Chapter 18 Uncle Marlowe

When I got home on Saturday, I just sat down when my mother said, "Your Uncle Ma Luo is gone." "When?" I asked. "Last night, I still couldn't figure out the time when I breathed out." The mother sighed, "I didn't realize it until early this morning." This is perhaps not surprising.An old bachelor, sleeping alone in the kiln at night, died a hundred times, probably no one would find out in time.Despite thinking this way, I still couldn't help feeling sad in my heart. "I didn't suffer from any illness, and I was still wandering around the village in the afternoon yesterday. That's good, so I don't suffer." My mother said this, with sadness in her words, "I ran into me in the street yesterday and later and asked you to go home. Are you here? Every time I see you, I always ask you if you are back. I asked him if there was anything he needed to help, but he said no, he just wanted to... ask."

He doesn't actually want me to help him with anything, but he always asks me if I've come home!My heart is not feeling well... I remembered a dinner with Uncle Marlowe! That year, with a crazy and strong pursuit, I tried to break into the sacred hall of a certain prestigious university, and the result?But they had to curl up in the ancestral short and dilapidated hut that was hot and suffocating in summer and drafty in winter.A kerosene lamp that must be placed in front of my eyes to read the writing, often burns my hair as thick as a horse's mane, and the black smoke curled up on the flame makes me always want to gag, in order to save fuel and save money As soon as it got dark, the peasants went to the kang and lay down.They almost instinctively understand the scientific principle of reducing the amount of activity to reduce energy consumption. They don't visit neighbors or sit in the shade of trees outside the street, and they all lie quietly on the kang.At this time, civilized and advanced cities are implementing the temporary scientific measures of "combining work and rest", government agencies shorten office hours, schools cancel physical education classes and late self-study... farmers don't need anyone to call, they all consciously "combine work and rest" "Are.

I didn't fall asleep, and I couldn't bear the confusion and loneliness of lying on the kang with my eyes open in the dark.In the dim light of the kerosene lamp, the magnificent scenery of the Don River grassland unfolded in front of my eyes, and Gregory's powerful figure galloped past... When I felt my eyes were dazzled, darkened, and my neck was sleepy, it was difficult to turn another page When I was a child, there was only the bamboo cage in which my mother held the steamed buns in front of my eyes. Yes, that bamboo cage was made of bamboo woven. As long as I can remember, I remember that this flat, round bamboo woven cage was hung from the iron hook hanging from the roof beam.Throughout the year, this cage is filled with inexhaustible steamed buns. Before the old steamed buns are finished, my mother puts them in freshly steamed ones.Of course, for nearly ten months of the year, the cage is always filled with yellow or white corn-bread buns. Wheat flour buns.Now, the cage is empty, and it hangs empty on the iron hook for a year and a month, hanging over the heads of the family.The empty bamboo cage always tempts my infinite affection for the sweet steamed buns.empty!I really don't understand why my mother never takes it off. When people think about it in the middle of the night, it is empty, how frustrating!But thinking about it, even if my mother took it off, threw it into some corner where she couldn't see it, or even smashed it and burned it, she would still think of it at this moment!

Hunger bites my heart like a scourge! I hate my lack of tolerance for hunger.My father also worked with me in the field of the production team for a long time. After returning home, he only drank a bowl of salt water and lay down on the kang without a sound. The empty cage with nothing in it was constantly spinning inside.I'm so hungry, I can't lie down or sit down, I even hate Sholokhov, what the hell are you writing about Gregory, this Cossack bastard, I can't go to bed early, and now I'm so hungry Hungry wolf like in circles in the small building. I walked out the door, and the village alley was dead silent.On a moonless autumn night, the fields are dark.I had no purpose, but instinctively walked out of the village and came down to the river beach. In the corn forest that was booting, there was a strong sweet smell of corn sticks, and I stopped by the ditch.

I reached out to touch a corn-breading pole, broke off a fat and thick stick, tore off the tender skin in twos and twos, and squatted on the edge of the ditch to chew.Based on the feeling of my teeth and tongue, the grains of the sticks were soft, and the milk in the grains splashed into my eyes. I must have gnawed too hard and too fast.The tender corn grains were in the mouth, before they could be chewed, they rolled into the stomach, and there was almost no taste, only very sweet.Gradually, you can taste all its sweetness. The unripe sticks, raw ones, flow into the burning stomach with the cold dewdrops in the autumn night, which is so pleasant.The sweet milk, even has a pleasant taste of milk, I think this is the fairy fruit from the tree of knowledge and evil that only God can enjoy.

I threw the gnawed corn cores into the ditch, stood up from the edge of the ditch, and reached out to touch another corn stick, but suddenly saw a person standing under a big willow tree three or five steps away.I was startled and stunned, and from the figure and figure, I immediately recognized that it was Ma Luoer, an old bachelor who guarded the crops for the production team all year round.I don't know what courage I have. I didn't run away, nor begged him for mercy. Instead, I unswervingly snapped off the corn stick that I had already grasped, and tore off the tender skin two or three times, squatting down. The lower body began to gnaw again, and the tender beard and hair sandwiched between the rows of grains were swallowed into the stomach together with the grains.

"Hmph! You're so bold—" he said with a sneer. I didn't waste my time arguing with him. Anyway, I ate corn sticks and couldn't escape to Taiwan. Let you report to the team cadres!Punish it as you like!Even if I use the two dilapidated houses of our family to pay for it, I will not regret it, because after all, the house cannot relieve the hunger in my belly like a flood and a beast.I have no time to think about the consequences, and I am still chomping on the raw corn sticks. It seems that the more I chew, the more I can taste the sweetness and mellowness of the raw corn grains.Since there is always a penalty, it is worthwhile to simply let me have a full meal tonight.

"Follow me!" Marlowe growled. I stood up, not particularly alarmed, just go, nothing more than driving out of the Garden of Eden to accept punishment, regret is useless.I followed behind him, my teeth still busy gnawing on the corn sticks. He suddenly turned around and stretched out his hand. I thought he was going to beat me, but he snatched the corn stick from my hand and threw it into the ditch with a "crack" sound. on the legs.I looked at him with hatred and stopped, really looking at him like Ah Q.It's just that darkness covers everything.He couldn't see my angry eyes, and I couldn't see how proud he was.

I follow his ass, even if I go to hell, I will go. Walking east along the canal, the dew on the grass branches along the canal wets my feet, and I feel a chill.Grigory and Aksinia played mischievously in the moonlight of the Don River steppe, but I followed the old bachelor Maro into the abyss of shame.The field dirt road leading to the village lies before us. I will follow him to turn the corner, head south, walk into the village, and stand at the street gate of the secretary or captain’s house, waiting to be dealt with... A miracle happened suddenly at this moment. At the intersection of the canal and the upper road, there is a temporary bridge made of branches. The old bachelor Marlow walked on the temporary bridge and walked northward without hesitation, which would lead to the depths of the river beach.He didn't intend to hand me over to the cadres, and I felt relieved after all.

I also stepped onto the temporary bridge over the canal, and the branches flickered softly under my feet. I turned my back to the village and walked towards the broad river beach.I suddenly thought, if he doesn't send me to a cadre, why would he take me to the river beach?In this deep night again!I can't help but feel horrified. I immediately remembered that everyone in the village knew that Ma Luo, who did not recognize his relatives, would often catch crop thieves, use his leather belt to teach him a lesson, and then let him go, but he was rarely handed over to the officials for disposal.Cadres don't hit people, they only fine them, and the fines belong to everyone.Either hold a mass meeting, fight and criticize, it is nothing more than embarrassing, it is far less enjoyable than Marlowe venting his excess strength as a bachelor... Now I start to think about how to deal with this cruel old bachelor.If he's going to... then I'm... I have several contingencies formed in my head.

I can't help but think about urgency.This Marlo is an old bachelor who is withdrawn by nature.There is also a naked man in the village, but he is a lively "Hula Hei". He provokes a room full of idlers every day and night, playing cards, "rectifying the party", and "wolf eats the baby". It is a "club" suitable for all ages.Only this Marlowe doesn't allow idlers to enter.Some people secretly said that Marlowe often met wild women in his kiln, fearing that others would offend his good deeds. Anyway, I probably never stepped into the threshold of his kiln. It was not because I was afraid of bumping into something. It's because I really don't want to look at his face, the cold face that never shows a trace of smile lines, it always looks like I just got into a fight with someone.In addition, I have been studying in the county, and only returned to the village to live in the winter and summer vacations. I hardly had any dealings with him, and the number of times I spoke was extremely limited. Marrow only does one kind of work all year round, guarding the crops.When the wheat is ripe, watch over the wheat, and when the grain is ripe, watch over the grain.Wheat and corn were in their green crop season, so he wandered around the roadside at the entrance of the village, guarding those pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks that were wasting grain.He once pierced a boar's stomach with a spear, scaring all the pig-raising villagers to repair the collapsed pig pens and sheep houses.He once tied a man who stole cotton to a tree pole, stuffed his mouth with the seed cotton he had secretly picked (really reaping the fruits of himself), took off his wide belt, held his trousers in one hand and the belt in the other, and pulled the The man can imagine what it's like.With Maro guarding the crops, it is more refreshing than Yan Luo.But... I am a twenty-year-old strong man, I will not be tied to a poplar tree with my hands tied... After crossing a canal and turning eastward, I saw the glowing light of a horse lantern hanging on a shed. This is the old bachelor's villa-style residence. He stopped at the entrance of the shed, turned around, and looked at me in the dark. I stopped too, staring at his hand. "Sit down!" he yelled at me with a toss of his head. I didn't sit down, I was still standing.Sit down, and it may be too late to stand up and resist.I didn't make a sound, but lightly raised my hands and put them on my waist, suggesting to give him a little power. "Ah... hey hey hey hey..." Suddenly, he burst into tears, and the hoarse man's cry poured out from his throat.Like the sudden flash flood of a small river in summer, it is engulfed in sand, stones and branches, and with a roar, it shakes the whole field.I don't know what to do, at this moment, I almost lost consciousness, my mind went blank, I and the world don't exist anymore, just like the despair when the ghost water is sucked into the mud pit in the river while wearing open crotch pants blank in... I panicked.Not knowing what to do, the hand on his waist felt loose and hung down.Marlo suddenly stretched out his arms and hugged me, pressing his huge head on my chest, crying even more uncontrollably.His middle-aged man's thick body trembled, and his two iron-like arms pinched my shoulder blades with a sharp pain.His snot and tears poured down on my chest and soaked my clothes. He was crying so hard, but I couldn't find words to persuade him.The actual situation is that, without my consolation at all, he has already stopped abruptly, let go of the arm holding me, and tremblingly crying, he said: "We... are so miserable..." Only now did I understand the meaning of the feelings expressed in the old bachelor's rude behavior.But once I understood it, I couldn't hold it anymore, my heart was sad, my legs became weak, and I sat down on the root of the tree at the door of the thatched hut, covered my cheeks with my hands, and began to cry, weeping, but not And wail with a long throat like him. The old bachelor, Maro, jumped up and down on the grass in front of the shed like crazy, yelling: "My day, your mother——'revision'! You dog day made me Chinese people so miserable! You don't eat your own black beans and small beans (Khrushchev), you want to eat Chinese white rice noodles! Eat white rice noodles I'm tired, but I still want to eat apples! Apples...huh! I want to be as tall as a hoop..." I was very sad, but almost amused by his scolding.I know that some clumsy propagandists in the commune explained the results of the propaganda to the villagers, which led to the ridiculous mentality of Uncle Maruo's nonsense.But he was still angry, jumping and cursing, just like the peasants in the village when they were fighting: "You made my Chinese peasants... gnaw raw corn sticks..." I just felt a little relieved in my heart, and I lowered my head sourly. "My mother—"false positive"! You bullied Chairman Mao and released your mother's stinky "satellite"! You won a certificate of merit, and you were praised, and I was punished by foreigners—eating raw corn sticks!" Guard, shame, all these complex emotions, all ran away with Maro's scolding, and I sat on the root of the tree honestly, changing to a more comfortable sitting position.Marlow was jumping and cursing, his voice gradually faded away, and he got into the valley, where there was a crackling sound. He came, holding a bunch of corn sticks in his arms, threw them on the grass at the entrance of the shed, went into the shed again, pulled out a bundle of dry branches from under the hammock, struck a match, and lit the wheat straw. , together with the branches, the flames sprang up and rose high, and on a support twisted with iron wire, tender corn sticks were placed.He murmured: "Fuck it! This rotten bear-bread corn stick is now a rarity! No matter how you say it, you can't... eat raw..." The dry branches burned and crackled, and the sound of the fire was so lively.I sat by the fire, with my hands on my knees and my chin resting on my knees, watching the flames suddenly fall and then rise up, the bright space created in the darkness of the autumn night shrinks and shrinks with the rise and fall of the flames Suddenly expanded.The flames are jumping on the branches, climbing from the burning branches to the newly added branches, like thousands of macaques playing in the woods, jumping and falling; countless flames gather together to form a world of fire, full of fire. Vitality; fire always gives people a kind of enthusiasm, tension, and progressive enlightenment... Autumn insects chirp and chirp in the darkness of the four fields, like a boundless big net trembling. Marlowe crouched by the fire, poking the fire with sticks to make it burn hotter.The corn sticks on the wire racks, the tender green skins turned yellow, black, and burnt, and a strong fragrance spread from the fire. My nasal membranes were irritated, and I couldn't stand the irresistible temptation, and my mouth was constantly oozing out. The strange fragrance emitted by the tender corn sticks after being roasted... so strong, so mellow, I can't imagine any other delicious meal in the world that tastes sweeter and more mellow. Uncle Marlowe's demeanor is also touching.He sat on a river pebble, put his hands on his knees and straightened his back, like a bluestone statue hewn with an axe.The firelight shone on his face, sometimes bright, sometimes dark. In the center of the square face stood a wide bulbous nose, and there were two rough arterial-like wrinkles on his cheeks.This face now presents a serene expression, focused eyes, a majestic and loving expression like a lion guarding a cub.He occasionally used the branch in his right hand to poke the firewood in the fire, even tilted his head, and blew into the fire, then sat up straight again, but did not speak. "Eat—cooked." He took a corn-bread stick from the wire rack in the fire, swung it over, and dropped it into my arms.So hot!There were still sparks on the scorched skin. I pounded it back and forth with both hands, reluctant to throw it on the ground, and tore open the unburned inner skin. A hot air filled with a strong sweet smell came out.The soft corn grains are soft and sweet, and when I bite into my mouth, my tears can't help but flow down. He also tore open a corn-bread stick, picked a few grains off the stick with his fingers, put it in his mouth, slowly twisted his cheekbones, and chewed slowly, looking very leisurely.But I held the stick in both hands, gnawed and gnawed. I'm so full!For about two years, when the towns and villages were in a state of severe economic hardship, and unfortunately I had just entered the most active period of physical development, I was always hungry.For the first time, I put so much unadulterated real grain in my stomach, and I didn't worry about being unable to digest it and dying in front of the hut on the river beach.I really wanted to say a few words of thanks to him, but I couldn't, so I said in a roundabout way: "I thought you would send me to the cadres! Or... beat me with a belt! I didn't expect..." "It's a good thing you didn't run away! Well—" he said, "A good man is a good man when he does things. If you steal it, you steal it, and if you eat it, you eat it! You run away! I don't want to see those snakes and rats! You Standing there majesticly...I am convinced - this kid has a kind..." I didn't go home that night, and slept in the hammock in his nunnery with Uncle Marlowe.His thin quilt has not been removed and washed for about half a year, and there is a stench that surrounds my nostrils, and his unrestrained farts are ringing in my ears.He explained to me like a confession that the boar he stabbed to death with a spear belonged to a man who could only speak human words but did dog things; In spite of this, he quietly paid the pig money to others, and let them accept it quietly, all he wanted was that layer of deterrent momentum.The cotton stealer he taught with a belt probably had the same purpose, to deter the habitual offenders in other villages who were trying to make a fortune by stealing.As for stealing one or two like ordinary people, he found it from a long way away, coughed loudly, and let you go away in a high-sounding manner.For a fool like me who steals and does not escape, he is regarded as a guest of honor... I had an unforgettable dinner! I had an unforgettably good night's sleep! He treated me so sincerely that I was ashamed to touch the corn stick secretly. Even though the hunger was still unbearable, I still didn't have the courage to go to his shed again.This night, I finally couldn't help it anymore. The memory of the delicious grilled corn sticks made me scratch like a cat in my heart.I bit the bullet and walked out of the house, and walked down the river beach. There was a half-circle moon sticking to the sky above the western plateau, and the leaves of corn on the side of the road brushed against my face, cutting people uncomfortable like saw thorns.I was thinking, how to speak to him?I'm really a little embarrassed, is it familiar to eat dog meat? The horse lanterns hanging in front of the shed were extinguished, and it was dark, and the cold light of the moon passed through the branches, shining on the shed in mottled patterns.I stood by the shed and called out "Uncle Marlowe!" There was no answer, and after a pause, I called out again. "Go away!" There was a roar in the shed, and I was so ashamed that I couldn't bear it.yes!It's a bit ignorant... I didn't know how to leave the nunnery, and I didn't have the mood to go home. I sat down on the stone dam by the river bank, picked up the cool river water, and washed my burning cheeks. I noticed a light behind me, and when I turned around, Marlow pressed a lit match to the smoke pot, and it went out instantly.I turned my head to the river again, without speaking. I knew by feeling that he had sat down beside me, but still ignored him.He coughed, but said cheerfully as if nothing had happened: "Look, on the sandy beach in the middle of the river, that's..." I raised my head, and under the hazy moonlight, on the naked beach, a person was walking towards the opposite bank. It seemed that I could tell from her posture that it was a woman... I suddenly seemed to understand something, Turning around, I saw Maro happily sucking on the pipe, puffing out puffs of smoke leisurely: "Don't remember that Uncle scolded you... You came at such a bad time! I almost scared Uncle to the ground..." I jumped up, threw myself on top of him, and punched his strong shoulder hard, begging him to be honest.He smiled proudly, not particularly taboo... "That's my old friend!" "Before liberation, when I was living at Wang Caidong's house on the north bank of the river, this woman fell in love with me. Her husband is Wang Caidong's young master. He looks fair and clean, but he is a fool with a fair face! Ten The number of copper coins was messed up. During the land reform period, when Wang Caidong came to the stage of struggle, this white-faced stinky melon was so frightened that he pulled down his crotch. She can't even see him..." "You should marry her and start a family, so why sneak around." I said, "Liberated, what are you afraid of?" "Of course it's good to get married. How could I not think of it. Alas! This woman really can't tell, and she can't bear to leave that mouthy man behind. She is afraid that the child will be separated by a layer, and others will call 'wild species' in the future. What about me? I have no intention of begging another woman to start a family. Besides, that woman doesn’t let me beg for it, just let me hang out with her like this... It’s been fourteen or five years, and I’m used to it. This woman is good! It’s just that I’m so hungry now Panicked, she was carrying her identity as a landlord, and the relief food provided by the government did not have her share at all. Okay! I will give her relief here. There is no way, those children can’t keep up with his rich man’s glory, but I just kept up with starvation. The food distributed to me by the team and the food provided by the government were all given to her. Damn it! Before liberation, I worked for the old rich man, but now I have to support a few piglets! There is no way! Me and this woman..." "Then...you continue to mess around like this, what should you do when you get old?" I interjected and asked, "Your kindness, even if the children grow up, they can't repay you even if they want to. It's not justified!" "I don't want to! I, Marlowe, don't want anyone to reciprocate. When I'm old and dead, I will leave nothing to others, and I don't want others to scold me. As long as I am alive, there is this woman who will be with me, okay..." Starlight twinkled in the river.The night is so deep, so deep.I suddenly thought of Gregory and Aksinya.The descendants of our ancient nation on the loess deposit also have the same touching love words as the Don Cossacks, but the style is different. "Don't you yell! What a crime it would be if your yelling was known to others! Well... you just called me and frightened me, and frightened the poor fellow. I said to her,' It's okay, my old nephew is a reliable person, and nothing will happen. Don't worry, go...'She...that's not it, she has already walked to the other side of the river..." I raised my head, and the woman's figure had disappeared into the willow forest belt on the river bank.At the moment before finally disappearing, it seemed that she had stopped for a while, probably looking across the water at her beloved Uncle Maruo... That night, Uncle Maruo talked a lot, and his expression was also very lively, talking and laughing, until a cock crow came from the village... Naturally, he gave me a barbecued corn stick. ... "Send some paper to you, Uncle Marlowe," said the mother. As soon as I finished dinner and put down my chopsticks, my mother reminded me that I should send a stack of papers to Uncle Marlowe.This custom is still preserved in the village. The villagers present a stack of paper to any old person who has passed away, and the family members of the deceased will burn it in front of the spirit or burn the grave to express their condolences.The fashion of the times has evolved, and rural farmers also send wreaths and elegiac couplets like city people. After all, there are not many, and most people still send a stack of thick black hemp paper. I took the stack of hemp paper from my mother and walked out the door.If it was just to repay him for giving me a delicious dinner when I was starving like a wolf-barbecued corn sticks, it would be superficial, and I know that this is contrary to the original intention of Uncle Marlowe's "don't repay" Unfortunately, my heart is heavy... I have worked in the commune for nearly ten years.That day, in the not-too-big yard of the commune, I saw the back of Uncle Maruo.The huge head and thick and short waist, but now it makes people feel that it is a thick bone, and the back is slightly hunched.I called him into my house. "Have you eaten yet?" I asked. "Eat——" he said in a dragging voice. "Don't be fake!" I said, "Although it's not time for dinner, steamed buns and pickles are readily available, you can eat whatever you want." "When did you starve Uncle Maruo?" He proudly raised his head, "There is no quota for five-guarantee households..." I believe it.Uncle Maruo is in his sixtieth year, and his food and clothing are provided by the production team. Although he cannot be said to be rich, he can still fill his stomach.This standard of living was acceptable in the countryside in the mid-1970s. "What's the matter with you coming to the commune?" I asked casually. "It's all right!" he said loudly, with a very relaxed expression, and although he was old, he still spoke with a masculine air, "I wandered into the town and walked around the commune yard. I don't like it! I'm busy, what are you doing! I won't disturb you anymore, you are busy. Let me go! Let's go shopping!" Then he stood up and wanted to leave. I sent him out, watched him walk staggeringly from the road, turned into the gate of the supply and marketing cooperative, then turned around and went to do what I wanted to do. When I walked through the yard again, I saw Uncle Maro's back again.He probably noticed me too, and disappeared from the corner in a panic.I'm a little suspicious, he probably isn't as relaxed as he says, surfing and wandering.I took a look at the row of houses he passed by. One housed the Women's Federation cadres, and the other housed the Communist Youth League officials. They were all departments with which he would not have any contact.Another room lived in the civil affairs cadre Lao Qiao, and I realized something, so I walked in. "Did an old man come here just now?" "Ma Luoer, the five-guarantee old man in your village just left." Old Qiao said, "The old man came to receive the poverty relief money." "How much money was given to the old man?" I asked. "Hey! We can't talk about the issue of making up more and making up for less." Old Qiao said, "The team doesn't stamp the old man Maro, saying that he..." Although I am in charge of civil affairs, the specific matters of winter poverty relief are handled by Lao Qiao, and I don't interfere too much.Old Qiao is an old comrade, and he is fair, so you can rest assured that he will do a good job in this extremely conflict-prone job.Now, facing Uncle Maruo’s relief issue, I couldn’t help but come up with an idea: “How much relief should be given to the old man, you set a number, if the team doesn’t stamp it, I’ll be responsible for it with my signature!” "The cadres in some of our villages... are really outrageous." Old Qiao also complained because of this, "The old man Maruo just came to tell me that last year's poverty relief funds and supplies were all secretly distributed by the cadres. Of course, We also have loopholes in our work. Maro said that he was not asking for money, but making trouble! The old man yelled, saying that he wanted to make the incident known to the whole village, and he wanted to find a report from the county party committee. He said he didn't care about those few Even ten or twenty yuan of land can’t make a home for a few dollars…” "It's like this... so it's like this." I said, "He met me just now, but he didn't say a word... just said that he was wandering around!" "This old man is very stubborn." Old Qiao said, "I told him to ask you to reflect, but he just shook his head, and I thought it was because he didn't agree with you..." I didn't speak any more and walked out of Old Joe's office.Uncle Maruo didn't say a word to me, and even avoided me intentionally, and instinctively reminded me of his words of "not asking for anything in return", and I didn't know what it was like in my heart. I still insisted on the idea I threw out, and asked old Joe to send relief money and cotton cotton to Uncle Marlowe.When Old Qiao came back, he described the process in detail, and he did it more carefully. He handed the cotton cloth directly to the women's captain and asked her to sew cotton coats and trousers for the old man.When I first heard it, I was very pleased, but after thinking about it for a while, I couldn't help panicking. Could this be in line with his original intention? In the middle of the cave dwelling is the coffin of Uncle Maruo.At noon today, I was buried and the coffin was closed, and I could no longer see the wide bulbous nose and the two deep arterial-like wrinkles on my cheeks.All the space in the kiln and the kiln yard was filled with men, women and children, and there was still a stream of folks who came to deliver paper at the door.They put down the hemp paper in front of the altar, lit a stick of purple incense, inserted it into the incense burner replaced by a porcelain jar, bowed, and joined the crowd to gossip. I stopped in front of the spirit table, put down the paper, took out a stick of incense from the incense tube, lit it on the candle, inserted it into the incense burner with already dense sticks, followed the rules of all peasants, clasped my fists, raised my forehead to the Uncle Marlowe bowed.When I bent down deeply and bowed my head reverently, a scene flashed in my mind—— In a very elegant high-rise building, I was invited to a large-scale banquet. New and old friends from the south and the north exchanged cups and plates with sincere words.I went where I wanted to, and drank with open arms. After drinking for a few rounds, my mind suddenly flashed the roasted black grain corn stick that Uncle Marlow threw into my arms!After taking a closer look, the hallucinations disappeared. There were messy chicken bones and shark fins on the table, and a soft and fluffy red carpet under the table. There was no trace of corn sticks... I am not drunk! The green smoke from the burning purple incense wafted around the mourning hall, and there was a faint fragrance in the air.I stood in front of the altar, my mind went blank again, until I was bumped by someone, and I realized that there were already a group of men and women waiting for incense, and I immediately moved out of my position. She—Uncle Marlowe's Aksinya—was standing at the head of the altar.She lit a stick of incense, and when she inserted it into the incense burner, her fingers trembled and broke the incense twice.She pretended to be calm on the outside, knelt down, kowtowed, and when she stood up, I saw the tears oozing from the corners of her eyes. All the older women showed excessive enthusiasm and greeted her to drink water without ridicule or frivolity, so she felt a little shy. It soon became clear to me that the funeral was organized by a few enthusiastic people.After the land was settled, Maro didn't care about raising the crops, and planted all the saplings in the one-acre multi-responsibility field. Before he could sell it, he died.He was still elected by the villagers as a field protector, who uniformly guarded the crops of each household, and he was apportioned a certain amount of remuneration according to the number of acres of land.Just entered the twelfth lunar month, this year's salary has not yet been received, but he died.As a result, the villagers formed a motion to collect all his wages for guarding the crops on a household basis-no loss to Maro!Then the saplings will be discounted and the team will pay in advance for the time being.Combine the two sums to make arrangements for Marlowe's funeral. The "Eight Hanging Five" musician team (thirteen members) has already sang "Jie Ling" in the kiln yard, and the projectionists of the commune film projection team are hanging the screen on the threshing field, and the village alleys are full of joy. spray.Maro was lonely when he was born, but he was lively when he died. It was not easy to achieve such an ending of death without complaint! I sat among the folks, smoking, drinking tea, listening to everyone talking and laughing loudly, and seeing the figures of people rushing forward and back, but from time to time, the burned corn stick that was thrown into my arms flashed in my heart. What a nice picnic dinner that was...