"That person's voice was softer than a mosquito's cry. I couldn't hear it clearly at all. I could distinguish the word 'death' through the shape of his mouth."
"You are amazing. You can tell the word 'death' through the shape of your mouth."
"Hey, Pig Killer, how does it feel when you hold his hand?"
"Soft, cold. Master Wang, that man looks like a grown man, but why are his hands so soft? Are they softer than a little girl's hands?"
"Pig-killer? How many little girls' hands have you held? Are the hands that hold pig hooves all day long blessed to hold the hands of little girls?"
"It's better to catch a pig's trotters than to catch a lump of wood. It's still meat to some extent!"
"No more chatting with you, I have to go back and work tomorrow."
"It's still tomorrow. Look, what time is it?"
"Ah? It's almost dawn? Then I have to go back quickly!"
Carpenter Wang looked up at the old clock on the wall of the People's Barber Shop. The thick short needle just pointed at the number "3".
Auntie Shanghai and several other neighbors went back around ten o'clock last night while the rain subsided.
"I'm going to the slaughterhouse too. I have to kill a dozen pigs today."
The butcher sat up from the bench where he had been lying.
"Kill, kill, kill, be careful of those pig fathers and pig mothers coming to settle accounts with you!"
"Don't tell me, I want to be a pig in my next life. How about eating and sleeping?"
"Hmph, that's a nice idea. One knife goes in and it becomes the braised pork on my table."
"Who is not dead yet? Do you know what to do after death?"
"It's not quite dawn yet. Are you determined to finish it? I'm afraid Master Jiu Jin will never come back after shaving his vagina!"
Carpenter Wang said as he walked out of the People's Barber Shop.
"Master Wang, come over to the store early today and take a look. If Master Jiujin hasn't come back yet, call the police!"
The butcher closed the shop door and pulled down the rolling shutter.
"Call the police? How to report it? I told Master Jiujin to shave my vagina, but did I shave it myself?"
"That can't be said. We can't be sure whether Master Jiujin will shave his pubic head, so we'll have to wait and see."
Butcher and Carpenter Wang headed east and west respectively, leaving the People's Barber Shop.
Shaving the pubic head is an old custom in Shancheng.
Give a person his last haircut before he dies, so that he can go away clean and fresh, leaving no trace of concern in the world.
Tang Qing really went to shave his pubic head, but it was not as mysterious as the Butcher and Carpenter Wang thought. It was just a normal haircut for an old man who was about to leave.
But whether it is normal or not, the main reason is that the old man is unusual.
The old man's surname is Li. He is ninety-three years old. He was once a famous figure in Shan City, but the young and middle-aged generation don't know much about him, and they don't even know that he is still alive.
The old man has always been in good health and lives alone in the Li family's old house.
By the time Tang Qing arrived at the Li family's old house, the old man was already on his deathbed.
Several people gathered around the old man's bed, and Tang Qing was a little confused.
The man who hurriedly came to see Tang Qing was the old man's youngest son. Since he had gone out to study since he was a child, he worked in big cities and settled in big cities after his studies, and rarely returned to Shancheng. No wonder they didn't know Pig Killer and Carpenter Wang.
The younger son pushed aside a few people gathered around the bed, rushed to the old man and shouted:
"Old man, Master Jiujin has arrived. Can you tell us how the family property will be divided?"
"Abba, please tell me quickly!"
"If I don't say anything, I'm afraid I won't have a chance!"
"Let's see how long you can last!"
"..."
The people surrounding him kept urging the old man, and their words were very unpleasant.
Tang Qing opened the shaving box, took out the razor and scarf. Then she silently walked to the head of the old man's bed, leaned over to help the old man up, and sat down, letting the old man's upper body rest on her chest.
"Uh-huh……"
The old man gasped and wanted to say something to Tang Qing.
"Master Li, I know."
Tang Qing put a scarf around the old man.
"Abba, tell me quickly, where is the will?"
"Old man, if you haven't written a will, tell me now, how will this family property be divided?!"
The old man's two sons came to the bedside.
"Uh-huh……"
The old man stretched out his withered hand and shook it twice.
"Please step back a little."
Tang Qing held a razor in hand and gave the old man his last haircut.
The old man's gray hair is actually not very long. Tang Qing just came to cut it for him last week.
"Abba, if you leave on your own, are you going to let our children have a quarrel over the family property?"
"Old man, if you don't tell me, this property belongs to me alone!"
"Second brother, why does this property belong to you alone?"
"Sister-in-law, we Li Cheng have been away from home since childhood and have not received any benefits from the family. Shouldn't this family property belong to us?"
"He has been away from home since he was a child. He has not received any benefits from his family. He has been able to earn money to support himself since he was a child. Wouldn't it be that the old man spent a lot of money to send him to the provincial capital to study and help him graduate from college? Otherwise, would he be where he is today? My Li Zhong, on the other hand, has always been
I suffered with the old man, and my life was just a little better, and because of this family, I went to the frontier and suffered all my life. We have all the wealth of this family without blushing!"
Two sons and two wives quarreled endlessly.
Tang Qing is generally deaf and cares about haircutting for the elderly.
"Uh-huh……"
The old man moved a few times and mumbled something he wanted to say.
"Master Li, you'll be fine soon."
Tang Qing applied hair wax on the old man.
"Uh-huh……"
The old man opened his lips slightly and raised three fingers to the relatives in front of him.
"Master Li, have a good trip!"
Tang Qing removed the old man from his chest, placed him on the bed, and pressed the corners of the quilt tightly.
"dad!"
A woman in her thirties knelt down in front of the bed and cried loudly.
This woman looked to be at least 1.75 meters tall, wearing black clothes, a black cotton short-sleeved T-shirt on top, and a pair of black cotton casual trousers on the bottom, which further showed her long figure.
Her long hair was pulled up high and tied on top of her head with a red butterfly hairpin.
From the moment Tang Qing entered the house, this tall woman was the only one who didn't say a word. She just stood quietly by the window and watched coldly.
"You call me dad now? It's useless. You don't have any share in the family property!"
"Aren't you willing to enter this family even if you die? Are you coming here to share the family property? Don't be too shameless!"
The old man's two sons scolded the tall woman.
"Why are cats crying and mice crying? Are these tears caused by pepper spray?"
"Weasel is paying New Year's greetings to Rooster. If you want to divide the family property, you don't have to pretend to be sad like this! Let's just grab it openly. Aren't you the famous Li Zapo in Yancheng?"
The old man's two daughters-in-law also scolded the tall woman.
"Woooooooo..."
The tall woman ignored the four people's curses and cried alone.
"Everyone, please express your condolences and say goodbye."
Tang Qing packed up the shaving box and prepared to return to the shop.
"Master Jiujin, you can't leave!"
"Yes, you can't leave!"
The old man's two sons came to stop Tang Qing.
"What else?"
Tang Qing glanced at the woman kneeling on the ground crying.
"You have to stay and bear witness to us!"
The eldest son said.
"Testify? What testimony?"
Tang Qing saw that the woman was just crying, holding the shaving box in her hands and still wanted to leave.
"Did my father just say that among the three children, I am the most disadvantaged and that all the family property should be given to me?"
"Boss, it makes no sense for you to say this. The old man clearly said that all the family property will be given to me!"
"Second brother, didn't you see my dad raise three fingers when he died?"
"I saw it, so what?"
"Then what nonsense are you talking about? Abba is saying that among our three children, I have sacrificed the most for our family, and I alone will inherit the family property."
"Why do you inherit it alone? I can also say that among the three children, I suffer the most, and I alone inherit the family property!"
Before Tang Qing could reply, the younger son and the older son started arguing.
"Your condolences!"
Tang Qing bowed to the old man lying on the bed, turned around and opened the door to leave.
"stop!"
The tall woman suddenly stood up and called Tang Jin to stop.
"You, what's wrong with you?"
Tang Qing was shaken and the shaving box in her hand almost fell to the ground. She turned back to ask the woman, but did not dare to look at her.
"Qingtuan, tell them, when my father raised three fingers just now, did he mean to leave all the family property to me, the third daughter?"
The tall woman wiped away the tears on her face and asked Tang Qing loudly. There was a majesty in her tone that Tang Qing could not resist.
"Li Zapo, don't think that you can make Master Jiujin tell lies just because you have a few dirty dollars!"
"Master Jiujin, please stop meddling in other people's business and leave!"
Just as Tang Qing was about to reply, his eldest son came in the middle and accused the woman, while his younger son tried to push her out.
"It doesn't matter what any of you say today. She was closest to Abba at that time, so what she says counts!"
The tall woman came over and grabbed Tang Qing's hand.
"you……"
Tang Qing's body felt like an electric shock and his mind went blank.