I felt like my brain was like a lake that was suddenly thrown into a depth charge. It exploded with a loud bang and a loud crash.
I grew up with my grandfather since I was a child. His voice, appearance and smile have long been deeply imprinted in my mind. I can even recall what my grandfather looked like when I was a child. His facial features have not changed, but they are not as beautiful. Just a lot of wrinkles.
I have such a profound memory, but now you tell me that what I saw is not the true face of my grandfather? And you said that thing was already in my grandfather’s head before I was born?
Oh, how is this possible? You can't even fool a three-year-old child with this kind of nonsense, right?
Although I don’t know what that thing is, since Mr. Wang said that my grandfather is very powerful and is one of the four most outstanding shoemakers in his generation, then if there is really something on his face, what happened to my grandfather when he was alive? Maybe not found?
This is an unshakable contradiction!
However, when I was very satisfied, Mr. Wang once again let me break my guard with just one sentence.
He said, what if your grandfather took the initiative to get that thing?
----I froze on the spot and didn't come back to my senses for a long time.
My grandpa is so good, why would he put this thing on his face? Is it just so that he can’t be buried after he dies, and then he opens his mouth to scare me?
Also, what is it that my grandfather could wear for decades and be so hidden that I never noticed it?
Mr. Wang said, you have all seen this thing.
The village chief and I looked at each other and saw confusion in each other's eyes.
The village chief said, "How could I have seen such a magical thing?" If I had to say that I had seen it before, I would only see it if I went to a big city and went to university.
The Si Qing mentioned by the village chief was me, but I carefully recalled the strange things I had seen and found nothing similar.
Mr. Wang didn't seem to be in a hurry to announce the answer, but asked me, little baby, have you ever seen your grandpa wash his face?
I thought about it carefully, and in the more than twenty years I lived with my grandfather, I seemed to have never seen him wash his face!
Mr. Wang said that not only had he not washed his face, but he probably had not even sweated on his face.
If he didn’t say it, I wouldn’t think so, but after he said it, it seemed like it was really the case!
I hurriedly asked, why is this happening?
He said that it was because once the thing on his face got wet, it would look like what you see now.
After hearing this, I finally realized that the reason why my grandfather's face became like this was because my tears fell on his face!
But what is it that has such magical properties?
Mr. Wang said that this thing is very common. Please think about it carefully. Why does this thing have wrinkles and become smooth and flat when it is exposed to water?
I searched for each item in my mind, and then suddenly I remembered that when I was a child, I used to poop in the toilet. No matter how a ball of paper was crumpled into shape, after throwing it into the pit, it would only take a day or two for the paper to lie flat in the feces. inside.
So, it’s paper!
Mr. Wang hurriedly exhaled the smoke he had just inhaled and said, yes, if you stick this thing on your grandfather's head and drop it, it will be a piece of paper! A painting of facial features dripping from paper!
If it were a piece of paper, it would all make sense.
My tears dripped onto Grandpa's face, causing the paper to get wet. Then Grandpa's face began to become smoother, and finally there were no wrinkles at all.
However, how can a face drawn on a piece of paper remain fake for more than 20 years?
Mr. Wang said disdainfully that ordinary people would not be able to paint, but the Wu family had no problem painting for more than 20 years or more than 200 years!
Wu family? I don’t remember that our family knew anyone named Wu. As for the painter named Wu, it is even less likely that we have any intersection.
Mr. Wang said that the Wu family are not painters, but painters.
limner? Like my grandfather, is he also a craftsman?
I don’t understand, and I don’t understand even more, why did my grandfather put a paper face on his head?
Mr. Wang said, if you know the word "makeover", you will know why your grandfather wanted to do it.
Makeover?
Isn't this an idiom? It means that the person's appearance has changed. But now it is more often used as a metaphor to change only the appearance and form, but the content and essence have not changed. What does this have to do with my grandpa?
Mr. Wang said that in addition to the two meanings you mentioned, it also has one meaning.
I asked, what do you mean?
He said it literally. Makeover, change appearance.
After hearing this, I quickly made some guesses, but I didn't dare to believe it.
Mian is the face. To change one's face is to change one's face.
People of the older generation have a deep-rooted belief that their bodies, hair, and skin are affected by their parents. If they are asked to change their faces, it would be better to kill them!
Besides, plastic surgery is a medical method that has only emerged in recent years. Even though my grandfather overcame the ideological obstacles, the technical level was simply not available in China at that time.
Mr. Wang dismissed my question and said, you little kids just think that the moon is rounder in foreign countries, but you don’t know that our ancestors have mastered the art of “reshaping” thousands of years ago.
Craftsmanship, again craftsmanship.
Mr. Wang mentioned this word for the second time.
He continued, "I don't know the specific operation of 'makeover', but I know that it is a painter's method. When their painters show off their craftsmanship, they hold a paintbrush in their hands. It is said that they can not only paint the skin and bones, but also the soul.
He said that ordinary people who want to hide their identity can just change their name or live in another place, but craftsmen are different. They have craftsmanship in them. In some people's eyes, it is like a torch at night, which is very dazzling. If you don’t hide this craftsmanship, it will be impossible to live a peaceful life!
I didn't quite understand what Mr. Wang said, such as what a craftsman is and what craftsmanship is. I didn't understand any of this, but I understood that the reason why grandpa changed his appearance was to conceal his identity as a craftsman.
But this... isn't it just to avoid being chased by the enemy?
Mr. Wang rolled his eyes at me and said, as far as I know, your grandfather changed his appearance fifty-five years ago. Something happened that year. You are a college student. Don’t you know?
This year is 2021. Fifty-five years ago, it was 1966. In that year, the whole country...
Thinking of this, cold sweat broke out on my back. I had a lot of words stuck in my mouth, but I suddenly couldn't speak them out.
Mr. Wang knew that I had thought of it, so he didn’t say anything more. Instead, he stood up, patted his butt, and told the village chief to call someone. His grandfather’s coffin couldn’t be placed here.
The village chief asked hurriedly, if it were not placed here, where could Han put it?
Mr. Wang said angrily, I don’t care where you place it, but it can’t be placed here!
Seeing Mr. Wang's attitude so determined and confident, I felt relieved, because his appearance gave people a sense of security. Moreover, I thought that since my grandfather’s body had been turned over, there would be no more deaths in the village.
But I never imagined how wrong I was...
