Chapter 1 Jiangcun Ghost

Songhua River: Innocent (Manchu) "Songa Chariura, which means Tianhe in Chinese, I don't know how many stories have happened in this 1900-kilometer-long river.

Fourth uncle, a lifelong bachelor, a fisherman who wanders on the river all year round, few people know where he caught such a big fish, and few people know why a fisherman brings the most not fishing gear every time he gets on the boat. What's more, no one will know that he, a bachelor who fishes all day, will be a "dead catcher on the river" who catches ghosts and drops corpses on the waves of the Songhua River.

Now, with the vague memory of my childhood, I restore a real Songhua River and talk about an ordinary fisherman and an ancient and mysterious profession.

My family lives in a small village by the Songhua River. Because of the continuous fog, there is also a very matching name - Wulihe Village.

Villagers plant spring and autumn harvests. When they are free, they stay on the boat for a month to catch some fish to supplement their families. Some people keep their good fields at home all year round and fish on the river for a living. There is a saying in our place that "fishing and touching shrimps do not make a living". In the eyes of the villagers, people who fish on the river all year round are not doing their job.

My fourth uncle is such a person. He has no land at home, but he likes to fish on the river in four seasons, but he has a second-rate face on his big waist. I didn't get married until I was 30 years old.

His father also introduced several big girls to him. Either the girl didn't like his business, or the fourth uncle excused it for various reasons and said that he didn't want to get a family. He didn't see his fourth daughter-in-law until his grandmother died.

Children who grow up by the river always have an indescribable feeling about water. When summer comes, after school, they go to the riverside with a few friends to play, hold a screen window, fish and fish and shrimp in the shallows. Sometimes they also catch some strange aquatic creatures, such as small black fish with two horny spikes on their heads. Few villagers If you catch it, even if you catch it, it will be released into the river. It is said that it is the brother-in-law of the Dragon Prince, which is unlucky to kill him.

There are also various remains of unknown animals or human beings. At that time, it was common to see dead people in the river. When there was a flood on both sides of the river, the village that held a village-wide commendation meeting yesterday was left only sows lying on bundles of corn stalks and stone mills inserted diagonally in the soil.

Sometimes fishermen cook with a ladle of river water downstream, and the swollen corpses soaked in the upper reaches slowly drift from the edge of the ladle to the downstream. Even so, eat the same food and fish soup and drink the same. After a heavy rain in summer, I don't know how many souls will be added to the river.

In addition to bringing a lot of joy to my childhood, Songhua River is more mysterious that has slowly precipitated in its first year. Perhaps every wave rolled up on the river is telling people a strange past.

My name is Li Qiangsheng. My nickname is Dog Left. My parents are lifelong farmers. I am uneducated. I only know that this child is easy to feed.

I have been following my fourth uncle's buttocks like a fart worm since I was a child. The fourth uncle is willing to lead me everywhere except Xiajiang. But every time I saw my fourth uncle coming home four times, I looked tired and sometimes had injuries on my body.

Every time my father mentions the fourth uncle, he will have an inexplicable loneliness, but I know that my father can't say anything about the fourth uncle. Uncle's body injury made me feel a little distressed, but more of a child's curiosity.

In 1988, when I was 14 years old, driven by curiosity, at dusk, I came to my fourth uncle's house and caught up with my fourth uncle weaving nets in the yard.

The fourth uncle grinned at me and said to me while weaving a net, "Dog leftovers, uncle has been back for so many days. Why do you want to come to see me? Come and let the fourth uncle see if he is growing." I don't know how to describe it. Looking at his hippie smile, it doesn't match his majestic physique.

I smiled and said, "Uncle, old man, what kind of net are you weaving? Let me ask my father to find a big-ass daughter-in-law who can give birth to a son and weave a net tomorrow."

The fourth uncle is still the hippie smile: "Get out of here, go, go into the room, uncle will make you some delicious food." With that, the fourth uncle put down the fishing net that was half woven and strode to the room. I followed him and followed him into the house. This house was built by my father and second uncle to raise money for my fourth uncle's daughter-in-law, but the house was about to collapse, and my daughter-in-law still didn't marry.

The fourth uncle's house is a traditional northeast soil embryo house, east-west house, north-south kang. Although I have always been alone, the room is still tidy. Looking around, most of the space in the house is occupied by all kinds of fishing nets, harpoons and oars. Although there are many objects, they do not seem messy. Obviously, these are all objects that the fourth uncle cherishes very much.

My eyes are still attracted by the quaint wooden box, not because the box is exquisite, but because of such an ordinary suitcase, and the fourth uncle takes it with him every time he gets on the boat. It's like looking at your daughter-in-law. Others can only see, can't touch, and can't open it casually.

Soon, the fourth uncle came over carefully with a large bowl full of fish. As the fourth uncle walked over, the smell of fish came to his nose. I changed to praise the fish in the bowl. The fourth uncle carefully put the bowl on the table and said with a smile, "Eat more if it's delicious. There are still some in the pot." The fourth uncle took out a bottle of a small burn from the corner and drank it while watching me devour my food.

I wiped my greasy little mouth on the cuffs and poured wine for him while talking to my fourth uncle.

Uncle's drinking capacity is not very good, but he usually likes to take a sip at night, saying that he can't sleep without drinking. I always joke and say to him, "Do you want to marry a wife?" He always doesn't answer. His eyes are not like him, as if there are many grievances and nowhere to talk, and it seems that he is silently firm in his heart...

The fourth uncle with another glass of wine had a fever on his face. When he spoke, his tongue began to curl up. I saw that the time was ripe, so I asked, "Uncle, when are you still going fishing?" When the fourth uncle saw me asking this question, he seemed to have never drunk. His eyes were shining and said to me with a treacherous smile, "What are you doing? Go fishing with me." I was shocked by the appearance of my fourth uncle who woke up drunk for a while! I opened my mouth wide and nodded with dull eyes.

The fourth uncle then shook his head helplessly and said, "The fourth uncle really wants to take you there, but he is suffering on the river. He sleeps on the boat in the open air and fools the boat when eating. I agree to go with others, but if you go with me, I'm afraid... The fourth uncle seemed to be afraid of leaking something, and then pretended to drink too much, half leaning against the wall and opening his mouth slightly.

I looked at the fourth uncle's bear and really wanted to give him two feet fiercely. Usually, except for my parents, the fourth uncle is the best for me, and I also have a father-like affection for him, but in addition to taking care of me at ordinary times, the fourth uncle still impresses me most about his mystery. Every time I ask my father, he always answers me vaguely.

just said, "He has nothing to do. He knows how to fish and fish and fish when he is so old that he doesn't even have a daughter-in-law." But I know that the fourth uncle has been wandering on the river for so many years, and it is definitely not as simple as fishing. Because he doesn't have the enthusiasm of ordinary fishermen for fish

I shook my head disappointedly. I wanted to know that he would leave one day, so I secretly hid on his ship. When the boat rowed to the heart of the river, it was too late for him to regret.

I did the same last time. Unexpectedly, as soon as the fourth uncle got on the boat, he lifted the fishing nets and cotton-padded clothes on my body. He lifted me with his big hand and left me on the shore like a chicken. Then he waved proudly to me and blew a loud whistle. He saw a giant eagle flying from the dense woods on the shore. He came out, flapped his huge wings, and hovered over the fourth uncle's boat. Seeing the giant eagle flying, the fourth uncle hung his sail and sailed downstream. Originally, I wanted to summarize the last experience, so I repeated the skill, but he saw through it.

So I defended and said, "My father agreed." How could the fourth uncle not see my little trick? He smiled and said, "Well, uncle also agreed. Tomorrow, he will pack up and go with the fourth uncle."

I nodded excitedly and trotted all the way home. When I came out of my fourth uncle's house, it was already dark. When I got home, my father and mother were waiting for me to eat. My mother scolded angrily while serving me food, "This dead child knows how to go crazy day by day. Where did he go?" The father didn't say anything, but he was obviously angry. I gently sat next to my father and said to my mother, "Mom, I've eaten at my fourth uncle's house. You two eat first."

Father slowly picked up the glass and took a sip, and said dullly, "The rest, your uncle is usually alone and quite lonely. If you have nothing to do, you can spend more time with him."

I nodded solemnly. With the dim light, I kept observing my father. When his expression was no longer so solemn, I whispered to my father, "Dad, I will spend more time with him in a few days, stay with him for a few more days, chat with him, enlighten him, and ask him to find me as soon as possible." The father didn't say anything and nodded with a smile.

The next morning, when I woke up, I rubbed my eyes, opened the window, and saw that there was a heavy fog again. Because the village was by the river, it was not a big deal to get foggy, but when there was a heavy fog, the visibility was extremely low. The old people often said, "Don't look back when it's foggy, mix stones on your feet, ghosts walk around, and the two bump into each other."

Because the fog in our village is more frequent and bigger than other villages near the river. So on a foggy morning, other villages began to be busy.

No one in our village dares to go out, but this kind of fog is not common. Because people often get lost in the fog, and even after walking for dozens of minutes, they can't find the big toilet in the east of the village.

I heard from my grandfather that when he was young, he had just fled from Shandong to the remote village in the northeast. At that time, the neighbors in the village often told Grandpa not to hoe the ground early when the fog in the morning. It is a trivial matter to get lost in the fog, and it will be fatal if you meet a ghost gathering.

But Grandpa didn't think that a fog could do anything to him. In addition, it was green and yellow at that time. He did more. When he got there, the fog almost dispersed and just happened to work. While thinking about it, I sighed that the Northeast is really a treasure! In this way, Grandpa carried the hoe alone and walked in the direction of the bracts in his memory.

After walking for about 10 minutes, Grandpa found something was wrong. In the morning, it seemed that someone was following him, as if he was urging Grandpa to leave quickly.

Looking back, except for the fog, there was no fog, and I didn't care too much, and walked straight in the direction of the rice field.

Who knew that this feeling was getting stronger and stronger. When he suddenly turned around, he saw a dark shadow, which was so dazzling in the white fog. The black shadow floated and slowly approached Grandpa. Grandpa took a breath of cold air and said to himself, "What the hell is this? Why are you walking like this!"

The fog blocked the sight, vaguely, and the dark shadow floated nowhere. Grandpa could only comfort himself and said that it might be a big bird and eagle.

But I still felt abruptly and dared not be careless. Even a big bird and eagle flying at low altitude, such a big one, it was hard for him to catch it.

Grandpa continued to walk forward and unconsciously walked for more than 20 minutes. He didn't know where he had gone. He only knew that with his foot strength, this time should come every day. So I stared hard at the front and only saw a blurred flower in front of me (Grandpa thought it was corn stalks and corn whiskers at that time).

Unexpectedly, when I came closer, I saw that this was not my own rice field. In front of me was a stage, with two men and women in costumes singing, and the bottom was full of people listening to the play.

I didn't feel anything just now, but when I got close to it, I found that there was not only no fog in this area, but only when I approached can I hear the shouts of the onlookers. The audience under the stands were dressed similar to Grandpa's, but the clothes were broken and not patched, and they were wet all over and looked very sloppy. Grandpa was feeling puzzled, but he was unconsciously attracted by the play on the stage.

Grandpa said that he could not be blamed at that time. Anyway, there are still two households with TVs in the village now, and movies can be played back in the village in a month.

At that time, when I came home after work, I went to bed in addition to eating. I blew the lamp and my eyes were black. When was it so lively! At that time, when I was young, I didn't think too much. I thought it was just a village invited to sing the drama.

After singing, Grandpa also shouted as if he was fascinated. This shout was good, and the play on the stage did not sing, and the onlookers did not coax, looking at Grandpa together. Grandpa held the hoe and sweated coldly, thinking about what was going on. I shouted so bad that I was anxious.

Who knows that it's okay for these people not to look back. As soon as they turned around, Grandpa looked at it and shouted out, "Oh, my God". This is not a person. The nearest 'person' to Grandpa opened his big mouth, and his chin shell kept opening and closing up and down. His mouth exuded a rotten smell, and his face was full of maggots from time to time. The maggots came out of the cracks in the open and closed skin, which was very disgusting.

Grandpa suppressed the rice noodles that were about to pour out in his stomach. Step back a few steps.

was frightened by the accident that had just happened. Just as Grandpa retreated, a 'man' on the side stretched out the bone shelf that had been rotten to white bones and grabbed Grandpa with a stench. Grandpa almost fainted. Looking at the white bone scratching, Grandpa's reflex, he hit the rotten brain shell with only half of his face.

Grandpa realized that he must have gone in the wrong direction in the fog and met the 'ghost market'. Unexpectedly, the head flew far away, and other evil spirits roared up, and the singers on the stage also appeared, jumping off the big coffin board with spider webs.

It stood at a distance from the ground and directly broke its bloody thigh! But he continued to roar and crawl to Grandpa.