Chapter 4

When Li Sanjiang carried Li Zhuiyuan back home, the sky was just turning white.

Cui Guiying took the child over. Li Sanjiang talked to Li Weihan for a while and then left.

Li Zhuiyuan was placed on the mat bed, his eyes closed for a while and then opened.

He couldn't sleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, it seemed he saw Little Huang Ying dancing in the fish pond again.

Cui Guiying and Li Weihan didn't enter the inner room to rest, but sat in the kitchen.

The woman kept rubbing her fingers, rubbing them until they were red; the man kept smoking his water pipe, one pot after another.

Looking at the bright sky, Cui Guiying got up and said: "I'll make breakfast for the children first."

Li Weihan exhaled a puff of smoke and said: "It's a bit early to smoke."

Cui Guiying had to sit down again, looking at her man: "Then when do we have to wait?"

"Wait for notification."

"Who will notify?"

Li Weihan didn't answer, just continued to suck on the cigarette holder.

After sitting for a while, a knock on the door came:

"Old Guiying, Old Guiying."

It was the neighbor, Zhao Simei.

Li Weihan tapped his water pipe and said: "The notification is here."

Cui Guiying got up, yawning and rubbing her eyes to open the door, puzzled: "What's the matter, Old Simei?"

Zhao Simei reached out and grabbed Cui Guiying's arm, shaking it hard:

"Great Hu Zi's family is dead!"

"What?"

"Two died, Great Hu Zi and his youngest son. They were just seen floating in the fish pond at home. Everyone went to see. Let's go, let's go see together!"

"Go!"

Before Cui Guiying went out, she shouted to the inner room: "Old Ying, the rice is washed, you make breakfast later."

"Got it, Grandma."

After getting the response, Cui Guiying went out with Zhao Simei.

Li Weihan waited for a while, touched the opened cigarette in his pocket, put the water pipe on the table, and went out too.

Zhao Simei's previous knocking had actually woken up the children. Knowing that something extraordinary had happened, the children also got up one after another and ran out to watch the excitement.

No matter how Ying Zi shouted "brush your teeth and wash your face" from behind, she couldn't call them back.

At this time, the fish pond at Great Hu Zi's house was surrounded by people, and villagers were constantly rushing here on the village road, men, women, old and young, dragging families.

Two corpses were floating on the fish pond. No one went to deal with them, even though a small boat was parked by the pond.

Although Great Hu Zi's family had a very bad reputation in the village, the villagers wouldn't be so indifferent;

The reason why they didn't help pull the corpses ashore together was that the two corpses were like biscuits soaked in a bowl for a long time, bloated out of shape, and the appearance presented a semi-transparent meat crystal color, like two large pieces of human-shaped pork skin jelly.

Many people knew that drowned corpses would bloat after soaking for a long time, but how could two people who were alive yesterday become like wood ear mushrooms soaked and expanded overnight?

This was too evil, leading to no one daring to touch the corpses.

Great Hu Zi's wife knelt by the pond and cried loudly, but she only knew how to cry and didn't understand what to do. People around came to persuade her, but she didn't listen, just howling about her bitter life.

Finally, Great Hu Zi's eldest son rushed back from town, and there was finally a master.

It's just that this eldest son looked at his father and younger brother floating on the pond, his face twitching with fear. He didn't dare to go down to retrieve the people either, so he had to beg someone to invite Li Sanjiang.

Li Sanjiang pushed a flatbed cart and came, with his gear loaded on the cart.

After arriving, Li Sanjiang first looked at the situation on the pond, and then kept waving his hands and retreating in fear:

"I don't dare to retrieve this. If I retrieve it, I'll lose my life, lose my life! Find someone else, find someone else quickly!"

His bluffing made the surrounding villagers even more uproarious, and they began to whisper about what kind of evil Great Hu Zi's family had created to attract which evil spirit.

Soon, villagers brought up the matter of Little Huang Ying yesterday. After all, the funeral troupe almost fought at Great Hu Zi's house. In the village, it was very difficult to hide any secrets.

Li Weihan also spoke up at this time, telling the people around him about his encounter with his grandsons on the boat yesterday, saying that his grandson fell into the water, had a nightmare saying he saw a woman walking in the water, was scared into a coma, Zheng Datong came to see it but it was useless, and fortunately Blind Liu came to do the treatment.

Immediately, many villagers specially gathered to listen to Li Weihan's narration, and kept expressing their opinions.

Cui Guiying stood beside Li Weihan, her expression very nervous. On weekdays, if she didn't need to cook or wash clothes, she could sit on the dam and chat about right and wrong with the women in the village for three days and three nights. But today, she was dull and didn't dare to speak.

Her heart was empty and panicked, like a thief shouting to catch a thief, and a cat specially coming to cry for a mouse.

Pan Zi, Lei Zi, Hu Zi, and Shitou also began to talk, saying that they saw a female water ghost yesterday, almost pulling their Little Brother Yuan Hou down to be a substitute, and it was coming for revenge!

For a time, the surroundings were like a large open-air tea party. After Little Huang Ying's matter was talked about thoroughly, the villagers who still felt unsatisfied turned over the old sesame and rotten grains of Great Hu Zi's family and continued to stir-fry them.

Not long after, Great Hu Zi's second son brought his wife, and two daughters brought their sons-in-law to rush home. The two daughters hugged their mother and started crying together, while the two sons and two sons-in-law stood together and talked about the price with Li Sanjiang.

Li Sanjiang took a lot of airs, using the excuse that it was a double retrieval plus the corpse was so evil, and directly asked for ten times the price of retrieving one person ashore on weekdays.

After negotiating the money, Li Sanjiang set up an offering table, offered sacrifices, lit candles, burned paper, and gave an extra half-hour of "calling friends and companions" muttering, attracting everyone's attention.

Although this performance was indeed not as bright as the funeral troupe, everyone knew that the funeral troupe was just a frame, and this one was truly professional.

During this period, two Santana cars drove over, both with police lights hanging on top. This was the police from the town police station.

Usually, if someone drowned, they drowned. It wasn't a big deal. But this time, two people drowned, and they were a father and son, and it was at their own door. The nature of the matter was different.

The police came over and looked at the situation, and couldn't help but be stunned for a while. They hadn't seen bloated corpses, but they had never seen such exquisite bloating.

Seeing this, they had to wait until the corpses were retrieved before talking. They didn't interrupt Li Sanjiang's ritual, but didn't go to join in the fun, but returned to the car by the road and smoked slowly while waiting.

Finally, Li Sanjiang finished his work, slaughtered a rooster, and sprinkled a bowl of unknown black dog blood, and then went to the central position by poling that boat.

First, use the "guide hook" to hook the corpse to the side of the boat, then use the "soul return basket" to fix and pull the corpse onto the boat, and then cover the corpse with the "home return net." After poling the boat to the side of the pond, bend over, lower your head, and send the corpse to your back with a specific technique, and then go ashore.

This was a very important rule in the corpse retriever trade. The corpse retriever's own feet must go ashore first before putting down the corpse, because this was "sending" and "carrying" home.

Finally, only after the host family called out could the corpse be put down. This was considered to have a coming and going, clearing the errand, letting the dead fall know that they had really returned home, and not becoming a lonely ghost following him.

After repeating the gourd and painting the ladle twice, the father and son of Great Hu Zi finally ended their drifting and were placed on two straw mats.

Everything was done. Li Sanjiang looked at the central area of the fish pond with lingering fear. He just routinely retrieved the corpses and didn't dare to really investigate deeply.

God knows if she was still in there.

The police came over to separate the corpses, but the villagers didn't care and still stood far away to look, and from time to time, the screams of frightened children came.

Li Sanjiang settled the money, packed up his gear, and pushed the flatbed cart back with a cigarette in his mouth. The surrounding villagers all avoided and gave way. Everyone avoided those who had just retrieved corpses.

The police began a formal investigation. The temporary office was at Great Hu Zi's house, and the village secretary also came to assist, helping to call people, boil water, and serve tea.

Great Hu Zi's wife couldn't say anything. She just woke up and didn't see her old man sleeping beside her. It was discovered by outsiders passing by their fish pond that the father and son were floating on the water.

The deputy director who led the team asked the village secretary who had grievances with Great Hu Zi's family. The village secretary dug his ears and replied indifferently:

"Yo, that's a bit much."

Next, those with grievances lined up to make transcripts.

Including Li Weihan, who told the story of "Little Huang Ying," and Pan Zi, Lei Zi, and others, they were all called to be questioned.

At first, the police thought another corpse had been discovered and sent police officers to follow Li Weihan to search that river section, but found nothing. Coupled with Li Weihan's narration being too bizarre, it could only be treated as a superstitious story told by a rural old man to his grandsons.

This transcript didn't know whether it should be done or not. Li Weihan saw that everyone didn't believe it, and became anxious, constantly reiterating that what he encountered was true, and pestering the police and people around him to believe him. Finally, he was "coaxed" down by the village secretary.

The funeral troupe that came to make trouble yesterday was also summoned for investigation later, but they had gone to the neighboring township to handle affairs the day before the incident, and the whole troupe had an alibi.

As for Little Huang Ying's disappearance and the entanglements inside, because the person or corpse couldn't be found, and the responsible persons, Great Hu Zi and his son, were also dead, they could only report a disappearance first.

This father-son drowning incident was finally handled with an accidental investigation result. The general meaning was that Great Hu Zi and his son drank alcohol at night, went to the fish pond to play crazy, and then all drowned.

Great Hu Zi's family didn't continue to pursue it, because after the funeral, the two sons and two daughters quarreled about dividing the family, tore their faces and made a very ugly scene, adding another topic to the village.

On that day, after finishing the transcript, it was dusk. Li Weihan and Cui Guiying took the children home. The children walked in front, and the old couple walked behind.

Cui Guiying patted her chest and asked with lingering fear: "Why did you take the initiative to go up and talk, and you were called by the police to be questioned? You scared me to death."

Li Weihan threw the empty cigarette box in his pocket to the side of the road, pursed his lips, and said:

"It was taught by Uncle. You have to say it, you can't hold it in. Zheng Datong and Liu Jinxia also know something about Little Brother Yuan Hou's matter."

Cui Guiying complained: "Just let them know and keep it a secret."

Li Weihan shook his head: "Even if adults can know to keep it a secret, can the children keep it without leaking it?"

"This..."

Li Weihan exhaled a long breath,

Said:

"Uncle said, the best way to keep a secret is to say it in public."

Almost everyone in the village went to Great Hu Zi's fish pond to watch the excitement. Li Zhuiyuan couldn't sleep on the bed, so he moved a small stool and sat on the dam outside the house, looking at the farmland in the distance.

After a while, Ying Zi, who had finished washing the dishes, also came out. She first moved out a square stool, placed stationery and books on it, and sat on the small stool herself. The simple desk was formed like this, and the desk lamp was the bright sun today.

Ying Zi's parents didn't care much about her studies, but they never said things like "girls' study is useless," "it's better to marry early," or "find a relationship to enter a textile factory to earn money."

When tuition was due at the beginning of the semester, they gave tuition, and for usual materials fees, there was no need to be shy, and no need to have any guilt. It was all a normal request.

But everything is afraid of comparison. Compared to other girls' families in the village, Ying Zi's parents, who were purely free-range and didn't care, became a model of valuing girls' education.

Ying Zi knew that this was influenced by her little aunt, Li Lan.

In the beginning, the little aunt relied on reading to change her destiny in one fell swoop, becoming the pride of her grandparents. Even her father and uncles, every time they mentioned the little aunt to outsiders, they would unconsciously straighten their chests and feel proud.

However, Ying Zi's academic performance could only be considered middle-of-the-road, even though she was indeed very hard-working and didn't slack off;

It was impossible for her grandparents to deliberately sacrifice their sons to provide for their daughter back then. It was really that her father and uncles couldn't read books at all.

This couldn't help but make her doubt, did the Li family's brain all go to the little aunt?

At first, this thought was just there, not strong, until the second day after Little Brother Yuan Hou was sent to this house, he sat beside her, slightly reserved. When she faced a math problem for a long time without a clue, a small voice came from her ear:

"Square root of 3."

Later, whenever Ying Zi had problems she couldn't do, she let Li Zhuiyuan do them. Ying Zi also found that Little Brother Yuan Hou almost didn't need to think, just scanning the problem with his eyes and he could say the answer.

Maybe for him, the biggest trouble came from having to write out the problem-solving process, otherwise this stupid sister of his couldn't understand!

You know, she was already in the first year of high school.

Ying Zi asked him what kind of school he attended in the capital, and Li Zhuiyuan replied: Youth Class.

Ying Zi subconsciously understood "Youth Class" as elementary school,

She sighed in her heart: As expected of a primary school student in the capital, the curriculum is so advanced.

Li Zhuiyuan was just in a daze like this, occasionally coming back to his senses to help his sister write a problem, and then continuing to be in a daze.

Sensing a pen cap lightly poking her, Li Zhuiyuan turned his head to look at the problem, but saw his sister pointing to the west side of the dam, where there was a step, and a little girl in a floral skirt stood under the step.

It was Cuicui, Liu Jinxia's granddaughter. She stood there timidly, not daring to come up.

Ying Zi frowned at Li Zhuiyuan, signaling him not to pay attention to her.

In the past, she would have spoken directly. After all, children in the village had a consensus not to play with her; but yesterday, Liu Jinxia's mother and daughter came to the house to "see a doctor" for her younger brother, so she was embarrassed to say it now.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up, took the initiative to walk to the edge of the dam, came to Cuicui, and asked with a smile:

"You're here, is there something?"

Cuicui looked in other directions, her fingers pinching the edge of her skirt, and said: "Come to find you to play."

"Alright." Li Zhuiyuan turned around and waved to Sister Ying Zi, "Sister, I'm going to play with Cuicui."

Ying Zi didn't say anything, sighed, lowered her head, and continued to do her homework.

Actually, playing wasn't anything fun. Many times, it was just that they didn't want to stay at home, so they ran to a partner's house, called the partner out, and then everyone wandered aimlessly together.

Cuicui looked at Li Zhuiyuan who accompanied her out, her eyes full of smiles. This was the first time she learned from other children in the village to go to someone else's house to call people.

However, she still didn't dare to walk onto people's dams without authorization. Children of this age might not understand many things, but they were more sensitive. She didn't want to receive those white eyes from adults.

"Brother Brother Yuan Hou, my mom said, you were sick yesterday?"

"Hmm." Li Zhuiyuan was reminded of this, and Little Huang Ying appeared in his mind again, his smile gradually fading.

"Ah?" Cuicui immediately apologized, "I won't say it, I won't say it, being sick is indeed not good."

Li Zhuiyuan touched his pocket and said apologetically: "Well, I forgot to bring you snacks."

Actually, it wasn't that he forgot. Grandma and Grandpa weren't at home, and the cupboard where snacks were kept was locked and couldn't be opened; Sister Ying Zi seemed to know where the key was hidden, but Li Zhuiyuan knew that if he went to find her to help him get it, she would speak ill of Cuicui in the house.

"Snacks? My family has them, there are many, go to my house to eat."

"Go to your house?"

"Hmm, go to my house to play."

"Alright."

Having been promised, Cuicui gathered her courage, took the initiative to hold Li Zhuiyuan's hand, and the two walked together on the field path.

At this moment, she really hoped that the adults on the dams of the houses by the road could see her and ask her: "Yo, Little Little Cui Hou, who are you playing with?"

She also hoped to meet peers on the road, letting them see that she also had playmates.

It was a pity that most people in the village went to Great Hu Zi's fish pond to watch the pork skin jelly.

However, she was still very happy, and the corners of her mouth didn't go down. If she wasn't holding hands, she felt she would be happy enough to spin around.

"Brother Brother Yuan Hou, do you not quite understand what we say?"

"At first I didn't understand at all, then I could understand if it was said slowly and shortly. Now I not only understand everything, but I can also say some myself, it's just that it's not standard."

When he was first sent to this house, he really didn't understand what the elders said to him, so only the brothers and sisters who had been to school could communicate with him in Mandarin.

He remembered that every time he called Li Weihan and Cui Guiying "Grandpa and Grandma" (maternal), they were obviously a bit unhappy, and then repeatedly corrected him, telling him to call them "Grandpa and Grandma" (paternal).

Locally, there was indeed no title of "Grandpa and Grandma" (maternal). Many times, the distinction between Grandma and Grandma (maternal) was based on orientation, such as the one living in the south being called "South Grandma" and the one living in the north being called "North Grandma."

"By the way, Brother Brother Yuan Hou, have you been to the Forbidden City?"

"Hmm, I have."

"I want to go in the future too."

"Alright, call me, I'll take you."

"Really, you can't lie to me?"

"I won't lie to you, I'm very familiar with the Forbidden City."

In Li Zhuiyuan's memory, there was a period when Li Lan worked in the Forbidden City, and he was left to play in the Forbidden City by himself. Sometimes he would sit on the side door steps, holding an orange cat in his arms, watching tourists coming in an endless stream from the front door, watching for an afternoon.

"By the way, Brother Brother Yuan Hou, have you drunk bean juice?"

"Well..."

"Have you drunk it?" Cuicui blinked her big eyes and looked over curiously.

"I have."

"Is it good? What does bean juice taste like?"

What does it taste like?

In Li Zhuiyuan's mind, the scene of Cui Guiying washing the pickled vegetable vat that had gone bad at home appeared.

"Some people like to drink it, some people don't."

"Is that so? Then I must try it when I go to Beijing in the future."

"Hmm."

"Brother Brother Yuan Hou, look, that's my house."

Following Cuicui's pointing direction, Li Zhuiyuan saw the two-story building behind a piece of farmland.

"You live in a building."

There were all kinds of houses in the village. Most were brick and tile bungalows, and a small number of families who were very difficult were still earth houses. Similarly, a small number of families with very good conditions had taken the lead in building two-story buildings.

Walking onto Cuicui's dam, in the living room on the first floor, Liu Jinxia was playing bridge with a cigarette in her mouth.

The card players were two old ladies and an old man. Coming to her house to play cards meant they could sponge a meal, and the food was quite good, with meat and wine, so Liu Jinxia didn't lack card players, and she was willing to spend some costs to "buy" people to accompany her for entertainment.

The card table was indeed a magical place. Liu Jinxia clearly suffered from cataracts and had poor eyesight, but it didn't affect her speed of playing cards at all.

"Grandma, I brought Brother Brother Yuan Hou to play at home."

"Grandma Liu." Li Zhuiyuan shouted.

"Hmm, play." Liu Jinxia responded, and put her attention back on the cards in her hand, "Pong!"

Just now, the people playing cards were talking about what was happening at Great Hu Zi's house. Liu Jinxia responded casually while exhaling smoke rings. Hearing her granddaughter bring Li Zhuiyuan in, she couldn't help but freeze for a moment, her eyes narrowing through the smoke.

This child was cursed yesterday, and this morning Great Hu Zi and his son were floating in the fish pond.

If there was no grease in this, Liu Jinxia wouldn't believe it even if she died.

However, she didn't speak to stop her granddaughter from playing with Li Zhuiyuan. Joke, they were all unlucky stars, why bother who dislikes whom.

Cuicui took Li Zhuiyuan through the living room to the inner room. Inside, Li Juxiang was sitting on a stool picking vegetables. Seeing her daughter bring someone back, she was surprised. Seeing it was Li Zhuiyuan, a smile couldn't help but appear on her face.

This was thinking of the scene when she played with Li Lan when she was young.

Li Juxiang got up immediately, wiped her hands on her apron: "Sit, Little Brother Yuan Hou." 【4

Immediately, she went into the house and brought out quite a bit of food to entertain them. The conditions at Liu Jinxia's house were indeed good, and since Cui Cui was the only child in the family, she had the luxury of snacks that other children in the village envied.

Li Juxiang also opened two bottles of citric acid soda, giving one to Li Zhuiyuan and one to Cui Cui.

This kind of carbonated drink, which looked like a beer bottle, was cheap and very popular. The children were too lazy to pour it into bowls and drank directly from the bottles, imitating the boldness of adults when they drank alcohol.

"Little Yuan Hou, is your mother doing well?"

"She's fine, Auntie."

"I heard, your mom, she left..." Li Juxiang suddenly realized it wasn't appropriate to ask the child this and immediately changed her words, "Your mom and I often played together when we were little. We were very close."

"Yeah, Mom has mentioned you, Xiang Hou, Auntie Xiang Hou."

Generally, adding "Hou" at the end is only used between elders and peers; juniors cannot use it.

But Li Juxiang certainly wouldn't be angry because of this; she was actually very happy. She could imagine the scene of Li Lan talking about her to her son using the title "Xiang Hou," which proved that she hadn't forgotten her. "Your mom was very smart back then, and her grades were good too, unlike me, who got a headache as soon as I saw a book." Li Juxiang tidied the hair by her earlobe, "When is your mom coming home to visit?"

"My mom is busy with work. She said that when she's done being busy, she'll come to pick me up."

Cui Cui said, "Mom, I'm taking Brother Yuan Hou upstairs to play."

"Mm, go ahead, take good care of Little Yuan Hou."

Cui Cui pulled Li Zhuiyuan up. When they reached the stairs, she skillfully took off her shoes and changed into a pair of slippers. Seeing this, Li Zhuiyuan also went to take off his shoes.

"No, Brother Yuan Hou, don't take them off, just come up."

Li Zhuiyuan still took off his shoes, intending to walk up barefoot. Cui Cui had no choice but to hand her mother's slippers to him to wear.

Wearing the large slippers, Li Zhuiyuan followed Cui Cui to the second floor and into her room, where a black-and-white television was placed.

Liu Jinxia's family had bought a television long ago, but they hadn't made a fuss about it. The villagers were indifferent to her family, and she was too lazy to entertain people in her home to watch TV.

Cui Cui turned on the standing electric fan, but the blades didn't move: "Huh, is there a power outage?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "The plug isn't plugged in."

"Hey, that's right." Cui Cui bent down, picked up the plug, and inserted it into the wall socket:

"Hum... hum... hum hum... hum hum hum—"

The heavy fan blades slowly turned, emitting a heavenly sound that could blow away the midsummer heat.

"Brother Yuan Hou, do you want to watch TV?"

"Either is fine."

Cui Cui turned on the TV and then turned the dial. After one full circle, there were only these few channels, half of which were just static.

"Brother Jing, are you alright?"

"Rong'er, I'm fine."

"Hmph, Ouyang Feng, you person..."

Every winter and summer vacation, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" would be shown on TV.

The two sat on the edge of the bed and watched TV for a while. Li Zhuiyuan suddenly felt sleepy.

He hadn't rested since last night. Before, it was excessive emotional tension; now that the emotion had subsided, fatigue hit him quickly.

Cui Cui mistakenly thought that Li Zhuiyuan didn't want to watch TV, so she got off the bed and began to introduce her dolls, toys, and picture books to Li Zhuiyuan.

Although very sleepy, Li Zhuiyuan still looked at her and tried to respond to every introduction she made.

The little girl was immersed in the joy of sharing, but she soon found that she couldn't hear any response. She turned her head to look at the edge of the bed and found that Li Zhuiyuan had leaned against the edge of the bed and fallen asleep.

Cui Cui immediately stopped talking. After leaning over lightly, she carefully helped Li Zhuiyuan lie flat, folded the thin quilt used in summer, and covered Li Zhuiyuan's stomach with it.

Immediately after, she pushed the electric fan toward this side and pressed the small button behind the fan; the fan began to shake its head.

After doing all this, she brought over a chair, sat by the bed, supported her face with her hand, and looked at the sleeping Li Zhuiyuan.

After looking for a while, she secretly smiled, her earlobes flushed red, and she turned her face away. After a while, she couldn't help but continue to look at him.

Time passed unknowingly just like that.

"Little Cui Hou, Little Cui Hou, bring Little Yuan Hou down to eat." Li Juxiang's voice came from downstairs.

Cui Cui went downstairs immediately and said to Li Juxiang, "Mom, Brother Yuan Hou is asleep."

"Then you come down to eat first, we'll save food for him."

"No, I'm not hungry, I want to wait for Brother Yuan Hou to wake up and eat with him."

Most parents in the village with a bit of self-awareness would stop their children from going out to find friends to play with near mealtime, fearing they would be invited to the table to eat, making it seem like they were deliberately trying to take advantage.

However, sometimes it was unavoidable, and naturally, they would join the table.

Cui Cui had never experienced this; she was willing to wait for Li Zhuiyuan to wake up and accompany him to eat.

Li Juxiang smiled, nodded, and went to the living room to greet her mother and her mahjong friends for lunch.

Cui Cui ran back to the second floor, sat back in that position, and continued to look at Li Zhuiyuan:

"Huh?"

Cui Cui leaned closer with some doubt because she found that Brother Yuan Hou's brows were furrowed.

"Is he having a dream?"

"Grandma, I brought Brother Yuan Hou home to play."

"Mm, play. Pong!"

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Cui Cui standing in front of him, then looked at Liu Jinxia who was playing cards with three friends in the living room. He knew he was dreaming.

Because the scene around him was too detached from reality. His field of vision was all black and white, and all the people and objects seemed to be traced with charcoal pencils.

Although they could present corresponding people and objects, they were a bit blurry and distorted. In the rough lines, there was a sense of eerie randomness.

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head to look at himself. He found that he was still normal; what was abnormal were the other people and objects in the dream.

This couldn't help but remind him of the tracing papers in his mother's study, the same white background with charcoal marks.

He dreamed of the scene when he had just arrived at Cui Cui's house and greeted Liu Jinxia. Next, Cui Cui in front of him held his hand and walked inside.

The little girl's originally delicate hand, now held in his hand, was very rough and a bit painful, like sandpaper.

He couldn't help but break free and stop. Cui Cui continued to walk inside alone, but her arm remained in the posture of holding someone.

And behind him, the four people including Liu Jinxia who were playing cards in the living room suddenly had no sound.

Li Zhuiyuan turned his head to look and found that these four people were all frozen, motionless.

Even the smoke ring exhaled from Liu Jinxia's mouth was fixed there, not continuing to disperse.

This stillness also gave Li Zhuiyuan a chance to observe. The charcoal marks on the three card friends were very soft and relatively light, while Liu Jinxia's image had very thick, deep, and hard lines.

Standing in place for a long time, Li Zhuiyuan was very puzzled. In the past, every time he dreamed, he could wake up immediately after realizing it was a dream, but this time, he was still in the dream.

Finally, Li Zhuiyuan chose to walk inside and saw Li Juxiang picking vegetables there. The lines on Li Juxiang were also very hard, which was very discordant compared to the fine and light tracing patterns around her.

Li Zhuiyuan walked in front of Li Juxiang. The deep charcoal marks outlined the details of her expression. She was smiling, with memories in her eyes.

"Auntie Juxiang, Auntie Juxiang?"

Li Zhuiyuan tried to call out a few times and even waved his hand in front of her, but Li Juxiang remained motionless and didn't even blink.

After leaving here, Li Zhuiyuan came to the stairs. Before walking up, he took off his shoes and walked up barefoot.

Arriving at that bedroom, the standing electric fan stopped there and no longer turned. Guo Jing and Huang Rong on the TV were only left with blurry sketches.

Cui Cui was pointing at one of her dolls with her finger, her mouth open, as if she were narrating, also motionless.

The lines on Cui Cui were clearer and harder than those on her grandmother and mother, almost becoming black, hard lines.

It was as if other people and objects were drawn, while she was carved.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the bed. He was not on the bed; it was empty.

It wasn't just things that were still; sound was too. Li Zhuiyuan suddenly realized that his ears hadn't heard any movement for a long time, and the whole world was terrifyingly quiet.

He began to panic a little because he didn't know how long he would have to stay in this dream.

He opened the door from the bedroom to the balcony. The second-floor balcony of this building was connected, and red and white tiles were pasted on it.

Looking into the distance, except for the sloppy graffiti near the houses that could barely be seen as farmland, most of the area in his field of vision was a bleak blank.

Looking up, only a piece of white light remained where the sun should have been, very much like an eraser that would fall at any time to erase everything here.

"Hey, may I ask if this is Grandma Liu's house?"

A voice came from the courtyard below. At this moment, it seemed so abrupt, even ear-piercing.

Li Zhuiyuan, standing on the second floor, looked down. It was a man who looked about fifty years old, and he was carrying an old woman on his back.

The old woman was very thin. What was exposed outside her sleeves were only those little bones wrapped in shriveled skin. Her hair was very long and messy, draped over her back.

"Hey, may I ask if this is Grandma Liu's house?"

The man asked again, turning in a circle in place while anxiously carrying his old mother on his back.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't know if he should answer.

Just at this moment,

The old woman who was originally lying on the man's back suddenly raised her head. Her face was facing Li Zhuiyuan standing on the second floor.

Clearly, they were all images drawn with charcoal pencils, but the old woman's eyes presented a delicacy that transcended the limits of the drawing style.

That was anger, that was viciousness, that was resentment!

The next moment, Li Zhuiyuan found that everything around him began to rotate and distort, like a whirlpool appearing out of thin air, tearing and rolling everything around into it, including himself.

"Brother Yuan Hou?"

Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes and saw Cui Cui's concerned face.

"Brother Yuan Hou, did you have a dream?"

"Mm." Li Zhuiyuan sat up and responded, "How long did I sleep?"

"Not long, two hours maybe. Brother Yuan Hou, let's go down to eat."

"No, I'm going home to eat."

"Oh, don't be polite, Brother Yuan Hou." Cui Cui held Li Zhuiyuan's hand and led him downstairs, "Mom, Brother Yuan Hou is awake."

At this moment, Liu Jinxia and her three mahjong friends had already finished lunch and started the afternoon session.

Li Juxiang smiled and lifted the red lid on the kitchen dining table, inside was the meal specifically saved: "Little Yuan Hou, come eat, I'll heat up the soup for you."

"Auntie, I'm going home to eat."

"Be good, listen, don't be polite with Auntie. Auntie was never polite with your mom before either. Besides, Cui Cui was specifically waiting for you to wake up to eat together."

"Thank you, Auntie."

"Brother Yuan Hou, sit here." Cui Cui sat down first, while Li Zhuiyuan went to the counter on the other side to help get bowls and chopsticks.

"Go, go, go, you sit down, Auntie will get them."

"Alright, Auntie."

Li Zhuiyuan walked back and sat down. Soon, Li Juxiang placed the chopsticks and the bowl of rice in front of him.

Although the dishes on the table were all served in small bowls and the quantity was not large, it was already far more than enough for the two children to eat. There were two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, especially that bowl of braised pork with potatoes; there were only two pieces of potato for garnish, and the rest was all meat, obviously specifically saved.

Li Juxiang brought over a bowl of fish soup, drizzled with sesame oil and added some vinegar; the taste was fragrant and tempting.

Besides that, she also opened a can of mixed fruit, and poured a bowl for each of the two children.

It could be said that in the village, this really belonged to a very sumptuous meal.

"Little Yuan Hou, continue to stay at home for dinner tonight, I'll make you some more delicious food." Li Juxiang said with a smile.

Li Zhuiyuan put down his chopsticks and said to Li Juxiang: "There is already a lot, thank you for your hard work, Auntie."

"Hehe, don't put down your chopsticks, eat."

Li Juxiang touched Li Zhuiyuan's head, secretly envying how Li Lan taught her son. A sensible and polite child is easily liked everywhere.

"Little Yuan Hou, does your mom cook for you at home?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head, placed his chopsticks on the bowl, and replied: "Mom doesn't."

"Is that because your mom is busy with work?"

"Mm, she is very busy."

"What about at your grandparents' house, don't they cook for you?"

"I don't go there often."

"Then where do you usually eat?"

"At the neighbors'."

Generally, after school, in the school staff quarters, those grandfathers and grandmothers who had finished class or retired would take the initiative to lead him to their homes to eat.

"Sigh, poor child." Li Juxiang didn't ask any further. After telling the children to eat, she took a thermos to add water to the mahjong table.

Just at this moment, a shout came from outside:

"Hey, may I ask if this is Grandma Liu's house?"

Hearing this voice, the chopsticks Li Zhuiyuan had just picked up slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

"Clatter!"

In the hall, Liu Jinxia threw the bridge cards in her hand onto the table and clapped her hands: "Dismissed."

The three mahjong friends nodded and stood up to end the game. Apparently, they were already used to this situation.

However, before walking out of the hall, they washed their hands one by one at the washbasin placed in the corner.

Banana leaves were soaked in the washbasin. When washing hands, they would rub the leaves on their hands, then shake their hands, and finally dry them with a towel on the rack.

The purpose of doing this was to remove bad luck. It was arranged by Liu Jinxia herself. Not only did she no longer care about the villagers' attitude toward her family, but she also deliberately set up some rituals to increase her mystery.

Li Zhuiyuan and Cui Cui walked into the hall. Liu Jinxia was also getting up from her chair and asked: "Have you eaten?"

"We're eating, we came out to see." Cui Cui said.

"What's there to see? Forget it, Little Cui Hou, help Grandma collect the cards."

"Alright, Grandma."

After giving the order, Liu Jinxia walked inside on her own. There was a shady room inside, which was her office.

"Slow down, there's a threshold here." Li Juxiang's voice came from outside. She had heard the inquiry earlier and went out to greet them.

"Alright, no problem, no problem."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the main gate of the hall and saw Li Juxiang helping an old man cross the threshold and come in.

The old man leaned forward, hunched his back, and had his hands behind his waist. He was a hunchback.

It also looked like... he was carrying a person who didn't exist.

"Is this the little child from your family?" The old man looked at the two children and asked with a smile.

"The girl is mine, the boy is my sister's. My mom is waiting for you, go in through the front door, turn right, and walk to the end."

"Good, good, I'll go right now, I can't keep Grandma Liu waiting." The old man continued to walk inside.

Li Zhuiyuan, standing behind, kept his eyes fixed on the other person's hunchback.

The old man walked into the inner door of the hall, turned right, and should have continued walking inside, but suddenly stopped.

Because he was a hunchback leaning forward, the position above his shoulders was already blocked by the wall, leaving only that hunchback remaining in sight.

Immediately after,

His hands, which were behind his waist, lifted up unconsciously. His left arm pressed down, his right arm swung up, his buttocks moved inward, his shoulders turned outward, and his side face was already pressed against the wall.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at his empty back. At this moment, he felt as if there was a person there, supporting their body on his back, "looking" at him.

Li Juxiang asked: "What's wrong with you?"

In the old man's originally rough voice, a bit of sharp hoarseness suddenly mixed in, saying:

"This little child..."

Li Zhuiyuan clenched his hands nervously. He suddenly remembered that when his mother had held his hand and browsed a wall of paintings, he asked his mother why a large area here was left empty without painting anything. His mother replied:

Little Yuan, this is leaving white space, letting you imagine it yourself; this way, the effect will actually be better.

At that time, he was still a bit ignorant; now, he seemed to understand a little.

"Hurry up and go, my mom is waiting for you inside."

Li Juxiang urged again. She really didn't know why this person stopped here. However, she didn't think there was anything strange about this person's posture. After all, the other party was a hunchback; even if he stood still, it was quite strange.

"Mm." The old man responded, but suddenly squatted down, and at the same time, his body leaned slightly backward, his hands supporting him toward the ground.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?"

Li Juxiang reached out to help, but don't look at how hunched and thin the other person was, the force of this downward movement was really heavy. She couldn't pull him up at all. However, fortunately, the other party relied on his hands to maintain balance, just squatting backward and not falling over.

Seeing this, Li Zhuiyuan staggered back two steps.

This posture was very much like the action of putting down someone on his back.

The sunlight outside shone into the hall. The old-fashioned patterned tiles on the ground couldn't reflect much luster, at most presenting some changes in light and dark.

Li Zhuiyuan's gaze moved downward. At the inner door position, there seemed to be two areas the size of footprints that had become a little darker.

It was very slight, so slight that Li Zhuiyuan felt that he was dazzled, that he was overthinking it.

But immediately, the color of two new areas darkened and then recovered, but the distance from himself was getting closer and closer.

Finally, those two darkened colors appeared on the tiles in front of him and did not dissipate.

A cold wind blew over. Li Zhuiyuan felt his face, chest, and hands and feet begin to feel cold. But the problem was, he was facing the inside of the room; where did the wind come from in this room?

The latter half of those two darkened colors disappeared, the first half intensified, and the chill in front of him intensified.

Li Zhuiyuan swallowed. His gaze began to flicker and shift. An instinct made him not dare to look directly, as if in front of him, where he couldn't see, there was a shriveled old woman, leaning forward, her face pressing toward him.

Li Zhuiyuan bit his lip tightly.

Suddenly, he felt the chill on his left cheek further intensify, as if a piece of ice had been pressed onto it, and his scalp began to go numb, the kind that tingled.

The old man squatting on the ground turned his head to look here, continuing the words he hadn't finished earlier:

"This little child, he really looks so good."

(End of chapter)