Druid's Country Retirement

Chapter 535 Condolences

At the foot of Chaotianyan Mountain.

Various vehicles were parked on the side of the road, including cars, vans, and three-wheelers, especially a four-wheeled cart hanging behind the van. The wreaths in the carriage were piled higher than the roof. If it hadn't been fixed with ropes, it would have tipped over sooner or later. .

Looking around, there are dozens of people, old and young, all dressed in uniform white mourning clothes. The children are playing and playing on the road, and the adults are squatting on the roadside, smoking cigarettes and chatting.

"Village chief, where have they gone?" Dakui walked up to him holding a drum.

Li Hongbing threw away the cigarette butt, stamped it out with his foot, and said helplessly, "I just called, and Taohua Village has already crossed two beams. It is estimated that it will be there soon, and other villages are still on the way."

"Hey, I should have waited in the village. There is no shop in front of the village, no store in the back, no matter how hard I poop, I will blow my ass." Li Hongqi held a branch in his mouth helplessly.

Snapped!

When Fu Sheng heard his son's words, he raised his hand and slapped him.

Li Hongqi grinned in pain.

The surrounding villagers laughed loudly. This Li Hongqi was really tough. His father had beaten him since he was a child. He was heartless when he was a child, and he was still heartless when he grew up.

"Mother-in-law, have you picked it up?" Li Hongbing smiled and grabbed Jianjun who was passing by.

"coming!"

Li Huaizhong spent a lot of effort before squeezing through the traffic and arriving at the foot of Chaotianyan Mountain.

"Has Xinghua Village come?"

"Okay, let me know when the date is set."

"Each village will manage the teams. We have just made a plan. Caogou Village will start in a moment. When we get to Shilipu, we will get off the car and walk there. When the time comes, the gong and drum teams will come together to set off the cannons and lay wreaths and white flags. It’s up to your own village to take care of it.”

"I called Lao Zhu, he is on his way here." After saying that, Lu Niu Sheng raised his head and glanced at the sky, "It's not too early. We can only go after dark to express our condolences, so we can do it in time for the sun to set."

"Has Taohuagou come?"

"Is Zhujiawan here?"

"Village Chief Li, we are not too late!"

"arrive!"

"Here too!"

Outside the crowd, Li Huaizhong quickly raised his hand, "Songbai Town is here too!!"

Li Hongbing nodded, "Almost everyone who is due is here, and those who are not are rushing here on the road. It's going to be dark right now, so let's go to Shilipu first."

When the village chiefs knew that the mayor was coming, they turned their heads.

"Is there any problem?"

From a distance, I saw Li Hongbing standing on a big stone to roll call, surrounded by a group of villagers wearing mourning clothes.

Lu Niu Sheng jumped out of the cab of the first car, also dressed in mourning clothes.

Then just wait!

What else could Li Hongbing say? Anyway, there were more than ten villages coming later.

It is a local custom in the forest area to offer condolences after dark. If an elderly person dies, condolences can only be done after 4 pm or in the evening. If the deceased is younger, condolences must be done in the morning.

On the ridge in the distance, several bouncing cars appeared one after another.

Wait for the Bengbeng convoy from Taohuagou to arrive at Chaotian Rock.

Jianjun shook his head in embarrassment, "No, I'm going to go in the next two days. Brother, please drive to pick me up then."

"They're not here. They're probably still on their way."

"No, you are quite fast. You are the first to come, and the other villages don't know where to go." Li Hongbing stepped forward to greet them with a smile.

"Ma De, that's a slap in the face!" Li Hongbing muttered in his heart, then turned around and shouted, "Jianjun, Chunsheng, Hongqi, hurry up and wrap the car with mourning cloth. Who are you looking down on?"

Along the way, there were villagers from various villages dressed in sackcloth and mourning. It was rare to meet each other. They were in groups of three, five, seven or eight, gathering together to chat and gossip.

Let’s look at the fleet of cars in Caogou Village. Cars, vans, and three-wheelers, each has its own vehicle and its own color.

“Where is Shuanggou Village?”

As for the result of the discussion just now, all the village chiefs nodded in agreement, even if they still had questions.

The dog got in!

They make it more impressive than us!

An idea came to the villagers' minds at the same time, and even Li Hongbing twitched his lips.

"coming!"

"Has Chashugou come?"

Condolence teams from various villages arrived one after another. Some villages saw that other villages were wearing sackcloth and mourning, and they also carried mourning in their cars, so they hurriedly greeted their own villagers.

"Okay!" The people who were called turned around and ran to the three-bengzi carriage and took out bundles of filial piety cloth.

why!

"Does Mayor Li have anything to say?" Li Hongbing asked Li Huaizhong at this moment.

Time passes.

Li Hongbing agreed immediately. At this time, Chunsheng in the team pointed in the direction of the mountain, "Village chief, they are coming, they are coming!"

Because of the Bengbeng motorcade in Taohuagou, the entire car was wrapped in filial piety cloth, with a big white flower hanging on the front of the car and the sound of gongs, drums and suonas.

Everyone's heads turned around.

The winding mountain road was full of cars, both cars and horse-drawn carriages, blocking the narrow mountain road tightly. Even the town government’s convoy that came to express condolences was crowded behind.

You just think of me now, what have you been doing!

Li Huaizhong walked through the crowd resentfully, walked to the stone, and climbed up the stone with the help of Li Hongbing.

From a high position, seeing the entire condolence team, four words popped into my mind.

It's spectacular.

If there are 50 people in a village, and more than ten villages come, that’s more than 500 people. Add in the convoy, and it’s a mess. This kind of scene is rare.

Suddenly his spirit was shaken, and he subconsciously put his hands on his hips and began to make a long speech.

"Today is a sad day for the forest area. The last of the seventy-two heroes passed away. We are gathered here with deep respect and longing for those anti-invaders who fought bloody battles for the forest area."

"In that turbulent era, they threw themselves into the war against the invaders without hesitation, and used their blood, sweat and lives to build an indestructible line of defense for us. Their bravery and tenacity have become an eternal role model in our hearts."

"Uncle Luo has experienced the baptism of fire and witnessed the vicissitudes of history. The seventy-two heroes are a precious asset to our forest area. Their spirit will always inspire us to move forward."

"Let us remember their dedication and sacrifice, and jointly remember those elderly people who fought against the invaders, so that their heroic names will always be recorded in history, and their spirits will always shine in the forest area."

"The gongs are beating, the drums are beating, and whips are fired along the way. We send Uncle Luo off with a bang, letting him know that our forest area will never forget them from generation to generation."

"Set off!!"

With a wave of Li Huaizhong's hand, the village chief and villagers under the stone turned red, clapped their hands excitedly, and called their villagers back to the convoy to arrange the departure.

"This word is well written. Whoever wrote it for you must have practiced it for a long time!" Li Hongbing couldn't help but hit Li Huaizhong in a low voice.

The red-faced Li Huaizhong glared at him fiercely, turned around and muttered in embarrassment.

"Bullshit, it must have been written by the secretary. Even if you ask me to write it, I can't write it. I've been memorizing it since I took over the road construction."

Li Hongbing curled his lips and snickered, jumped off the stone, "Let's go, I will lead the convoy first."

"Hey, hey, hey, help me down, you stupid red soldier, run the ball!" Li Huaizhong stood on Stone Mountain and shouted loudly.

"Fire the guns and let's go." Li Hongbing stood in Santengzi's carriage and looked at the motorcade behind him. Li Hongqi grabbed a bunch of firecrackers, lit a cigarette with a cigarette butt, and threw it to the roadside.

Crackling!

The sound of firecracker explosions resounded through the mountains, and gunpowder smoke billowed into the sky.

Sanbengzi started slowly, deliberately controlling the speed so that the condolences convoy behind could keep up.

After the first string of firecrackers went off, the second string followed. This was the signal from the second village, followed by the third and fourth strings.

With the sound of firecrackers falling, all villages moved to express their condolences, and the gongs and drums team began to play. The air was full of movement and power.

The sounds of gongs, drums, and suonas are like waves, one after another, constantly impacting people's eardrums.

The gongs and drummers have discussed the music in advance, and they cooperate tacitly. Their movements and rhythms are like one person, and they hit every beat accurately, making the sound of gongs and drums surge like a tide, echoing in every corner of the mountains.

Li Hongqi stood up and looked at the white motorcade behind him, like a white dragon wandering along the winding mountain road, and couldn't help but be filled with emotion.

"My dear, this battle was never this big when Mr. Li left."

Li Hongbing nodded in agreement.

When grandpa passed away, the standards were high, and the people who came to express condolences were all respected elders from the forest area. However, Uncle Mazi's condolences were based on the village as a group, and the number of people was larger in terms of scale.

"By the way, Brother Hongbing, have you contacted Shilipu? There are so many of us, how do we deal with food and accommodation?"

"I called. Luo Long said everything has been arranged. No matter how many people there are, it will be fine."

Shilipu.

In the Luo family ancestral hall, white flowers hang plaques and filial piety cloths are hung on the walls.

There was a black coffin in the empty hall, with lava players sitting on both sides, and Luo Mazi's portrait was placed in front of the coffin.

The black coffin emits lacquer light, and on the front of the coffin are painted cranes and deers in the stele hall, with colored glazes.

Two snow-white cranes spread their wings over the tile hall. There are lush green pines and cypress trees on both sides of the hall. In front of the hall is a fragrant green grassland. In the middle of the grassland is the stone path leading to the hall, which looks very clean and elegant. .

The whole picture decorates the entire coffin head like a fairyland room, a quiet villa. On the top of the coffin are written the three characters "An Le Palace", which closely links the picture of the coffin to the coffin itself.

On both sides of the coffin are two golden dragons flying in the clouds and chasing the orbs. Around the dragon are painted weapons used by Lu Dongbin and other Eight Immortals, also known as the "Eight Dark Immortals", as well as guqin, ancient paintings, plums, orchids, chrysanthemums, bamboos, peaches, durians and longevity fruits. On the material surface, there are "Shoushan Mountain and Sea of ​​Fortune".

All the pictures on the coffin use techniques such as standing powder and gilding, as well as the mixing of pigments to fully incorporate the ancient Tang Sancai painting style into the coffin, making the entire coffin solemn and elegant, with distinct layers of colors, gorgeous and orderly colors, and elegant and smooth lines.

Just this coffin, ordinary people really can't afford it. Firstly, it's expensive, and secondly, ordinary people can't afford the Golden Dragon, Anle Palace, Dark Eight Immortals and Shoushan Fuhai.

No matter how many clothes were delivered, all the Luo family members came to express their condolences and help when notified. As filial sons and grandsons, the Luo family brothers knelt beside the coffin to keep vigil and burn paper.

At this time.

A young student rushed into the ancestral hall and shouted breathlessly.

"Brother Long, Brother Tiger, they are coming, they are all coming!"

All the Luo family members in the ancestral hall cast their eyes on this young young man. Luo Long put down the fire paper in his hand with a haggard look, stood up and walked out of the main room.

"What's coming?"

"All the people in the forest area came to express their condolences. There were at least a thousand of them. We couldn't even see the end of them. They were almost at the entrance of the village."

Thousands of people!

The Luo family took a breath, so many people came.

Luo Long's expression suddenly changed, and he turned to look at his younger brother, "Huzi, you are guarding the ancestral hall, I will go pick him up."

After that, he hurriedly left the ancestral hall, followed by other Luo family members to watch the excitement.

Hey!

Thousands of people came to pay their respects to the team, and it became well-known in the forest area from now on.

the other side.

The condolence convoy in the forest area was still two or three miles away from Shilipu. Li Hongbing asked Santengzi to stop, jumped out of the car and signaled that the convoy was there.

The motorcade behind them got off one after another.

According to what was discussed in advance, the rest of the road had to be walked to show respect for Uncle Luo.

The chiefs of each village shouted and called to the villagers to get off the line. Those who held up wreaths held up wreaths, those who held up white flags held up white flags, and those who held three animals held three animals.

The gong and drum team must gather at the front.

Everything seemed chaotic, but there was order in the chaos, and soon a huge condolence team was lined up.

In each village's condolence procession, those holding white flags stood on both sides, those holding three animals stood in front, the condolence procession stood in the middle, and finally, those holding wreaths.

"Taohuagou is ready."

"Zhujiawan is ready."

"The tea tree dog is ready."

"The second beam is ready."

Li Hongbing nodded after receiving the letter and said to the people around him: Hongqi, Xiucai, Jianjun, and Shengli.

"Set the whip and let the gongs and drums team beat."

Crackling!

As the first sound of firecrackers sounded, the team behind them set off firecrackers.

The condolence procession that stretched for several miles was shrouded in smoke, and the white procession loomed in the smoke. As the gongs and drums team of hundreds of people played deafening music, the procession began to move slowly, marching to the beat of the drum, like a silent army, and Like a white dragon breaking through the smoke.

For a time, the sound of drums shook the sky, and the roar of cymbals was as touching as thunder, reaching Shilipu.

When everyone in Shilipu heard the sound, they all looked in the direction of the sound.

Ever since Uncle Luo left in the morning, the sound of firecrackers and drums has not stopped. Especially after knowing that Uncle Luo was the hero who killed Xiaozhi back then, other people with surnames in Shilipu, whether they knew him or not, would go to the Luo family ancestral hall to express their condolences and meet him. A procession of condolences came outside.

But no condolence procession would have such a loud drumbeat.

It's like hundreds or thousands of people typed it out at the same time.

So people put down what they were doing and ran in the direction of the sound.

Luo Long stood at the entrance of the village.

A team gradually appeared in sight, and the pupils suddenly dilated.

Village Chief Li said on the phone that other villages in the forest area would also come to Shilipu to express their condolences, but he didn't take it to heart at the time. This was not a close relationship, and even if they came, it was probably just one or two representatives just going through the motions.

But seeing the team in front of me was jaw-dropping.

There are hundreds of people in the gong and drum team alone, and there are dense white flags blowing in the wind behind them.

Seeing the lively Shilipu villagers, more and more villagers gathered together. When they saw the long line of condolences, they were not only shocked but also shocked.

"My dear, this battle is so big."

"I didn't expect that Uncle Luo was so popular, so many people came to express their condolences."

"Look, is that Li Hongbing from Caogou Village?"

"Oh my god, whoever mentions our Shilipu in the future will not give a thumbs up."

"On the day I die, if only half of these people express condolences, I will die in peace!"

(End of this chapter)