The temperature has risen.
I had quit smoking for a while, but I couldn’t help myself and lit up a cigarette again. The sun was rising, and the dew and the muggy feeling made me a bit restless. Smoking helps me calm down.
“Maybe he’s already gone,” the fat guy said while smoking beside me. “You know his temper; we’re just too naive and always get fooled by the old man.”
“Then he’s completely offended me,” I thought. It wasn’t impossible, but I didn’t know whether I should be angry or happy for him if that “possibility” turned out to be real.
Panzi’s tombstone slowly became clear in the morning light. The somewhat dim engravings, with strokes and edges I was very familiar with, were written by me. The red paint on top had all peeled off.
For a long time, I hadn’t accepted the fact that Panzi wouldn’t be by my side anymore. Now, I accepted this ending. Ten years later, even without him, sitting in front of the tombstone, I felt not a single shred of wavering.
Some people desperately want to turn from stone into a person, while I, unknowingly, have turned into a piece of stone.
The fat guy poured a sack of paper money in front of Panzi’s tombstone and lit it with a lighter. I took out a few packs of white sand from my bag and pressed them on top of the paper money.
“Damn, with so much money, why not get something high-end for Big Pan?” the fat guy said.
“This is for myself,” I replied. If this time doesn’t work out, then these cigarettes will stay with Panzi for now. Jokingly, if Third Uncle is down there too, those two are probably already trying to impress Yama and waiting for me to come down and enjoy riches and glory. It’s not wrong to prepare a little hobby for myself.
The fat guy mumbled something in front of Panzi’s tombstone, and I generally knew what he would say. After all these years, I was too lazy to listen or to criticize.
It took 15 minutes for a pile of paper money to burn completely. I stood up, and the fat guy stood up too. We looked at each other.
The fat guy had some gray strands at his temples, but his breath hadn’t changed at all, while I had changed too much.
No matter what, someone who has gone through all this cannot miss this moment.
“Alright, let’s go, no need to be sentimental,” the fat guy patted me. “You need to work hard to get back that feeling you used to have. This is the last time; we need to do this happily.”
As we stepped outside the public cemetery, several guys were constantly making phone calls. When they saw us coming, they all rushed over. I shook my wrist to signal them to give orders, and they ran towards their respective vehicles.
The convoy outside was packed tightly. I walked past them, and the headlights flickered, revealing pairs of eyes filled with desire inside the cars.
Even at this moment, these people sometimes still make mistakes. Such a dense group gathered here is too conspicuous.
I really couldn’t remember how many people there were. In these ten years, all the people who were willing to help me were on this road. This was all that belonged to the third master of the Wu family.
The fat guy and I got into my Jeep, and the mute girl in the passenger seat handed me the walkie-talkie. I dialed the frequency and shouted, “All Wu family members, honk your horns and say goodbye to your Panzi: we’re leaving.”
Across the mountains and plains, in places I could see and places I couldn’t, the thunderous honking of car horns erupted simultaneously.
“Let’s go, we’re heading to a cool place to spend this summer.” I tossed the walkie-talkie back to Sister Ya. The convoy’s engines roared to life, and the胖子 looked out the window. My phone rang; it was a WeChat message from Xiao Hua. The convoys from Beijing and Changsha had already set off.
I took a deep breath and rubbed my expressionless face.
It’s been ten years.
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