Chapter 20: Happiness Village 7

Chapter 20: Happiness Village 7

    The sun was shining and the sweat was pouring down.

    After walking for an unknown amount of time, Du Ziteng finally heard Uncle Wang's low voice "It's here".

    This should be where the people of the village are buried. Under the loess, there are small earthbags one by one, and the richer people will erect small monuments, but most people just bury things hastily. There are a few dead trees around, with twisted and slender branches pointing straight to the sky, like the devil's minions. Occasionally, a few crows' calls came from the sky, hoarse and unpleasant.

    It was clear that the sun was above their heads, but the sweat on Du Ziteng and the others was cold, causing them to shiver. If it comes at night, it is estimated that the heartbeat will be frightened.

    Uncle Wang went straight to a small dirt bag and gave the order, "Excavate!"

    Everyone raised the shovel and pickaxe in their hands and dug up the dirt bag. After a while, the coffin under the loess was exposed.

    Besides a middle-aged man waving a shovel, he asked Er Zhuang, "Is this grave your mother's?"

    Er ​​Zhuang lowered his head and dug into the soil and replied, "Yeah. My mother died of old age last month, and I gave her the buried fruit."

    Because it was buried just last month, the coffin is still well-preserved. Several young and strong men used ropes that had been prepared long ago to hoist the coffin out of the pit.

    "1! 2! 3! Open the coffin!" Immediately, the stench filled the sky, it was the smell of rotten corpses, and flies, big and small, flew out.

    Du Ziteng and a few people gathered in the middle of the villagers and looked into the coffin, almost spitting out the steamed buns he ate last night.

    Because of the hot weather, the body in the coffin had begun to swell and rot, and yellow-green water flowed out. The skin and muscles have been separated, revealing the bones. A white maggot crawled out of the right eye socket and got into the gray hair of the dead man. The limbs of the corpse have been devoured by deworming.

    The villagers took a few steps back and covered their noses, the smell was too bad.

    Er ​​Zhuang took a step forward and dragged his mother's body out with a rope. "Fight." Er Zhuang's voice was so calm, as if the corpse had nothing to do with him.

    Everyone raised the tools in their hands and hit the corpse one by one. Mosquitoes and flies scattered, pus flowed out, and infiltrated into the loess.

    Du Ziteng did not participate, but hid behind the villagers. Although they know that fighting drought is a custom in some places, it is disrespectful to the corpse. Knowing is one thing, but doing it is another.

    Yu Ye glanced strangely at Er Zhuang who was at the front, and said to Du Ziteng and Fang Dong: "Usually my son would not agree to such a thing as pulling his mother out and whipping the corpse? Why does that Er Zhuang seem to be indifferent?"

    Fang Dong replied: "Didn't you say that the newly buried female corpse is to be killed? Maybe there is no suitable corpse except the second strong mother."

    Yu Ye: "It's possible. But this... is too unfilial..." Er Zhuang is a young man who doesn't care about this, but other older people in the village did not raise any objections. Does Xingfu Village not abide by the etiquette of loyalty and filial piety?

    When a group of people finished beating and beating, the corpse was no longer what it looked like.

    Uncle Wang turned his back and said, "Burn it."

    The torch fell on the coffin and on the corpse, and the fire burst into flames. Because there is no burning zone such as trees and grasses, the fire will go out after it burns out.

    There was nothing left, everyone looked at the black marks on the ground, and stood silently.

    At this time, Wang He coughed dryly, spat on the ground, and said gloomily, "Go, now go see that woman."

    Suddenly, the quiet villagers began to talk again, and they were so noisy that they couldn't hear what they said.

    Du Ziteng looked at each other and understood that it was time to see Li Shuangshuang. Who is this Li Shuangshuang who scared Wang He down the stairs?

    Du Ziteng and the others thought that Li Shuangshuang should be buried in those small earthbags like other villagers.

    Du Ziteng and the others had walked to Wang He's side before they knew it. Du Ziteng asked Wang He, "This Li Shuangshuang...why is he buried here?"

    Wang He stared at the dirt bag and replied gloomily: "Because she is dirty, she is cheap, and she is not worthy to be buried in the ancestral grave of Xingfu Village." What's the big sin?

    The villagers began to dig up the soil with shovels and hoes. It didn’t take long this time to dig out the soil. Because Li Shuangshuang's body was buried very shallow, and she didn't have a coffin, she just wrapped it with a broken straw mat.

    Wang He grabbed a corner of the straw mat and pulled the corpse out. He lifted the rolled straw mat with a hoe, revealing Li Shuangshuang's body.

    Unlike the corpse of Er Zhuangniang just now, Li Shuangshuang's corpse did not rot in the slightest. She lay on the straw mat as if she was asleep. Her face was pale, her lips were black and purple, her eyes were closed, and half of her face was covered by long messy black hair, but she could still be seen to be very good-looking when she was alive.

    Li Shuangshuang's body was covered with dried blood, and the limbs that were not covered by the clothes could see large and small knife marks. It is conceivable how many places were covered by the clothes. Wound.

    What shocked Du Ziteng and the three of them was that Li Shuangshuang's hands were crossed on her stomach, but her stomach was bulging! She was still pregnant when she died? How did Li Shuangshuang die?

    The villagers were also stunned, and there was a lot of discussion.

    "Why has the child been dead for more than a year and the body has not decayed yet?"

    "It's so hot, there's no smell at all?"

    "Wang He, what you saw last night was really Li Shuangshuang? Did she come to claim her life..."

    The voice of the villager who finally asked this question was getting lower and lower, and he was a little frightened. This Li Shuangshuang's corpse violated the laws of nature at all.

    Wang He slapped his head fiercely, then stared at Li Shuangshuang's corpse on the ground with round eyes, and said, "Don't talk about these life-threatening things. I'm sorry for our village."

    Uncle Wang stood aside, smoking his own cigarette, and sighed: "There is no way to ask for life, it's all retribution."

    Wang He glared at Uncle Wang and raised his voice in dissatisfaction: "Father, what's the use of talking about this now? Didn't you stop us at that time? Didn't you participate? "

    Uncle Wang said "you-you-" several times, but in the end he didn't say anything, just turned his back and sighed.

    Du Ziteng, Fang Dong, and Yu Ye, who were standing on the sidelines, were a little confused. retribution? participate? How do you feel that Li Shuangshuang's death hides more content? Could it have something to do with the whole village? But what did Li Shuangshuang do to be sorry for the whole village?

    While the three of them were thinking about it, Wang He had already stood up and walked to their side. Wang He put the shovel in their hands and said, "You three are not here to play in our village. Right? You three didn't do anything to fight the drought just now, but this time you try and fight Li Shuangshuang."

    Fang Dong shook his hand, and the shovel fell to the ground: "I...I don't want to do it..." This Li Shuangshuang's body has not rotted for a year. Don't dare to insult the corpse.

    "Afraid! She has been dead for more than a year!" Wang He looked at the trembling building with a look of contempt.

    The surrounding villagers gathered around and surrounded Du Ziteng, Fang Dong, and Yu Ye. The expression on his face was numb and fierce, and his fingers were snapped, as if he wanted to pull them down together.

    Yu Ye believed that if the three of them really dared to quit, the three of them would be beaten to death by these villagers. If he was tough, he and Fang Dong would naturally not need to be mentioned, and Du Ziteng's obvious muscles from the gym would probably not have the upper hand against these capable and powerful men in the countryside.

    The person who knows the current affairs is Junjie, and now it is better to keep yourself safe. Yu Ye quickly weighed in his heart, then picked up the shovel on the ground, and struck Li Shuangshuang's body with a shovel.

    Wang He clapped his hands: "It's just like the fruit! A dead man, there is nothing to be afraid of!"

    When one person stands up, the person behind will naturally stand up. Originally, Du Ziteng and Fang Dong were still timid and hesitant. Seeing that Yu Ye, who usually didn't speak a few words, actually started to move, they also picked up tools and knocked on Li Shuangshuang's body.

    The villagers surrounded them, watching them hit Li Shuangshuang on her feet, body, head, and even her bulging belly. Every time a little force was used, the villagers cheered. It seems that they are not watching corpses, but some kind of cultural performance.

    The three of Du Ziteng gritted their teeth, beads of sweat on their foreheads. As they raised their tools, they whispered to themselves, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... We didn't mean to..."

    They have tried their best to control their strength, but Li Shuangshuang's body was still knocked out of shape, and she could no longer see her beautiful face.

    Wang He finally said, "Okay."

    The three of them breathed a sigh of relief and threw the tools in their hands back to the ground.

    Wang He put the torch into their hands and said, "Burn it."

    "Burned?" The three of them widened their eyes.

    Wang He: "Li Shuangshuang's corpse hasn't rotted for a year, so he must be very resentful. If he doesn't care, it will kill our village sooner or later. Are you right?" Wang He looked around at the people around him. villagers.

    The villagers responded in succession: "Yes, Li Shuangshuang is really uneasy in life, and if he dies, he will harm others."

    "Burn her to death, this woman!"

    "It's all her fault, maybe it's because of her that our village is dry. Burn it!"

    In the babble, it seems that Li Shuangshuang is the sinner who does not burn to death.

    Du Ziteng gritted his teeth, took three torches, distributed one to Fang Dong and Yu Ye, and walked to Li Shuangshuang's body step by step.

    Wang He smiled with satisfaction, and squatted with Er Zhuang to the side to smoke cigarettes.

    Other villagers also relaxed, squatting and chatting. This time, only the three of Du Ziteng were left facing the corpse.

    Fang Dong's hands kept shaking: "We...are we really going to burn her?"

    Du Ziteng: "What can we do if we don't burn it? There are dozens of them, and there are only three of us. Even if the three of us have props, we can't fight."

    Yu Ye raised his toes, and at his feet, he kept stepping on a small white jade pendant. Fearing that the jade pendant would be discovered by other villagers, he kept standing still. "This is what I beat from Li Shuangshuang's body, it may be useful."

    Now that the villagers' attention is finally not on them, Yu Ye bent down, picked up the jade pendant on the ground, and stuffed it into his pocket.

    "Burn it." The torch fell on the body.

    Du Ziteng, Yu Ye, and Fang Dong stood there dumbfounded, watching the flames climb up Li Shuangshuang's body, and then burn to the ground.

    In the firelight, Yu Ye clenched the jade pendant in the bag, if Li Shuangshuang's death really had a problem... Then what would be the problem...

    At the moment when the body was completely engulfed by the flames, it suddenly rained in the sky. The thin, dense ones fell on the black ash on the ground, on the soft hair of the anchors, and on the greasy faces of the villagers.

    They went from surprise to delight, "It's raining! It's raining! It's finally raining!"