After the filling of the tomb was completed, Mao Sandao left.
Maoqiu'er was stunned for a moment and quickly followed.
Since the reason couldn't be found out for a while, Mao Sandao thought it was better to deal with the matter at hand first.
When he got home, he took out a bulging cowhide bag from the drawer, hesitated for a moment, and put it on his body.
Grandpa Liu lives in the west end of the village, not far from Mao Sandao's house.
To be precise, the villagers all live very close to each other. The original intention is for everyone to take care of each other.
Mao Qiu'er also wanted to follow him, but Mao Sandao didn't let him go and pushed him back.
There is something wrong with taking a dog to someone else's house.
In less than twenty minutes, Mao Sandao arrived at Grandpa Liu's house.
Grandpa Liu's family is not wealthy. The house is still an old house from decades ago, built with earth walls.
Because his family was poor when he was young, and because he was late to become a Taoist priest, Grandpa Liu did not marry Li Cuilian, who was ten years older than him, until he was in his mid-thirties.
Li Cuilian is an advanced maternal age. On the day of delivery, her unborn baby died due to dystocia.
Li Cuilian was overly sad and suffered from a disease caused during childbirth, so she passed away soon after, leaving him alone.
When Grandpa Liu was young, he learned some Taoism from an expert, and he was quite kind, so he had a high prestige in the village.
But even so, Grandpa Liu is still a miserable man in the final analysis.
This time I was seriously ill, and I guess there was no one to take care of me.
"Ahem! Ahem!"
As soon as Mao Sandao arrived at the door, he heard Grandpa Liu coughing.
Entering the inner room, Grandpa Liu was half lying on the bed.
There was a woman next to him. Mao Sandao didn't recognize this woman.
He is about 40 years old, with rough and dark skin. He must be a farmer.
"Grandpa Liu." Mao Sandao called softly.
Grandpa Liu turned his head with difficulty. When he saw it was Mao Sandao, he squeezed out a smile and patted the bedside: "Sandao is here, come on, come and sit."
Grandpa Liu's face was not very good, and his lips were dry and peeling.
There were cigarette pots, tobacco bags and lighters beside the pillow; a layer of burnt ash was scattered on the ground at the corner of the bed, and the remaining ash marks and knock-out marks were visible to the naked eye on the bed legs.
Whenever I feel uncomfortable, I habitually take a few sips to relieve the pain.
There were some fruits on the bedside cabinet, probably brought by this woman.
"Grandpa Liu, who is this?" Mao Sandao looked at the woman next to him and asked.
"Oh, this is my niece, my third brother's daughter." Grandpa Liu introduced her.
"Oh." Mao Sandao looked at the woman and smiled politely and said hello, "Auntie, hello, I am Xiao Mao from this village. I am here to see Grandpa Liu today."
"Hello." The woman smiled and stood up, "You guys chat while I go out to clean up."
After the woman went out, Mao Sandao grabbed Grandpa Liu's hand and asked with concern: "Grandpa Liu, how are you?"
It was fine before arriving, but now after seeing Grandpa Liu's haggard appearance, Mao Sandao's guilt gradually intensified.
He thought that if Jiao Qiuer hadn't come to invite Grandpa Liu that day, perhaps Grandpa Liu wouldn't have fallen ill.
"Cough cough cough!"
Grandpa Liu coughed violently again, and Mao Sandao quickly helped him smooth his chest.
Grandpa Liu did not speak, but shook his head laboriously.
"Grandpa Liu, was your illness... caused by my grandfather that night?" Mao Sandao asked solemnly.
Grandpa Liu nodded slightly: "Well, I didn't feel much that day. My chest has been hurting since I got home, and now it's getting worse."
"Grandpa Liu, I'm sorry." Mao Sandao's eyes grew bitter, and he held Grandpa Liu's hand tighter.
Grandpa Liu took out his hand and patted the back of Mao Sandao's hand instead: "It's not your fault. I cheated on you for so many years. Maybe this is my retribution..."
"Grandpa Liu, you can't think like that. We need you for everything in the village, so you must not get into trouble."
Then, he glanced around the room and asked, "I haven't seen any medicine at home. Grandpa Liu, have you been to the hospital?"
"I didn't go." Grandpa Liu closed his eyes bitterly, "My family is poor and I don't dare to go..."
After just a few words, Mao Sandao was speechless for a moment.
He understood Grandpa Liu's mood at the moment. For poor people, it has become normal for them to be afraid to go to the hospital when they are sick.
In this world, many people miss the best opportunity for treatment because they have no money.
It's not that they don't want to go, it's that they have no choice but to hold on due to tight constraints.
For many people, when they can take medicine, they will never go to the hospital.
Even if you go to the hospital, those who can avoid being hospitalized will never be hospitalized.
Moreover, when most patients learn that their serious illness cannot be cured, they will choose to lie at home and wait for death.
Just because I don’t want to be a drag on my family and make my family suffer...
In the end, I can only leave this world painfully and unwillingly.
This is helpless and a cruel reality.
Mao Sandao suddenly remembered something and quickly took out the cowhide bag from his arms and stuffed it into Grandpa Liu's hand: "Grandpa Liu, take the money and ask Auntie to take you to the hospital."
Regarding money, Mao Sandao could actually go to the man in the secret room. After all, that man once said that as long as he became the owner of the bookstore, he would enjoy glory and wealth.
So money is not a problem for him.
It's just that in Mao Sandao's heart, he was always more concerned about that job, and he always felt that it was not very "glorious".
Therefore, Mao Sandao would never ask him for help if he could solve it himself.
Clean money is the most comfortable to use.
Grandpa Liu quickly pushed the cowhide bag back: "I can't ask for this money! Sandao, it's not easy for you to be alone, how can I ask for your money!"
Mao Sandao stuffed the bag into Grandpa Liu's quilt again, pretending to be angry and said: "Grandpa Liu, if you don't take the money, do you want me to feel guilty for the rest of my life?"
Mao Sandao was resolute. Grandpa Liu held the brown paper bag, and two lines of hot tears could not help but fall down his cheeks: "Okay, okay, Grandpa Liu doesn't know how to thank you."
"Ahem! Ahem!"
After he finished speaking, he coughed again. Mao Sandao helped him cough along his chest and said:
"When my grandfather passed away, you were all helping me. Sandao will always be remembered in my heart."
Grandpa Liu wiped his tears with his sleeve and said with a smile: "Neighbors should help each other."
Mao Sandao clicked, then looked outside the room to confirm that the woman was still busy. He lowered his voice and asked:
"Grandpa Liu, you knew a lot when you were young and traveled all over the country. I have something to ask you. What do you think the body will be used for after death?"
Grandpa Liu was stunned for a moment. He didn't know why Mao Sandao suddenly asked this question. He frowned and thought for a moment:
"Generally speaking, spots will appear about 24 hours after death and the body will become completely stiff.
Within 48 hours, a large number of bacteria and viruses have begun to multiply inside the body.
The corpse will start to rot and smell in about 72 hours.
Weather temperature is also the main reason for the influence. It will be faster in summer and slower in winter.
In fact, after a person dies, his body becomes a piece of shit. By the way, why did you suddenly ask this question? "
Mao Sandao lowered his voice and replied: "My grandfather's body is missing..."
"What? Cough! Cough!" Grandpa Liu straightened up in shock. He coughed several times because he was overly excited, "When did it happen?"
"I just discovered it," Mao Sandao said. "When I went there, I found that the nails in the coffin had been pulled out, and my grandfather's body was not in the coffin. I suspect that my grandfather's body was stolen."
Grandpa Liu's brows furrowed even more tightly: "It's unlikely that he was stolen, but I heard about a situation a long time ago. It was said that after someone died, he was still resentful and would look for a host to take care of. Could your grandfather have encountered this kind of situation? thing?"
"Looking for a host?" Mao Sandao was a little startled.
"That's right." Grandpa Liu added, "However, this is just a legend. I can't tell the specific details. I guess only some people with integrity will understand it."
Grandpa Liu looked very tired after finishing speaking. Mao Sandao helped cover Grandpa Liu with the quilt, stood up and said, "Grandpa Liu, have a good rest. I'm going back first."
"good."
Looking at Mao Sandao's back, Grandpa Liu burst into tears again, as if saying to himself: "What a good boy..."
