Chapter 92 Stone Tablet Shop

Old Liu said Professor Sun they just went half a day, Shiqiao store in Gutian County is not far away, but that place is very back, have not been to the people are not necessarily able to find, I’m looking for an individual to take you to it, and then shouted over to the street about the size of a ten year old naive child, that is his grandson, usually with his parents in Henan, every year the school puts on, the summer vacation to Gutian County to play, the stone tablet store is very close to the county, the kid is often to go over there to play.

Old man Liu greeted the kid: “Er Xiao, don’t play, take your uncle and your aunt to go to Shibidian, they want to find that archaeology team’s professor Sun”.

The second small head picked a melon head, may have just finished fighting with other children, body all dirt, dragging a line are fast flowing through the river of green snot, see old man Liu asked him to show us the way, led me and Shirley Yang two people to the stone monument store.

The road to the stone store is really very difficult to travel, all rugged goat path, two small told us that not far away, is the road is not easy to walk, walk through the front of the tallest hill on the way to the.

Shirley Yang see this child body is too dirty, can not see past, then took out a handkerchief to him wiped his nose, and pleasantly asked him: “You call two small? What’s your last name?”

The second child wiped his nose and replied, “My name is Er Xiao, my surname is Wang, Wang Er Xiao.”

I heard this child’s name is interesting, so I joked with him, “You’re called Wang Erxiao? Your kid will not take us as ghosts, introduced into the ambush circle, right?”

Wang Erxiao said to me, “Uncle, what is an ambush circle? Right, who is that woman? Why is she so pretty?”

I peeked out and saw Shirley Yang walking behind me, so I quietly told Er Xiao, “What’s good-looking about it? Why don’t you learn at a young age, you little brat? She’s my wife, she’s got a bad temper, she won’t let anyone but me look at her, you’d better not mess with her.”

Shirley Yang walked behind, although I spoke in a small voice, she still heard the second half of my sentence downwind and asked, “Old Hu who did you just say don’t mess with?”

I hurriedly patted Wang Er Xiao’s head, said to Shirley Yang: “I just said this brat, very naughty, so ding a little small to know that the flower girl good-looking work, now this group of children ah, don’t mention it, not a few of them at first with me when I was a child, like, from childhood, so chesty, belly with a good plan …… ”

My words did not fall, suddenly from the hillside behind the turn out of a head tied white goat belly handkerchief of the rural strong man, waist tied a belt, hand carrying a stick, to us drank: “Stop, even flower girl work? Are you Japanese?”

I was startled by him, although this is the ravine, but this broad daylight, there is not cut the path of the strong man not? Hurriedly put two small and Shirley Yang blocked behind, said to the man: “old folks, don’t misunderstand, are our own people, we are not the Japanese army, we are the Eighth Route Army armed forces.”

White towel on the head of the old township on the three of us looked up and down a bit: “What the Eighth Route Army, I see you do not look like a good person.” Then said on the stick to drive us, said here by the militia martial law, not allowed to enter.

I thought this is no disaster no war which strict, and then I have not heard of the militia with a wooden stick martial law so that this grandson crazy is how, so roll up your sleeves, intend to snatch the stick off his hands, so as not to hurt this reckless farmer.

I was about to go over to put on the right, but I could not imagine that this self-proclaimed Shibidian militia platoon platoon leader of the townspeople, but actually recognize the three of us in the second small, it turned out that the second small always play with his son, so that both sides no longer do hands, both stood still speech.

That militia platoon leader clumsy mouth, accent and heavy, and we said half a day, I probably understand what is going on.

It turns out that the name of the monument store, from the neighborhood of an unknown monument, the monument is very tall, the top of the sky, I do not know which dynasty and which generation left, the wind and rain, the monument on the handwriting has long been blurred.

Mention of the monument store, the most famous is not the broken monument, but the village of an old coffin store, nearby ten miles eight villages, including Gutian County, are only this coffin store, because the rest of the business of selling coffins are not as good as he, legend has it that this old coffin store, the earliest time, the boss is a carpenter to do a good job, and just began to operate a wooden work imitation.

Once the master carpenter to a family hit a coffin, this coffin just finished not yet on the paint, according to the rules still have to give people walk eighteen large paint, then this half-finished coffin, in his carpenter store.

At night, the master carpenter sat in the middle of the hall, drank a few cups of old wine, the thought of business is not good, more than half a month to take this one job, the heart can not help but have a little stifled, and then patted the coffin long pause and sigh, alcohol seizure, unknowingly fell asleep on the coffin.

That night the master carpenter had a dream, dreaming that the coffin has a mass of ice, frozen it all over the body shivering, such as falling into the ice cellar, suddenly a sharp knock on the door woke him up, open the door, it turned out to be the same village has a family, the night someone passed away, rushed to him here to make a customized coffin.

Rarely a job is not finished immediately came to a new job, carpenter master heart happy, but not good to show, after all, is to give people to organize the funeral of life, on the surface also have to show a little bit of sorrow, in order to the village neighbor’s death, expressed deep sympathy, carpenter master and shot the hand of the half-finished coffins, and then received a deposit, began to work.

The sun has just risen to the top of the head, the master carpenter is rushing to build life, suddenly someone to set the coffin, this can be really strange, the village is only a year to die about ten people, this a moment of effort in a row died two people.

The more the carpenter thought the more wrong, recalled his night dream, is it that those people died because they shot the coffin with their hands? So he tried to shoot the half-finished coffin, less than dark, and really someone died.

Carpenter and shocked and happy, shocked is do not know what is going on, why the hand shot a coffin, near the death of someone, happy this time not worry about no business to do, the carpenter, this is a poor master afraid of the Lord, which still care about the death of other people at this time, is not because of those who do not have anything to do with each other, and let go the road of wealth do not go? Of course not, the carpenter saw too much work to do over, went to another coffin store overnight to buy a few ready-made life back.

Since then the master carpenter this store completely into a coffin store, and he also found a secret, shoot the coffin, the harder to shoot, the dead place is farther away from this, the dead money is very good, the more he makes more money, the more the heart is also the more black, all the coffins near the store are swallowed up, as long as the shoot two of that half-finished coffins are waiting to count the money.

But do not dare to shoot up no end, who knows what is going on here, the secret has never been leaked by him, but there is no impermeable wall, these things are still known by the guys, but this kind of catching things, it is difficult to say, there is no evidence, so there is no way to take him to see the official, just everyone saw him with the plague like, to avoid a far away.

To the old even a daughter-in-law did not marry, not long ago this once small carpenter, now the coffin store old boss, died in his own home, people found his body when, has rotted to the stench of the sky, the neighborhood only his coffin store, store in the life of the coffin are sold out, only in the hall of the half-finished coffins placed in the village people think of those rumors, are also worried, but the village committee can not care, can not be left in charge of the old coffin store, the village committee can not be left in charge of the old coffin shop, can not be left in charge of the old coffin shop. Can’t let the coffin store old shopkeeper rotten to home, this weather is hot, ten thousand together with the corpse plague can not be, although the implementation of the cremation, but early rural burial concept is still deeply rooted, so the village chief looked for a few bold militiamen, with a woven bag pocketed the body ready to be put into the coffin in the burial.

I did not expect to just move the coffin, I found the coffin under the ground cracked a thin seam, which is very deep, hand resting on the edge, feel the cool wind whooshing out, under what seems to be a big hole, there are those who are curious about the ground masonry pry open, and found that under the ground is really a cave, and the inside is cold and aggressive.

Militia platoon leader volunteered to go down to find out, let people use baskets to hang him down, did not go down for a long time, desperately shaking the rope to let people pull him up, this trip scared almost peeing his pants, said the following are grown up brick pavement, there is a stone bed underneath, on the top of a stone box box, which is not big stone box, and flat and flat, on the top of the carving of a lot of strange words, militia platoon leader by hand to bring up this stone box.

Guys open the stone box to see, inside is red like blood six unknown jade beasts, according to the militia platoon leader said, the cave seems to have a layer underneath, but it is too dark and eerie, do not dare to go in to see it again.

Due to the presence of village cadres, the villagers showed a high level of awareness, and immediately notified the archaeological team of Gutian County, Prof. Sun heard of the discovery, knowing that the sub-discovery may be very significant, and did not dare to delay for a moment, and immediately led the people rushed over.

In this kind of countryside place, there is not much happening all year round, so the news spreads very fast, even the people in the county rushed to see the fun, in order to maintain order, Prof. Sun let the village militia to stop the idle people outside the village, don’t allow them to go in to watch, because the scope and scale of the cave, as well as the background is not yet clear, once it is destroyed, the loss is difficult to make up for it.

So the militia platoon leader took the chicken feather as an arrow, and led people to set up cards at each entrance, declaring that this village entered a state of military martial law, which stopped Shirley Yang and I for questioning.

I listened to the words of the militia platoon leader, I know that to deal with their kind of snobbish small farmers, can not be hard, have to say some good words, give him some benefits, can go in to look for Professor Sun, so to the militia platoon leader, said: “Comrade Company Commander, we are all Professor Sun’s acquaintances, looking for him really have urgent matters, you give a convenience.” Said stuffed to the militia platoon leader five dollars.

Militia platoon leader took the money, before he had time to see the denomination clearly, suddenly the village came to greet him, saying that the old cadre who brought the archaeological team here, died.