The fiery red moon of the Midyear Festival climbed the mountain beam in the distance, like a large iron ball freshly calcined in a blacksmith shop, bright and wrapped in a black shell that had receded in temperature, and the scorching heat was ready to take off in the body. A few wisps of green clouds floating around the moon were like white mist raised when a hot iron ball was quenched. The creatures of the earth were burned to death by the sudden heat, and they had no idea that misfortune would come before tomorrow. The village is filled with a strong smell of burning paper, a smell that is unique to the Midyear Festival, and this smell will continue for the next few days, along with the black marks left by the paper fire, which reminds people of the importance of ancestor worship. The smell of the burnt melon of the children's melon lanterns stimulates their childhood memories, and smelling this smell in the future of their lives can bring them back to the memories of the Midyear Festival. The memories are full of euphoria, revelry, excitement and secrets.

Shen Bing saw the strong atmosphere of the Midyear Festival for the first time in the countryside, and the piety of the people made her feel strange, and this sense of ritual made her feel a little too exaggerated. After only burning a few pieces of paper money, she ran to the pomegranate tree to watch Wang En's parents perform the show of sincerity and fear. The firelight illuminated the entire courtyard and also reflected Shen Bing's blurred face, and the black mole on the corner of his mouth was particularly shiny, as dazzling as the North Star in the night sky where the stars were shining. The small pomegranate with the stamens still on the tree was illuminated and ripened early. In the courtyard, all the shadows illuminated by the fire swayed under the intermittent blowing of the stingy summer wind, and the shadows were full of tired figures. The street lamps in the courtyard surrounded many mosquitoes, flies, and moths, and flying insects with carapace slammed into the glass cover of the incandescent lamp and made a "thump" sound, like the dull sound of a bullet hitting the dirt on a shooting range. Tiny mosquitoes and flies are densely wrapped around the bright path under the lampshade, forming a spiral-like shape, like a tornado in Texas, USA, which makes people restless. A few high-spirited moths did not want to follow the crowd and flew to the burning paper money fire in the yard, and as soon as they felt the heat and luminosity of the fire, they were licked off by the cruel tongue of fire. In this conjecture, the vigorous promise was dissipated without leaving a trace of what had been there in the passionate frenzy. The moth's weak body was destroyed in the flames, just as the love story that touched it was as worthless in history.

The chirping of insects, which had been echoing inside and out, had become the lamentation of only distant companions, and the few gnats that had escaped from the furnace let out a lonely wail along the corner.

Wang Xinghai doused the last sparks with water, and the water vapor fluttered in the yard with confetti. Ni Fengxia cleaned up the melons, fruits, dishes and vegetables in the yard, and asked Wang En to put the tables, chairs and benches into the house. The previous lively human voices were also absorbed by the darkness, and occasionally there were a few dogs barking and rooster crowing, and the dog's barking continued, but the rooster that crowed at night was cut off by the owner's house. The crowing of a rooster at night in the countryside is regarded as an ominous omen, and it is even more disturbing on this night when ghosts and ghosts are haunted. The owner ran into the chicken pen in the cattle pen, several hens were already asleep in the chicken coop, the rooster standing on the cattle pen made a "clucking" sound when he heard the sound, there was a kind of power driving it to try its best to resist, that was just the drive of the soul, the rooster at night had no strength to resist at all, and the heart was more than enough and the strength was insufficient to let him obediently tie his hands and arrest him. The head of the chicken must be placed on the threshold of the hall, and the head of the chicken rolls off instantly, and the sound of resistance that has just been made is gradually weakened as the head of the chicken rolls down to the ground.

When Wang En was washing his feet, there was a commotion in the house next door, and it was a group of people around a person who was discussing and at a loss. Wang Xinghai had already heard the sound and ran out of the hall, Wang En put away his half-washed feet, and asked Wang Xinghai who ran out of the house, "What's wrong?" Father! "I don't know! I'll go and see" "I'll go too, see if I can help" "Don't go!" Rest early! Saying that, Wang Xinghai ran out of the yard. Wang En put water and washed the other foot that had not been washed, put on his shoes and wanted to turn around and walk. Shen Bing was rinsing his mouth next to him, toothpaste foam was applied to the corners of his mouth, and he asked Wang En in a slurred voice, "What's wrong?" ”

"I don't know. You sleep first, I'll go over and see. ”

"Don't! I'm scared, wait for me, I'll go with you. Shen Bing spit out the foam in his mouth and said.

"Hurry up!"

Shen Bing soaked, swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, wiped the toothpaste foam that was still on his mouth with his arm, and pulled Wang En to run over.

"You like to watch the fun!" Wang En said as he ran.

"Look at your size, I can't sleep well."

"Then you don't sleep yet, what kind of coaxing is you following!"

"Today, your house is burning paper money and lighting incense and candles, which makes the whole yard deeply cloudy, so I don't dare to sleep alone!"

"You mean you want me to sleep with you!" Wang En let out a mischievous and funny laugh.

"You want to be beautiful. I sleep in the bed, you make the bunk. Sleep with ropes to trap your hands and feet. ”

"Then I'll sleep by myself, I'm going to wet the bed when I'm anxious to urinate in the middle of the night."

"Poof... How old are you and still wet the bed! ”

"It's not a big deal, it's a ...... Huh! I won't tell you."

"Halfway through talking, you must not be a hero!"

Lu Jianguo's house next door was already a scene of chickens flying and dogs jumping, the neighbors who rushed over after hearing the sound were crowded outside the door, his son Lu Dewei was waving a kitchen knife everywhere with a kitchen knife in his hand, and Lu Jianguo's family of five who were forced to be in a corner were so frightened that their faces turned pale. Lu Jianguo held a flat pole in his hand and shouted in front of him, "You brute, my family has no grudge with you in the near future, and there is no enmity in the long future, what revenge do you have for my family." ”

"Hahaha...... Do you have a grudge to ask your ancestors, today I want your family's blood debt to be repaid..."Lu Dewei's face was hideous, and his voice was reckless, obviously it was no longer himself.

Shen Bing was so frightened when he saw this scene that he hid behind Wang En tightly.

Wang Xinghai stood outside the door and shouted, "Dewei, what are you doing here?" ”

Lu Dewei obviously didn't react to someone calling him an expression. Still there, he immediately let out a weird laugh at his family.

"Don't ask! This kid has been ghosted. Lu Jianguo, who was holding the flat pole inside, said in a trembling voice.

"Ahh What should I do? "Bring him here...", "Go and ask Mr. Shao to catch ghosts...", the people outside the door chattered.

"That's right! Go and invite Mr. Shao to come! His father, Lu Gaonian, who was hiding behind Lu Jianguo, said in a trembling voice. His chin, an inch long, and his black and white goatee trembled with his voice.

Shen Bing behind Wang En grabbed him tighter, and after getting rid of the painful arm, he could see blood marks, and Wang En was also bitter.