his dragon [farming]

After Lin Baichuan entered the spirit shed, he knelt down on a cushion in front of the coffin, picked up the yellow paper placed next to the brazier, tore it open carefully, put it in the basin, and respectfully kowtowed three times to the spirit tablet .After doing all this, he got up and stood aside, beckoning Qiuhe with his eyes.

Qiu He thought he was just coming to have an ordinary meal, but he didn't expect that he came to attend a funeral. He didn't even know who the person died, so he just followed Bai Chuan's example and went to burn paper and kowtow.

There was an old man sitting next to the coffin, watching the two people kowtow with piercing eyes, and shouted in a broken voice: "Brother Fu, Bai Chuan from the Lin family and Qiu He from the Shen family sent you here!"

Qiu He was startled by the sudden voice, stood aside with her hands on her chest, and then saw the old man babbling and singing.

The song didn't have a complete tune, it just sounded dumb and low, crying, very sad, and Qiuhe could only vaguely hear two lines of lyrics such as "Darkness and chaos open, the three emperors and five emperors come".He remembered that Shen Lin had said that Liangshi Town still had the custom of singing funeral songs, so that must be it.

Amid the intermittent mourning songs, a woman tore two pieces of white linen and tied them around Qiu He and Bai Chuan's arms, leaving them alone.Qiuhe stood in the coffin shed for a while, and found that people from the town came here from time to time to burn paper and kowtow, and after kowtowing, they went to the kitchen behind the coffin shed to help with cooking, choosing vegetables, washing dishes and cleaning stools.

Qiu He was about to call Bai Chuan to go to the back kitchen together, but when he turned around to look for him, he found that Bai Chuan had already hid in a secluded corner outside the coffin shed.He didn't know where to find a small bench, and sat alone, with long hands and long legs, and a small stool, as if he was squatting there. In the dark, he could only see his two eyes, shining brightly and looking focused and serious.

Qiu He asked: "What are you doing?"

Bai Chuan glanced at him, then turned his head again, still maintaining his focus, and said, "Listen to the song."

Qiuhe stood beside her, listening attentively, and what she heard was the strange mourning song.

Qiu He thought in amazement, would there be anyone in the world who likes to listen to funeral songs?

In the end he put it down to the lack of entertainment in the small town, so even funeral songs became rare concerts.He stood for a while, then went back alone.Empress Hua was peeling green onions in the kitchen. When she saw Qiuhe, she quickly pulled him over to sit down. The two chatted while choosing vegetables. Only then did Qiuhe know that the person who died was an old man named Fu Dad in the town.

In Liangshi Town, no matter who is old, every household will burn two pieces of paper - the deceased is respected, even if there was a quarrel in life, they have to go, and no matter how lively they are, send them up the mountain.The dead rich father was a gatekeeper in the theater, and after the theater closed, he has been living in a side house next to it.Because there are no children, after receiving the news of the funeral, every household in the town collected money and food, and the neighbors also rushed to help, which was considered as their best effort.

After choosing the dishes, Empress Hua asked Qiu He to rest beside her because she thought he was a noble city boy.Qiu He was sitting by the hallway, listening to the faint sound of mourning singing in front of him, it was a different feeling compared to when he first heard it.

The old man's voice was hoarse and rough, full of loneliness and vicissitudes. At this moment, it sounded ethereal and desolate, like a traveler walking alone in the wilderness, with an endless road on one side and a hopeless hometown on the other.Hearing Qiu He was suddenly very sad.

He thought of the city he lived in since he was a child, and of Shen Lin. Yesterday he was still doing homework in the classroom and watching the boys play basketball on the playground. It was only a few days, and it seemed like a lifetime away.

There was a roar of cars in front of the house. It turned out that the truck of the funeral home was coming.A group of people beat the gongs and drums, and carried the coffin onto the car with a lot of shouting and drinking.Qiuhe saw his grandfather in the crowd, and Shen Baocheng was holding two cymbals in his hand. It seemed that he was one of the members of the funeral band.After Shen Baocheng and a group of people sat down around the coffin, the car rushed towards the county.

The atmosphere wasn't so sad. When the car left, the people who stayed at the coffin shed all chatted in small groups.

Seeing that Bai Chuan was still sitting in a corner in a daze, Qiu He squatted beside him and asked, "What are you going to do next?"

Bai Chuan looked at him and said solemnly, "Eat."

Qiu He was stunned for a while, but it turned out to be true.After a while, someone came and called the people inside and outside the coffin to come in and have a feast.

I don't know when it started to rain lightly outside, so the dinner table was placed in that theater.Qiu He entered through the back door and found several tables of food on a lonely stage.

A light bulb was raised in the middle of the stage, illuminating the tables and chairs above.Under the stage, there are rows of seats, crumbling here and there, looking quite dilapidated, extending into a dark place where the lights can't reach.

Beside a few tables, there were some old men and women and some seven or eight-year-old children standing. When they were about to sit down, they gave way to each other for a long time, and finally sat down lively.On the other hand, at the table of Qiu He and Bai Chuan, for some reason, the old men and women sitting together seemed to be more reserved, and the atmosphere was a bit dull.

Qiu He soon discovered that it was because Bai Chuan was sitting with him.

Among a group of gray old men, he was tall and fair, and his facial features became more and more colorful under the light. It seems to be concentrating on waiting for a meal.As a result, the old man sitting next to him obviously felt isolated and helpless, so he turned his head and chatted with the people at the other table in a low voice.

The old people here seem to be very respectful and polite to Bai Chuan, but it is only respect.Qiuhe knows a little bit about people and the world, and knows that being polite is actually a sign of alienation.But obviously, Bai Chuan doesn't care about it, and he probably even enjoys this sense of distance.

Qiu He had been hungry and sleepy for a long time. Looking at the dishes on the table, he had no appetite.However, the people of Liangshi Town have good rules. He kept in mind what his grandfather said, the elders at the dinner table did not move their chopsticks, and the younger generation could not eat first, so they held a bowl and listened to the people next to them while eating.

Several people were talking about the circumstances of rich dad's death.One said: "It's time to go, I've been blind for several years, and I'll suffer while alive, so let's go."

Compared with these old men and old ladies, Hua Niangniang is a young man, so she showed her own knowledge: "Rich Dad got cataracts. I heard that in big hospitals, cataracts can be cured by surgery. In the final analysis, it is still here Poor."

Another old man objected to these words: "When a person reaches his age, it is useless to go to the hospital. It is a waste of money! Liu Liezi on the Nanshan side was not well last year, and his eldest son sent him to the hospital. I had tens of thousands of dollars, and I knocked down a few stones, but I still left this year!"

The other old man next to him couldn't wait to show that he was well-informed, and said with gestures: "I've seen the stone that was knocked down. It's so big. When you cut it open with a knife, it's full of chestnuts!"

The people next to him gasped in amazement, but Qiu He completely lost his appetite.He never wants to eat chestnuts in his life!

Looking up to the side, that guy Lin Baichuan seemed to be completely unaffected, and was eating silently, intently, and without distraction, as if what he was facing was not an ordinary country rice noodle, but an extraordinary seafood delicacy.

After the meal was finally over, the people dispersed, leaving only a few people on the stove, who had to stay until the mourners came back to eat before leaving.

Qiu He then went to the kitchen and asked Hua Niangniang when her grandfather would be back.

"It's not too much," Hua Niangniang said while washing the dishes: "If someone is burned and brought back, he will be sent up to the mountain to be buried. You should go home first. ——Are you afraid of being alone at home?"

Qiuhe wanted face, so of course he had to bite the bullet and say he wasn't afraid.He came out of the kitchen feeling uneasy, when he suddenly saw Lin Baichuan standing by the side of the road, he hurried forward and said, "You haven't left yet, shall we go back together?"

"Well, grandpa asked me to wait for you." Lin Baichuan said in a low voice, and started walking towards home.

Qiu He thought, compared to himself, grandpa and Bai Chuan had been neighbors for many years, and they probably got along more like a grandfather and grandson.

The light rain was still falling, there was no starlight at all, and there were no street lights in the town. It was so dark that it was so dark that if it wasn't for the flashlight, it would be impossible to see the road clearly.The two boys walked home side by side, only to hear the rain gently hitting the bushes, making a soft rustle.Thinking of Grandpa, Qiu He was a little worried, and said, "Grandpa will probably be drenched when he comes home later."

Bai Chuan said, "No. I brought him a poncho."

Qiu He was a little surprised: "Did you know it was going to rain when you went out?"

Bai Chuan paused for a while before saying, "It will depend on the weather."

Qiu He thought about it, and only remembered that it was still sunny during the day, but he couldn't remember what the weather was like when he went out at night.He turned to think of the funeral in the evening.He was also deeply impressed by the ancientness and decay of the town.What surprised him was that even the young people in the town ran out to seek better development opportunities, but why did Lin Baichuan stay here all the time?

If it is said that he has no chance to go out, that is not necessarily the case.Didn't someone come over to talk to him about buying the forest?He can completely sell the mountain land, take the money and leave.

So Qiu He tentatively asked: "Bai Chuan, have you thought about leaving Liangshi Town one day?"

In the darkness, Bai Chuan was silent for a while, and said, "What are you doing out there?"

Qiuhe recalled that in the afternoon, her grandfather was still saying "what else can I do if I don't do this", which is very similar to Bai Chuan's words.Did they really never think that there is a big world outside of Liangshi Town?

He thought for a while, and said in an encouraging tone: "You can do a lot of things, you can go to school, you can try various jobs, you can meet many people, see different scenery, and experience different lives. - besides, you look good So handsome, even if he becomes a model, he will definitely be popular."

Bai Chuan walked silently in front for a while, and said, "I don't want to." After a pause, he asked Qiu He, "Do you want to?"

Do I want to?Qiu Hexin said, there is no need to ask, of course I want to!If not for compelling reasons, who would be willing to waste their best years in this lonely town?Who would like this kind of life without anyone to talk to?Who would stay in this deep mountain with no future and hope in sight?

He had already tried his best to adapt to everything around him, but at this moment, the loss and depression that had been deliberately suppressed surged up, hitting Qiu He, making his eyes moist and resentful, even he himself did not know where the resentment came from: "Why? You can leave, but why do you want to stay here for the rest of your life? Are you really so willing? Besides Liangshi Town, where did you live when you were young? What about your relatives? Have you never thought about it? Go back and have a look?"

Bai Chuan stood still, and took a sharp look at Qiu He.Yes, even through the thick darkness, Qiu He could feel the sharpness and vigilance in his eyes.Afterwards, Bai Chuan opened his mouth coldly.

"I don't have a home, this is my home."

On the way back, the two haven't spoken since then.The atmosphere seemed stiff again, just like the day when Qiu He first came.Qiu He felt a little regretful, after all, they were not familiar with each other, and Bai Chuan had a strange background, so his words really sounded abrupt.

He thought that they seemed to be the same age, but Bai Chuan must have experienced many special things.Those things were engraved in his young life, like a hot iron carved into his flesh and blood, turning him into this strange boy who likes to be alone and listens to mourning songs.