side by side

After closing the door, Mr. Liang got up and lit three sticks of incense.

He brought a bottle of sweet-scented osmanthus wine, two shallow cups, one in front of the coffin and one in front of himself.Old Man Liang put his cup on the rim after getting some smell on it, and he sat on the futon without making a sound, his back straightened, like a clay sculpture.The candle was flickering on and off, and Mr. Liang's expression was dim.

It was late at night, and the sound of watchmen on the street floated over the high walls and into the deep house, and it was already three patrols.Suddenly, the silence was broken, and the sound of footsteps came from far to near, and suddenly stopped when they got close. They brought torches for lighting, and clusters of fire lights formed into balls and printed on the windows. up, into the house.When they came to the door, they paused, and after talking in a low voice, the leader waved his hand and gave an order, the voice was subtle but clear, "Open!" Then, there were some rustling sounds outside the door, someone Prying the door.

Mr. Liang got up suddenly, turned around and opened the door.After a general scan, there were fifty people outside the door, all of whom were from the original Liang family.

"...Uncle Yo, are you here?" The one standing at the head is Mr. Liang's own nephew, the youngest son of the eldest son, who is not very old, but he can be considered an elder according to his seniority. All juniors with the same surname have to respect Mr. Liang.

Mr. Liang looks no more than 40 years old. He has smeared enough hair cream and combed his hair with a big back. Sharp corners, the material of the clothes is good, and the tailoring is also good, but a good suit is wrapped around him, showing a bit of frivolity.

He was bumped into by Mr. Liang, but he didn't panic in the slightest.Third Master Liang took the time to straighten his collar. He coughed twice, still with that smiling expression on his face, "Uncle, it's getting late at night, why are you still here?"

"Ah Fu grew up with me since he was a child, and I will definitely see him off on his last journey," Mr. Liang looked around the crowd, "But you, why are you here in the middle of the night without sleeping?"

"We, of course, also want to come and see off Uncle Fu. He has worked hard and dedicated his whole life to this family. Now that he is gone, we juniors have no reason not to see him off or pay respects. Are you right?" Third Master Liang pretended to glance casually into the mourning hall, the room was dimly lit, and he couldn't see why.

"Worship?" Mr. Liang snorted coldly, his eyes swept over the things in everyone's hands, "It's just worship, so you don't need to bring these things."

"It's not that Uncle, you didn't give us this opportunity to worship." Third Master Liang spread his hands, and he felt aggrieved, "The funeral just held today will be buried in the ground tomorrow. , It is also the next choice for those of us who are forced to have no choice."

"Besides, it's better to meet and greet before being buried than to let Uncle Fu go to the ground and have to move to see the light, don't you think so?" Mr. Liang stroked the end of his hair, "Uncle, you After becoming the head of the family, it is nothing to say that the Liang family has been managed by you. But you were the one who abolished the tradition of borrowing birthdays back then. My poor little nephew never got a word from your old man until his death Ah, what's the matter with Tie Linger, it's an exception when it comes to the old man and your own son, right?" Third Master Liang raised the end of his sentence.

"Uncle and sister-in-law have committed a big taboo this time. The genealogy is written in red characters with a vermilion pen. People with other surnames must not join it," Mr. Liang clapped his hands fiercely. "This time uncle and sister-in-law are involved. There are more than twenty members of my family who came in, and I, even for the Liang family, have no choice but to fight with you this time!" Mr. Liang said with saliva flying all over his face, with a dignified look on his face.

"Just after the morning, Uncle Fu passed away in the afternoon. You always say it's a happy funeral. I'm afraid it's hard to convince the public." Mr. Liang pointed to the half-open door, "Let us go in and have a look , no problem, we are all in your family's law, and there is no ambiguity; if there is a problem... Mr. Liang, I'm afraid you will have to give us an explanation for this matter."

Mr. Liang stayed where he was, neither moving nor making a sound.Mr. Liang didn't have time to wait for him to respond, so he rushed in with everyone in a hurry.In the mourning hall, only three or two white candles were lit, and the candle flames were trembling by the wind, illuminating the faces of the crowd like ghosts, and they surrounded the coffin.

On the coffin, there were seven coffin nails staring at them, shining brightly in the candlelight.

"Third Master, do you want to open it?" The younger generation silently swallowed, holding the screwdriver so nervously that his hands were sweating.

"Fucking nonsense, open it, of course!" Mr. Liang grabbed the screwdriver and smashed the nails from the coffin one by one. 'Clang clang clang! ''Clang clang clang! ''clang! 'The last nail fell to the ground.

Third Master Liang swallowed, his voice hoarse and dry, "Get up!".Everyone rubbed their hands together and exerted force together. The coffin lid was opened, and a strong scent of sweet-scented osmanthus gushed out.Inside the coffin lay Uncle Fu in a shroud, with an osmanthus sachet by his ear.He was lying on his back, with his long arms and legs stretched out comfortably, as if he had fallen asleep.Where the forehead was covered by the hair, there was a bruise, which had already formed a cocoon, leaving twisted and twisted dark red scars.He was wearing a white silk shroud, fastened with buttons high enough to cover his neck so tightly that he couldn't tell much about it.

Third Master Liang gritted his teeth, "Take it off, take his collar off and have a look!"

"Third Master, this is not good..." A group of juniors were timid and looked at each other in blank dismay, no one dared to make a move. "A bunch of idiots," Mr. Liang cursed angrily, "I'm coming!" He gritted his teeth and took two steps towards the coffin with his big white leather shoes. Rolling straight down from the chubby forehead, it looked really funny, but no one at the scene laughed, and their eyes were fixed on Forbe's neck.

The tightly bound collar was torn away, revealing the old and wrinkled neck underneath.By the faint candlelight, everyone saw that the neck was intact, without any scars.Mr. Liang couldn't believe it. He grabbed him and took a closer look. The sweat rolled on his forehead even more, and his palms were wet and wet. He accidentally used gravity, and Uncle Fu fell on him , face bumped into his chest in a daze.Mr. Liang, 'Oh! ’ with a terrified buttocks sitting on the ground, the crowd had already dispersed like birds and beasts, Fu Bo lost his support and fell down, ‘Boom! The ground hit the coffin, and Mr. Liang's heart skipped a beat.

"Damn it! He cheated on the corpse! I saw him open his eyes!!!" Mr. Liang sat on the ground, pointing at the coffin, his face turned blue, and he couldn't continue talking tremblingly.

"You're underestimated," Mr. Liang stood coldly in front of the coffin, "Little nephew, go back to sleep, I still have to clean up this mess, so I can send Ah Fu on the road tomorrow."

"You, I won't send it away."

Third Master Liang couldn't help shivering.

tbc.