Chapter 1 Burial

In 1998, Xia.

There is a small mountain village in the north, surrounded by mountains and rivers. The mountain is located in the west of the village, shaped like a long dragon; the water is located in the east of the village, named Qinglong River.

Therefore, the mountain village is called Wolong Village.

Beside the path leading to Xishan, this place is far away from the village, but there is a courtyard standing alone.

The adobe house in the fenced courtyard was crumbling in the storm, but it still stood tall.

With a "squeak", the two wooden doors swung open. A boy came out in the rain with an old man on his back.

The boy's name was Zhang Xiaobai, twenty years old, and the old man on his back was his grandmother, who died of illness three days ago.

It rained for three days, and one cannot wait for three days.

Today, Zhang Xiaobai sent his grandma to be buried.

The wooden cart stopped in front of the door, Zhang Xiaobai slowly put the old man on the cart, covered the old man with a new mat, and then found hemp rope to tie it up.

Zhang Xiaobai came to the front of the car, put on the reins, and walked down the mountain step by step.

The mountain road washed by the rain has lost all the soil, and the rocks are exposed on the surface. The boy in cloth shoes leaned back and tried his best to steady his steps to keep the wooden cart stable, as if he was afraid of the old man on the cart bumping.

For a short distance, Zhang Xiaobai walked for 20 minutes before entering Wolong Village.

The mountain village is located at the foot of the mountain, the terrain is relatively flat, and there are dozens of families. There are mostly adobe houses, but there are also three or two brick houses. The whole village is marked with barren and dilapidated traces.

As the torrential rain dwindled, some children cheered and rushed out of their homes to the street, running and chasing despite the mud.

When they saw the wooden cart and saw Zhang Xiaobai clearly, they seemed to see a ghost, and each of them ran home with a cry of surprise.

After a while, the adults came out one after another. The men with cigarettes in their mouths and arms, and the women with basins and sweaters in their hands, watched the excitement as usual.

The funerals and burials of the villagers were really lively, at least they carried the coffin while blowing trumpets, but this family's funeral was really deserted.

"Hey! This child is also very poor. He just passed the college entrance examination, and he is completely dead."

"Poor thing, it's this broom star who killed his family members, whoever gets close to him will be unlucky."

"Shh, keep your voice down, this bastard is bad, he beat our boss again a few days ago!"

"Yo! I saw it. It was the eldest and second child of your family who beat him together. I still haven't beaten him!"

...

The women murmured in low voices, their yin and yang beaming and expressive.

The men were relatively silent, just watching the wooden cart move forward slowly with a blank expression.

In such a small village, only marriage affairs can arouse people's interest, passing the boring life day after day and year after year.

Zhang Xiaobai didn't realize it, he was already numb to those words, and even tired of seeing those expressions.

If it wasn't for his grandma's insistence, he would have wanted to move elsewhere, but now that his grandma couldn't insist, Zhang Xiaobai didn't want to go anywhere.

The wooden cart drew two traces on the muddy road, going further and further away. In the crowd, a young man wearing glasses poked his head out quietly, looked at Zhang Xiaobai's back and raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and then ran home quickly.

A brick and tile house in the east of the village is particularly eye-catching, showing that the family is wealthy, but a young man in the house is buried in his head and choked up.

His father's name was Shi Youfu, a well-known rich man in the village, who worked as a contractor outside, and the weeping boy was his second son, Shi Lei.

At this moment, Shi Youfu was blocking the door with a cigarette in his mouth, pointing at the unfilial son and shouting: "I tell you, as long as I'm here, you don't want to come out of this door today!"

Shi Lei raised his head with a low growl, his eyes were bloodshot, he gritted his teeth and said, "Shi Youfu, I'll tell you too, if you don't let me go out, you will be my father!"

The father was furious, and was about to hit the child in the rain, so he rushed over with his hands raised, but he was horrified to find that his son was rushing towards him with clenched fists.

Is this to resist?

Just when Shi Youfu was uncertain and hesitated a little, his son Shi Lei dodged around and rushed past him under his arm.

It's too late to chase again.

...

A poplar grove, two solitary graves.

Zhang Xiaobai stopped and said softly, "Grandma, we are home! Grandpa and Mom are here, you are not alone!"

There is a hole next to the grave, which was dug by the rain last night. After a whole night of rain, it was a bit messy, so Zhang Xiaobai jumped down from the hole to clean it up carefully.

"I didn't take good care of you when I was alive, so I should sleep more comfortably after I die!"

Zhang Xiaobai's voice was a little choked up, and tears swirled in the circles of his eyes, but even so, they still didn't let the tears fall.

Grandma said, don't cry.

"Xiaobai, I'm late, grandma, I've brought you here!" Shi Lei ran over crying.

Zhang Xiaobai said: "Why are you bothering? You can't fight against the old man!"

Shi Lei shook his head, his gaze fell on the mat, tears streaming down his face.

Zhang Xiaobai said: "You can't blame the old man. It's your fault that you stole the money and lent it to me. It's a thousand dollars! When will I pay it back?"

Shi Lei choked up and said, "Are you still talking about money with me? Do you consider me a brother?"

Zhang Xiaobai sighed and rolled up the mat. Grandma is still the same, with kind eyes, as if she is sleeping, and she is very peaceful.

"Grandma, you can rest in peace!"

The two lifted the old man, moved slowly, and put it firmly into the pit.

Zhang Xiaobai knelt in front of the grave, but he couldn't bear to fill in the soil, he didn't dare to fill in the soil.

After closing the cover, you will never see grandma again!

After a long time, Zhang Xiaobai picked up the soil and sprinkled it on his grandma.

One, two, three...

When the old man could no longer be seen, Zhang Xiaobai stood up and filled the soil like crazy with a shovel until the grave appeared.

Zhang Xiaobai then turned to look at Shi Lei, his face was full of tears at some point, he smiled miserably, and murmured: "Brother, I don't have a grandma anymore! I don't have a grandma anymore!"

...

Shi Lei lit a cigarette and handed it to Zhang Xiaobai, then lit another and carefully put it in front of the grave.

Zhang Xiaobai took a deep breath and said, "Grandma is not used to smoking cigarettes!"

Shi Lei said: "What are your plans in the future? Are you really not going to school?"

Zhang Xiaobai said: "If I have no money, I can't go. Besides, I have to guard this home. Grandma said that I can have nothing, but my home cannot be lost!"

Shi Lei sighed, "Those who got into university can't get in, I want to get into university but I can't get in, what kind of shit is this world!"

Zhang Xiaobai was silent for a while, and said: "I always feel that the outsider is not a good person. There must be something tricky here. It's best not to rent out your mountain!"

Shi Lei said: "I don't want to either, but my dad thinks, he is an eye for money. Fifty thousand yuan is not a small amount! It's enough to build six big tile-roofed houses!"

Zhang Xiaobai said: "From 10,000 to 30,000 and then to 50,000, it is enough to prove that he is very impatient. Stretch him first, then I think of a possibility?"

A gust of wind blew, faintly mixed with the roar of the machine.

The two stood up immediately.

Zhang Xiaobai shouted: "You pull the car back!"

Before Shi Lei could reply, Zhang Xiaobai ran towards Xishan!