Today, I have retraced the path of Taobao in the countryside. Passing by the place of the deceased, he stopped the car, lowered the window, and saw that the man was still living in poverty in the old place, and there had been no change in ten years. I suddenly remembered the past and sighed in my heart.
This story is included in the novel "Old Evil", that winter when it snowed heavily, I was trapped in the depths of the mountains of Yuexi, for a whole week, eating dog meat and drinking hanging rice wine every day, so unhappy. Later, when the weather was clear and the mountain road was melting, I and the driver were careful, driving through the icy and snowy mountains, the usual two-hour mountain road, a whole day. In the evening, we arrived at Yuexi County.
When the car came to the list, I received a call from a friend of Yue Xi' who said that the family had killed pigs in the New Year and asked me to eat pig slaughter dishes at night. At that time, I was in a hurry to rush home, but I didn't agree. Who knew that the road surface of Huangshaling was icy, driving like walking on thin ice, starting from half afternoon, driving to the city it was dark. As the saying goes, the sky keeps guests for themselves. I called the friend, who was overjoyed and waited at the intersection early. After picking me up, I learned that there was still a dirt road to his house, and the car could not drive up, so I could only walk. We had to park on the side of the road and follow our friends up the hill. It was said to be a few minutes away, and it turned out to be almost half an hour away. People were tired and hungry, but thanks to a friend's house, the dishes were already on the table. Relatives and neighbors helped, full of two large tables. My friend put me in the lead and said some compliments, and I couldn't care less about modesty, I just wanted to sit down quickly and get some food to fill my stomach.
After just a few bites, round after round of toasts began, and there was no time to eat. Soon, I was drunk and misty-eyed, and soon I was drunk. After that, there was an eye-punching incident.
After drinking, he was preparing to go to the hotel with the driver to rest, and the friend said that his relatives had a brick platform, which was handed down from the ancestors, and then reported the ancestral daimyō. Because I often go to the countryside to shovel the land on weekdays, I know everything about Qian, Yue, Tai, Tong, Huaiji counties, and people who have been officials or have made meritorious names in history. After hearing that things come from local celebrities and sellers are celebrities, I usually encounter this situation and do not suspect it. In addition, friends have wanted to be in for many years, and the relationship has always been good, so they let down their vigilance. More importantly, in the praise of the crowd at night, the wine was not only drunk too much, but also spiritually fluttering. Therefore, the ancestral precept of "don't look at treasure under the lamp" was left behind. As soon as my friend saw that I agreed, he pulled a man from the side and said that it was his family's, not far from here, and that he would reach it over the mountain beam. I can't name that person, but at night he was very polite and kept blowing up thunder with me, which left a good impression on me. When he heard that it was his family, he said nothing and left.
The night road in the mountains was not easy to walk, the ground was full of snow, the flashlight light had no effect at all, and I was highly nearsighted, so I could only follow the man, one foot deep and one foot shallow. Said to turn over the mountain beam to arrive, who knows another half an hour to walk. When I arrived at his house, I was tired and dizzy, and I was uncomfortable.
The man was at the door, shouting for half a day before his wife opened the door with a scolding grin. In winter, people in the mountains go to bed early, not to mention it is a snowy day, and I suddenly feel embarrassed and disturb people's rest. I just want to finish early and leave after reading it.
Entering the hall, the house was pitch black, and only a 15-watt light bulb was lit, and nothing could be seen. The man said to his wife, get the thing out and show it to the experts. His wife scolded and grinned again, saying that this thing was handed down from the ancestors, and you, a delicious and lazy descendant, are now secretly selling it, and you must not die. The man was very angry, threw down the table and bench on the spot, and got involved with his wife. I stood next to it, embarrassed. My friend was on the sidelines persuading, pulling the rack. After tossing and turning for a few minutes, the man's wife reluctantly took out a piece of something wrapped in red cloth from the next room and placed it on the table that had just been supported. I pulled out my flashlight and opened it to see that it was a brick platform, and outside was a mahogany box. I was trying to take a closer look when the man and his wife were fighting again. I suddenly felt that I had come at the wrong time, in the middle of the night, and let them both fight. I just wanted to leave as soon as possible, so I asked, how much money can be out? The man's wife scolded again, saying that this was an ancestral thing, a priceless treasure, and would not be sold. As soon as I heard it, I was about to leave, and as soon as I stepped out of the gate, I heard the sound of the two of them fighting again. My friend told me to wait, and he went back to persuade him. Not long after, the friend came out and said that he had just persuaded them, it was not easy for you to come, and the thing was still sold to you, and it would be done for sixty thousand yuan. As soon as I heard it, this was completely out of the market price, so I said it was too high to buy. When the friend listened, he suddenly stood in the doorway and scolded inside. Your family ghost wants money, I take friends for many years to buy things, you open your mouth to ask for it. If you really want to sell, it's eighteen thousand. As soon as my friend's voice dropped, there was a crackling and fighting sound inside. As soon as I listened, I insisted on leaving. When my friend looked at it, he pretended to leave, scolding as he walked. You people, the ghosts are not allowed to come to the door, drop the money in the eyes, so that I have no face at all. As soon as the words fell, there was an instant silence inside, only to see the man rush out of the back room, tuck things into the arms of his friend and say, just do as you say, the money can be earned again, and you can't lose the face of your friend. The friend was very happy, and turned back to the house and shouted, you don't have to fight, you can rest assured of the money, I will send it to you tomorrow. After speaking, my friend urged me to leave quickly, so as to save his wife from arguing again. So, confused, I went back to my friend's house, paid the money, and rushed to the road down the hill, most of the night.
In the evening I found a hot spring hotel, soaked in the bath, and slept beautifully. When I woke up the next morning, I remembered that I had bought something last night. The thing was placed on the TV cabinet of the hotel, wrapped in red cloth, opened the red cloth, and under the bright sunlight, I could see at a glance that it was a new imitation. I let out an urn in my head and immediately felt deceived. Then, after carefully recalling last night's experience, I found that this was actually just a scam that was not clever, and no matter how true the play was, it was also full of loopholes. It's just that I never expected that friends who have been together for several years would deceive me once in such a deliberate way.
But I didn't say anything after that, as if it had never happened. My friend was also very interesting and never contacted me again. Later, I shared this story with other friends, who said, you are so generous, if I would definitely look for him. I said that in this life I would never hate a person because of money, but I thanked that friend, ice and snow, if he did not lie to me, if I had a car accident, the loss would be greater.
The reason why I share this story again today is nothing more than to show that what can hurt me must be something other than money. This year is almost over, and I wish I could let go and stop pestering that wounded soul. This is not to forgive, but to let yourself go.