The group of people ate and drank until nine o'clock.
Ding Junyuan and Tang Siping were linking arms, as close as brothers. They were then stuffed into the back seat by Tang Siping's driver and taken away.
Wu Weiwei couldn't drink much, so he staggered back to his room without even taking a shower.
Jiang Yu, on the other hand, remained as usual, with a calm expression and walked steadily towards the public restroom in the corner of the yard.
Chen Ling drank the least and was more conscious. He followed closely behind the man, fearing that he would lose his balance and fall, getting a swollen nose and a bruised face, which would not be handsome.
Jiang Yu went into the bathroom, and perhaps because he was not clear-headed, he just closed the door.
A breeze blew and the door opened automatically.
Chen Ling happened to be standing at the door, staring blankly at the body half-hidden and half-exposed in the darkness in the bathroom.
Chen Ling felt a little thirsty and wanted to drink some water, but his feet felt as if they were filled with lead and he couldn't move.
He thought, it turns out that seeing the most beautiful woman really makes you unable to walk.
The faint light sprinkled on the flowing water, refracting along the lines of the man's body, giving people the illusion that the man was glowing.
Chen Ling: “…”
Chen Ling felt that he might have a brain problem, so he turned away and took a deep breath: "Be careful, I'm going back to my room first."
There was no response from the bathroom, only the sound of splashing water.
Just as he was about to turn around, the man suddenly turned around, and the water flowed along his upturned jawline to the back of his neck and flowed into the sexy groove between his back muscles.
The spells spread across the broad back were like beautiful tattoos, rising and falling as the man raised his hand to wipe his face, as if they were alive.
Chen Ling rubbed his eyes, thinking that he might have seen it wrong.
Sure enough, when he moved his hand away and looked again, the spell was quietly fitting with his flesh, without any abnormality.
While I was stunned, the sound of water suddenly stopped.
Chen Ling suddenly came back to his senses. The man was naked and had actually walked to the bathroom door.
He opened his mouth and squeezed out a dry voice from his throat for a long time, "Jiang Yu... where are your clothes?"
Jiang Yu: “I didn’t take it.”
Chen Ling breathed a sigh of relief, fortunately he had forgotten and not exposed it on purpose.
He rubbed his brows, took a step forward, then another step, raised his hand and pressed his fingers against the man's chest, pushing him inside, "Don't come out, I'll get you clothes."
Jiang Yu's eyelashes fluttered up and down, and his voice was low and hoarse, with a burning heat after being washed by hot water, "Okay."
Chen Ling felt inexplicably hot, so he lowered his head and walked away, fanning himself with his hands as he walked, muttering, "When will summer end? It's so hot."
The ancestor's room never gets sunlight all day long, and one can feel a biting chill as soon as one enters the door.
This was not the first time Chen Ling came in. He walked to the closet and opened the door as usual.
Looking at the neatly arranged and perfectly matched suits and shirts in front of him, he suddenly realized that what he opened was not an ordinary closet door, but his ancestor's private life.
His fingertips brushed over each piece of clothing, and as if possessed, he leaned forward and sniffed gently.
Every piece of clothing carries the unique scent of Jiangyu, a clear, very light fragrance, like the scent of ink, but also like something else.
There was a sudden bang outside. Chen Ling was startled and immediately took out a set of home clothes from the side, took out a pair of underwear from the drawer below, and ran out in a hurry.
There was no one in the yard, but there was loud snoring in Zhao Xunchang's room.
Chen Ling approached the direction of the snoring, opened the window a little and looked inside. The purple-blue parrot was dozing on the shelf, and the master's hand was on the head of the bed, knocking the thermos cup down.
He breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to see a big dog sitting on the ground with shining eyes, wagging its tail and looking at him.
Since coming back with them last night, the German Shepherd has fled to Yuhe Mountain and has never returned.
Suddenly finding it back, Chen Ling was somewhat happy. He squatted down, held one of its hands and shook it up and down, asking, "Were you just behind me?"
The German Shepherd whimpered.
Chen Ling threatened in a low voice: "Don't tell Jiang Yu what you just saw, otherwise I won't play with you anymore and will make you hang out with your dad every day."
The German Shepherd keenly realized who the young man was talking about, and the sound of its howling became low, aggrieved, and a bit flattering.
Chen Ling laughed: "Are you so afraid of him?"
German Shepherd: “Ouch.”
Chen Ling rubbed its head, stood up and walked to the corner of the yard.
Jiang Yu was still standing in the distance, as if the young man's words were an imperial decree. When he saw someone coming, he looked up, his eyes, which were smoked by the smell of alcohol, were filled with an indescribable eagerness, which was a little different from usual.
Chen Ling swallowed and handed over the underwear with his eyes closed.
Jiang Yu didn't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, but when he took the young man's hand, he actually hooked the young man's fingertips with his fingers.
Chen Ling indulgently pretended not to know, pursed his lips, held his clothes and looked very serious.
After the man had put on his clothes, he handed over the shirt in his hand, and then the pants.
The friction of fabrics made a rustling sound. Jiang Yu was dressed neatly, but still standing inside. Chen Ling stared at him in confusion for a few seconds, then an idea suddenly occurred to him and he snapped his fingers: "Come out, I'll take you back to your room to sleep."
Jiang Yu walked out, always only a fist's distance away from the young man.
Chen Ling was like a kindergarten teacher, staring at the man as he got on the bed, lay down, and then pulled a thin quilt over him.
He leaned over, touched the man's smooth forehead, and coaxed him, "Go to sleep, good night."
Jiang Yu suddenly opened his eyes, reached out and grabbed the young man's wrist, easily pulled him onto the bed, and turned over to hold him down.
The alcohol-scented breath sprayed on Chen Ling's neck. He turned his neck away because he was ticklish, but he was still unable to avoid it completely.
He tried to get up, but just as he moved, he was bitten on the neck, neither lightly nor heavily. A wet touch followed, making his scalp numb and his back felt like an electric current was running through it, which was a bit stimulating and a bit numb.
Chen Ling pushed Jiang Yu: "Hey, are you drunk?"
Jiang Yu actually hummed a little, and held the man in his arms tighter like a child, sniffing the young man's shoulders and neck with his nose.
Alcohol gives cowards courage, and our ancestor was not a coward at all.
Just when Chen Ling thought that he would at least have to drive a manual transmission tonight, the man suddenly became quiet, his breathing became steady, and the strength in his arms also relaxed a little.
With just a little effort, he slid out of the man's arms and under the bed. When he looked up, he saw the German Shepherd lying on the ground watching the fun.
Seeing the young man looking at him, the German Shepherd stood up happily and wanted to pounce on him, but he was afraid of the other person lying on the bed and did not dare to.
Chen Ling was so agitated that he didn't pay attention to its little emotions. He hurriedly touched the dog's head when he passed by, and locked the door as soon as he entered the room.
The five-zhu coin hanging on the door frame jumped twice and said, "I will help the master to watch the door. I wish the master a good dream."
Chen Ling grabbed the cold copper coin and touched it, thinking that she was so beautiful before going to bed. Now that his cerebral cortex was active, he would definitely not be able to fall asleep, let alone have a good dream.
As expected, I did not sleep well that night. I tossed and turned until dawn.
The early mornings in the courtyard of Yuhe Mountain are generally quiet and peaceful.
Today is different.
The yard was filled with the smell of alcohol from the previous night. Food and dishes were placed haphazardly on the stone table, and there were two pairs of slippers on the ground, which belonged to no one.
Although Chen Ling didn't sleep all night, he was not in bad spirits. He got up from his bed as soon as the chickens he raised in the east of the village crowed. Looking at the mess in the yard, he sighed silently, bent down and started to clean up.
Just after cleaning up, Wu Weiwei came out of the room with messy hair, yawned and said, "Good morning, Brother Chen."
"What's for breakfast? I'll make it." Chen Ling walked towards the kitchen with a pile of dishes in his arms. He glanced at Wu Weiwei as he passed by and told him, "Go take a shower first to sober up."
"My brother Chen is so considerate." Wu Weiwei flattered again, smiling and shouting at the back, "I'll be there right away!"
He stood under the eaves and looked at the yard. His eyes lit up and he quickly walked over barefoot and put on his slippers.
He went back to his room and got some clothes out, but suddenly stopped halfway and looked blankly towards the kitchen.
It's strange, I always feel like I forgot something important.
Chen Ling cooked millet porridge for everyone, added a few pieces of pickled vegetables from the jar, and boiled eggs.
Everything was ready and served on the table, and Zhao Xunchang also stood up.
Zhao Xunchang, wearing training clothes, walked to the stone table with his hands behind his back, but his eyes could not stop drifting towards Jiang Yu's room.
Chen Ling did not expose his eagerness to be called Master, and whispered, "Would you like some porridge first?"
"Yeah." Zhao Xunchang sat down and drank a few mouthfuls of hot porridge, but he couldn't suppress his impatience and asked directly, "Are you still not up?"
"It seems like Brother Jiang gets drunk after three cups. His alcohol tolerance is not as high as Master's. Please understand." Chen Ling praised and criticized at the same time, which made the master feel very happy.
Zhao Xunchang pointed at the table and said, "You should sit down and eat, too. Aren't we going to build a tomb for the Tang family later?"
Chen Ling lowered his head and drank a mouthful of porridge, then peeled an egg for his master: "Master, how is the progress of the project during my absence?"
"It's OK, it's pretty fast. Assistant Qiu comes to supervise every day." Speaking of this, Zhao Xunchang couldn't help but praise, "Jiang Shengxing is very good at doing things. He must have specially asked for permission. The noise at the construction site is not too loud, with only the occasional ping-pong sound, which is acceptable."
Chen Ling looked up while biting an egg. From this angle, he could get a glimpse of the side of the mountainside. It was vaguely visible that the cemetery already had a rough trapezoidal outline.
Zhao Xunchang glanced at his young apprentice and said, "Just train well. I'll be at Yuhe Mountain. But Master has a request. If possible, try to come back every night. It will be good for you."
Chen Ling thought it was because he and Yu Heshan had similar auras, so he quickly asked, "Master, if I leave for too long, will my bad luck of encountering ghosts come back again?"
Zhao Xunchang didn't say yes or no, but asked, "Are you afraid?"
Chen Ling's cheeks puffed up slightly, and after chewing a few times and swallowing some, he said, "Don't be afraid."
If bad luck comes back again, it would be a good thing for him to change his mindset, as he can catch a few evil spirits to practice.
Zhao Xunchang nodded after pondering for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and suddenly moved closer to his little disciple. He said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "You have a special physique, which is different from that of ordinary people. You will not be burned by Yin Qi and have your mind affected."
Chen Ling nodded repeatedly, but he was confused, "Master, why are you asking this?"
Zhao Xunchang glared at him, and the following words were the key point, "But even so, you still have to pay attention to the frequency when having sex. Too much or too little can hurt your body."
Chen Ling: “…”
Zhao Xunchang pinched his apprentice's red ears and sneered, "Why be shy? It's human nature."
It was too early to say this before. Now that their relationship has been settled, it is good to say it out loud, lest one day a fire breaks out that even a flood cannot extinguish.
Chen Ling hesitantly said, "I know."
"Know what?" The man's hoarse voice came from behind.
Jiang Yu had gotten up at some point and was standing at the door looking at the master and disciple in the yard.
Although he was drunk last night, he still remembered what he did.
Thinking back to when he was like a three-year-old child, doing whatever the young man told him to do, Jiang Yu wished he could go back in time. In all his years, he had never lost his composure like he did last night!
In the northeast corner of the courtyard, Wu Weiwei opened the door of the public restroom and walked out.
The moment I saw Jiang Yu, a flash of lightning flashed through my mind, and the memories of yesterday that were obscured by the mist suddenly came back to me.
"You...you guys..." Wu Weiwei felt that his brain and mouth were not enough, so he raised his hand and slapped himself.
After the crisp sound, he finally straightened his tongue and asked foolishly and directly: "Brother Chen, are you and Brother Jiang a couple?"
The inexplicable sticky atmosphere between the two of them, Chen Ling's silly smile, Jiang Yu's ambiguous way of healing... everything has the correct answer!
Wu Weiwei felt that he had received a huge shock, and he stammered unconsciously: "So should I call you Brother Jiang from now on, or should I call you Brother Gefu?"
The word "gefu" sounds strange... Chen Ling was afraid that the old man would say something shocking, so he hurriedly said, "Jiang Ge, just call him Jiang Ge."
Wu Weiwei nodded, wiped his hair and walked into the room. After a few steps, he turned back and looked at the two of them with a confused expression.
It was not until he completely stepped into the room and closed the door that his brain finally worked normally. His first reaction was to send a message to Li Hongyu, asking him if he knew.
Li Hongyu: Know what
Wu Weiwei was also afraid of making things worse and exposing his brother Chen’s privacy, so his reply was also very strange: That, that, that.
Li Hongyu saw that he was vague, thought for a while and replied: Chen Ling and Jiang Yu’s gay relationship
Wu Weiwei almost jumped up. It seemed that he was the only one who reacted the slowest: How did you know
Li Hongyu: I saw two of them holding hands before entering school yesterday.
Wu Weiwei fell silent while holding his phone. He was there at that time, so how could he be so blind that he didn't see it? ! This kind of shocking gossip is even more painful than missing out on 100 million!
"Wu Weiwei, instead of calming down alone, why don't you come out and have some porridge?" Chen Ling knocked on the door outside.
Wu Weiwei put down his phone and replied as he walked towards the door: "I'm coming."
Pulling open the door, Chen Ling smiled naturally: "Are you so surprised?"
"It's not that bad..." Wu Weiwei scratched the back of his head and whispered, "It's my fault for being too straight. Actually, it's quite obvious between you and Brother Jiang sometimes."
Chen Ling: “For example?”
Wu Weiwei: "Didn't you get injured on your neck once? I saw him kissing you there..." As he said this, he pointed his finger at the side of his neck.
Chen Ling pretended to be calm and said "Oh", but he was excited in his heart: I never thought that besides suffering from sleep paralysis, our ancestor also did such a sneaky thing!
You have to be more careful when sleeping in the future and not sleep too deeply, otherwise you will miss a lot of good shows!
In the yard, Jiang Yu came out of the public bathroom refreshed and walked straight to Zhao Xunchang.
You can pretend that you never did those childish things last night, but you can’t forget to change the tea.
He picked up the freshly brewed hot tea on the table without any hesitation, filled the porcelain cup, served the tea with both hands, bowed slightly, and said solemnly: "Master, please have some tea."
Zhao Xunchang's face twitched and he almost couldn't help laughing out loud.
What a changing world. The old ghost who once dominated him has now become his junior. It feels great. Very great.
Zhao Xunchang took the tea and took a sip. "I know my apprentice's character. He is too soft, but he will never be soft-hearted when he needs to be. You should treat him well. If there is a quarrel or a fight..."
He paused, then said something more pertinent: "Don't worry, as an elder, I will definitely help my relatives instead of my friends."
Jiang Yu: “…”
Zhao Xunchang narrowed his eyes and continued, "I am an open-minded person, so I naturally think that your relationship is nothing, but we need to wait a little longer with Chen Ling's parents."
Chen's parents are relatively traditional and have always been looking forward to their son falling in love and getting married so that they can have a grandson sooner.
Now that I have a wife, but my grandson is gone, I’m afraid it’s not easy to accept.
Jiang Yu is not in a hurry. The people are his, and everything else is empty.
He was in a good mood and said in a gentle tone: "Master is right."
Calling him "Master" came so smoothly that Zhao Xunchang felt a little embarrassed, as if he had taken great advantage of him.
He pretended to cough a few times and said, "Sit down and eat."
At nine o'clock in the morning, the sun had not yet risen to the sky and the coolness of the early morning had not yet dissipated. The busy workers on Yuhe Mountain were enjoying the cool air in the shed.
As they were talking, contractor Yang suddenly stood up and waved to the young man who was walking up with his hands full of things: "Mr. Chen!"
In Chen Ling's left hand were incense, candles, and paper money for building his tomb, and in his right hand was a watermelon bought from the next village.
Wu Weiwei's hands were not idle either. He also had a lot of bags, but they had nothing to do with the cenotaph. They were all used to cool down the workers.
Contractor Yang sent two people to take the things and put them in the shed.
He took a card and handed it to the young man: "Buried today?"
Chen Ling asked: "It should be all done, right?"
Contractor Yang said: "When you called to ask the day before yesterday, the pit had already been completely dried out and the base of the tombstone had been placed in place, just waiting for the burial and the tombstone to be erected."
Chen Ling nodded, took out his cell phone and checked the time. There were still more than ten minutes until the auspicious time, and he didn't know whether Tang Siping could make it.
Contractor Yang glanced at the young man, moved his lips a few times, and then he couldn't help but look at the young man a few more times.
Chen Ling had already noticed his hesitation to speak, and said, "Just say it if you have something to say."
Yang, the contractor, said, "It's like this. There's a person named Li Guifang in your village, right?"
"I remember." Li Guifang's attempt to earn the difference by being a cemetery middleman was really impressive. Chen Ling asked, "What happened to her?"
Contractor Yang said, "During the days when you were away, some people came to see the cemetery. They were a little disgusted with the desolation of this place, but then Li Guifang showed up out of nowhere and talked to those people for a long time, saying nothing but bad things. Not only that, she even pried them away, saying that she had a cheap grave in the eastern suburbs and would take care of it all."
All-inclusive means that it not only covers all the expenses for burial and tombstone erection, but also includes the early stages of body storage, burial makeup, cremation, and even rituals.
Chen Ling didn't expect that a new competitor would emerge in just a few days, so he asked, "Is there a new cemetery in the eastern suburbs?"
Contractor Yang, holding an unlit cigarette in his mouth, shook his head and said, "There shouldn't be any. I was a little curious when I found out, so I called a friend I used to work for, and he told me there was no cemetery in the eastern suburbs."
Chen Ling guessed: "Could it be a wild cemetery?"
Hearing him say that, Wu Weiwei suddenly remembered something: "It's true! There is a piece of wasteland behind Pingshan in the eastern suburbs. There have been wild graves there for a long time. If Li Guifang really has a cemetery, then someone must have directly contracted that land."
"Pingshan?" Chen Ling's face darkened.
Pingshan is called Pingshan because the mountain is steep and rugged, like a tall screen standing on the ground, just half covering the circle of land in the middle.
Surrounded by mountains on three sides and with no running water, it is extremely dangerous whether building a Yin house or a Yang house.
"If this is true, the contractor either doesn't understand Feng Shui or doesn't believe in it." Chen Ling sneered.
If the person who bought the tomb had any idea, he would ask a Feng Shui master to check it out and know that he could not bury his relatives there. Since he was willing to bury the person in Pingshan, he must have thought it didn't matter.
Since neither the cemetery owner nor the person who bought the tomb said anything, there was no need for them to worry too much, lest they be accused of malicious slander by their peers.
Chen Ling: "This matter has nothing to do with us, leave it alone for now."
"Don't worry, Brother Chen, I know." As soon as Wu Weiwei finished speaking, Tang Siping's voice came from the foot of the mountain.
Tang Siping held the child in one hand and held clothes and the portrait in the other. There was a large group of people following him, all wearing black clothes and black pants, with white cotton and linen belts tied around their waists.
Chen Ling's mouth twitched, and he understood that Tang Siping had invited people to mourn.
In ancient times, there was a standard for mourning, which was "crying without stopping", and the louder the better, to show respect and mourning for the deceased.
However, crying continuously is a technical and physical job that requires the cooperation of all generations. In the modern era of family planning, it is somewhat unrealistic. Therefore, there is a business of crying for the funeral, which is dedicated to crying for the families holding funerals. After crying, in addition to the fees agreed with the company in advance, a red envelope must be given to the person who cried for you to get rid of bad luck.
Wu Weiwei silently counted the group of people following behind him: "Wow, there are more than forty of them."
Chen Ling picked up the things needed for the burial, walked towards Tang Siping, and stopped someone halfway.
Tang Siping drank a lot last night and was quite drunk. When he woke up in the morning, he had no idea what he had done the previous night. He only remembered that today was an auspicious day to build a tomb for his wife and he couldn't delay.
The portrait had been prepared long ago and had been placed in the master bedroom recently.
It’s strange to say, no matter how he looked at the black and white photo, he was not afraid at all. Sometimes, he would even talk to the photo before going to bed.
After getting up, he felt the lowest he had ever been. As a grown man in his forties, he couldn't help but feel tears welling up in his eyes when he thought about the fact that his wife had died without even a complete body left.
He cheered himself up, went to the closet to find one of his wife's favorite skirts, went to the yard to pick a few bougainvillea and hid them in his lapels, then he lay on his side and took out his sleepy son.
Tongtong seemed to sense something, staring at the skirt and vaguely calling out "Mom".
Tang Siping couldn't stop crying instantly and started to cry.
So much so that after more than an hour, his eyes were still swollen.
Chen Ling glanced at Tang Siping's red eyes and said, "My condolences."
Tang Siping responded, put his son on the ground, and stuffed the portrait into his hand, "Take it, let's send mom off for the last time."
Tongtong asked innocently: "Where should I send my mother?"
Tang Siping said: "A happier place."
Tongtong: "Will she come again?"
"Maybe." Tang Siping pinched his son's nose and said with a forced smile, "But it will take a long time."
The process of erecting the tomb went smoothly. From the moment the funeral procession to the moment the stone tablet was placed in the pedestal, the sound of mourning never stopped, attracting the villagers at the foot of the mountain to come out and take a look.
When it was almost eleven o'clock, all matters were completed. Tang Siping took Tongtong to the small courtyard at the foot of the mountain, greeted Zhao Xunchang in person, and then went home.
After sending the people away, Chen Ling thought of Li Guifang on the way back. He looked at Wu Weiwei and said, "There is no news at all about the contact information we left online?"
Wu Weiwei shook his head: "No."
Chen Ling: "Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore." He put his hands in his pockets, remembered the VIP card of the hot spring club left in the pocket of his other pants, turned around and asked, "Although our company is a little small, we still need team building. Let's go to the hot spring club this afternoon?"
Wu Weiwei immediately perked up his spirits: "Really?"
Chen Ling: "So wild."
With the plan of traveling in mind, both of them felt a little uneasy. They didn't even enter the courtyard gate and drove directly to the city to buy swimming trunks.
When he got to the store, Chen Ling took a photo with his mobile phone and sent it to his grandfather: swimming trunks.jpg
Chen Ling: How about going to the hot spring resort in the afternoon
In just three seconds, Jiang Yu replied:
Chen Ling: Ask Master if he wants to go.
Still less than three seconds, Jiang Yu: No
Zhao Xunchang really didn't want to go because it would delay his trip to the breeding base to see the little parrots. Of course, there was another reason he didn't mention: he was old, lazy, and out of shape.
As a master, he also needs face!
You can’t expose your beer belly in front of your disciples!
Chen Ling put away his phone and said to Wu Weiwei, "Take whatever you like. I'll pay for it."
Wu Weiwei cheered and walked to the shelf to choose repeatedly.
Chen Ling was not as conflicted as he was. He just picked up a solid color pair, but he was troubled when choosing for Jiang Yu.
The salesgirl thought he wanted to choose one more for him, so she took the initiative to recommend: "Sir, how about this one? It uses the latest splash-proof fabric, which is tight but very breathable. Especially for special parts, we use the most perfect 3D tailoring. Although it is a tight-fitting style, it will definitely not feel too close to the body and uncomfortable."
Chen Ling recalled the scenery he had just seen last night and chose a size that might be suitable: "Let's take this one."
The shopping guide had sharp eyes and reacted quickly.
This attitude, this shyness, you can tell at first glance that it was bought for the boss!