After this incident with the ghost car, Long Feicheng felt an inexplicable fear of Yan Shouyi's hometown.
After all, bumping into ghosts when you first arrive is not a good impression!
However, Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong didn't feel much at all.
The three of them walked a short distance, and after crossing a small bridge, they saw a small supermarket with lights on the roadside in the distance. There was also a hotel sign outside the supermarket.
That was the small supermarket and hotel run by Yan Shouyi's Fa Xiaojia.
Strangely, a lot of people gathered outside Faxiao's small supermarket at this time, and they were all wearing white mourning clothes. There were many wreaths placed in front of the door, and there was a smoking earthen stove outside the door.
Lin Zitong whispered to Yan Shouyi:
"Are you thinking that my family is having a funeral?"
Yan Shouyi frowned: "I may not have contacted Jiang Shuang for a long time. I don't know who died in his family."
In fact, the only ones who can shed tears at funerals are the close relatives of the deceased, and everyone else comes to join in the fun.
When you come, you say a few words of condolences, wipe your tears symbolically, and comfort the family members of the deceased. Then you chat and have a meal with other relatives and friends.
According to the custom here in Zhicheng, after a person dies, the body should be enshrined in the mourning hall for three to seven days. During this period, a good and auspicious day should be chosen for the funeral, and then cremated and buried.
During the nights of worship, someone must stay in the mourning hall all night to light the soul-inducing lamp for the deceased.
The soul-inducing lantern is like a Christmas tree, except that instead of candies and lights, the tree is decorated with candles.
When lighting the lamp, the family members must also recite scriptures and burn a stack of paper money once, a total of 7749 times before the family members can go to rest and let others continue to keep vigil.
At this time, in front of Jiang's small supermarket, several gentlemen gathered at a table, smoking and playing cards. It was so lively that no trace of sadness could be seen.
After Yan Shouyi and the others approached, they attracted the attention of several gentlemen, and one of them recognized Yan Shouyi:
"Hey, isn't this Yan Shouyi from Chenjiacun? Your good brother's father has been dead for three days, and you just now thought of coming over to visit?"
It’s no wonder that this old man speaks straightforwardly. People in rural areas tend to be more straightforward, so they can easily offend people, but their kind and honest side is also shown very simply.
Yan Shouyi didn't care and explained: "I went to other places before and didn't know the news. I just came back now... Where is Jiang Shuang?"
"He's inside, go in and see him!"
"Okay, let's continue playing."
Entering the mourning hall, Yan Shouyi saw a lonely figure kneeling in front of the coffin with his head lowered.
Yan Shou recognized the man as Jiang Shuang at a glance, but he did not disturb Jiang Shuang. Instead, he raised his head and glanced at Jiang Shuang's father's tomb.
Long Feicheng also saw the photo hanging above the memorial tablet. He couldn't help but open his mouth, but didn't say anything.
The reason why he hesitated to speak was because Long Feicheng seemed to have seen Zhang Shuang's father in the ghost car just now.
"Ah Shuang." Yan Shouyi shouted.
Jiang Shuang slowly turned around. His face was very pale and he looked very thin.
But after recognizing that Fa Xiao had come, Jiang Shuang instinctively showed a smile: "Shouyi, when did you come back?"
"I just came back," Yan Shou patted him on the shoulder, "Why didn't you notify me of such a big thing?"
"It's a happy time for you to pick up your dad from prison. I don't want to affect you." Jiang Shuang replied.
Yan Shouyi sighed: "Hey, my condolences. I will stay for a long time when I come back this time. Let's chat slowly if we have anything to say... By the way, I will introduce two people to you. This is Long Feicheng. I am in Rong. A friend I met in Chengdu, this is Lin Zitong...she is my...new wife."
Jiang Shuang stared, with a rare look in his eyes:
"I didn't expect you to get married earlier than me... Hello, sister-in-law, I am Jiang Shuang, Shouyi's little boy."
"Hello." Lin Zitong shook hands with Jiang Shuang, and comforted: "The dead are gone, but the living are like this."
"Although I don't quite understand what you mean, I know you are comforting me."
Jiang Shuang stood up and saw Yan Shouyi and the others looking dusty. He took out two keys without Yan Shou saying anything:
"My family runs a hotel, and the most important thing is rooms. You must be tired from the journey. Go back to your room and take a hot bath. I'll ask my mother to cook you some midnight snacks."
This midnight snack was not only cooked for Yan Shouyi and the others, but also for the man outside the door who helped keep watch at night, so Yan Shouyi did not refuse.
He asked Lin Zitong and Long Feicheng to take the keys and go back to their rooms first, intending to chat with Jiang Shuang alone for a while.
The two sat down in the corner of the mourning hall. Jiang Shuang stared at his father's coffin in a daze, and after a while he managed to speak:
"Shouichi, I have a heartfelt request."
"Is it about helping uncle pick a grave?" Yan Shou asked.
Jiang Shuang nodded.
Rural people have fields and mountains at home, so they don't buy cemeteries. They just ask a Feng Shui master to go up to the mountains and take a look. If they like it, they can bring a few people up to dig it.
Jiang Shuang knew that Yan Shouyi had the ability in this area, so he made this request.
Yan Shouyi immediately agreed: "We have been brothers for so many years. Don't worry, I will take care of this matter."
"Thank you." Jiang Shuang was not good at words, and his way of expressing gratitude was simple and direct.
"Just ask, uncle, how did he die?" Yan Shouyi still couldn't hold back and asked.
Jiang Shuang's father was in his prime and in good health, so he shouldn't have just left.
Jiang Shuang hesitated for a moment and finally said: "Car accident."
"Car accident?"
Yan Shouyi felt that the matter was not that simple. Jiang Shuang's expression was obviously not right: "Tell the truth. If you want me to pick a grave, I have to know the cause of uncle's death. Different causes of death lead to different graves. In case of conflict, Yes, it will affect future generations."
Hearing this, Jiang Shuang, who had no intention of telling the truth, could only tell the truth:
"My father was crushed to death with an excavator."
Yan Shou's expression suddenly changed: "What?! Why is this happening? Is it an accident? Has the murderer been caught?"
Jiang Shuang shook his head: "We are all from Chenjiacun. You know that my dad has a mountain behind Chenjiacun, right? Not long after you left, someone discovered that it was a mine, and then a group of black miners from Zhicheng came. Team, they started digging without even saying hello. My dad rushed back immediately after knowing the news. It turned out that the other party had a lot of background and bullied others. Several times of arguing came to no result. When my dad went to report it, no one paid attention. Everyone seemed to be annoyed. I can’t afford the boss of the mining team. A few days ago, my dad went to the mine to argue with them, but during the argument, he was crushed to death by an excavator!”
"This happened...!!" Yan Shou was extremely angry.
"The boss of the mining team has a lot of connections and power. He randomly arranged for someone to pick up the slack. He also relied on his connections to turn the incident into an accident. He bribed the witnesses to say that it was my dad who accidentally hit the digger. It’s under the wheel of the machine. In the end, maybe even the guy with the bag doesn’t need to go to jail, he can just pay some money and forget about it..."
