After all, the end of the old calendar is most like the end of the year, and it is needless to say that the villages and towns are also showing the weather of the upcoming New Year in the sky. There was a flash of light in the middle of the gray-white heavy evening clouds, and then there was a dull sound, which was the firecracker sending the stove; Nearby, the fire was even stronger, the deafening sound had not yet stopped, and the air was already filled with the faint smell of gunpowder. I was returning to my hometown of Lu Town this night. Although he is a hometown, he no longer has a home, so he has to temporarily live in the house of Master Lu Si. He is my own family, a generation older than me, and he should be called "Fourth Uncle", an old prison student who lectures on reason. He didn't change much from before, only he was older, but he still had a beard, and when we met, he greeted me, and after greeting me, he said that I was "fat", and after saying that I was "fat", he scolded his new party. But I know that this is not an excuse to scold me: because what he is scolding is still Kang Youwei. However, the conversation was not always speculative, and it was not long before I was left alone in the study.

The next day I woke up late, and after lunch, I went out to see some of my family and friends; And so it was on the third day. None of them have changed much, except that they are older; The family is busy, and they are all preparing "blessings". This is the year-end ceremony of Luzhen, pay tribute, welcome the god of blessing, and pray for good luck in the coming year. Killing chickens, slaughtering geese, buying pork, washing them carefully, women's arms were soaked red in water, and some of them even wore silver bracelets with skein. After cooking, insert some chopsticks in this kind of thing, it can be called "blessing ceremony", the fifth watch day is displayed, and light the incense candles, and invite the gods of fortune to enjoy, but the worship is limited to men, after worshipping naturally still firecrackers. Every year, every family,—— as long as they can afford to buy blessings and firecrackers and the like – this year is naturally the same. The sky became darker and darker, and it snowed in the afternoon, and the snowflakes were as big as plum blossoms, flying all over the sky, with smoke and busy complexion, and Lu Zhen was in a mess. When I returned to the fourth uncle's study, the corrugated was already snow-white, and the room was also brighter, showing the big "longevity" word of Zhu Tuo hanging on the wall, written by Chen Tuan's ancestor, the couplet on one side had fallen off, and the loose roll was placed on the long table, and the other side was still there, and the Tao was "reasonable and peaceful". I was bored and went to the desk under the window to look through it, only to see a pile of seemingly incomplete "Kangxi Dictionary", a "Notes on the Collection of Recent Thoughts" and a "Four Books Lining". Anyway, I'm going to leave tomorrow.

Besides, until yesterday, I met Xianglin's sister-in-law, which made me unable to settle down. It was afternoon when I visited a friend at the east end of the town, and when I came out, I met her by the river; And when I saw the look of her staring eyes, I knew that it was obviously coming towards me. Among the people I saw in Luzhen this time, it can be said that no one has changed more than hers: the gray hair of five years ago is now completely white, and it is not like a person in his forties; The face was thin, yellow and black, and it had lost its previous sad look, as if it were a woodcut; Only the occasional round of the eyeballs can also indicate that she is a living creature. She was holding a bamboo basket in one hand. a broken bowl inside, empty; In one hand, she was holding a bamboo pole longer than hers, and the lower end was cracked: she was clearly a pure beggar.

I stopped and prepared for her to come and beg for money.

"You're back?" She asked first.

"Yes."

"That's just right. You are literate, and you are a person who goes out, and you have seen a lot. I was about to ask you something—" Her dull eyes suddenly lit up.

I never expected her to say such a thing, and she stood in amazement.

"It's—" she said with two steps closer, lowering her voice, as if secretively, "is there a soul when a man dies?" ”

I was terrified, and when I saw her eyes staring at me, I was like a thorn in my back, and I was much more anxious than when I encountered a temporary exam in school that was not as good as a defense, and the teacher was standing beside me. I myself have never minded the presence or absence of souls; But at this moment, how to answer her? In my very short hesitation, I thought, as they normally believe, ghosts, "but she wondered,—— or rather hope: I hope that there is, and that there is no ......, so why should people add to the distress of the people who are at the end of the road, for her sake, it is better to say that there is."

"Maybe so,—— I think." I said in a rambling voice.

"So, there will be hell too?"

"Ahh Hell? I was taken aback, and I had to say, "Hell? - Reasoning, there should be. - but not necessarily,...... Who cares about these things...... ”

"So, everyone from the dead family can meet?"

"Alas, do you meet or not? ...... "At this time, I knew that I was still a complete fool, and I could not stop any hesitation or plan from asking three questions, and I immediately became timid, and I wanted to turn over all my previous words, "That's ,...... Really, I can't tell ....... Actually, I can't say whether there are spirits or not. ”

I took advantage of her no longer immediately asked, took a step and left, and hurriedly fled back to the fourth uncle's house, feeling very uneasy in my heart. I thought to myself, I was afraid that she would be in some danger when I replied. She felt lonely because of the blessing of others, but could it mean something else? - Or do you have some sense of hope? If there is something else, and something else happens because of it, then I should be responsible for my answer....... But then I laughed to myself, feeling that occasional things have no deep meaning, and I want to scrutinize them carefully, and it is no wonder that the educator wants to say that he is having a nervous disorder; And I obviously said that I can't say it, and I have overturned the overall situation of the answer, even if something happens, it has nothing to do with me.

"I can't tell" is an extremely useful phrase. A brave young man who does not do anything more often dares to solve doubts and choose a doctor, and if the result is not good, he will probably become a complainer, but as soon as he ends with this inexplicability, he will be at ease with everything. At this time, I felt the necessity of this sentence even more, even if I talked to a begging woman, it was absolutely unavoidable.

But I always felt uneasy, and after a night, I still remembered it from time to time, as if with some sense of foreboding, in the gloomy snow, in the boring study, this uneasiness intensified. Let's go and go into the city tomorrow. The stewed shark fin in Fuxing Building, one yuan and a large plate, is cheap and good, and now I don't know if the price has increased? Although the friends who used to travel with me are gone, shark fin is a must-eat, even if it is only me ....... Anyway, I'm going to leave tomorrow.

In the boring study, this uneasiness intensified. Let's go and go into the city tomorrow. The stewed shark fin in Fuxing Building, one yuan and a large plate, is cheap and good, and now I don't know if the price has increased? Although the friends who used to travel with me are gone, shark fin is a must-eat, even if it is only me ....... Anyway, I'm going to leave tomorrow. In the boring study, this uneasiness intensified. No

The uneasiness intensified. No