Fairy takeaway

On February 89, [-], an old man from Mao Chuncheng passed away at the age of [-].

With the death of Mr. Luo Xitang, the last grocery store in Maochun City seems to be facing the dilemma of closing.

Grocery stores in the new era like to give themselves a name that keeps pace with the times, such as a certain department store or a certain supermarket.The Da Luo grocery store is an old-fashioned grocery store in the true sense, with a signboard written with a brush and a door made of wooden boards.The shop is small, and it has everything and sells everything. In addition to daily necessities, rice, oil, salt, and daily necessities, it also collects inconspicuous but interesting gadgets from all over the country. Although the sparrow is small, it has everything you expect.

The first person to discover Luo Xitang's body was his neighbor, Lao Liutou, a warm-hearted village committee cadre and an active participant in village affairs.Liujia Village is a village in the city, with a palm-sized land boundary. Although it is located on the edge of urban-rural integration and still some distance away from the vigorous development of the city, it is still a part of Maochun City, and the land is still precious.

As soon as Luo Xitang passed away, the first thing Old Liu thought about was how to deal with the real estate under his name.But before he went to the organization to report the matter, a new owner came to the Da Luo Grocery Store.

—At least, he claims to be the new master.

Just in time for lunch, old Liu Tou was squatting in his yard with a rooster bowl to cook rice.He raised his head, and suddenly caught a glimpse of a strange figure passing by in front of the house, seeming to be walking in the direction of Lao Luo's grocery store.He hastily swallowed the hot rice ball in his mouth, grinning from the heat.Old Liu Tou scribbled on a pair of old and faded Jiefang shoes, and chased him out with a bowl in his hand.

"Hey, little brother, wait-"

The man turned his head and looked up. It was cold and hard.Old Liu's heart skipped a beat, and goose bumps immediately covered his arm holding the rooster bowl.He stumbled on and asked, "Who are you? Are you looking for Lao Luo? Who are you?"

At the intersection of this road, there is only one Daluo grocery store, and then the main road, there is no one else.Old Liu guessed right, this young man must be looking for Lao Luo.He looks very young, probably in his early twenties, with thick hair, tall and fair, and thinly dressed, a handsome young man who doesn't look like a local at first glance.It's just that he is holding a long, straight white umbrella, which is blindingly white without any stains.Standing under such a big sun with an umbrella in winter, it seems a bit weird.

Hearing this, the little brother frowned in confusion, then slowly tilted his head, his eyes were as bright as a pair of transparent black agate beads, shining brightly.The umbrella in his hand suddenly hit the ground, and the tip of the umbrella sank into the sand in an instant, making an astonishingly crisp metal rubbing sound.

Clang——

For some reason, Old Liu's heart skipped a beat, his mind turned uncontrollably, and he blurted out an answer.

"Are you Lao Luo's nephew?"

"Grandnephew." The young man in front of him corrected him coldly.

Old Liu stared at the little brother, with doubts on his face, the gully covered his entire forehead, but he couldn't help but answer, "Oh, it's Brother Luo, I haven't seen you for several years, come back to deal with Lao Luo's funeral ?”

Brother Luo nodded silently.

Old Liu said "yes" several times in a row, and his face became more natural.He frowned, and said with relief: "It's good to be back. Let's mourn. If there is any difficulty at home, just tell uncle. I have been neighbors with Lao Luo for so many years, and we have a good friendship. We are not outsiders."

At this time, old Liu Tou's wife, Aunt Liu, saw that her husband had gone out with a bowl and hadn't returned for a long time, so she also chased him out with a bowl.She rushed to the gate of the yard and yelled in a high voice: "The food is not good, what are you talking about outside? You have a lot to do every day." Her voice was loud, and the whole Liujia Village could probably hear her howling. hear.

She fixed her eyes on Brother Luo, her throat suddenly seemed to be blocked, and her momentum was extinguished in an instant.She grinned stiffly, and said hello: "This is Luo Xiang. I haven't seen him for several years. He looks even more handsome."

Brother Luo turned his head and left without saying a word or talking to him.

The old couple stared at the younger brother's back, chatting while continuing to eat.

"What's the name of Lao Luo's nephew?"

"It seems to be called Luo, Luo Xiang."

"Luo Xian? Is that the name?"

"It feels like it."

"Why do I feel that I have no impression, it's a bit weird."

Aunt Liu swallowed a piece of hard-to-chew beef tendon, scraped her teeth with the tip of her tongue, and said, "That's right, such a good-looking brother, I usually don't forget it. I thought, he looks better than the big stars on TV. He is better than our family The one my daughter likes is much stronger."

Old Liu Tou disliked his wife a little bit, he put the clean bowl on the ground, squatted under the old pear tree and began to cough up phlegm.

Although it's a little weird, but it seems to be seen again, it is indeed Lao Luo's grandnephew, named Luo Xiang, 22 years old, just graduated this year.Old Liu tossed and turned over the information in his mind.Lao Luo said a long time ago that he would hand over the shop to Luo Xiang, and now it seems to be true.Besides, in this small place, although the shops are worth a little money, they are really not many, and the revenue in the past has also been reduced, so no one is willing to face the bad luck to blindly recognize relatives.Besides, if you want to inherit, it depends on the will of the country, and you can never come to collect the house just by meeting someone.

Old Liu was relieved and started rubbing cigarettes for himself, thinking about when he would visit the door to find out if he could help, since distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors.

Luo Xiang is very capable, there is no need to use old Liu Tou at all.Encoffining, vigil, and burial are simple, but there is nothing wrong with them.It didn't take long for him to handle the procedures of the hospital and the Public Security Bureau, and even went through the transfer registration, which can be said to be swift and resolute.

The worship ceremony of Rossi Hall is scheduled for February NO.14, which happens to be the first seven days.A fine day, the wind is sunny, the sky is clear.

Old Liu Tou was still a little confused at first. Although Brother Luo is not a bad person, he is a loner after all. He has no thoughts in this world. There are not many people who think about him. The funeral hall is specially set up, which is not good-looking.But all the serious nephews and grandchildren of the family spoke up, and it was not easy for an outsider to persuade Old Liu.Early in the morning when the mourning hall was set up, he took his wife to offer three pillars of incense, on behalf of the cadres and villagers in the village, to pay their respects.

Originally, he considered that he was an outsider, so he said it was better not to ask too much.However, Old Liu took a closer look inside and outside Luo's house, and found that the entire Luo's house was just a bare mourning hall, and there was nothing there, which looked really outrageous.Nowadays, it is not popular to build coffins and burials, but at least there must be a formality for large and small ceremonies.Don't talk about playing and singing the Eight Immortals, there is not even an incense table for offerings.This is too outrageous.

Luo's house is still an old-fashioned tile-roofed house, with half mud walls and half brick walls. It seems that the construction was completed in a hurry and was not fully repaired in time, which is a bit embarrassing.There is an uneven stone threshold across the gate, which is full of small holes carved by rainwater.Luo Xiang was sitting on the threshold, his long legs stretched out at will, all the way to the eaves.His white umbrella is still by his side.Luo Xiang held a cigarette in his mouth, swallowing clouds and mist, his eyebrows and eyes fluctuated from far to near, and he couldn't see clearly.

"No tofu rice, no banquets, come and go as you please, keep everything simple, the old man's own idea." Luo Xiang said slowly, with some impatience in his tone.

Old Liu was dissatisfied and couldn't help repeating a few more words. "Well, you are still young, so there are unexpected things. This funeral is a big event, so don't be careless. No matter how simple it is, there must be rules. For example, on your table, there must be tribute incense candles. The things and positions here There are also some details. Are there any guests invited? I haven’t seen anyone coming for a long time, maybe I haven’t invited you in place..."

"It's time to come." Luo Xiang interrupted very rudely.

Old Liu was choked up, his old face turned red, he paused for a long time, and then wanted to continue talking.

At this time, Luo Xiang's umbrella suddenly rolled down from under the railing, slid out of the court along the stone steps, opened with a bang, circled the umbrella handle a few times, and finally stopped, casting a circle in the sun. shaped shadows.A fat gray sparrow flew down from the old pear tree with a chirp, dexterously hid under the white umbrella, hopped left and right for a while, then bent down, swung its small head quickly, and pecked at the bugs on the ground.

Luo Xiang took another puff of cigarette.

Old Liu Tou was startled by this sudden turn of events, stared at his eyes for a long time, already forgot what he was going to say, and finally Aunt Liu went home with his ears.After returning home, Old Liu thought about it, but he couldn't figure it out. It was really weird how he opened an umbrella by himself.

There was another thing that made him think about it. Most of the day had passed, and no one went to Lao Luo's house to pay homage. It would be too ugly to do such a funeral.

Old Liu Tou secretly felt worthless for Lao Luo.

Lao Luo is a good man, Lao Liu thought to himself.He thought and thought, and smacked Lao Luo's life and past events in detail.Lao Luo is a foreigner and has been in Liujia Village for more than 40 years.At that time, Liujia Village had not been included in Maochun City. It was a completely closed small village, and there were not many foreigners.But Lao Luo is kind and never enmity with others, he does things reliably, and the things he sells are also very conscientious.Soon, he was accepted by the village and took root.Even seeing that he was single, many women in the village tried to arrange a marriage for Lao Luo.

But in the end, Lao Luo remained a bachelor all his life, carefully managing a small grocery store.Spring, summer, autumn and winter, year after year.Old Liu used to drink with Lao Luo often.A stack of peanuts, a stack of edamame, and a bottle of Erguotou for [-] yuan, you can chat all afternoon.Lao Luo always said that he was fine by himself.Now it seems that there is no child under her knees, no one to die, and it is still miserable after all.

When you get old, you have to leave, you can't bear it, you can't bear it.

Old Liu Tou misses his old neighbors for decades in his own way, and he can't help but think that his time is running out. The desolate situation after a hundred years is a little more sincerely sad.

Something was on his mind, Old Liu didn't eat much for dinner, he used to drink a glass or two of wine, today he was not in the mood, he didn't even touch the wine jar.Aunt Liu didn't want to pay attention to him, she cleared the table and sent old Liu to eat in the yard.Although the weather is fine during the day, it is still at the end of winter.When the night wind came, Old Liu's head was shivering from the cold, and he sneezed several times.

Just as he was about to go back to the house, a group of strange rustling sounds approached from far away, passed through the front of Liu's house, and quickly moved towards Lao Luo's house.Old Liu's eyes widened.It was dusk, and the street lights in the village hadn't been turned on yet. The light was very dim, and it was hard to see clearly. There were a dozen or twenty pedestrians of different shapes and sizes. They were pitch-black and did not communicate with each other. Hurry up.

Old Liu felt strange, so he went out involuntarily, and walked two steps behind the crowd.He squinted.The old Luo's house in the distance has already hung white lanterns, and the soft yellow light penetrates the white lantern paper, adding a touch of warmth to the cold moonlight.

Strange to say, in such a cold night, under such a strange atmosphere, Old Liu should have been afraid.But he didn't.On the contrary, there was a tinge of warmth in his heart.This warmth helped him to drive away the coldness and stiffness of his limbs, just like old friends meeting each other and drinking a pot of warm wine.

Old Liu is getting old, although he has been educated in socialist atheism and scientism for several years when he was young, he still has some scruples about strange things.He suddenly remembered that today was Lao Luo's first seven.The first seven, the first seven, logically speaking, it is time to go home and have a look.

However, Old Liu didn't feel any fear. On the contrary, he followed the path subconsciously, followed the group of black shadows, and walked towards Lao Luo's house step by step.

From the outside, the scene of the Luo family in the evening seems to be no different from that in the daytime.Old Liu headed to the gate of the yard, his reason returned to his brain, he stopped, and he didn't dare to go any further.He used the shadow to hide himself carefully, leaned forward quietly, and quickly surveyed the scene in the house.

The courtyard of Luo's house is very shallow, the lobby is facing the door, and you can see to the end at a glance. Old Liu can clearly see the scene of the mourning hall inside the house without much effort.To his surprise, compared with the daytime, the house was much more lively.As if by a magic trick, the desk, which was bare during the day, is now filled with three animals, fruits and joss sticks.In the soft light of the candlestick, the color of the food is bright, even if it is far away, it seems that the attractive aroma can be smelled.

Those weird figures came out of the darkness, their figures gradually appeared, the blackness dissipated, and the colors emerged, and the strange smell that they originally exuded from their bodies faded away.It turned out to be relatives, friends and guests who came to worship.

The guests were male and female, tall or short, the fat ones were extremely fat, and the thin ones were extremely thin.They were happy, and they didn't seem to be here to participate in the funeral, talking and laughing, making a lot of noise.There was no Luo Xiang coming to greet him in the room, and the guests didn't care. They generously chose a place they liked to sit down, and chatted passionately with people they knew well.

Old Liu was muttering, how could he choose such a time to worship?

In the center of the altar, Lao Luo's photo frame was solemnly placed.Different from most posthumous photos, Lao Luo's photos are very energetic and popular, with a smile on his mouth and kind warmth in his eyes. It doesn't look scary at all, and is even kind.

Old Liu couldn't help but sigh, Lao Luo is a good man.

At this moment, there was a faint singing sound in the room.Old Liu was shocked all over, and couldn't help but put his ear to listen carefully, it really was singing.

Luo Xiang came out from the back room at some point, still holding the white straight-handled umbrella in his hand.He walked very slowly, the tip of the metal umbrella touched the slate bricks little by little, and every step seemed to land with a sound.He walked towards the altar and stood facing the altar.The guests got up, as if they were strictly following a certain agreement, and lined up behind Luo Xiang one by one.

As long as there is life, there must be death, and early death is not fatal—①

They continued singing.

The singing is getting louder and louder, like the wind, it floats out of the house, jumps up, goes straight to the sky, and turns into a bright moon.

Old Liu was stunned, unable to move.The corners of his eyes were hot, and something seemed to roll down.After an unknown amount of time, the singing finally stopped, and everything returned to dead silence.After a while, the lively chat sounded again.The guests tasted the melons and fruits at will, talking and laughing, as if nothing happened.

Old Liu's consciousness came back, and his legs felt numb in an instant, and his ten toes seemed to be frozen, and he didn't feel a little bit.He held the door frame to breathe slowly, and tried to move his body.At this time, the familiar warmth hit again.Old Liu was not sure if there was something on his back.It seems to be there, but without the slightest weight.He stiffened his neck and didn't look back, only to hear a faint sigh floating in the air.

——Old friend, thank you for warming up the wine for ten years, sorry for bothering you, goodbye.

Old Liu Tou's frozen body was suddenly able to move freely.He didn't dare to think deeply, buried his head, and plunged into the thick night.His face was blue, his teeth were chattering, and he walked home almost instinctively.

Approaching the door of the house, a dark shadow flew past him, and the hand of the old Liu who pushed the door shook, and he almost fell into the mud.The street lights were already on, but he still didn't see anyone coming.The shadow quickly dissipated out of the light, only a few vague murmurs could be heard.

hey late late late late-

He heard the man say this, followed by a series of squeaking footsteps, which sounded like the sound of an animal's thick fleshy paws quickly stepping on a stone slab.

Old Liu Tou took a few deep breaths, and finally summoned up all his strength to push the door open and enter.His wife has warmed the bed and is waiting for him.

This time, Old Liu slept very soundly.When I opened my eyes, it was already daylight.Aunt Liu was complaining to someone in the yard, saying that the old Liu was too old to stay in bed, and he didn't sleep honestly at night, talking to and fro all night, thinking of something good.

Old Liu got up, put on a big padded jacket, and sat on the edge of the bed in a daze for a while.He always felt that something happened last night, or something happened in his dream, but he couldn't recall what it was, no matter how hard he tried.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older and forgetful.While boiling the wash water, Old Liu decided to forgive himself.I can't remember it if I can't remember it, but it was a good dream.

Breakfast is a pot of millet porridge with fresh egg pancakes.Old Liu Tou had eaten, and walked back and forth on the small road in the village with his hands behind his back.Unknowingly, he came to Lao Luo's house.Old Liu raised his head and looked into the door.

The hall was deserted and deserted, just like yesterday, there was nothing in the bare mourning hall except Lao Luotou's photo frame and a small incense burner.

Old Liu stared at it for a while, and suddenly felt strange.He took two steps inside, only to realize that there was something different in the lobby.

On the altar table, rattan chairs, slate tiles, even on the eaves and between the cracks of the tiles, there are flower petals floating everywhere.White, yellow, small country flowers that cannot be named, some have withered, and some are blooming just right.Most of the flower buds are complete, with a fragrance of the forest, as if they were picked by someone specially, and covered with dew all the way, they came to the mourning hall to express their grief.

Suddenly a gust of draft blows by, and the petals fly away, leaving nothing behind.

Old Liu rubbed his eyes to make sure that he was not delusional, and walked home full of doubts.

A young man in a dark brown hoodie hurried past him.Old Liu stopped suddenly, feeling that the young man's footsteps were very familiar.Where did you hear it?

Go, go, go-

The answer is still nothing.

Forget it, forget it when you get older.The world is so big, anything can happen, nothing unusual.