Chapter 16 3. The soot business in corpses

Erbatou is Tangkou's "Zhafei" master, this game is entrusted to him, grandpa can rest assured.It is difficult for the grandfather to trust one person, and Erbatou gained his grandfather's trust after a lot of tempering.Especially the "corpse exorcism" he cooperated with his grandfather, the whole process can be described as thrilling and dangerous, and it was that time that his grandfather completely subdued Erbatou. In 1932, the Japanese Marine Corps attacked Shanghai, and the 19th Route Army rose up to resist. The battle was fierce and many people died. Grandfather did not expect that this event would bring him an opportunity to make money.

Not long after the 19th Route Army withdrew, a "special merchant" approached the grandfather. "Special merchant" is a slang word for someone who sells tobacco.Although the Nanjing Provisional Government issued a ban on smoking after its establishment, the opium and soil business was still rampant because it was so profitable. Even later, when the currency of the national government devalued, high-ranking officials and rich merchants actually used their private possession of opium and soil to cope with inflation. The "special businessman" was surnamed Jia, known as the fourth master Jia, who had a long history of contacts with warlords and gangsters, and was also an old friend of his grandfather for many years.

Fourth Master Jia mysteriously told his grandfather that he had a big business and asked if he would like to do it. When the grandfather asked what kind of business it was, Fourth Master Jia said, "You're dead!" Grandpa was taken aback. "Screaming dead people" is an old custom in some areas of the Central Plains. It means that people who died in foreign lands, especially those who died on the battlefield, are summoned back to their hometown through spiritism, so that they will not become lonely ghosts. That is also called "catch the corpse". The grandfather knew very well that the trick of "calling out the dead" was actually the work of the living.First wash the dead body, cut open the stomach with a knife, empty out all internal organs, and then soak the potion to prevent the body from decomposing. Together, and then put on a straw hat, put a talisman on your face, and pretend to be a dead body, while another person rings the soul-destroying bell and throws paper money in front. The two sing together and carry the dead body back home.

If there are many corpses, iron wires will be used to pass under the collarbone of the corpses, then tied to sticks, and strung together. The internal organs are all emptied, and only an empty shell remains, which is not too heavy. Find two strengths The big ones put the stick on their shoulders, lift it back and forth, and walk on it. Chasing corpses is a labor of strength, but also a courageous job, which ordinary people cannot do.Especially when walking on mountain roads at night, under the moonlight, jumping and jumping on the mountain trails with a dead person on their backs, when the mountain wind blows suddenly, old ravens wailing, and paper money flying everywhere, even though they clearly know that there is a dead person behind them, they always feel that there is something wrong in the back of their head. A pair of eyes stared straight at him.

The grandfather said: "This work is tiring and exhausting, why does fourth master think of this work?" Fourth Master Jia whispered a few words in Grandpa's ear, and Grandpa's expression slowly relaxed after hearing this. Fourth Master Jia went on to say: "This is the only way. The officials don't care, the people don't ask, cats and dogs will hide away. You have a lot of people playing 'zafei' under your hands. You can pretend to be a master of spiritualism. It's a match made in heaven!" The grandfather looked at Fourth Master Jia's confident look, and asked, "The people in the military are reliable?"

Fourth Master Jia said, "Adjutant Yao, the ones you've met have been friends for many years." Grandpa thought for a while, "Okay." The grandfather made a careful plan and handed it over to Erbatou for implementation.Before leaving, the grandfather said: "Be careful, don't make mistakes!" Er Batou patted his chest: "Don't worry! I'm good at playing with dead people!" It turned out that Mr. Jia wanted to get a batch of smoke and soil to the south. At that time, the rumors were too tight and the army was in chaos. The purpose is to return the souls of the soldiers who died heroically in the Songhu Anti-Japanese War to their hometowns, but in fact, these corpses are used to transport smoke and soil.For money, people can lose their conscience, but in fact, people are more terrifying than ghosts.

After taking the order, Erbatou set off with five "little feet". After finding the connector, they first emptied the five corpses with military ranks, wrapped the smoked soil in oil paper, then wrapped it in calfskin, and put it in The empty belly of the corpse is stuffed, and the belly is sewn up with thread. Human flesh is layered, and it needs to be stitched layer by layer, otherwise it will leak out. After finishing, the little feet started to set off with the dead bodies on their backs. Erbatou played the role of Mr. Spirit Evoker in front, holding a copper bell in his left hand and throwing paper money in his right. People avoided wherever they passed.

After walking for a day, the little feet began to cry tired. They carried a dead man on their backs, a dead man whose belly was full of smoke and dust, weighing seventy or eighty kilograms. The smell of fresh sweat mixed together made people sick. Erbatou was eager to seek merit, and shouted: "Go, go!" The little feet said timidly: "Second Master, this is too heavy, I can't walk." Erbatou was so angry that his nose was smoking, "A bunch of trash!" Although Er Batou kept shouting and cursing, the team still walked more and more slowly. Erbatou began to think of an idea, "I have a way to reduce your weight..."

The little feet looked at each other and asked, "Second Lord... what can I do?" Er Batou smiled slightly, and said the way. After listening, the little feet looked at each other, "It's a good idea, but if something happens, grandpa will ask..." Erbatou yelled: "Something happened, I'll take care of it!" So the little feet acted according to the plan, and two days later, they arrived at the destination easily.After Erbatou handed over the smoke and soil to the connector, he went to the inn, where grandfather and fourth master Jia had already been waiting there.

"No accident, right?" Grandfather asked. Erbatou said: "Everything is going well!" Grandpa glanced at Fourth Master Jia, who smiled with satisfaction.Grandpa laughed too. When the coffin was visited the next day, the family members of the deceased and Adjutant Yao were present.Erbatou was dressed in Taoist robes, with a few small feet, walked around the coffin several times, sprinkled paper money, recited mantras, and finally stuffed copper coins into the mouth of the deceased.After finishing everything, Erbatou said, "We can visit the coffin." Those family members endured great grief, surrounded the coffin, and looked at their relatives stupidly, but no one thought that their relatives had only one head left!

After exploring the coffin and recognizing relatives, the next step is the burial.At this time, an accident appeared! An old lady couldn't bear the pain of bereavement in her heart, so she rushed to the coffin, touched her son's body, scratched her son's body a few times, and almost tore off the whole shroud. Erbatou quickly pulled her back and said: " Madame! Absolutely not!" But it was too late, the corpse's "leg" was exposed, and it was a tree branch.The old lady shouted in surprise: "Where is my son's leg?" This shout shocked everyone present!These were all corpses handpicked by Adjutant Yao, only a few shots were shot, leaving the whole body!Adjutant Yao stepped forward quickly, wanting to do an autopsy, but grandfather, with sharp eyesight and quick hands, grabbed him and stared at him intently!Adjutant Yao saw something in his grandfather's eyes and stopped. The air at the scene froze.At this moment, I only heard my grandfather say loudly: "The battlefield is full of bullets and bullets. These officers sacrificed their lives for the country. Some of them were blown up by shells, and some were blown up. They sorted it out, the purpose is not to make the family members too sad!" Adjutant Yao glared at Grandpa viciously, "Huh!" But he didn't dare to get angry because he also had a share. The grandfather continued: "Everyone knows the rules of summoning souls. If you continue to cry and cry, the souls of the deceased will be disturbed, and the souls will fly out of their bodies and become lonely ghosts. It will be a waste of everyone's efforts!" After hearing this, the old lady gradually calmed down and stopped crying. Erbatou hurriedly said to the little feet: "Bury it." After the coffin was buried, Erbatou drew a circle in front of the cemetery, put the stacks of paper money he had prepared in the circle and lit it, and said in his mouth: "Come naked, go naked, I don't know what happened in the past life, and my parents and mothers care for each other. head; karmic creditors will not renew, after death there will be no opponents in Huangquan; hair—mourning——” The suona hand blew the suona, and the relatives burst into tears.Adjutant Yao couldn't help but also shed tears, after all, these are the blood-stained anti-Japanese brothers on the battlefield.People, although their eyes are always covered by material desires, the good thoughts in their hearts always flow out unconsciously. After the funeral, Grandpa, Adjutant Yao, and Fourth Master Jia returned to the inn. "Erbatou!" Grandpa called Erbatou into the house, "What's going on?" Erbatou glanced at Adjutant Yao and Fourth Master Jia, lowered his head, and only after a long time did he let out a "hmm". "Say!" Grandpa roared, making the room buzz. Erbatou quickly revealed the whole story. There are rules for "calling out the dead". When the dead body is summoned back, the relatives are not allowed to see it when they return home. After the mortician has finished the ritual and put the body in the coffin, the family members can visit the coffin, and they must not cry, let alone Touch the corpse, otherwise the soul will be disturbed and will come out of the body, and can't cry until it is buried in the ground.Erbatou grasped this rule, and even dared to ask everyone to chop off the head of the corpse, throw the body away, and then get a few back baskets, put the soot in the back baskets, put the head on the soot, and still Putting on a big burial robe and walking like a zombie, this greatly reduces the burden on the little feet, and the team walks much faster. When they arrived at the destination, Erbatou arranged for the little feet to get five wooden stakes overnight, put a new shroud on each stake, stuffed a lot of cotton, and made a human figure, and put them on the sleeves and trousers. The branches were finally inserted into the wooden stakes with thick wires, and the stubbles were wrapped with cloth, and they were combined with the shrouds seamlessly.Anyway, those family members only need to see the face of the deceased, and no one will check the body of the deceased. This is the rule of "driving corpses". After listening to the grandfather, he said coldly: "Did you do it yourself, or did I do it?" Erbatou looked at his grandfather, then at Adjutant Yao and Fourth Master Jia who remained calm, and said in a low voice, "I'll do it myself!" After all, he put the little finger of his left hand on the edge of the table, swung the knife with his right hand, click!He chopped off his fingers without hesitation!Blood was sprayed all over the ground quickly, and Erba's forehead was covered with sweat from a headache, but he didn't make a sound. Since then, Erbatou has become nine fingers, and there is no way for grandfather to do this. First, to give Jia Siye and Adjutant Yao an explanation; . Many years later, when my grandfather talked about this incident again, he still had lingering fears.If this situation had been exposed at that time, the top KMT officials would have been furious. Grandpa, Adjutant Yao, Fourth Master Jia, Erbatou and those little feet would all die!