I really don't want to be a teacher

Turning around, Lian Ge asked aloud,

"...Here, this is Chen Family Village..."

The middle-aged woman stopped when she heard the sound, turned her head, barely straightened her body, looked at Lian Ge, first responded, then looked again, and said again,

"...We are Shannan Town..."

"...I know, I know...we are in Jingzhou City..."

The child next to him stood on tiptoe and rushed to answer, saying,

"...Yes, this is Jingzhou."

The middle-aged woman first turned her head, looked at her child, with a smile on her face, then turned back, nodded and said.

"Thank you, Miss."

Smiling, Lian Ge thanked him.

"……You're welcome."

The middle-aged woman shook her head, took her child with her, and then moved forward, gradually walking away.

……

"...Wait a while, mother sold the duck and the chicken in the basket, and will take you to the town to buy a thicker dress... This winter is coming soon, I should buy it for you Order some winter clothes..."

"...Then mom, do you want to buy it?"

"...Mom can still wear last year's clothes, what are you buying them for... Just buy them for my precious son... After two months, it's the Chinese New Year, and Mom will buy you another set of clothes..."

"...the car is coming... hurry up..."

The middle-aged woman was holding her child, talking, and ran towards an old bus that stopped at the fork not far ahead.

……

Seeing the mother and child walking away, Lian Ge turned his gaze back and continued walking along the mountain road.

On the shoulders, the little white mouse stands with its forelimbs, turns its head, and looks around.

……

A few days ago, after eating the bowl of dumplings in the noodle restaurant, Lian Ge chose a random direction and left the city.

The road at the foot of the road gradually changed from a street to a road, and from a road to a mountain road.

Either stay at someone's house, or sleep out in the mountains and forests, and travel here after spending a few days.

……

"sough……"

The mountain wind is chilly, disturbing the skirts of the clothes, and the branches and leaves in the forest beside the mountain road,

The rising sun, from time to time, penetrated into the clouds, and from time to time, it moved towards the mountain road, swaying some sunlight, reflecting the shadows of the branches, leaves and pedestrians on the road.

"... Clang! Clang..."

Stopping again, it is next to the mountain road, next to a slope extending downward,

Some sounds mixed with gongs and suonas are ringing in my ears along with the gusts of mountain wind.

Turning his gaze, Lian Ge followed the sound and looked down the slope.

On the shoulder, the little white mouse also turned its head and looked there.

On the slope, there are some broken rocks, one side leans against the mountain slope, and the side slightly lower is the terraced fields that have been reclaimed layer by layer.

Down the slope, at the end of the road, there is a village in the valley,

In the village, a winding village road connects the houses in the village, and each family is scattered along the village road.

It's not time for meal, but along the village road, every family goes up, but there are bursts of smoke,

Go forward along the smoke everywhere, relying on the sky above the other side of the village, there is a strong smoke,

There seemed to be some ashes in the smoke, and with the gusts of mountain wind, there was also the smell of paper money and joss sticks.

And the sound of gongs and suonas also came from the place where paper money and incense candles were burning.

Turning his gaze back, Lian Ge moved away and walked down the hillside to the village in the depression.

……

At the entrance of the village, Lian Ge slightly stamped his feet,

Along the village road, looking into the village,

On the village road, there were no people to be seen, only gusts of breeze, carrying some mournful sounds from the end of the village, rang in my ears.

Moving away, along the village road, Lian Ge walked towards the village.

Along the way, beside the village road, families passed by,

In every house, the doors and windows are tightly closed.

There are small piles of lit straw piled up in front of many people's houses and by the yard.

The previous streaks of smoke were permeating from the piles of fires that were still burning or had been extinguished, rising upwards.

"...clang...clang..."

"Crackling..."

At this moment, the mournful music from the end of the village changed a bit, followed by a burst of firecrackers,

Some people wearing plain clothes, with filial cloth wrapped around their heads, holding filial flags and flags, seemed to have set foot on the village road from the yard of a family at the end of the village, and walked towards the entrance of the village.

……

Glancing at the funeral procession, Lian Ge stopped, and walked two steps towards the courtyard next to him.

"... Shoot!"

"Crackling..."

Another burst of firecrackers sounded, and after turning a corner, the funeral procession approached.

The one walking in the front was a Taoist priest wearing Taoist robes, followed by a middle-aged man holding a spiritual tablet,

Next to the middle-aged man, there was a man carrying a red plastic bag and a stick of incense, from time to time, taking out firecrackers from the plastic bag and lighting them, and taking out some paper money and throwing them around,

Behind the middle-aged man, a man slightly younger than the middle-aged man lowered his head, holding a coffin-shaped urn, and followed the person in front,

Later on both sides, there are people playing mourning and music, and further behind, there are some people wearing filial piety cloth, holding filial piety streamers and filial flags,

"...Scattering paper..."

The Taoist priest walking in the front shouted again, a handful of paper money was grabbed from the plastic bag and thrown out,

With the gusts of breeze, it was scattered on the village road along the way, on the younger generations in the funeral procession, and in the courtyards of the people on both sides of the village road.

……

Seeing the funeral procession pass by, Lian Ge moved away again, and continued to walk towards the house at the end of the village that smelled like incense and paper money.

Along the way, after the funeral procession left, the families on the side of the village road reopened their doors one after another, or walked out, or looked out,

"...Don't step on that paper money, and don't pick it up..."

A child who ran out of the house squatted down curiously in front of the paper money left in the yard, and stretched out his hand to pick it up.

Seeing this, the narrator's mother hurried over, pulled the child up, and glanced at the paper money with some displeasure.

"...Why can't you pick it up?"

The child was pulled, looking at the paper money curiously.

"...because...because it's someone else's."

Chapter 453 Life and Death

"...It's the stuff of the dead, you can't pick it up, do you hear me?"

In that yard, the child still had some confusion in his eyes, and was pulled by his mother to stand up,

In a hurry again, he patted the ashes on the child's hands with his hands, and then withdrew his hands.

"...Then mother, what is dead?"

The child turned his head, looked at his mother, and asked doubtfully,

"...If you die, you will never see your parents, your friends, or eat what you want..."

The child's mother said to the child, the child's eyes gradually showed fear,

"...Mom, will I die then, I don't want to die, can I not die..."

Terrified, the child hurriedly rubbed the paper money dust on his hands on his clothes, and asked in a panic,

"...It's okay, you're still young, you won't die. Look, mom is still here..."

The child's mother smiled at the child and comforted her,

The child gradually calmed down, but his eyes still showed fear,

"...Let's go, go into the house and help Mom wash the dishes, and Mom will cook twice-cooked pork for you at noon..."

"……it is good!"

The child's mother leads the child and walks into the house. The child's attention is diverted, and he becomes happy again.

"...Will Dad come back at noon later?"

"...Dad, Dad won't be back until this afternoon. He's having lunch at your Uncle Feng's house."

"...Then why don't we go together..."

While talking, the child and the child's mother entered the room.

……

Glancing at the pair of mother and child, listening to the voice of the voice ringing in the ear with the breeze,

Lian Ge turned his gaze back and continued walking along the village road.

Passing by a few more yards, Lian Ge approached the yard that smelled of paper money and ashes,

In front of the yard, next to the village road, there are still a few poles of filial piety flags and streamers. Beside the yard, there is still an old yellow cloth that has not been taken off. Some scriptures and patterns are embroidered on the yellow cloth.

In the yard, beside the several dining tables set up, some neighbors and distant relatives who came to the funeral but did not go to the funeral sat sporadically,

There are cups of tea in front of each of them, and some melon and fruit candies on the table, and they are talking in twos and threes.

A middle-aged woman was walking back and forth between the table and the stools, busy, greeting the guests.

A person who seems to be presiding over the funeral is fiddling with the yard next to the village road, and seems to be arranging things related to the funeral ceremony.

An old lady in her seventies was sitting far away, leaning against the side of the yard, her body bent, her head bowed, and she was silent.

"...Mom, don't be angry, Dad..."

After the middle-aged woman poured a cup of tea for the newly arrived guest, she turned around and walked to the side of the yard. In front of the old lady, she said aloud,

"...Dad, he's already... Don't get angry and break your body, your body is not good..."

The middle-aged woman bent down, comforted her, and spoke to the old lady.

The old lady still lowered her head and remained silent.

"...Mom, you haven't eaten anything this early in the morning. You must be hungry. How about I cook two glutinous rice balls for you, so you can fill your stomach."

Looking at the old lady, the middle-aged woman opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just asked.

Hearing this, the old lady raised her head slowly,

His face looked a bit haggard, a few hairs that had not been combed well, the already gray hair stuck to his forehead, his eyes were cloudy,

Looking at the middle-aged woman, his eyes moved slightly, followed closely, and then slowly turned his head, looking into the main room facing the courtyard,

The door of the main room is open, through the door of the main room,

In the main room is a temporary funeral hall, but the funeral has already taken place.