This tattered man's surname was Chen. Because he often acted mad, everyone nicknamed him Chen Banxian'er. He was very satisfied with this name, and even used it when introducing himself to his fans.
As if guessing what she was noticing, Chen Banxianer calmly turned his head to glance at them, grinning. "Those shoes are [pointing shoes]. Before the funeral procession departs, they are removed from the deceased's feet and placed on the ground. This is to respect the deceased's wishes. The funeral procession will use the direction of the tip of the shoe as a guide to find a comfortable burial place for the deceased. If you encounter these shoes on the road, you must not point at them, let alone disrupt their direction. Otherwise, you could lose your life."
Qi Fan had already personally tested this, so he asked, "So, can these shoes move on their own?"
"This thing, that can only be understood, not explained." Chen Banxianer smiled and suggested, "How about you help me with my work, and I'll help you save your lives? This deal is quite worthwhile."
Qi Mi glanced at him, then turned around and discussed with Zheng Yuanyuan and Du Rui.
When the kids saw the three adults talking on their own without involving them, they immediately raised their hands and expressed their opinions one after another.
Wang Xiaohu was the loudest among them. When he heard the ragged middle-aged man say that the shoes couldn't be pointed at, he immediately understood. The more he looked at him, the more he looked like an otherworldly expert. "Teacher Qi, just believe this old man! He told me not to point at shoes. He seems so powerful. If he were here, I wouldn't have seen that weird thing!"
Chen Banxianer:???
grandfather?
This time, Zhao Yize, who had always been against Wang Xiaohu, also raised his hand for the first time and said, "This old man looks like the sweeping monk from Shaolin Temple, the kind who keeps his talents hidden. Maybe he can even give us martial arts secrets!"
Chen Banxianer looked at the pocket which was cleaner than his face: Secret book?
"No, who are you two talking about as grandpa?!" He realized what was going on and said with knitted black eyebrows, "I'm only 52! I'm still in my prime!"
"That's right. My dad always says that men are in their prime at 41, and grow again at 50. This grandfather looks very young." Yang Shengzhuang nodded with his hands behind his back.
"That's right!" The man was silent for two seconds and lowered his head: "?"
Feeling that the little guy was going too far off topic, Qi Mi quickly spoke out to stop him.
However, just as the crowd quieted down, they heard another bowl of black dog blood being poured out from the door a hundred meters away. The young man from that family poked his head out, cursing and yelling at the top of his lungs from such a distance: "You outsiders, why don't you hurry up and leave! Stay away from our Kuai family manor! Get out of here!!!"
The man stretched his neck and was about to curse something when a stone fell right into his mouth.
Qi Mi patted the dust off his hands and said, "Don't waste your breath. We'll leave now and not cause you any trouble."
The man spat out the stone and saw that the uninvited guests had indeed left. He spat on the ground and slammed the door shut.
Chen Banxianer glanced back, scratched his belly, and sneered, "I can see you're not from here. You're really brave to stay at Kuai's Manor for the night."
"What happened to that place?"
"What's wrong?" Chen Banxian snorted coldly. "Anyone who lives nearby knows that the Kuai family has the most branches and the most rules. Even passersby who want to ask for a bowl of water have to count on their fingers for a long time, not to mention people like you who want to come in and rest."
He laughed a few times and continued, "Your group of thirteen is an odd number, which is already a taboo for the Kuai family. Fortunately, you have ten even-numbered children, and the boys are also an even number, so they can barely chat with you. Generally speaking, [seven males are yang, six females are yin, seven outweighs six], which is barely acceptable." As he said this, he turned to Du Rui at the end of the team and nodded, asking Qi Mi, "If I'm not mistaken, the problem lies with that young man, right? He was born in July?"
Qi Mi nodded.
Chen Banxianer, with an air of 'I knew it,' walked with a square gait that was incredibly stylish. He explained everything to her in detail, "In the Kuai family's rules, a man born in July is called a 'Yin Sha Ming,' meaning a man or a woman's fate. According to their philosophy, July is the Ghost Festival, and the fifteen days before and after are unlucky. A girl is considered a living sacrifice, and a boy is considered an exile. In short, people born in July can't stay in the Kuai family."
The more Qi Mi listened, the uglier her expression became. Especially the part about "giving birth to a girl is like giving birth to a living sacrifice, giving birth to a boy is like expelling a child from the family." Although she had never seen the scene of a living sacrifice, she knew it would be cruel. She immediately developed a stronger dislike for Kuai Zhuangzi and sneered, "Having to avoid giving birth for a whole month is quite amazing."
She thought that having a child was ridiculous enough, but she didn't expect Chen Banxian's next words to be even more horrifying.
"Giving birth is nothing, after all, there's still a C-section these days, right? It's only a matter of a month in advance, but can you imagine the perverted ways the Kuai family has to go so far as to insist on having someone die at an even-numbered age? If someone's sick and their age is right, they'll just give them an even-numbered death and maybe even send them off. If their age is odd, they'll do everything they can to keep them alive until their birthday, and then hold a funeral."
"Fuck!" Qi Mi couldn't help but curse. He subconsciously turned around to look at the now-small archway and frowned, "Is there no one in that Kuai family manor who died unexpectedly at an odd age?"
"Maybe or maybe not, but the ages of the deceased in Zhuangzi are always even numbers, so the actual age of the deceased is unknown."
Just after saying this, Chen Banxian excitedly pointed to the front. Hidden by several thick tree trunks, a building similar to a small temple appeared before his eyes.
The atmosphere was different from that of the Kuai family manor we had just visited. Although there were two red lanterns hanging under the eaves of the temple, the lights on in the house diluted the weirdness and gave people a feeling of tranquility in the deep forest.
Generally speaking, it is a place for people to live.
When I got closer, I could vaguely smell the smell of fireworks in the air. It was probably time for dinner, and wisps of smoke were floating above the temple.
Judging from the appearance, this temple is quite old, with a lot of peeling paint on the outer walls. There is only a black wooden plaque on the top, with no words on it, and no indication of the deity being enshrined.
"There are no words on these lanterns?" Qi Mi noticed that there were no words of "die" written on these two lanterns, which were different from the ones hanging on the archway of Kuai's Zhuangzi.
Chen Banxian snorted coldly, rolling his eyes almost to the sky. "Only the Kuai family would write words for the dead on wedding lanterns. They're playing tricks on people. Oh, the people of the Kuai family are so pitiful. Even after death, they still want to bless their clansmen with peace and wealth."
He spat twice on the ground in disgust, as if to get rid of bad luck. When he was about to open the door, his expression changed and he pushed the door open with a smile.
What came into view was a small courtyard of a few square meters. It was very small. The four children were chasing and playing and reached the turning point in just a few steps. When they were having fun, they saw Chen Banxian coming in. The two younger children shouted "Uncle Banxian" in surprise and ran over excitedly.
Chen Banxian's dark and chubby face was full of smiles, and he picked up the two little guys, one on each side.
Noticing the ten kids from the Douding class standing at the door, the two children were startled at first, then waved happily, "There are so many kids."
The kids also greeted politely.
Several social tough guys in the Douding class introduced themselves directly:
"Hello! My name is Yu Jiaojiao!"
"I'm Wang Xiaohu, the tiger in Big Tiger!"
"My name is Yang Shengzhuang because my grandma wants me to be strong!"
…
"Don't stand outside like idiots, come in." Chen Banxianer put the two eager children on the ground.
The two children immediately ran towards the kids in the Douding class. The children became familiar with each other unexpectedly quickly, and soon they ran into the yard hand in hand.
Hearing the noisy sounds in the courtyard, the younger man lifted the curtain and stuck his head out. Seeing so many people suddenly coming, he frowned and said, "Hey, Lao Chen, what are you doing?"
"These are outsiders who are staying here for a short stay." After answering the man, Chen Banxian scratched his belly and introduced him to Qi Mi and the others. "That man is called Kuai Liang, and he also lives here."
A few people smiled politely. Kuai Liang was stunned for a moment, then curled his lips slightly. Although his expression was still a million times unhappy, he said nothing more and lowered the curtain.
After Qi Mi came in, he found that there was no statue of the deity here, only a carved stone platform. There were many abandoned lamps placed around the stone platform, and even on the walls on both sides. Because of the years, these lamps were no longer lit, and the temple was only illuminated by a light bulb on the ceiling.
There are hundreds of lanterns, and one can imagine what a dazzling spectacle it will be when they are all lit.
Qi Mi looked around and asked Chen Banxianer, "Is his birthday in July?"
Since this person's surname is Kuai and he appears here, we can guess roughly what happened. If a boy is born, he will be regarded as an expelled child. Although he will be kicked out of the family, his fate is much better than that of a girl born in July.
Chen Banxian nodded, confirming this. "He was born in the early morning of July 1st, less than half an hour later, and was thrown out by the family. He has lived here since he was a child, relying on his mother to find someone from another family to secretly take care of him. You can say that the rest of us were taken in by him... Kuai Liang has a bit of a strange personality. You can talk to him about it later. I had to beg him a lot before he agreed."
Qi Mi nodded and walked over.
This temple had obviously been renovated. There was an opening on the wall facing the stone platform, covered with a blue cloth as a curtain. Behind it was the kitchen, and the sounds of chopping and frying vegetables could be clearly heard.
She tentatively lifted a corner of the blue cloth and faced Kuai Liang who was cutting vegetables on the chopping board.
When Kuai Liang saw that this new woman was so unruly, his expression turned even uglier. He suddenly pulled the blue cloth and said, "The kitchen is a restricted area. No entry for outsiders."
Qi Mi awkwardly withdrew his hand and quickly apologized for his abruptness: "I'll be more careful next time. I know you find it annoying to see so many of us, but don't worry, we won't be staying here for nothing. We'll do any work you need, even if you pay us. We won't cause any trouble for you."
As soon as the words fell, before Kuai Liang could react, an older woman smiled and lifted the curtain. She was wearing an apron and holding a plate of brown and yellow vegetables in her hands. She said, "It's okay, girl. Just live here with peace of mind. Kuai Liang has a strange temper but a kind heart. You can just live here peacefully. It's okay. Let's go and eat."
Qi Mi was a little hesitant and stared at the blue curtain silently without moving.
"Look at you, girl, you're really sincere. I said it's not enough." The woman sighed helplessly and raised her hand to lift the curtain. "Kuai Liang, why don't you say something? This girl from another place has been talking to you for so long, and you haven't even said a word."
Kuai Liang lowered his head to cut some shriveled potatoes. He was obviously startled when the curtain was lifted. He said in an unhappy tone: "What am I talking about? I'm telling you, there are so many people out there who rely on your plate of dry vegetables. I bet they can even get enough to eat!"
As he said that, he angrily pulled down the curtain and said in a deep voice, "Alright, as long as you're not here to eat for free, you can stay here, okay?"
The woman raised an eyebrow at Qi Mi and dragged her around to the courtyard: "Look, I told you, Kuai Liang is just like that. Now you can rest assured, right? You can just stay here and rest assured. Everything will be fine."
After learning that the woman's surname was Li, everyone generally called her Sister Li. She was the mother of the four children in the orphanage. The eldest, a twelve-year-old daughter named Panjun, was the one who helped Sister Li with the chores. She also acted like a big sister when she played with the children in the Douding class.
Seeing Sister Li bringing out the dishes, Pan Jun immediately took a tattered table from the wall and set it up.
A few flat stones piled in the corner served as stools for them. They sat in a circle around the table. After Pan Jun moved the stones, he waved towards them and said a little embarrassedly, "Brothers and sisters, come and eat first. I don't have anything special to offer you. I wonder if these grass roots are okay for you."
Grassroots?
Upon hearing these two words, Qi Mi took a closer look. This dry, yellowish-brown thing was actually what they had eaten?
It turns out that there is a food shortage in this world?
In an instant, she realized the crisis of this apocalypse.
All the children gathered around, and seeing that the plate of grass roots was barely enough to fill their stomachs, they looked at each other and took out the food they had brought from the previous world from their pockets: sausages, instant noodles, chocolate, bread... all of which were brought by Lang Yu before. They had only been away from the polar night apocalypse and entered the graffiti world for more than two hours, and there was still plenty of food.
Pan Jun's face was full of surprise, as if she had not seen such a sumptuous meal for a long time. Her three younger brothers and sisters gathered around her and all exclaimed in surprise.
Wang Xiaohu took a chicken leg and handed it to the nine-year-old second child, Zhaoyue, and said generously, "Sister, you eat it. This is super delicious."
Zhao Yue licked her lips silently, not daring to open them, and looked at Pan Jun at a loss.
Pan Jun shook his head sensibly, snatched the chicken leg and handed it back to Wang Xiaohu, saying with a smile: "Brother Xiaohu, you should keep it for yourselves, we can just eat that one."
At this time, Sister Li, who had already fried shredded potatoes, brought out the dishes. Seeing so many delicious dishes piled on the table, she was so shocked that she slammed on the brakes.
"Oh my God, you brought all this upon me?" she gasped.
Qi Mi took the pitifully small plate of potatoes and said with a smile, "Yes, it's a good opportunity for everyone to eat together."
When Sister Li heard this, she shook her head like a rattle: "No, no, no, these are yours, you should keep them for yourselves."
"It's okay, Sister Li. We are all family staying here, so let's eat together." Zheng Yuanyuan also agreed.
Sister Li looked at them in embarrassment and sighed, "Ah, the main thing is that I'm worried about spoiling them. What if they can't get used to eating these wild vegetables in the future?"
Everyone was silent.
Indeed, it is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality, but easy to go from frugality to extravagance. After being accustomed to eating these good things, it is really troublesome when food is scarce. In this world, humans all live underground. Even if there is this wasteland, nothing can be grown without the sun.
As Qi Mi was thinking, he subconsciously looked up at the yellow mud "ceiling" above his head.
I don't know if I can poke it open...
Sister Li was telling the kids in the Douding class to put away the food when she heard Chen Banxianer say lazily, "Okay, Sister Li, let's eat together. We can look for something else after we finish eating."
Chen Banxian walked slowly over with a big fat belly. I don't know where he went, but in just a short while he changed into a neat suit. Although his overall temperament did not improve much, it was still eye-catching compared to the beggar's outfit.
He winked at Qi Mi and pointed outside the house: "Come on, girl, help me with the first thing."
Before Qi Mi could answer, Sister Li grabbed her. After living together for so long, she knew that whenever Chen Banxian changed into this outfit, he would go and eat for free. "Old Chen, are you going to steal food from someone's funeral again? You're not afraid of bad luck if you eat the food of the dead... Girl, let's not get along with him. Stealing chickens and dogs will never bring you good things."
Qi Mi smiled and repeated in Sister Li's tone, "That's right, I won't do anything sneaky."
Seeing the two women scolding him like this, Chen Banxian'er's two black eyebrows knitted together and he cried out in shock: "Oh no, why are you all coming for me? Fine, you are too noble to eat the food of the dead, but you have to consider these children for a moment. Are you going to eat grass roots with you for the rest of your life?"
"Sister Li, you know where the Kuai family gets their food. It's all offered to them by the dead, or it's betrothal gifts from heavenly marriages. They're all eating the food of the dead. I went to his house to eat and drink to survive, how can that be considered stealing?"
It seemed that Sister Li couldn't think of any rebuttal. She moved her lips and then fell silent.
As Qi Mi listened and thought, he became interested in the Kuai family's food supply: "What do you mean by offering sacrifices from the dead? And what does a heavenly marriage mean?"
"If you want to know, come with me and I'll tell you on the way." Seeing that she was interested, Chen Banxianer pointed outside the house again.
Qi Mi thought for a moment and stepped forward: "Let me make it clear first, if you can't convince me, I will turn around and come back."
"Don't worry, you'll definitely be on my side after you hear this."
The two of them left the temple one after another.
With Banxianer's explanation, she roughly understood the rules of survival in this world.
Because humans live underground, without sunlight, food is very scarce. If people here want to get food, there are generally only two ways:
First, when a person dies, his age must be an even number, just like the Kuai family did when they were buried. Such a funeral is called a happy funeral.
After a person dies, his soul ascends to the earth, and it is with his soul that the family is blessed with peace and prosperity, and there will be an endless supply of food. So maybe it is because of this that every year three or four people from several branches of the Kuai family die to ensure the prosperity of the family.
The second method is to arrange a marriage according to destiny.
On the sixteenth birthday of every girl in the Kuai family, a ceremony of celestial marriage would be held in front of the statue in the underground palace. The ceremony would rely on the six-line divination and eight trigrams to match the girl's horoscope with that of the gods. If the match was correct, a dot of indelible cinnabar would be placed on the girl's neck. The girl would then get married and hold a wedding with the gods on her eighteenth birthday.
On that day, the gods would give a betrothal gift to the Kuai family, including gold, silver, jewelry, and countless delicacies.
It is by relying on these two points that Zhuangzi of the Kuai family has been able to carry on the family's prosperity to this day.
Qi Mi listened with her hands folded, and even took out her cell phone to check the date. She didn't expect that in this new era there would still be such an old-fashioned family. It really opened her eyes.
"That means the Kuai family actually does nothing every day. They either wait for the dead to bless them or wait to suck their daughters' blood?" After listening, she summed up these two points.
Chen Banxian'er's mouth was dry as he spoke, and he smacked his lips. "That's about it, isn't it? Besides, the Kuai family has a long reach. Their clansmen are involved in several nearby markets. They tell fortunes and do business with people every day. Even with money, they may not be able to buy food. Otherwise, how could I, with my hands and feet and money, end up like this, eating and drinking for free?"
Qi Mi looked around and asked, "Is there a market nearby?"
"Yes, there are three." Chen Banxianer gestured indignantly and took out a few pink bills from his pocket. "Look, I have money in my pocket but I haven't spent a single one. Damn it, the Kuai family insisted that my fate was incompatible and wouldn't let me buy anything. This time, I'm going to bankrupt them!"
Qi Mi stared at it carefully for two seconds to confirm that the money used in this world was still RMB.
It is not difficult to hear from Chen Banxian'er's words that in this entire area, the Kuai family has become the only one in power. Their rules have affected the surrounding clans and even ordinary markets. Even buying vegetables requires relying on fortune-telling. People whose birth dates are not compatible with them cannot buy food even if they have money.
No wonder Chen Banxianer is so resentful towards their family.
The two chatted for a while before arriving at the memorial archway of Kuai's manor. The funeral procession had scattered smoky yellow paper money all over the ground, which had not been cleaned up. Leaning against the paper money, they arrived at a bustling funeral scene.
Unlike those long, coffin-like houses, this was an old house, and like the ancient houses you often see, it had a sense of history. White silk hung from the eaves around a plaque with the words "Happy Funeral Hall" written on it.
The row of white lanterns below all have the word "happiness" written on them, and from time to time you can hear laughter coming from the hall.
If it weren't for the modern clothes worn by the two men at the door, one would have felt as if they had traveled back to ancient times.
Two men wearing mourning hats were sitting at a dark wooden table. When they saw the two uninvited guests, they immediately stood up and asked, "Hey, who are you two?"
Probably a regular here, Chen Banxianer calmly took out something wrapped in a red silk cloth and said, "You two have terrible memories. I've come here specifically to give your ancestors some wedding money. I've been here several times before. Why are you still asking?"
The two looked at each other, as if accepting his statement, and then turned to stare at Qi Mi: "What about you, what are you doing here?"
Qi Mi didn't say anything, just curled his lips slightly, snatched the wedding money from Chen Banxian'er's hand, turned around and ran away.
Seeing the two men still in a daze, Chen Banxianer shouted excitedly: "What are you two still standing there for? The condolence money has been stolen. The host family will be in big trouble. Why don't you hurry and get it back!"
Upon hearing this, the two of them hurried out to chase after him. By then, Qi Mi's figure had disappeared from the street, so the two of them had to split up and chase after him.
Chen Banxianer stuck his head out to take a look and muttered softly, "That girl is really good at fighting. She disappeared in just a short while."
He withdrew his gaze and just turned around when he found that Qi Mi had already made a big circle and walked towards him from the corner of the old house, still playing with the wedding coin in his hand: "You are so stingy, pretending to take a dollar coin but not knowing how to take a dime."
As she said this, she threw the wedding money to him.
Chen Banxianer caught it with great effort, quickly put it back into his pocket, and snorted, "His family has left me with no food to eat. One dime is just my kindness to them, okay?"
Qi Mi chuckled and opened the door with him.
There was a lively banquet in the courtyard.
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