When Leng Yi was anxious about Zhuo Qiaoniang's illness, there was another person in Bazhou City who was also very anxious, and he was also anxious about a woman, but the woman he was anxious about was not a woman who was seriously ill and had never seen each other.

This man's name is Wu Qi, and he is a guy from a coffin shop in Bazhou City. In the evening, the shopkeeper and the man all went home, he was single, and the shopkeeper arranged for him to live alone in the coffin shop to watch the shop, and gave him an extra hundred dollars every month. He was also bold, and when he saw that there was money to be made, of course he agreed.

He had been guarding the coffin shop at night for a long time, and nothing had happened. A few days ago, there was an incident, but it was not haunted, nor was it a bad thing, and of course it was not a good thing, and this matter had nothing to do with him, but it gave him a blessing.

Here's the thing: That day, Wu Qi was watching business in the coffin shop. The coffin shop is like this, it doesn't bargain, it's all a fixed price. And the price is relatively high. However, this thing is not a commodity, and no one will come to ask for it until it is needed. So it was not open for three years, it was open for three years, and there were usually no customers, and sometimes there was no customer for ten and a half days, and no one came to the coffin shop to hang out. He was the only one in the dark coffin shop. The shopkeeper was drinking tea in the back room, and he would not come out without any guests. There was only Wu Qi in the front shop, and the other two guys happened to be sick, and the other didn't come when he asked for leave.

Wu Qi took a long bench and sat sideways by the door of the store, looking at the pedestrians on the street with Erlang's legs crossed, coming and going.

He was just looking at it, and suddenly his eyes lit up, and he saw a young daughter-in-law walking slowly in the distance!

Oh, that's a rare sight! You must know that in ancient times, young women generally did not go out, but they just went out, usually by sedan chair or donkey cart or something, so the streets were full of men, and if there were women, they were generally old women, no matter how bad they were, they were middle-aged women whose hair began to turn gray. It is rare to see such a young daughter-in-law in her early twenties, still walking slowly along the street. It's really rare, and it's true, and many pedestrians on the street stop to look at her.

The little daughter-in-law ignored it completely, just lowered her head and walked forward.

Wu Qi swallowed saliva, he is still single in his twenties, his parents are dead, he has no money to ask for a woman, he has grown so big, let alone touched a woman, even such a young woman is rarely seen, and now that he sees it, he can't help but be short of breath, his mouth is dry, and his eyes are hooked, for fear that if he flashes, the woman will disappear out of thin air. I hope that she can walk a little slower, it is best to walk half a step, stop, walk another half step, stop again, even if she hasn't walked over this day, then it is applauded!

However, the woman's steps were not slow, and in a few moments she had already walked past the door of their shop.

Wu Qi was very disappointed in his heart, he looked at the back of the little daughter-in-law, the bun coiled on her head, the slender waist, the round buttocks, and the slender legs, Wu Qi tried his best to let his eyes remember her figure, so as to leave him an endless aftertaste.

Suddenly, Wu Qi's heart jumped violently, because the woman stood still, as if she was pondering something. Yes, yes, don't rush, think slowly! Wu Qi kept praying in his heart, just like this, he would be able to feast his eyes on it.

He looked at the little woman greedily, and for a moment his heart beat faster, for he saw that the woman had turned and was walking back!

Oops, great! Wu Qi's heart was pounding, and he swallowed a few more saliva. Intently watching, closer, she approached, walked in front of herself!

This little daughter-in-law actually walked in front of her!

Wu Qi's face was red suddenly, thinking that the little daughter-in-law had discovered his dirty actions and came to him for a theory, so he quickly stood up, but he was mixed by the bench and almost fell, so he quickly held on to the door frame, looked at the little daughter-in-law, opened his mouth, and stammered: "I'm sorry for ......, I'm sorry......"

Wu Qi spoke, his eyes were still reluctant to move away from this girl's face and body, and now that he was facing each other, he noticed that in fact, this little daughter-in-law was not so beautiful, although her eyes were a melon seed face, her skin was too dark, and she seemed to be often exposed to the ground, and it was a little rough, and her eyes were also a single eyelid, and they were not big, but watery. ――There was too much water, and later Wu Qi learned that people were crying, and those were tears. The little daughter-in-law's mouth is relatively thin, and there is no blood, in short, it can only be regarded as a little bit of posture at most. However, in Wu Qi's eyes, it is already quite beautiful, especially the bulging chest, which is almost going to make him brilliant on the spot!

Wu Qi apologized a little inexplicably, which made the little daughter-in-law a little confused, she looked at Wu Qi, and said in a choked voice: "Big brother, are you a coffin shop?" ”

Wu Qi hurriedly said in a loud voice: "Yes! Yes, yes! It's a coffin shop. It's a coffin shop! ”

The little daughter-in-law hurriedly said, "I want to buy a small coffin, okay?" ”

"Huh? Coffin? This ......, okay! Okay! Only then did Wu Qi know that the little daughter-in-law of the family came back, not to find him to theorize that he was staring at others, but to buy a coffin. Wu Qi breathed a sigh of relief, but his heartbeat was faster, which meant that he could see her for a while longer, was there anything more exciting than this? Hurriedly took away the stool, bent her waist and let her in, and at the same time, turned his head and shouted inside: "Shopkeeper! The guest officer is coming! ”

The shopkeeper of the coffin shop, surnamed Guan, heard it and hurried out of the back room. Seeing the little daughter-in-law, I was slightly stunned, generally speaking, almost all the customers who came to the coffin shop were men, no matter how bad it was, it was just an old woman, like such a young daughter-in-law came to buy a coffin, but it was unique. hurriedly greeted him, and said, "What do you have the little lady's command?" ”

In the coffin shop, you generally can't directly ask people if they buy coffins, if so, that's fine, if not, you will be scraped by big ears. So it's all vague to ask.

The little daughter-in-law nodded slightly, and was about to speak, and her tears were already flowing down like pearls with broken threads. Choked up and said: "I ......, my son is gone, and I want to buy a small coffin, but I don't have much money, I don't know if it's enough?" So saying, he took out the money from his bulging bosom, and in his palm came a handful of copper coins, among which were small pieces of broken silver.

Shopkeeper Guan glanced at it and said, "Your sum is less than a thousand Wen." The cheapest small coffin also costs 4,000 Wen. It's not enough! ”

The little daughter-in-law slowly withdrew her hand, held it, and cried: "My poor son, my mother can't even buy you a coffin, what can I do......

Wu Qi was in general, and he was too addicted to looking at her figure and appearance, but when he heard this, his sympathy was overflowing, and he said to the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, look how pitiful she is!" Otherwise, you can give her a cheaper price. Wu Qi knew that the cost of the coffin was less than five hundred wen. Even if you sell her for a thousand yuan, you still have to make money.

The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "The coffin shop doesn't charge the price!" ”

The little daughter-in-law wiped her tears, and looked at the shopkeeper pitifully: "Shopkeeper, you can pity me, sell me less!" My son died of illness, and all the money I saved was used to buy medicine for my son, and there was no money left. ”

"Where's your man?"

"My man ......?" The little daughter-in-law looked desolate, "He's just a young guy who runs a business with others, and he can't make money, and now, he is still running business outside, and he hasn't come yet, and he doesn't know that his son has died of illness." ”

Only then did Wu Qihe Guan know why her little daughter-in-law came to buy the coffin in person, and it turned out that his man was not at home.

The shopkeeper shook his head and said: "I'm sorry, the coffin shop doesn't bargain, this ancestral rule, can't I break the rules, little lady, you still have to find a way to make money!" ”

The little daughter-in-law cried even more sadly, her shoulders shrugged, and she begged uncertainly, but the shopkeeper just refused to give the price, and in the end, seeing that the little daughter-in-law really couldn't take out the money, the shopkeeper Guan was not interested, so he said that he still had something, and asked Wu Qi to say hello, and he turned around and went into the back room.

The little daughter-in-law begged Wu Qi. Wu Qi naturally couldn't be the master, scratched his ears and cheeks in a hurry, and said, "Why don't you go to another coffin shop and ask again?" They may have pity on you and sell it to you cheaply, or maybe they can't do it. ”

The little daughter-in-law cried mournfully: "I went, and I went to all the coffin shops in the city." None of them will give in to the price. What can I do, my poor boy......"

Wu Qi saw that he was crying sadly, so he said in a low voice: "Otherwise, you go and beg the shopkeeper again, I think he is still a little kind-hearted, you beg him well, maybe, he will be soft-hearted, and sell you a small coffin at a discount, and you can restrain your son." ”

The little daughter-in-law looked at Wu Qi with tears in her eyes, as if she was checking that what he said was true. Wu Qi hurriedly nodded, said to the inner house, and lowered his voice again: "If you want to beg, you have to take advantage of it now, our lady is not here, the shopkeeper can be the master, otherwise, the lady will come in the evening, and the shopkeeper is most afraid of the lady, even if the shopkeeper is willing, he will not be able to help you!" ”

The little daughter-in-law nodded gratefully, and the little broken step went inside.

Wu Qi was disappointed that her back disappeared at the door of the inner room, blinked her mouth, and sat back on the bench. This time, he didn't look at the pedestrians on the street outside the door, but just waited for the little daughter-in-law in the back room to come out, so that he could feast his eyes again.

But waiting left and right, she just didn't come out, and she didn't know what to say, which was worrying. Moreover, the shopkeeper also closed the door of the back room. I don't know what I'm whispering.

Finally, the door opened, and the little daughter-in-law came out, hanging her head, the tears on her face were gone, but her face was even paler.

The shopkeeper Guan also came out, with a straight face, and said to Wu Qi: "You help this little lady send a coffin to her home, and by the way, help him collect the funeral." ”

Wu Qi listened to the shopkeeper who didn't say anything about the money, and directly let himself deliver the goods, obviously it had been negotiated, and he was very happy for the little daughter-in-law, but he didn't dare to show a smile on his face, this is the business of the coffin shop, no matter how happy he is, he can't show a smile, especially in front of the family of the deceased. He hurriedly agreed, pointed to the large and small coffins displayed in the rows next to him, and said to the little daughter-in-law: "Madam, which one to choose?" ”

"Just the smallest bite."

Wu Qi was a little hoarse when he heard the voice of his little daughter-in-law, presumably because his son died, and he cried sadly. However, even the smallest coffin is divided into different grades, the good one costs twenty or thirty two, and the bad one is four or five taels, I don't know if the good one is still bad. He turned his face to look at the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment and said, "Take a good bite and give it to her, it's pitiful." ”

Wu Qi was a little surprised, he knew that the shopkeeper actually had a good heart, and it was already very generous to buy the cheapest bite for his little daughter-in-law at a discount, but he didn't expect to give a good one. The little daughter-in-law's money is not even enough.

Wu Qi looked at the shopkeeper Guan and thought that he had heard it wrong: "Is it good?" ”

"Hmmm! Go for it! ”

Wu Qi stuck out his tongue, thinking that he had underestimated the kindness of the shopkeeper, it seems that the shopkeeper is really a kind person! Hurriedly took the coffin ingot and stuffed it into his arms, then took a hammer, put it on the belt of his waistband, bent down and picked up the smallest high-grade coffin, carried it on his shoulder, and went out of the coffin shop.

The little daughter-in-law then followed, without even saying a word of thanks to the shopkeeper. This made Wu Qi a little strange, thinking that this little daughter-in-law was too good at dealing with people, so she gave up more than half of the profits, so she had to thank her.

The little daughter-in-law quickened her pace and walked in front to lead the way, Wu Qi resisted the coffin and followed behind, and the people on the road avoided it when they saw it, and some of them spit on the ground and whispered bad luck. These Wu Qi are used to it and turn a blind eye. Just keep your head down and follow. Of course, there were those who looked at them with sympathy, but mainly at the poor little daughter-in-law.

Finally, when I got to the ground, it was a simple little house with no yard, and there was a white paper lantern and a white paper spirit flag on the door. The door was closed, and there were several old ladies standing next to them, holding their hands and looking, and seeing the little daughter-in-law coming with a man carrying a coffin, they were a little surprised, and whispered, but they didn't come to help.

As if she hadn't seen them, the little daughter-in-law took out the key, opened the door, and entered the house.

Wu Qi took the small coffin off his shoulder, held it in his arms, and followed him into the house. There are two suites in the house, the outer room is the kitchen, the earthen stove is cold, there is no fire, an earthen bowl is placed on the stove, and there is half a bowl of brown rice in it, but there is no vegetables. The chopsticks fell to the ground. By the stove, there was a small pile of firewood.

Wu Qi turned his head to look at the little daughter-in-law, and saw that she had already entered the back room, so he followed in.

As soon as he entered the inner room, he smelled a strong smell of corpses, and when Wu Qi sent the coffin, he often helped the servants collect the corpses for others, and by the way, he earned a little money for washing his hands. Therefore, he was very familiar with this smell, and knew that such a corpse had stopped for at least five days. When I looked down, I saw a straw mat on the ground, and on the mat, the body of a baby was lying, covered with a white cloth. It smells of smoky corpses. I couldn't help but feel sympathy, looked at the little daughter-in-law, and thought to myself, pity her, a lonely and weak woman, her husband is not at home, and the neighbors do not help, so she can only bear the pain of losing her son alone with her thin shoulders.

(To be continued)