Chapter 16 Curse

After some pulling and tugging, Fan Xiaoxiao and the others finally managed to drag Uncle Wang, who was getting carried away with his act, back into the yard. Once the gate was closed, Uncle Wang threw down his wooden stick, sat down in the yard, and choked out, "Why are you stopping me! I should have given that ungrateful wretch a good beating!"

Old Zhao was about to say a few words of advice, but when he turned around, he saw Xiao Bao rubbing Fan Shi's back with tears streaming down his face, so he quickly went into the room to find some medicinal wine for bruises and sprains.

Aunt Wang glanced at Fan Xiaoxiao, who mouthed to them to continue acting. Aunt Wang immediately understood and started patting Uncle Wang's arm, wailing as she did so, to match Uncle Wang's performance.

"Oh my God! Old man, you still want to risk your life?! You know our situation. We already lost money last night when we passed the mass grave. That's bad enough!"

This morning we pawned the boat again, and now we have neither money nor a boat! And you're still thinking of fighting! What are we supposed to do if something happens to you? What are we supposed to do then? What about Old Zhao, who's been helping us?!

This puzzled Madam Fan. Just as she was about to ask what they were talking about, she saw Fan Xiaoxiao shake her head slightly, indicating that she should not ask for the time being.

Then, Fan Xiaoxiao pouted and started wailing about her own scene.

“It’s all my fault. I never told my uncle in the first place that I would ask him to row for me. If I hadn’t rowed, we wouldn’t have gotten lost.”

If we don't get lost, we won't end up in a mass grave. If we don't end up in a mass grave, we won't be scared.

If we don't get scared, we won't lose money! If we don't lose money, we won't be called a beggar for no reason today, and my sister won't be injured!

Old Zhao brought out the medicinal wine and handed it to Granny Wang. After listening to Fan Xiaoxiao's wailing and howling, he opened his mouth as if to say something, but then noticed Yu Xiaobao staring at him expectantly. He frowned and quickly told Granny Wang to take Yu Xiaobao and Fan Shi inside to apply the medicine. After watching the three of them go inside, he relaxed his brow and asked, "Girl, did you pass by the mass grave three miles away?"

Hearing this, Fan Xiaoxiao was secretly delighted. She genuinely didn't know about the mass grave three miles away; she had simply made it up based on the current turbulent times. Unexpectedly, blind luck had caught her off guard, and she had been fooled!

"I don't know either. It was terrifying, so creepy. We didn't dare stay any longer and ran away in a panic. And then... our purse disappeared..."

After saying that, Fan Xiaoxiao opened her mouth wide and was about to start her exaggerated acting again. Uncle Wang sighed and pretended to comfort her, saying, "Alright, girl, stop crying. The most important thing is for us to be together as a family. Besides, we still have a little bit of money left, we're not completely broke yet! I'll go to the docks this afternoon to look for work! We can get through this."

Old Zhao also tried to comfort her, saying, "Oh, girl. Those places are full of poor people who were swept away by the flood. If you lost your things, so be it."

Those people didn't have enough to eat or wear when they were alive, and after they died, they only asked you for some dry rations and money. It's good enough that you're all alright. I heard before that someone went to that mass grave to search for the dead's belongings, and after returning, they fell seriously ill and died in less than half a month! Everyone's saying that someone from there has haunted them! It's a curse!

Chen Ergou, who was eavesdropping next door, darted around with his eyes darting about. He knew the mass grave Old Zhao had mentioned; it was on a small island three miles west of the dock by waterway. It was a wild island, rarely visited. Later, many poor families chose to dump their bodies there, and as the number of deaths increased, it became a mass grave. It seemed that last night, these beggars had been in the dark and mistook the island for land.

Thinking of this, Chen Ergou felt a surge of joy and quickly turned to leave. However, as he stood up, he accidentally knocked over a dead tree branch against the wall, making a "crack" sound. This noise attracted the attention of the people in the courtyard. Fan Xiaoxiao's lips curled slightly—ah! The fish has taken the bait!

(End of this chapter)