth master, and had tea to drink.They came in with Lao Wa, and after the report, they just drank tea and didn't open their mouths after drinking, but at this moment Kuo Ting suddenly expressed his opinion:

"This method is too slow! The two of them are still in charge. The most important thing is to do it immediately. If it really burns..."

Guo Laowa was startled, her jaw trembled a little.

"If it really burns..." Fang Tou hurriedly said.

"Then," Kuo Ting said loudly, "it's going to be bad!"

A girl with yellow hair came to make tea again.Kuo Ting stopped talking and immediately picked up tea to drink.She trembled all over, put it down, stretched out the tip of her tongue to lick her upper lip, took off the bowl cover and blew.

"It's really a drag on Sharen!" Fourth Master patted his hand on the table lightly, "This kind of descendants, really deserve to die! Sigh!"

"Indeed, damn it." Kuo Ting raised his head, "Last year, even each village killed one: this kind of offspring. Everyone insisted that it was at the same time and at the same time. Everyone started at the same time, and they couldn't tell the first blow." Whoever it was, nothing happened afterward.”

"That's another matter," Fangtou said. "This time, they're in charge. We have to figure it out quickly. I think..."

Both Lao Wa and Fourth Master looked at his face solemnly.

"I thought: It's better to lock him up for now."

"That's a proper way." Fourth Master nodded slightly.

(End of this chapter)