The village chief obviously had great trust in Mr. Wang. After hearing his words, he did not ask why the coffin should be moved, but directly began to think about where to place it more appropriately.
In the end, the two of them decided to temporarily park my grandfather's coffin in the ancestral hall in the center of the village.
After making this decision, the village chief went out.
After the village chief left, Mr. Wang and I were the only two people left in the yard.
I asked Mr. Wang, why can’t my grandfather’s coffin be placed in the yard of my house?
When Mr. Wang heard this, there was a trace of surprise on his face. Then he looked me up and down and asked, are you from the countryside?
Let me tell you, I grew up in a village. How could I not be a rural person?
He said that since you are from a rural area, you should know that after a funeral coffin is placed, even if it rots on the slope, it will never be allowed back into the courtyard.
I shook my head to show that I really didn't know.
He asked, do you know why the child can no longer enter the house?
I still shook my head.
He said that it was because if you enter the house after the funeral coffin is out, you will curse the people in the house to death. This taboo is known to the three-year-old children in the village, but you may not know it?
I didn’t argue much because I really didn’t know about this taboo. In fact, I had never even heard of it before.
Mr. Wang frowned, then lowered his head and muttered to himself, "It's understandable that he doesn't teach you craftsmanship, and I can understand it, but he doesn't even let you know about rural folk customs. That's why." It doesn't make sense.
After muttering for a while, he shook his head again and said, don't worry about it, just get it done quickly so that you can leave this hellish place as soon as possible.
After he finished speaking, he stopped talking and drove the nails back in. I can see very clearly that every nail is nailed in its original position, exactly!
The reason why I am so sure is because he just pressed his thumb into the small hole and pressed all the nails in, which seemed to be effortless. If it hadn't been re-inserted exactly, it would never have been so easy and comfortable.
After inserting all the nails, Mr. Wang squatted on the ground again, exhaustion written all over his face again. Only this time, he looked back at my grandfather's coffin, with a hint of doubt in his tired look.
This doubt is not strong, but it always exists. So for the next period of time, he kept his head down and smoked without saying a word.
The village chief has been out for a while, and he doesn't know when he will be able to find him. The only quiet sound in the yard was Mr. Wang's smoking.
After a while, I dared to muster up the courage to ask Mr. Wang why if my grandfather's body was turned over, there would be no more deaths in the village.
Mr. Wang blew out a smoke ring, without even looking at me, and just said quietly, because there are three types of unfilial piety, and the worst is not having children.
Where is this all going? Why does the death of a person have anything to do with traditional filial piety?
Mr. Wang said, little baby, let me ask you, if there was an old man without offspring, what would he say when he died?
Since he is an old man, his thoughts will indeed be influenced by Confucius and Mencius, so the idea that "there are three types of unfilial piety, and the greatest is not having children" should be deep-rooted. If this is the case, then when he is dying, he should feel that he is too shameless to see his ancestors.
Mr. Wang slapped his thigh and said, yes, you just have no shame to see your ancestors!
I still don't understand. Although the word "shameless" is related to my grandfather, what does it have to do with the death of people in the village?
He said that if you don't have descendants, you won't have the dignity to meet your ancestors. If you don't have the dignity, does that mean you have to bury this person without descendants?
What kind of bullshit is this? This is the first time I have heard of it.
Besides, it’s not like my grandfather has no descendants, so this logic simply doesn’t hold water.
Mr. Wang sneered, then looked at me with squinted eyes and said, "Little baby, think about it, isn't it true?"
Seeing that I didn't say anything, he continued, if this was not true, why did Chen Guzi die? Why do the people who carried your grandfather's coffin up the mountain die one after another? Why wait until after they are done dying, it will be your turn to die?
Buzz!
I felt like I had been hit hard on the head, and the world began to spin.
Mr. Wang is right, this logic is valid!
But, is this too nonsense? Just because my grandfather has no face, the dojo master who performs rituals for him, the Eight Immortals who carry his coffin up the mountain, and even his own grandson must die?
If you think about it this way, if someone encounters an accident and his face is shaved off, then when the person dies and is buried, won’t his whole family be wiped out?
Mr. Wang snorted coldly and said, are there other people like your grandfather who have painters "makeover" them?
Yes, I forgot about the 'makeover' process.
Even if most people have their face shaved off, it is only because they have lost their face in a physical sense. It does not mean that this person has done something that makes them "shameless to see their ancestors." But my grandfather has not only lost his face in a physical sense, but also in a physical sense. He also completely erased his identity. If the ancestors knew about it, would they agree?
Mr. Wang said that most people are buried lying down, face up, so that their ancestors can see whether they have a good face. Therefore, as long as he lies down until he is buried, the ancestors will not be sure whether this guy has a face, and naturally they will not let him have no descendants.
The twists and turns and logic in this, if Mr. Wang hadn’t pointed it out, I wouldn’t have been able to figure it out.
But soon, I realized there was a loophole.
I asked Mr. Wang, according to your logic, if my grandfather was buried without shame, then his descendants should be the ones to die, that is, I should die. In this case, what does it have to do with Mr. Dojo and the Eight Immortals carrying the coffin?
Mr. Wang said angrily, "Don't forget, although your grandfather's original identity and craftsmanship have been concealed by a 'makeover', he is ultimately a craftsman." Chen Guzi and the others want to bury your grandfather, which is equivalent to harming you. With your grandfather's tricks, who will die if they don't die?
I was shocked when I heard this and asked him, my grandfather is dead, but he can still protect me?
Mr. Wang snorted coldly and said, otherwise he can be called one of the four outstanding figures of the generation of child craftsmen?
Hearing this, I let out a long sigh and said, if my grandfather had been buried two days later, would Mr. Chen not have died?
Mr. Wang nodded and said, in fact, he did not have to die, but I didn't expect that there would be an accident.
I asked hurriedly, what's the accident?
He looked at me and said word for word, your grandfather died earlier than originally planned!
