"Sigh, phew..."
The old Daoist slapped his forehead,
He simply sat down on the ground,
He had been traveling for most of his life, and he had dealt with countless people. The old Daoist's experience could be said to be extremely rich.
He had not thought of this before, but now that his boss had reminded him, he suddenly understood.
He did not cry, nor did he feel too much pain. There was only deep helplessness.
In this world, there was always a lack of heroes who were pushed to the stage. Everyone wanted to be bright, glorious, and worshipped by others
However,
It was even more difficult,
Or were they the heroes hiding behind the scenes?
There was no incentive for benefits, and there was no publicity of fame
"When a man dies, a bird will face the sky", "After 20 years, he will still be a hero". Perhaps the so-called heroes would go down and risk their lives after shouting these two voices. At least they could hypnotize themselves to be "Vigorous".
Unlike now,
Unlike now.
"Poor child, he's only in his twenties."
The old Daoist sighed softly.
Zhou Ze continued to stand. He did not get into the car and leave as he had thought.
The two rows of narcotics officers stood in front of the mourning hall for a long time. No one cried. Everyone was very silent.
Zhou Ze remembered that when he went to Yunnan to participate in a surgical training, he had heard an old doctor from a local city say something like this.
A local narcotics officer disguised as a buyer to contact drug dealers happened to meet his mother-in-law on the street who was taking her daughter to the street. The daughter called out "Dad".
Then..,
Three days later..,
The whole family was buried in the sea of fire caused by the gas explosion.
The old doctor said that he had participated in the treatment that time, but he had not been able to save a single one. This was one of the greatest pains in his life.
He had to endure the rolling eyes and coldness of his relatives and neighbors,
The glory and the honor of the martyr that he had to hide,
The person had passed away, but the living still had to grit their teeth and continue to endure this kind of loneliness and incomprehension.
Zhou Ze silently bent down,
He remembered that just now, he had asked the woman how her husband died?
She said that her husband was a driver and died in a car accident.
Zhou Ze now understood her hesitation when she answered this question,
This feeling..,
Was like a child who got full marks in the exam but could not tell his parents to get praise,
He even had to deliberately say that he did not do well in the exam so that he had to bear the criticism.
At this moment, the old woman had become much more adorable and great.
She would rather continue to endure this kind of life alone, but she hoped that she could give her daughter-in-law a release,
Even..,
She even went to the county to sue her uncle for corruption.
It became understandable.
A mother who could raise such a great son must also be great.
"Retreat!"
The two rows bowed to the old woman and the woman.
The old woman brought her daughter-in-law and granddaughter to kneel on the praying mat to return the greeting.
Tears streamed down the old lady's face.
The woman sobbed uncontrollably.
His granddaughter, on the other hand, seemed a little confused, as if she could not understand why this group of people wanted to come to her house.
Possibly,
This family,
It was only at this time,
In the middle of the night, nobody knew.
Only then could they truly enjoy a moment of glory that belonged to them.
They came in a hurry and left in a hurry. They all got into the van and quickly drove away.
They came quietly, and they left quietly as well.
He was extremely careful.
Leave no trace.
Three females.
They hugged each other.
Weeping together,
When the youngest girl saw her mother and grandmother crying, she also cried with them.
However, their cries were somewhat suppressed at this moment. Tears and snot kept dripping down their faces, but there was no sound of wailing.
"Boss, you should go back and rest first. This penniless priest will stay and help them with the arrangements."
The old priest scratched his hair and continued calmly,
"Funerals are more lively than happy events. This is for the living to see and comfort the living. Seeing them so cold and cheerless, I feel bad."
Zhou Ze stretched lazily.
He said,
"What's the point of staying here alone?
A warm-hearted old man suddenly appeared. There's going to be new gossip. "
"Boss, this..."
Zhou Ze shook his head.
"I'll stay too. Just treat it as a funeral paid for by a rich wild man.
Anyway, the old woman had already put the hat on for me during the day.
Then I'll wear it for a while longer. "
..
The next afternoon.
Three funeral bands entered.
In front of the mourning hall.
The monk was on the left, and the Taoist priest was on the right.
The gongs and drums were beating, and the wooden fish was chanting.
It was noisy and bustling with enthusiasm.
The people were all invited by the old priest. He was also the one who negotiated and paid the price. He was busy from morning to noon. He rearranged the venue and arranged the personnel. All aspects were well organized.
The old priest's talent in this area was indeed admirable. It was as if he was born for the funeral.
The old woman and her wife were wearing linen clothes and kneeling on the meditation cushion. They did not have to worry about anything else.
Zhou Ze sat at the offering table in front of the mourning hall. In front of him was a red book of favors.
Although no one came to help yesterday, there were still many relatives who came to show up on today's official funeral day. No one really lacked the favor money that should be given.
Although their relationship was not good, China was particular about reciprocity. It was a real rule. If they deliberately cut off the favor money because of this excuse, they would be criticized in the back.
Zhou Ze held a pen and wrote down the names one by one. This was a few hundred, that was a few hundred, how much paper was given, and how much incense was added. He had to record everything clearly.
Fortunately, he was not very busy, and everyone was very cold. Zhou Ze even saw many people pointing at him. Boss Zhou did not care.
Every once in a while, Zhou Ze would take a few pieces of chocolate or boil some brown sugar water for the woman to drink. He would watch the woman drink it and then sit back in his seat.
The funeral was very lively and bustling.
When it was almost noon.
Her uncle also came.
The village chief's position had been removed, he had been fined, and he had also been imprisoned for a period of time. However, at this moment, he still looked like a "Local Emperor".
In fact, in many rural areas, the difference between the village chief and the village tyrant was not big.
However, he did not have any other opinions about Zhou Ze, a stranger, sitting here. The favor money he gave was also the highest here. Others gave a few hundred, but he gave twenty thousand.
When Zhou Ze registered, he was a little surprised. He wondered if he should report this old man tomorrow?
It seemed that he had not shaken off all the money last time?
"It's not easy for them to be orphans and widows. I don't know who you are, but since you're willing to help, I owe you a favor. I also thank you."
The old man's back was a little hunched. When his gaze swept over the old woman who was kneeling there, it was still angry. But at least in some matters, it was a different matter.
The old man came, gave the money, and left. The rest of the relatives stayed behind. Then, there was a lunch banquet.
After the banquet,
They continued the process,
Under the old Daoist's arrangements,
The monks and Daoists took turns on stage,
After you sang, I went on stage,
Don't say,
It was really not funny at all,
Instead, it looked very serious and solemn.
Everything that needed to be registered had been registered. Zhou Ze added his name to the favor book. The favor written on it was:
Two stacks of ghost notes.
He took the time to stand in front of the mourning hall, where the iron pot was burning paper,
He personally threw the ghost notes in,
He watched them be burned clean here,
Then he sat back in the mourning hall,
He touched his pocket and found that the cigarettes were gone. He took a pack of cigarettes from the table, opened it, took out a cigarette, and lit it.
These cigarettes were all for those who had given the favor. Each person had a pack. It was also a small local rule. Those who did not know how to smoke would also bring them home for those who knew how to smoke.
In his two lives, this was the first time Zhou Ze had seriously participated in a simple funeral.
In his previous life, he was an orphan, and there was no need for him to go to a funeral. When his colleagues in the hospital passed away, he only went to the mourning hall to show his face.
Now..,
He sat here and watched the funeral activities for most of the day,
He actually found it quite interesting.
Perhaps, when he was young and frivolous, he always felt that this was feudal, ignorant, and unreasonable.
When one reached middle age and the elderly in the family gradually passed away, one would suddenly realize that with these rules and these things, they could at least let oneself know what to do next during those few days of muddle-headedness, and they would be able to move themselves.
When he was a little older, or a little more mature..,
Sitting here..,
Looking at the fluttering confetti,
Listening to the noisy suona and the white clothes,
You will suddenly realize..,
This seemed to be the color of the yellow land under his feet that had not changed for thousands of years.
The funeral parlor sent the largest and most luxurious hearse, followed by more than ten small cars, all wearing white flowers.
The woman held the portrait of her deceased husband. Her mother-in-law was beside her, and her daughter was in front of her. She led a group of relatives who came to pay their respects, as well as the monks and Taoist priests arranged by the old priest, into the car and went to the crematorium.
The mourning hall behind Zhou Ze was finally empty.
The noise in front of him..,
Finally fell into a short rest.
Zhou Ze turned his head and looked to his side. Because his identity could not be revealed, no one came to send a wreath.
There were only two wreaths here,
One was sent in the name of the bookstore, and the other was sent in the name of the pharmacy next to the bookstore.
It was placed in the corner as a little decoration.
If his identity could be revealed, this place would probably be filled with wreaths from all walks of life.
Zhou Ze crossed his legs,
He sat on the bench,
"Pa!"
He lit another cigarette with his lighter.
He took a puff,
He slowly exhaled a smoke ring.
He didn't know why,
Today..,
His heart was exceptionally calm.
During the period of time since returning from Sichuan, there had been a lot of things, and it was very chaotic. He had just dealt with it here, and something happened there, making Zhou Ze very tired.
But on this noisy day..,
The impetuosity from before seemed to have been eliminated in an instant. His entire person seemed to have been washed in the rain, very clean.
The hand holding the cigarette,
Sent it to his side,
A young man took the cigarette from Zhou Ze's hand,
He also took a puff.
Zhou Ze looked ahead,
He said very calmly,
"Don't misunderstand."
The other party blew out a smoke ring,
"Sorry to trouble you."
Zhou Ze smiled,
He said,
"You're welcome."