Maid of a wealthy family

Chapter 20 Headless Corpse (2)
He ran to the entrance of the cave, separated the crowd, and rushed inside, and sure enough, he saw a corpse wrapped in a mat, lying straight on the ground.The blood seeping from the mat had already stained a large area of ​​black coal on the ground red.

Ran Longgui stared at the corpse for a while, then suddenly squatted down, his hands were trembling, and he went to untie the seat.

A kiln worker next to him suddenly called out: "What are you doing?"

Ran Longgui ignored him and opened the seat at once.Ran Longgui couldn't help yelling "ah", and then took a few steps back.

The corpse under the mat no longer has a head, only a few smashed bones, connected by tendons, hanging over the corpse.

Ran Longgui opened his mouth, stared at the corpse in shock for a while, but couldn't tell if it was Fukui, and after a long while, he tremblingly called out: "Fukui, Fukui, is it you?"

The kiln worker next to him heard this, and immediately looked at him with wide eyes, and asked, "What did you say, ah?"

Just as he was talking, a kiln worker squeezed in, stared at Ran Longgui for a while, and suddenly called out: "It's you, cousin!"

Ran Longgui was taken aback, looked up at the kiln worker for a while, and then suddenly called out: "Fukui, you..." As he spoke, he glanced at the corpse on the ground again, then looked back at Fukui for a while, and finally believed The corpse was not his cousin, so he said embarrassingly: "It's not you"

Fukui said: "You told me about my bad luck." Then, he pulled Ran Longgui up, squeezed out the crowd, and walked to the dormitory.While walking, Ran Longgui said happily: "Cousin, if I didn't see your eyes, I really wouldn't recognize you."

Fukui said: "We coolies, what's so good! When we leave the cave, we tie a broken sack to hide our ugliness. When we enter the cave, we don't need anything. Anyway, everyone is the same." Then he turned around and asked Ran Longgui: "Why are you here?"

Ran Longgui lowered his eyelids and replied after a while, "The family can't survive anymore."

Fukui then asked, "Why can't you survive? Aren't you going to marry Chrysanthemum soon?"

Ran Longgui said: "If I can get married, I won't come. Now I can't get married, so I come out."

Fukui asked puzzledly, "What's going on?"

After thinking about it for a while, Ran Longgui told his cousin Fukui about the recent events at home and his plan to come out.

After hearing this, Fukui suddenly sat down on a stone by the side of the road, staring at the dark valley at the foot of the mountain, and didn't speak for a while.

Ran Longgui also sat down on the rock, seeing that Fukui hadn't spoken for a long time, he asked a little uneasy: "What's the matter, cousin? Is it because the boss won't agree?"

Fukui finally spoke, but his tone was very heavy: "That's not true! This hard work, no matter how many people the boss wants. It's just that you shouldn't come!"

Ran Longgui hurriedly asked: "Why?"

Fukui said, "You didn't see, this job is not done by humans!"

Ran Longgui said, "You mean this job is hard?"

Fukui said, "Of course it's bitter!"

Ran Longgui said: "I am not afraid of suffering! As long as I can earn money and redeem the chrysanthemums, I can eat any hardship."

Fukui said: "Bitterness comes next. The key is that this job is very dangerous. Like Ye Ershun I saw just now, he died without even making a sound."

After hearing this, Ran Longgui couldn't help seeing the headless corpse again, and his heart sank.After a while, he asked, "How did he die?"

Fukui said: "How did he die? It wasn't for money. He dug a crack and wanted to dig out a piece of 'reassuring charcoal' to get a reward from the boss. As a result, the charcoal collapsed and he was crushed to death." gone."

Ran Longgui asked incomprehensibly, "What is 'Reassuring Charcoal'?"

Fukui said: "If you don't know, it's good to tell you. Xinxing charcoal is a whole piece of charcoal weighing more than [-] catties. If the digger digs out such a piece of charcoal, he will put red and colorful on the charcoal. Beat gongs and drums to announce the good news to the boss. If the boss gets such charcoal, it means that his kiln is going to prosper, and he will have a big banquet for the guests, offer sacrifices to the king of the town, reward all the diggers and Tuwaer, and pay homage to the diggers. Digger's reward for 'Heart Charcoal'."

After hearing this, Ran Longgui hurriedly asked, "How much is the reward?"

"It's usually a month's wages," Fukui said.

Ran Longgui showed some surprise and excitement, and said, "One month? That's so much!"

Fukui said: "Do you think that peace of mind charcoal can be dug casually? It's hard to touch a gold mandou in ten years. Besides, if you can't dodge such a big charcoal, you will go to heaven. Like Ershun, you can't make any money." , I lost my life."

After a while, Ran Longgui asked again: "Then... what if you die?"

Fukui said: "If you die, you will die. What else can you do? Just roll up a broken mat and bury it. It's not even as good as a dog."

After hearing this, Ran Longgui didn't say anything, and just cast his eyes into the distance.At this time the moon has risen, and the mountains are not as clear as in the daytime, gloomy and silent.After a while, Ran Longgui suddenly kicked a stone under his feet to the foot of the mountain with a "boom".Then, he tried to catch the sound of the stone falling, but he heard nothing.

Cousin Fukui seemed to see what he was thinking, and after a while, he said, "Since you're here, let's do it first! You're lucky, and Er Shun died when you came, boss." If you want a 'reward class', you can eat a meal of fat meat and have a tooth fight."

After hearing this, Ran Longgui was a little puzzled, and after a while, he couldn't help asking: "Why is the boss still wanting to 'reward class' after someone is dead?"

Fukui said: "'This is the rule of the kiln! If someone dies in the kiln, the boss will offer sacrifices to the kiln god, so that the kiln god will bless the dead. He will also hold a banquet for 'reward class', in order to comfort us coolies. "

Ran Longgui understood, and murmured, "So that's how it is."

Fukui said: "When the time comes, you can eat with your stomach free, don't be polite! This time, you can eat it on the second or sixteenth day of the lunar new year, and then you can have a tooth festival."

Ran Longgui let out a "hmm".At this time, I really felt my stomach growling "cuckoo", and a stream of saliva rushed up, and it took a lot of effort to endure it.

Sure enough, at dawn the next day, Master Hu Zhang gathered the kiln workers in front of the kiln gate.It was another sunny day, and the flames from the sun shone through the purple-brown haze to the entrance of the cave dwelling.There is an incense table at the door, on which there is a small statue of "Zhenshan Prince".The king of Zhenshan grinned his teeth, half human and half ghost. He looked majestic and majestic. It is an incense burner.Hu Zhangyao is shirtless and has a big belly. His whole body is like a fat "ground horse pile" radish.He asked the kiln workers to kneel down first, and he put a few sticks of incense in the incense burner, lit it, then knelt down facing the kiln door, kowtowed, and said: "I beg the Lord of Zhenshan—— "

The kiln workers also followed suit: "I would like to invite the God of Zhenshan—"

Hu Zhang kiln master read again: "Holding a token in your hand shows your might."

The kiln workers read again: "Hold the token to show your might!"

Hu Zhang kiln master read again: "If there are evildoers who come to be enemies,

The kiln workers read: "If any evildoers come to be enemies,

Hu Zhangyao master said: "Turn danger into danger and protect me."

The kiln workers read: "Turn danger into danger and protect me!"

Hu Zhang kiln master read: "Blessings are safe and prosperous, and the king's order to suppress the mountain is like a law."

The kiln workers followed up and read: "Blessings are safe, the wealth is prosperous, and the order of the king of the mountain is like a law!"

This unanimous, sonorous and forceful prayer sounds especially pious and powerful in this silent morning.After reading, master Hu Zhang got up, lit a knife of fire paper on the incense candle, and burned it in front of the statue of Lord Zhenshan.Then, he picked up a big red rooster that had been prepared earlier from the ground, picked up a kitchen knife, walked to the door of the cave, chopped off the head of the chicken with one knife, and then smeared the gushing chicken blood on the door of the cave.After painting, he threw down the rooster and came back to serve the wine in front of the statue of "Zhenshan Prince", and slowly poured some in front of the kiln door.Here everyone bowed to the secret door three more times, and the ceremony of worshiping the kiln god came to an end.Getting up, they swarmed towards the kitchen.Ran Longgui ran at the front. He remembered what his cousin Fukui said last night, and thought it was a big pot of food. He walked in and took a look, and found that it was not the same thing.The meals have already been divided. Each person has a large bowl of brown rice, a piece of fat meat weighing half a catty, and soju.The kiln workers each took their own portion, squatted down at random, and ate and drank.There is nothing polite here.Ran Longgui took a bite of the meat, only to hear a "gudu", a large drop of oil and water came out from the inside, and fell down along his lips.He was reluctant to let the oil and water go away like this, and hurriedly picked up the bowl with the edge of the bowl. He wanted to be gentle, but looking at the others, there was no one who was devouring it.It seems that if you don’t eat quickly, the rest will be snatched away by others.There was no other sound in the shed, only a "wheeze, wheeze"

The sound of chewing food.Ran Longgui didn't drink much at all, but if he didn't drink this wine, it would be a pity for others to drink it.So he gritted his teeth and drank half a catty of shochu with that piece of fat.As the saying goes, fat meat is afraid of shochu.Because there is fat at the bottom, half a catty of shochu goes down, and I don't feel so drunk, I just feel a little hot in my stomach.

After eating, Ran Longgui went to get the tools, and imitated the work of other kiln workers, went to the work shed to take off his clothes and pants, and tied a sack around his waist to hide his shame.Then, he followed Fukui and went down to the kiln.

Ran Longgui bowed and walked forward along the long alleyway.The alley was dark and damp, with water running down to the top of your feet.The water is very cool, even a bit irritating to the skin. As soon as Ran Longgui walked into this alley, he felt that he had walked into a tunnel leading to the nether world. A bright oil pot with a wick inside, a star like a bean, like a dark fire, can only illuminate a palm-sized area in front of you.Now, Ran Longgui's starlight is shining on Fukui's back who is also bowed in front, making his dark skin glow with the light of the nether world.For the past few days, the two old cousins ​​have been like this, going down the well together, going into the mine together, working on the same floor, so that they can take care of each other.

However, now Ran Longgui is gradually getting used to this mole-like inhuman life.The first time he went to the well, he felt very awkward and uncomfortable.He bent his waist and followed Fukui for a while, and felt his spine start to ache, and he felt a dull pain.He wanted to straighten his body, but as soon as he raised his head, his head hit the roof of the alley.There was a crisp sound.He touched the top of his head with his hand, and there was a bump on it.This touch was not light, so he could only keep staring at Fukui's back while rubbing the bag on top of his head with his hands.He couldn't stop, because there were people following behind, and there was no room for two people to walk side by side in the alley.Besides, even if there was room to give way, he could only stand on the side and bend over.Therefore, instead of stopping, it is better to grit your teeth and move forward.He didn't know how long he walked, it seemed as long as a century before he and Fukui came to a place called "Zhangzimian".That place is wider, but only the horizontal space is larger, and the vertical height is still not as high.But at least it was a little wider, and it was possible to get out of the way. Ran Longgui let out a cry of "Ouch", sat down with his butt leaning against a coal wall, and straightened his waist.At this time, he heard a "snap" at the waist joint.While reaching out to beat his back, he said to Fukui, "My son, this is really hard work."

Fukui said, "You need to be slower when you straighten your waist."

Ran Longgui asked, "Why?"

Fukui said, "Be careful and break your waist."

Ran Longgui said in disbelief, "There is such a thing?"

Fukui said: "Why didn't such a thing happen? A young man came here last year, and he bent his waist for a whole day. When he got to the mouth of the well, he wished to straighten his waist. When he stretched suddenly, there was only a slap on his waist. It broke."

Ran Longgui remembered that his waist knuckles had slammed just now, so he couldn't help stretching out his hand to press it. Fortunately, his waist was still intact, so he said with a smile: "No wonder people say that diggers and draggers are suffering. It really is so."

Fukui said: "It's nothing! It's hard to dig coal." After a pause, he said: "We are trading our lives for some money."

As they spoke, the two old cousins ​​dug up the coal.Only then did Ran Longgui know that his strong body and the strength of his arms were not useful here. With his face only so high, he couldn't stand up straight, let alone swing a pickaxe.He could only kneel on the ground and plan with picks one by one.After kneeling for a while, he felt pain in his knees. He thought that if he continued like this, the skin on his knees would be worn out soon.Fortunately, Fukui told him at this time to take off the sackcloth covering his waist and put it under his knees.Only then did he realize that the linen sheet had many uses for them, so he took off the linen sheet and placed it under his knees according to Fukui's method, and it really felt much better. After digging for a while, his legs still felt a little numb. So he changed another posture, squatting and planing.Even so, he still felt unbearably uncomfortable.The thighs have been curled up like this for a long time, as if the blood has been blocked somewhere, a little swollen and stiff.At this time, Fukui told him to spread the sackcloth on the ground and lay on his side to plan.He did so again, and sure enough, as soon as he lay down and let go of his limbs, he immediately felt relaxed as if his body had been unshackled.But in this way, more waist strength and arm strength are needed.As the saying goes: Carpenters are eager to learn, but hard to chisel.This is the same as playing "watching the sky".Not long after, I felt that my waist and legs were so sore, so I got up on my knees again.In this way, he knelt down, lay down and squatted, squatted and knelt, and endured a long day.

At dusk, when Ran Longgui climbed up to the mouth of the well, he saw the sunset over the mountains and the milky white clouds in the sky, and heard the sound of the wind blowing past his ears, he felt like returning to the world. Everything that happened here yesterday, He remembered it as if it was a lifetime away.He really didn't want to move half a step anymore, he wished he could lie down on the ground and let his shriveled and tired body rest and relax.But he can't, a strong belief supports him: never get down.After passing this village, there is no such shop.For the chrysanthemum, no matter how hard or tired he was, he had to grit his teeth and hold on. He dragged his exhausted legs and left with everyone.

(End of this chapter)