My name is Ding Wu, and I am the youngest child in the family, and I am also the one who is the least welcomed.

At that time, the family was so poor that they could not open the pot, so when I was five years old, my father sent me to the town to become an apprentice.

I have been holding a sigh of resentment in my heart about this matter, what can a five-year-old kid learn?

But Master has always been very kind to me, and I remember the first day I came, Master prepared a big meal for me, including chicken, duck, and fish.

He sat next to me and watched me gobble up, laughing happily, and said vigorously that this craft finally has a successor.

I didn't know anything at the time, but I thought it would be nice to stay here, to eat and drink, and not to be beaten.

But soon I regretted it, because Master is always cold here, day and night.

The strangest thing is that there are often some bizarre and colorful paper figures piled up in the corner.

Every day, Master entertains guests in the shop, noting down their various needs, and waits until the evening.

He would sit alone in the corner, holding a paper figure while chanting words in his mouth.

I don't know what Master is saying, but I have a feeling that those paper figures seem to understand what Master is saying.

In the first few years of my arrival, I just did some chores, such as sweeping the floor and washing clothes in the backyard, and sometimes I would go to the front shop to help Master keep accounts.

In this way, when I was ten years old, Master called me to me and asked me to kneel and kowtow to the Master to formally apprentice.

The process was very simple, the master also gave me a red envelope, and from that day on, I became an apprentice papermaker.

For a while, I wondered why Master had to take me into the industry after several years.

It wasn't until one night that I finally understood.

On this day, Master went out on errands, and before leaving, he told me to watch the shop by myself and wait for him to come back.

I sat behind the desk as usual, reading a book, and from time to time I picked up a pen and paper and wrote and drew on a blank piece of paper.

According to Master, this is called basic skills.

For the first three years of my apprenticeship, what I did every day was to go to the back mountain to cut bamboo, drag it back to the shop, and cut it all into a finger-wide piece of material for later use.

In the second three years, I had to learn how to color paper figures, and according to Master, there were several types of paint.

For ordinary white things, just use ordinary materials, and if it is a special case, use special paints.

I don't know what Master means by that?

These paper figurines are sent to the cemetery anyway, and they are all to be burned, and what paint is used is not the same?

Jingle bells!

The night breeze gradually rose, and the wind chimes hanging at the door kept ringing.

I don't know how long it has been, but there is a teenager outside the door.

His name is Ah Dong, and like me, he is an apprentice who begs for a living with his master, but I am a paper tie and he is a funeral team.

The so-called funeral team is a group of people in the countryside who specialize in helping the owner's family do white things, some people can play suona, some people are responsible for crying and mourning, and so on......

In a word, as long as you can afford the money, everything will be arranged clearly from beginning to end.

Of course, ordinary poor people naturally can't afford to ask for it, at most, they can raise money to hire a suona master.

"Little Wu, you're alone tonight!"

After Adong jumped out of a tricycle, he greeted me with a smile.

I smiled, but didn't speak, then stood up and walked out, and together with Adong, I moved all the paper figures I had ordered to the tricycle.

But just after finishing his business, Adong suddenly had a stomachache, and after he said to borrow the toilet, he ran into the backyard.

I didn't care, Ah Dong's master was an old customer, and besides, the backyard was full of materials used by paper-binding people.

Ten minutes later, Ah Dong still hadn't come out, and then the landline in the shop rang.

I took it and answered it, and it turned out to be Ah Dong's master, Uncle Ming.

After he understood the situation, he immediately said.

"Little Wu, can you please send the things over first?"

"I'm in a hurry to use it here, I'm going to be buried later, Adong, this kid, dropped the chain at the critical moment, and I'll clean him up when I turn around."

I was a little embarrassed, because every time before I went out, Master would tell me to take care of the shop and not to run around.

Especially at night, when no one is watching in the shop, it is easy to have an accident.

I was too young to know why Master said that.

But of course I don't dare not listen to his old man's words, not to mention that after getting along all these years, Master is more like my father.

As for my former home in the country, I never went back, and my father never came to see me.

But Master still sent half of my salary to the village every month.

"Uncle Ming, no, the master is not here, he ......"

I replied with some embarrassment.

When Uncle Ming heard this, he immediately said anxiously.

"It's okay, I've been doing business with your master for nearly twenty years, he can trust me, and I can trust him."

"When the time comes, if something happens, it's all wrapped up in me, by the way, you come over tonight, and my uncle will give you another red envelope, and it will be hard work!"

After he finished speaking, he scolded Ah Dong a few more words before hanging up the phone.

I had no choice but to run to the backyard to talk to Adong, and then I closed the door of the shop, got on the tricycle and left.

Ten minutes later, I saw a fire in the field from a distance, and immediately added a little more strength to my feet.

After a while, I quickly reached the side of the road and found Uncle Ming.

To tell the truth, those who are generally buried are buried during the day, and as for those who are buried at night, I heard that there are special reasons.

When Master talked about this at that time, I was curious and asked a few more questions, but Master didn't say any more, just told me one word.

If you can't catch the paper figure that was sent to you, you will splash it on the paper figure with something like black dog blood, and then turn around and run.

Soon Uncle Ming came over, pulled me and said, "Xiao Wu, things are in a hurry today, and a few people from the funeral team haven't rushed back, can you stay here and help again?" ”

When I heard it, I just wanted to refuse, but someone suddenly called Uncle Ming not far away, and then he turned around and left.

Fortunately, I know most of the people in the funeral team, after all, most of the people who do this business are relatives and friends.

As long as you know one of them, you know a group.

Then, together with the others, I carried the paper figures from the side of the road to the field, and then helped with some chores.

In the middle, Uncle Ming came over and stuffed me with a red envelope and told me that I could not go back until the matter was over.

I received all the red envelopes, so I can only promise to come down, and the thick stack should be at least twenty yuan, right?

At this moment, there was a sudden click not far away, followed by the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.

"It's not good, the coffin is killing someone!"

A terrified voice came and I shuddered.