Wanghai County, Changping Village.
Old house, small three bedrooms.
"Yongzhi, Yongzhi! Wake up, Yongzhi!"
"Dad, dad, please open your eyes..."
When Yang Yongzhi opened his eyes in a daze, what came into view were the anxious faces of his wife and daughter, one large and one small.
He regained consciousness instantly and sat up, "What's wrong? Why are you standing here with me if you don't sleep?"
Seeing that Yang Yongzhi was awake, Zhao Liuer breathed a sigh of relief.
"Also, you were dreaming and shouting all night last night, and my daughter and I were both woken up by you!"
"Ah? I fell asleep. I thought I wasn't asleep..." Yang Yongzhi scratched his head a little embarrassedly. As for what he was dreaming about, he couldn't remember it at the moment.
"Well, you guys go back to bed and go back to sleep! I'm afraid I won't scream this time," Yang Yongzhi said.
Zhao Liu'er said: "I won't sleep anymore, it's already dawn..."
As he was speaking, the sound of a rooster crow could be heard outside.
Yang Yongzhi turned over and looked at the two open tiles on the roof. Sure enough, a ray of skylight shone into the house.
The candle on the table had long since been blown out. With that ray of skylight, the room was already blurry and there was no need to rely on the candle for illumination.
"Then Niuniu go back and sleep for a while. Breakfast hasn't been cooked yet, so there's no need to get up so early." Yang Yongzhi added.
Niu Niu nodded, yawned and climbed back onto the bed, while Zhao Liuer stayed behind. Yang Yongzhi got up and put on his clothes while she gently helped him tidy up the shop.
Shake out the bedding, then fold it neatly and carry it to the wooden box, and add an old sheet to catch the dust.
Because Niuniu was still sleeping, the couple spoke in extremely low voices.
"Yongzhi, what did you dream about last night? I heard you call your eldest brother's name several times."
Fortunately, it's daybreak now, the rooster crows over and over again, and the darkness fades away, giving Zhao Liuer courage.
Otherwise, she would never dare to ask at night, for fear of attracting something bad.
Yang Yongzhi originally didn't think of last night's dream, but now after Zhao Liuer asked, the valve of his memory suddenly opened.
The dream last night suddenly came to mind clearly.
"I dreamed that my eldest brother and my second brother were playing together on the patio. We were all still children..."
After listening to Yang Yongzhi's dream, Zhao Liuer also fell silent.
"You will dream about relevant people and things only when you have something in your mind. It's nothing, it's just a dream. Yongzhi, don't think too much about it." Zhao Liuer put his hand on Yang Yongzhi's shoulder and enlightened him softly.
Yang Yongzhi nodded, "However, if I think about it carefully, what my eldest brother said when he left was a bit strange."
He asked him to be filial to his mother for him, and said he was going to where he should go...
"Brother is giving me a hint. He probably can't let go of my mother because he's afraid that we won't be filial to her." Yang Yongzhi sat there and murmured to himself.
On the morning of the funeral, the coffin refused to leave until my mother went over, touched it and cried, and then the coffin refused to leave.
Strange or not!
Zhao Liu'er nodded: "It's indeed strange, but your eldest brother is just worried."
Yang Yongzhi looked at Zhao Liuer a little confused, not quite understanding what he meant.
Zhao Liuer went on to explain: "I can vouch for the remaining three brothers, even Yongqing. Although he is generous, he can't leave our mother alone. What's more, let alone us? What's more, the second brother? "
Yang Yongzhi suddenly realized, "My eldest brother is really worrying too much. There is no need to explain these things. We must be filial to our mother!"
Zhao Liuer continued: "He is the same. When he was alive, he didn't know how to come back and honor your mother. Now that he is gone, he will remember her again."
"In the past few years, didn't my mother always live with the three of us? When did he have to worry about it? It's true!"
Zhao Liu'er shook her head. If it weren't for the fact that the deceased was so important, she would have wanted to rant.
He pretended to be a god and made it seem like he was the only filial son in the world, and he was so embarrassed.
People, what you do while you are alive is the most important. Don’t wait until you are lying down to do this or that. It is boring, not interesting at all.
The couple talked quietly for a while, planning to treat this dream as an ordinary dream about urination and not talk about it outside.
While I was talking, it was getting brighter outside. He stood up, pulled off the apron hanging on the wooden stake on the wall and tied it around his waist: "I have to go to the backyard to cook breakfast."
Yang Yongzhi stood up and said, "I'll help you stuff the firewood."
Zhao Liuer said: "No, you can stay in this room, my daughter is still asleep."
Yang Yongzhi glanced at the bed, "Then I will help you fill up the water tank and then come back. Let her sleep alone for a while. It will be fine. It is already dawn and the sun is about to rise."
In this case, Zhao Liuer no longer insisted. The couple packed up and went to the backyard kitchen to cook breakfast.
As soon as they reached the patio, they met the older Yangtou and Tan.
"Master, grandma, you guys got up early!" The young couple stopped and greeted the second elder.
Mrs. Tan didn't say a word, but looking at her, it was obvious that she didn't sleep well last night.
Lao Yangtou nodded to Yang Yongzhi and the others, and said something perfunctory absentmindedly. The old couple went straight to the front of the hall where Yang Yongxian lived.
Yang Yongzhi and Zhao Liuer looked at each other, and then Zhao Liuer was a little curious and said, "Let's go, let's take a look too?"
Yang Yongzhi: "Are you not afraid anymore?"
Zhao Liuer: "There's nothing to be afraid of in broad daylight. Besides, grandma and grandpa are both here!"
Don't be afraid if there are many people, nothing will happen.
In this case, Yang Yongzhi also turned around, and the young couple followed behind and went to Yang Yongxian's house.
But the young couple didn't even go in when they arrived at the door. They just stood at the door and poked their heads inside.
In the house, after Lao Yangtou and Mr. Tan entered the door, as they had agreed in advance, one walked to the left and the other to the right. They both avoided the road paved with incense ash on the ground.
Old Yangtou also specifically warned Yang Yongzhi and Zhao Liuer at the door: "Don't come in, don't step on the ashes on the ground!"
Yang Yongzhi and Zhao Liuer did not care whether the incense ashes would be trampled on.
What the two of them were thinking was, is the incense ash on the ground really useful? Is it really possible to find out whether the eldest brother has returned?
But the young couple didn't say anything. They just stood at the door and stretched their necks to look.
In the room, the old couple squatted down, burying their heads on one side and one on the right. Their eyes shrank on the ash carpet on the ground inch by inch, looking for...
After searching around, Old Yang raised his head, and Mrs. Tan also raised his head. Their eyes met for a moment, and then Mrs. Tan shook her head.
Old Yangtou also shook his head.
The old man said to himself: "Isn't that right? The old prescription cannot be ineffective! Let's look for it again. Maybe there are traces of small birds, or snakes, insects, rats, and ants. Look carefully!"
