Samayoi

Chapter 4 Blessing (2)
"Her?" Wei Ruo's mother-in-law said happily, "It's good luck now. When her mother-in-law came to arrest her and go back, she had already promised her to the sixth trader in Hejiaao, so she didn't want to go home after returning home. After a few days, it was carried in a sedan chair."

"Ah, such a mother-in-law!" The fourth aunt said in surprise.

"Ah, my wife! If you are the wife of a rich family, what is it for us mountain people and small families? She has a brother-in-law, and she has to marry a wife. If you don't marry her, then you have the money to do it. A dowry gift? His mother-in-law is a shrewd and capable woman, and she has a lot of plans, so she married her to Lishan. If she promised it to the villagers, the dowry would not be much; only few women are willing to marry into the deep mountains and wild valleys, so she just married her. I got [-]. Now the second son’s daughter-in-law has also married in, and the dowry cost [-]. After deducting the wedding expenses, there is still more than [-]. Scary, look, what a good plan this is.”

"Xianglin's sister-in-law is willing to obey?"

"It doesn't matter whether you insist on it or not. Anyone who wants to make a fuss is going to make a fuss. Just tie it up with a rope, stuff it in a sedan chair, carry it to the man's house, put a flower crown on it, pay homage, close the door, and it's over. But Mrs. Xianglin was really out of the ordinary. I heard that there was a lot of trouble at that time. Everyone said that she was different because she worked in a scholar's house. Madam, we have seen a lot: people who turn back get married, and some cry , There are also those who say they are looking for death and life, some who are carried to the man’s house, and there are people who can’t pray for heaven and earth, and some who even smashed the flowers and candles. Sister-in-law Lin is unusual. They said that she just howled and cursed all the way. Already completely dumb. When the sedan chair was pulled out, the two men and her brother-in-law held her down vigorously, but they still couldn't worship. If they were not careful, they let go, oh, Amitabha, and she bumped her head against the corner of the incense table. There was a big hole on her head, and the blood flowed out. I used two handfuls of incense ash and wrapped it in two pieces of red cloth, but it still couldn't stop the bleeding. Until I locked her and the man in the new house with all my might, I still scolded, Ah Yeah, this is really..." She shook her head, lowered her eyes, and stopped talking.

"What happened next?" The fourth servant asked.

"I heard that I didn't get up the next day." She raised her eyes and said.

"and after?"

"Later? - Woke up. She gave birth to a child at the end of the year, a boy, who will be two years old in the new year. During the few days I was at my mother's house, some people went to Hejiaao and came back to say that they saw their mother and son, mother She is also fat, and her son is also fat; there is no mother-in-law above her, all the man has is strength and can work; the house is her own.—Alas, she is really lucky."

From then on, the fourth aunt never mentioned Mrs. Xianglin again.

But one autumn, about two New Years after receiving the news of Mrs. Xianglin's good fortune, she actually stood in front of my fourth uncle's house again.There is a round water chestnut-shaped basket on the table, and a small bedding under the eaves.She still had a white rope tied around her head, a black skirt, a blue skirt, and a moon-white vest. Her face was blue and yellow, but the blood had disappeared from her cheeks, and there were some tear stains on the corners of her eyes, and her eyes were not as energetic as before.And it was still Mrs. Wei leading the way, showing a compassionate look, Xu Xu said to the fourth aunt:
"...This is really called 'unfortunate weather'. Her man is a solid man. Who knew that he would die of typhoid fever at a young age? He was already cured, but after eating a bowl of cold rice, he relapsed. Fortunately, she has a son; she can do it again, and she can collect firewood, pick tea and raise silkworms, and she can still keep it, but who knows that the child will be bitten by wolves? Spring is almost over, and wolves are coming to the village. Who would have thought So? Now she has only one naked body left. The uncle came to collect the house and chased her away. She really had nowhere to go, so she had to come to the old master. Fortunately, she has nothing to worry about now, and the wife's family has to change , so I brought her here.

——I think it's better to be familiar with the way than a novice..."

"I'm so stupid, really," Mrs. Xianglin raised her dull eyes and continued. "I only know that when it snows, wild beasts will come to the village when there is no food to eat in the valley; Mao sat on the threshold and peeled beans. He was very obedient, and he listened to every word I said; he went out. I was chopping firewood behind the house, digging out rice, the rice was in the pot, and I wanted to steam beans. My name is Amao, no Yes, I went out to look, and saw that the beans were scattered all over the place, and our Amao was gone. He didn’t go to other houses to play; I asked around, and sure enough, there was nothing. I was in a hurry, and the people went out to look for it. For a long time, I searched and searched to find a small shoe of his on the thorn wood. Everyone said, it's too bad, I'm afraid I've been caught by a wolf. Go in again; The five viscera in the basket have been eaten up, and I still hold the little basket tightly in my hand." She continued to sob, unable to utter a sentence.

Fourth Aunt was still hesitant at first, but after hearing her own words, the circles of her eyes turned red.After thinking about it, she taught her to take the round basket and bedding to the servant's room.Mrs. Wei let out a sigh as if she had relieved a heavy burden from her shoulders. Mrs. Xianglin looked more relaxed than when she first came, and she laid down the bedding in a familiar manner without waiting for guidance.From then on, she worked as a female worker in Lu Town again.

Everyone still calls her Mrs. Xianglin.

This time, however, her situation changed drastically.Two or three days after starting work, the masters felt that her hands and feet were not as flexible as before, her memory was much worse, and there was no smile on her corpse-like face all day long. Fourth Aunt's tone was quite dissatisfied.When she first arrived, although the fourth uncle frowned as usual, he didn't have much objection in view of the difficulty of hiring female workers. He just warned the fourth aunt secretly that although such people seem pitiful, they are corrupt It's okay to use her to help, but she doesn't need to touch her hands during the sacrifice, and I have to cook all the meals by myself, otherwise, the ancestors will not eat if they are not clean.

The most important event in the fourth uncle's house is the sacrifice, which was the busiest time for Xianglin's sister-in-law before, but this time she is free.

The table was placed in the center of the hall, and the table curtain was tied. She still remembered to distribute the wine glasses and chopsticks as usual.

"Sister-in-law Xianglin, just leave it alone! I'll set it up." Fourth Aunt said hurriedly.

She retracted her hand embarrassingly, and went to get the candlestick again.

"Sister Xianglin, leave it alone! I'll get it." Fourth Aunt said hurriedly again.

She turned around a few times, and finally had nothing to do, so she walked away in doubt.All she could do that day was sit by the stove and light a fire.

People in the town still called her Mrs. Xianglin, but the tone was very different from before; they still talked to her, but their smiles were cold.She ignored those things, just kept her eyes straight, and told everyone her own story that she never forgot day and night:
"I'm so stupid, really," she said, "I only know that the snow is a wild animal that has no food in the mountains and will come to the village; I didn't know there would be spring too. I opened the door early in the morning, I took a basket of beans in a small basket and asked our Amao to sit on the threshold and peel the beans. He was a very obedient boy, and he listened to my every word; he went out. I was chopping firewood and washing rice behind the house. The rice was in the pot and I was going to steam the beans. I called, 'Amao!' There was no answer. I went out and saw that the beans were scattered all over the ground, and our Amao was gone. I have been everywhere, but there is no one. I am in a hurry In the second half of the day, a few people went to the valley and saw his little shoe hanging on the thorn wood. Everyone said, it’s over, I’m afraid I’ve been caught by a wolf; go in again; sure enough, he Lying in the grass nest, all the internal organs in his stomach have been emptied, but it is a pity that he is still holding the little basket tightly in his hand." Then she shed tears and sobbed.

This story is quite effective. When the men hear this, they often hold back their smiles and walk away bored; but the women not only seem to forgive her, but immediately change their contemptuous expressions on their faces, and shed a lot of tears to accompany her.Some old women did not hear her words on the street, so they came here specially to hear her tragic story.When she talked about sobbing, they all shed the tears that stopped at the corners of their eyes, sighed, and went away satisfied, while commenting one after another.

She just told people her tragic story repeatedly, which often attracted three or five people to listen to her.But soon, everyone became familiar with it, and even the most compassionate old ladies who recited the Buddha's name no longer had a trace of tears in their eyes.Later, people in the whole town could almost recite her words, and when they heard it, they got tired and had a headache.

"I'm so stupid, really," she began.

"Yes, you came to the village only because you knew that the snow beasts had nothing to eat in the deep mountains." They immediately interrupted her and walked away.

She stood there in a daze with her mouth open, looked at them straight in the eyes, and then left, as if she felt bored too.But she still had delusions, hoping to draw out the story of her Amao from other things, such as the little basket, the beans, and other people's children.Whenever she saw a child of two or three years old, she would say:
"Alas, if our Amao is still here, he will be this big..."

The child was startled when he saw her eyes, and held his mother by the skirt to urge her to leave.So she was the only one left, and finally left bored. Later, everyone knew her temper. Whenever there was a child in front of them, they would ask her first with a half-smile, saying:
"Sister Xianglin, if your Amao is still here, wouldn't he be this old?"

She may not know that her sorrow has been chewed and appreciated by everyone for many days, and it has already become dross, which is only worthy of disgust and spurn; but from people's smiles, it seems that it is cold and sharp, and there is no need for her to speak.She just glanced at them without answering a word.

Luzhen always celebrates the New Year, and it becomes popular after the [-]th of the twelfth lunar month.Fourth Uncle's family had to hire a male part-time worker this time, but they were still too busy, so they asked Mama Liu to help her kill chickens and geese.Aside from lighting the fire, Mrs. Xianglin had nothing else to do, but she just sat and watched Mama Liu wash the dishes.A little bit of snow came down.

"Ah, I'm so stupid," Xianglin's Wife looked at the sky, sighed, and said in a single voice.

"Sister-in-law Xianglin, you're here again." Mother Liu said impatiently, looking at her face. "Let me ask you: isn't the scar on your forehead the result of the crash?"

"No." She answered with a smile.

"Let me ask you: How did you become a believer then?"

"Me?", "You. I think: This is always your own choice, otherwise..."

"Ah, you don't know how strong he is."

"I don't believe it. I don't believe that you have such great strength. You really won't be able to hold him back. You must have agreed to it yourself later, and it was said that he was strong."

"Ah, you... you should try it yourself." She smiled.

Liu Ma's wrinkled face also laughed, making her shrunk like a walnut. Her small dry eyes looked at Sister Xianglin's forehead, and then fixed her eyes again.Mrs. Xianglin seemed very embarrassed, she immediately suppressed her smile, turned her eyes, and looked at Xuehua herself.

"Sister-in-law Xianglin, you're really not worth it." Mama Liu said secretly. "Just be stronger, or simply hit one to death, it will be fine.

Now, you have lived with your second man for less than two years, and you have been charged with a major crime.You think, you will go to the underworld, and those two men who are dead ghosts will still fight, who will you give to?King Yan Luo had no choice but to saw you open and distribute them to them.I thought, this is really..."

A look of terror appeared on her face, which was unknown in the mountain village.

"I think, you might as well get there as soon as possible. You go to the earth temple and donate a threshold as your substitute, and let thousands of people step on it, and ten thousand people step on it, and redeem the crimes of this life, so that you don't have to die and suffer."

She didn't answer anything at the time, but she was probably very depressed. When she woke up the next morning, there were big black circles around her eyes.After breakfast, she went to the Earth Temple at the west end of the town to ask for donations. Miaozhu insisted on not allowing it at first, but she reluctantly agreed until she was so anxious that she burst into tears.The price is twelve thousand dollars.She has not talked to people for a long time, because the story of Amao has long been disliked by everyone; but since talking with Liu Ma, it seems that it has spread again, and many people have a new interest and come to tease her again .As for the topic, it was naturally a new one, focusing on the scar on her forehead.

"Sister Xianglin, let me ask you: Why did you agree then?" said one.

"Oh, it's a pity, I bumped into it for nothing." One looked at her scar and agreed.

From their smiles and tone of voice, she also knew that they were laughing at her, so she always stared and didn't say a word, and then didn't even look back.She kept her lips tightly closed all day long, with the scar on her head that everyone considered a shameful mark, and she silently ran around, sweeping the floor, washing vegetables, and washing rice.It was almost a year before she took the accumulated wages from her fourth aunt, exchanged it for 12 yuan in Yingyang, and asked for leave to go to the west end of the town.But before the end of the meal, she came back, with a very relaxed look and bright eyes, and said happily to her fourth aunt that she had already donated the threshold to the Earth Temple.

During the winter solstice ancestor worship season, she worked harder, watching the fourth aunt set up the sacrifice, and A Niu lifted the table to the center of the hall, she calmly went to get the wine glass and chopsticks.

"Leave it alone, Mrs. Xianglin!" Fourth Aunt hurriedly said loudly.

She withdrew her hands as if she had been scorched, her face turned gray and black at the same time, and she didn't go to fetch the candlestick anymore, just stood there absentmindedly.She didn't go away until fourth uncle taught her to go away when he was offering incense.This time she changed a lot. On the second day, not only her eyes were sunken, but her spirit was even worse.She was also very timid, not only afraid of dark nights, but also of dark shadows, even if she saw someone, even if he was her own master, she would always feel alarmed, just like a mouse walking around out of its hole in daylight; otherwise, it would just sit like a puppet.In less than half a year, my hair also turned gray, and my memory was particularly bad, to the extent that I often forgot to wash the rice.

"What happened to Mrs. Xianglin? It's better not to keep her at that time." The fourth aunt sometimes said this to her face, as if to warn her.

However, she is always like this, and there is no hope of becoming wiser.So they wanted to send her away and teach her to go back to Mrs. Wei.But when I was still in Luzhen, I just said this; looking at the current situation, it can be seen that it was finally implemented later.

But did she become a beggar right away from her fourth uncle's house, or did she go to Mrs. Wei's house first and then become a beggar?Then I don't know.

I was awakened by the loud sound of firecrackers because I was nearby, saw the yellow lights as big as beans, and then heard the crackling firecrackers. It was the fourth uncle's family who were "blessing"; I knew it was the fifth watch. almost time.I was in a trance, and vaguely heard the continuous sound of distant firecrackers, which seemed to form a dense cloud of noise in the sky, sandwiched with whirling snowflakes, enveloping the whole town.I am also lazy and comfortable in this noisy embrace, the doubts from the day to the first night, all the blessings of the air are swept away, I only feel that the saints of heaven and earth have enjoyed the offerings and cigarettes, and they are all drunk in the air Staggering, ready to give infinite happiness to the people of Lu Town.

(End of this chapter)