Chapter 31 Those who drown due to irritability are all good swimmers
The ancestral hall is the most "expensive" place in the entire Zhujia Village. It was built with funds raised by the villagers. The donors and the corresponding donation amounts are clearly engraved on the merit board at the door.
This is the first time Xu Sirui has come here after living in the mountains for so long.
The interior of the ancestral hall was much larger than he had imagined. There were about twenty tables of various kinds. It was obvious that most of these tables were brought from the homes of nearby villagers to make up the number. They looked different in appearance: some were round, some were square, some were tall, some were short, some were big, and some were small.
Now every table is full of people.
Men sat at separate tables, while women and children occupied other tables. The former was shrouded in smoke, a veritable hive of secondhand smoke, while the latter was filled with the screams of children and the shouting of women. One was stinky, the other was noisy. The billowing white smoke and the clamor of voices threatened to tear the roof off the ancestral hall.
As soon as Xu Sirui stepped inside, he wanted to leave. The crowd separated him and Zhu Yingning. He looked around, searching for her, wanting to ask if she could bring him some food home—he really didn't want to stay and eat in this environment. But before he could find her, he was dragged away by the crew.
It was a rare opportunity to have wine and meat, and the crew members were obviously very excited, and they were like wild monkeys out of a cage.
Yang Ji and the villagers exchanged cups, their faces flushed red as a greasy roast suckling pig. He hooked his arm around Xu Sirui's shoulder and opened his mouth, but before he could finish, a burp escaped. The smell of alcohol warmed by his stomach, mixed with bad breath, filled the air. Xu Sirui's face darkened. He wanted to curse, but fearing the stink would enter his mouth, he pursed his lips and shoved him hard. However, even if he managed to avoid him, other staff members followed suit, all drunkenly, putting their hands on his shoulders, pulling his arms, and shouting incoherently:
"No one is allowed to run! No one is allowed to run——"
"It's rare to be happy today, drink, drink, drink! Drink it all for me! Xu Sirui, you drink too!"
"Drink this! Drink! If you don't drink it, you are not giving me face——"
Xu Sirui was speechless at this group of people who actually said they were happy to attend someone else's funeral. He turned his head away from the wine glass that was about to hit his lips and said, "...Do any of you still remember that I'm a minor?"
"What's wrong with being underage?" The staff member glared at him and pointed a finger at him. "You! Even if you're underage, you still have to act like a man. Don't be so hesitant, man... Oh, no, you're not a man." He waved his hand, staring at his crotch, and suddenly gave a lewd smile. "You haven't even grown all your hair yet, you're just a little brat."
"...You're mentally retarded."
Xu Sirui was unable to accept the middle-aged man's vulgar and dirty jokes. He slapped his drunken pig face, used his hands and feet to break free from them, and went straight out.
The tables near the ancestral hall were much quieter; at least there weren't any drunk people going crazy. Xu Sirui hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to leave immediately or look for Zhu Yingning again. As he was hesitating, he saw a familiar, thin arm reach out from one of the tables and wave at him, "Xu Sirui, over here."
He breathed a sigh of relief, walked towards her, and sat down next to her. As he sat down, he didn't forget to complain: "You are too short. I can't see you unless you raise your hand...Fuck! What the hell."
As soon as he sat down, something furry brushed against his bare ankle. Frightened, Xu Sirui nearly jumped up, quickly pulled his legs back, and looking down at the ground, he saw a dog sitting under the dining table.
Black dog.
He was just about to ask where the stray dog came from when he saw Zhu Yingning beside him throwing a bone under the table while making a "sucking" sound.
“…”
Well, he knew who had provoked him.
"Don't give it bones, let it go quickly. This kind of dog is so dirty and you can see it has fleas." He moved his legs away and pointed impatiently.
Zhu Yingning ignored him.
She threw another bone under the table, and whether it was a slip or intentional, this time it landed at his feet. The stray dog immediately changed direction and approached him, sniffing.
"Hey!" Xu Sirui quickly raised his legs and glared at the culprit, "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"
"No, I lost my way."
"You did it on purpose."
The table was mostly occupied by elderly women, all smiling as they engaged in a meaningless conversation. One elderly woman took the initiative and said, "This young man is really handsome, unlike anyone else here. Your parents must be handsome men and beautiful women too."
Xu Sirui was stunned for a moment, then replied out of habit: "Thank you."
Then for some reason the topic turned to him.
"What did you eat to grow so tall? My grandson is older than you, but he just won't grow taller. Tell me so I can give him some supplements later."
"You haven't been exposed to the sun much since you were a child, right? Look at your fair skin. Boys should get more sun exposure and a solid tan to look good."
"Oh, you don't understand. White skin is popular now. I think white is more handsome."
"You're a celebrity out there, right? Like the kind of actresses you see on TV?"
"Little brother, are you afraid of dogs when you are such a grown-up?"
Everyone is talking at once.
Xu Sirui hadn't expected to have to deal with the gossip of the elders just after escaping the drinking party. Fortunately, Zhu Yingning came to his rescue in time, smiled at everyone, and said, "The food will get cold if you keep talking. Let's eat first."
"Yeah, yes, eat, eat it all. You should eat more too, little brother."
The dishes were cooked by the villagers themselves, farm-style fare. While not as elaborate as restaurant food, they were surprisingly flavorful. The oily, savory flavor wafted through every bite. Xu Sirui accepted the bowls offered by everyone and happily ate halfway when he remembered he'd come here to ask Zhu Yingning to pack some for him to take home. Never mind... he'd already eaten it. He stared at the chipped bowl in his hand and the stray dog sitting at his feet, waiting for food. He realized his tolerance for harsh conditions had improved dramatically, his level of satisfaction becoming increasingly low. He couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
A woman holding a child came over and asked in dialect, "Have you seen Chengcheng?"
Xu Sirui didn't recognize this man at all, and the old ladies all said they hadn't seen him. Only Zhu Yingning swallowed the food in her mouth and said, "I saw him during the funeral. He and Gangzi were picking foxtail grass on the hillside."
"Oh, then I'll go ask Gangzi." The woman shook the baby in her arms and smiled at Xu Sirui, "Are you used to it?"
He nodded.
"That's good. We don't have anything special to offer you. We just killed a pig. I hope you can eat it."
After she left, Xu Sirui whispered to Zhu Yingning, "Who is she? She speaks like a master."
Zhu Yingning showed a helpless expression: "She is the granddaughter-in-law of the deceased. She was the one who took the lead in preparing the meal you ate. Xu Sirui, do you only remember me and my mother in the whole village?"
Xu Sirui choked on a grain of rice. There weren't many people in the village, but he was a bit of a mosaic when he saw them. Aside from people like Zhu Yingning and Liu Guifang, who he had to interact with frequently, he didn't recognize any of the others. Even the so-called Sister Ping, after so long, he couldn't remember her appearance.
After dinner, everyone left one after another, gathering in groups of two or three to do their own things.
Liu Guifang went to the neighboring village to play mahjong with her good sisters, Zhu Yingning went to the kitchen of the ancestral hall to help clean up the dishes, and Xu Sirui had nothing to do, so he simply went back to the house to take a shower.
As the weather got hotter, he showered slower and slower, eager to use a bristle brush to rinse himself thoroughly. Now that no one was around, and he had some free time, he simply let loose completely, lingering in there for forty minutes, rubbing himself until he was smooth and wet before coming out.
The breeze on the early summer night was cool and pleasant. Xu Sirui stood outside the door, drying his hair while looking at the village below.
There were many people gathered at the entrance of the village, and the lights of torches and flashlights shone brightly.
He just thought it was the final ceremony of the funeral, so he watched for a while and then went into the house.
As soon as he stepped in, Zhu Yingning rushed in, opened the locker with a big movement, and started searching.
"What's wrong?" Xu Sirui asked casually, "What are you looking for so anxiously?"
"Flashlight." She didn't look at him and roughly threw out the things in the cabinet one by one until she found the flashlight that was pressed at the bottom of the box. Then she breathed a sigh of relief. "A child is missing. I have to help find them. If my mother comes back, please tell her not to worry about me. I will come back as soon as I find the child."
Xu Sirui was stunned for a moment: "Is it the one called Chengcheng?"
"right."
He couldn't understand why she was so anxious: "He might have lost his way in the mountains like me. You don't have to be so nervous. I was missing for a whole day and nothing happened."
She shook her head quickly. "No, you're not like him. Those who drown are good swimmers, and those who get into trouble in the mountains are not afraid of them. You look like a coward, but he's much braver than you. It's very dangerous."
“……?”
Damn, what do you mean by a coward?!
Xu Sirui nearly laughed out loud. He hadn't expected her to be so venomous when she did. Even more irritating was the fact that she wasn't deliberately insulting him; she was simply stating the facts as she saw them. After saying that, she stormed off, leaving him standing there in a state of disarray.
She left at half past nine and Liu Guifang came back an hour later.
He explained the situation to her as Zhu Yingning had instructed. Upon hearing this, Liu Guifang uttered two "ohs" and said calmly, "I understand."
Half past ten was already time for Xu Sirui to go to bed - his work and rest schedule in the city was certainly not so healthy, but in the deep mountains, people worked from sunrise to sunset and rested from sunset to sunrise. After living there for a while, his biological clock became very consistent with the laws of nature, and he would feel sleepy on time after ten o'clock. He could hold on until half past ten purely to explain Zhu Yingning's whereabouts to Liu Guifang.
Before going to bed, he went outside to take a look and found that the village entrance was still brightly lit, forming a sharp contrast with the darkness on their side.
The crew had gone to bed long ago. Unlike the situation more than a month ago when the entire crew went out to look for him, this time no one from the crew helped to look for him.
It seemed indifferent, but Xu Sirui could understand their actions. Didn't he stay in the house and never think of helping?
In big cities, with their fast pace of life and high population mobility, interpersonal connections aren't as close as in rural areas. It's difficult for him to form deep connections with strangers, and it's also difficult for him to feel the same kind of concern over a stranger's disappearance without a deep connection. Without concern, there's no way to help.
Yang Ji and others were obviously the same, and even went a step further. To put it bluntly, the film crew was a group of businessmen, oriented towards profit. When their own interests were not affected, they would just turn a blind eye.
Sometimes Xu Sirui thought Zhu Yingning's statement that "mountain people are more simple" wasn't entirely wrong. At least when it came to interpersonal connections, they were indeed much more indifferent than the villagers.
After watching the excitement for a while, he finally turned around and went back into the house.
Inside, Liu Guifang had already lain down. Perhaps because she'd lost money playing mahjong, she looked downcast. She hadn't even showered before hastily falling asleep. When Xu Sirui entered, he could even hear her snoring.
He turned off the small light bulb on the desk, climbed onto the kang, closed his eyes and went to sleep.
**
According to his biological clock, which had been tamed by life in the mountains, Xu Sirui should have slept until dawn that night.
The so-called "should have" means that something unexpected happened this time.
In the middle of the night, he woke up because he had to urinate.
He has the habit of going to the toilet before going to bed, and he is afraid of getting up suddenly in the middle of the night, which will affect his sleep quality in the second half of the night. After waking up, he realized that he forgot to go to the toilet before going to bed tonight.
Now that he was awake, he subconsciously glanced across the 38th parallel and found that Zhu Yingning's seat was still empty.
She didn't come back.
I looked at my watch again, it was 3:02.
He was startled, thinking it was only midnight at most, but he didn't expect it to be so late.
He glanced at Liu Guifang again. She lay on her side, her back to him, sound asleep. Xu Sirui was puzzled. He remembered Zhu Yingning repeatedly telling him things like, "I have to go home early. Mom will worry if I'm late." This had left him with a vague impression that Liu Guifang was deeply concerned for her daughter's safety. But from last night until now, her reactions had been completely normal, completely unrelated to "worry."
What's going on? Could it be that Zhu Yingning often stays up late at night looking for people, and Liu Guifang has long been used to it?
He slid out of bed in confusion, put on his slippers, and went to the bathroom to flush the toilet first.
After taking care of my three urgent needs, I walked outside and took a look. The village was still brightly lit. Although the lights were less, there were still many people waiting there.
And Zhu Yingning was not among those people.
That's right, how could she possibly be waiting for someone? Given her charisma, she would definitely take the initiative to find the person. She might even propose splitting up into multiple groups to increase the chances of finding the person.
For no apparent reason, he suddenly felt a little irritated.
She said that those who got into accidents in the mountains were not afraid of the mountains. That Chengcheng was not afraid of mountains, so she was worried about him. Then... what about her?
She must not be afraid of mountains.
Why was this guy setting a flag with him? Didn't he know that many people were cursed to death by their own careless words for no apparent reason? The more Xu Sirui thought about it, the more annoyed he became, and the more annoyed he became, the more he couldn't help but think about it. He stood stupidly outside the door for a moment, struggling with this and that, but finally sighed, changed his slippers for sneakers, and walked towards the village entrance.
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