"Coffin?" I was a little confused. I grew up in an urban environment, and my grandmother who passed away was cremated, not to mention the difference, this is the first time I have even seen what the coffin looks like.
"Didn't you realize that it's a lot bigger than an ordinary coffin?" Shi Yitong saw that I didn't understand, and immediately said, "This is a coffin, that is to say, there is a 'coffin' outside the 'coffin', the coffin of the coffin The coffin is directly filled with the dead, and the outer coffin is a layer of coffin cover on the outside of the coffin. Ordinary people can’t afford the coffin, it’s just a simple coffin. The production of the outer coffin is much more complicated than that of the coffin. I really don’t understand Why did Grandpa make such a laborious and unsalable coffin."
The two of us opened the lid of the coffin, and put the coffin in the sun to dry according to what Mr. Wen said. Shi Yitong was still muttering, "This coffin has been placed in the dark for so long, so it should be dried." Then we went to the village and found eight strong men. It's like getting them to agree to do us a favor. Finally, I gave Shi Yitong one of the bells I got from Mr. Wen yesterday, and the two of us climbed onto the roof together, facing the yard and shaking the bell vigorously.
"Is that all right?" Shi Yitong asked.
"Probably." I replied vaguely. At least I shouldn't have forgotten any steps.
However, after a day like this, Grandpa Shi Yitong's condition did not improve at all. Not only did it not get better, it even got worse.
"What's going on, the method you want to come doesn't work!" Shi Yitong said anxiously, "The Mr. Wen you mentioned is really a bluff!"
"This..." I was a little embarrassed, feeling no better than Shi Yitong, so I could only bite the bullet, "He didn't say it would work in a day. Let's do it another day."
In this way, Shi Yitong and I continued to repeat these steps the next day. The crisp sound of bells ran from the roof to every corner of the yard, but the next day, our efforts were still in vain.
Shi Yitong's grandmother still took good care of his grandfather every day, but no matter how he took care of him and took medicine, the old man's condition still did not improve at all. Sometimes he would wake up suddenly, muttering some indistinct words, and soon fell into a coma again.
Shi Yitong and I were almost desperate. He frantically sought medical treatment and medicine in Yancheng, and no one could explain what was going on. When I returned home after a busy day, Shi Yitong had to go with me again, and went through the steps Mr. Wen explained again.
That night, no one spoke at the dinner table, and there was a stiff atmosphere in the air.
After dinner, Shi Yitong went into the bedroom to take care of his grandfather, while I really couldn't bear the dull atmosphere in the room, so I walked into the yard.
The black night sky was full of stars, and I looked up and couldn't help but stare blankly. This is a beautiful view that I never dared to imagine when I was living in the city. Although Yancheng is small and remote, the whole city exudes a peaceful atmosphere, closed and harmonious. Here, the pace of life slows down.
Thinking of my own family, I can't help feeling a little envious of Shi Yitong who grew up here.
"Come out to blow some air? Oh, it's really hard work for you."
I was taken aback, and turned around to see that it was Shi Yitong's grandma who was talking to me. I was so engrossed just now that I didn't notice her old man.
The old woman was wearing a dark blue cloth dress, and she was sitting on the steps in front of the door, holding something in her hand. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that they were making a pair of cotton shoes by moonlight.
"Xiaotong is blessed to have such a good friend like you." The grandma smiled at me, the wrinkles on her face stretched out, "Thank you for helping our family so much."
"No." I quickly waved my hand, "We are friends, of course we should help with this little favor."
The old lady gave me a gentle smile, but then she drooped her eyebrows and sighed. She picked up the half-filled shoe, looked carefully at the moonlight, and murmured.
"In the past, I always made shoes for our old man. He was always uncomfortable with the shoes bought outside, saying that he squeezed his feet. I made new shoes for him every year, and he wore them every year. Every year at this time I started Make shoes, and you can put them on when the weather is cold in autumn. Alas, I don’t know if he can wear them this year.”
There was a burst of sadness in my heart, and for a moment I didn't know how to comfort this frustrated old man. I can only say some flimsy words, "Don't worry, grandma, he has a great fortune and life, and he will definitely survive this ordeal!"
At the same time, I also had doubts about Mr. Wen who I met at the back of the school that day. Is what he said true? Is the method he gave correct? Even... is his existence real, or am I daydreaming
This night, I went to bed with a strong sense of unease. During the few days I lived in Shi Yitong's house, I was used to the hard but warm bed in the countryside, and the quilt seemed to have the residual warmth of the sun. But that night, I tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
It was about three or four o'clock in the night, and I finally fell asleep in a daze. It was at this time that I had a dream.
In the dream there was an old man and a boy. I could tell that the old man was Shi Yitong's grandfather, but he was much younger in the dream than he is now. The boy looked about ten years old, wearing baggy clothes and trousers tied with a belt, dangling on his thin legs when he ran. Wearing a big straw hat on top of his head, he has a gray face, and his teeth are exposed when he smiles.
"Grandpa, Grandpa!" The boy was dancing by the river and shaking his hands, "Look at me! I caught a frog!"
"Really? Let me take a look." As he said that, the old man walked over with his hands behind his back, and after seeing it, he burst out laughing, "Tong'er, it's not a frog you caught, it's a croak."
The boy became depressed when he heard it, and threw the toad far away with a flick of his hand. The toad fell on the aquatic plants, croaked, and then dived into the water and disappeared.
"What's the fun in catching that tomb quack? Come on, watch grandpa catch fish for you!" The old man rolled up his sleeves and jumped onto the rocks on the river bank.
"Catch fish! Really? Can you really catch it?" The boy looked at his grandpa excitedly.
"Of course, just watch!"
These scenes are like memories, slowly flowing into my mind. Not long after, the picture in the dream changed again.
This time, the little boy became a teenager. The boy was about thirteen or fourteen years old, and he happened to be at the age of junior high school. The scene in the dream is this yard, even the furnishings have not changed much, the land is still the land, the willows are still the willows.
The boy squatted on the threshold and cried loudly. A young woman and a young man stood beside him, who seemed to be the boy's parents.