My home is located in a small, remote village in the north.

There are about 200 families in the village, scattered and scattered along a provincial road.

Behind our village, there is an endless prairie.

When I was very young, there were often wolves, insects, tigers and leopards in the waist-deep barren meadows, and there were many children who were cowed by wolves in the middle of the night.

In recent decades, with the large-scale reclamation of the grassland, the area of the grassland has been encroached on little by little, and those terrible beasts seem to have disappeared according to the trend.

Due to our remote location, far away from the county seat, it is said that a long time ago, most of the villagers made a living by hunting, so the folk customs were relatively strong, and this atmosphere has continued to this day and is like a haze to sweep away.

I grew up here, but I don't like it.

The so-called poor mountains and bad waters come out of the people, it is not that I deliberately slander my hometown and my villagers, but that we are too backward here, and even a story that is difficult for ordinary people to imagine has occurred, and I also have an identity that is difficult for outsiders to understand.

And now, I'm going to tell you my story.

I'm going to talk about it slowly, and everybody is watching it slowly, because I believe it's not just a story.

My real name is Bai Chengzu, and I can have such an old-fashioned name, which is related to the fact that our ancestors have been opening coffin shops for generations.

A black wooden board at the entrance in front of the house, on which are written in white paint with the words "Fifty Miles Coffin Shop".

This is the sign of our family, nestled in a small village, dealing with the dead for generations.

Our family is located at the west end of the village, far away from the villagers' houses, and the only neighbor is named Yan Chong, whose daughter-in-law died early, and she lived with a son of my age who lived in a bitter night.

The meaning on the signboard is obvious, that is, the coffins made by our family are only sold to mourners within 50 miles of Fangyuan.

If it is more than fifty miles from Fang Yuan, to put it mildly, even if you move a mountain of gold, my old-fashioned grandfather will not sell you the coffin.

What's even more mysterious is that if you are beyond the range of fifty miles, even if you lie, grandpa can tell you at a glance.

If you are strong and rob the coffin made by our family, then I'm sorry, not only can you not get out of our yard, but even the coffin that was fancied was nailed to the ground, and you can't move.

No one told me why? Anyway, in my memory, the people who were more than fifty miles away from the coffin made by our family were not able to buy it.

It is said that this rule was left by the ancestors, and I also secretly asked my father, saying that my grandfather was dead-eyed, and he didn't know how to make money if he had money!

The ancestors have turned to ashes, and they are still desperately guarding such a broken rule, hindering our family's business, such a small range, we can't sell a few coffins a year, where will there be a way to make money!

Because of this sentence, I was severely shaved with a broom by my father, and warned that if I said such things again, I would be beaten to death.

You haven't seen my grandfather and father, they look like two old antiques.

Grandpa has a copper-colored shoehorn face, and all day long, regardless of spring, summer, autumn and winter, is the long gray gown, and the adult does not change.

If you drag a small pigtail again, it will be a Manchu zombie ghost alive.

The wrinkles carved by the years on the face are like bun folds piled together, tangled.

A pair of mandarin duck eyes with double eyelids up and down, looking at people are always cold-eyed, and the penetration is particularly strong.

If you accidentally meet him, it will make you feel so excited that you have nowhere to dodge, and you feel like your clothes are going to be stripped naked!

I've said it many times, it's all in this era, where would anyone wear this kind of clothes, but grandpa always snorted coldly, just wouldn't change.

Dad is a little better than grandpa, all day long is the black tunic suit, a Mr. Republic of China.

With an angular face and thick lips, it has really become an antique among antiques!

As for my mom, that's not to mention, and to be honest I don't even want to see her.

As far back as I can remember, my mother spent all her days in her dark house and never saw her come out during the day.

In the side room, there is a rosewood coffin in the middle, and at night, my mother will sleep in it, no matter the four seasons of the year, spring, summer, autumn and winter.

It can be said that since she gave birth to me, I have been carried out, and I have never been with her at all, so in my memory, I don't know what maternal love is!

Because of my strange family environment, coupled with the absence of mother's companionship, I became a tyrant in the village from the day I was a child and knew how to fight fiercely.

Whenever I fight, I will take pleasure in seeing blood, and my standard of fighting is that as long as you give me a breath, I must break your head.

Because of this, I was beaten by my grandfather and father, but every time I was beaten, I would pay it back even harder, and the fight would be even harder!

Gradually, basically no one dared to play with me, and they all avoided me from afar, only my next-door neighbor, Uncle Yan's Wenbao, especially admired me and was my follower.

As I grew up, I gradually developed an unruly and prodigal personality!

Although the personality has somewhat converged now, it is inevitable that people will not want to see it and retreat.

I don't care, I'm used to being alone anyway!

Originally, I was studying hard in a town more than ten miles away from home, but this father suddenly came, saying that there was an urgent matter at home, and asked me for a big long vacation.

He ordered me to hurry back to my house by tonight, no matter what, and he hurried away.

No, I finished my last class, said goodbye to my teachers and classmates, and hurried home.

"Coffin master! Where are you going? "As I was hurrying forward, I heard a shout behind me.

The coffin master is my nickname, and it is also recognized by my grandfather and father.

Listening to the familiar voice, I don't have to look back to know who called me!

"It's a mother's question, what do you think I can do, go home!" I muttered.

After waiting for a long time, there was no response behind me, and I didn't hear the footsteps catching up, I looked back suspiciously, and couldn't help but wonder if I was dreaming in broad daylight just now...

There is not a shadow of a ghost behind him, let alone anyone talking!

I touched my head, it's very strange, just now I heard Ermaozi from our village talking to me, why is this person gone in the blink of an eye?

Ermaozi is two years older than me, and he is my buddy who grew up with a bare ass, and I will never hear his voice wrong!

After thinking about it, seeing that the day was about to get dark, I was in a hurry to rush home!

Entering the courtyard, I shouted "Xiaoxiao, I'm back!" ”

Xiaoxiao is my younger sister, she has a small body and delicate facial features, especially those talking eyes that blink, pure and cute!

According to the people in the village, Xiaoxiao was bought by my grandfather with money and was going to be my child daughter-in-law.

But the strange thing is that whenever someone jokes like this, Grandpa always blushes and shouts loudly that those individuals are talking nonsense.

Xiaoxiao ran out of the house wearing a floral dress, happily took my backpack, and ran back to the house again.

When I raised my eyes, I saw a white stubble coffin in the yard that had not yet been painted, and I didn't need to ask, the family had business to do today.

"Who died?" I asked casually with one foot in the door and one foot outside the door.

Because of the unwritten rule of our family, basically the people who come to buy coffins in our family are all from nearby villages and basically know each other.

"It's Ermaozi in our village who died." Dad didn't raise his head, lowered his head and played with the paint in his hand, and said lightly.

"Who?" When I heard this, I almost jumped up.

"What are you talking about? What the fuss about the dead man. "Dad was mixing the paint, apparently trying to paint the white stubble coffin outside.

"No, come to our house to buy a coffin, I'll go and paint it." Dad said and walked out with paint.

I was stunned for a long time, and it took me a long time to come to my senses, and I hurriedly rushed out and shouted, "How is it possible? Dad, you heard me wrong, I heard him talking to me on the way back. ”

"Hammer!" The sound of the paint box falling on the ground, Dad looked up at me in surprise, opened his mouth wide and didn't speak.

The sound of the paint box falling on the ground disturbed the grandfather, who walked out of the wing with a dry tobacco pouch in his mouth.

looked at his father who was standing next to the coffin, and the paint that was spilled on the ground, and asked with a displeased face, "What's wrong?" How did it get like this? ”

"Grandpa, Dad said that Ermaozi from our village died, but I met him on the road just now!" I stepped forward and grabbed my grandfather's hand and said, "Dad dropped the paint on the ground when he heard it." ”

As soon as my words fell, I felt my grandfather's hand tremble, and the cigarette pouch and pot fell down instantly, and he turned his head and asked me eagerly: "You... Did you really see that Ermaozi? ”

I shook my head and said, "No, it's just that he called me behind me and asked me where I was going." But strangely, when I looked back for others, I didn't see anything. ”

I saw Grandpa and Dad look at each other and nod slightly to each other, Grandpa turned back to the wing, and Dad began to squat on the ground to clean up the spilled paint.

"Dead?" I touched the back of my head, and I felt that the back of my neck was cold, and I was a little afraid!

I was going to ask my dad why he called me home, but looking at the current situation, I was in no mood to ask again.

turned around and came to the door of the hall in the middle, stretched out his head to look inside, and saw Xiaoxiao playing with the dark wooden coffin again.