Grandpa's funeral

The first funeral I attended completely was my own grandfather's funeral.

Grandpa 202 1, 65438,1passed away on October 2. When I received the news, I just woke up from a hangover last night and was having dinner with my friends. Because it's after three o'clock in the afternoon, I don't know whether it's lunch or dinner. Put down the phone, in fact, I am not particularly sad, but my friends' eyes suddenly softened a lot.

Then Loy and Tao Zi took me to the station. Tao Zi was silent all the way, and Loy held my hand tightly. Roy is my girlfriend. We live in Shanghai. She has just come to Wuhan for the first time because she wants to spend the New Year with her friends. Tell Tao Zi to take care of Loy for me when I leave.

I got on the bullet train home, and the seat was in the first row of the carriage, so I couldn't stretch my legs. I had to sit in my seat and look out of the window, not knowing whether it was the light or the starlight, and I was confused. In fact, I often want to go home this year, but I didn't expect to go home for this reason.

Since I took the bullet train, the speed of returning from Wuhan to Yichang is very fast. I remember when my grandmother died, it took my parents a whole day to return to their hometown from Wuhan.

My uncle's son waited for me outside the station early, and I said hello to him, brother Navy! I got on the bus. After getting on the bus, he turned to introduce me to the girl on the co-pilot. You call her sister-in-law. We are getting married this year. The girl turned to say hello to me, and we didn't talk all the way.

My impression of the navy brother is still the same as when I was in junior high school-very thin and naughty, but I didn't expect him to become a policeman when he grew up.

The navy brothers attach great importance to our family relationship. I remember two or three years ago, when the Menstrual family who had been married far away came back from Jiangsu for the New Year, they were very happy. In those days, he always fell asleep drunk. Although he played cards badly and kept losing money, he continued to play so as not to spoil the atmosphere. On the way home, he asked me about my current work and life. He always asked me a question and I answered one, which made me very uncomfortable. I feel that this kind of chat is a little different.

It's a long way home from Yichang. Blink of an eye, it's past eleven o'clock. The car is driving on the winding provincial road, and the bright lights are faint in the dark. He suddenly asked me if I needed to pee, and I nodded like an amnesty.

We stopped the car and walked to the side of the road. When he unbuttoned his pants, he had to pee. I quickly said, come on, how uncivilized. Then walk along the path next to the provincial road to the Woods to pee. After urinating, I feel that I have eliminated the fatigue of sitting in the car for several hours. When I walked out of the Woods, I found him urinating on my road like a prank. "Shit, you're disgusting." I blurted it out. He smiled twice, which made me feel a little familiar. He often played practical jokes when he was a child.

It was past twelve when I got back to grandpa's house. According to the custom of my hometown, a shed has been set up in the open space outside my grandfather's house. It's bright from a distance, and you can see at a glance that there is going to be a wedding or funeral here. Grandpa's coffin was put in the hut. There are two tables under the coffin, one high and the other low. There are some books under the low desk. I recognized that small table as the table where Grandpa's family ate.

My mother knelt in front of the coffin to burn paper money, and my father fell asleep in the plush chair. Besides my little aunt, there are two or three relatives I don't know very well. They spread out the paper money and folded it up so that people who come to mourn tomorrow can burn it, and at the same time burn the paper money to keep warm.

Mom smiled when she saw me coming back, and then said, I came back soon. I nodded, then knelt in front of grandpa's coffin and burned paper money. At this time, I didn't take off my headphones, listened to hip-hop music and burned paper money for my grandfather. This moment made me feel amazing.

After burning for a while, I chatted with my mother. Although her voice is hoarse, she seems to have recovered from her sadness. It snowed heavily in Wuhan more than ten years ago, and the school informed me that I didn't have to go to school. I sit at home and watch TV because I am happy, because I don't have to go to school. My mother suddenly went home. She didn't speak. She hugged me and cried. Later, I learned that my grandmother had passed away. Today, when I learned the news of my grandfather's death, this scene kept repeating in my mind. I think my mother must be very sad.

My mother said that when I came back to see my grandfather this morning, I was fine, but my grandfather said that my head hurt a little, so my mother went to buy medicine. When I came back, my grandfather had passed away. I listened to my mother telling the story slowly, nodding from time to time, and I didn't know how to comfort her.

Then she asked me how my job was now. In fact, I have been living in Shanghai by borrowing money for half a year after my internship, which is very depraved. I have been lying to my parents that although I don't earn much, I have been working, so I will continue my lies at the moment. I don't know if it's because I'm good at lying or because my mother trusts me completely. She has no doubt about what I said. After asking about the work, she asked Loy again. Because she had never seen Loy, she was full of curiosity about Loy and questioned her like a household registration. After my vague answer, she was silent for a while, and the wind blew. She suddenly said, actually, I still think that girlfriend you talked about in college is quite good. I paused, put the paper money into the fire and asked, why? Mom replied: because she is also in our family.

I didn't expect my mother to talk to me about this. I thought tonight would be heavier and sadder.

I wanted to spend the night with my parents, but I was rushed to my uncle's house not far away to sleep. At that time, I thought I could definitely stay up more than my parents, but in the end I didn't talk to them.

When I returned to my uncle's house, my navy brother and sister-in-law were still awake. We didn't talk much. They brought me snacks and fruits, and they were very enthusiastic. This enthusiasm is as if I were a guest.

I didn't sleep well that night. At dawn, I woke up and found my feet were still cold.

The next day, more and more people rushed home, and Zi Xuan and Mustard, two children of Uncle's family, also came back. They are the pride of our region, because they are the two most promising children in the village. Grandpa's funeral was also arranged by his family.

When we went to my grandfather's house again, there were already many people. I was at a loss to avoid the crowd and secretly smoked in the path behind my grandfather's house, but I saw Mustard's girlfriend Emu sobbing here. She was the first person I saw crying at my grandfather's funeral. I didn't say anything. I took her bag and gave her a tissue. Then I walked away, and after about a quarter of an hour, she came to see me.

"You are the first person I have ever seen crying." I said.

"When I came back to see Grandpa a few months ago, I was still thinking that Grandpa was fine," she pointed to the clearing under the shed. "Mustard and I followed him here to weed. When he was resting, he said that he didn't want to die and wanted to live for a few more years. "

I followed the description of the emu to imagine the picture. At that time, my grandfather must have been hunched-bent badly, and he has been hunched since I can remember, and he bent a little more every year, which made me feel that his waist could not stand up at all. He gently waved the hoe and hoe twice with his rough big hands with long curved nails, and watched the roots of weeds being wrapped in mud and turned out.

At the moment, the old man who hoes the ground sleeps in the coffin on the ground.

The ground where the old man hoes the ground is crowded with people coming and going. The undertaker walked in front of me and the emu with tea and shouted sorry. As we made way, we put aside our sad feelings.

The funeral officially began in the evening and mourners came and went. Even my grandfather's eldest son, my great uncle, showed up just after the operation and rushed back to the hospital. Some people came, hurriedly presented flower baskets, burned some paper money and left. I watched grandpa's coffin gradually surrounded by flowers, and he seemed to smile more happily in that photo. This photo was taken by mustard seed, which was more than ten years ago. Although the grandfather in the photo is seventy years old, his mental state looks good. People attending the funeral said that this photo was good, and mustard seed looked quite satisfied. He said, I remember that my grandfather was diagnosed with illness at that time, and I was afraid that I would not live long, so I took this photo, and my grandmother took it with me. Unexpectedly, grandma left first, leaving grandpa to live alone for so many years.

Old people's funerals are more like children's parties. In the evening, the band played funeral music. We wore Dai Xiao and walked around grandpa's coffin according to the funeral custom. I followed at the end of the line, walking numbly and wandering. I met an uncle I haven't seen for years. He shaved his head and wore a leather jacket and overalls. After kowtowing to grandpa, he carefully put the mobile phone reading classics behind grandpa's photo and didn't see it until evening. After walking for more than an hour, I was changed to have a rest. I saw my taciturn little uncle walking in front with a coffin in his hand. He hasn't slept for two days and looks very tired. Occasionally he would stop and walk and look at the coffin surrounded by flowers. I wonder what he will think. After a short rest, I tried to replace my uncle, but he refused. I realized that it was really his father lying in the coffin. My heart was suddenly shocked by a strange emotion, and I finally understood why my little uncle, who was silent and could only mumble a few words after drinking, was so tired, but still so determined to say goodbye to grandpa.

According to the arrangement of the funeral, the ceremony ended at twelve o'clock. Grandpa will be buried at four o'clock this morning and sleep next to grandma. At midnight snack, I had a few drinks with my elders. In winter, because of alcohol, it is no longer so cold. They joked with me that I thought your hair was that long and I was a girl! Although excited, Zi Xuan is still the center of the elders' midnight conversation. Everyone asked him how he was doing in Shanghai, whether he bought a car or a house. Zi Xuan replied warmly and politely. His answer was very low-key, but it still attracted everyone's admiration. Until the end of the midnight snack, mustard seed and I sat far away from the crowd and talked. Nobody seems to pay attention to grandpa except my mother who occasionally burns paper money for him.

It's almost four o'clock, and my mother came to ask me if I dare to go to the cemetery alone. Before I knew what was going on, the mustard seed next to me offered to come with me.

The moon in the mountains is particularly bright, so I don't need lighting tools to walk at night. I asked mustard why she wanted to see the cemetery. He said there should be a fire in front of the tomb, which could not be put out overnight. When we walked to the cemetery a mile away, I saw my father. After changing shifts with dad, mustard seed added some dead branches to the fire and said, "I remember when grandma died, my mom and your dad had a quarrel about who was going to keep the tomb."

"Why?"

"Because everyone wants to see the last side." He smiled.

Only then did I know that there would be a farewell ceremony when people were buried, and suddenly I felt it was a pity to leave the cemetery here. Because I can't remember the last time I saw my grandfather, I only remember one visit with my parents. I went home alone and called my grandfather several times, but he didn't agree. Instead, he asked me, "Why are you here alone?" What about Xiao Ju? "I remember that Xiao Ju was my mother's nickname, and I realized that my grandfather took me as my father.

Soon we heard the sound of beating gongs and drums. It seems to have started. After grandpa was buried, it was dawn every day. A large group of us stood in front of grandpa's grave, and it was already dark. I found my mother and held her. She hasn't slept for two days and nights.

Grandpa has been buried, but the funeral is not over yet. We went back to the cabin and had a simple breakfast. The overnight guests were sent away. Zi Xuan made some phone calls and arranged it properly, but my aunt didn't seem to agree with his way of doing things. The two men had a little argument. I probably didn't see the scene of their quarrel with my own eyes, but I always feel that this scene appears from time to time.

Mustard seems to say with emotion that Zi Xuan seems to be a different person after marriage. He always thinks that money can solve everything. Compared with Zi Xuan and the navy, I always feel that I can get along better with mustard. Then one time we played together, I suddenly realized that maybe mustard was not married. Of course, he lived with the emu for several years.

I couldn't go back to my hometown last year because of the epidemic. I spend the New Year with mustard seed and emu. At the New Year's Eve dinner, mustard seed told me many stories about our big family. Those trivial stories between adults, but they can't take a step back, sound so inexplicable, distant and chaotic. Finally, he said, our big family is likely to break up after grandpa died, because there is no backbone. He said he didn't want to go back. He wanted to live outside.

Sheds in the open space should be put away, temporary kitchens should be demolished, and the garbage generated by the funeral should be cleaned up. My mother asked me to bring reinforcements because I was short of hands, but when I arrived at my uncle's house all night, I didn't find everyone sleeping, so I went back alone. I heard the voice of an emu in less than half, and she told me to wait. I stood waiting for her, and she said she would help.

"They should be woken up." Looking at the emu, I have some regrets.

"In fact, mustard didn't fall asleep. I just saw him lying playing with his mobile phone. I called him and he pretended not to hear me. " Emu shrugged his shoulders.

Finally, it was basically me, the emu and Zi Xuan who cleaned the venue. I saw my grandfather's house, which was in a mess because of the funeral, change back to what I remembered. My mother sorted out my grandfather's old clothes from the house and put them in two big bags, saying that I would take them to the grave later, and the afterglow of the sun spilled down. My white sneakers are covered with mud. When I looked up, I saw a row of big red letters on the wall of Grandpa's shabby old house, because it was too old.

It seems that just yesterday, I was running under the eaves, and my grandfather was sitting in the house smoking a pipe and pattering along.

After cleaning up, my father was sitting impatiently in the car, and we said goodbye to my little aunt. As for my little uncle, he didn't listen to our advice and went to help others kill pigs. When my grandfather was young, he was the best pig killer in Fiona Fang. Now my little uncle, as one of the few men in this village who is not fully elderly, will come to help every winter, which makes me feel that there are quite a few people who follow in his father's footsteps, but my grandfather is the butcher.

We didn't talk in the car, and we didn't know whether it was because we were tired or lonely. We all know that even if my mother comes back late, the frequency will only decrease. Finally, because no one was weeding, the open space outside my grandfather's house was covered with weeds.

The car drove out of the mountain, because I was so sleepy that I fell asleep. I could see the starlight in the county town in the dim light, which was a bit like the scenery outside the window I saw on the bullet train two days ago.

After going home for a short rest, my parents woke me up and said that Zi Xuan had booked a hotel and we would have dinner together. I know in my heart that it may be difficult for this big family to get together again. So I got on the bus with drowsiness. Dad didn't rush to start after getting on the bus. After rummaging in the car for a while, he handed me a pack of cigarettes and said, "Thank you."