The sky was overcast, the drizzle was silky, and the cold wind of late autumn pressed down on the mountain beams and hit the neck.

The autumn wind swept the land mercilessly, and the crackling of firecrackers blasted the silent countryside. A group of mourning processions slowly walked along the mountain road. The mournful cry, the solemn sound of suona, gongs and drums, and firecrackers resounded all over the earth.

A black lacquered coffin with a big red cloth fell into the dirt well, and the earth fairy lifted the big red cloth, grabbed the big red rooster on the dragon bar and put it into the earth well.

The eight people carrying the coffin slowly loosened the dragon bar, and their expressions were sad. The mournful cry echoed in the valley: "Father, you have worked hard all your life, you have never eaten good, you have not worn good, so you went; Daddy......"

Third Uncle Wu stood in front of the doi and said faintly: "Second brother, you are finally free!" ”

The mournful sound of suona, gongs and drums stopped abruptly, the crying and mourning also stopped immediately, and the crackling firecrackers suddenly rang out, raising a puff of smoke in the dirt.

According to the rules of Zhuxian County, Sichuan, the coffin fell into the earthen well, the gongs and drums, suona, and the mourning of the female dependents had to stop, and the life of the deceased came to an end.

Wu Sifu stood in front of the doi, staring at the black coffin with his eyes, and there was not a single tear in his godless eyes.

The earth immortal dragged a long tone and Yiyi's singing words disappeared with the wind: "Kneel in front of the tomb of the filial son, and enter the fight to honor the righteousness." Fu Ding added blessing and longevity, and scattered valleys to produce children and grandchildren. A prostration—"

Wu Sifu and his son Wu Xiaotian, his sister Wu Hong, and his brother-in-law Li Jian knelt in front of the grave together, and the salt tea and rice beans of the earth immortals were scattered in their aprons like raindrops the size of beans.

"Two kowtows—"

The crowd bent down and kowtowed again.

"Three prostrations—"

The long aftermath of the earth fairy echoed in the gloomy sky. and they prostrated again.

After Wu Sifu's family kowtowed, they watched blankly as the people in the courtyard poured soil on the coffin. Behind him, the people of the same clan followed him and bowed down in front of the doi.

Sister Wu Hong, who wore her clothes backwards, according to the rules, after the memorial service, she first ran around her father's doi.

Aunt Wu had already broken off the cypress branches, inserted them one by one into the white filial piety cloth on the heads of Wu Sifu and others, and said to Wu Sifu with a solemn face: "Your father is gone, relieved." You're relieved, too. ”

Wu Sifu, who was wooden, suddenly burst into tears. From his father's breath to today's burial, the messy things kept his feet from touching the ground, and he never shed a single tear.

Now I heard Aunt Wu say that their father and son were relieved, and suddenly they were sad. For Dad, it was indeed a relief; But for yourself, where is the relief?

The debt of more than 20 yuan owed by my father's illness and my mother's previous illness is clearly like a mountain, which increases the burden on my body. Moreover, there is also a son Wu Xiaotian, who is in his third year of high school, who wants tuition and living expenses.

Thinking of this, Wu Sifu's tears couldn't be stopped and gushed out.

Wu Hong tugged at the corners of Wu Sifu's clothes, and said with red eyes: "Brother, let's go back!" ”

Wu Xiaotian came over and wanted to help his father go home. Wu Sifu shook his hand, wiped the tears and rain from his face, limped down the mountain beam, and walked home.

There is a funeral banquet in the courtyard, and the neighbors and villagers who are sending off the funeral are eating the last meal of the deceased Wu Yuanshou.

Wu Hong barely squeezed out a smile and greeted her uncle, aunt and uncle. Wu Sifu sat at the table sadly, his face full of stubble and his face haggard.

He picked up a bottle of beer and poured it into his stomach. Wu Hong hurriedly grabbed it and scolded in a low voice: "Brother, drinking on an empty stomach hurts your body."

You can't trample yourself like that! The debts owed by my father and mother are slowly trying to find a way to pay them off. As long as there are people, there is hope.

If you practice yourself like this, your body will collapse, and this family will be over! What should I do? He'll be admitted to university next year. ”

The cold wind blew the makeshift tarpaulin in front of the house. Wu Sifu's tears slipped quietly.

In the past, when his mother and father were alive, he always felt that no matter how much he borrowed, he could repay it, as long as his mother and father could survive.

Unexpectedly, the mother who was tormented by uremia died last year, and my father had a sudden cerebral hemorrhage this year, although he was rescued by surgery, he was paralyzed, bedridden all day, and lay in bed for several months, spending fifty or sixty thousand, and finally gave up himself.

Wu Xiaotian ate silently, his expression blank. He looked at his father, who had been white-headed overnight and suddenly senile, and his heart ached unbearably.

He made a resolute decision in his heart and went to his grandmother's house after eating. He's going to ask his grandmother where his mother is when she leaves home. When Grandpa left, Dad didn't inform Grandma's family, and I don't know what Dad thought.

Wu Sifu's home is located in the hinterland of Daba Mountain, halfway up the Wufeng Mountain, behind the house is the majestic Causeway Mountains, and the lush bamboo sea is a vast expanse; The river at the foot of the mountain is like a jade belt, and at this time it is like a gentle little sister next door, gurgling and flowing.

Wu Xiaotian walked in the ravine in a depressed mood, and the deep bamboo forests on both sides made a rustling sound. Occasionally, birds flutter among the bamboo forests, making the tranquil valley even more tranquil and silent.

Standing on the mountain beam, Wu Xiaotian saw his grandmother's Zhangjiawan from a distance. The large courtyard of Zhangjiawan is silent in the slanting wind and drizzle, and the houses stand in the vicissitudes of time.

Wu Xiaotian stood in front of his grandmother's door with a pair of mud feet. He really wanted to be like when he was a child, as soon as he arrived at his grandmother's house, he jumped over the threshold and shouted, "Grandma! Grandmother! But not today, he stood quietly at the door with a little resentment, waiting for his grandmother to appear.

Mrs. Zhang walked out of the house with chicken feed mixed with vegetable leaves and rice bran, and was about to scream loudly at the chickens and ducks in the yard, when she suddenly saw a person standing at the door, and was startled.

When Mrs. Zhang saw that it was her grandson, she hurriedly put down the chicken food, wiped her hands on her apron, stretched out her hand and pulled Wu Xiaotian into the house, and called affectionately: "Xiaotian, have you come to see grandma?" Come in, come in. ”

Wu Xiaotian was stubborn and reluctant to go in. Mrs. Zhang had a wrinkled face and said angrily, "You kid, you haven't been at your grandmother's house for so long." I came today, but I didn't enter the house. What are you here for? Are you going to me off? ”

"Where's my mom?" Wu Xiao asked stiffly.

"She's working outside!" Mrs. Zhang didn't know why. What kind of nerves does this kid have today, why do you ask this question again?

"Where do you work outside? What is her mobile phone number? Wu Xiaotian asked.

Mrs. Zhang looked at her tall, sunny and handsome grandson, and couldn't bear it, so she stretched out her hand and dragged her grandson, "Good, come in, grandma will make you something to eat." ”

Wu Xiaotian staggered into the hall of his grandmother's house. The hall is clean and tidy. A table of eight immortals and four benches were placed in the hall, and the table top was shiny and clean.

Wu Xiaotian still stubbornly stood still. He looked at the tablet of "Heaven and Earth Monarch Teacher" in front of the hall, and then glanced at the portrait of his grandfather who died early under the tablet.

Mrs. Zhang rubbed her eyes and sighed: "You said that you are a child, why are you so ignorant?" Your mother doesn't go out to work, stay at home and starve to death?

Your mother-in-law has been suffering from uremia for two or three years and often goes to dialysis. Your dad borrowed money everywhere and the family owed so much money. Your family is too poor to open the pot.

This year, your grandfather suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and went to a big hospital for surgery, and I heard that your father also went to the bank to take out a loan. Alas, what do you want to pay?! ”

"Just because the family owes debts, so my mother went out and disappeared? Leave me alone? Wu Xiaotian counted fiercely.

"What's your mom can do. Tell your dad to go out and earn money, your dad has bad feet and can't find a job. It's nothing if you can't find a job, but you're still arrogant. Mrs. Zhang continued to nag.

"Are you telling my mom's number?" Wu Xiaotian interrupted Mrs. Zhang's nagging, "Otherwise, when my mother calls you again, you will tell her that my grandfather is dead, and my father is very sad and sad."

I'm going to take the college entrance examination, and I don't have time to take care of my dad, so you call her back. If she doesn't come back, tell her never to come back, and I'll never have her as a mother. ”

"Your grandfather is dead?" Mrs. Zhang was very surprised. When his in-laws passed away, Wu Sifu didn't say a word, did he die for Pingping?

Wu Xiaotian didn't want to pay attention to his grandmother anymore, pouted, turned his head and walked out.

"Xiaotian, don't be busy, I'll get you some money." Mrs. Zhang shouted and walked to the back room.

Every time Wu Xiaotian came to see his grandmother, his grandmother always gave him a few hundred yuan. At first, he refused to ask for it, thinking that his grandmother was old and had a little money left, so why was he embarrassed to ask for it? Later, I vaguely felt that the money should have been given to me by my mother and grandmother.

Mrs. Zhang watched her grandson leave angrily, and the muddy old tears flowed: "My miserable screaming sky! ”

Daughter Zhang Pingping left home to work outside for more than 2 years and never came back. Back then, the matchmaker came to propose marriage to her, and when she saw Wu Sifu's lame leg, she was the first to disagree. Although Wu Sifu is a soldier who has been transferred to a military and has outstanding talents, Zhang Pingping panicked when she saw his lameness.

Mrs. Zhang saw that her in-laws Wu Yuanshou was generous, and the bride price she gave was a figure that was not within a radius of hundreds of miles, a full 6,000 yuan. If you want to come to his house, you must be rich. In addition, Wu Yuanshou is a well-known contemptuous craftsman, who can use bamboo and scorn skills, and has done a good job in the family sideline, and his daughter will not suffer a loss if he marries him.

Zhang Pingping listened to her mother's persuasion and tried to date Wu Sifu for a while. She found that Wu Sifu was fine with everything except for one inconvenient foot. After graduating from high school, he has knowledge, thoughts, and a taste for life, not only singing well, but also playing the flute melodiously. More importantly, he is very good to himself, although he is a man with five big and three rough, he can be careful and not lose to women.

I remember once going to his house, accidentally broke my foot on the mountain road, Wu Sifu carried him over the two mountains and returned home, immediately warmed her with a towel, and helped her to go to the toilet, guarded the door and kept asking if you were okay, and when she saw that she was out of the door, she hurriedly helped, so meticulous, patient and thoughtful.

Zhang Pingping was captured by Wu Sifu's iron tenderness, and the previous awkwardness gradually dissipated from her heart, and in the spring of the second year, she married into Wu Sifu's family in the welcome of gongs, drums and suona.