Chapter 15
If these things happened to ordinary people, not only would they be traumatized for life, but they would certainly be hard to forget for several years.
I don’t know if I’ve gotten used to it now, but it’s no longer strange to me. I’ve just been staying at home for a few days, and I can’t sit still again.
But my grandfather wouldn't let me go out because he was afraid that I would be in danger again.
Grandpa happened to be visiting someone in Xiagou today, leaving me alone at home. I was just thinking about where to go with Maomao when I heard someone shouting in the street, but I couldn't make it out clearly.
I quietly opened the door a crack, stuck my head out and looked around to see what was happening, and soon I saw a group of people running over in a panic.
I immediately locked the door, put the key on the wall and weighed it down with a stone.
It’s really ridiculous. I’m not afraid of ghosts, but I’m afraid of the people in the village.
I didn't dare follow too closely, so I could only walk slowly behind.
After leaving the village, I saw the direction the people ahead were heading, which seemed to be towards Xigou. But why did they have to take the main road to Xigou? I was a little puzzled, so I had to continue following them.
They did not go to Xigou, but went down from Chunhe Bridge.
I also walked to the bridge head and looked down. I saw a group of people gathered on the shore, with a woman lying in the middle.
The woman's body was in a strange twisted posture. Her left leg was broken, and one could even see the broken bones exposed. Her upper limbs were also unnaturally bent. Her whole body was blue and purple, and her eyes were gray. As she was lying on the shore at this time, her eyes were looking straight at the sky.
She died a long time ago.
I know this person, she is Wang Hao's mother.
Wang Hao is a few years younger than me, and I'd occasionally see him on his way home from school. Actually, even though all the kids in the village avoided me, I knew most of them.
But I have no idea what Wang Hao’s mother’s name is.
I didn't continue reading and prepared to look for Maomao.
Walking on the Chunhe Bridge, I felt a sense of resentment on the bridge. Although it was not obvious, my feeling now was definitely not wrong.
I looked at the guardrail on the north side of the bridge, where the resentment was gathering.
I hurried across the Chunhe Bridge, not wanting to cause any trouble.
When I arrived at Maomao's house, Aunt Chen treated me warmly, offering me melon seeds and fruits. I had a good impression of Aunt Chen because I saw a lot of my mother in her.
After asking, I found out that Maomao went to the northwest mountains. His aunt's birthday was two days ago, and he was still there and hadn't come back.
Northwest Mountain is not far away, but since he was going there to celebrate my aunt’s birthday, it would be inconvenient for me to go look for him.
After I left Maomao's house, I walked down the ditch.
But there is a problem. My grandfather asked me to look after the house. Now I have sneaked out. If I meet him in the ditch, it will be terrible. So I have to try my best to avoid my grandfather.
I walked across the Maishui Bridge. It was flood season, so the water was flowing fast. I hadn't walked across this bridge in the past two days, and a part of it had collapsed.
I walked past quickly, fearing that the entire bridge would collapse.
After passing Niujiawan, Xiagou is in sight. Niujiawan is a place with a very strong yin energy. Even though it is the hottest time of the year, it doesn’t feel hot here.
I don’t know how these two or three families in Niujiawan have managed to live here all the time.
When we arrived at Xiagou, we saw the familiar reservoir again. What surprised me was that there were several children swimming in it.
Didn’t anyone tell them that this reservoir is unsafe?
It wasn't until I got to Zhang Song's house that I realized it wasn't that no one had told them, but rather that the summer was incredibly hot, and rural homes back then didn't have air conditioning, so they could only cool down in the reservoir. How could children listen to their parents? They'd sneak out to swim while no one was home. Just like me, my grandfather asked me to watch the house, and I snuck out while he was gone.
Zhang Song threw down his pen and said mysteriously, "In a couple of days, our village is going to hold a ritual at the reservoir. Would you like to come and see it?"
His words piqued my curiosity.
"Really? When that day comes, tell me and I'll come and watch the fun." I said excitedly.
"Okay, I've never seen it in my life. Let's call Maomao and watch it together." Zhang Song said excitedly when he saw that I was interested.
"If Maomao were asked to do this, would he dare to come?" I expressed doubt.
"That's right, he's so timid." Zhang Song also said after hearing it.
"You can ask him when the time comes. He hasn't been home these two days. He went to his aunt's house to play."
After chatting with Zhang Song, I remembered what happened in our village today and said, "Someone died in our village today."
"who?"
"Do you know Wang Hao's mother?"
Zhang Song shook his head. Apart from the people in our class, he hardly knew anyone else.
"How did he die?"
"I don't know either, it seems like she died by jumping off a bridge." I feel like she must have jumped off a bridge.
In broad daylight, when I talked about this, I thought of the scene I saw at the bridge head, and I felt a chill on my back, so I stopped talking.
There wasn't much to do at Zhang Song's house, and I didn't dare go out for fear of running into Grandpa. After spending some time with him, I went home.
Passing Chunhe Bridge again, I felt the resentment grow stronger, which made me feel bad. I wanted to talk to someone about this, but who in the village would listen? Even if someone did, I'm afraid they would think it was unlucky.
As I was thinking about this, I unknowingly walked to the edge of the bridge guardrail. Looking down from here, beneath the clear river, there were patches of dark green water plants, floating with the current, like a woman's long hair.
I was suddenly shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. There was dry mud on the guardrail next to me. When I looked closely, I saw two shoe prints!
I didn't dare stay here for long and hurried home.
Before entering the village, I heard the sound of trumpets and drums coming from the village.
Our local custom is to play trumpets and drums from the moment a person dies to the moment they are placed in the coffin until they are buried. During this time, relatives will arrive to pay their respects. The coffin will remain at home for three days, while children or relatives will keep vigil at night.
During the entire process, pregnant women or people with weak constitutions are not allowed to approach, and the chickens, cats, dogs and other livestock in the house must be temporarily sent to other homes for care.
I've been feeling restless all day, constantly thinking about Wang Hao's mother's incident. I've been eavesdropping on the street folks talking about it, and it goes something like this.
Wang Hao's father, Wang Fu, didn't work and was always gambling. Wang Hao's mother covered the household expenses. But a woman, especially at that time, couldn't earn much, no matter how hard she tried. So, their lives fell by the day.
This gambler was truly hopeless. That day, Wang Hao's mother went to work at the factory as usual. Not only had Wang Fu lost all his money, he was also deeply in debt. With his creditors pressing him, Wang Fu resorted to a shady scheme and used his wife's gold earrings and their wedding ring as collateral to pay off his gambling debts.
At first, this matter went unnoticed until one day when Wang Hao's mother was waiting for her salary at the factory with everyone else, and she saw a woman from the same factory wearing earrings that looked very similar to hers. Curious, she walked over to ask, and only then did she know that her husband had given away the earrings that he had brought from his mother's family.
When she got home and rummaged through the cabinets, she discovered that not only her earrings but also her gold ring were gone. The two had a huge argument that day, and Wang Fu not only slapped her twice but also snatched her salary.
Wang Hao's mother looked at the messy house and cried in the house until midnight, and then coaxed Wang Hao to sleep.
Then he walked to the Chunhe Bridge and jumped off.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
