Before the funeral, there was a very bloody and cruel scene.
The Taoist priest presiding over the funeral held a bell in one hand and kept shaking it, brandished a peach wood sword in the other hand, and muttered some words. After some practice, he took a big rooster with his feet tied, and then unscrewed the big rooster's tail.
Chicken head, and then the blood constantly pouring out of the rooster's neck was sprinkled around the mourning hall.
It was a big, living rooster, and his head was just wrenched off by his hands.
This was not the first time Xu Tongdao had seen this scene since he was a child, so although he found it cruel, he was not surprised.
The funeral procession was very long.
As the legitimate son of Ge Zhiping, Ge Xiaotian wears linen and mourning, and wears a hat made of straw. Under the brim, there are three small cotton balls the size of broad beans hanging, tied with cotton thread, and hung on the straw hat.
Ge Xiaotian held the urn of his father Ge Zhiping and walked in front of the team.
He is not the only one who wears sackcloth and mourns.
Several nephews of Ge Zhiping are wearing sackcloth and mourning today.
But the only person qualified to wear such a hat is Ge Xiaotian.
This kind of straw hat, especially the three small cotton balls hanging under the straw hat, is called "Three Grain Palace" in local customs. Only the biological son of the deceased is qualified to wear this.
It proves that the deceased had a son.
My daughter is not qualified to wear it either.
This is also a major reason why many elderly people seriously favor boys over girls in rural customs.
——I'm afraid that after my death, no one will wear the "Three Pill Palace" and I will be said to be a descendant.
When Comrade Xu came yesterday, after offering incense, someone gave him a piece of white cloth and asked him to tie it around his arm.
The funeral procession, which was full of blows and blows, left the village and came to an open space at the head of the field of Ge Xiaoyu's house. There were already half-cut bricks and cement bases there.
Ge Xiaotian came here holding the urn, and under the guidance of the Taoist priest, he put his father's urn on the pedestal with tears streaming down his face.
Afterwards, the Taoist priest did some more work, and then two masons came forward and built the small tomb with bricks and cement.
More than half an hour later, under the auspices of the Taoist priest, everyone present at the funeral came forward to bow to Ge Zhiping for the last time.
Not far away a brazier was lit with dry straw.
Everyone who has finished the ceremony
Everyone must step over this brazier to get rid of bad luck.
After stepping over the brazier, you must take off the mourning cloth, hat, etc. you are wearing on the spot, and you must also dismantle the simply sewn mourning cloth, hat, etc. on the spot. Only after being disassembled can you take it away.
When everyone returned to the village, on the road, except for a few people from Ge Xiaoyu's family, the others no longer looked sad. Although they were not talking or laughing, they were already walking together in twos and threes, whispering something.
Comrade Xu heard an old man sighing: "Oh, it's a pity that Zhiping, a young man like him, is gone like this!"
Some old people also said: "When you die, you will be left with a handful of ashes. This life is really meaningless..."
Others said: "Let's go back now and have another meal, right?"
…
There were seven or eight children of various sizes in the funeral procession.
At this time, suddenly two little boys were chasing each other, jokingly fighting for the filial piety cloth in each other's hands.
…
Xu Tongdao took in this scene in front of his eyes. Although he was not surprised because he had seen it several times since he was a child, he still couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
When a person dies, except for close relatives at home who will mourn for many days, others, even relatives and friends, can recover in a blink of an eye.
This is really a blow to a person's fighting spirit.
If you don't look away, if you experience this kind of thing a few times, you may lose your fighting spirit.
Return to the village.
Everyone came to Ge Xiaoyu's house.
The kitchen has prepared some simple meals for everyone to satisfy their hunger.
There are relatives from Ge Xiaoyu's family asking everyone to eat more.
Xu Tongdao and Xi Dongyang were also hungry, so they followed everyone, each filled a bowl of rice with some vegetables, and found a stool to sit down and eat.
After just a few bites, another person sat down next to me.
Comrade Xu looked up and saw that it was the village chief Xu Hengchun.
Compared with a few years ago, Xu Hengchun looks older, his body is thinner, his hair is thinner, and there are more gray hairs.
Xu Hengchun, the village chief, also helped with Ge Zhiping's funeral.
At this time, Xu Hengchun was also holding a bowl of food in his hand.
When he sat down, Xu Hengchun breathed a sigh of relief. When he saw Comrade Xu looking up, Xu Hengchun showed an amiable smile on his face, "Xiaodao, you haven't been back to the village very much in the past few years! I heard many people say that you
You have made a lot of money outside in the past few years. Now that you have made a fortune, you must not forget the villagers. Do you think this is the right thing?"
Comrade Xu was not sure what Xu Hengchun wanted to say for a moment.
He smiled lightly and hummed casually.
Xu Hengchun turned to look at Xu Hongye (Ge Xiaoyu's mother) who was not far away, and asked curiously: "By the way, Xiaodao, I heard that Zhiping was sick this time, and you helped pay for all the medical expenses? No?"
Is it a small amount of money? I heard it cost tens of thousands?"
Comrade Xu still couldn't guess his intention.
He nodded slightly and hummed again.
Xu Hengchun looked at Comrade Xu with some emotion, nodded approvingly, and praised: "Not bad! Not bad! You are such a good kid! Much better than your dad! That's how it should be! We are all from the same village, and you are rich now.
, there are people in the village who are encountering such difficulties, it’s up to you to help, right? Hehe.”
Tongdao Xu frowned slightly, "Village Chief, what exactly do you want to say?"
At this time, Comrade Xu was a little afraid that the village chief would try to trick him.
If Comrade Xu was asked to work so hard to help any family in the village who had similar difficulties in the future, he would not dare to agree, nor would he want to agree.
First, there were too many families in the village.
Secondly... he was not one to retaliate with kindness, and a few years ago, after his father disappeared, some people in the village vacated his house, and he had not forgotten that.
No matter how generous he is, the most he can do is stop himself from taking revenge on those people.
But what if he was asked to help those people in the future just like he helped Ge Xiaoyu's family?
Sorry then!
He can't do it.
How to repay kindness with kindness?
Xu Hengchun chuckled and waved his hand, "Don't be afraid! Xiaodao, it's actually not a big deal. Let me tell you the truth! I came to you specifically today. I have two things I want to tell you."
Hearing this, Comrade Xu narrowed his eyes, suddenly put down the chopsticks in his hand, took out the cigarette case, threw a cigarette to Xu Hengchun, and lit one himself.
"Village chief, tell me! But I don't guarantee anything."
Xu Hengchun picked up the cigarette that Comrade Xu threw to him and clamped it to his ear, "Hmm, listen to it! The first thing is that the village needs to build roads, and some funds will be allocated from above, but it also requires everyone to raise some funds. You
The family is also from our village, so..."
Xu Tongdao: "..."
As soon as he first said that the village needed to build roads, Comrade Xu guessed what Xu Hengchun wanted to say.
Sure enough, Xu Hengchun said that he hoped he could donate a sum of money to build roads in the village.
"What about the second one?"
Tongdao Xu did not say whether he would donate money or not, but asked directly about the second matter.
Xu Hengchun smiled and said, "The second thing is, I heard that you have opened a factory now, right? Look...many people in our village take a break every day. Do you think your factory can arrange a job for everyone?"