Chapter 49 – Dry Zombie

I made a wink to the big gold teeth and fat man, then took Li Chunlai to the neighboring street of a dumpling restaurant, this mutton dumpling restaurant in the neighborhood is famous, the owner of the couple are loyal and honest businessman, wrapped dumplings filled with large, distinctive flavor, not only affordable, the environment is also very neat and clean.

At this time nearly noon, soon to the mouth of the meal, eating more and more people, I often come here to eat, and the owner of the two families are very familiar with, say hello, dumpling restaurant owner’s wife took us into the kitchen behind the warehouse, gave us a table, set up chairs and chopsticks, and went outside to work on the business.

This place is my special single room to talk business, there is nothing else in the storehouse except bags of flour, every time I eat, I don’t let the shopkeeper make change, it’s kind of a single room fee.

I said to Li Chunlai: “Chunlai old brother, you see this place is quiet enough, it should show me the small flower shoes, right?”

Li Chunlai early by the smell of dumplings drifting in the outside of the soul hooked away, to my words turned a deaf ear, can not wait to eat.

I see this situation can not help, only bitter smile, I pushed his arm and said: “Do not be anxious, a moment to cook the boss’s wife will give us to bring in, your shoe if you can sell a good price, every day to eat the whole meatballs of lamb dumplings will not be a problem.”

Li Chunlai was pushed by me to come back to consciousness, listening to my words, shaking his head: “No, no, when the exchange of money, but also to marry a mother-in-law to have a baby.”

I laughed: “You haven’t married a daughter-in-law yet? I also did not marry, marrying a daughter-in-law what is the hurry ah, when you have the money can marry a Miri aunt-in-law, your side did not say that the Miri aunt Suide Han, you tell me this Miri aunt-in-law good in which it?”

Li Chunlai to me has not been as previously so constrained, heard me ask, then replied: “Hey, that Mibi’s aunt-in-law, like that red frame full of window flower flowers, if you can marry a Mibi’s aunt-in-law, even all proper.”

Between the words, the boss’s wife on the steaming dumplings served up, and brought in two bottles of beer, Li Chunlai can not talk again, the dumplings one after another, the price of water sent into the mouth.

I look at his style, the two pounds of dumplings do not see enough, and quickly let the boss’s wife to cook two pounds, and then to Li Chunlai in front of the small dish poured some vinegar, said to him: “Chunlai brother, this neighborhood does not have the sour soup dumplings that you people like to eat, you can make do to eat some of this, there is vinegar, and then drink some beer.”

Li Chunlai stuffed several dumplings in his mouth, just focusing on eating and drinking, no longer talking, I waited for him to eat more or less, and only then talked to him about the embroidered shoes.

Li Chunlai at this time to me has been very trusting, from the broken purse took out the embroidered shoes for me to see.

This period of time, I have not less contact with antique artifacts, has been regarded as half a connoisseur, I took the embroidered shoes in the hands to watch, the front of this shoe is less than a grip, the front end of the tip of the bamboo shoots like the tip of the green satin, green satin bottom, the upper side of the blue, gold, and red silk embroidered peony flowers, sandalwood soles, there is a sandwich in the middle of the middle, the inside can be loaded with spices.

From the appearance and embroidery pattern is the Ming Dynasty things, Shaanxi women wrapped small feet are not many, if there is also most likely to be a large family, so the craftsmanship of this shoe is quite elaborate.

If the big gold teeth here, he smelled with his nose, you can know the origin of this shoe, but I do not have so clever means to eat not quite accurate, look at the color and workmanship is not like an imitation of this three-inch Golden Lotus embroidered shoes with fragrant soles, is a popular goods, very collectible.

I asked Li Chunlai where these shoes come from, Li Chunlai is not hidden, said once:

Their place, ten years nine drought, and this year caught a big drought, a rain star in the sky is not, the villagers forced no trick on the thought of stealing a little crooked road.

“Playing dry bone pile” folk also known as playing drought demon, before the liberation of the central plains area, many people use, Henan, Shandong, Shaanxi provinces in remote areas, have this custom.

Li Chunlai their village in order to seek rain, what tricks are used all over the village, there is a blind man who can tell the fortune, the blind man said that this is the drought demon, you must hit the drought demon before it will rain.

The group asked him where the drought demon, the blind man counted half a day, but also did not count out, this time a goat herding children said he was herding goats, in the east end of the village has long been deserted in the cemetery, saw a full body of green children, ran into a coffin without a master, the coffin also do not know which family, no one in the village has long been to the cemetery to bury the people, and this broken coffin, for some reason, so far, has not yet entered the ground.

Will fortune-telling blind man heard, it bites the drought demon is hiding in this coffin, the villagers a discussion, they are ready to open the coffin to see whether there is no drought demon.

The village chief heard disagreed, said the blind man is nonsense, the blind man also came to temper, and the village chief made a bet, if the drought demon can not be found in the broken coffins, let the blind man’s son to the village chief’s family for a year of goat herding.

As a result, the villagers went to the east side of the deserted graveyard, no one said this coffin is where, this cemetery is rarely people come, since it is nameless and ownerless, that eliminates a lot of trouble, the group said to do, hands on the coffin lid to open.

Coffin lid open, only to smell a fishy odor, as a large pile of stinky fish in the sun after exposure to the odor, to be more unpleasant to smell more unpleasant.

There are a few bold and that are not afraid of death, pinching the nose, come together in front, and then look inside are startled, the coffin lying in a female corpse, the clothes and jewelry on the body is very well preserved, are the same as the new, but look at that wear, are by no means recent all, this is an ancient corpse.

Clothing although intact as new, but the body has been dry and suffocated, muscle skin like dead tree bark.

In the head of the female corpse, squatting a full body full of green hair of the small monster, naked, only seven inches long, and this green hair monkey is still alive, is curled up into a ball sleep.

Blind man listened to the villagers said the situation, a bite, this green hair of the little monster is the drought demon, must immediately kill it, and then take the whip, and must be fast, otherwise a night it ran out of shadow, and then want to find can be difficult.

There are a few bold villagers, the body of the green hair of the small monster caught outside the coffin, with a hammer smashed to death, and then whip, the strange thing is that the monster does not bleed, a whip, it is a lot of black gas coming out of the body, and finally beat the rotten, no more black gas, which is a fire it burned to ashes.

At this time the sky has twilight, the villagers asked the blind man that coffin in the female body how to dispose of? The blind man said if you stay sooner or later will be a scourge, before it is too late to let people burned together only good, inside the things who do not take.

At the beginning of the crowd still some hesitation, after all, this coffin in the body is not recent, and there are many gold and silver jewelry, burned is not a pity.

The villagers are still hesitant when, the sky dark clouds gradually thick, hidden thunder, it seems that soon will be heavy rain, the group cheered, the blind man said words also from doubtful, turned into a God.

Since the blind man said that the coffin must be burned, it must be burned, and finally the village chief decided to let Li Chunlai stay behind to light the fire to burn the coffin, Li Chunlai is a wimp, usually the village chief let what to do what to do, at this time, although afraid, but had to stay behind with a stiff upper lip.

In order to hurry before the rain to burn the coffin, he hurriedly held a few bundles of dry wood, haphazardly piled up under the coffin, lit a fire, burned up.

Li Chunlai squatted next to stare, he is a poor bachelor, are almost forty still have no money to marry aunt, this time thinking about the gold and silver in the coffin, can not help but some of the heart, but unfortunately did not dare to take just now, and now the fire has burned, want to take can not be taken, burnt and do not know whether it is worth money.

Li Chunlai is feeling incomparable regret, suddenly white light flashes, the sky hit three or four thunderbolts one after another, heavy rain poured down, immediately burned half of the flame doused.