Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Dual Occupation

But it is said that there is a special industry in the ancient city of Duliang, and the practitioners put it more elegantly in the funeral of the dead, which is called "corpse-carrying man" in Duliang dialect.All walks of life have their venues, and corpse-bearers are no exception. They gather at the foot of the city wall in the south of the city, and they all build simple huts that can shade them from the sun and rain. "There are no old or young on the road to Huangquan", no matter who died in Duliang, regardless of age, whether it was hanged or dystocia, they all came here to ask the corpse-bearer to help bathe, change clothes and encoffin the corpse.For those who died short-lived, they had to be carried to the outskirts of the country to bury them in random graves.

Among this group of corpse-carrying men was Lao Shunmin, who had no father or mother. He lived by begging in the city since he was a child. When he was fifteen or sixteen years old, he met Xinzu, king of the corpse-carrying Han, and became Wang Xinzu's partner. .Wang Xinzu is cunning by nature and likes to take advantage. He has almost no compatible partners in the industry, so he pulls Lao Shunmin into the water. Since Wang Xinzu has a partner, he has given Lao Shunmin all the heavy and dirty work. Zhu Zixiang is the most famous in the corpse-carrying industry in Duliang. It is said that he has many "unique skills", and he is also his master's master... handed down, and passed down to his generation, at least for more than two hundred years .

Carrying a corpse also has a unique skill?The answer is in the affirmative, and I will not list it here. I just say that although Lao Shunmin is honest, there is a limit to everything. Seeing that he has suffered too much, and also hated Wang Xinzu, he said to him: "You can suffer. Why not become Zhu Zixiang's apprentice? Maybe he will teach you unique skills, Wang Xinzu has no skills, so he knows how to take advantage of it." It made sense for Lao Shunmin to think about it. He found Zhu Zixiang and told him what he meant, and Zhu Zixiang really agreed.He proposed to break up with Wang Xinzu again, Wang Xinzu became furious and scolded him for being ungrateful. Lao Shunmin had expected this and was prepared for it.

Wang Xinzu knew that Lao Shunmin could not be brought back, and after a while, his anger would subside, but this matter has always made him angry, especially when it was inconvenient to do it alone, and he hated Zhu Zixiang to the core. Besides, Lao Shunmin followed Zhu Zixiang and worked very hard, but what made him feel unhappy was that Zhu Zixiang never taught him "unique skills".When this word reached Wang Xinzu's ears, Wang Xinzu was secretly delighted, thinking it was a good sign, and he hoped that Lao Shunmin would come back to him.He told Lao Shunmin privately that Zhu Zixiang didn't have any unique skills at all, he was just pretending to be a ghost.Lao Shunmin's ears were soft, he believed Wang Xinzu, and since then he has been passive and sabotaged, and Zhu Zixiang has let him go.

On the fifteenth day of the fifth lunar month in the seventeenth year of the Republic of China, the sun was very poisonous, and the corpse bearers were sitting in their huts waiting for business.At noon, Zhu Zixiang was hungry and asked Lao Shunmin to buy some roasted sweet potatoes to satisfy his hunger.Lao Shunmin said: "We're going together, there's no business at noon anyway." Zhu Zixiang understood that Lao Shunmin didn't want to listen to his orders, so he said, "You stay here, I'd better go." As soon as Zhu Zixiang left, Wang Xinzu came out from the hut next door and said to Lao Shunmin, "Stay here, be careful that your master buys bad sweet potatoes for you to eat, and we will follow together."

So Lao Shunmin and Wang Xinzu came to the roasted sweet potato stall in Zhennan Pavilion. Zhu Zixiang had already picked out the sweet potatoes. When he saw Lao Shunmin coming, he handed the biggest sweet potato to Lao Shunmin without asking.When the three of them were about to return, Lao Shunmin suddenly felt sick to his stomach, so he returned the roasted sweet potato to Zhu Zixiang and said, "You help me take it back, I'll go to the latrine." "Lazy people have a lot of shit and urine, and there are a lot of weeds in the wasteland." Seeing Lao Shunmin walking away, Wang Xinzu asked Zhu Zixiang maliciously, "Master Zhu, is your apprentice still diligent?"

"It's okay." Zhu Zixiang didn't want to talk to Wang Xinzu. Wang Xinzu sneered and said: "You really know how to be sloppy. I am not deaf or blind when we are together. Lao Shunmin has always been lazy. When he followed me, he was afraid of hardship and tiredness, but some people said that I took advantage of him. "Master Zhu, should you have a taste of it now?" Zhu Zixiang just smiled and didn't want to talk more.When the two returned to the foot of the city wall, Zhu Zixiang found a boy in his teens lying in his hut, and said, "Whose child is this? Why is he lying in my hut?"

Wang Xinzu found that the boy was dirty and seemed to be starving, so he said: "Master Zhu, your luck has come. This child is like an orphan. God sent you an apprentice." Zhu Zixiang said: "I'm afraid this child is too thin to do anything." Wang Xinzu said: "It's good to be thin. You are his reborn parents. In the future, he will repay your kindness and take care of you until the end of his life. What kind of apprentice is Lao Shunmin? You are not a few years apart. Who will take care of you in the future!" Zhu Zixiang made sense after thinking about it, so he said, "Don't wake him up, I'll buy sweet potatoes for him to satisfy his hunger."

Wang Xinzu said, "Let him eat Lao Shunmin's share, and I'll go and buy you one." Wang Xinzu took a few copper coins from Zhu Zixiang and returned to the sweet potato stall, just in time to run into Lao Shunmin at Zhennan Pavilion.When Lao Shunmin saw him, he asked, "Wang Xinzu, what are you doing back here?" Wang Xinzu said: "Zhu Zixiang has taken in a new apprentice, a boy, and you will eat that boy's portion—it's uncomfortable, he has a new apprentice, and you, an old apprentice, will sit on the bench." Lao Shunmin sneered and said: "Who is uncomfortable? He has an apprentice, and I was about to leave him." Lao Shunmin said this, but he felt a little unhappy in his heart.

Wang Xinzu took advantage of the situation and said, "Now Zhu Zixiang doesn't want you anymore. We will work together when you come back. It's hard to do it alone. It's better to have a helper than no helper in our line of work. Let's go to Wulingjing today to have a good time. My treat!" When Lao Shunmin heard that he was happy to go to Wulingjing, his unhappiness was swept away. He immediately bought two sweet potatoes and followed Wang Xinzu while eating. Wulingjing is an official brothel in Duliang City. In the southwest of Xiaowang City, corpse-carrying men are frequent visitors here. Because of their professional relationship, they understand life and death better than anyone else, and this affects their lives. Creed, believe that to live is to treat yourself well, eat what you want, play what you want, and once a person becomes a corpse, everything will stop.As long as the corpse bearers have money in their pockets, they are never stingy, and few of them save money.

Wuling Well is named after a well there.This well is full of water, and it is still a huge spring gushing out after three years of drought, and it is also clear during the rainy season.It is said that this well has a long history and was dug by an immortal, as evidenced by poems—— The source of fairy dew and white clouds are connected, and the mighty spring is full of titles. Where does Ruan Zhao and Liu Chen go? The peach blossoms flow out of the mountain stream. This poem says that Wuling Well is connected to Wulingyuan, and flowers emerge from the source in spring.This peach blossom is exactly the peach blossom that Tao Yuanming strayed into the fairyland.There is another poem to prove—— On that day, the Xianyuan Road was lost, so what happened to Wuling was also called the title. It is expected that spring is always here at Dongkou, and flowing water and peach blossoms flow through this stream. It is said that Wuling Well has such good water, which naturally attracts poets and poets to come here to seek victory. Some people have a whim, thinking that literati and poets are so attractive to women, so opening a brothel here will surely prosper the business.No, since the early Ming Dynasty, "Wuling Well" has gradually become synonymous with brothels. But it is said that a moment in the Spring Festival is worth a thousand gold, Wang Xinzu, Lao Shunmin and Fantou always flirt and have fun, and it is already dark when the two come out of Wulingjing.When we passed by Liushan Road after eating, we could only hear the sound of drums and music, and firecrackers blasting the sky, as if someone had died.Wang Xinzu inquired with others, only to find out that Xiao Xuanting died.Embalming Xiao Xuanting is a once-in-a-lifetime job for those who carry corpses. Wang Xinzu immediately regretted that he should not have taken Lao Shunmin to Wuling Well. If I hadn't invited you to come here to be happy and get this business, I wouldn't have to do anything for half a year." Lao Shunmin said: "This Xiao Xuanting is really real, he will not die someday, but he will die if we don't stay in the shed today!" "You have finally admitted that you were with me before, and you have entrusted my blessing. You have no one to ask for rice for your mourning face!" Wang Xinzu grabbed another passerby and asked, "Man, listen It is said that Xiao Xuanting is dead, do you know who buried him?" The passer-by said: "It seems to be Master Zhu Zixiang." When Lao Shunmin heard it, he regretted it: "You still blame me, I think you are the broom star, you didn't drag me to Wulingjing, Zhu Zixiang and I also have a fortune!" Wang Xinzu sneered and said, "Don't dream, now that he has brought a new apprentice, even if you were there, he would not want you." The two complained to each other all the way, and then went home separately. After dinner the next day, Lao Shunmin came to the foot of the city wall, and saw Zhu Zixiang staying in the hut with a teenage boy. Zhu Zixiang soon found Lao Shunmin, and said with a smile on his face, "Where did you go yesterday? I was going to discuss something with you. I took in a new apprentice, an orphan, so poor." Lao Shunmin said angrily: "Wang Xinzu has already told me that I actually wanted to break up with you a long time ago, and I was always embarrassed to speak up when I saw that you had no partner. , anyway, sooner or later we will break up." Zhu Zixiang said: "Shunmin, you have misunderstood, I mean we work together." Lao Shunmin said: "Thank you for your kindness. I have discussed it with Wang Xinzu, and I will do it with him in the future." Enter Wang Xinzu's hut. When Wang Xinzu saw Lao Shunmin, he asked, "Do you know how many layers of Xiao Xuanting's corpse clothes are?" Lao Shunmin shook his head: "I don't have the time to ask, it has nothing to do with me anyway." Wang Xinzu said: "There are thirteen floors in total! They are all expensive and high-quality materials, especially a mink wool underwear, which was brought back by his eldest son from other provinces. The price at that time was no less than two thousand oceans!" This kind of thing is a treasure, no matter how cold the weather is with it, as long as you wear a thin coat, you will not be cold." Lao Shunmin said, "Would the Xiao family be willing to bury such a precious thing with them?" Wang Xinzu said: "It's not that his family has no money. Besides, this mink sweater was Xiao Xuanting's favorite thing when he was alive. His son has no reason to be reluctant! In addition, the old man has a jade bracelet that never leaves his hand. It is authentic Lantian jade, and its value is immeasurable." Wang Xinzu spattered as he spoke, with a greedy green light in his eyes... After hearing this, Lao Shunmin became even more annoyed, and said, "Stop talking, okay, a big man, I've never seen someone as verbose as you!" Wang Xinzu looked at Lao Shunmin for a while, and he had a smirk on his face, and said, "Are you feeling unwell?" Lao Shunmin said angrily, "I'm bothered, and you're gloating!" Wang Xinzu put on a grimace and said in a strange tone: "You are hungry when others eat, you stand when others buy sex, and you are poor when others get rich—poor, pitiful!" Lao Shunmin was finally annoyed, and rushed over to wrestle with Wang Xinzu.Wang Xinzu had been prepared for a long time, he pushed Lao Shunmin to the ground at once, and asked, "Are you admitting defeat now?" Lao Shunmin gritted his teeth and said, "I won't admit defeat!" "Okay, I will teach you to admit defeat!" Wang Xinzu suddenly showed a fierce look in his eyes, and he freed his hand to hit Lao Shunmin's lower body. The pain caused Lao Shunmin to scream on the spot: "I give in, I give in!" Only then did Wang Xinzu let Lao Shunmin go, and only after he calmed down did he say, "I want to discuss something with you." Seeing Wang Xinzu's serious face, Lao Shunmin asked, "What's the matter?" Wang Xinzu said: "It's a very important matter. I will tell you only if you agree. If you don't agree, I will find someone else." Without even thinking about it, Lao Shunmin said, "Then I promise you." Wang Xinzu reminded again: "If you promise, you are not allowed to go back on your word!" Lao Shunmin said: "If you don't regret it, you won't regret it. You are such a smart person, I can do what you can do." Wang Xin died and whispered to Lao Shunmin.After hearing this, Lao Shunmin shouted: "This is against the rules, I won't do it!" Wang Xinzu said coldly: "You have already promised me, if you don't do this, you have to do it, it's up to you!" Seeing Wang Xinzu's fierce face, Lao Shunmin said discouragedly, "Then let's go to hell with you. Now I really regret agreeing to you." Wang Xinzu sneered and said, "If you don't go to hell, who else will go to hell!" Looking back, May 15th in the 17th year of the Republic of China was an unforgettable day for Tan Xiaoku.He who is most afraid of the dead on weekdays has been in "intimate" contact with the dead for two hours. The old man Xiao Xuanting had been physically weak and sick for many years, and died of heat stroke due to the persistent high temperature in the past few days.One can imagine how disgusting and terrifying it is to serve such a dead person with vomiting and diarrhea before death. After the principal left, he and Zhu Zixiang were the only two left in the bedroom. Zhu Zixiang lifted the shroud, and an ugly old corpse appeared under the light, followed by an unpleasant smell.Fortunately, Zhu Zixiang was very experienced, so he wiped off the dirty water on the dead man's face with a shroud, and then tore off a piece of cloth from the bed sheet to cover the dead man's eyes... Anyone who is too afraid of anything doesn't know how to be afraid, and Tan Xiaoku is also like this. When Zhu Zixiang helped the dead man up, he knew to help undress the dead man.Afterwards, the servants of the Xiao family brought a bathtub and filled it with water. Zhu Zixiang put the corpse in the basin to stabilize it, and then asked Tan Xiaoku to carefully scrub the corpse with a towel... In comparison, bathing the corpse is not too much. Difficult, the most troublesome thing is to dress the dead - the jargon is called "dressing the corpse".The corpse is soft, too soft to be manipulated at all, and it takes a lot of effort to put on a layer of clothing.According to the customs of Duliang, the clothes for the deceased must be brand new, and the number depends on the family status of the deceased, divided into three, five, seven, nine, eleven, and thirteen layers.The first deceased person Tan Xiaoku encountered happened to be from a rich family. His family prepared thirteen sets of clothes for him, all made of high-quality materials, and the price was extremely expensive. With so many clothes, one must wear them one by one according to the custom. There are family members guarding it next to it, and there is no chance to cut corners. After putting on thirteen layers of clothes, to Tan Xiaoku, it was tantamount to the completion of the work, and then he put on the carefree hat and worry-free shoes, these two items did not require much effort.Tan Xiaoku saw very clearly that when the work was about to be completed, the person in charge took a golden emblem and pinned it to the deceased's hat, and put a string of silver ornaments on the corpse's feet, muttering: "The head Wearing gold and wearing silver on the feet, it will protect the inheritance of future generations.” At this time, with the help of his servants, Zhu Zixiang carried the dead man on his back and walked to the main room, where he put the corpse into the coffin amidst the sound of drums, firecrackers and the cries of dutiful sons and daughters. Inside…… After finishing all this work, it was already very late, and the bereaved family prepared a sumptuous dinner for Zhu Zixiang and Tan Xiaoku.On the table are all big fish and meat that Tan Xiaoku rarely sees, but now he has no appetite. After midnight, Zhu Zixiang led Tan Xiaoku back to Dalang Lane. Although he fell asleep right away, in the whole dream, he hugged the dead Xiao Xuanting tightly, inseparable... When he woke up, it was already daylight, and Zhu Zixiang led Tan Xiaoku to eat a bowl of noodles outside, and then went to the foot of the city wall to wait for business.After a while, a middle-aged man came, and Zhu Zixiang greeted him proactively. The middle-aged man seemed unhappy. After the middle-aged man left, Tan Xiaoku asked, "Master, who is he and why is he unhappy?" Zhu Zixiang said: "His name is Lao Shunmin, my former apprentice." "I thought I was a friend of the master." Tan Xiao said so bitterly, but in his heart he murmured: such a simple job is no good for a master or an apprentice. As long as there is strength, a fool can do it. Zhu Zixiang glanced at Tan Xiaoku, seemed to understand his thoughts, and said, "Don't think that doing this job is easy, there are many mysteries in it, I will let you understand it slowly, and I will take you to open it in a few days." Open your eyes." After all, Tan Xiaoku is a fledgling, and he doesn't know how to hide it. He said disdainfully: "Isn't it just killing people, as long as you have the guts." Zhu Zixiang said: "I knew you would think so. You are still a layman, so of course you don't understand. Just now, Lao Shunmin, he respected me in order to worship me as his teacher. Just wait and see, you will gradually understand." .” Tan Xiaoku said: "I don't think he is very polite to you." "Do you know why? He is afraid that I will treat you well in the future and pass on my unique skills to you. He is jealous of you." Zhu Zixiang said. Tan Xiaoku heard Zhu Zixiang talk about this business in such a mysterious way, and also said that he would take him to "open his eyes" in a few days, his heart was full of anticipation and fear. According to the customs of Duliang, after the death of the old man, the shortest time is three days at home, and the longest time is as many as forty-nine days before the funeral. This is done in order to choose an "auspicious day" that does not coincide with the birthday of the filial son. The auspicious day chosen by He Banxian in Duliang City for Xiao Xuanting was the seventh day, because his eldest son Xiao Ziru was an official in Yunnan and would not be able to return until half a month later, so it was changed to twenty-one days. On the day of Xiao Xuanting's funeral, Liangcheng was empty for thousands of people—it wasn't because of the high morals of the deceased, but because the funeral scene was unprecedentedly grand, and more than two hundred people were invited for the funeral drummer, which shows the excitement.The citizens of Duliang love to watch the excitement, and of course they would not miss such an opportunity.Even after a few years, this big funeral will still be passed down from generation to generation in the streets and alleys. Tan Xiaoku didn't go to watch the excitement, the master told him to stay at home, but Zhu Zixiang went by himself, and told him not to go to the city wall to wait for business today. Zhu Zixiang didn't come back until the afternoon, fell asleep when he came back, and didn't wake up until dark.After the master and apprentice had dinner, Zhu Zixiang handed a cloth bag to Tan Xiaoku: "I'll go ahead, you follow behind, don't follow too closely." Zhu Zixiang stepped out of the door after finishing speaking, Tan Xiaoku Ku locked the door behind him and followed far behind. The cloth bag was very heavy, so Tan Xiaoku touched it, and found that it was all hard, he didn't have time to see what it was, for fear of losing it - because the master was walking ahead very fast. The two were one in front and one behind, about five or six feet apart. Zhu Zixiang led Tan Xiaoku straight to the northeast. After leaving the city, Zhu Zixiang stopped at Mao'er Bridge.Tan Xiaoku was out of breath, he knew Maoerqiao well, and three or four miles away was his hometown, Tongbaoshan. "Master, are you here?" Tan Xiaoku asked from time to time, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. "It's here, it's up here." Zhu Zixiang raised his finger to the mountain bag in front of him. The mountain in front is called Maoer Mountain, which is a cemetery. Tan Xiaoku heard that Xiao Xuanting was buried on Maoer Mountain.At this moment, he finally understood what the master meant by "opening the horizons", and at the same time he also guessed that the guy in the bag was nothing more than a shovel or something. It was already late at night, and it was the solar term in early June. There was a crescent moon hanging in the sky, and the stars were really bright.The main singer in the field is still the frog, occasionally mixed with the chirping of other insects. Zhu Zixiang had already been here during the day and stepped on it. He was familiar with the road and went straight to the new grave. When he was less than five feet away from the new grave, he suddenly fell down. Tan Xiaoku behind him didn't know what happened. He also fell down after him... Tan Xiaoku didn't know what happened, he searched carefully, and found a person sitting on a tall grave... Who is this person?What is he doing sitting on the grave?Could it be that he knew that someone would come to rob the grave tonight? Zhu Zixiang, who was lying in front, persisted for half an hour, but he found that the person on the grave had no intention of leaving at all, so he had to give up temporarily. He gestured to Tan Xiaoku, and the two turned their heads and climbed out of Maoershan ... The first time Tan Xiaoku robbed the tomb, he was in vain. This kind of omen is not good or bad for him in the future. , he realized that this is a road of no return. The two master and apprentice returned home silently. The next day, Zhu Zixiang still let Tan Xiaoku stay at home, and he went out to check out spots alone. After dark, Zhu Zixiang led Tan Xiaoku out. To Tan Xiaoku's surprise, the destination tonight was still Maoershan.At a place less than five feet away from the new grave, Tan Xiaoku saw that person was still sitting on the grave last night, and he instinctively wanted to lie down. Zhu Zixiang grabbed him and said, "Don't be afraid, I'll be there during the day." Look clearly, it's a scarecrow." Tan Xiaoku followed his master to the grave and found that it was a scarecrow.He put down the cloth bag, Zhu Zixiang smoked a few cigarettes with his back against the tombstone, and poured the tools out of the cloth bag. Then it was Tan Xiaoku's turn to stare blankly at a huge tomb - there were at least 200 tans of soil in this tomb, and with the strength of two people, it was absolutely impossible to remove so much soil in one night.But in Tan Xiaoku's subconscious mind, he believed that Zhu Zixiang should have other methods. Under the new moon, Tan Xiaoku saw that the tools he brought were very simple—two shovels, a sharp axe, a steel chisel, a saw, and a gourd of tea... Tan Xiaoku asked: "How to do it? Master, I am weak." Zhu Zixiang said: "It doesn't take much effort, you help me watch the wind first, and I will call you for help after a while." Tan Xiaoku then watched the wind on the tombstone and watched how the master dug the grave. Zhu Zixiang put the shovel on the wooden handle and started digging in front of the tombstone. His movements were very skillful, obviously he was used to this way.After a while, he dug a big pit three feet square and as deep as a person.At this time, there was no place to pile up the newly excavated soil, so Tan Xiaoku had to hand him the cloth bags, fill each bag, and hand it to Tan Xiaoku on the pit to dump the soil...it took about two hours to get busy. At that moment, Tan Xiaoku heard the bang bang sound of the shovel hitting the wood.Zhu Zixiang lit a candle below, and he told Tan Xiaoku to throw the chisel, saw and sharp ax into the pit.When Tan Xiaoku went down to the pit, he discovered that the big pit was dug in the direction of the grave in the shape of a "D" when two people were deep, so that he could get close to the coffin baffle. When the tools came down, Zhu Zixiang couldn't do it alone, so Tan Xiaoku helped with the lighting. Xiao Xuanting's coffin is made of nanmu, which is very thick and hard, but it cannot be difficult for experienced tomb robbers.Holding an ax in his right hand, Zhu Zixiang cut a small opening on the top of the coffin's baffle, and then sawed back and forth vertically with a sharp saw. After a while, a slit was sawed on the left side, and then the right side was followed in the same way, and finally Hit with an ax——the baffle was opened, the coffin was opened, and a faint smell of corpses rushed over. Zhu Zixiang and Tan Xiaoku hurriedly covered their noses to avoid it... The smell was not too much, but it was still beyond Zhu Zixiang's breath. accident.Although Xiao Xuanting stayed at home for 21 days and it was a hot day, Xiao Xuanting was dehydrated when he died, and a lot of buried objects were very dry. As long as the coffin lid is sealed well, the body will not rot within three years.There was a bad smell after only one day of burial, so there was only one possibility—air had entered the coffin, and the corpse had been corroded by decaying fungus... With years of experience in tomb robbery, Zhu Zixiang had an ominous premonition. It was getting late, Zhu Zixiang didn't wait for the stench in the coffin to dissipate, he stretched his hands into the coffin and grabbed Xiao Xuanting's legs, and then yanked hard, dragging the corpse out of the coffin...Under the candlelight, Both Zhu Zixiang and Tan Xiaoku were stunned, Xiao Xuanting who was dragged out turned out to be naked!