Chapter 6 blue flower

one One autumn evening, on the dirt road in front of the village, a strange old woman staggered along.At that time, Qiuqiu was picking ginkgo trees under the ginkgo tree at the head of the village. The old woman seems to be very old, with a few gray hairs, it is difficult to cover her scalp anymore.Thin shoulder blades supported an old gown that was too fat.The teeth are almost falling out, the mouth is deeply sunken, and the mouth is wriggling subconsciously.She was leaning on a bamboo pole that was taller than her body, and she was carrying a thin blue calico bundle on her arm. She was covered in dust, as if she had come from a very far away place.When she finally reached the village, she stopped and looked around strangely, as if trying to identify the village.

Startled, Qiuqiu slipped behind the ginkgo tree, poked her face out and looked at the old woman.When she suddenly felt that this was an old woman with a kind face and a little pity, she stepped forward and asked her who she was looking for. The old lady looked at Qiuqiu: "I'm coming home... I'm going home..." Her words were not clear, and her voice was too old and hoarse, but Qiuqiu still understood.She stared at the old woman's face with doubts in her eyes: who is she?Qiuqiu was very confused, so she turned around and ran home, leading her seventy-year-old grandmother to the village.

Grandma stared at the old woman for a long time, raised her stiff hand, and pointed at her: "This... isn't this Yinjiao?" "I'm coming home...going home..." The old lady walked towards grandma. "You have been away for more than thirty years!" "Come back, don't go away..." The crowd of onlookers gradually increased.The young people didn’t know the old woman, so they asked the older ones: “Who is she?” “Yinjiao.” “Who is Yinjiao?” “Yinjiao is Xiaoqiao’s mother.” “Who is Xiaoqiao?” “Xiaoqiao drowned many Years."... That night, Qiuqiu was sitting in grandma's quilt, listening to grandma talking about the old lady, until the middle of the night...

two Your grandma Yinjiao has done one thing all her life: to help people cry.In recent years, the matter of helping to cry has faded.Ten years ago, when someone held a funeral, they always asked someone to cry for them.Those who hold funerals always want to make the funeral a good one.The funeral should be done in such a way that everyone in the front village and the back house say it is decent. One is to show off, and the other is to make people feel bitter and sad.On the day of the funeral, many people came to see it from morning till night.Grandma likes to watch it, and she likes to shed tears with others. When she shed tears, she feels better.Whoever's funeral is not well handled, that family will be discussed: "No one in his family can be sad, a bunch of heartless." Actually, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are not sad, but no one in that family will be sad. cry.To make people feel sad, you have to cry and count at the same time.Some people will not scold, just know how to cry.There are also some ignorant people who are not very good at talking, and when they cry, they cry blindly, crying about things that shouldn't be crying.A few years ago, the girl from the Zhou family in Xiwangzhuang died, and she was aborted by hiding it from others.My sister-in-law is a half-wit, but in front of so many people, she scolded with tears and snot: "My dear sister, why don't everyone die after abortion, why do you die as soon as you have an abortion? My suffering Sister..." I was slapped by my brother-in-law and said, "Go to hell, you!" Some people can't cry badly, but the way they cry is ugly, weird, ugly, and the voice is not right, which makes people feel sad. Laughing, this broke the mourning of the funeral.Why is mourning so important? Do you know one more thing?Your little one doesn't know about it.Grandma tells you: It is said to cry for the dead, but it is actually for the living.When a person dies, we can't just let him die in vain. He has to be able to cry and recount the merits of the dead person's life.When many good people die, there is only one who can be counted on. No one can remember the merits of his life.It's such a pity that the living didn't get any benefit from such a silent death!If there is someone who can cry and scold, and show off all the good things in his life, this good person will be respected by people, and his family members will also be respected by people.When the person who dies is a bad person or a wicked person, it is even more difficult to cry and scold him.No one will do immoral things all their lives, there will always be some good deeds.Telling all the good things about him, once the heart softens, and thinking that everyone is dead, I don’t care about it anymore, and I feel a little sad that he died, I think he is not such a bad person, his family members, That's how he raised his head.

Just like that, some people who can cry are often invited to help them cry.Your grandma Yinjiao cries the best, whoever has a funeral must invite her.People in the village knew that she could cry when she was sixteen years old.In the fall of her thirteenth year, the plague was everywhere.That day, as soon as her father was taken away in the morning, her mother left in the evening.I grew up bitterly until I was sixteen. At the end of the spring of this year, the fifth grandmother in the west of the village died.On the day of the burial, the children knelt on the ground and cried.The people looked around and cried three floors in and out, pointing and saying who cried the most sadly and who had a lot of bitterness in their stomachs.Your grandma Yinjiao just stood at a long distance away.This fifth grandma is kind, and treats Grandma Yinjiao, whom you have no dependence on, as her own granddaughter.In your grandma Yinjiao's heart, Grandma Fifth is a great benefactor.Here, the fifth grandma's family has no strength to cry, and your grandma Yinjiao is here.She knelt down in front of Grandma Fifth's coffin with a "plop", crying silently at first, then softly, and finally, louder and louder.She recounted Grandma Fifth's good deeds one by one, crying more sadly than Grandma Fifth's son, daughter-in-law, grandson and grandson-in-law.She lay on the fifth grandma's coffin and cried like a tear, and no one could persuade her to come.After crying, she couldn't cry, but she still cried.Everyone present also cried with her.After that, everyone knew that your grandma Yinjiao cried well.If there is any funeral in the family, you must ask Grandma Yinjiao to cry for you.However, not many people know why your grandma Yinjiao is crying so well.She has bitterness in her heart, she is a bitter person! ...

three After Grandma Yinjiao came back, she paid someone to build a small thatched hut by the small river where Xiaoqiao drowned. Qiuqiu often went to Grandma Yinjiao's hut to play.Sometimes I go with my grandma. At this time, she sits aside and listens quietly to the loud but inarticulate conversation of the two old people, watching their heads seem to be out of control. Standing still, shaking.Sometimes, she went alone, at that time, she would ask Grandma Yinjiao endlessly about this and that.In Qiuqiu's view, Grandma Yinjiao is a story, a long and charming one.Grandma Yinjiao likes Qiuqiu very much, she likes her braids, small mouth and eyes that are always squinting.She would often stretch out her rough, trembling hands to stroke Qiuqiu's head and cheeks.Sometimes, Grandma Yinjiao's expression would become very distant: "Xiao Qiao, she looks just like you. When she left, she was younger than you..."

Whenever Qiuqiu was free, she ran to the hut by the river.The old and young couple who have never met before, but always love to stay together.Qiuqiu's grandma told people everywhere, "Our family doesn't want me anymore." "You have been in Jiangnan for decades, do the people in Jiangnan also cry for you?" Qiuqiu asked. "Barbarians don't know how to cry. They speak softly and in a soft voice. They can't cry loudly and make people sad. Jiangnan people also want to save face, and they always have to do funerals in a decent way. There are many Jiangbei people with good voices." Women, when you come to Jiangnan, if someone needs help crying, you can help them cry. When you don’t help cry, you can take care of children, sew clothes, cook, and do some odd jobs. People in Jiangnan are rich and can earn a lot of money Woolen cloth."

"What do you want to earn so much money for?" "Build a house, build a big house, a big, spacious house." "Why didn't it finish?" "It's done." "Where?" "It's three miles away from here, in Dayangzhuang." When Qiuqiu asked her why she built her house in Dayangzhuang, and why she didn't live in the big house in Dayangzhuang but lived in this small hut, she didn't speak anymore, she just turned her eyes to the direction of Dayangzhuang outside the door Looking, as if looking for something in memory that has almost passed away.After a while, Qiuqiu heard her heavy sigh.Later, for a long time, she was always silent.

When Qiuqiu got home, she told her grandma what had happened, and asked her why. Grandma told her: "At that time, your grandma Yinjiao was very famous for helping her cry. When someone's family held a funeral, people from all over the world would come to see her cry. It is neatly combed, and a small blue flower is inserted. A small blue flower is always inserted for the crying person. She came, asked about the past life of the dead, sighed, knelt down in front of the crying person, and clapped her hands He patted the ground, turned his head to the sky, and burst into tears. The other people who knelt and cried forgot to cry. It was not until your grandma Yinjiao cried for a long time that he remembered what he should do. Follow her and cry all the way The long cry of your grandma Yinjiao can make people's hearts tremble. She can sink for a long time in one breath, like a hundred years, and then slowly recover. She can also sing and cry. She has a good voice, and she sings and cries with sincerity, which makes people cry. Everyone loves to hear her cursing and crying. When she is crying and crying, she starts to 'curse'. If the person who died was a child, she would 'Curse': 'You debt collector, is it easy for my mother to raise you up like this with a sip of water and a mouthful of food? You have no conscience, you just kicked your legs and left? What do you do? Sorry!' She cried how the child's mother conceived him, gave birth to him, and brought him up. After crying, she cursed: "If I had known today, your mother As soon as you are born, you should be stuffed in the toilet...' If the person who died was an old man, she would 'curse': 'You dead ghost, your heart is too vicious! Leave us alone, old and young. , you went to leisure, let us suffer! Why didn't you take us there too! You have killed us all!...' In other words, so many people have traveled so far to listen to you Yinjiao Grandma is crying, you don’t think it’s strange, do you? Among the people listening to the crying, there is a teacher who teaches primary school in Dayangzhuang. That person is very quiet, with a very white face and wears glasses. The news of your grandma Yinjiao crying will always arrive. When he comes, he just stands in the crowd without saying a word, looking at your grandma Yinjiao silently. Every time after crying, you Grandma Yinjiao always seemed to be suffering from a serious illness, her complexion was ugly, and she couldn’t get up from sitting on the stool. The people who heard the crying had all dispersed, and she didn’t have the strength to go home. Standing aside. When your grandma Yinjiao was on the road, he followed her not too far away and took her to the door of the house. Later, your grandma Yinjiao married him. In those days, your grandma Yinjiao It's like a different person, smiling all day long, and her face is always red. Alone, now she has a family, a companion, and a literate man who loves to wash his face with soap. She is naturally satisfied. In those days, she always thought that she couldn't let him live a hard life with her, so she went around to help cry. But there is not always something to help cry, and in the rest of the time, she helps people make clothes and put shoe soles. Later, she She gave birth to a daughter named Xiaoqiao. After Xiaoqiao passed her fourth birthday, she discussed with him: "If we have some more money, we can build a house. I want to go to the south of the Yangtze River. Madam Wu is willing to take me to Gaoqiaotou. You are at home." Bring Xiaoqiao.' She went to Jiangnan. Two years later, she brought back a sum of money, in DayangZhuang built a big house that couldn't be found anywhere in a radius of ten miles.The family of three lived together happily for a while, and then she left again.At the end of the house construction, the money was not enough, so I borrowed money from others.She thought again, such a big house should have some belongings, otherwise it would look empty.She also wanted to buy more clothes for Xiaoqiao and her father and daughter, so that they would not be looked down upon by others.Besides, she is also used to drifting outside.She never thought that when she came back a year later, Mr. Xiao would already fall in love with one of his female students.The students at that time were very old.The girl is very pretty.And your grandma Yinjiao is already getting old at this time.A pair of eyes, soaked by tears all the year round, the eyes are rotten, and it is difficult to see people clearly.She begged him pitifully, and he said the girl had a child.She didn't make any noise, and brought Xiao Qiao back here again.I said to her: 'The house was built with the money you earned, why did you leave it to him instead?You are too honest and too stupid! 'She hugged Xiaoqiao tightly in her arms and didn't speak.Many people said to her: 'Tell him out! ’ She shook her head and said, ‘I have a small and obedient child. ' She buried her mouth in the little hair and wept as she rolled the little hair into her mouth with her tongue and chewed.After that, she never went to Dayang Village again..."

Qiuqiu walked to the door, and looked at the small hut by the river with teary eyes... Four Qiuqiu ran more frequently to Grandma Yinjiao's hut.She is willing to enjoy the shade by the small river with Grandma Yinjiao, to bask in the sun under the eaves with Grandma Yinjiao, and to listen to Grandma Yinjiao's chatter.With Qiuqiu, Grandma Yinjiao felt less lonely.If Qiuqiu doesn't come for a few days, Grandma Yinjiao will lean on a bamboo pole, stand at the intersection, put her hand on her forehead, and look towards the road. September 13th is Xiao Qiao's birthday.Early in the morning, Grandma Yinjiao sat by the river.She didn't cry, but just stared blankly at the autumn river.

When Qiuqiu came, she obediently sat beside Grandma Yinjiao and stared blankly at the river. Grandma Yinjiao seemed to be talking to Qiuqiu, and seemed to be talking to herself: "I shouldn't have left her in someone else's house and gone to Jiangnan. She was only seven years old when she left. She must have missed me, run away When I got to the river, I folded a boat out of reed leaves. I knew she wanted the boat to take her to find me. The wind blew the boat away. The child was so stupid that he forgot the water and didn’t even take off his shoes. The boat moved forward. The river ridge is steep, and she slipped and fell..." She said as if she saw it with her own eyes, "I left that day, but she cried and refused to let me go. I coaxed her: 'Mom! You buy something good.” Xiaoqiao said: “I want a lollipop.” “Mom will buy you a lollipop.” Xiaoqiao said: “I want a small trumpet, and it will whine when I blow it.” “Mom will buy you a small trumpet .' My Xiaoqiao is good, stopped making trouble, took my hand, and walked to the entrance of the village. I said: 'Liaoqiao, turn back.' Xiaoqiao shook her head: 'You go first.''Xiaoqiao go first.'' Mom goes first.'...I was working hard to make money outside, and when I fell down, I still wanted to grab some mud. At night, I didn’t think about anything else but my little one. I bought her a lollipop, and when I blew it, she would whine The trumpet sounded. I walked back. Along the way, I thought: Autumn, send Xiaoqiao to school. I will send her there every day and pick her up every day. I want her to be like her father and learn a lot of words... This child Oh, how stupid she is!..." Her eyes stared straight at the water, as if she wanted to see a cute little creature in the water. When it was almost noon, Grandma Yinjiao said, "I gave birth to Xiaoqiao at this time." She asked Qiuqiu to help her until she walked to the water's edge, then sat down on the bank of the river, and fumbled for the baby from her bosom. He took out a small cloth bag, put it in his palm, and untied it tremblingly, revealing a wad of money. "Xiaoqiao needs money." She put the money one by one on the water.There is a small wind on the river, and money, big and small, lined up in a long line, drifting down the river in a tortuous way. Qiuqiu rested her chin with both hands, silently watching the money float away one by one.Sometimes, the wind is a little bit off, and the money is blown towards the shore, and it is blocked by the reed stalks. She will use the branches to push them away and let them continue to float. About 40 to 50 meters away from them, a boy named Jiukuan and a boy named Xiazi put a duck boat in the middle of the river, and they were lying on the side of the boat, waiting for the money to float over one by one. .They later argued.Jiukuan said, "Isn't it okay to let you fish next year?" Shrimp said, "Won't I let you fish next year?" After arguing and fighting, they returned to the original agreed method: one piece for Jiukuan and one piece for shrimp. Qiuqiu finally found them and ran along the river.She said loudly: "You are not allowed to take money!" Jiukuan said with a playful smile, "Let you fish it?" "Bah!" Qiuqiu said, "This is money for Xiaoqiao!" Xia Zi giggled: "Xiao Qiao? Who is Xiao Qiao?" Jiu Kuan knew a little bit, and said, "Xiao Qiao died a long time ago." Qiuqiu found three or four pieces of bricks and held one up high: "If you don't move away, I'll smash it!" Her face was very fierce. Jiukuan and Xiazi were a little afraid of Qiuqiu at first, seeing that Qiuqiu was holding up a brick and was about to smash it at him, so they had to propel the boat far away until Qiuqiu couldn't see it, but they didn't leave, and they still kept going. Patiently waiting downstream for that money to float by. Qiuqiu sat on a high bank, guarding the small river very carefully, watching the money float by one by one with her eyes... Fives The gang crying wind in this place once died down, but in the past few years, it has slowly flourished again.In the spring of this year, in Zouzhuang, two miles to the north, an old lady who lived to be 80 years old passed away.The children and grandchildren went there, and there were many rich people who were determined to do a good job in the funeral, comparing all the funerals that have been held before.The older one said: "Nanfang Yinjiao is back, please come and cry for her." The younger ones don't know how grandma Yinjiao is when she cries brilliantly, but the older ones fully recall the majesty of Grandma Yinjiao back then. It's like talking about a mythical character.The head of the family moved an old man to invite Grandma Yinjiao after hearing the encouragement. Grandma Yinjiao heard that someone asked her to help her cry, her head was trembling on her neck, her dark brown hands were trembling too.Someone here still remembers her!She is still needed! "I'll go, I'll go," she said. That day, she asked Qiuqiu to help her to go to the small river. She washed her face, neck and arms with the clear water, and changed into new clothes. The hair is combed smoothly.Qiuqiu was very excited, so she was very busy.Finally, Grandma Yinjiao asked Qiuqiu to pick a small blue flower from the ridge of the field and put it on her head. Grandma Yinjiao was picked up by someone in a small wooden boat.Qiuqiu also followed the boat. Hundreds of people came from all directions: they wanted to see the grandmother Yinjiao often mentioned by the old people, and to experience her famous cry that was famous for dozens of miles. Most people don't know Yinjiao, so they ask each other: "Where is it? Where is it?" Someone said with a finger: "That is." People seem a little disappointed.The grandma Yinjiao in front of her seemed to have lost the demeanor they felt in the legend.They can only look forward to her crying. The mourning began, and a group of people knelt in front of the coffin of the deceased, crying one after another. Grandma Yinjiao was supported and walked to the front of the kneeling and crying crowd.At this time, the onlookers suddenly fell silent from the turmoil, and all their eyes followed Grandma Yinjiao.Grandma Yinjiao knelt down uncomfortably, but someone helped her from the side, she almost fell to the ground.When she took the white handkerchief from the collar, she also looked a little muddy, which made people who had seen her cry before feel a little uncomfortable.As usual, she turned her face up, raised her hand to grab the handkerchief, and then patted the ground, but it lacked a little weight.She started crying.She wanted to raise her voice all at once, but she couldn't help it at all. The voice was old and ordinary, and it didn't have the power to catch people all at once and tear people's hearts and lungs at all. The crowd of onlookers lost their calm and began to move wildly. Qiuqiu, who was in the innermost place, raised her face and looked at the onlookers.Seeing the disappointment in their eyes, she couldn't help feeling sorry for Grandma Yinjiao.How she wished that Grandma Yinjiao would cry so loudly that her heart would break! However, Grandma Yinjiao's voice was so weak, so dishonorable! In the past, she was best at scolding. At that time, she had a particularly good memory and speech ability, and she could speak clearly, every word and sentence, although she was crying, but people could hear it clearly. Now, she It was like a person chattering alone in a secluded place, confused, and others didn't know what she was talking about. Jiukuan and Xiazi, who came to see the fun with the adults, climbed on the roof of the open shed. At first, they looked serious and watched, but now they lost their patience and hit each other with neem fruit. Qiuqiu gave them a hard look. Jiukuan and Xiazi slapped Qiuqiu's neck, blinked their eyes and ignored it, and continued to smash the neem fruit. When Xiazi was avoiding a neem tree fruit of Jiukuan, he accidentally fell on the ground and grinned in pain, Qiuqiu cursed in his heart: "It's good to fall to death! It's good to fall to death!" At this time, the family members of the deceased cried loudly.The granddaughters-in-law, who were young, strong, and with good voices, compared each other's filial piety and grief, and cried with such vigor that they drowned out Grandma Yinjiao's crying. People were a little disappointed, and they barely persisted for a while, and then dispersed. Qiuqiu has been standing by, silently waiting for Grandma Yinjiao. The mourning was over, and Grandma Yinjiao was a little unsteady after being helped up, thanks to Qiuqiu as her walking stick. The owner's family is a good family, many people came up to thank Grandma Yinjiao, and firmly disagreed with Grandma Yinjiao's idea of ​​walking back by herself, and sent someone to send her back by boat. Along the way, Grandma Yinjiao held Qiuqiu's hand without saying a word, and stared at the river water blankly.The wind blew a few strands of her hair down on her withered forehead. Qiuqiu felt that Grandma Yinjiao's hands were very cold... six In summer, the noble second master in the village passed away again. Grandma Yinjiao asked Qiuqiu: "Do you know when their family mourns?" Qiuqiu replied, "Grandma said, tomorrow afternoon." The next afternoon, Grandma Yinjiao asked Qiuqiu again: "Doesn't their family want someone to help them cry?" Qiuqiu said, "No." In fact, she heard from her grandma that Second Master Gui's family had already invited someone from Gao Qiaotou to cry for him. "Oh." Grandma Yinjiao nodded, but she seemed very calm. After that, it rained for several days.Qiuqiu also didn't go to Grandma Yinjiao's hut.Sometimes she stood at the door and looked at the hut through the transparent rain curtain.The sky was fine, and light blue smoke rose from the chimneys of every family.Qiuqiu suddenly said to grandma: "Why isn't Grandma Yinjiao's chimney emitting smoke?" Grandma looked at it, pulled Qiuqiu out of the house, and walked to the small hut. After a while, Qiuqiu cried and walked from one house to another, telling people: "Grandma Yinjiao died..." Several old people changed Grandma Yinjiao's clothes and cried for her.The weather was warm and she couldn't leave it for long, so she was buried in a coffin and carried to the barren hills.Because most of the people were not familiar with her, although there was a long line behind the coffin, they all went to see the burial, and almost no one cried. Qiuqiu followed closely behind Grandma Yinjiao's coffin.She didn't cry, she just stared blankly. The people dispersed one by one, but Qiuqiu did not leave.She was a child, and people paid no attention to her.She looked at the uplifted new soil, and she didn't know whether she wanted to cry or not. Jiukuan and Xiazi walked on the ridge. Jiukuan said: "On September 13th this year, we won't be able to make any money." Xiazi said, "I also want to buy a small speaker." Qiuqiu turned her head and saw Jiukuan and Xiazi were bouncing forward, so she suddenly slanted to intercept them, and inserted between them. Before they could react, she grabbed hold of each other with both hands. It hurt their ears, and the pain made them scream: "What's the matter with us? What's the matter with us?" Qiuqiu didn't answer, she bit her lips with her teeth, grabbed the two of them by their ears, dragged them all the way to Grandma Yinjiao's grave, and then pushed them to kneel on the ground: "Cry! Cry!" Jiukuan and Xiazi rubbed their ears with their hands and said, "We...we won't cry." They were a little afraid of Qiuqiu in front of them, and they didn't dare to get up and run away. "Cry!" Qiuqiu kicked them respectively. They began to cry.Crying hard.While crying, they secretly smiled at each other, and secretly glanced at Qiuqiu. Qiuqiu suddenly had a sore nose and said, "Get lost!" Jiu Kuan and Xia Zi hurried away. In the field, Qiuqiu was alone.She picked a bunch of small blue flowers and scattered them on Grandma Yinjiao's grave. The color of those flowers is extremely blue, extremely bright, and can be seen from a long distance. Qiuqiu knelt down in front of Grandma Yinjiao's grave. The fields are very still.On the quiet field, the distant and pure cry of a little girl echoed softly. At that time, the gentle twilight was covering the fields...