Chen Ermao was so stunned by the news that he almost wet himself.
Whenever he saw someone passing by, he would kowtow and bow, begging for mercy.
Seeing his performance, the villagers all shook their heads and sighed. As the saying goes, thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. Thinking about how you treated Chen Xiaobei back then, your current end is not to be regretted at all.
The next day, Chen Xiaobei got up early and started to get busy.
He was going to make a wooden cage, and he was going to personally sink Chen Ermao into the river.
Only by doing so could he dispel the hatred in his heart.
Chen Xiaobei took his axe and went to the western woods, looking for branches as thick as his wrist and chopping them down with a crackle.
There was no need for mortise and tenon joints. With branches this thick, it was enough to wrap them with rope.
Seeing Chen Xiaobei busy there, the village head, Chen Dayong, came over, picked up the rope, and helped him tie two knots. Then he said in a low voice, "By rights, Chen Ermao deserves to die. Some of what I'm saying might be inappropriate."
"No matter what, he's still a resident of Hetou Village. He did evil when he was alive, but we can't let him become a vengeful ghost to claim our lives after death."
Chen Xiaobei naturally understood Chen Dayong's meaning. "Okay, Brother Dayong, you go and make arrangements, let him have a good meal."
"Tell him that he shouldn't have been given this meal. On account of his parents giving their house to me, I'll give him a full meal, and that's considered repaying his parents."
Chen Dayong nodded, helped Chen Xiaobei tie two more knots with the rope, and then got up to leave.
He went to the village canteen. Chen Dayong opened the stove and looked at it. There were some leftovers from last night. He thought about it, lit a fire, and prepared to heat them up. At this moment, Qiumei walked over.
"Brother Dayong, are you here for food? I'll cook something for you separately."
According to the village rules, breakfast was usually eaten at home, so the canteen didn't operate, only for lunch and dinner.
Chen Dayong shook his head. "It's not for me to eat. I just told Brother Xiaobei to get something for Chen Ermao. It's said that a hungry ghost will come back to claim lives if they die of starvation, so we shouldn't tempt fate."
Upon hearing this, Qiumei was first stunned, then nodded. "Yes, you're right, we shouldn't tempt fate. We can afford to provide a meal. Oh, I'll make him something extra."
Qiumei lit the fire, added some lard to the pot, and cut some cabbage.
She stir-fried some cabbage, heated up the congee from last night, and after thinking for a moment, Qiumei took out the preserved meat she had received. She cut a few slices. This was considered two dishes, a dish and porridge, and she took out a pot of wine. She put it all into a food box.
"Brother Dayong, by rights, given what Ermao did, giving him pig slop would be overestimating him. You have to make it clear to him that he shouldn't commit evil deeds again after becoming a ghost, otherwise, in his next life, he'll be reincarnated as a pig and still be slaughtered."
Chen Dayong nodded, picked up the food box, went out of the courtyard, and came to the big locust tree.
Seeing Chen Dayong arrive, a final glimmer of hope flashed in Chen Ermao's eyes. He smiled and went forward, "Brother Dayong, Brother Dayong."
Chen Dayong had no smile on his face. He first sat down on a rock, then opened the food box, revealing the two dishes.
Seeing these two dishes, Chen Ermao's eyes lit up.
"Brother Dayong is still good to me. He knows I'm hungry. I'm hungry."
Chen Dayong looked up at him, took out the dishes, and placed them on a stone in front of him, ensuring that Chen Ermao could reach them.
"Ermao, eat. Eat your fill. After you become a ghost, don't come back to the village to do evil."
Chen Ermao's outstretched hand instantly froze.
Suddenly, he grinned and started to cry, "Brother Dayong, I don't want to die. I don't want to die!"
Seeing him cry like this, Chen Dayong had no pity in his heart, only a slight sigh.
"Ermao, as the saying goes, if you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place?"
"Think about how you treated Brother Xiaobei back then?"
"If it were me, I would have beaten you to death on the spot. Brother Xiaobei is giving you a full meal, so you should be content."
Chen Ermao cried uncontrollably, "Brother Dayong, I don't want to die. I haven't married a wife yet, and I'm still observing mourning for my parents."
Chen Dayong shook his head again, pointed to the food and wine.
"Eat. Eat your fill and be on your way."
"When you reach the underworld, properly apologize to King Yama. In your next life, be born into a good family."
After speaking, he slowly exhaled and turned his head away, no longer looking at Chen Ermao.
At this moment, Chen Ermao finally understood that his death was unavoidable. He wiped away his tears and stopped crying.
"Alas, let me die. I know I shouldn't have gone against Chen Xiaobei."
As he spoke, he reached for the wine pot and drank several large gulps.
Then he picked up a few pieces of dried meat and stuffed them into his mouth haphazardly.
After eating a few bites, he changed his tone. "Brother Dayong, isn't it strange? Chen Xiaobei used to not know where his next meal would come from. He begged me every day, wishing he could exchange Qiao'er for money. But for some reason, he suddenly seemed like a different person."
Hearing Chen Ermao's words, Chen Dayong's heart also trembled.
It made sense. He didn't know when it started, but Chen Xiaobei seemed like a different person, especially after Cui Hongyu entered the household.
Thinking of this, he chuckled. "I'll tell you why. It all started when Xiaobei married Cui Hongyu. I must say, Cui Hongyu is truly a lucky charm for her husband."
"No, no, Brother Dayong, you didn't understand what I was saying. Didn't someone die in the Zhao family in the county town before Cui Hongyu entered the household?"
"Monkey and I set up a trap to make Chen Xiaobei owe me two taels of silver. You know, with his family's background, he couldn't possibly come up with it."
"So he had to use Qiao'er as collateral. But it's strange, he not only didn't give me Qiao'er, but instead brought a few wild chickens to exchange for two taels of silver."
Listening to Chen Ermao's rambling, Chen Dayong instead smiled.
"Ermao, look at you. Even Xiaobei knows how to get wild chickens to earn money, but you, all day long, are just up to no good. If you had gotten a few wild chickens earlier, perhaps this whole area would be yours."
Ermao shook his head helplessly. "Alas, I can't explain it to you. Anyway, I just feel like Chen Xiaobei suddenly became a different person."
As he spoke, he quickly finished all the wine and food, and then wiped his mouth.
"I know that for what I've done, dying ten times wouldn't be unfair."
"I'm already content to have lived this long."
"Brother Dayong, I only have one request: after I die, can you bury me in the old Chen family's ancestral grave on the east side of the village?"
At this, Chen Dayong fell silent. According to the clan rules, Chen Ermao in this situation could not be buried in the ancestral grave.
"Ermao, I can't decide this matter. If you truly want to be buried in the ancestral grave, then you should sincerely beg Chen Xiaobei later."