李四一为卖菜的老人送行

文摘 2025-02-13 18:42 陕西

喂，是人生终点服务站吗？

是的，李四一在店里把电话接了起来。电话那头是李四一面前那条街的菜市场管理员，说是有个老人卖菜的时候去世了，让李四一帮忙送一送。

李四一也见过那位老人家，每天天还没亮骑着一辆三轮电瓶车，车上拉着一些黄瓜，白菜之类的蔬菜过来摆摊卖的，有时候卖的快早早就收摊了，有时候卖的晚，天都黑了才离开。

李四一开上他们店里的灵车往市场门口去，那边有一些人在那看热闹，仿佛在看一场戏，警察也在这边了，他们拍拍李四一的肩膀，老李后面交给你了！

市场管理员见了李四一也连忙上前介绍一下他的情况，这个老人无老伴无儿无女，孤身一人，卖菜午休时候想要烧木炭取暖，结果一氧化碳中毒了，李四一摸了一下木炭盆，还是挺暖的，也有些烫手。

老人的头上已经被盖上了一件黑色的围裙，围裙上还有一些血，一股鱼腥味，看样子是卖鱼的老板给他盖上的，老人身上穿着一件市场里最常见的迷彩棉服，一条黑色的棉裤，一双外表有些湿漉漉的棉鞋，老人的袜子也是左右脚不同色的。

李四一把老人家背上了车，开着车前往了殡仪馆，老人家一个人孤零零地来到这个世界上，最后离开的时候也是孤身一人，李四一出发之前问了一下市场管理员，管理员也确认老人家没有亲人在世了。

李四一也在他家买过一些青菜，挺新鲜的，菜的根部还带着泥土，看着就像是刚从地里摘下来的。往些天也见到过老人用铁盆烧炭做火炬，可怎么今天却有问题了，李四一想起过来的时候围在边上的塑料布，大概也明白了，老人家为了暖和点，还在头上盖了塑料布，防止热气离开。

李四一为老人擦拭身体，给老人化了一个帅气的妆容，还让同事把一件均码的寿衣带了过来为老人换上，看着老人安详帅气的遗容，李四一朝着老人深深鞠了一躬，李四一的工作便算结束了，后面的工作便是民政部门的事情了。

李四一给市场管理员打了个电话，说自己已经把老人家送了，管理员执意要给李四一转点钱，说是不能让李四一白白干活，李四一也就收下了管理员转的钱。

李四一收起电话，走出了殡仪馆，开着车回店里去了。天这会儿也黑了，路边嘈杂的车声，叫卖声，自行车轮胎转动的声音，从窗外飘进来，不绝于耳，这就是生命的声音吧，和那会儿在殡仪馆里的寂静，形成了鲜明的对比，有生命，才热闹吧……

Hello, is this the End of Life Service Station? Yes, Li Siyi answered the phone in the store. The person on the other end of the phone was the manager of the vegetable market on the street in front of Li Siyi. He said that an old man died while selling vegetables and asked Li Siyi to help deliver the goods. Li Siyi had also seen that old man. He rode a three-wheeled electric vehicle before dawn every day, carrying some cucumbers, cabbages and other vegetables to set up a stall to sell. Sometimes he sold quickly and closed the stall early, and sometimes he sold late and left when it was dark. Li Siyi drove the hearse in their store to the entrance of the market. There were some people watching the excitement there, as if they were watching a play. The police were also here. They patted Li Siyi on the shoulder and said, "Old Li, I'll leave the rest to you!" When the market manager saw Li Siyi, he hurried forward to introduce his situation. This old man had no partner, no children, and was alone. During his lunch break from selling vegetables, he wanted to burn charcoal to keep warm, but he was poisoned by carbon monoxide. Li Siyi touched the charcoal basin and it was still quite warm, but also a little hot. The old man's head was covered with a black apron, which had some blood and a fishy smell. It seemed that the fishmonger had covered him. The old man was wearing a camouflage cotton coat, a pair of black cotton pants, and a pair of wet cotton shoes. The old man's socks were also different colors on his left and right feet. Li Siyi carried the old man on his back and drove to the funeral home. The old man came to this world alone and left alone. Before leaving, Li Siyi asked the market manager, who confirmed that the old man had no relatives alive. Li Siyi also bought some green vegetables from his house. They were quite fresh. The roots of the vegetables were still covered with soil, and they looked like they had just been picked from the ground. In the past few days, I have seen the old man using an iron basin to burn charcoal to make a torch, but why is there a problem today? Li Siyi remembered the plastic sheet around him when he came here, and probably understood that the old man covered his head with plastic sheet to keep warm and prevent the heat from leaving. Li Siyi wiped the old man's body, put on a handsome makeup for him, and asked his colleagues to bring a one-size-fits-all shroud for him to put on. Looking at the old man's serene and handsome face, Li Siyi bowed deeply to him, and Li Siyi's work was over. The rest of the work was the responsibility of the civil affairs department. Li Siyi called the market administrator and said that he had sent the old man away. The administrator insisted on transferring some money to Li Siyi, saying that he couldn't let Li Siyi work in vain. Li Siyi accepted the money transferred by the administrator. Li Siyi put away the phone, walked out of the funeral home, and drove back to the store. It was dark now, and the noisy sound of cars on the roadside, the hawking, and the sound of bicycle tires turning floated in from the window. This was the sound of life, which formed a sharp contrast with the silence in the funeral home at that time. It was lively only when there was life...