At this time, Qin Caixing walked over to listen to the singer invited by the Liu family, a middle-aged man, to sing a funeral song.
Except for the funeral songs, which are authentic, the funeral songs here are all songs sung to accompany the funeral. There are many contents, such as three heroes and five righteousnesses, detectives solving crimes, wedding romances, etc., all of which are composed of seven characters. Based on rhymes of varying lengths, plus a lamentation with a local drawl, whether you sing, howl, or hum, you can really create that convincing atmosphere.
Singers who sing funeral songs are purely folk artists in this area, and no one has ever evaluated who is strong or weak. But after singing the funeral songs all night long, there is a comparison. The audience who is present to accompany the funeral will know which singer has a wonderful content or program.
There is also a more obvious difference. A capable singer accepts more money, cigarettes, etc. They come to the funeral home, first find out the family and social relationships of the deceased, and then naturally sing to the deceased's immediate family members, collateral relatives, and even acquaintances and friends with whom the deceased had a close relationship during his lifetime, using a more humorous way of singing. Accept money and goods with a smile.
There is a skill in accepting this, because when the bereaved family invites you to come, they have negotiated the price first, and then the accepting part is another matter, which depends on the singer's ability. Those who have the ability will naturally gain a lot of money.
The so-called ability means that you can not only sing from a big book memorized by rote, but also act according to the circumstances. You can make up songs and sing them on the fly for the relatives and friends of the deceased in different places at the funeral, so that the other party has no "escape" and has to take it out of the bag. Banknotes or a pack of cigarettes prepared in advance to represent personal identity or face are handed over.
At this moment, there was a pile of cigarettes piled high on the table next to the singer. Some returned the money, but the singer just stuffed it into his wallet. He stuffed it so many times that he lost count.
Generally, a bereaved family only hires one singer, but the singer will naturally bring one more person, either an apprentice or a fellow singer, so that if one person sings for a long time and his voice can't bear it, he can take turns.
It's late at night now, but the singer is okay. He doesn't feel tired and is still singing happily. He sang "Wu Jin Ji", a song about an ancient murder mystery, which made the mourners who sat beside a pile of firewood warm themselves up and dozed off.
This effect is not only due to his singing skills, but also his movements. That is to sing a few words, then hit the cowhide pot drum sandwiched between the legs a few times with drumsticks; and the apprentice sitting opposite also beat the gong at the right time to let the This kind of vocal props stimulates the hearing, and naturally makes people concentrate and listen endlessly, making them famous.
At the moment, Tan Caixing, as a ghost who occasionally encountered this funeral, was naturally not in the mood to listen to any funeral songs. The first purpose of his visit was to see his ex-wife Zhai Haoyue, whom he had not seen for many years.
He had already discovered Zhai Haoyue. Zhai Haoyue had a white filial piety cloth wrapped around her forehead, all the way to the back of her head. It was not knotted naturally, but with a hemp rope. The two ends of the white filial piety cloth were merged together, along the The back hangs down to the waist.
Because Zhai Haoyue, who looked dull and slightly sad, was sitting, the two ends of Xiao Bu were still sweeping up to the dim night ground. The same goes for many mourners. No matter whether they are sitting or lying down, both ends of the mourning cloth draped behind their backs are thrown down to their buttocks, and the white color is as sad as snow.
Tan Caixing approached Zhai Haoyue and could only look at her, but of course he could not talk to her, because after all, one was a ghost and the other was a human, separated by yin and yang, unable to communicate with each other through language.
Suddenly, Zhai Haoyue put her hand into the purse of the down jacket and found something. She was looking at the singer, and listened to the singer's lyrics that were directed at her -
The oxen need grass when they are tired from plowing, and the horses need to be fed when they are tired from running.
Singer, I'm tired of singing. What do I want? Not more, not less,
As long as the deceased's relatives give two hundred yuan in banknotes.
The relatives of the deceased are not only his parents and his wife. Now Liu Yangsheng's parents were in the funeral shed and did not come out, nor did they pay attention to the singer's singing. Naturally, Zhai Haoyue, as the wife of the deceased, noticed it, and she could not remain indifferent. But I was still a little hesitant, and then I heard the singer sing:
The dead man's quarrel lasted only this time, and the separation between Yin and Yang will last indefinitely.
Don't regret it even if you don't pay two hundred yuan, it's a waste of time for you to be a loving couple!
Zhai Haoyue suddenly stood up and shouted, "Singer, stop singing." Then he walked over and handed him the two hundred yuan bill he took out of his down jacket pocket. As expected, the singer stopped singing, took the money, and said thank you. Then start singing other original versions.
At this time, Liu Shiyan, who was sitting in the funeral shed, knew it. He walked over slowly, stood in front of Zhai Haoyue who was sitting back and said in a low voice, Haoyue, you shouldn't have given me the two hundred yuan just now. The singer came. At that time, he made it clear to me that singing (funeral songs) for one night would cost 500 yuan. He also happily paid a lot of money for cigarettes to relatives and friends!
Zhai Haoyue remembered the lyrics sung by the singer, "This is the only time the dead will quarrel." She said, forget it, he will just quarrel this time.
After all, this was a funeral for his deceased son, and it was not easy for Liu Shiyan to go to the singer who was singing the original version to argue or argue with him. Although this is a tragic thing, it is also a vain thing. There is a saying among the people that it is called the Red and White Festival, and it should be lively. Liu Shiyan thought: Yes, as long as it is lively and worthy of his son.
Liu Yangsheng, who was sitting nearby attending the funeral, was very happy. When Ma Lihong heard what Liu Shiyan said, he said to him, "Singers nowadays are all about making money. I have an acquaintance who has been a singer for less than 10 years and made a lot of money." With the money, I also built a three-story western-style house at home, which is more luxurious than the western-style house your family built. Nowadays, the people who work in this profession are pretty good. They are considered capable people. They are also doing business. They do night business. They sleep during the day and sing all night long. They don’t need any capital and the profits are high. They don’t have to pay taxes to the country. It’s a good deal. !
Liu Shiyan did not answer, feeling that this was a funeral for his deceased son and it was not appropriate to talk about this topic. He turned around, bypassed the crowd of people, walked into the funeral shed, sat next to the crystal coffin, and watched his son's funeral with a sad expression.
With tears in her eyes, her wife was burning the money for her dead son one by one. Liu Yangsheng, the soul of the deceased, was picking up the money and stuffing it into his wet clothes and purse. After stuffing it full, he walked out of the funeral shed. , found Qin Caixing who was standing in front of Zhai Haoyue. Without saying a word, he took out a handful of money from his wallet, handed it to him and said, Mr. Qin, give all this money to you! I don’t want it, I just want you to take me to Macau to find something.
Tan Caixing was a little tempted, and thought conversely: Liu Yangsheng did feel sorry for himself. If his wife became his wife during his lifetime, this was not a fight for him, but a helpless move. Therefore, seeing Liu Yangsheng being so attentive to him, he no longer hated him or cared about him.
At this moment, Tan Caixing did not immediately accept the money from Liu Yangsheng. He only said that even if I agreed to take you to Macau to find a job, what should I do if you haven't even dried your wet clothes?
Seeing that Tan Caixing didn't accept his money, he put the money back into his pocket, looking frustrated.
Tan Caixing had an idea. He rolled his eyes and had an idea. He whispered to Liu Yangsheng. Liu Yangsheng nodded and said, "I'll give it a try."
What is Liu Yangsheng trying? I saw him walking through the living room on the second floor of his small foreign-style building, standing in the living room and calling out, the house god came out. Suddenly, an old man with five willows and a long beard appeared out of nowhere, looked at him with a big smile and said, "Yang Sheng, the family god is here!" Is there a problem?
Something happened. No, it's okay. As Liu Yangsheng said this, he took out a handful of ghost money from his wet pocket, stretched it out and stuffed it into the pocket under the black robe of the family god, and then said, that's it.
Why should I pay you? The family god thought to himself: You and your family have never burned incense or made offerings to me, just like there is no such thing as me as the family god. Now that you are dead, you are giving me money. There must be a reason for this. Then he stared at him and asked.
Liu Yangsheng didn't answer immediately. He took out another handful of money and stuffed it into the pocket under the family god's black robe. Then he took out another handful of money and stuffed it again.
The family god jumped away and said, "Yang Sheng, if you don't explain clearly, I don't want this obscure money. I will return all the money you stuffed into my wallet to you."
Liu Yangsheng put the handful of money he had taken out back on his body, then knelt on his knees in front of the family god and kowtowed several times. He stopped when he heard the family god say stop knocking, stop knocking. He raised his head, rubbed his wet clothes with both hands and said, "House God, please do me one favor. Is there any way to dry my wet clothes?"
Yes, you died miserably. Before death, the clothes were yang-damp. After death, the clothes became yin-damp. Yin and dampness cannot be dried by Yang fire. That is to say, there are several piles of firewood burning in your funeral ground. It belongs to Yang fire. If you sit there and bake it, it will not dry out; it can only be dried by Yin fire. When the family god said this, he smiled slightly and continued, "You have found the wrong person. You should ask the kitchen god, who is in charge of the yin fire."
Liu Yangsheng asked, where is the Kitchen God?
You call the Kitchen God a few times and he will come out. As the family god said this, he reached into his purse under his black robe, took out some money, and gave it back to Liu Yangsheng.
Liu Yangsheng stood up, reached over to hold his hand and said, "House God, I will give you this money. Thank you for your advice." He also patted his wet wallet and said, I still have a lot of money here. I will ask the Kitchen God to do something and I will pay him. Besides, my biological mother and other relatives in the human world are constantly giving me money to incinerate, there are so many of them!
Then I'll accept it. The family god stroked his chin and white beard and spoke happily.
It should. Liu Yangsheng said polite words, and then followed the family god's instructions, walked through the living room and went into the kitchen to call out to the kitchen god. But there was no response, and the Kitchen God was nowhere to be seen.
Liu Yangsheng was about to go back to the living room to find the family god again. The family god happened to be standing behind him and said to Liu Yangsheng who turned around and looked at him, "Yangsheng, I remembered that the Kitchen God has been in the Heavenly Palace since you lost your life in an accident." I have been separated, and I may not be able to come back for a while, and I don’t know when I will be able to come back.
What should I do if my wet clothes cannot be dried? Liu Yangsheng asked anxiously.
Forget it, I will get you some dark wood to make a fire on behalf of the Kitchen God, and dry your wet clothes. As the family god said this, he pulled Liu Yangsheng and led him back to the living room and up to the top floor of the small foreign-style building.
The family god looked at the large pieces of wood stacked on one side of the attic, and suddenly frowned and said no, it was too big, and it would be a waste to burn one piece. Just burn half a piece.
What to do? Liu Yangsheng asked anxiously again.
There is a way, just wait here. The house god ducked downstairs and called the door god at the gate of the three-story foreign-style building to come up to the roof.
