Helian Tian is familiar with the temperament of cat ghosts, and he looks at cat ghosts like children whose thoughts are written on their faces by an old man who has gone through vicissitudes.

After Helian Tian's click, Grandpa finally understood the mind of Xiaomi's soul. Millet is afraid that it will hinder him from moving flowers and trees, and marrying Sister Hua is still ruo.

A few days later, Helian Tian left Thrush Village.

As soon as Helian Tian left, his father began to prepare for Zhao Xianyun's funeral.

It was the morning after Helian Tian left. Grandpa sat in the hall and said to Yu Youyang and Zifei: "I calculated last night, Zhao Xianyun's time is running out. We must prepare as soon as possible, find a good cemetery, dig a double gold hole, buy a coffin, prepare a blank paper, and prepare everything else we need, so as not to be in a hurry. ”

At that time, my young grandfather was also playing in the hall, and when he heard his father say that he was going to prepare for his mother's funeral, he was so frightened that he froze in place and looked at his father in a daze.

Grandpa's words seemed to be expected by Zifei. He didn't react much, and said lightly: "It's time to prepare." Just don't let her know that we're preparing these things, or she'll feel bad. ”

Yu Youyang was dumbfounded, she was afraid that Zhao Xianyun would hear her words, and she would be very angry with her father, and said anxiously: "Are you going to give up saving Sister Zhao's life?" She's not dead yet, and you're starting to prepare for the future? ”

Without waiting for his grandfather to explain, Yu Youyang rushed out of the hall and ran outside.

The young grandfather felt that the atmosphere in the hall was terrible, so he chased Yu Youyang out.

After everything was ready, Zhao Xianyun's funeral began.

Yu Youyang's young grandfather didn't see how Zhao Xianyun died, so he found that there was an extra dark coffin in the hall.

Grandpa and Zi Fei didn't let them open the coffin to see, saying that Zhao Xianyun looked terrible when he died, so as not to have nightmares.

Although Yu Youyang felt that her father's approach and statement were very strange, without Luo Buzhai beside her, she had no one to ask for help.

Grandpa didn't dare to resist even more. Since he was a child, he did not dare to disobey his father.

Without waiting for Zhao Xianyun's funeral to end, Zifei left Thrush Village.

After Zifei left Thrush Village, his father asked someone to bring a letter to Zhao Xianyun's mother's house.

When Zhao Yunhe heard the news of his daughter's death, he immediately fainted on the ground, couldn't get up for a few days, and couldn't come to Thrush Village, so he sent a subordinate to Thrush Village to give Zhao Xianyun a funeral instead of him.

The day before the funeral, a stranger appeared in the mourning hall. This man has attracted the attention of many people.

The man was very short, almost half as tall as a normal person. But his eyes were very sharp, his steps were vigorous, and he walked like a jumping wooden stake. His face was flushed, and he was smiling when he saw people, and he seemed to know everyone very well, and he was about to say hello and call out the other party's name. But no one knew him.

Daddy didn't know him either. But since he came here, he was a guest, and his father and the people of the village couldn't drive him away.

Some people think that that person may have come here with people from other villages to "see the old".

"Looking at the old" is a custom in this place. When someone in a certain village dies, people from nearby villages will organize, and more than 10 people will be sent from small villages, and 20 or 30 people from large villages will go to the deceased's homes to "see the elderly" in batches. People who "watch the old" do not need to give gifts, they only need to scrape together a small amount of money per person, buy a little firecrackers or thunder, and then go to the deceased's home to express condolences. When they arrive at the door of the deceased's house, the "old" people light firecrackers or thunder, and then go to the mourning hall in two by two to bow down and kowtow three times.

The dead are greater. No matter how old the person is, he or she must kneel and kowtow when he arrives at the mourning hall.

The family of the deceased will set up a straw shop next to the coffin, and the family of the deceased will return a salute every time the person who "looks at the old" kowtows.

After the "old" people finish firing the cannon and kowtowing, they will receive a pack of cigarettes when they go out. This is the gratitude of the family of the deceased to those who came to "see the elderly". After all, people can only afford it.

People who "watch the old" not only have cigarettes, but also have a meal here. Of course, meals are usually simple and not as hearty as they are served to other guests.

This custom may be due to the fact that there is some kinship between the villages, and the girls of this village marry into that village, and the young men of that village are the aunts of the village. After all, the life scope of people in that era was not large, and some people never went out of the range of two or three villages in their lives.

Even when I was in elementary school, there were many old people around me who had never been to the county or even the town.

Of course, when I grew up, there were fewer and fewer people who were more and more comfortable with each other. At the same time, there are fewer and fewer people who "look old".

But in my father's time, "looking old" was very common and even necessary. If someone in a certain village dies and there is a nearby village that does not send someone to "see the old", it must be because there has been a conflict between the two villages, and the old and the dead do not get along.

Grandpa has a reputation in this radius, and he has never had any inextricable conflicts with others, so many people come to Thrush Village to "see the old".

The "old" people are one after another, the sound of firecrackers is continuous, and there is an endless stream of people coming and going.

Therefore, Grandpa didn't know which village this person, who was only half as tall as a normal person, followed to come here.

After kneeling down, the "old" people generally sit on the floor and wait for dinner.

When the funeral is held, a tent must be built on the floor. Pine branches will be tied around the entrance to the shed. Most of the "old" people sit in the sheds and listen to the Taoist priests in the mourning hall chanting or singing lamentations while waiting for dinner. Some people like to listen to lamentations, just like some people like to listen to operas, and even sing along with Taoist priests.

At that time, the Taoist priest was singing "Over the Immortal Mountain": "Send one after another, the dead pass through Daoguang Mountain, Daoguang Mountain is not a mountain, and the gods are difficult to walk and the ghosts are difficult to turn; Send off mountain after mountain, the dead are sent to the mountain of flames, the mountain of flames is not a mountain, the heat wave is rolling and the fan is fanning; sent mountain after mountain, the dead were sent to the money mountain, the filial son burned more money and paper, and the dead went to the west to the sky; sent mountain after mountain, the dead were sent to Bianren Mountain, whoever entered the mountain asked for money, Yin and Yang are really hard to argue; sent mountain after mountain, the dead were sent to the hungry dog mountain, the evil dog came out to ask for bread to eat, and the dog cake was heartfelt; sent mountain after mountain, the dead were sent to Qipan Mountain, Qipan Mountain is a good mountain, and a big road leads to the west sky; Sent mountain after mountain, the dead were sent to Baoqian Mountain, and the treasure was used on Baoqian Mountain, and it was better to have money than Wolf and Tiger Mountain, and it was difficult for the dead to do good, and it was difficult for the dead to pass the test if they did evil. ”

The dwarf sat on the bench and heard the Taoist priest sing this, and said with a smile: "Isn't this a lie? It is clearly said that after death, money is also needed to open up relationships, where is there still a reason that those who do good and die can get by, and those who do evil and die are sad? Most people in the world deceive the good and fear the evil, and this is the case in the underworld. ”

The person who was sitting on the floor listening to the lamentation hurriedly stopped him and said, "Don't talk nonsense, this lamentation, of course, is to sing and coax the living, and it should not be taken seriously." When you say this before the spirit of the deceased, it will upset the deceased's family. ”

The dwarf said disdainfully, "I'm telling the truth. Whether others are happy or unhappy is just the difference between being willing to lie to themselves or not being willing to lie to themselves, and it has little to do with what I say. ”

The man who stopped him was upset and said, "How do you know that people are not like in lamentations when they die?" You never died! ”

The dwarf smiled: "It's not certain that people are dead or not, she may not have crossed the fairy mountain." ”

The man who stopped him pouted and said, "What you say is even more outrageous." Who has a funeral without dying? ”

The dwarf jumped down from the bench and said, "Dead or not, I'll just knock on the coffin." Then he really walked towards the mourning hall, towards the dark coffin.

When Grandpa saw the dwarf walking towards Zhao Xianyun's coffin, he hurriedly stopped him and asked, "What are you doing here?" ”

The dwarf frowned and said, "Ma Xiucai, I'll talk to the people in the coffin." ”

Grandpa replied: "Now that yin and yang are separated, how can you speak?" ”

The dwarf said, "I have my own way!" ”

At this time, Yu Youyang also came over, she heard the dwarf say that she could talk to the deceased, hurriedly pulled away her grandfather, and asked, "What can you do?" She saw that her grandfather must be tired of handling Zhao Xianyun's funeral in such a hurry, so she wanted to borrow someone else to see what was going on.

"Can't tell." The dwarf sells Guan Zidao.

Grandpa didn't want him to get close to Zhao Xianyun's coffin, so he said: "Since you can't say it, you definitely can't do it." ”

But Yu Youyang didn't listen to her grandfather's words, she stopped her grandfather and said to the dwarf: "Since that's the case, then please come here to take a look." ”

Grandpa is helpless, as long as he lets Yu Youyang.

The dwarf moved forward, walked to Zhao Xianyun's coffin, then stepped on a chair, stretched out his hand, and knocked on Zhao Xianyun's coffin. He knocked lightly, unhurriedly, as if he were about to knock on the door of a familiar friend.

Daddy noticed that the dwarf's hands were very rough, and his nails were as thick as silver dollars.

When the dwarf knocked on the coffin, Grandpa suddenly felt like he heard a knock on the door. Grandpa stared at the dark and shiny coffin, and was really worried that the wooden board would suddenly open from the inside, like opening a door.

After knocking on the coffin, the dwarf put his ear to the coffin again, as if a person who came to visit the house but met a closed door wanted to eavesdrop on the movement in the house and confirm whether there was anyone in the house.

After a moment's listening, a mysterious smile appeared on the dwarf's face.

Yu Youyang hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?" What's wrong? What do you hear? ”

The dwarf smiled mysteriously, nodded, and went back to the floor.

Yu Youyang was unwilling, she followed closely and walked to the floor.

But after walking to the floor, Yu Youyang didn't see the dwarf.