C5 Unforeseen

I will always remember that day, 2006, the eleventh of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, when my family encountered a major change. Completely destroyed my poor parents. My seven-year-old brother, Jin Faliang, is dead. As he climbed onto the roof of someone else's bungalow to play, he stumbled and fell. His head first hit the brick floor, knocking over a little brain, which was smeared with blood and white brains, and breaking his neck. He died on the spot. I went to the scene, saw a terrible scene, smelled the strong smell, and vomited.

His parents were sitting next to the body, pounding their chests and howling in silence. The eldest sister, Little Sister, also knelt down and cried along with them. I stood there like a chicken in the crowd, feeling the world lose its color and turn black and gray. Suddenly, someone pushed me hard forward, saying that your little brother is dead, why are you still standing there?

I was pushed to my parents, still standing, my mouth open in an attempt to cry, but I couldn't. He didn't know how to comfort his heartbroken family.

At this moment, I wanted to become a powerful person, even a normal person. Tell the parents who lost their youngest son not to be so desperate.

It was a long time before my world regained its color. The dark red blood and milky-white brain matter on the ground were exceptionally dazzling. His parents' cries had died down, and they were exhausted from crying. Mother raised her head and looked at me coldly. She said with a hoarse voice: "Shier, go and push the carriage over here and load your brother inside. Find a place to bury him!"

Pappy thrust a shovel at me and said, "It's different now. People don't bury other people in their places. "You can go to my house and dig a hole. I'll clean up the corpse, put on some new clothes, and pack a box before sending it to the ground!"

When I opened my mouth to speak, tears were flowing down my face. "Grandpa, buy Liang Zi a coffin. It's not comfortable in the box!"

Grandfather said: "The child died will not buy coffins! This is an old rule passed down since many years ago! "

I said, "Rules are set by people, but they can also be changed by people!"

Grandfather said: "Buying a coffin is not cheap, all the money saved for you to get married!"

Without further ado, I left the village with my shovel and came to the top of my own field. After a quick inspection, I chose a flat land with the most crops and began digging graves.

The sun was shining fiercely above his head. It was so hot that it could kill a person.

I was sweating and digging when I heard a rustle and looked up and saw a man coming up ahead of me, wading through the corn stalks that were up to his knees. She suddenly remembered, wasn't this the stranger who took me to a show a few days ago?

He stopped in front of me. His face was pale and green, and although he was wearing a black tunic, there was not a trace of sweat on his clean face. His hair was about ten centimeters long and parted in the middle.

I watched him. He was watching me, too.

More than a minute passed in silence.

He was the one who spoke first, "Death is a kind of destination! No need to be sad! "

My tears flowed again. "My brother is only seven years old this year. He died too early!" He had yet to experience and try many things! To die at the age of seven is an early death! "

The expression on the stranger's face did not change. It was as calm as still water. He took a photograph out of his jacket pocket and handed it to me. "Look carefully at who this is!" he said.

I took it and looked at it. It showed a handsome middle-aged man with a smile on his face. He was about forty years old. With an indescribable familiarity. I quickly recognized him, but I wasn't sure. I stammered, "This... This... Is it my brother Jin Faliang?! "

"Yes, that's him!"

"But he's already dead! "He died when he was seven. How did you get a picture of him in his middle years?" I doubt it.

The stranger grinned, but said nothing more.

"Also, who exactly are you? From the looks of it, you don't seem like a villager! " I said again.

"The main reason I'm here is to tell you something!" The other party said.

"What is it?"

"Your brother Jin Faliang was killed by someone!"

"Who killed him?!" I asked, surprised.

"The heavens in the underworld have their own destiny. You will personally kill the murderer who killed your brother! " The stranger smiled more meaningfully, said something like that, and turned away.

If it weren't for the picture in my hand, I doubt if I'd had a dream.

The middle-aged man in the photo looked to be in high spirits. The corners of his mouth were slightly raised as he smiled in a satisfied manner. I looked into his bright eyes and thought there was something in them.

"Shier, are you finished digging the grave?!" Shouts came from far away. It turned out that Grandpa had come to investigate. When he saw that I was holding a picture in my hand, he asked who it was. I didn't know how to answer, so I handed him the photo. He looked at it and was stunned. After a while he forced a smile and said, "The people on top look so much like Liang Zi!" If Liang Zi could grow up, he would be like this! Who gave you this picture? "

I didn't answer.

When the grave was finished, I went home with Pappy. Jin Faliang's body had already been filled up. The burial was a heavy wooden chest. The lid of the wooden box was nailed shut. This made me rather dissatisfied, saying that I wanted to take another look at my brother's final remains. Why did he seal the chest so early? Father said that his body was badly mutilated, and his head was split open. What was there to look at if he lost his original appearance?

As the weather was very hot, a faint stench of decay came from the box. The sky was completely dark. Mother was reluctant to part with her brother's body, so she insisted that he leave it at home for the night and bury it in the morning. The others couldn't force her, so they agreed.

I lay awake for the rest of the night. He got up and went into the yard and got a basin of cold water to wash himself. The moon in the sky was like a silver plate. Everything was quiet, not a single breath of wind blowing. Her mother was sitting on the ground, her upper body leaning on the wooden chest that held the corpse, falling asleep. Her tear-stained face had a faint smile on it, probably dreaming that Jin Faliang was completely unharmed.

My heart felt like it was being cut by a knife. Go back to the house and get the picture. She woke her mother up. She realized it was a beautiful dream, and her smile changed to one of sadness, and she began to sob again. I showed her the picture. As expected, she was stunned as soon as she saw him.

After a long while, she asked, "Shier, where did you get this picture from?"

I said a stranger had given it to me, but I didn't know who it was.

Mother said, "When we grow up, we'll be like that! Too long! Old handsome! Wuu …! My Light! " He cried again.

I found a crack in the wooden box and passed the photo inside, letting it fall into the box. It should be a funeral gift I gave to my brother.

Only I didn't think of it at the time. There will be a day when Jin Faliang finds me with that photo in his hands. At that time, he looked exactly the same as the person in the photo. He looked so high-spirited and handsome.

The next morning. Mother let out a heart-wrenching howl. He jumped on top of the wooden chest, preventing Jin Faliang's body from leaving the house. Two people had pulled her away. The people carrying the boxes hurried to the fields, not stopping until they arrived at the place.

As we do here. The gravedigger had to dig the grave. After the body's wooden chest is buried, I bury it. Grandfather even brought some paper grass over to light it up. The others left one by one. I busied myself most of the day, piling up the grave. Then he stuck some reeds covered with white paper on the grave and went home.

The family spent two or three days in deep grief. That evening, at dinner, my father mentioned my marriage. He said that Old Zhao's daughter had agreed to change the marriage. Now I was the only one who disagreed. Mother cried and said, Shier, I will rely on you to continue the joss stick in my house, and now that it is no longer lit up, you have to agree to this marriage.

Jin Yuxia also advised me to listen to the words of the lord, and quickly arrange the marriage, to let my family have a big fat kid.

After a round of persuasion, my original belief wavered. Besides, who doesn't miss love amongst the youngsters? Ever since I met Zhao Xinxin, my heart has always been tied to hers. If I could really marry her into my family, I would be satisfied no matter what happens in my life.

I shoved two mouthfuls of food into my mouth and bit down on it forcefully. I sighed and said, "It's just that it must have been hard on my little sister, Yuxia. I let her marry a crippled man without a leg at such a young age!"

However, Jin Yuxia did not seem to mind it that much, and said: "It's fine, I've married anyone before!"

In the middle of the night, I was lying in bed in a daze, about to fall asleep. A creak woke me up. I sat down and opened the lamp. It turned out to be my younger sister, Jin Yuhong, who had pushed open the door and entered.

Jin Yuhong is fourteen years old this year, and has already dropped out of school. She spent most of her time taking care of her brother Jin Faliang.

With Jin Faliang's death, she became much more taciturn.

"What's wrong, Little Sister? Why are you still not sleeping? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Bro, I just had a dream!" Jin Yuhong looked very uneasy. Her two big eyes looked left and right, as if she was preparing for something.

"What kind of dream is this?"

"I dreamed I fell into a well. It was my sister who pushed me into the well! " Jin Yuhong said in fear.

I said, "Stupid girl, it's just a dream. What are you afraid of? Your sister loves you so much, how could she push you into the well! "

Jin Yuhong looked to be hesitating, but finally mustered up some courage and said: "Brother, I think my sister caused Second Brother's death!"

Hearing that, I was shocked and scolded angrily: "Little Sister, what nonsense are you spouting! How could Yu Xia kill Liang Zi! "