Several people returned to Lu Chu's house from the village head's house.
The old lady had prepared dinner and was waiting for them, it was not a big meal. Country people usually only stir-fry one vegetarian dish for each meal, as long as the portion is enough to fill them up. But these days, for the sake of the guests, the old man has fried a few more dishes, without any fancy tricks, and cut some meat, which tastes good.
When a few people were eating, the old man looked at the meat and vegetables on the table, and then at Lu Chu. He felt sorry for his grandson. If there were no guests, their family would only eat meat during the festivals. A little, life is really difficult.
Halfway through the meal, Song Gui chatted with the old man, and as they talked, he asked if there was a place for offering sacrifices, praying for blessings, and burning incense and worshiping Buddha during construction or other activities.
The old man nodded: "Of course, there are quite a lot of doorways here. People here often like to go to Wang Po's to do the math. I will pay my respects last time. Yes, you can also go and burn some incense to pray for a smooth ride."
A few people nodded and agreed as soon as they heard it, they were thinking about doing this.
The old man said again: "Just in a while, I'm going to Wang Po's to have a look at her legs. Let's take you with me."
Without waiting for the others to answer, Lu Chu immediately asked concerned: "Grandma, what's wrong with your leg?"
The old man touched Lu Chu's head lovingly: "It's nothing, I just caught a cold, and my calf has been hurting these two days."
"Then let's go and have a look." Lu Chu frowned, he was a little worried about the old man's legs.
Seeing Lu Chu's genuine concern, Song Gui was thoughtful, while 7 remained the same as before, and the other three nodded in agreement.
After everyone finished eating, Lu Chu went to wash the dishes, and then walked to Mrs. Wang's house under the leadership of the old man.
At dusk, when the sun went down, the village became extremely quiet, with occasional cocks crowing and dogs barking to break the silence. There are only a few street lights on the widest road in the village, and it is not yet dark at this time, so the street lights are not turned on. The old man walked in front with a dilapidated flashlight in his hand: "I am old and my eyesight is not good. I have to turn on the flashlight before it gets dark."
Since coming to this "bureau", Lu Chu has heard about Wang Po several times. It is said that Wei Rong, who is crazy, often goes to Wang Po's place. Lu Chu had wanted to meet this man for a long time, and now he just had the opportunity - of course, it is also very important to show the old man's legs.
Seemingly seeing through what Lu Chu was thinking, Song Gui slowed down and walked side by side with Lu Chu before he knew it.
"How old is this year?"
Lu Chu said nothing.
Seeing that other people's attention was not here, Song Gui leaned down and whispered in Lu Chu's ear: "Don't pay attention to the people in the 'bureau', only we are real."
Lu Chu's footsteps faltered, and Song Zhizhi walked away as if nothing had happened.
Lu Chu looked at Song Gui's back and knew that he was targeting the old man he really cared about.
But "real existence"
If only the selected players are real, then "Lu Chu" is nothing.
People like Song Gui may never pay attention to the people in the "game", but Lu Chu is different because he is the person in the game.
Lu Chu raised his foot and continued to walk forward, while Qi followed him silently.
Finally arrived at Wang Po's house, the old man stepped forward and knocked on the door: "Is Wang Po there?"
"Squeak—" The wooden door of the yard opened from the inside, a little girl poked her head out to look at the group of people outside, and opened the door.
The courtyard of Mrs. Wang's house is very small, and the ground in the courtyard is full of burnt paper ashes. The cramped courtyard is filled with the smell of burning cigarettes, which makes people's minds swell.
It was obviously not the first time for the old man to come here. She walked to the front of the main house and knocked on the door, and a hoarse voice came from inside: "Come in."
The old man went in first, and everyone followed into the house.
The atmosphere in the room is even more depressing, the light is dim, the smell of incense is heavier, and the smoke is lingering. There are countless yellow ribbons with spells drawn on the roof. Affected by this atmosphere, everyone's attitude is unconsciously serious and solemn, bowing their waists Avoiding the hanging silk ribbons, he walked into the house, only to see an old woman sitting on a futon. The old woman is Wang Po. She looks very old, with rough skin, withered flesh and skin, and her body is thin as if only a skeleton is left, sticking to the skin, but her eyes are extremely bright. Behind Wang Po are various statues with strange movements, majestic and majestic. In front of the futon is a long table, on which red candles are burning brightly, and the yellow light imprints on the old man's skinny face like a bone, which is particularly frightening.
The old man sat down opposite Wang Po, and said that he had suffered a cold during this period and his legs hurt. Wang Po heard this, stood up slowly, walked to the back compartment, and after a while, she came out with a handful of hay-like things.
Wang Po's voice was hoarse and slow, with a strange charm in it: "The seedlings on the garlic are dried, go back and boil them with vinegar, and then use the boiling water to smoke the legs."
Lu Chu hurriedly took the handful of dry grass for the old lady, and thanked Wang Po.
Seeing this, Wang Po turned her head to look at Lu Chu thoughtfully.
The old woman smiled and said, "This is my grandson."
Wang Po nodded: "Very good, you can come here by yourself tomorrow night."
Lu Chu didn't understand, so the grandma thanked her first, and then explained to Lu Chu: "This is Wang Po who wants to help you tell your fortune in person. Many people in the nearby towns and villages can't ask for it, so please thank Wang Po. "
Lu Chu put on a gentle smile: "Thank you."
Wang Po let out a "hmm", sat down cross-legged, and asked the others, "Is there anything else?"
Song Gui took a step forward: "Hello, we are shooting a movie here, and we want to pray for safety with you, and burn incense sticks so that the filming can go smoothly."
Wang Po squinted her eyes and nodded, and put several kinds of talismans and incense sticks of different specifications on the table: "Paper talismans that have been opened are 100, ordinary ones are 50, wooden talismans are doubled, inlaid jade is multiplied by ten, and all jade talismans will be discussed again." "Small incense is ten yuan a stick, medium incense is twenty, and large incense is fifty."
Everyone is silent.
Yang Cheng, who hadn't spoken much all the way, couldn't help but wanted to speak, but was held back by Song Gui, who said with a smile, "I don't need the talisman for now, let's burn a stick of incense for each person, and get us the best one."
After burning incense and leaving Wang Po's house, Yang Cheng and the three of them discussed Wang Po, saying that they thought she was so powerful, but it seemed that she was just a magic stick to cheat money.
They didn't shy away from saying this, and when the old lady heard it, she immediately frowned and said seriously: "Young man, I know you are from the city, I don't believe it, but the monk's family still needs money for sesame oil, please go, please help me!" There is no reason to help you in vain, let alone Wang Po has real skills."
After hearing this, Yang Cheng and the others hurriedly said sorry, but they couldn't control their mouths.
Seeing their sincerity, the old man persuaded them earnestly: "You guys think Qi is good and calm."
She was talking about Qi Li, that is, 7. The old man is old, but he has a good memory. He can remember the names of several people in one day.
She went on to say: "Such young people are down-to-earth."
Lu Chu took it for granted.
———
Wang Po's house.
Wang Po sat cross-legged on the futon, looking at the incense sticks on Song Gui and the others, thinking.
The house was clearly closed, but there was a wind blowing, and the yellow silk on the roof was blown. After a while, the wind stopped, and the incense sparks on Song Gui's five people flickered, and then they all went out, leaving only a pale wisp. The broken smoke twisted and scattered in the air.
Wang Po took out a fire folder with talismans drawn with cinnabar, lit it several times, but failed to light it again.
She sighed and shook her head.
Can't hide, can't hide.