Chapter 15 Faith

Fang Dihua was originally immersed in a selfless and illusory world, with sadness mixed with infinite hope. She was confused when Lin Shu interrupted her.

How should she explain to her daughter-in-law that she was hiding behind her kang to burn paper?

Lin Shu patted Panpan and Tiantian to comfort the two children, letting them continue to sleep, and fumbled for a match to light the small oil lamp in the lamplight.

The light came on, immediately reflecting Fang Dihua's tall and silent figure on the wall, and also illuminating her red and swollen eyes.

Lin Shu understood instantly that she should be doing it for Lu Shaotang.

Alas, this strong woman was busy working in the fields during the day. She looked more solemn and silent than usual and didn't show much sadness. But at night, she was seized by pain and turned from a tough woman into a gentle mother.

Lin Shu's heart softened as well.

She could understand Fang Dihua's feelings.

But shouldn't they build a tomb for Lu Shaotang when they commemorate him?

Why burn paper on the kang next to her and the child?

What kind of custom is this?

Fang Dihua didn't know what to say for a moment. This matter had to go back to two days ago.

The old couple were already grief-stricken because their son was still alive or dead, and seeing that their daughter-in-law was mentally ill was really adding insult to injury.

The old couple hugged their heads and cried suppressedly to vent their sadness, and then discussed what to do after crying. Should they

secretly consult a fortune teller or ask their ancestors for blessings?

In the end, they decided not to consult a fortune teller.

If they showed it to Lin Shu, it would easily attract attention and be used by those with ulterior motives to cause trouble. If

they consulted their son, they would be distressed no matter what the result was.

If the fortune telling said that the fortune would come back, then they would forget it. If not

, they would be disappointed and resentful. If the fortune telling said that the fortune would not come back, then they would be desperate. It would be better not to consult a fortune teller, so that they would always have hope in their hearts.

So they discussed burning paper and offering sacrifices to their ancestors and parents, asking for their ancestors' blessings.

After the destruction of the four olds, in principle, people did not celebrate the feudal year or worship their ancestors. However, country people were uneducated and did not participate in this movement or that movement. How could you not let them celebrate the feudal year and worship their ancestors?

Even the brigade secretary and the brigade leader had to worship their ancestors. If they didn't do so for a year, they would be afraid that their ancestors would come to them in their dreams and curse them.

So the worship never stopped in the countryside. Of course, they had to keep a low

profile and go during the Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Cold Clothes Festival, Winter Solstice, New Year's Eve and other times when everyone was worshipping their ancestors. They couldn't go alone. The yellow paper was bought secretly by Xu Laonian'er's family in the west.

Laonian'er was the old man of his family. He had fled here. He had no parents and was a few years older than Lu Laodie. Lu Laodie, who was still a teenager at the time, took him in.

After liberation, Laonian'er married a beautiful concubine from a large landlord's family assigned by the organization. Now he has many children and grandchildren.

Lao Nian is different from other old men. He is completely loyal to Master Lu. When they were refining steel in the earthen kiln, he was afraid that Master Lu was not used to such rough work, so he insisted that Master Lu and he work in the same kiln, but he was rejected by Old Man Lu.

With such a special relationship and Lao Nian being honest and strict, it is no problem to ask him to help buy yellow paper.

The bulging torn sack that Fang Dihua brought back in a big basket two days ago was filled with yellow paper. She hid it in the house.

Tonight, Fang Dihua saw that Lin Shu was still not right. After everyone fell asleep, she discussed with the old man how to burn it and what curse to say.

Father Lu has been studying since he was young. He runs a big carriage shop and has come into contact with many people from all walks of life. The sorcerers in the surrounding villages who make a living by summoning gods and fortune-telling do not know as much theory as he does.

However, he thinks that people should be down-to-earth and make a living by working hard, and cannot rely on this, so he just learns it as a hobby.

At this time, he searched his brain and wrote down what he knew. He also searched through boxes and cabinets to find the old almanac and some old books to find the runes and spells he needed.

He really crams for the moment and uses what he learns right away.

There are three main tasks tonight.

The first is to ask the ancestors to bless his daughter-in-law with safety.

The second is to ask the ancestors to bless his son to return safely.

Third, if the son really died, he should pray to the ancestors to find his body and bury it as soon as possible, and let his soul return to find his parents, not Lin Shu and the children, as they are young and not scared. In addition, if he is really gone, wouldn't he be penniless? He must burn more paper money for him to spend.

Facing Lin Shu's unusually calm, clear eyes that were no longer as timid as before, Fang Dihua had an idea. She made up a story: "Your grandma came to me in a dream and said that the earth's energy would be unstable after the Dragon Boat Festival, and it would be easy to offend bad people. She asked me to burn paper for Grandma Kang and Prince Wang, and they would take care of you so you don't have to be afraid."

She would burn this room, and Old Man Lu would burn that room. Later, the two of them would go to the ancestral tomb to burn paper for their parents.

Lin Shu: "..."

I have to say, you two are really brave, going to the cemetery at night.

There are dozens or even hundreds of graves of all sizes in the cemetery of Lujiazhuang. Are you afraid to go there at night?

You have your grandparents to protect you, so you don't have to be afraid. But if people outside see the fire inside, won't they be scared to death?

I guarantee that the whole village will be haunted tomorrow.

Lin Shu: "Mom, why don't you burn the door gods too? They are war gods and even more powerful. With them watching over dirty things, no one can enter the house."

Fang Dihua: "Yes, you have to burn them!"

Lin Shu: "Mom, you also have to burn the night and day gods on the street."

Fang Dihua: "Ah? You know a lot!"

Lin Shu thought she looked like she was in a state of temporary dementia due to repeated brainwashing.

In fact, whether it is superstition or brainwashing, it has nothing to do with education or cultural level. How many university professors have been deceived, lured into pyramid schemes, and brainwashed by feudal superstition? The fact that everyone practiced Kung Fu in the 1990s is enough to show that people are irrational and easily brainwashed.

Fraud depends on needs. The more urgent, stronger, and more anxious you are, the easier it is to be deceived.

This is also the reason why many brainwashing scams let you answer the phone alone, to create a brainwashing closed loop for you.

The old couple did not need brainwashing, so they placed their trust in ghosts and gods when their son was missing, seeking psychological comfort.

You can't insist that it doesn't work, you have to go along with them, otherwise they will think you don't understand them.

Lin Shu: "Mom, these don't work. It will only work if you ask Marx for help. This is what his father believes in."

Fang Dihua lost all her female power and asked anxiously, "What kind of god is that? What does he care about?"

Seeing her like this, Lin Shu felt sad and soft.

Fang Dihua, who was usually strong and tough, was like a mountain that protected this family from wind and rain. She had a loud, sharp and impetuous voice and never gave in to anyone. But now she spoke with a heavy nasal tone, a hoarse voice, a soft tone, and asked the gods and ghosts with a pious face.

She changed from a strong and capable mother-in-law who protected her daughter-in-law to a soft and fragile mother.

This was the sincerity of an old mother who wanted her son to survive.

Lin Shu had no real feelings for Lu Shaotang before she traveled through the book. She only regarded him as a background character in the book. She sighed and sympathized with his sacrifice, but she had no real feelings.

Now she suddenly had a concrete understanding of him.

This understanding came from Fang Dihua's tall and hazy figure, from her soft and hoarse voice, which made her suddenly feel the other's deep maternal love. Even though she was immersed in grief and despair, she still stubbornly held on to a glimmer of hope.

Lin Shu trembled for this kind of humble and strong motherly emotion, and was also mixed with deep envy. It was the maternal love she had never had in her previous life, so fierce and true.

She said softly, "Mom, there are still many bad guys hiding there in the country these days. Your father is really on a secret mission. He can't let the family know until he completes the mission and declassifies it. The superiors defined him as a sacrifice in order to paralyze the enemy and give your father more opportunities to survive. You can ask Marx to bless him and let his mission go smoothly."

What she said had a basis. At first, she watched some declassified documents and documentaries. Some scientists, soldiers who carried out secret missions, and even spies who went undercover with him could not be exposed for the rest of their lives. Their parents, wives, and children in their hometowns also thought they had sacrificed.

This was an excuse to comfort them, not true.

This is a book. Lu Shaotang is a person whose fate is determined by the author. He dies at the beginning of the story. If he is not dead, why does he not appear in the whole book?

She just wants to give the old couple a hope - their son is still alive, but cannot come back for some reason, just like those people who were taken to the island country.

She wants to pull Fang Dihua and Lu Laodi out of the deep pain in their hearts, so that they don't appear to be calm on the surface, but there is a big hole in their hearts that cannot be repaired. The pain inside is like a deep and quiet water, silently eating away their spirit and health, and perhaps one day they will suddenly die.

She hopes to give the old couple some positive and affirmative hope, so that they can believe that their son is still alive and is carrying out a secret mission somewhere, and it will be dangerous if he is exposed.

Fang Dihua was skeptical. The oil lamp was too dim. Lin Shu sat with her back to the light. Her whole body seemed to be coated with a layer of golden light, but her face was hidden in the darkness and looked very mysterious.

This reminded her of the witches who performed shaman dances in the past. At this moment, Lin Shu had that kind of mysterious temperament.

Otherwise, how could she, a young wife who had not even studied for two years, a timid person who dared not breathe, say such strange and sophisticated sentences?

Even the old man couldn't say such words, at least it had to be a commune cadre, right?

Lin Shu's next words made her even more shocked. Lin

Shu: "Mom, don't be afraid, I'm not possessed by evil spirits. I just had repeated dreams that the god that my child's father believed in was giving lectures to me and a large group of people."

It doesn't matter. In her previous life, she had learned a lot of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, and Deng Xiaoping Theory! Besides, the mother- in-law

made up a story that her parents-in-law came to burn paper in her dream, why couldn't she say that the god Ma gave her a lesson?