In my impression, it rained every Qingming Festival when Mo Weiming came to Yaozhou.
The light rain fell on the ground, casting a thin layer of smoke and mist over the scenery in front of us. But the colors of April are always bright. The mountains in the distance are covered with brilliant golden color, which is a continuous patch of rapeseed flowers and dandelions. Nearby at the feet are clusters of tightly packed blue-purple popanas, and even more purple are the purple heliotropes and February orchids in the cracks of the rocks.
Wu Hui held a purple oil-paper umbrella painted with unknown flowers and stood quietly at a distance behind Mo Weiming. It started to rain in the morning, whether it was heavy or light, but if you stayed there for a long time, your clothes would eventually get soaked. But Mo Weiming just kept squatting like that, the rain twisting his dark gray hair into strands.
Such a small amount of rain was not enough to extinguish the open fire burning the paper. The black smoke from the fire stretched crookedly through the rain. Looking around, the entire cemetery group is scattered with such plumes of smoke. They dissipated far away from the sky.
"Thank you. I told you I won't hold an umbrella."
Noticing that there was no raindrops falling from above, Mo Weiming said without looking back. But a pile of yellow paper appeared on the side of his face, and he sighed slightly, the sound softer than the sound of rain. Taking the new paper from Wu Hui, he silently took two steps to the side.
"Huh? Can I burn it?"
"It's all here."
"Should I say something?"
"As you wish."
"Um……"
Standing in front of a strange grave, Wu Hui seemed to have nothing to say. In addition to candles, there are apples, dates and oranges brought by Mo Weiming. She held the umbrella to her shoulder and was thinking about what to say to the owner of the tomb. She was silent and thinking hard, and until all the paper in her hand was burned, she still hadn't figured out what to say.
She stood up, placed a green dumpling among some fruits, and bowed deeply to the tombstone.
"Forget it, I don't know your brother very well after all..."
"Then don't say it."
The plants within sight no longer shake their heads helplessly, and there are no longer drops of water dripping from the fruits. Wu Hui knew that the rain had stopped temporarily, so she put away her umbrella. The location where Mo Weiming bought it was very remote. Except for him, no one paid attention to the nearby tombs. Once the rain stopped, only the birds were left chirping tirelessly.
"Aren't you going to say something to him?"
"I don't have this habit." Mo Weiming paused, "I just... thought in my heart."
"If you don't say it, how will others hear it?"
"If you say it, even a dead person can't hear it."
"Then why did you..."
Why did you buy this cemetery? But Wu Hui didn't ask further.
"I didn't buy it for him. I bought it for myself."
"You said that this is... a tomb?"
"Well. There are only a few old clothes, a few toys that he liked when he was a child, and some identity information. I originally had a gray scarf, which he liked very much, so he went and wore it every winter. Unfortunately, it's his turn. I couldn’t find it when I went to pack up my belongings.”
After burning the paper, they stood here all morning. Near noon, the rain stopped and the temperature became warm again. They walked slowly along the roadside, past neat rows of other people's graves. The people in front of the new tomb burst into tears, while the people in front of the old tomb were much more stable and only spoke softly. There were also many people like Mo Weiming who remained silent.
Most of the tombstones are engraved with "strict father" and "loving mother". There were also a few places where "Aiko" was written before the name, which made Wu Hui's heart twitch and she couldn't help but speed up her steps - she didn't dare to stay too long.
She remembered the tombstone where Mo Weiming burned paper. It had "my brother" clearly engraved on it, and his name was "Mo En".
So brief. That's all.
Walking slowly along the path, my shoes made water stains on the moist soil without sinking in, as if the soil was breathing. The grassland on the roadside is also full of babaana, February orchid and purple hemlock. The larger green plants are alfalfa, and they will also bloom purple flowers a month or two later.
Wu Hui recognized all these flowers and plants, having read them in books. She casually pinched a tall, slightly white grass on the side of the road, with fine downs on it. She smelled her hand, which was stained with the strong fragrance of moxa. She put her hand stained with broken leaves in front of Mo Weiming's face. He only sniffed it and then tilted his face back.
"Tsk, take it away!"
"Why do you look like a ghost? This thing can ward off evil spirits and also ward you off."
The curve of the corner of Mo Weiming's mouth seemed to be raised a little, and she finally felt that the smile at this time was sincere. Since the last time he was exposed, he has always shown a kind of depth and solemnity, so that his usual smile has faded away. But she couldn't ask, and a series of events turned into a series of mysteries that lingered in Wu Hui's mind. She occasionally felt angry because neither Shi Wuqi nor Mo Weiming gave her any further explanation for being involved.
It wasn't until two days ago that she saw him again at the stairwell after get off work, that she plucked up the courage to ask if she had time to go on an outing with her friends from the newspaper during the Qingming Festival. Mo Weiming only said that he was going to visit the grave, and Wu Hui remembered that it was his brother's memorial day a month or two ago.
"Then, take me with you?"
Mo Weiming's expression was a little surprised at that time, but he did not refuse. Thinking about it, he must also know that Wu Hui wanted to ask about things that could not be explained clearly. Now, without her having to speak, Mo Weiming took the initiative and said:
"I suspect that the wolf dog ate part of Miss Yu."
"Who?" Wu Hui vaguely remembered that he mentioned this title that day, "You mean, that girl is the eldest lady of the Yu family?"
"Yes. The skin on her face and other hand has been exposed to the weather, but the other hand is very white and new."
"...How is that possible? What you are saying is too ridiculous."
"Don't forget, Shopkeeper Shi said that she is the current Minister of Tianquan. You should remember that I once told you about the effectiveness of the amber I saw when I was a child. No matter how much damage she suffered, she can rely on this recovery."
"You put it like that... I remember that she did say something at that time, 'Treat others in their own way.' And those poor children were clamoring to eat dog meat? But even so—"
"I knew there was too little information. But I couldn't think too much at the time. I just went up and grabbed the dog's body."
"So it died at that time, didn't you fail to save it?"
"It would be easier if it was dead. I'd have to cut it open to see if it was what I thought it was."
"As a result, everything in its stomach has been almost digested..."
"Yes. And it's just - just ordinary meat. To be honest, I was still expecting that if its fur was cut open, it would be able to recover like it did more than twenty years ago... The blue light in the fantasy is all Appeared in front of me. But how is that possible? Of course it was dead. If it was really like that cat, it should still be breathing when I picked it up."
As they talked, they walked to a row of graves again. The tombs here should be the earliest ones in the cemetery. After the baptism of time, the writing on the tombstone has become lighter, and the tree in front of the tomb has grown very tall. Some are still maintained every year or so, while others are overgrown. Soon, if no one renews the management fee, they will all be moved away.
"Huh? Doctor...and Miss Editor?"
The person I bumped into turned out to be——
"Section Chief Bai?" Wu Hui was surprised, "Why are you here too?"
"You don't need to call me Section Chief now. Look, aren't I wearing casual clothes? Just call me Bethlehem. It's a day off today, so I'll visit my parents' graves."
"ah……"
Bethlehem had also finished sweeping the tomb, and there were only dots of firelight left in the ashes. Wu Hui took a look and saw that the sacrifices placed in front of the grave were also seasonal fruits, and there were also ancient snacks that were not common nowadays. Maybe it was something people loved to eat at that time.
The three of them walked side by side on the road, slowly and leisurely. Although Bai Leng seems serious and strict at work, if you chat a few words in private, it is easy to find that he is not as hard to talk to as he seems. They all mentioned their own situations. Mo Weiming said he came to see his brother. The elders in Wuhui's family are still alive, but they are far away from Yaozhou and they don't write letters very often.
"It's better to keep in touch while your parents are still here." Bai Leng smiled lightly.
"Are you... the only child in your family?" Wu Hui asked.
"Yes. As long as I can remember, my family has always been poor. But we live in the city, not in the countryside, and we have no land. We can't raise too many children, so my parents only have me."
Wu Hui nodded. She found that Mo Weiming's expression was a little hesitant. Before she could ask, Mo Weiming spoke first.
"Um, excuse me...you are the biological son of the family, right?"
That's really presumptuous, Wu Hui thought to herself. She was really afraid that these words would offend Section Chief Bai. But she looked over and found that Bai Leng was only slightly surprised. He quickly calmed down and replied:
"Dr. Mo's keen eye for details is really like that of a policeman. Did you see the words on the tombstone?"
"Yes. Sorry, no offense intended. I saw that your father's surname is Leng, but you..."
"There is nothing to hide. My father's surname is indeed Leng, and I naturally took his surname when I was a child. It's just that they left very early and I was still very young. At that time, I was helpless and in a difficult situation. It was me My adoptive father adopted me and gave me my current name. He was very busy and fostered me with a wealthy family. Because of his affection and prestige, the other party also took good care of me. "
With that said, they had already left the cemetery. But just as he reached the door, Bai Leng suddenly stopped. He saw a person.
"...adopted father?"
The other two people followed his line of sight and saw someone sitting on a chair on the roadside. He wore a pure black hat with a white ribbon tied on it, and a dark tan ponytail simply tied behind the hat. Seeing Bai Leng coming out, he stood up and walked towards this side. His coat is also black, with an untied white scarf hanging around his neck, one long and one short on his chest.
A pair of silver-rimmed round sunglasses rested on the bridge of his nose. The two couldn't help but wonder to themselves, do they need to wear sunglasses in this weather? Just at this moment, it started drizzling again. The man who came over took off his hat and put it on Bethlen's head.
"Hey, I'm no longer a child..."
Bai Leng said awkwardly.
