tangled ivy

Chapter 43 Keng Beigu Village

Kengbei Village, the hometown of Cui Yuzhi, a famous minister in the Song Dynasty, is full of dilapidated ancient villages.The messy modern wires in the ordinary houses paved with mudstone bricks are like poisonous snakes tightly strangling the ancient buildings, the old houses lacking bricks and tiles, the interior is still dark during the day, and the simple drying clothes are set up with pennies in front of every house. The tripod, with the smoke curling up, rises to the sky unsteadily, and the sound of chickens crowing and dogs barking, wandering in the village, all show that this ancient village is still inhabited.Buildings have also been built in many places. However, the entire building complex is relatively intact, especially the ancestral residence of the Mao family.

The Mao family's ancestral residence built in the late Ming and Qing Dynasties is said to be the house of a senior official of the Mao family, but it is impossible to verify who it is.The Mao family’s ancient buildings have been around for more than 400 years, and they are still standing. The houses built of bluestone bricks are covered with moss, and the blocked “hanging plate” may be the gate of someone’s back garden, pointing directly at the blue sky. The top of the wok ears shows the original fame and achievements of the owner. The complicated and beautiful hollow stone windows are covered by decayed wooden windows.There are no magnificent stone lions, but there are two square stone piers carved with red bricks standing beside the door.Looking around, everything seems to be immersed in the long river of history. The ancient village is still standing upright. Even though it has long been surrounded by reinforced concrete, it has not lost its grandeur at all.

Like a typical ancient village in China, there is a half-square pond in front of the Mao Family Ancestral Hall.The floating lotus is densely covered, competing with the lotus leaves for the territory. The noble lotus stands tall and graceful, enjoying the sunshine after the heavy rain, and the green pool that is tighter than black is daunting.The ancestral hall has long been closed, and through the small opening, it is found that there are iron railings and blue iron gates inside...it turns out that it is no longer what it used to be.

Weiyu is carrying a DSLR, walking alone in the back alley, stepping on the stone road covered with moss, the gutters on both sides are dripping with water drops after the rain, accompanied by the crowing of the rooster, everything is so quiet, there are still people living here , but here lost the vitality of the year.

Wherever he went, Weiyu didn’t see any young people. In the photos he took, it was either the old man with a rough face weaving bamboo and vines, or the silver-haired grandmother slowly drying the clothes. The ancient pastoral atmosphere is pervasive, not as prosperous as the city, but it has put down its pace, and even time seems to slow down here.

Under the guidance of the old lady, Weiyu came to the fort. He originally wanted to find the ancient tomb of the Cui family, but he couldn't find it because of the age. Thinking that there was still time, Weiyu went to the ancient fort, the place for defense, but, Due to the communalization, only two floors of the original five-story fort remained, and the upper muzzle had already been demolished, so there was no appearance of a fort.However, the first floor is made of a whole stone slab without any leaks. The bluestone slabs on the second floor are piled up, and you can vaguely find a cave for muzzle prevention. Everything seems to indicate that this place was once heavily guarded.

"I'm going to stay here for a month~"

"Ah, isn't this Weiyu? Why did you come here alone, what should you do if you get lost?"

"Miss Mao Mao?"

Sister Mao Mao is a descendant of the Mao family, and she is the person in charge of taking care of it this time. She is in charge of living here this time.

Judging by the idiot level of my father in life, it is definitely a problem to arrange my own accommodation -_-||

"This is a fort~ well, although it's completely invisible."

"Well, it has a very historical feel."

"By the way, I heard that you want to find Cui's tomb?"

"Well... just look at it"

"That's outside the ancient village, it's basically all Mao's family~"

What's with this inexplicable sense of pride——

"Let's go tomorrow~ It looks like it's going to rain heavily today."

"it is good"

Weiyu obediently followed Sister Mao Mao home, in fact, Weiyu got lost more than once ←_←

In the ancient village, the alleys are criss-crossed, and the narrow paths that can only be passed by one person are scattered all over the place. She really can't get out...

Today's ancient villages are accompanied only by old people in their rare years, and even the bear children can't see them. Only when the big trucks come in to load the wood are they so lively.

"Have you heard, ah, when the new family was cutting down trees, a big boa constrictor came out of the tree."

"Tsk tsk, I heard it's a big one."

"Everyone said don't go in there and cut it, the trees there are astonishingly big, and they all become fine~"

"Grandma stop talking nonsense"

"That's right, this kind of spirit, weirdness, etc., you can't talk about it after the founding of the People's Republic of China."

"Tsk tsk, you people, if you don't listen to the old man's words, you will suffer in front of your eyes. These are the words left by your ancestors!"

"I think all pythons are just rumors. If there are real ones, they won't show them up after catching them!"

Sister Mao Mao raised her eyebrows, "Ah Xin's family has been cutting down old trees and selling them. It is said that they made a fortune a few years ago and contracted that mountain forest. Tsk tsk, they show off their wealth. The hundred-year-old tree is as good as selling it." It's sold, I don't say anything, it's just frantic, don't get too close to their family."

"Ah Mao, how can you say that!"

Wow, say Cao Cao, Cao Cao will arrive, and the speed is not ordinary fast.

"Who doesn't know that you, Mao, eat national food and always talk about protecting cultural relics and cultural relics. Isn't the only value of this dead thing just in exchange for money! What's there to protect!"

"Vulgar man! Eyes full of money!"

"Soon a few trees, what is the value of labor and capital! Everyone is just eating."

"It's really annoying, Weiyu, let's go back."

Weiyu nodded silently.I vaguely heard them talking about pythons...

"Mom, are there really boa constrictors here?"

"What did you say about the new home?"

Nodding without saying a word,

"Yes, but it didn't come out of a tree. It was a boa constrictor that came out of the mountains to look for food and got stuck in the gap between the two residential buildings of Ah Xin's house."

Weiyu silently picks up the rice, she remembers that the gap between the old house and the new house of Ah Xin's family seems to be unable to fit a human fist into it, how did that stupid snake get in...

As if knowing Weiyu's thoughts, Weiyu's father put down the newspaper,

"Yanyan, do you want to see the python~"

! !

! !

"Oh~ to see the boa constrictor, Natsume-kun, how courageous you are...huh?"

...Dad, if I want to go, I will go secretly...Ah!Why did you say it in front of my mother... Really...

╯ (╯ ▽ ╰) ╭

Weiyu calmly kicked his father lightly...

"!!"

Dad was very calm and kicked back twice, expressing his understanding~

The two looked like you understand me.

? ?Mo Ming was at a loss.

Weiyu looked at the boa constrictor that was pulled out by the staff. It was said that it had died. The snake was already dripping with blood and emitting a stench. Weiyu hid behind his father, feeling a little regretful.

"Don't be afraid of your words, you won't move anymore."

-_-||Dad, can you not shake when you say this...

But this snake... really looks disgusting.

At night, Weiyu covered the quilt and turned on the air conditioner, but couldn't help sweating all over.

"I curse you! Curse your family!"

"sleep?"

Weiyu saw herself in pajamas, hugging a pillow, wandering around barefoot, passing through houses, wading across a stream, and arrived at Ah Xin's house in a blink of an eye.

She saw blood on the ground from the cut body, and she smelled the stench.

She saw the tall trees smashing the ancient tomb, saw the body surging in the tomb, and she heard the python utter evil words, take revenge, and eat it.

She saw it come out of the tomb, through the jungle, across the creek, and finally get in here, but somehow it got stuck in the gap, even though it was wriggling towards the door.

Struggling like this, dying like this.

The old house collapsed and crushed the boa constrictor to death... Since then, the family has lost its guardian spirit...

Weiyu thought she was looking at this matter, but found that the result was so different...

! !

"Strange, obviously the python died, the house didn't collapse..." Weiyu opened his eyes...and found that he was not on the bed, but standing in front of Ah Xin's old house...then

The old house collapsed...

I only vaguely heard someone talking...

"Tsk tsk, Ah Xin's house is also a typical Ming and Qing architecture in Cantonese culture, so it's gone..."

"It's a trivial matter that the house is gone. It is said that the old lady left just like that last night..."

"No way, does the old lady still live in the old house?"

Without saying a word, stop your feet,

"It is said that Ah Xin's daughter-in-law dislikes the old man's stink and refuses to live in a new house..."

"This old lady is also a poor person. She worked so hard to bring up Ah Xin, and she went away after a few years of blessing..."

"How is Ah Xin?"

"What can I do... The poor old lady raised him by herself. He thinks the old lady is troublesome, especially after the stroke, he hired a nanny, and he was not by his side. Now he is regretting and crying..."

"The son wants to support but the relative is not there...ah..."

"His daughter-in-law doesn't feel much at all. The relationship between the two mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is not good...and if she didn't let the old lady live in the new house..."

"Ah Xin, it is said that you are going to get a divorce?"

"Who knows, something like this happened...maybe..."

"...Improbable, his child is only four years old and still a boy, divorce is unlikely..."

Weiyu left silently...

The old lady's funeral is three days later. On this day, Weiyu only said this to Ah Xin...

"Don't cut down the tree behind the ancestral hall... there are mountain spirits living inside..."

Probably this is what the old lady wanted to tell him that day...

To listen or not to listen?

I don’t know about Weiyu, I guess I should have listened to it... It is said that Ah Xin got divorced and moved into the city, so this newly built house has just been left unused...

The author has something to say: continue to burn traffic...what's the matter with no internet at home...