It was a bit hot on a summer afternoon, and the cicadas were chirping incessantly.
When Lin Fan passed by Wang Jin's house, he found that the door was locked.
He walked along the path in Fengming Village with his hands behind his back, as if taking a stroll.
Fengming Village is not a place where houses are very concentrated; rather, it is a long and narrow village.
Houses were built on both sides of a main road.
The name comes from the fact that the layout of the houses resembles the shape of a phoenix.
We arrived at the heart of the village, where there was a large open space with several century-old locust trees on the side.
The old locust tree is lush and verdant, its blossoms filling the air with fragrance.
Under the old locust tree, some elderly people sat chatting and cooling off with palm-leaf fans in their hands.
Lin Fan moved closer and sat down to listen for a while.
Don't underestimate those few minutes of eavesdropping; the content was quite fascinating.
Whose wife is cheating on her husband? Whose daughter is someone's mistress in the city? Whose child doesn't look like his father? Whose ancestor was once a beggar who later became rich?
Within minutes, the amount of information exploded.
It's estimated that if someone wanted to smear someone, various versions of rumors could be spread from here in no time.
An old man sat in front of Lin Fan, shirtless.
He held a pipe, puffing away silently without saying a word.
His face was dark, with crisscrossing wrinkles like old tree bark.
His eyes were cloudy and his teeth were yellowish-white.
"Grandpa, is this cigarette any good?"
Lin Fan greeted him with a smile.
"It's definitely not as good as cigarettes."
"But these tobacco leaves are cheap."
The old man put down his pipe and asked, "Young man, are you from out of town?"
"Yes, we're here on business."
As Lin Fan spoke, he tore open a cigarette and handed one over.
The old man didn't stand on ceremony; he lit it, took a puff, and exhaled a cloud of smoke with a satisfied look.
"Cigarettes are still better to smoke, they're milder."
The old man said with a smile.
"Grandpa, when I passed the village entrance just now, I saw people conducting infectious disease prevention and screening."
"It seems like quite a few people are getting their blood drawn there, and there are even prizes to be won."
Lin Fan lit one too and asked, "Why aren't you guys going over?"
"Blood tests? That's all a scam!"
"These people are frauds; they're planning to draw our blood for experiments."
The old man looked as if he were facing a formidable enemy.
"To conduct an experiment?"
Lin Fan was completely stunned when he heard this explanation.
"Yes, I heard they tricked us into giving them our blood for research."
"There's a ghost on the syringe, saying it can give us cancer."
"These people are wicked!"
The old man said cautiously.
"Who said all this?"
Lin Fan was completely stunned when he heard this rumor.
What does this have to do with anything?
"It's that woman, Chen Lanfen!"
The old man pointed his pipe at a plump middle-aged woman.
The woman was talking animatedly, chatting with the woman next to her.
Judging from her vivid description, she's probably making fun of someone.
"You all believe these rumors?"
Lin Fan frowned.
He knew that the level of education in rural areas was low, but he didn't expect it to be this outrageous.
"Of course I believe it!"
"She's the village's shaman, and she's incredibly effective."
The old man nodded in deep agreement.
"Shamanic practice?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Fan's expression became even more peculiar.
"Chuma Xian" is a very superstitious belief in rural areas.
It refers to animals such as foxes, snakes, and weasels that cultivate themselves into immortals and manifest their spirits by possessing human bodies, thus helping humans cure illnesses, ward off misfortune, and change their luck.
In the eyes of rural people, the magic of shamans is boundless, and they exist just like gods.
However, he didn't believe in this stuff at all.
"Alright, I'm not talking to you guys anymore."
"I'm going back now, my son is waiting for me to cook for him."
Chen Lanfen stood up listlessly.
"Lanfen, your son is already thirty years old, and you still spoil him like this?"
An old lady nearby chuckled and joked, "If he keeps throwing like that, when will he ever grow up?"
"So what if you're thirty?"
"As long as I'm here, my eldest child can just wait to enjoy life."
"The fox spirit said that my son is destined to enjoy a life of happiness!"
Chen Lanfen rolled her eyes and left.
"Lanfen spoils her son too much."
"Chen Dabao is already thirty years old, and he still can't cook for himself."
"The money she earned as a shaman has long been squandered by Chen Dabao."
"A doting mother often spoils her son!"
"Shh...stop talking about her behind her back, do you want to die?"
"That's right... if the fox spirit possesses Lanfen, she'll come after you first."
"..."
Hearing the chatter of these people, Lin Fan suddenly laughed.
Coincidentally, this shaman Chen Lanfen is actually the mother of Chen Dabao, one of the three giants.
So Lin Fan followed along, staggering along.
After several twists and turns, Chen Lanfen pushed open the gate to a courtyard house.
After she entered, she casually closed the door.
Lin Fan glanced at it from a distance and found that the room inside was very dark, and there was an unpleasant smell emanating from it.
The smell is clearly from a room that hasn't been cleaned for a long time, mixed with the smell of rotting food.
Lin Fan was pondering whether or not he should go in.
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