“…… Since the first gentleman's family started his business, he abandoned Xinye, went to Fancheng, passed Dangyang, ran to Xiakou, blocked the west and killed the south and the north, and it was easy to earn a country, and his father sat firmly in Xichuan. Who expected that Huang Hao was in the dictatorship of the court, and immediately forced Jiang Boyue to be in the tuntian, and the father listened to the absurd words of the witch, if it was the Dragon Boat Festival tomorrow, the clear water was sprinkled on the ground, and the seal surrendered, madam! Madam, you and I are dignified princes today, and tomorrow we will be shameless slaves to the country. Therefore, when I entered the palace as a farewell lady and killed myself, I could see the golden face of the first monarch's family, and second, I would be free from the humiliation of the thieves, these three came! I want to make a famous list in history, and let the people of the world know that I am a hero and a thief who does not bend his knees......"

The song "Crying Ancestral Temple" stopped; The old man who sang closed his throat, turned back to wipe his sweat and drink tea; A circle of people listening to the play applauded and shouted.

"Well sung! Ok, good, good! Not bad! Sing well......" There were many people in the crowd who coaxed, and Bao Xiaoxing also applauded warmly.

"Can you sing "Down the River East"? Hundred! Some of the relatives held up red tickets and shouted.

"Someone ordered, change it!" The leader of the self-music team shouted at the crowd with a microphone.

"Shiro's Mother?"

"I sang it at first, do you still sing it?" The leader with a thick hat asks the master of the play.

"Na...... Let's have a "Xuemei Hanging Filial Piety". ”

"I'm sorry, no one can sing this, you can change another one!"

"What about the Heroes?" The man holding a hundred-dollar bill asked.

"This is fine, but it's more expensive, one hundred and fifteen!" The leader made a one-hundred-five gesture in the air.

"One hundred and fifteen is one hundred and fifteen!" The two exchanged banknotes, and many in the crowd laughed and pointed out.

"Is there any drama left?" The leader of the self-music class asked.

"Will "Qilin Mountain" be sung? How much? "There is an old man in Guojia Village who stretched out his hand to play.

""Qilin Mountain" can, fifty!"

"Good! Click on "Qilin Mountain"!"

"Done!"

The leader took the money, pressed it under the water glass, and then asked the people, "Is there anyone else?" If no one clicks, sing "Down the River East", after singing, let's talk about it if you still have a little bit, let's do it! After speaking, he put down the microphone and said to the eight musicians behind him: ""Down to the East, let's go——"

Suddenly, the crunch of the erhu began to be tuned, the one who beat the drum spit on the palm of his hand and then rubbed his hands, the one who played the allegro picked up two allegro and put them in the air, the old man who sang stood up and cleared his throat, drank the last sip of tea with the suona, and lifted the two-sided cymbals like the lid of the pot when he played the cymbals. A few erhu sounds, all the instruments joined together, and the old man who sang the lead singer sang in a bright voice.

“…… Hedong City trapped the Song King Taizu, and a true son of heaven patrolled the camp day and night, and the golden armor wrapped the king every mile, and the poor yellow fat horse had not untied the saddle cage. , Wang has been on the throne for 20 years and has not been decided, and the five generations of chaos are all tyrants, and Zhao Xuanlang can't help but cry out in pain from the people. Carrying a dragon stick in his hand to fight the east and west, the east and west killed the three sides of the northern and southern wars, but they reversed the white dragon in Hedong, and the five kings and eight marquis all died. , there was no one in the corridor to lead the troops, Ouyang Fang took command of the king and misused the people, called Yanshou Pavilion as the first, and the soldiers were stationed in the Hedong camp......"

Bao Xiaoxing stood in the crowd for a long time, completely unable to understand what they were singing. I saw that the singer was subdued, heavy and powerful, and the people couldn't take their eyes off the listen, the corners of their mouths were open, and even many old women and little daughters-in-law were sandwiched in it and nodded gently along with the rhythm.

Singing and playing is the most lively process at the funeral in Weibei. After the liquor and the night feast, before the burial and burial, the night vigil is almost constant for several hours. Wealthy people directly set up a stage in the center of the village, next to the temple, invite a leading troupe to sing, and most people build a shed in front of their house and invite a few musicians to sing for one night. The eldest cousin also set up a platform at the door, originally invited eight musicians, and after the banquet in the evening, the second cousin proposed to add four more musicians, intending to make the funeral of the eldest aunt lively. After the musicians arrived at more than nine o'clock, the stage was expanded, the lights were dimmed, and the horns were connected, and the singing began officially at ten o'clock. At the beginning, the second cousin put down 1,000 yuan and ordered eight famous plays, and as soon as the news came out, it instantly attracted half of the village's men, women and children, and Hyosung also came to join in the fun.

After yawning a few times, it was already twelve o'clock when he saw his watch, Bao Xiaoxing was tired of listening, called Shangqihong, left the crowd, and went back to the house to find his sister-in-law. There are several braziers in front of the mourning hall, and a bunch of people sit around each brazier and chat; In the ceremonial room, the villagers of Guojia Village gathered together and said; In Tongyao's room, the eldest cousin and the second cousin smoked cigarettes and chatted intimately; Six or seven women on the back kitchen stove were talking and laughing; On the second floor, a group of juniors such as Kiryu, Jinsheng, Runsheng, and Tongyao gathered, and twenty or thirty people crowded together to play cards, relieve boredom, and eat melon seeds. Hyosung entered his aunt's room and saw eight or nine old men and old ladies still chatting, warm wine and hot tea were placed on the kang table, a large stove was placed on the kang table, and a large brazier was added in the center of the living room. Bao Xiaoxing saw that there was still a vacant seat on the hot kang, so without saying a word, he quickly took off his cotton shoes and got into the quilt; Qihong sat on the edge of the kang and relied on the stove to keep warm, and the two cousins sat next to their sister-in-law on the left and right, like children.

The other two people who chatted face-to-face with my sister-in-law were Guo Laohan, the cousin in the eldest cousin's village - with open teeth, crooked nose, thick leather jacket, not very old, and invincible; The other is the father-in-law of the eldest cousin - a mustache, a spotted face, a beret, and his ancestral surname is Liu, the third in line. Hyosung and Keihong each drank some hot water, and then turned their heads to listen to the old people rambling about old things.

"I'm going to talk about it. Oops, thirty or forty years ago. That year, my sister (Bao Xiaoxing's eldest aunt) sold peaches at the meeting, and it was probably the beginning of autumn at that time, and there were few people selling peaches. There is a rich family in my village, and the wife wants to eat peaches, and the daughter-in-law goes to the party to buy them. When I saw that my sister's basket of peaches was the largest, people praised them and said, 'Your peach is the best in the meeting', and my sister heard that something was wrong, and said, 'Then I can only sell your peach flesh, not your peach pit, if the family grows my seed, then what peach else can I sell'. Originally, the price was negotiated and the money was given to her, but she coldly snatched the basket and cut off all the peach pits in that basket with a knife! Oops! The daughter-in-law couldn't laugh or cry, and told everyone about it, and later found out that it was my sister. Don't hide it from him, I didn't dare to confront her for decades in my stomach, and now that I'm dead, I can finally say it! Haha......" The sister-in-law patted the quilt and laughed, and the other two also lowered their heads and laughed for a long time. Hyosung was amused and surprised when he heard it, and he looked at Qihong, lowered his head and pursed his lips to steal fun.

Liu Laosan, the eldest aunt's in-law and bearded beard, spoke: "She (referring to Bao Xiaoxing's eldest aunt) has a few towels that have been used up to get rid of the wadding and winding threads, and the white ones have become black, and they smell when they get close." I Xiaxia (Liu Laosan's eldest daughter and Guo Chaoyang's wife's nickname) really couldn't look at it, so I threw away the towels and replaced her with three new ones. For this! The old woman scolded Xiaxia a lot, scolded before meals, scolded after meals, and continued to scold the next day! When I went back to my parents' house, I was so aggrieved that I couldn't do it. I said Xia'er, think about it, a widow with two children, if she doesn't pick it, can she live this life? It makes sense when I hear it. Now although the conditions are good and the things are worthless, the mother-in-law can't change her temperament when she gets old, and she resolutely doesn't throw away the things if they don't rot! I don't know, I think my woman is Xiaxia and treats her badly! Huh...... Oops......"

"It's not easy for Chaoyang's mother! It was difficult for a widow to raise two sons, not to mention that one of them was offered to a secondary school or junior college! At that time, secondary school students were more popular! The old woman is all dependent on farming, raising pigs, cattle and sheep for supply. Back to the second child (Guo Chaoming) when school started, her mother sold a pig or sheep and saved a few hundred yuan for him as living expenses. When you are old, you are stubborn, you are stingy, and the credit still can't be buried! Guo Laohan, who had open teeth and crooked nose, said.

"Yes, yes, yes...... That's ......," the sister-in-law and cousin-in-law nodded yes.

Swallowing his saliva, Guo Laohan continued to speak: "Speaking of selling sheep, I remember one thing. The second child went out to herd sheep when he was young, and ran into the ditch with people, but a group of dolls only cared about playing and left the sheep behind. Chao Ming was so frightened that he didn't dare to go back, and he was still strolling around the wheat field at the head of the village at eight o'clock in the evening. I went down to the ground and came back to look at him, and I found out when I asked. I said, 'Master will take you back to see your mother', as a result, as soon as his mother heard that the old sheep was gone, he picked up the broom and beat it, hit dozens of times, beat all over the body, beat him deadly, Chao Ming was so painful that he didn't dare to shout, I was frightened on the side, the baby was only ten years old! I snatched the broom directly, and in a rage, I told him to kneel in front of his big tablet and kneel all night! Ha ha...... This old woman, capable is capable, so powerful that she is afraid! How many mothers-in-law in my Nanguo Village have her temper? You can't count to three! ”

"My sister has been better than me since she was a child, and she has a big temper when she stays at her mother's house. She's not just good at the dolls, but even more so with herself! Two days ago...... Oh! On the third day before she left, I called to come and see her, and Kiryu's daughter-in-law saw that I was coming to clean her house in advance. I sat down on the edge of her kang and before I could say a few words, she kept poking at the sheets - she couldn't speak. As soon as I touched the list, I knew what was going on. I asked her if she thought the sheet was new, and she squeezed her eye sockets; I said sister, you are paralyzed, incontinent, unable to speak, and still worried about the problem of this new list, she doesn't! shook his head vigorously and stared at his eye sockets, poked at the sheets and hummed, poking the sheets out of a nest! Oops, oops...... When I left at five or six o'clock that day, I greeted her and said that I was going back, and she was still poking the list - meaning let me tell her about Kiryu's daughter-in-law for her! Now think about it, isn't it funny? In three days, my life will be gone, and I still think of a list! After the sister-in-law finished speaking, she hummed and chuckled.

"Hmph......" Guo Laohan and his cousin-in-law shook their heads with a smile.

"When I came out of her room, I found Kiryu's daughter-in-law and pulled her over and asked her. I said, 'Huahua, why does your grandmother keep poking at the list?' The daughter-in-law immediately laughed! The baby said that she got up in the morning and pulled on the kang, the diapers were not blocked, no one in the house was willing to wash the list for her, Kiryu's daughter-in-law had bought more than a dozen of the cheapest lists from the meeting (assembly, rural market) to change for her, she was a pity! I can't help it! Before leaving, I'm angry about this, you tell me about my sister, haha, hey......"

The eldest cousin's father-in-law picked up his porcelain tea jar from the stove, drank a few sips of hot tea, covered the lid and continued to put it hot on the stove, then raised his head and said: "I'll tell you the truth, Chaoyang and I Xiaxia have soft temperaments, and they have been bullied by their wives all their lives. I Xia'er fried a vegetable oil and poured a small (small) spoonful, she didn't scold until she slept at night; Chaoyang is an honest pimple, and he can't do anything about her mother. Thanks to the past few years, I have Kiryu and his daughter-in-law, and I have spoken for his father and mother. The two of them didn't care, and replaced the old furniture in her room with a stubble, and she stared at it and didn't dare to say it! Once Kiryu and his daughter-in-law totaled, threw away her rotten clothes, the clothes smelled, sewing and mending for I don't know how many years, Kiryu's daughter-in-law thought well and bought her a knee-high down jacket as compensation, and the old woman couldn't see it! Pointing at Kiryu and scolding, Kiryu said that she couldn't help others, ahaha...... Chattering again, the babies are busy, who listens to her nagging! Outcome! She in turn scolded Chaoyang and me Xiaxia, and he didn't know what to do and was scolded for several days! After saying these words, the eldest cousin's old father-in-law kept shaking his head and laughing.

"Xiaxia has a soft temperament, and Kiryu's daughter-in-law is also soft, but people are not afraid of her. I see, Kiryu's daughter-in-law doesn't treat her as an opponent at all, she nagged her, people are busy, and she can't be interfered with at all, and she can't help it! My sister criticized this and that all her life before me, and I don't think she ever said Kiryu daughter-in-law! Ha ha...... Lively isn't it? It's really a thing for a thing. The sister-in-law explained.

After a pause, Guo Laohan rubbed his hands on the stove to keep warm and spoke: "I don't know what year, my wife raised a cat for about seven or eight years. Later, the old cat was lost, and she became a wild cat, and she searched for a few days in the village and did not find it again. A few months later, the old cat came back, the back two legs were paralyzed, the first two legs dragged the body step by step to her house, she thought the cat had a car accident or something, anyway, she was very happy to come back. As a result, if you take a closer look, the cat balls are gone! It was cut off with a knife by a broken doll in my village. She was so angry! Anyone who has a doll scolds in front of the door door from house to house, scolding for several days! The people in the village also asked me, 'Is your nephew and daughter-in-law in the back alley crazy?' Ah...... Tell me about it, you offended half of the villagers! Hmph......haha"

"Awesome is awesome, my sister is still kind-hearted! I often see her feeding the finches or something, and when I meet someone on the road who asks for food, she can't help but give some if she has something to eat. ”

That year, she went to her second child's house, and the toilet of the house Chao Ming bought was separated from the kitchen by a wall. When the second daughter-in-law was cooking, she went to the toilet, but it was so loud that both sides were embarrassed. After that, the old woman was so scared that she didn't dare to go to the toilet, and she held it for several days! The people in the village laughed so hard when they talked about it, the old woman had never been to her second child's house since the beating, and she was afraid of disturbing others! ”

"Hmmm! My own mother said that it was complicated and complicated, and it was simple to say that it was simple. I have dealt with her for decades, and the grievances are clear, and there is something to say, and nothing is involved. Moreover, the old woman never takes advantage of you! Like my in-laws in Fujiawan and my son and his father-in-law, they move around closely, but there are many contradictions. Chaoyang's mother is not very close to relatives, villagers, and people in her own house (cousins), and there are fewer contradictions, and the simpler the relationship, the less annoying. At this point, it seems that people are still wise. There is a rift between siblings and cousins, and it is the most difficult to deal with. ”

"Hmm...... Yes, yes, yes. My sister-in-law and Guo Laohan nodded in agreement.

After a few sighs, Guo Laohan roasted the fire and continued: "You said that she slammed the door, sometimes she is very generous." When Tong Yao was in college, she inexplicably gave Yaoyao 2,000 yuan, and everyone in the room was stunned. She usually gets along with people without pulling out a dime, breaking between catties and pounds, and people wonder how she saved so much money, and gave it all to Yaoyao in one go! Her own house is funny and angry, and only Yaoyao can get all her money out! The old woman is an iron rooster to others, but it hurts Yaoyao so much! ”

"Yes, yes, yes! Yaoyao also loves her grandmother. I came back from Tongyao University and bought a bottle of nail polish, and the girl prefers those, and came back to dye it for her mother and sister-in-law, and finally saw that there was a little bit left, and she also dyed it for her grandmother. When the old woman heard that the nail polish on her ten fingers was worth more than ten yuan, she was so frightened that she didn't dare to move her hands, and she didn't get wet or wash her face for two or three days. My cousin's father-in-law said.

"Last year, Kiryu's daughter-in-law bought her half a catty of braised beef at the meeting, and the daughter-in-law chopped her into minced pieces and put them in a lunch box and next to her pillow. She was reluctant to eat it, so she forced the beef to spoil! Kiryu's daughter-in-law wanted to throw it, but she shouted that she wouldn't let it be thrown, scolding and scolding. It's not the same with diapers! She thought to herself that this diaper is not cheap, and kept asking how much it is, but when people said that she was distressed and didn't dare to use it, she couldn't help it, and she couldn't leave the money when she was distressed, you tell me about my sister - in the end, I can't put anything down! Day by day, I am entangled in these things, and my temper is so stubborn that no one listens! "The sister-in-law complained about the eldest aunt.

The three elders bowed their heads and chuckled, oops, and sighed for a long time, and Hyosung sat next to him and listened more seriously, and couldn't help but feel pity and admiration for the eldest aunt in his heart. In the early years, my father had a bad relationship with my eldest aunt, and one thought that the other party did not look like the eldest sister; One suspects that the other party is idle and wastes his days and waits for death, the sister and brother are not used to each other, and the two families naturally have less contact, resulting in Bao Xiaoxing's impression of the eldest aunt has always been average. Now listening to this ridiculous past, at the age of not being confused, she understands it, and she is sad and respectful.

Bao Xiaoxing was so tired that he was paralyzed, but he was still reluctant to sleep, and his brain was happily bathed in the bits and pieces of his aunt's life, love and hatred, love and hatred. It's past two o'clock in the morning, and a group of old men and old ladies in the aunt's room are not tired, they are tearing in a pile, and the theme is all about the eldest aunt - good and bad, all become farewells, farewell to the old people and the past in this room.

Laughter is the best memorial in the world.

At three o'clock in the morning, He Zhiyuan still did not fall asleep. Recently, everything is in my mind. The man couldn't help but speculate about what the Mercedes-Benz man's purpose was for Gui Ying, why he was always by Gui Ying's side, why the two were so close, and why Gui Ying thought of asking for help from that person in a crisis...... Tonight's incident Zhiyuan kept blaming himself for not appearing in front of his wife at the first time, blaming himself for not convincing the taxi driver to drive to the viaduct, blaming himself for his own safety first when his wife needed him......

It's been a lot of trouble lately. Gui Ying was so busy that she was dizzy, but she was so anxious that she couldn't rest day and night. Since he started looking for his former job as a teacher, he has been revising his resume and sending his resume every day, and he imagined that he was superior and qualified, but the reality snubbed him harshly. It's been days and not a single reply. He Zhiyuan destroyed his bottom line again and again - the school location is getting farther and farther away from home, and it is so far away that it is acceptable to travel for an hour and a half; He used to only send high school teachers, but now he can also be a Chinese teacher in a junior high school or vocational and technical school; The treatment of hope ranges from high to unspeakable; Even if you are not a regular worker, he can accept a labor dispatch or outsourcing contract...... The middle-aged man retreated again and again, and recently looked through thousands of recruitment positions, and he was very few qualified, and he naively thought that he might have good luck if he blindly voted for some.

Disappear off the face of the earth.

The saddest thing is that he is 45 years old this year, and 90 percent of the application conditions for teaching positions clearly say "under the age of 35", and rarely tolerate the words "under the age of 40". Aside from academic qualifications, what could be more desperate than age as a career deadline?

How will he survive in the rest of his life? Could it be that being a soft rice man has been raised by Gui Ying? Why can't you bear to watch your wife be busy at every exhibition? Ashamed, He Zhiyuan, a former high school model teacher and excellent class teacher, and a middle-aged man who has been out of the workplace for five years, has quietly expanded the scope of his work. Secretaries, museum docents, librarians, community workers, and cultural center staff who need to write in writing...... At this age, there is nothing to do. Unfortunately, he thought that the recruitment conditions for the very good position were written with a doctoral degree, and he felt that the recruitment conditions for the position were okay were marked as fresh graduates, and he persuaded himself to reluctantly accept the position with the entry conditions indicated that he was under the age of 35...... Why, isn't there a suitable position in the city for him, a middle-aged man of forty-five?

With a fluke, he sent countless resumes.

In the end, there was no reply.

In the workplace, it is easy to get in and out when you are young; After middle age, there is no entry and exit. He had only been away from his post for five years, and he felt that he could not go back. If one day Gui Ying loses his job for some reason, then what will his family do? Zhiyuan has recently understood his wife's madness at every exhibition, and the more he understands, the more distressed he feels. He once thought that his wife's desperate efforts were caused by Gui Ying's love of money from a small place, and he always persuaded Gui Ying not to work so hard to put himself in it, but now he knows the burden and sorrow on the shoulders of his family. The well-off and small wealth of the original family, 26 years of study and schooling, 18 years of teaching and educating people on the high school campus, and five years of detachment from society and taking care of his daughter without worrying about money - He Zhiyuan has been comfortable for most of his life. Because of his comfort, he is a little overhead, so he often takes his parents' 26-year support for granted, regards his wife's repayment of the mortgage as an accidental, lucky or common phenomenon, and regards Gui Ying's step-by-step planning to buy a car, save money, make investments, and buy insurance as should, natural, and logical.

He always thought that he understood his wife, and the experience of living abroad and looking for a job during this period of time clearly told him that he had not realized the depth and burden of Gui Ying over the years.

He Zhiyuan worshipped the woman in front of him like never before, and he was so pityful as much as he worshipped. Ma Guiying is not only his wife, the mother of his children, and her family in the legal sense, but also He Zhiyuan's benefactor, buddy, and only best friend over the years. She knew all her secrets, she could reach her own jokes or arguments, and she shared his barren and boring life. She sleeps with herself in a bed and a quilt, struggles with her youth, shares her parents and brothers together, becomes someone else's parent together, inherits the joy of family together, and grows old together...... He Zhiyuan can't remember the last time he wore formal clothes, he obviously fell a long distance from Gui Ying, and he clearly closed himself off from society as his father-in-law said.

In the world that he unconsciously gradually closed, Zhiyuan is only left with Gui Ying, a confidant and old friend.

So, how could he possibly afford to lose Gui Ying? Even if it's drifting away from her. Losing Gui Ying is equivalent to losing yourself. Should he ask Gui Ying who that person is? Why didn't Gui Ying take the initiative to tell her that she had a new good colleague or friend? Should he voice the jealousy in his heart? After all, that person is more personable, broad-minded, humorous, and excellent and successful than himself. Should he tell the story of his recent loneliness and uselessness? I could get some encouragement from Gui Ying—the only encouragement he had in the world, the only encouragement that worked.

At ten o'clock, Gui Ying fell asleep, and he went to close the door and found that the door lock was broken. After the door lock is broken, the first reaction of a middle-aged man is to sit on the sofa and deliriously check the Internet: What are the signs that the door lock of the door at home is broken? Is it good luck or bad for family members to witness a car accident? How do you exorcise evil spirits when a family member is frightened?

Near eleven o'clock, when his father-in-law repaired the door lock with a screwdriver and a flat-head board, He Zhiyuan was extremely surprised. He didn't know what he was doing for most of the hour. What makes you unaware, trance-like, and uneasy? Impotent? Fail? Self-doubt? Old? Or is it fate...... In an instant, He Zhiyuan felt that he was a lot older, and he didn't seem to be able to deal with the problems he should have dealt with, nor did he have the ability to take the responsibilities he should have.

Terrified.

(End of chapter)