Chapter 12 chapter Ten

Another night, when I fell asleep, everyone fell asleep. The school seemed to be dead, and there was not even a sound.One day, the sky was so clear that one could see the sky beyond the sky through the sky, dark blue, bottomless hanging blue.But when the night was late, the sky was overcast.The heavy gloom is like digging up the damp gloom in a tomb.The silence in the school is as deep as a well, so quiet that even the sound of clouds flowing in mid-air can be heard. All asleep.Grandpa is asleep. Someone knocked on the window.The iron gate of the school has long been unlocked, and Gen Zhu and Yuejin took away the key to the gate, so the gate is also unlocked.There are always people coming and going in the middle of the night, and the door is not locked.So without opening the iron gate, people can come in from the outside and knock under the window of the master.Bang bang, like beating a drum.

Someone came and knocked. "Who?" Grandpa asked. The person who knocked said out of breath, "I—Mr. Ding, please open the door." The door opened, and it was Zhao Dequan standing at the door.I haven't seen others for a few days and have no prototype, so thin that there is no flesh except bones.There is no flesh on the face, only the skeleton picks up the blackened and blued skin.Skin with many dry patches.The eye sockets were as deep as two pits dug by someone.At this moment, Master could see that he was full of lifeless anger, not because his face was dull, but because his eyes were dull.Standing on the doorway, like a skeleton wearing clothes.When the light shines on him, he doesn't have a vivid color, but his shadow is moving vividly.The black shadow sticks to the wall, like a thin black shroud hanging in the wind.Seeing Grandpa, he had a bleak smile on his face, a yellow and thin smile, and said with a smile:

"Mr. Ding, after much deliberation, I pulled the blackboard back for you while I was still able to move." Said: "After thinking about it, I can't do the next thing. It's a blackboard, not a wooden board. It can't be that the fever is over, the children come to school again, and the teachers don't have a blackboard to write on." Said: "I would rather die without a coffin, than let the child have no blackboard." Grandpa saw a rubber scooter at the door and pulled the big blackboard. "Ms. Ding, I can't do it anymore. I can't carry it anymore. Come out and carry the blackboard into the room with me."

Grandpa went out to carry with him.Carried the blackboard into Grandpa's room, leaned against the wall, and made a lot of noises, clanging. My grandfather said, "Slow down." But he said: "Don't be afraid, I'm going to die anyway. When Gen Zhu and Yue Jin saw this blackboard, you just say that I sent it back to school." Panting, there was a smile on his face, a pale yellow smile, like Paste the yellow and white paper on the face.After lifting the blackboard, he patted the dirt on his hands, thinking he would leave.But he didn't leave, he sat on Grandpa's bed, smiled, silently, like a laughing paper pasted on his face, looked at Grandpa, didn't speak, seemed to have something to do, but nothing happened .Grandpa brought him water to drink, and he waved his hand.Grandpa went to pour water for him to wash his hands, but he didn't wash his hands, he just said: "Mr. Ding, I'm fine, I just want to come and sit with you for a while."

Grandpa sat opposite him: "If you have something to say, just say it." He stopped laughing, but he said seriously, "It's all right." Two people just sit down.The stillness at night, the profound stillness, weighs down on the plain.In school, the occasional chirping of insects would emerge from the silence.pop out.After that, it was still quiet, and more and more quiet.Grandpa has nothing to say: "You should go back to live in school." "Can't you see me?" He looked at Grandpa, "I won't live for a few days." "How can that be?" said my grandfather, "after the winter, the sick will only have one year left to live in the spring."

He smiled again, wryly smiled for a while, and moved on the bed, the shadow on the bed and the wall, like a black silk shroud, lay on the wall.Obviously, the other person had already sat down and didn't move, but the shadow was still moving, like his ghost floating around him. "Is the coffin ready?" Master felt that he would not live for a few more days, so he said bluntly: "There is no good one, but there must be one." He just looked at his grandfather, a little embarrassed: "The daughter-in-law found a pillar and Yuejin, and they made a note to saw a paulownia tree in the village." After saying this, Zhao Dequan supported the edge of the bed with his hands and stood up , as if about to leave, but finally said: "Mr. Ding, I came here just to tell you that my family saw a tung tree to make a coffin, and it was stamped by Gezhu and Yuejin. But now, every family They all follow my family to cut down tung trees and poplar trees in the village. They cut down trees even if they don’t make coffins. Trees are being cut down in every village, and they are afraid that the big and small trees in the village will be cut down at dawn.”

Said: "Mr. Ding, you can't just leave it alone. The trees are all cut down, and Zhuangzi is no longer like Zhuangzi. I don't have to make a coffin. In fact, I just want to give my daughter-in-law a red silk jacket before I die. I promised someone before getting married. But you said what is the use of this coffin after death? Cut down all the trees in the village." Grandpa walked from the school towards the village, hesitated, and finally walked towards the village.The overwhelming night is like an overwhelming black lake on the plain.There is no moonlight, no stars, only vague shadows swaying in the dark night.The road leading to the village is covered in darkness, and you walk through it with one deep foot and one shallow foot, and you will come to the wheat fields on both sides of the road from time to time.Fortunately, there were lights in the distance, which allowed Grandpa to identify the direction, and he was able to walk back to the village facing the dots of light.When we were not far from the village, there was a fresh and bright smell of sawdust in the dark air. At first, a faint smell came from the place with lanterns, and then the smell became a mass, flowing from Zhuangxi, from Swing from Zhuangnan; flow from Zhuangbei, and swing from Zhuangdong's alley.Flowing, floating, there are also the sound of sawing trees, the sound of felling trees, and the sound of people talking, just like the old and young people in the village who practiced steel at night in those years. Sample.

Grandpa quickened his pace.First go to the place where the lantern is hung in Zhuangxi, and the first thing you see is Ding Sanzi and Ding Sanzi's father in Zhuangxi. Their father and son are in a wheat field in Zhuangxi. Under the tree, a hole like half a house was dug, leaving all the roots of the poplar tree exposed, and I was chopping the last two bowl-thick roots with an axe.The third son's father took off all his clothes, and only wore a trouser fork with his back bare. Sweat poured down his face, neck, and back like rain. The sand and sawdust splashed from under the ax fell on his face, neck, and One shoulder, the whole body is like mud.On the tree fork in the middle of the sky, the thick hemp rope tied there was slanted down, and Ding Sanzi was standing far away and pulling towards the direction of the wheat field.The third son yanked hard, and the tree flickered, making a creaking sound from the roots, as if it was about to fall, but it refused to fall down. The third son called out there, Dad—you too Come and pull!

The third son answered here, just wait until I cut off the root of this tree. At this time, the father came over, stood in front of the third father's axe, and said, "Hey, third son's father, who told you to cut trees here?" Follow his son Sanzi to come quickly.Ding Sanzi came over from the wheat field. Seeing that my grandfather didn't speak, he just snorted, went to take off a folded piece of paper in the pocket of his clothes and handed it to my grandfather. The paper was still the official document of the Dingzhuang Committee, and there was a sentence written on it—it was agreed that Ding Sanzi's family should cut down the big poplar tree in Zhuangxi.After those words, the seal of the Dingzhuang Committee was stamped, and the names of Ding Yuejin and Jia Genzhu were signed.

Grandpa looked at the piece of paper under the lantern, and realized that it was actually the village's tree-felling notice.Holding the notice, the grandfather looked at Sanzi and his father, not knowing what to say, whether to let people cut down the tree or not to let them cut down. When hesitating, Ding Sanzi took the notice from his hand. After leaving, he folded them and put them back in his pocket. He said calmly, Brother Ding Hui sold our coffin, why don't you let the tree be cut down to make a coffin. After saying this, Ding Sanzi, who had a fever but was still strong, went to the other side of the Medina to pull his hemp rope.The master stood helplessly for a while, and walked towards the lights elsewhere in the village.Before he had gone far, he heard a sharp creaking sound behind him, as if it was ringing in Grandpa's chest, which made him feel a faint pain in his heart.Suddenly, there was a thought of strangling Ding Hui to death again, and he felt a layer of sweat on his hands full of old muscles.

Standing at Zhuangkou for a while, Master walked towards a willow tree in the village.He saw that there was also a piece of paper pasted on the willow tree, which was the same paper as the tree-cutting notice that Ding Sanzi showed him, with the same stamp, signed the names of Jia Genzhu and Ding Yuejin, and wrote the same sentence talk-- Agree with Jia Hongli's family to cut down the old willow tree at the northwest corner of Zhuangxi Hutong. Grandpa looked at the notice as if he were looking at a notice posted on the wall.He had nothing to say, and felt that it was justifiable for people to cut down trees, so he stood numbly under the willow tree, looked at the lamp hanging on the tree in the middle of the sky, and Jia Hongli who was cutting branches under the light, and thought for a while. will tear out his voice again— Hong Li, so tall you don't want your life? Jia Hongli stopped cutting on the tree—— How can I die? How many days can I live? Grandpa turned to Hongli's father under the tree—— Jia Jun, you can't ignore the child's life just for a tree. Na Jia Jun also smiled, pointed to the notice on the tree and said—— It's okay, look where the notice sent to my family is posted on the tree. Grandpa walked forward again.He saw the elms, locust trees, paulownia trees, old Chinese toon trees, and saponin trees in the village. No matter in front of or behind the village, in the front alley or back alley, all the trees with the thickness of a barrel were hung under the trees. Horse lanterns, lit candles or kerosene lamps.If you have a home, you can pull a mouse tail wire from somewhere, and tie the lamp to a tree or hang it on the wall.Dingzhuang was full of light, there were bright lights outside the doors of almost every house, which illuminated Dingzhuang brightly, as bright as day.Under the lights in every place, and on the trees illuminated by the lights, there are tree-cutting notices with the official seal of Dingzhuang Village Committee, just like death penalty notices on every big tree.The sound of felling trees was banging, and the sound of sawing trees was creaking.The fresh and pungent wood smell wafts around in the night with the smell of glue.Ding Zhuang woke up, and everyone walked down the street with saws and axes, looking for the tree that the village committee told him that his family could cut down.Those who are sick share the trees that are easy to make coffins, and those who are not sick share the toon, neem and pagoda trees that are not easy to make coffins because they also have a share of the public trees.Although willow, poplar, and paulownia are not very good for making coffins, Chinese toon, neem, and locust trees are buried in the ground to absorb moisture and love to grow insects, so they are given to healthy people to make furniture when they marry their wives and daughters. In Dingzhuang, except for my family, every family has a tree that has grown up.So, Dingzhuang got very busy on this spring night.Every family didn't sleep, they were busy cutting trees and transporting them home. I don't know where I got so many saws and sharp axes. It's like the unified tree felling family has known it for a long time and has prepared the tools long ago.The sound of clashing iron tools is clear and bright at night, and the crackling sound of broken branches can be heard from Zhuangdong to the plain of Zhuangxi.The sound from Zhuangxi can reach the side of the road in Zhuangdong.Dingzhuang was boiling, and it was extremely lively. The footsteps were coming and going, and the wheels pulling the trees were chattering. Zhang said that the trees in Li's family were good, and Li said that the wood in Zhang's family was good. The envy of each other followed. The lights hanging from the trees float and swing brightly in the streets of Dingzhuang.Sick people, because of the bustle of cutting trees, have rosy faces on their faces.Those who are not sick are as excited as rushing to harvest and sow.That night, the whole Dingzhuang was full of bustling sounds and the sweet smell of sawdust. People were talking, coming and going in a hurry, and everyone they saw was just a few simple words—— Yo, your family is divided into elm trees. Hey, my house lacks a beam, so I need an elm tree. Hey, you saw the tree so short, what is the use of taking it home? Can’t you see it? This can be used as a board for a vertical cabinet. or - Do you know? Zhuangxi's largest toon tree was distributed to Li Wang's family. Li Wang's house? No way? I said you still don't believe it, but the girl from Li Wang's family has ordered Ding Yuejin's cousin to be his wife. The speaker talked mysteriously for a while, and the listener Mao Sai stood on the street for a while, then parted again, and passed the words mysteriously to others. The master just walked on the street of Dingzhuang in a daze, standing under this tree for a while, and then under that tree for a while, as if he wanted to see all the trees that were cut down that night.After reading it again, he thought of Dingzhuang's dream of flowers blooming on the ground and gold under the ground.Just walking in the village in a daze, looking in a daze.When I returned to the central part of the village, I saw a notice posted on the old pagoda tree in the central part of the village that could not be hugged by three people. I saw Zhao Xiuqin, his man Wang Baoshan, and Zhao Xiuqin's two strong brothers from the outer village. Take down the big bell on the locust tree and hang it on a small locust tree next to it.After hanging the bell, Zhao Xiuqin's brother climbed up the tree with a ladder and sawed off the branches, and the rest of them started digging holes under the tree. When I passed by here just now, the old locust tree was still standing there safely, but after turning around and walking back, it was cut and sawed.Grandpa came and stood under the old tree, and the electric light wire pulled from the opposite house was placed across his head.The lightbulb hanging on the tree branch has at least 200 watts, illuminating the large area under the tree that was originally reserved for village people to gather and meet as if it were daytime. My grandfather said, Xiuqin, this tree was given to your family? Sitting under the light, Zhao Xiuqin looked up at her grandfather, her face was half red and half yellow with excitement and anxiety, as if she was a little embarrassed to be assigned to the oldest and largest tree in the village, she smiled and said —— Unexpectedly, Director Jia and Director Ding are both conscientious people. I will make them whatever they want to eat at school. Whenever they want to drink, I will cook some delicious dishes for them. At this time, I said After all the big trees in the village were distributed, only this pagoda tree was erected in the center of the village, so they signed and distributed it to me. Grandpa stood amidst the endless sound of tree felling, and once again saw the situation where the ground on the plain was covered with flowers and the ground was covered with gold. One night, there were no trees in Dingzhuang. There are no larger trees.Originally, it seemed to mean that only those trees as thick as barrels would be cut down, but in the next day, after the villagers woke up, there would be no trees as thick as bowls inside or outside the village.Stamped tree-cutting notices are thrown everywhere on the street, like leaves falling after a night of wind.The spring day shines on Dingzhuang as usual, but it feels hot instead of warm.Without the larger elms, locust trees, paulownia trees, neem trees, Chinese toon trees, poplar trees and persimmon trees, there are only some tree babies with thick arms left, scattered like grass seedlings in the wasteland, and when the sun comes out, there will be a clatter. , the straight tube shone on the person, and the hot straight tube hit Dingzhuangli. In the coming days, people got up and stood at the door of their houses, their faces all turned pale with shock. Startled by a vast expanse of whiteness. "My God, it's like this..." "My ancestors, it has become like this..." "Ancestor Rita, it really has become like this..." Zhao Dequan passed away. He passed away at noon the day after the tree was cut.Before he passed away, the grandfather said to his second uncle: "Can you take back Lingling's sweater and give it to Dequan?" Uncle went to Lingling's natal village.Going overnight, in fact, he could return overnight, and the round trip was only twenty li, or more than twenty li, but he stayed at Lingling's mother's house for a night before returning.When he came back, Zhao Dequan was still alive, but when he saw his uncle handing Lingling's silk jacket to his daughter-in-law, he smiled, and passed away with a smile. Until he was buried in the coffin, Zhao Dequan still had a smile like a red silk jacket on his face.