There is really only one yard left in the yard of Lamei's house. It must have been an old house that was originally not very strong. It has collapsed with the weathering of time, leaving only a broken wall and broken bricks in the middle of the yard. A scene of rubble.
If you don't look carefully, you would think that this is a site ready for demolition. However, there are not many people in this area, and it is far away from other homes. Instead, it shares a courtyard wall with the neighboring family. This should be the deceased woman. Married from a young family.
The only thing here that can be called a wall is the wall of his house.
Originally, Uncle Wu and I wanted to find a broken door board, but reluctantly we used bricks to erect it for mortuary purposes.
I didn't expect that this place was so broken that there wasn't even a decent piece of wood, which made me scratch my head for a while.
It was more useful for Niu Benwang, who followed us back to lead the way, and ran out, almost squirming. After a while, he came back carrying a board.
It should be the door panel of his house. The Niu family members were also following behind, coming this way without knowing why.
Uncle Yan signaled us to do what we should do. He went up to explain. Fortunately, there was a police car here. After briefly explaining the situation, the old couple of the Niu family finally understood that Niu Benwang was acting abnormally today and removed the door panels of their home. He rushed out and couldn't stop shouting.
It's just that... they glanced worriedly at Niu Benwang's wife, Niu Sister-in-law, who had come with them.
The man Niu Benwang later married was also from the same village. He did not know everything about what happened back then, but he had an idea of the general situation.
Uncle Wu and I lifted Lamei's body out of the back compartment of the Jinbei car. Since we didn't have anything at hand, we could only put it on the door panel with the body bag temporarily.
I was really worried that the white moonlight in my ex's heart would conflict with the current wife of the Niu family, and disturb the dead and implicate strangers. After packing these things, I was the first to walk in the direction of Mrs. Niu.
"Uncle and aunt, you go back first. Sister-in-law, I'm not familiar with our village and I need to prepare something. Can you take me there?"
With Uncle Wu and the others here, I'm not worried about any sudden changes in Wintersweet. She seems to be very honest in front of Niu Benwang, not as weird as when I saw her, and not as ferocious as a butcher who kills cattle.
Mrs. Niu nodded in agreement. I grabbed Zhang Wei and Lang Hongyi and followed me to get things. After all, I was in a hurry this time and the preparations were not in place. There may be a lot to buy, and Lamei has no relatives. I hope to give her something similar. funeral.
Sister Niu and I walked side by side in front, and they followed behind. Walking on the dark village road, I casually started talking and mentioned what I was going to say.
"Sister-in-law Niu, there is a family in the village who does business. You can show them the way."
"Little master, is there anything else you want to tell me?"
Sister-in-law Niu's words made me take a deep look at her profile. Women are very perceptive. There are many things that I don't need to say explicitly, but I almost know them in my heart.
"Sister-in-law, I really want to tell you something. Lamei... she died miserably, and she was even more miserable when she was alive..." I inquired about us, and briefly talked to Sister Niu about the state of Lamei's corpse.
"Sister-in-law Niu, for her good deeds and virtues, she asked Brother Niu to help send away the wintersweet. She is considered a good person and has done her best. Do you think so?"
Sister-in-law Niu's eyes were red, and she could tell that she was trying hard to hold back her tears. She didn't know whether it was because of Niu Benwang's thoughts or because she sympathized with Lamei's plight.
For a long time, she stood in front of a house and said, "We're here, this is it."
I saw that Mrs. Niu did not answer my words, nor did she force me. After all, this kind of thing is not a trivial matter. We can only persuade, but cannot force others to make decisions.
I went up and knocked on the door, but the family was not unhappy at all. People in the business-related industries have long been accustomed to being on call 24 hours a day. After all, the dead don't pick the time.
"What's the matter?" The door opened a crack, and a man's head stuck out. He glanced at the unfamiliar faces outside and let down his guard when he saw Mrs. Niu.
"Brother, we want a complete set of bedding, incense candles, paper money, white banners and shrouds, etc."
"Is it a complete set? I also have incense bowls at home. I'll lend them to you first and then bring them back later." This man was a knowledgeable person. He listened to what I said for a few words and then asked this question. I had no objection and nodded. , sorry to trouble you.
The man closed the door in front of us, with no intention of inviting anyone in. I shook my head helplessly. Everyone in this business is indeed a little weird, without exception!
After quieting down, Mrs. Niu actually picked up the topic and spoke proactively, "Just do it well and don't worry about me. It doesn't matter if this matter is done, at least Benwang's heart can calm down. I know that he has never forgotten it all these years. When I saw Wintersweet, I realized that Wintersweet had suffered so much during her lifetime, which was so pitiful."
When I heard Mrs. Niu's words, I didn't know how to answer. She agreed to this matter, and it was not something I could get over with just a simple sentence about her being a good person.
Finally, after holding it in for a long time, I could only say softly, "Thank you on behalf of Lamei."
The atmosphere was a bit silent, and no one spoke again after that. Only a small sound came from the yard, and the door opened a larger gap this time.
All the packed things were pushed out, and there was also a paper cow that had been packed long ago without finishing touches. "I don't have a coffin. You have to order it elsewhere. But if you want an urn, you can come to me and give it to you." Discount."
The man began to promote his business very rudely, and extended his hand to us, "Sincere benefits are one thousand six hundred and seventy-seven."
The price is not cheap. What can I do? I can only give you money. The tone of my words is so similar to the tone I use when checking out with others. What a synchronicity!
Just as I was about to take the money, Mrs. Niu next to me stopped me and said, "No, I can't ask you to pay for this money. I'll do it."
Maybe because she came out in a hurry, Mrs. Niu didn't bring much money with her, so the man who sold me the things kept looking at us with strange eyes.
In the end, Lang Hongyi stepped forward and helped settle the bill. Sister Niu kept mumbling, "I'll go back to get the money later. It's not appropriate for you to pay for this."
We didn't say much. After all, it was only a small amount of money. If I invited Uncle Yan to go into the water to fish out the corpse, it would probably be the big deal. For the sake of wintersweet, I didn't care too much about it.
After returning, Uncle Yan and Uncle Wu did not ask me to follow suit, but left this arduous task to Zhang Wei. Uncle Wu said proudly, "This boy has been following me for many years. He knows all these things and tells them to do it. Lao Liao was waiting for us just now. Go over and explain what needs to be explained."
Arranging things is not difficult, I believe Zhang Wei is really capable of it. Changing clothes will not be done until we come back, so I followed Uncle Wu and the others towards the police car outside the broken wall of the courtyard.
At this time, Xiao Gaocai had just led the prosperous old cow to the old house with his colleagues. He left the cow and joined in the work of taking notes for us. He is really a very dedicated apprentice.