"Uncle," Qiao Xiaojing said, "Aunt Hongxing has died, no matter what, you should stand up and preside over the overall situation, not to mention that there is still some misunderstanding between you and that mud baby." As long as you handle this matter properly, the whole village, including the mud baby, will only respect and admire you, and no one will dare to dance in front of you. ”

"Dad," Qiao Shuangxi, who was standing on the side, saw that his father couldn't make a decision for a long time, so he stepped forward and persuaded, "Everything has priorities, I think Xiaojing is right, you should come forward in public and private." That mud baby has already said in the ancestral hall, I think there is indeed a big misunderstanding between you, which is not good for you, isn't this the best time to clear up the misunderstanding?"

"Okay then," Qiao Baocai pondered for a moment, and finally responded, "I'll preside over the handling of Hongxing's aftermath as the village head, but you two have to go with me, I want that mud baby to give me an explanation and a guarantee in front of the two of you." ”

Qiao Xiaojing and Qiao Shuangxi finally put their minds at ease, the two looked at each other for a while, and both nodded.

"Then let's go quickly!" Qiao Shuangxi seemed to be worried about his father's change of mind, and wanted to go out on crutches.

"Where are you going?" At this time, Qiao Shuangxi and his mother walked in, and said with a gloomy face, "I see that you have not been beaten hard enough, people have said that you have forgotten the pain of the scar, and you have forgotten the pain before the scar is healed." If the wound is not treated, you will not be afraid of suppuration, and you will not be afraid of ...... If you can't figure out your own affairs, you should worry about other people's affairs first. ”

"Mother!" Qiao Shuangxi was a little helpless.

"Okay," Qiao Shuangxi said, "I can't take care of your affairs, and I don't want to take care of it." Someone in the family sent trauma medicine from other places, let's go, I'll put it on the two of you first, and it's not too late for you to worry about it. ”

After Aunt Qiao Baocai's mother-in-law finished applying the medicine, Qiao Xiaojing and Qiao Shuangxi both felt a lot better, and the walking wound did not feel so hot, they accompanied Qiao Baocai out of the hospital and walked towards Niwa's house.

Along the way, Qiao Baocai greeted people and asked them to go to Niwa's house to help take care of the aftermath of the red apricot, after all, Qiao Baocai has been the village chief and patriarch for decades, regardless of prestige or power, most of the men, women and children in Qiaojia Village are still served, and there are villagers following behind them, empty villages, empty roads, and gradually there are human figures, and gradually there are voices.

"Is it you?" When Qiao Baocai walked into the mud baby's house, the mud baby was scrubbing his mother's face, seeing Qiao Baocai, his face suddenly changed, and his sad eyes were instantly full of anger, he threw down the towel in his hand, pointed at Qiao Baocai and said, "You old beast is not at home to wash your neck and wait, you still have the courage to come and see that I don't kill you today?"

"What do you want to do? Qiao Xiaojing took two steps and blocked in front of Qiao Baocai.

"Get out of the way," said the mud baby angrily, "I have to kill this old beast today anyway, if it weren't for him, I, my mother wouldn't have died, if it weren't for him, I, how could I have killed my own mother?"

"Mud baby," Qiao Xiaojing persuaded, "What I said before was in vain? You have made a big mistake, Aunt Hongxing is lying on the kang, do you still want to make mistakes again and again? What did we say in the ancestral hall, what is the most important thing now, have you forgotten it? You still want to mess around, do you want to make Aunt Hongxing never rest in peace in the heavens?"

"I ......" the mud baby shook her head and gasped for breath with resentment and resentment, and then continued after a few seconds, "You and Brother Shuangxi, why did you lie to me? What did you tell me at the time?"

"You calm down first," Qiao Xiaojing stepped forward and pulled the mud baby aside and said, "We didn't want to lie to you, and we didn't lie to you." There is such a big thing in your family, the adults are gone, you are still a child, you are weak, and you are very snobbish, who will take the initiative to help you? Shuangxi and I have never done such a thing, so we can only ask a respected person in the village to preside over this matter. In Qiaojia Village, who can still have such an appeal as the village chief? Think about it again, as long as he says a word, how many people in Qiaojia Village dare not listen? With him, not only will Aunt Hongxing's future be settled, but also she will not be too wronged by Aunt Hongxing. ”

"Anyone can do it, but he can't!" The mud baby was very resolute.

"Why are you so tough?" Qiao Xiaojing grabbed the mud baby's arms and shook them twice, and said eagerly, "I've said it all, don't pay too much attention to the affairs of adults, even if you want to pay attention to it, you can't understand many things, and now because of your cranky thoughts, just because you are thinking blindly, you have killed Aunt Hongxing, do you still want to make her spirit in the sky uneasy?"

"I'm ......" The mud baby lowered her head and took a deep breath.

"Do you think the village chief wants to come?" Qiao Xiaojing continued, "People have been hiding early, and they don't want to care about your affairs at all, it was me and Shuangxi who did most of the day's ideological work, and they came." The villagers will be called on the way, and the people in charge of each family will come to your house and help you take care of this important matter. You, don't be ignorant!"

"Don't want to care?" said the mud baby more like talking to herself, "If you don't want to care, don't come, as if I have to beg him." I still don't believe it, without him, the earth won't turn, and I can't do anything?"

"What are you muttering about? Everything has to be prioritized clearly, and everything has to be understood. If you really think that we have done something wrong, then you will treat us as if we never came, and I will let Shuangxi help his father go back. In this way, see which other villagers dare to come to your house, the village chief can't do it, the others don't dare to do it, and the other can't do it, they are afraid that you will kill them crazy, and of course they are also afraid that the village chief will make it difficult for them. ”

"Xiaojing, how is it?" Qiao Shuangxi approached the fire kang, looked at the red apricot whose face was like frost and covered in blood, and returned to Qiao Baocai's side again, and he didn't see the change in the attitude of the mud baby, and he didn't know how Qiao Xiaojing talked to him, and he was a little uneasy.

"Not good, wait a minute. Qiao Xiaojing glanced at Qiao Shuangxi and Qiao Baocai, and then fell on the mud baby, and whispered to the mud baby, "I don't have much time to wait for you to be indecisive here, I think the red apricot aunt parked on the kang shouldn't have much time to wait for you, hurry up and make a decision, you have to let us go, cut off everyone's help to you and the red apricot aunt, or do you want us to stay and help you, and at the same time help the red apricot aunt on the road." ”

"Why are you forcing me too?" The mud baby was helpless and angry, shook his head, and said reluctantly, "I have no grievances with you in my past life and no enmity in this life, you obviously know that I have a grudge against Qiao Baocai, but you treat me like this, I, I really can't figure it out." ”

"Are you forcing me to be good," Qiao Xiaojing said, "I was kind enough to help you and invite people here, not only did you not thank people for helping you regardless of your previous suspicions when you were in the most difficult time, but you still treat others like this, is it appropriate? Besides, what kind of hatred can you have with Village Chief Qiao? All the hatred is your own blind imagination, what is going on between adults, do you know? Judging right and wrong with just a pair of eyes is too one-sided!

"Perhaps, you are right. The mud baby reluctantly accepted Qiao Xiaojing's opinion.

"Okay, I'll go and tell Village Chief Qiao now, let him take full responsibility for Aunt Hongxing's funeral, you can't cause trouble anymore, let alone deliberately embarrass others, if someone else has something to ask you to do, not only can you not push back, but on the contrary, you have to take it seriously, can you do it?" Qiao Xiaojing stared at the mud baby with motionless eyes.

"Hmm. The mud baby nodded.

"Speak, can you do it?" Qiao Xiaojing was a little impatient.

"Yes!" replied the mud baby, puffed.

"That's good," Qiao Xiaojing tugged at the sleeve of the mud doll, and said as she walked, "You go with me now, I think it's better for you to force me to say this matter, it's better for Village Chief Qiao, it's better for you, or you can tell Village Chief Qiao in person." ”

Although the mud baby was stunned for a moment, although he was unwilling, but under Qiao Xiaojing's gesture and encouragement, he still came to Qiao Baocai, expressed his need for help to Qiao Baocai, and hoped that Qiao Baocai could help him with this.

Qiao Baocai knew in his heart that it was not easy for the mud baby to do this, after all, a high wall had been built between them a few hours ago, and this high wall was built by the mud baby with suspicion and hatred. Qiao Baocai knows better than anyone that it can be said that Hongxing's tragic death is largely inseparable from him, and even he is the most important inducement.

Therefore, Qiao Baocai accepted the request of the mud baby and became the general manager of the aftermath of Hongxing.

Soon, villagers came one after another, and Qiao Baocai began to arrange related work, from arranging the mourning hall, building coffins, rushing to make shrouds, inviting Mr. Yin and Yang to buying filial piety cloth, burning paper incense watches, etc., all of which were smooth.

Under the mobilization and request of Qiao Baocai, the village chief and patriarch, the women of the village also came to the house of the mud baby, and they set up an eight-foot cauldron on the edge of the courtyard, set up a board made of door panels, and began to prepare a white meal.

In the blink of an eye, the mud baby's house changed from a deserted orphanage to a noisy white affairs center, and the housekeepers in charge of specific matters walked back and forth in the courtyard, accompanied by shouts of varying heights......

The mourning hall was completed, the red apricot fell into the grass, and the mud baby, as the child of the red apricot, was also the only relative of the red apricot in this world, all he could do was to kneel in the mourning hall and keep burning paper for the dead mother to express his last filial piety.

It was getting late, everything looked gloomy, and at this time, Mr. Yin and Yang came, this person was middle-aged, with a half-foot long beard and a Taoist robe, giving people the impression of a fairy wind and bones. He got out of the ox cart, drank two sips of weak tea, and began to write the sacrificial texts and tables, and everything seemed more and more formal, and more solemn and solemn.

And after the mud baby arrived from Mr. Yin and Yang, when and what to do, everything was done according to Mr. 's requirements, everything was still going well, Qiao Xiaojing was helping on the stove, which she saw very clearly.

In the evening of the next day, the red apricot was buried in the ground, and the whole funeral was finally completed with the efforts of the whole village.

"Come on," including the mud baby, everyone came back from the red apricot grave, and as soon as they arrived in the courtyard, Qiao Baocai suddenly shouted, "Take down this rebellious and heinous mud baby for me!"

At this moment, everyone present was stunned.