"Mr. Liddell?!" Reverend Aldrich had already climbed out of the carriage by this time, and he ignored Brown and held out his hand to the middle-aged man behind him. His voice sounded a little more sober, as if he was a little embarrassed by the trance he was currently in.

"Rida, please call me Rida, Pastor," the other man stretched out his hand to shake the pastor's hand, "since we are in Shanghai, we have to follow the habits of the Shanghainese, don't we?" As he spoke, he tilted his head slightly in Gao Yi's direction, as if his next words were specifically aimed at Gao Yi, "Although according to British custom, Liddell's accent needs to be placed on the first syllable, but there is also a pair of 'Little' brothers in Shanghai, and Shanghainese people don't seem to understand the difference between 't' and 'd', so we Liddell decided to put the accent on the second syllable and change it to Ridda, and our descendants of this branch will keep this way of pronunciation." ”

"Little" is Little, "Liddell" or "Riddell" is Liddell, and Shanghainese 't' and 'd' do pronounce "de", although the tones are different, but they do pronounce the same when saying "little" and "liddell".

Gao Yi nodded in agreement, then stretched out his hand to greet him, "Hello, Mr. Rida." ”

"It's William Goyi lying in here, right?" The other party shook Gao Yi's outstretched hand, and then asked. His gaze crossed Gao Yi's shoulders and looked at the coffin in the carriage behind him.

"Yes, that's right." Gao Yi replied.

"Then I guess you must be William Gao Yi Jr.," Gao Yi clearly felt the enthusiasm transmitted from the other party's hand, "You know what? I knew you, but you were just a baby. ”

"Really?" Gao Yi's mind was half a beat slower than usual, unaware that this was a dangerous topic for him.

"Yes, I also know your mother Mei, in fact, I happened to be in Guangzhou the month you were born."

"Oh...... So, you're the old high...... My father's friend? Gao Yi reacted a little, and felt that something seemed to be wrong.

"Of course, your father and I are old friends, and we have done business together in Hankow and Harbin. But since he went to Guangzhou, we have been in a lot less contact. I only met him once when you were born, and of course, you and your mother. But by the time I go back to Canton in a few years' time, you've been heard from again, and," he paused, "I've heard that Mei has died, haven't I?" ”

"Yes, the plague in Canton." Gao Yi felt that his entire back was soaked in cold sweat in an instant, and he woke up a lot.

"I'm sorry to bring this up. You look so similar to Mei that I recognized it at a sight. He stared at Gao Yi's face and said after taking a closer look.

Gao Yi didn't know how he resembled the woman in the photo who was so wide that he could put down a ruler, and it was probably his mixed-race appearance that gave the other party a wrong first impression.

"How did he die? Is it calm? Rida glanced at the coffin of old Gao Yi, and then turned his gaze back to Gao Yi, "When Brown mentioned that his predecessor would be buried today, I guessed that it was poor old William, because his job was actually approved by me—I had a seat on the estate committee, and the Seamen's Evangelist would sometimes ask me to help them with some real estate matters—so when I saw the name William Gao Yi appear in front of my eyes one day, and apply for a job as a grave keeper, you can imagine, How amazed I was. I wondered how that was possible, William was a much richer guy than me, and he was more talented than me in business. But I sent someone to investigate it secretly, and it turned out that this William was an old friend of mine, much to my surprise—because I hadn't found you in Canton before, and I thought you had returned to Britain—but I decided not to contact your father first, you know, sometimes he just likes to live in isolation—"

Seeing Gao Yi nod in agreement, Rida continued, "So I decided to observe him secretly for a while to see if he really needed the help of an old friend, or if he just wanted to live quietly without being disturbed. So, I approved his job application, so that I was in a good position to take care of my old friend secretly, and I was able to know immediately when he needed me. But—" he paused, "and when I returned from my vacation in Hakone, I found that William had already left. I sent someone to look for him, but they didn't find him, but came back with the news that William Sr. was with his son. I thought, well, since William has his family by his side, I don't need to worry about the rest, so I withdrew my men and told them to stop searching. Just now, however, I learned the bad news from Brown. So, excuse my impatience, boy, and I want to find out if it was because of a mistake in judgment that caused you and William to be left out of help when they needed it most, and what misfortune befell you? ”

This passage is quite informative, and Gao Yi's dizzy brain hasn't had time to process it all for a while, but one thing can already be affirmed, that is, about his identity, the other party has not had the slightest suspicion. This made Gao Yi's hanging heart immediately return to its original position, and the whole person suddenly relaxed.

"No, we're living very well, and nothing bad has happened to us at all." Gao Yi replied.

Rida, however, stared at his face suspiciously, not seeming to believe his answer.

Gao Yi instantly understood this look, which was wondering how these injuries on his face came from - he had often seen similar expressions in other people's eyes in the past two days.

"My dad died in a rocking chair with his penistol in his arms, you know, when he's always happiest when he's holding a peng."

"Yes, of course I know, how much old William loved his smoking gun—so he left in happiness?" Rida raised an eyebrow.

"That's right, and we've been living well during this time, of course, and I'm not referring to how rich we are, in fact we live in a small room in a small hotel, which is not very spacious. But there are people who take care of our three meals a day, someone who helps us clean our room, as long as we pay a small amount of money and someone helps us pack our clothes, it can be said that there are no worries in life, and the life is very comfortable and peaceful. ”

"The small hotel is run by Chinese?"

"That's right!"

"You know what? When my people couldn't find your father, they told me he must have left the city, but I was 100% sure that he was in a small Chinese hotel. Smoking guns and Chinese are William Sr.'s favorites, how could I have forgotten this? ”

"And the hostess, the owner of this little inn where we stayed was a lady."

Rida laughed.

"Yes, smoking guns, Chinese, and Chinese women will always be William's love!" Although I haven't said goodbye yet, I already miss him a little. It's a pity that searching so many small Chinese hotels is beyond the reach of me and my manpower, otherwise I would have been able to really see him, instead of being separated by the boundary between life and death as I am now. Rida said this, pausing for a moment.

"Actually, I shouldn't have been here today," he continued, "but I thought I could see where old William worked, and maybe I could get some clues, so I came." It's really lucky to think about it now, but luckily it came today, otherwise I almost missed the last meeting with my old friends and, of course, the first time with my new friends. As he spoke, he raised his hand and patted Gao Yi's arm.

"I call this fate, sir." Gao Yi responded.

"Yes, it's fate, so let's finish this old fellow's fate! Pastor, it's time to wake up, the funeral has begun! ”

Pastor Aldrich was dozing off beside the carriage when he heard a cry from Rida, and was awakened.

**********

The tomb of the old Gao Yi is located closest to the river, and in the opinion of Gao Yi's two knives, there is wind and water, and the feng shui should be considered excellent. A hundred years later, it will be part of the Oriental Pearl Tower Park, facing west across the river and facing the British Consulate at No. 33 Waitanyuan, which is definitely a good place to live if you want to.

The cemetery was originally designed with a chapel, but it has not yet been completed, and prayer ceremonies can only be held directly next to the tomb.

The coffin was first placed a little further away from the tomb, and the lid was opened so that everyone could line up to see the remains. The crowd attending the funeral has expanded to more than sixty people, except for the twenty or so people who were drunk at the beginning, almost all of the people who came to see the excitement in the Xiangsheng shipyard remained, plus they came with Lida, making this bleak funeral that was originally only attended by Gao Yi look like a moment.

Gao Yi was the last to come to the coffin, and the old Gao Yi in the coffin was lying quietly, looking peaceful, and he couldn't see the joys, sorrows, and sorrows of the last moment of his life.

When Gao Yi returned to the crowd waiting by the tomb, the Scottish bagpipes sounded. This time it was no longer his auditory hallucinations, the bagpipes were taken from Rida's yacht and played by him himself, and there was nothing more fitting for a Scotsman's funeral than a song called "Amazing Grace."

Rida blows well, and the high-pitched and melodious kind of bagpipes that reverberate throughout the bay of the river, tearing at people's hearts, making people's emotions constantly aroused, piled up, and finally collapsing, but just as light must be born in darkness, new hope sprouts in sorrow, and new life is rooted in the corruption of death. It's a piece of music for all the dead.

The four crew members of the yacht carried the coffin slowly, rested it gently in front of the tomb, and when the haunting sound of bagpipes cleared in the wind, the priest Aldrich stepped forward. He stood by the coffin, stroked the Bible, and gave his words, and did not interfere with his work because of his drunkenness.

God full of mercy who dwells on high

Grant perfect rest on the wings of Your Divine Presence

In the lofty heights of the holy and pure

who shine as the brightness of the heavens

to the soul of William Cowie

who has gone to his eternal rest

…………

…………

After the prayer, Gao Yi stood beside the grave with a shovel in his hand, and he would shovel the first shovel of soil later.

Matsumo's two men slowly lowered the coffin with ropes and placed it at the bottom of the tomb.

At this time, Rida walked up to Gao Yi and put her hand on his shoulder. Just when Gao Yi thought he was going to say something, he only heard a familiar melody and lyrics in his ears:

Should old friends be forgotten? Never to be remembered again?

Should old friends be forgotten? Even if you have a good old time?

This is "Auld Lang Syne", which is also known as "Friendship Lasts Forever".

The Scots in the crowd sang along:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot，And never brought to mind？

Should auld acquaintance be forgot，For the sake of auld lang syne?

The lyrics of "Auld Lang Syne" are in Low Scottish, and the grammar is basically the same as that of English, in fact it should be considered more of a dialect of English. This was not difficult for Gao Yi, so he also sang along:

For the old days, my dear, for the old days,

Let's reminisce about the old together, reminisce about the past, and for the sake of the old days.

"Bah, Bah......" There was a burst of cannon sound and rumbling echoes rolling across the sky in the distance, which was the sound of Wusong Fort testing artillery on the other side of the river.

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp，And surely I'll be mine，

And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet，For auld lang syne!

We twahae run about the braes，And pou'd the gowans fine

…………

…………

After the funeral, all kinds of picnic equipment were transported from Rida's yacht to the cemetery, and soon a huge table covered with a white tablecloth was spliced together, and the dishes flowed from the ship's galley to this table. a suckling pig stuffed with fruit, a fat chicken coated in cream, a navy steak charred on the outside and tender on the inside, a goose pie the size of a small castle, a weird sturgeon with bare slices of half-human high; There were all kinds of small snacks, bread piled up like hills, butter and cheese cut as thick as the soles of shoes, and puddings and cakes so many that no one touched them; The most important thing is liquor, although there are only two types – wine and whiskey – but it is served as openly as tap water.

Aldrich was showing Rida how they got the wagon out of the coal carrier, and Ridrich suddenly asked, "Since the ship has left for Wusongkou, how are you going to get back?" Did another boat be arranged to pick it up? ”

Well, Gao Yi must admit that he had not thought of this at all before.