Laymen call it "coffin bearer", and insiders call it "Eight Immortals" or "Lifting Weight". Why is it called "Eight Immortals"? The funeral of the deceased is generally carried by eight people, and the deceased is called "ascending to the Western Blissful Heaven", relatives and friends come to the funeral, escorting the immortal body into the fairy town.

The one who sent the deceased on the last journey naturally had to be called the "Eight Immortals".

In the line of carrying the coffin, the income is not much, but it is not much. Although bad luck is not welcome, but if you don't do it, there will be others rushing to do it. After all, this is hard work, and he doesn't need to be literate, and he is not the one in charge of the coffin, so he knows a little taboo and has enough strength.

So after all, it's still the same sentence, just eat with a mouthful.

The thin coffin bearer returned home and lifted the sealed water tank in the corner of the patio in the house, and there was half a tank of water in the tank, and a dozen green leaves floated on the water. As soon as I opened it, the smell of grapefruit rushed into my nose.

He took out half a scoop of water with great cherishment, reverently washed his hands with grapefruit water first, and slapped his forehead three times with his wet hands, feeling a fragrance from the heavenly court in his forehead into his heart and lungs.

Exorcise evil spirits and avoid filth... Sure enough, you still have to choose grapefruit leaves! He exhaled a comfortable breath, took a handkerchief that was not too small and soaked, and carefully wiped his limbs with it.

According to his usual precautionary style, unlike other coffin bearers, he has always had the habit of sealing half a jar of grapefruit water. No, this flood flooded almost all the houses, and he sealed the grapefruit leaf water with layers of cowhide so that it did not mix with any sewage.

Nowadays, water is more expensive than gold, and I don't know when the ban on passage will be lifted, so I have to save some money. He resisted the desire to take a few sips of half a scoop and sealed the water tank layer by layer.

...

took out half a steamed bun from his arms and ate it in two or three bites. Sending this coffin today is the most lucrative one since he entered the industry, he lay down on the bed, smashing his mouth and reminiscing about the tofu banquet he ate today.

Since ancient times, whoever has passed away has to make a tofu cold dish banquet to invite the fathers and villagers who come to mourn or help deal with the funeral.

First, because the tofu is white and clean, there is a saying that it purifies filth. Second, tofu is made of soybeans, soybeans have always been known as "longevity beans", eat "longevity tofu" in the funeral home, and the living people eat "longevity", and they can get the protection of the spirit of the deceased in the sky. Third, tofu is not fish, and it is not easy to attract cats, dogs or weasels and other animals.

If you are not careful, the body of the deceased will be jumped on and stepped on by one of them, which may cause a corpse mutiny.

However, since it is a funeral food, it is naturally not cooked with care, and most of it is difficult to swallow. But no matter whether it is delicious or not, these "eight immortals" will eat all the essence, because they don't have the strength to lift the coffin if they are not full.

It must be known that although the eight people carrying the coffin are evenly weighted and the weight on their shoulders is the same, many times the grave site chosen by the mourners is very remote, and eating less than half a bowl will cause the coffin to fall to the ground due to physical exhaustion halfway.

No matter how far the coffin is from the bereavementary home to the cemetery, the coffin cannot fall to the ground. Why?

It is rumored that people have three souls and seven spirits, the three souls are yang and seven souls are yin, after death, yin and yang are divided into two, yang energy rises and yin energy falls. And once the coffin lands halfway, the seven spirits of the people in the coffin will be put on hold halfway, unable to reach the tomb, and the deceased will not be able to bury the earth! If the undead are angry, they will take the life of one of the coffin bearers on the spot! Therefore, this is a big taboo!

If the bereaved home is not very far from the chosen grave site, it is better to say, but it is actually nothing to stick to it if it is far away. However, if the chosen grave site is on the mountain and the coffin needs to be carried up the mountain, it will cost twice the salary. It turns out that when the mountain road is tilted, the coffin will lose its balance, and the weight of hundreds of catties will sometimes be pressed on the shoulders of one or two of the "Eight Immortals", and no matter how heavy, you have to grit your teeth and insist on topping...

This is another reason why coffin bearers need eight or more people, which is an absolute test of physical strength.

...

However, today's tofu feast was the most delicious tofu feast he had ever tasted.

The masked woman who held the funeral for the old father and son not only gave three times the salary, but also let the girl named Jade Bottle, who looked like a maidservant, cook the tofu banquet herself.

Although it was the girl in the jade bottle who cooked herself, he noticed that the masked woman was standing by the side the whole time, sometimes saying a few words, as if she was teaching something.

The first dish to be served was a plate of "stinky tofu" that smelled very bad but tasted so spicy, which made them eat one by one and praised it. Add a few spoonfuls of bean paste, add some water, boil over high heat, put in small pieces of tofu cut to the size of a finger, and simmer for a while on a casual dish "mapo tofu" is also unique.

Even an ordinary cold dish like shallots and tofu looked like an appetite when mixed out of the hands of the jade bottle girl. Not to mention the mushroom-stuffed tofu, the girl also explained that this dish should have been made by stuffing minced shiitake mushrooms and pork into the tofu and steaming it, but the tofu feast was a vegetarian feast, so only shiitake mushrooms were used and no pork was added.

Even without pork, this mushroom-stuffed tofu dish is still addictive.

"Stinky tofu" appetizing, "mapo tofu" rice, each of them ate three bowls of white rice in a row - it was really white rice, and finally when she held her round stomach and thought that she could not eat it anymore, the girl also served a pot of crystal white tofu flowers.

The tofu is smooth and tender and the bean aroma is rich, melts in the mouth, and is sweet and refreshing...

They had never eaten a tofu feast, and they ate so heartily and happily - if it weren't for the sound of requiem's suona from time to time, they would all think that they were in a banquet where a big family married a daughter-in-law and a daughter.

This old father and son Zheng really died well... Blessed.

...

The more I think about it, the hungrier I get.

He swallowed his saliva again, and the half of the steamed bun he had just eaten seemed to have been digested by the hungry stomach, and it rang out desperately.

Ay... No matter how full you eat at the tofu feast, it's a matter of time before you go, and now it's time... This half of the steamed bun was bought for two taels of silver yesterday, and I was reluctant to eat it, so I kept half of it for emergencies.

Will tomorrow's steamed buns still be two taels? Will there be any price increases? I don't know how many steamed buns I earned today?

The man smiled astringently, his thin body curled up on the bed, not daring to let himself fall into despair easily. It was so dark in the room that he was reluctant to light the oil lamp.

After all, he is also a person, and it makes no difference whether he points or not.

In the darkness where he couldn't see his fingers, he remembered the night pearl that the girl put in Uncle Zheng's mouth. Even the situation of the dead is better than his own, and he can't help but sigh for the third time: "Uncle Zheng is really blessed." ”

The living can no longer live because of poverty, and the dead have their eyes closed with the precious pearl of the night in their mouths...

In the darkness of the night, he suddenly opened his eyes and clasped his hands together.