Zhang Hazi rarely loses his composure like today. Except for the last time when Wu Tinghan was weighed by Yize, he only did it once in my memory. That was when Wu Tinghan tested whether the soul in my body was at my house. When he was really restrained by the soul-suppressing bell, he had also gone crazy like this.
He is a person who is not good at expressing his emotions, and he has always been reserved and reserved about other people's feelings. Only after you have been with him for a long time do you realize that he is not as cynical and see through life and death as he appears.
I patted his shoulder and fanned the open flame on his shoulder even louder. After he calmed down, I told him that we might have to go back to my house and my uncle might know where my grandma’s natal family was.
My dad must have lost hope. When my grandma passed away, my dad was only eight or nine years old. If Mr. Chen hadn't discovered that there was a forgotten person in our family, my dad would not have had my grandma in his memory at all. Such a person shows how serious his emotional lack towards my grandma is.
But I guess my uncle may not know it. He may know it, but he may have forgotten it. After all, no one has mentioned my grandma for so many years, and there is no communication between the two families. Even if my uncle really knew this address before, he probably has forgotten it now.
But a dead horse can only be used as a living horse doctor. At least until we meet my uncle, at least the two of us can still have a little illusion.
Zhang Hazi nodded, but did not move. Instead, he stood there, retracting the bamboo knife, frowning and thinking about something.
I know that he is thinking of other ways. People who are familiar with him know that Zhang Hazi never does anything all-or-nothing. He has alternatives for everything, so he has been able to do things without leakage over the years.
While he was meditating, I was also thinking of other ways. After carefully recalling it, I actually found a clue, but this clue needed Zhang Hazi to confirm it.
Not long after, Zhang Hazi finally came to his senses and asked me to get in the car and drive back.
After getting on the bus, I asked Zhang Hazi, do you know where your craftsman circle gathered for its five-year gathering in 1950?
Zhang Hazi thought for a while and said, "Getting together every five years is a big deal in the circle. Even if I don't know, I can find out if I ask someone." Why are you asking?
I am a little excited to say that I remember my grandma mentioned in her diary that when my grandpa debuted, he attended the five-year gathering of your craftsman circle, and it was my grandma and her family who went there.
I thought I had found the key clue, but Zhang Hazi shook his head and said, if it was their family, then there was no need to ask anyone. Even if we asked, we wouldn't be able to find it.
Let me tell you, don’t you know how powerful navigation is today? Are there any places that the navigation can’t find?
Zhang Hazi shook his head and said, it's not that the navigation can't find it, but the place we asked about is not the Wu family's old house at all.
What does it mean? My grandma’s diary clearly stated that when so many people gathered at their house, it must have been a five-year gathering in their circle of craftsmen. In this case, as long as you ask a few more people and confirm each other, you will definitely be able to find out where the Wu family is.
But Zhang Hazi still denied it, saying that the location of other craftsman families might be found using this method, but the Wu family could not.
I asked, why not?
He said, don't forget the old people. They are a group of painters. One painting can connect everyone from one place to another. I dare say that the distance from the original entrance to the real Wu family was at least thousands of miles.
What's the reason for this? After traveling thousands of miles, are you not afraid of trouble? Let’s talk about it again, shouldn’t craftsmen be able to communicate with each other? Why should we be so guarded against each other? Aren't you afraid that it will be awkward for everyone to meet each other after five years?
Zhang Hazi said, compared with embarrassment or life, which is more important?
No need to ask, it’s of course life!
He asked again, do you know how many of those craftsmen actually died at the hands of evil spirits?
I was stunned when I heard this. It seemed that there was no one!
So, were the craftsmen in the craftsman circle already involved to this extent a few decades ago?
Zhang Hazi said, not only their Wu family, but our Zhang family is surrounded by a river, and all access is by boat. Without the boatman's uncle to lead the way, outsiders can't enter at all; there is Xiejia Village, if it weren't for Xie If Bugui personally leads the way, do you think we can find it easily?
Thinking about it this way, it seems that this is really the case. Not only these three families are like this, even our family is not considered a craftsman family. It is extremely difficult to go to our village. Chenjia Village, which we just learned about, is also hidden in the painting. No one can enter it without the consent of the proprietress of the powder shop.
So what Zhang Hazi said is right. Even if someone found out about the place where they met, it would probably be just a fake place. If we really rush there, it would probably be just a mountain, nothing but bullshit!
Now the only road is blocked. It seems that I can only go back to my hometown and ask my uncle. It's just that I don't know how much time will be wasted this time. The key is that I don't know if I can find clues after spending so much time.
I'm beginning to miss the village chief Wang Qingsong now. If he hadn't died, I could still call his family and ask him to ask my uncle, and we wouldn't have to run home. Since his death, the only landline phone in our village has been stopped. If you want to contact your family again, you have to go in person.
It's not like I haven't thought about installing a landline phone at home, but my parents disagreed, saying it was a waste of money and wouldn't be useful if installed, so the matter has been shelved. If I had known that something like this would happen today, I should have installed a landline phone when I was raging around.
As the Hummer drove back, I suddenly thought of a possibility, so I hurriedly asked Zhang Hazi, although we don't know where the Wu family went, Wu Tinghan suddenly disappeared. Wouldn't the Wu family notice that they were abnormal?
As long as they notice something abnormal, they will definitely send someone to check it out. With the skills of the Wu family, they will definitely be able to determine the specific location of Wu Tinghan quickly, right? That being the case, if we go back now, will we happen to pass by them?
After hearing this, Zhang Hazi asked me, have you ever heard the story of Lao Di?
Let me tell you, is there anyone who hasn’t heard this story?
He said, Wu Tinghan is the sheepherder now. Do you think the Wu family will send someone over in a short time?
I didn't understand what he meant. How could Wu Tinghan, such a righteous person, lie and deceive others?
He said that it was not that she was lying, but that she was very capable, so even if a similar situation happened before, like the one who measured the corpse with Ze, she escaped smoothly. This made people in the Wu family believe in their bones that it would be difficult to get her without having a son, and even if she was temporarily missing, there would be no danger to the mother.
After hearing this, I suddenly realized that Wu Tinghan's experience was indeed like that of the sheepherder.
Zhang Hazi said, so we can't wait for the Wu family to send people. By the time they really react, they may be old in a week or two. By then, Wu Tinghan will probably have maggots all over his body!
The car drove back for a while and entered a small village. I had passed it before when I came here, but I was walking in a hurry and didn't pay attention at all. I didn’t know what was going on in front of me, but there was a group of people surrounding me. I hurried over and honked the horn to urge me, but the villagers seemed unable to hear me.
Zhang Hazi asked me to drive slowly to avoid being hit by others. Spending money to avoid disasters is small, but I'm afraid it will waste more time. But even though I was very careful, I was still fooled by someone in the end. It was a young man who looked quite young. I didn't expect that he was also doing this kind of business.
There is a driving recorder on the Hummer. In fact, it can be clearly seen that the guy deliberately hit us. But this is in a ravine, and our car has an out-of-town license plate. It is obvious that we are the fat sheep in their eyes. Even if someone saw the man touching porcelain on the roadside, they would never come forward to testify against him.
Zhang Hazi knew the routine very well, and based on the principle of termination time, he directly asked the young man how much he wanted.
I saw the look on the young man's face after hearing this. He was stunned. For a moment, he was so frightened by Zhang Hazi's straightforwardness that he didn't know how to continue. He just stammered that he didn't want money. As long as we send him to the hospital for a check-up.
This is what Zhang Hazi and I are most afraid of. Not to mention the huge amount of examination fees, the most important thing is that queuing up for examinations and waiting for the results are extremely time-consuming.
My original intention was to download the driving recorder video, then call the police and wait for the police to deal with it, but Zhang Hazi, for some reason, agreed to the young man's request and asked me to unlock the back door of the car and let the young man sit in.
Following the young man's instructions, we detoured from the main road and then drove forward along a small road, which became more and more remote! Even though I wasn't familiar with this place, I knew that the place he was taking us to was definitely not a hospital!
