I remember that a few years ago, an uncle in the village passed away, and the eldest brother said to the second brother that he would raise 500 yuan alone.

Brothers and sisters must give the same amount of money, no one can be more than the other, and no one can be less than the other.

But at that time, 500 yuan was really a lot for the family. At that time, the two of them were working in the village, Wu Cuimei's health was not good, and her son had just gone out to work, not to mention five hundred yuan, even one hundred yuan, they were distressed.

But Wu Cuimei couldn't say anything, and in the end, Liu Yuanhe quarreled with her two brothers.

At Liu Yuanhe's insistence, several people totaled again, changing from 500 to 300 per person.

Wu Cuimei was thinking in her heart at this time, a few years ago, the eldest brother said that they would give 500 per person, and today, a few years later, maybe how much money they will shout out.

Although the conditions at home are better now, she will still feel distressed if she wants to take out a few hundred yuan at once. After all, the family's money was not blown by the wind, but dug by the son with a hoe.

According to local customs, as long as there are three generations of relatives, it is generally a hundred yuan. But she has two good-looking brothers, and she feels that the more money she has, the more face she has.

In the local area, after taking the money, the name and amount will be written on the big red paper posted in the owner's house, commonly known as the 'red list'.

With the existence of the red list, it is clear who has more money and whose share has less money, and it is not only the host's family that can see it, as long as it is a literate guest.

In the past, the red list was used by the host to thank the guests, but later, with the affluence of people's lives, it gradually evolved into a style of comparison.

"How much money does it have?" Without waiting for his wife to speak, Liu Yuanhe asked first.

The eldest uncle casually glanced at the nephew behind the husband and wife, and said: "Five hundred, I and the second child will pay five hundred, if you don't have so much money, you will pay three hundred, but we will have to go in separately later, so that you don't have to pay as much money as us." ”

These words made Liu Yuanhe and Wu Cuimei a little unhappy. Obviously, this big brother still looks down on their family. It's obvious that they are brothers and sisters, and everyone else goes in together, but the eldest brother lets them go in later, which is obviously looking down on people.

Liu Qingshan brushed aside his mother and smiled at his uncle: "Uncle, is five hundred enough? ”

As soon as these words came out, Wu Cuimei and her family suddenly gasped!

Nima: A thousand dollars? Is this kid in the water? What can I do? If the eldest brother agrees, then the water that has been spilled out of the words will not be recovered.

The uncle was stunned, looked at the nephew in front of him, and then re-examined him.

I haven't seen him for a year, and this kid looks really different now, as if he is more energetic than last year.

However, then again, the second child gave him five hundred yuan, and if he really wanted to make up a thousand, then he would have to help the second child pay five hundred in advance, so that he would have to pay fifteen hundred yuan out.

There is still a difference between fifteen hundred dollars and five hundred dollars. Moreover, if the second child does not admit the account and is unwilling to repay the money, then the 500 yuan will be wasted, and not only will he lose his reputation, but he will also have to lose 500 himself. It's not worth it.

Thinking of this, he hurriedly waved his hand: "Oh, there's no need to make up so much, just five hundred." ”

"Five hundred is unlucky. Liu Qingshan said, "Just make up a thousand, generally make up even numbers, or two hundred, six hundred, eight hundred, one thousand, this is our local custom, if one thousand is too much, make up six hundred or eight hundred, but it can't be four hundred, four is unlucky." ”

Liu Qingshan's nonsense made his uncle stunned.

In the end, after the uncle weighed it again and again, and felt that it was really unreliable to advance money for the second child, he changed the 500 share of the money to 200.

Clearly, this decision was the right one.

When the four of them took a share of the money at the door, they saw that it was written in the account book that the relatives in the village also had 200 yuan.

If you have more relatives than others, isn't that a slap in the face?

With the money, I walked into the gate and there was the courtyard. There is a makeshift canopy covering the entire courtyard, as well as a number of makeshift stoves, vegetable cutting stations, and some wooden benches for guests to rest.

In addition to these hardware devices, there are all kinds of busy people in the yard. According to custom, these people are all villagers of their own village, and each household has to send one person to help, and some villages are smaller, and each family has to send two people.

Among these people are women who wash vegetables and dishes, young women who entertain guests, and the master who is in charge of the spoon, and young men who serve the dishes.

All in all, it's a lively scene.

When the guests entered the courtyard, they immediately went to the hall to mourn the deceased.

The four of them walked straight to the hall, and after handing the paper money and bamboo incense in their hands to the man guarding the door of the hall, they lined up and stood outside the door of the hall, bowing three times to the red lacquered coffin in the hall.

There is also a particular approach to bowing, which must be held in front of the chest with the palms of both hands close together, and pressed down with the body. You have to bow three times.

At this time, the man who had taken the paper money and bamboo incense would go to the spirit to help burn the paper money.

The tools for planting incense in front of the coffin are also particular, and they must be adult plantain wood. Cut down the plantain wood and take a piece about twenty or thirty centimeters long.

At this time, the plantain wood was already full of bamboo incense. Cigarette smoke lingered in the hall, making everything in the room look a little hazy.

In addition to the coffin, there are also rural funeral teams playing and singing.

Funerals in the countryside are not cremated, but weeping and mourning.

Next to the coffin, several men and women knelt, several of whom wept the loudest, and several other older children cried along.

Only one of them, a little girl who looked to be only eight or nine years old, was thin and wrapped in thin clothes, white mourning clothes, and white mourning hats, and her face was also reflected in defeat.

She didn't scream, just knelt weakly on the straw kneeling mat, silently shedding tears, her eyes were covered with red bloodshots, and they looked scarlet.

"Who is the youngest girl?" Liu Qingshan asked in a low voice when he left the door of the hall and went to the courtyard to drink oil tea.

Wu Cuimei turned sideways and replied, "That's your uncle's daughter." ”

"Is that the little girl we came to drink the full moon wine that time?"

"Well, yes. ”

"Then why didn't I see my aunt? When I came to drink the wedding wine, I remember her appearance, why didn't I see it today?"

As soon as Liu Qingshan asked, the faces of the three elders instantly became nervous.

Wu Cuimei pushed her son and motioned for him to stop.

Liu Qingshan looked at the gazes around him, and didn't ask any more.

After lunch, I had to wait until dusk for dinner. Originally, Wu Cuimei and Liu Yuanhe planned to keep vigil together, and wait until Liu Qingshan and his uncle went out the next day and came back, but because the host had too many relatives, there was really no place to rest, so their distant relatives could only leave first.

Before leaving, Liu Qingshan couldn't help but walk to the door of the hall again and glanced at the little girl who was eating next to the bamboo flat with other relatives.

Relatives must eat in the hall, and they cannot use a table, so they can only put a bamboo flat on the ground as a table. The implication is that the deceased can be allowed to enjoy the food with them.

If the skinny little girl holding a big porcelain bowl and her face full of tears was a baby at that time, then she was her uncle's daughter Zhou Xingxing.

I still remember that when I followed my mother to eat full moon wine and hugged Little Star, Xingxing still pulled a bubble of urine on him.

At that time, my aunt also laughed and said that Xingxing was a little villain who had wet his brother's clothes, and when Xingxing grew up in the future, he must love his brother.

Liu Qingshan wanted to say hello to Xingxing, but his mother pulled him over and said, "Wait for next time, it's inconvenient now, besides, she was only a few months old at the time, how could she remember you?"

Liu Qingshan thought about it, just glanced at it, and then left.

When he got home, he asked, "Mom, where is Xingxing's mother?"

"Hmm. Wu Cuimei sat down first, and then said slowly, "How to say, when Xingxing was three or four years old, she divorced your uncle, I heard that it was because she disliked your uncle who was too incompetent, and she couldn't stand it. ”