Grandpa changed his mind temporarily. He decided to find out the old man's identity first.

So, Grandpa quietly followed the old man with the help of the cat's feet, followed him back to the village∵ to his door. Grandpa saw couplets pasted on both sides of his door, the upper one was "Jinshan and Yinshan are all paper mountains", and the lower one was "Men and women are old people". Look up at the banner that reads: "Virtual Human".

Daddy thought the couplet was very strange.

The old man took out the key from his pocket with a bamboo basket in one hand and the other hand, shook the key with a clatter, and then opened the door.

After pushing open the door, the old man walked straight through the hall to the back.

Daddy immediately followed up gently in the house.

After entering the house, I looked left and right, and my father was startled. There were many huts in this house, and there were people next to them. There were cows, chickens, ducks, and in the hut there were tables, chairs, cupboards, and beds. These huts are lined up along the walls, as if they are hidden in this paradise!

It's just that the light in the room is dim, and those people and things can't see clearly, which adds a bit of an eerie atmosphere. Things that were supposed not to look scary now all look a little scary. Daddy was worried about tripping over something and making a noise, so he moved gently and quietly.

Those people, those cows, those chickens, those ducks. seemed to be stunned to watch Grandpa move, deliberately cooperating without saying a word, but his eyes seemed to follow him.

Daddy understood what this old man was doing. He is the person in this village who specializes in spiritual houses. The funeral of the deceased must be burned in the house of the dead. The spirit house is tied up with paper and bamboo strips, the bamboo strips should be dried, and the paper should be glued, so you can't wait until there is a need to tie them.

The spirit house in this old man's house is his masterpiece.

Suddenly, Grandpa saw a person standing on the steps of the spirit house move. The man was sweeping the floor with a broom in his hand. When Daddy first saw him, the man seemed to be facing Daddy. But Daddy had just moved a few steps when the man turned his back to Daddy. Daddy didn't know when he turned around.

I have to say that the old man who made the spirit house strives for perfection in his craft. The average paper figure will only draw the front side or the outward side, and the back side is still blank. But the back of the paper figure that turned around is also very detailed, and there is hair. There are clothes, there are shoes, and even the socks above the upper can be seen.

Daddy stared at the paper figure in surprise for a while, but when he was stared at, the paper figure was motionless again.

Daddy knew that he couldn't resist the paper man, because Daddy felt that the other paper figures were helping the paper man to stare at him, and the paper man would not move again until he turned around.

So, Daddy gave up staring at him and continued to walk forward.

Took a few steps. Daddy jerked back and saw that the paper man with the broom was no longer there.

Grandpa looked at the other paper figures again, and those paper figures seemed to hold back their laughter, afraid that a smile would expose their disguise.

Grandpa continued to look at the other spirit houses, and in the last corner, there were five spirit houses that were much more dilapidated. Since the other houses are bright and clean, these five dilapidated houses are particularly distinctive. A thick layer of ash fell on the roof of the mourning house, and the ash blocked the tiles painted on the roof, and pressed the bamboo strips downward, making people worry that the bamboo strips would not be able to bear it.

On each side of the doorway of the five dilapidated houses were painted a man, a man and a woman. This form is common in other spiritual houses. But Daddy took a closer look, this man and woman were still different from other spirit houses!

Generally speaking, the men and women on both sides of the door of the spiritual house are somewhat symmetrical, like boys and girls in paper-cuts. Or a husband and wife, close in age.

And there is a big gap between men and women on both sides of the door of this dilapidated spiritual house. The man is old, and the woman is baby-faced. Although they all smile cutely, the men's smiles seem to have a hint of bitterness, and the women's smiles are too innocent.

The man and woman were clearly not virgins, nor were they husband and wife.

Daddy looked at the five pairs of men and women at the door of the five dilapidated spiritual houses one by one, and found that the men were almost identical, while the women were different.

None of the human and animal cutouts seen before are repeated. Chickens and ducks either raise their heads and crow, or turn their heads in anticipation, or bow their heads to peck. People are walking or running, standing, squatting or sitting, and there are people of all ages, young and old.

And the five men at the door of the dilapidated spirit house have the same faces, the same posture, and the same everywhere, as if there is some meaning, but they can't be seen for a while.

Why is that? Grandpa was puzzled.

Just then, the old man returned. It's too late for Daddy to dodge.

Grandpa simply stood in front of the spirit house, pretending to look at the workmanship of the spirit house.

"Oops, there's a guest coming!" The old man walked over as he spoke. The bamboo basket is gone, so it should have been put in the kitchen. He was slightly surprised when he saw his father, but quickly hid it and smiled.

"Isn't this Ma Xiucai from Thrush Village?" The old man quickly recognized his father.

Grandpa didn't know the name of the old man, so he had to laugh, nod his head, and then pointed to the spirit houses without saying anything, and asked, "These...... Did you do all this? ”

The old man looked at the spirit house and said with a smile: "I am a five-guarantee household, I have no companions and no children, who else can help me?" ”

"Well done!" Grandpa praised.

The old man asked, "Ma Xiucai came to me so late, did he want to buy some spirit houses?" But you are in good health, your wife is in better health, and your parents are long gone, so what are you buying a spirit house for? ”

Grandpa hurriedly waved his hand and said, "No, I don't buy a spirit house." I heard that there is a person here who is very good at making a spirit house, and I was curious, and I happened to have dinner at Feng Junjia's house today, so I asked the location by the way and found here. I looked at it just now, and it really lives up to its name! Much better than Mr. Wen from our neighboring village! ”

Mr. Wen that my father said, I have seen many times later. Mr. Wen's village is just between Thrush Village and my village, and every time my mother takes me to Thrush Village, or my grandfather sends me back, I have to pass by Mr. Wen's house. Mr. Wen is about the same age as my grandfather, and by the time I can remember, Mr. Wen's spirit house craftsmanship has become famous.

Every time I passed in front of Mr. Wen's house, I had to sneak through the crack in his door. The door of his house is closed or closed all year round, and it is rarely open.

Looking in from the crack in the door, you can see the red, red, green and green things, although you can't see the whole picture clearly, but you know that it is a spiritual house made by Mr. Wen. Mr. Wen is also a five-guarantee household, and he is lonely.

My grandfather told me that when Mr. Wen was young, his skills in making a spiritual house were not so good, and the door was not closed often. He still had a wife at that time. It's a pity that his wife later ran away with a big belly that was pregnant for eight months with a man who walked the rivers and lakes. Some people say that the child in his wife's womb is not his≡ after that, Mr. Wen's house is often closed.

When the old man saw that his grandfather was comparing him with Mr. Wen, he hurriedly said modestly: "How can this be compared? Mr. Wen is still young and has not been in the industry for many years. I'm old, I've been in the industry for decades, and it's all about experience. If I go back to Mr. Wen's age, I won't be as good as him. ”

Daddy's eyes glanced at the place where the paper figure had disappeared just now.

The old man said again: "Ma Xiucai, I have a lot of fate with your family." ”

Grandpa's gaze retracted and asked, "Oh? How do you say that? ”

The old man said, "When your father died, I made his spiritual house. ”

Grandpa was surprised: "Really? At that time, it was all up to a friend of mine to help me with my errands, and I didn't know that you were the one who made my father's spiritual house! In that case, I would like to thank you for providing my father with a shelter from the elements! ”

"But I have regrets." The old man said.

Grandpa was surprised: "Do you have regrets? What's the regret? "Grandpa thought that the old man was going to say that the spirit house at that time was not very satisfactory, so now I think about it a little regrettable.

"I took money from your friend surnamed Luo. This is my biggest regret. The old man frowned.

Grandpa was even more incomprehensible, and asked, "Of course, you have to pay for business transactions." What's the pity? Grandpa couldn't help but think, could it be that Luo Buzhai gave him too little money at that time, which made him a little regretful? But Luo Buzhai shouldn't be such a person.

The old man put on a bitter face and said, "I don't want money to live or die, but your friend surnamed Luo has to give money, and if you don't want money, you will find someone else to make a spiritual house." I had no choice but to collect the money. ”

"It's ......," Daddy didn't know what to say. Stay in the middle of nowhere.

"Ma Xiucai, you don't know, your father once saved our family. When your father was a grain officer, there was a famine here one year, and our family ran out of food and was dizzy with hunger, but it was your father who relieved our family and allowed our family to survive. It's a pity that I didn't cherish the hard-won good life later, and I hurt myself......" As he spoke, the old man raised his hand to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes.

Grandpa understood what the old man said, it turned out that he wanted to repay his kindness, so he wanted to give the spirit house he made to the deceased grain official. It's a pity that Luo Buzhai had to give money to ask for the spirit house, so that he couldn't repay the favor. But the latter words my father didn't understand again.

"Hurt yourself?" Grandpa muttered.

"yes. Our family managed to survive the disaster. But my parents and myself have too many traditional ideas to have a boy, and my wife has given birth to girls several times......"

Grandpa said: "Since you gave birth to a girl, how can you say that you are a five-guarantee household, and you have no companions and no children?" Where have your daughters gone? ”

The old man smiled strangely and nodded, "Yes." My wife has had five daughters. In other words, I have had five daughters......"

Grandpa asked tentatively, "...... them Don't come...... Looking at you? ”

The old man glanced sideways at the five dilapidated spirit houses in the corner.