The workers were frightened and ran back like a swarm of bees. Some of them didn't even ask for their wages and ran down the mountain. In the end, a few calm foremen and Mr. Liu's driver managed to convince the workers to stay after a long time.
Even though they managed to stay, the workers were still horrified. They gathered in groups of three to five and kept mentioning the word "zombie" and so on.
After the chaotic scene calmed down, Mr. Liu turned around and looked at me with an extremely sinister expression. He asked me word by word, "Mr. Xiao Zhou, you promised me that there would be no mistakes this time."
Previously, Director Liu had always been very kind. When he spoke, he would smile most of the time. He looked like an amiable elder.
But this time, after his face darkened, I finally saw the aura of a business tycoon.
However, I didn't panic at all. I only shook my head at Mr. Liu and said, "Mr. Liu, don't panic. It's not a zombie."
"Not a zombie?"
Hearing me say that, Mr. Liu's expression calmed down, but he still asked, "Then Mr. Xiao Zhou, why don't you tell me what the sound was?
It wouldn't be the sound of a stone falling on the ground, right? "
The 'peng peng' sound was very clear. It was clearly the sound of someone hitting the ground, it couldn't be the sound of a stone falling on the ground.
Mr. Liu was clearly warning me not to use a lame excuse to fool him.
However, he was thinking too much. I shook my head and said, "Of course it wasn't the sound of a stone falling on the ground. Your ancestor's tomb was preserved very well. After we dug it up, the inside didn't collapse, so there wouldn't be a stone falling on the ground.
As for the sound, it did come from the coffin. "
Mr. Liu's pupils constricted. He stared at me and didn't say anything. It was obvious that he was waiting for me to give him an explanation.
I looked at the dark entrance of the tomb and asked Mr. Liu, "Did Mr. Liu think that the sound just now was like a sound?"
Mr. Liu followed my gaze and looked at the tomb, then said hesitantly, "Like … the sound of a drum?"
"That's right." I nodded. "It was the sound of a drum.
In ancient times, there were drums outside the government offices, also known as the Cries for Grievances Drum. If the common people had grievances, they would beat the drum to express their grievances. Therefore, the sound of beating the drum has a meaning, which is to express grievances. "
Chief Liu looked at me in confusion. Before he could say anything, his driver couldn't help but ask, "What does it have to do with our current situation?"
"Of course, there's a connection." I sighed and said, "There's a saying about the sound just now. It's like a corpse hitting a coffin, and the soul crying out for injustice.
In fact, it's just the skeleton in the coffin being wronged, and that's why it's making noises. "
"Corpses can knock on coffins?
Is it really that amazing? "Mr. Liu's driver still had a look of disbelief.
I shook my head. "This kind of thing is very common. In many construction sites, people dig up ancient coffins. When they hear noises coming from inside, they think it's a zombie. But when they open the coffin, they find that it's just a pile of bones.
This kind of thing has been seen many times in the news, so it's not rare. "
"Then, Mr. Little Zhou, do you mean that we can directly invite the remains out without any other concerns?"
Chief Liu's voice softened a lot. It was obvious that he agreed with what I said.
I nodded. "Everything has a spirit. The corpse was originally buried, but it was dug up for no reason.
The corpse that has turned into bones has no ability to take revenge. It can only make a few helpless cries in the unseen world.
Of course, it's fine to carry the coffin, but this is your ancestor. The cries clearly means that they don't want to leave this place. Chief Liu, don't you want to reconsider? "
Although they had turned into bones, everything in the unseen world had a spirit.
Although I used a talisman to isolate the connection between Chief Liu and the ancestor's bloodline, they were still related by blood, so the connection couldn't be completely severed. Naturally, they could still feel it.
However, what I didn't understand was that Chief Liu moving the grave was for the sake of the ancestors. It was a filial act. If the ancestors had a spirit, they should be happy. Why would they cry out in sorrow?
I couldn't understand the reason behind it, but the cries of withered bones were a very sad thing. I couldn't help but advise Chief Liu to reconsider.
Chief Liu's expression returned to normal. There wasn't any hesitation on his face. He quickly rejected me and said with a smile, "Being filial doesn't mean that I just let them do whatever they want. Perhaps the ancestors were willing to do so, but as a descendant, I can't just watch them suffer and do nothing.
Mr. Little Zhou, you don't need to persuade me anymore. Since there's nothing else, I'll arrange for people to move the grave. "
Then, Chief Liu called the driver over and said a few words. Then, the driver walked to the group of workers and shouted, "It was just the sound of sand and stones rolling down from the grave. Don't worry, there weren't any zombies.
Also, to help everyone calm down, today's wages will be doubled. If you're willing to carry the coffin, your wages will be doubled! "
These words finally calmed the workers down. The group of people returned to the side of the grave, put down the extension ladder, and prepared to enter the grave.
Although Chief Liu's ancestors came from a rich family, there were rules governing their graves. If they weren't high-ranking officials, their graves couldn't exceed the rules. There was only a simple grave.
The workers were a little scared, but Chief Liu's driver volunteered. He went into the grave alone. After walking around for a while, he popped his head up and told the workers that it was safe down there. Then, he called the others to go with him.
Only then did everyone cast aside their earlier fear. In order to get their wages quadrupled, they all volunteered to go to the tomb.
The group of people busied themselves for a long time before they finally brought out two coffins.
When I saw the two coffins, I was a little surprised. It wasn't because the coffins hadn't rotted after so many years, but because the two coffins were red. Moreover, it wasn't the usual crimson red, but a very bright red. Even though they had been buried for two hundred years, the color of the coffins wasn't dark at all.
From the perspective of funerals, red coffins didn't necessarily represent good or bad luck. It could be related to the burial customs and the owner's birth date. I didn't really care about the color.
Chief Liu's ancestral grave was a big family grave. At least six or seven generations of his ancestors were buried here. I thought that Chief Liu would let me stay here until all the graves were moved out.
Unexpectedly, after the two coffins were brought out, Chief Liu gave me a brown paper bag. He smiled and said, "This time, I'm sorry to trouble you, Mr. Zhou. This is a small gift from me. I hope you won't mind."
I was bewildered. I had just opened one grave, and Chief Liu wanted me to leave?
I couldn't believe it, but since he had said so, I didn't force him to stay. I greeted him then bid farewell.
When I left, Boss Liu even specially arranged for his driver to drive me all the way back home.
On the way back, I recalled what had happened today. I felt that Chief Liu's attitude was strange, and I couldn't understand him.
I couldn't find anything after thinking about it for a while, so I didn't think much about it. Instead, I focused on studying talismans.
Because I was short on money, I couldn't practice a lot.
But this time, Chief Liu gave me one hundred thousand renminbi, which was more than enough to buy yellow talisman papers and other items.
After school started, I went back to school and bought a lot of yellow talisman papers and other items. Every day, I tried to make talismans, which helped me advance quickly.
During this time, I purposely went to Xu Ziyu's house. Her family seemed to have walked out of the sorrowful atmosphere. However, Xu Ziyu had changed a lot. In the past, when she was in school, she didn't wear any makeup, and her hairstyle looked very pure. But now, she had makeup on and her hair was permed. She didn't look as pure as before, and instead, she looked a little seductive.
Anyway, it was good. As long as she could walk out of the sorrow, it wouldn't be a big deal even if she let go of her old ways.
Before leaving, I secretly left fifty thousand renminbi for Xu Ziyu, hoping that it could help her.