I didn't understand, but I guessed this might be the plan concocted by Second Uncle and the fat man. The enthusiasm of the villagers for the current work was very high. In less than an hour, more than a hundred clay sculptures had been created, and it's true that the real masters are often found among the common people. These clay sculptures made by everyone varied in size and style; even many of them looked very vivid and lifelike. In particular, as Lin Sanshui had said, they had to be distinguishable as men and women, regardless of the quality.
Now it was obvious—those aunties and older women's sculptures of men were all bigger and taller than the others. It seemed that they were having a great time. The uncles were even bolder, directly making the female's chest so big that it verged on hanging down to the belly button. What a magnificent and spectacular sight it was. Lin Sanshui's face turned black when he saw it.
"I told you to make human figures, not to have a nude party! What does it look like when done this way?" Lin Sanshui scolded in anger.
"Don't worry about that. You said we needed to distinguish the gender, and besides, this is a person. What's wrong with an unusual organ? Do you, Lin Sanshui, not have one?" If there was anyone in the village who had the guts to say this, it would definitely be Aunt Fatty. She immediately retorted to Lin Sanshui.
Lin Sanshui glared at them, his face dark, not knowing what to say. At this point, the fat man said to Lin Sanshui, "Sanshui, let them have fun. Later, they won't be able to cry."
Lin Sanshui glanced at the fat man, but didn't say anything. After hearing the fat man's words, I became even more curious about what he was going to do with these clay sculptures. After we picked out ninety-nine relatively better clay sculptures, we placed them in the sun to dry. The yellow clay would dry quickly, and soon the surface was already hard.
After everything was done, Lin Sanshui exchanged some change and distributed it to everyone, and then we all scattered. Those clay sculptures lay on the threshing ground, and the fat man said only once, "The mountain man has his own way," and didn't say anything else. It all felt like a waste of a whole day, and I didn't even know what I had been busy doing.
Did they call me just to watch the villagers' masterpiece? This is not sensible.
At dinner, I said at the dinner table, "Sanshui Uncle called the villagers to make clay figures on the threshing ground...Have any of you heard anything about it? or do you know something?"
When she heard Lin Sanshui's name, Wu Miaoke paused briefly in her eating for a moment. It was only for a moment, but I clearly caught it. However, I didn't ask this question to test her reaction; I said it for the sake of Second Uncle.
"Who knows this? Perhaps it's to deal with the female ghost in the ancestral hall. Xiaofan, your Sanshui Uncle is a good person. You should treat Xiaoyao well in the future," Father said as he ate.
When he finished speaking, the faces of the three people at the table became unnatural. I wished I could slap myself. I was here sitting and blabbering about Lin Sanshui... Weary of it yet?
After dinner, I asked Second Uncle about this matter, and I felt even more silly eating and not being able to ask about it. However, Second Uncle shook his head and said to me, "This matter can't be said. You'll know tomorrow."
"Since I'll know tomorrow, why can't you tell me now?" I wondered.
"Because speaking about it will make it ineffective," Second Uncle said mysteriously.
The night passed without further discussion, and there were no more taps on the wall. After the woman and her daughter-in-law next door to me left, they seemed to have lost interest in trying to seduce me. After breakfast the next morning, Lin Sanshui called me out, and today he was driving a three-wheeled pedal cart, with Lin Er Egg sitting above.
Lin Er Egg's reputation was based on his strength. The previous Lin Er Egg was as thin as a bamboo pole and had no strength to speak of. But now, when he worked, he could pull the plow like the two oxen pulling from the head. He was at least as strong as one and a half oxen, running fast. At first, other households had said to see the miracle of Lin Er Egg's strength and said, "Er Egg, go plow my land. I'll give you a full meal at noon." Lin Er Egg slapped his belly and started. At first, others had only heard that Lin Er Egg could eat, but no matter how much one person could eat, how much could he eat? But Lin Er Egg would eat so much at once that the first person to invite him to eat was left flabbergasted. Later, even those who were a little incredulous would bet with Lin Er Egg, saying that if they could eat so many steamed buns, they would give him twenty yuan. Even the village headman would eat the buns, and Lin Er Egg would eat as much as possible until he won. The news of his strength spread like wildfire.
People used to say that Lin Er Egg was powerful during the day, but at night he was more powerful with his daughter-in-law. Since Lin Er Egg had awakened the soul, Bai Zhenzhu hadn't gotten out of bed. Every night she would cry out like a ghost or wail like a pig being sliced, which made the old wives next door hate their own men for being so useless. You say you're strong. Compare with Lin Er Egg. If you're going to make me unable to get out of bed, I'm very happy.
Seeing me, Lin Er Egg waved from the farm cart. "Xiaofan, get on. Sanshui said he'll treat me to something tasty today," Lin Er Egg said.
"Xiaofan, get on, and go to town to buy some supplies," Lin Sanshui called to me.
"What supplies? Is it necessary to drive a three-wheeled cart for it?" I wondered.
"Uncle Liu said to buy some incense and candles. He's going to use them today," Lin Sanshui said.
Upon hearing that it was the fat man's instructions, I didn't ask anything else and got on the tractor. The bumpy road made my internal organs shift, and Lin Sanshui's driving skills were incredibly poor. We nearly veered into the ditch several times, causing me to break out in a cold sweat.
There were several shops in town that sold incense and religious articles. They usually also sold wreaths and shrouds. After arriving in town, Lin Sanshui directly handed me over two thousand yuan, saying, "Go ahead. Purchase the incense and religious articles; get as many as we need, if it's not enough, I'll pay when I return. No problem. I have some other things to attend to."
Seeing Lin Sanshui's disappearing figure, I felt a strange feeling in my heart. What could he have to do when he left now? Besides going to see the woman who was pregnant with his child, who else could it be?
But these were things I couldn't manage. Thinking too much made me feel anxious, so I just carried Lin Er Egg with me and went to several stores to buy these items. They were very inexpensive. We only spent a little over a thousand yuan for everything. When asked what they were for, I couldn't say, so I just said that there hadn't been rain in Linjiazhuang for many days, and we were preparing for a rainmaking ceremony. We were making arrangements for a religious ceremony, and that placated them.
With so many items purchased, Lin Er Egg carried the large pile by himself. Even though the items were light, they weighed a few hundred pounds altogether. Lin Er Egg carried it like a toy, attracting curious glances from passersby. Later, some even asked Lin Er Egg if he wanted to do some work. With your strength, you can easily find money by working.
Lin Er Dali grinned and said, "We have something to attend to in our village. Once we're done, I'll come find the boss."
The person who asked Dali wasn't joking around, and directly left a business card, saying, "Alright, when you come, just call this number. As for the pay, it's not a problem."
Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but envy Lin Er Dali. Dali was still in the town, but if he were in a big city, even without education, he could still have a bright future. Not to mention, with his strength, he could work as a bodyguard for the big bosses, earning thirty to fifty thousand a month, which wouldn't be a small amount at all. To put it bluntly, with Dali's skill at making White Pearl unable to get up, finding a job as a gigolo in a big hotel and making those lonely and empty rich women flock to him wouldn't be a problem. For Dali, money was just a number. The problem now was his vision; he was even worried about having too much to eat!
Thinking about this, I couldn't help but feel envious and resentful. He was really lucky, even though I had gone to college, I was now stuck in a dead-end, after studying for more than ten years, I was not as successful as Lin Er Dali who had been in a coma for a week.
Putting the incense and such in the car, we waited for Lin Sanshui in the car. When he came back from his visit to Xiaosan, Lin Sanshui had a spring in his step. Seeing him like that made me feel sorry for Wu Miaoke, I almost wanted to rush home and praise Wu Miaoke with her radiant fair skin a hundred times. When Lin Sanshui saw that we had bought everything, he directly took Dali out to eat. And not just anywhere, they went to the same place as the female police officer had taken Dali last time, the Dog Wonton Bun Shop.
When the boss and his wife saw Dali, they were so happy that their eyes almost turned into slits. They immediately called the two assistants who were on their lunch break to start working, because they knew that the two of them couldn't keep up with this kid's eating speed. Sure enough, by the time Dali was done eating, it had been two hours later. By that time, all five of them were exhausted. When Lin Sanshui went to pay the bill, the boss refused to take the money no matter what, finally agreeing to accept two hundred yuan. This was a big deal, because the boss said that since the last time Dali came, the business in the store had increased hundreds of times. In this small town, it was as if Emperor Xi had visited the Grand Prosperity Bun Shop himself, and the boss even said that from now on, if Dali wanted to eat buns, he could come anytime, and if he had money, he'd give him a discounted price, and even if he didn't have money, he'd give them free.
After eating our fill and returning home, Pangzi was waiting for us at the village entrance. When he saw Lin Sanshui, he exclaimed, "This matter took so long, we missed the auspicious time and it was all for naught!"
Pangzi didn't seem like he was joking. He rarely got angry, but just one sentence was enough to make Lin Sanshui turn pale, so he quickly urged the horse forward and hurried to the threshing ground. When Lin Sanshui got off the cart, he handed me a package, black in color, and with a wry smile, he said to me, "I passed by a clothing store. I bought clothes for your aunt and Xiaoyao, take them to the two of them."
After Lin Sanshui finished speaking, he directly handed me the package and started unloading the incense we had bought onto the ground with Dali. Holding a compass, Pangzi kept calculating and ordering us, "Go, insert three sticks of incense in front of every clay figure, and place a stack of incense and joss paper."
Looking at those clay figures and the incense in my hands, I wondered what this meant. Was it to make these stone figures into deities, to request divine help to deal with the female ghost?
I couldn't understand, but I went ahead and did as instructed. After lighting the incense and joss paper, the entire threshing ground seemed like a gigantic ritual site. Surrounded by smoke, I couldn't help but admit that the clay figurines seemed to have been endowed with spirituality and looked very dignified.
After completing all this, Pangzi called us to leave. I was completely confused, completely shrouded in mystery. What kind of tricks did he have up his sleeve?
Upon returning home, I found my second uncle and asked him what this was all about. How come I still didn't understand what was happening today, even after everything?
My second uncle wore a stern expression and said, "When will you change your nature? Tomorrow night, Pangzi will perform a ritual to deal with the female ghost, and these were preparatory measures."
"But why won't it work if we talk about it?" I asked in confusion. Could there be a secret that couldn't be revealed?
My second uncle pointed to my father's room and said, "Because if we talk about it, it won't work anymore."
His words and actions made my heart sink. What did my second uncle mean by this? Did he mean that the reason it couldn't be discussed was because my father was the female ghost? Or was he suggesting that there might be a spy working for the female ghost?
After he said this, I felt too embarrassed to ask any further. Anyway, I would have to wait until tomorrow to find out the truth about everything.
My father would surely get better, right?
But the next morning, the lady police officer came early. We hadn't even spoken a few words when a neighbor's child told me, "Big Fan, the village chief wants to see you at his house right now."
So the lady police officer and I went to Lin Sanshui's house. Upon arrival, we found Lin Sanshui and Pangzi busy in the courtyard, while my second uncle, who should have been out in the fields, was also there.
Pangzi and Lin Sanshui were making yellow paper, similar to the yellow talismans used in movies to suppress ghosts. My second uncle was gently grinding Vermilion Cinnabar on an inkstone.
"Xiaofan, your timing is perfect. You come and read out the names, and I'll write them down. Remember, find the names of our ancestors in the family genealogy, they must be buried in the ancestral cemetery. Those who died away from home won't do. Find fifty male ancestors and forty-nine female ancestors." Lin Sanshui directed me.
I didn't know what we were doing, but I picked up the family genealogy and started reading a name.
My second uncle used the Vermilion Cinnabar brush to write down the name on the yellow paper.
Looking at the names on the yellow paper, I suddenly felt an eerie sensation.