Samayoi

Chapter 13 The Lonely Man (3)
Although this did not make me "take a deep breath", after a cursory look, and then a closer look, I always felt a little uncomfortable, and at the same time, it was mixed with some pleasure and joy; I also thought that his livelihood was finally over. The problem, my burden can also be let go, although it is still unthinkable on my side.Suddenly I wanted to write a letter to answer him, but I felt that I had nothing to say, so this idea disappeared immediately.

I am indeed gradually forgetting him.Nor does his face appear so often in my memory.But less than ten days after receiving the letter, Xueli Seventh Daily in the three cities suddenly mailed their "Xueli Seventh Daily".I don't pay much attention to these things, but once they are sent, I will look through them casually.This reminds me of Lian Shu, because there are often poems and essays about him, such as "A Snowy Night Visiting Mr. Lian Shu", "Elegant Collection of Lian Shu's Consultant Gao Zhai", etc.; Li also recounted what he had been rumored to be a laughingstock before, called "anecdote", and there was a lot of implication that "a man who is an extraordinary man must be able to do extraordinary things."

the meaning of.

For some reason, although I remembered it, his face was always gradually blurred; however, he seemed to be getting closer to me day by day, and often felt a kind of uneasiness and slight tremor that even I couldn't understand for no reason.Fortunately, in the autumn, the "Scholarly Seven Daily" did not arrive; Sanyo's "Scholarly Weekly" published a long paper as scheduled: "Theory of Rumors as Facts".It also said that rumors about certain lords have been widely circulated among the fair gentry.This refers to several people, including me; I have to be extremely careful, and as usual, even the cigarettes from smoking rolls must be careful not to scatter.Being careful is a kind of busy pain, so everything will be wasted, and naturally there is no time to remember Lian Shi.In short: I have actually forgotten him.

But I finally couldn't make it through the summer vacation, and left Sanyang at the end of May.

From Shanyang to Licheng, and then to Taigu, I moved around for more than half a year, and finally couldn't find anything to do, so I decided to go back to the third city.It will be an afternoon in early spring, the weather will be rainy or not, and everything will be covered in gray; there are still vacant rooms in the old apartment, and we still live in it.On the road, I thought of Lian Shu, and when I arrived, I decided to visit him after dinner.Carrying two packs of Wenxi's famous boiled cakes, I walked a lot of wet roads, giving way to many dogs lying in the way, and finally arrived in front of Lian Shu's door.It seemed very bright inside.I thought, once I became a consultant, even the apartment became extra bright, and I couldn't help but smile inwardly.But when he looked up, there was a blank paper beside the door, clearly pasted with an oblique angle.I thought again, Daliang's grandmother is dead; at the same time, I also stepped into the door and walked straight inside.

In the courtyard illuminated by the dim light, there was a coffin, and beside it stood a soldier or a horse bien in military uniform, and someone who was talking to him, but it turned out to be Daliang's grandmother; Clothed rough man.My heart jumped immediately.She also turned to stare at me.

"Ah! You're back? Why not a few days earlier..." She suddenly yelled.

"Who... who is missing?" I actually already knew about it, but I still asked.

"Master Wei, there was none the day before yesterday."

I looked around, the living room was dark and there was only one lamp; the main room was hung with a white filial curtain, and a few children gathered outside the room, they were Daliang and Erliang.

"He stopped there," Daliang's grandmother walked forward, pointing, "after Master Wei congratulated me, I also rented the main house to him; he is now parked there."

There is nothing else on the filial curtain, in front of it is a table, a square table; there are a dozen bowls of food on the square table.As soon as I stepped through the door, two men in white long gowns suddenly appeared in front of me and stopped them. They stared at the eyes like dead fish, and the light of surprise came out from them, and they pinned my face.I hurriedly explained my relationship with Lian Shu, Daliang's grandmother also came to confirm from the side, their hands and eyes gradually relaxed, and they tacitly allowed me to approach and bow.

As soon as I bowed, someone on the ground suddenly burst into tears. When I looked carefully, I saw a ten-year-old child lying on the straw, also dressed in white, with a large lock of ramie silk tied around his shaved head. .

After exchanging pleasantries with them, I knew that one was Lian Shu's first cousin, who was the closest relative; the other was a distant nephew.I asked to take a look at my old friend, but they tried their best to stop me, saying that I "don't dare to do it".However, I was finally persuaded and lifted the filial curtain.

This time I met the dead Lian Shu.But strange!Although he was wearing a wrinkled short shirt and trousers with bloodstains on the placket, and his face was extremely thin, his face was still the same as before, with his mouth and eyes closed quietly, as if he was asleep, and he was almost ashamed. I put my hand in front of his nose to test him but he was still breathing.

Everything is as still as death, the dead and the living.I backed away, but his cousin came around again, saying "brother"

At a time when he was in the prime of life and had a bright future, he suddenly "passed away". This is not only unfortunate for the "declining family", but also very sad for his friends.There is a sense of apology for Lian Shu in the words; it is rare for people in mountain villages to be able to say this.But after that, there was silence, everything was as quiet as death, the dead and the living.

I felt bored, not sad, so I retreated to the yard and chatted with Daliang's grandmother.Knowing that the time for encoffining is approaching, we only need to wait for the shroud to be delivered; when nailing the coffin, the four zodiac signs of "Ziwu Maoyou" must be avoided.She was happy to talk, and her words gushed out like a spring, talking about his illness and the circumstances of his life, and also brought some criticisms about him.

"Do you know that Mr. Wei has been different since he was delivered of luck? His face has been raised and he is high-spirited. He is no longer as rude to people as before. You know, he was not like a dumb before. Seeing me is Is it called the old lady? Then it was called 'old guy'. Alas, it's really interesting. He refused to eat it, so he fell into the yard, - this is the place, - shouted "Old guy, you can eat it." After he was lucky, people came and went, I let him live in the main room, and I moved in this wing room. He was really lucky, and he was very popular with everyone. It’s different, we often talk and joke like this. If you come a month earlier, you can catch up with the excitement here, the boxing game at two ends of the three days, talking, laughing, singing, poetry writing, and card playing ..." He used to be more afraid of children than children seeing Lao Tzu, so he was always humble.It's been different these days, he can talk and make trouble, and our Daliangs also like to play with him, and whenever they are free, they all go to his house.He also used various methods to amuse him; when he asked him to buy something, he asked the child to bark like a dog or knock his head.Haha, it was really fun.Two months ago, Erliang asked him to buy shoes, and knocked his head three times. Hey, he is still wearing them now, and they are not broken. "

When a person in a white gown came out, she stopped talking.I inquired about Lian Shu's illness, but she didn't know much about it. She only said that she probably lost weight a long time ago, but no one paid any attention, because he was always happy.It was more than a month ago that I heard him vomit blood a few times, but he didn't seem to see a doctor; later he lay down; three days before he died, his throat was hoarse and he couldn't speak a word.Master Thirteen came all the way to the city from Hanshi Mountain Road, and asked him if he had savings, but he didn't say a word.The Thirteenth Master suspected that he was pretending, and some people said that some people who died of tuberculosis would be speechless, who knows... "But Master Wei's temper is too weird," she suddenly whispered, " He refused to save a little, and melted money like water.

The Thirteenth Master still doubts what benefits we have gained.What are the benefits of fart?He just dispelled the grievances in a nonchalant manner.For example, when you buy something, you buy it today, sell it tomorrow, and break it. I really don’t know what’s going on.When you die, there is nothing, everything is ruined.Otherwise, I wouldn't be so calm today... "He's just messing around and doesn't want to do anything serious. I've thought about it and persuaded him. At this age, he should start a family; according to the current situation, get married It's easy; if you don't have a good match, you can buy a few concubines first: people should always look good. But when he heard it, he laughed and said, "Old man, you still think about such things for others Is it?" You see, he has been superficial recently, and he doesn't take good words from people as good. If he had listened to me earlier, why would he be groping alone in the underworld now? At least, he could hear a few voices from his relatives crying..."

A shop assistant came with his clothes on his back.The three relatives took out the coat and went behind the curtain.Not long after, the filial curtain was lifted, and the inner garment was changed, and the outer garment was added next.

This is very unexpected to me.I put on a pair of khaki military trousers with wide red stripes embedded, followed by a military uniform with shiny golden epaulets, I don't know what grade it is, where it came from.When it was time to enter the coffin, Shi Lian Shu was lying in a very uncomfortable position, with a pair of yellow leather shoes by his feet, a paper-made command knife by his waist, and a gold-rimmed military cap next to his bony gray and black face.

The three relatives cried while supporting the edge of the coffin, and stopped crying to wipe away their tears; the child with the twine on his head withdrew, and Sanliang also avoided, probably belonging to one of the "Ziwu Maoyou".

The rough man raised the lid of the coffin, and I went closer to take a last look at the farewell.

He lay quietly in the inappropriate clothes, closed his eyes, and closed his mouth. There seemed to be a cold smile in the corner of his mouth, sneering at this ridiculous dead body.

As soon as the nails were knocked, crying burst out at the same time.I couldn't finish listening to the cries, so I retreated into the yard; as soon as I walked along, I didn't realize I was out of the gate.The wet road is extremely clear. Looking up into the sky, the thick clouds have dispersed, and a full moon hangs, emitting a calm brilliance.

I walked quickly, as if trying to break through something heavy, but couldn't.Something struggled in the ear, and after a long time, finally struggled out, vaguely like a howling, like a wounded wolf howling in the wilderness late at night, the pain mixed with anger and sorrow.

My heart relaxed, and I walked calmly on the wet stone road, under the moonlight.

(End of this chapter)