哭丧（1）

正所谓，人为刀俎，我为鱼肉。谁手里有武器，谁就有说话的权利。人命如草芥，这一点是我们现在这个时代的人难以想像的。

As the saying goes, one is a knife on the cutting board, and the other is the fish on it. Whoever has the weapon has the right to speak. Human life is as insignificant as grass, something that people in our current age find hard to imagine.

我奶奶听到以后害怕极了，颤抖的双手不知道该放在哪儿，只好抓着筷子小声的对我爷爷说：“那如果胡子发现了哨子被整死了咋办，咱们那还有活路了啊？”

My grandmother was extremely frightened after hearing this. Her trembling hands didn't know where to place themselves, so she could only clutch the chopsticks and whispered to my grandfather, “What will we do if Huzi finds out about the whistle being killed? Is there any way for us to survive?”

爷爷喝了点酒后脸有点红，显然是有些热了，他把棉袄脱下来往炕上一丢，安慰我奶奶：“没事儿，我和老翟头还有四楞子把他扔后山上的雪甸子里了。明天一早一定就被野狼野狗吃个干净。胡子要是发现了一定以为这损种还没下山就被野狼给掏了。再说这无凭无据的，他找谁去啊？咱明天把粮食藏好。啥事儿都没有，放心吧。再给我盛碗饭。”

After drinking a bit of alcohol, my grandfather's face turned a bit red, evidently getting a little hot. He took off his cotton-padded jacket and tossed it onto the kang, comforting my grandmother: “It's alright. Old Zhai and Si Lengzi and I have thrown him into the snow field on the back hill. By early morning tomorrow, the wild wolves and dogs will have eaten him clean. If Huzi finds out, he’ll definitely think this bastard hasn't come down the mountain yet and has been dug up by the wild wolves. Besides, there’s no evidence; who can he go to? We’ll hide the grain well tomorrow. Nothing to worry about, just relax. Now, serve me another bowl of rice.”

望着爷爷的镇定，我奶奶心里也就踏实了不少，但是还是害怕，这顿珍贵的细粮也就没能吃好。爷爷累了一天，吃完后躺在炕上呼呼大睡了。我奶奶把碗筷洗刷利索以后，躺在炕上始终睡不着。心里面都是胡子的事情，万一暴露了咋整。直到大概晚上十点多，才迷迷糊糊的进入的梦乡。

Looking at my grandfather's calmness, my grandmother felt a lot more at ease, but she was still scared, so she couldn't enjoy the precious fine grains. My grandfather was tired after a long day, finished eating, and laid down on the kang, snoring loudly. After my grandmother quickly washed the bowls and chopsticks, she lay down on the kang but couldn't sleep at all. Her heart was filled with thoughts of Huzi. What if they got exposed? It wasn't until around ten o'clock at night that she dozed off in a daze.

可是接下来的事情是我奶奶更加想不到的。

But what happened next was something my grandmother could never have imagined.

后半夜，我奶奶醒了，迷迷糊糊的她下床走到有夜壶的外屋方便。刚蹲下的时候就听到了依稀的哭声，好像有很多人，依依呀呀的跟唱戏似的。她激灵一下清醒了。这大半夜的谁在院子里哭？正当她提好裤子想顺着窗户看看到底怎么回事儿的时候，忽然有人从背后拍了她一下。这冷不丁的惊吓使我奶奶忘记了叫喊，她回头一看。

In the middle of the night, my grandmother woke up and, in a daze, got out of bed to go to the outer room to use the night pot. Just as she squatted down, she faintly heard crying, as if many people were singing like opera. She jolted awake. Who was crying in the yard at this time of night? Just as she was about to pull up her pants and look out the window to see what was going on, someone suddenly tapped her on the back. This unexpected fright made my grandmother forget to scream, and she turned to look back.

只见一个老妇披麻戴孝的跪在她身后，这个老妇尖嘴猴腮，黑夜里看上去脸白的就像是一张纸。但是嘴唇却红的渗人。她拉着我奶奶的衬裤哭着说：“我孙子命苦啊，你看没看见我的大孙子？”

There was an old woman kneeling behind her, dressed in mourning clothes. The old woman had a sharp, monkey-like face, and in the darkness, her face looked as white as paper. But her lips were disturbingly red. She grabbed my grandmother's underpants and cried, “My grandson is so unfortunate! Have you seen my eldest grandson?”

啊！！我奶奶终于尖叫了出来，她挣脱了那个老妇的手跑到了里屋，拼了命的摇醒我爷爷。我爷爷睡的正香，他骂道：“喊啥啊？叫丧啊？”我奶奶连忙告诉了她刚才她看见的，我爷爷听到外屋今人了赶忙起身穿衣服，从炕边儿抄起炉钩子就蹿了出去。可是拿煤油灯一照，外屋哪有什么人。气的我爷爷回头骂我奶奶：“是不是有病？睡毛楞了吧你。”

Ah!! My grandmother finally screamed and broke free from the old woman's grip, running into the inner room, desperate to wake up my grandfather. My grandfather was sound asleep and scolded, “What are you yelling about? Are you calling for a funeral?” My grandmother quickly told him what she had just seen. Upon hearing about the stranger outside, my grandfather hurriedly got up, dressed, and grabbed the stove hook, rushing outside. However, when he shone the kerosene lamp, there was nobody in the outer room. Furious, my grandfather turned back to scold my grandmother, “Are you sick? Are you dreaming?”

我奶奶现在惊魂未定，只是拼命地摇头。我爷爷见我奶奶确实吓坏了就安慰她：“没事儿，你那是做梦呢。别老瞎想回去再睡会儿吧。”

My grandmother, still in shock, just shook her head fiercely. Seeing that my grandmother was genuinely scared, my grandfather tried to comfort her: “It’s fine; you just had a dream. Don’t think too much about it; just go back to sleep.”

我奶奶刚想说话，那淅淅沥沥的哭声又传了出来。这时在看我爷爷脸色铁青，显然他也听到了。两人对视了一眼，谁都没说话。我爷爷撞起了胆子往窗户望去。这一望不要紧，还真把我爷爷和奶奶吓了个魂不附体。

Just as my grandmother was about to speak, the soft weeping started again. At this moment, my grandfather's face turned pale; clearly, he had heard it too. They exchanged a glance, and neither of them spoke. My grandfather gathered his courage and looked out the window. That one look made my grandfather and grandmother so frightened that their souls almost left their bodies.

只见黑暗中的院子里跪着二十几个身穿白衣的人，都是披麻戴孝，带着尖尖的白帽。哭声就是从他们的嘴里发出来的。他们哭几声后像后山的方向磕头，然后又接着哭。大半夜的院子里忽然凭空多出了这么多人好像在哭丧，这场面简直渗人到了极点。

There, in the yard shrouded in darkness, were more than twenty people wearing white garments, all dressed in mourning clothes and wearing pointed white hats. The crying came from their mouths. After crying a few times, they bowed in the direction of the back mountain and continued to weep. In the dead of night, so many people suddenly appeared in the yard seemingly mourning; the scene was chilling to the extreme.

我爷爷和奶奶现在都被吓的不轻，他们哪里见识过这种阵势！本来鬼魅之说也只是民间口舌相传，是人们茶余饭后的消遣或者是父母哄小孩子睡觉时用的手段。但是今日亲眼所见，就顿时让我爷爷奶奶吓乱了阵脚。

My grandfather and grandmother were both deeply terrified, having never encountered such a situation! Originally, tales of ghosts were merely passed down through words among the people; they were entertaining stories to tell during meals or tactics parents used to coax children to sleep. But witnessing it firsthand rattled my grandfather and grandmother to their core.

好在我爷爷快速的缓过了神儿，他马上拉我奶奶进了里屋，把所有的窗帘档上后又把准备过年时点的洋腊取出点上。稍为亮了一些，光能让人觉得安全，爷爷拿着炉钩子望着奶奶，奶奶早已经被吓哭了，但是她不敢出声，在炕上把棉被抱的紧紧的。出于安全起见，爷爷不敢贸然出去。只是小声的对着奶奶说：“等天亮，看看咋回事儿。”

Fortunately, my grandfather quickly composed himself; he immediately pulled my grandmother into the inner room, closed all the curtains, and then lit the candles he had prepared for the New Year. It was a bit brighter now; the light made them feel safer. My grandfather held the stove hook, looking at my grandmother, who had already cried from fear but was too scared to make a sound, huddling tightly under the quilt. For safety’s sake, my grandfather was hesitant to go outside. He softly told my grandmother, “Let’s wait until dawn and see what’s going on.”

好在，哭声在大概凌晨四，五点钟的时候就消失了。一夜没合眼，我爷爷装着胆子往窗子口一瞄，见院子里空无一人！又了一阵，天就蒙蒙亮了。爷爷仗着胆子到院子里，只见院门紧缩，不像是有人进来过的样子，院子里的大黄狗直挺挺的死了，内脏被掏了个干净，血污混合了雪，已经被冻住了。

Thankfully, the crying disappeared around four or five in the morning. Having not closed his eyes all night, my grandfather, mustering his courage, peeked out the window and saw that the yard was empty! After a while, the sky began to lighten. My grandfather, gathering his courage, went out into the yard, only to find the courtyard door tightly shut, looking as if no one had come in. The big yellow dog in the yard lay still, its entrails pulled out clean, blood mixed with snow, now frozen.