Lei Zi!

I shouted, walked out of the house quickly, and hugged the coffin holder first.

Lei Zi rubbed his eyes and screamed in surprise: "Jiujizi, why is it you?"

Leizi's full name is Shi Lei. He was my best playmate when I was a child. Later, as my mother remarried, Leizi left Shuiwa Village. He hadn't seen each other for almost ten years. Unexpectedly, Leizi came to Niujia Village with his mother to live.

I looked at Lei Zi in front of me. After ten years of seeing him, this once dwarf has grown tall and strong, with deep facial features, dark skin, and a very masculine spirit.

I patted Leizi on the shoulder and saw him wearing a jacket, revealing his strong muscles: "What? Are you doing the coffincarceration now?"

The coffin carryr is also an ancient business in western Hunan. In the past, people were buried in coffins, which required people with strength to carry coffins. Over time, professional coffin carryrs appeared. If anyone died in a family, they would specifically carry coffins for others. This type of person was called "coffin carryr".

Although the country is calling for everyone to cremate, in remote rural areas like Xiangxi, burial is still the main popular way of burial, so you can still see coffin holders in Xiangxi, and this business has never died.

The coffin carryrs do rough and heavy work. Many people don’t think of coffin carryrs very much, thinking that this is a inferior profession. But as far as I know, coffin carrying also has technical skills, and no industry is as simple as outsiders see it. Furthermore, there is nothing to be cheap about others who rely on their hands to make a living.

Lei Zi took out a cheap cigarette worth two yuan a pack and handed me one. I waved my hand. I didn't have the habit of smoking. I could drink alcohol but couldn't smoke.

Lei Zi smiled and stuffed the cigarette into his mouth. I saw calluses on his fingers. It seemed that his life was quite difficult.

"To make a living!" Lei Zi skillfully spitted out a cigarette ring, looking like an old cigarette gun: "I didn't study after graduating from elementary school. My mother was sick, and all the family savings were spent. I didn't have money to support me in school, so I dropped out of school. I had been fooled for a few years and didn't make a name for myself. Later, after someone introduced me, I started working as a coffin holder. Although I couldn't make a lot of money, I could still fill my stomach! Jiujizi, how are you? Shouldn't you go to college now?"

"Go to the damn bird university!" I spat and squeezed out an embarrassing smile: "I failed the college entrance examination and I have made a living with a master!"

"After a master? What crafts are you doing?" Leizi asked me.

"Driving the corpse!" I didn't avoid it. After all, everyone is familiar with the land in western Hunan, and they don't think driving the corpse is so terrible.

"Driving the corpse?! Really fake?" Lei Zi's eyes suddenly widened and looked at me in disbelief: "You can actually drive the corpse? It's so cool!"

"It's so cool! I earn hard money and it's very dangerous! It's my first time to come to Niujia Village today!" I sighed and briefly told Leizi about Fang Cuicui.

After hearing this, Lei Zi slapped his chest and said, "Brother, don't worry, you can't let you smash the signboard for the first time when you go to the army. I will definitely do this for you and cover it with me!"

Lei Zi threw away the cigarette butts, quickly called several other coffin carryrs over, and introduced me grandly, which made me feel a little embarrassed. When the others heard that I was a corpse-driver, they were all envious. Lei Zi looked proud: "This is my brother! This is my brother!"

I looked at it and included Lei Zi, and there were four coffin-carrying makers. Lei Zi was the youngest among them, only eighteen or nineteen years old. The other three were a little older, two were around thirty years old, and the other was in their forties. Their skin was all dark, and the hardships of life had left traces of vicissitudes on their faces.

The village chief gave them fifty yuan each, and the distance was very short, so the price was definitely high. Leizi and the other two happily took the money and carefully put it in their pockets.

With money and strength to work, Lei Zi shouted, "Brothers, get up!", and the other three responded, took out the wooden sticks and hemp ropes that had been prepared in advance, and skillfully tied two knots in front and behind the coffin with hemp ropes. The thick wooden sticks passed through the middle of the knot.

In the coffin-carrying industry, they call "coffin" "dragon coffin". The wooden stick is not called "wooden stick", but "dragon bone". The name of hemp rope is even more peculiar, called "dragon tendon". These names contain a kind of respect for the dead.

Four coffin carryrs stood in the four corners of the coffin. Lei Zi raised a earthen porcelain bowl and smashed it to the ground. This is something that the coffin carryr must do when lifting the coffin, which means "peace every year (smashed)" and blessed this time that there would be no trouble in this coffin lift.

The oldest coffin carryr shouted "Start up!" in a hoarse voice. The four of them carried the keel on their shoulders, shouted in a deep voice, carefully lifted the dragon coffin, and walked all the way to the Fang family.

If the journey is long, there will be coffin-carrying maker following behind. One is that people are tired and replaced, and the other is that some people will carry two long benches with them. Because the dragon coffin cannot touch the ground on the way, when stopping to rest, you must use two long benches to put them on the bottom and then put the coffin on.

Fortunately, the village committee is not far from the Fang family, so there is no need to be so complicated. It is still easy for four coffin-carrying maker to work together to carry an empty coffin, and the group soon arrived at the Fang family.

The Fang family was already empty, so I put Fang Cuicui's body behind the door panel to avoid illuminating the light.

The coffin was placed in the center of the backyard, and then Leizi and the other four found four shovels and began to dig holes.

After digging for more than an hour, a rectangular earth pit appeared in front of him.

Lei Zi wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked me, "Jiujizi, how do you see?"

I looked over and saw that the edges of the pit were flat and the size was appropriate, and the digging was quite professional.

I gave Lei Zi a thumbs up and told him that it was OK. Then I walked back to the room, took out the corpse-guiding bell, shook it a few times, and led Fang Cuicui's body out of the room and came to the front of the coffin.

I threw all the remaining yellow paper into the air, manipulated Fang Cuicui's body into the coffin, and slowly lay down.

"Close the dragon coffin!" I said.

Lei Zi nodded and stepped forward to close the lid of the coffin.

The moment the coffin lid closed, the stone hanging in my heart finally fell to the ground.

I sighed deeply. The mission of corpse driving was finally completed successfully. I could also get a job with my master when I went back.

Lei Zi and the other two carried the coffin into the dug soil pit and began to seal the soil. The black coffin was soon buried by loess. The poor Cuicui finally returned to her hometown.

I suddenly felt that whether it is a corpse-driver or a coffin-carrying maker, they are all very great professions. They do good deeds and do great things, and they are not cheap at all.

I also understand some rules in the industry. After Lei Zi and the others finished their work, I handed them a red envelope. There was not much money in the bag, and each person had twelve yuan, which was considered a dedication. In this way, I was really penniless and the only few dozen yuan left was gone.

Lei Zi was very addicted to cigarettes. He rubbed his hands full of soil and pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth: "I just went to beat the tombstone today, and I guess I will not be sent here tomorrow. At that time, I will put the tombstone on this tombstone, and it will be done! The merits are complete, Amitabha!"

I nodded. It seemed that I would have to wait a day before I could go back. The tombstone has not been placed yet, so I can't leave for the time being.

When we returned to the village committee, the village chief asked someone to prepare a table of wine and food for us.

This is a rule in the countryside. Before and after the coffin carry, the owner will entertain the food. It is a kind of respect for the coffin carryer. And he will arrange the coffin carryer to sit in the chief, which is also the most dignified time when the coffin carryer is the coffin carryer.

Because I was rushing to carry the coffin before, the village chief had no time to prepare. Now that I have come back from carrying the coffin, the village chief asked me to prepare the wine and food in advance.

After rushing so far, I was too hungry. Moreover, I hadn't seen Lei Zi for ten years. Naturally, the two brothers had endless talks with the Dragon Gate Formation. They swallowed the white wine bottle after bottle. The meal was eaten from 3 pm until 8 or 9 pm. They drank red and their tongues were a little big.

I stood up swayingly, went into the inner room to go to the toilet, and was whistling and cheering. Suddenly, I heard the sound of smashing and scolding from outside.
Chapter completed!