My neighbor, He Laidi, kept gagging, tears welling up in her eyes. Once she caught her breath, she ran towards the village entrance with a gossipy look on her face. She was still some distance from the village entrance when she started panting and shouting as she ran.
"Someone's going to die! Someone's going to die! The entire Su family is lying on the ground!" The old women who were gossiping and bragging at the village entrance heard the cries and their gossipy excitement kicked in.
"Brother Lai, Brother Lai, what are you yelling for? Are you trying to kill me? What happened to the Su family at the old house?" Old Mrs. Su Daniu couldn't wait to know the answer.
Hearing someone respond, He Lai started gesturing excitedly, recounting what she had seen at the entrance of the Su family's old house. "I saw Su Laoda and Zhao Xiaohua pacing back and forth outside their house. Feeling something was off, I walked past their house and looked out the gate—my God! I saw the whole family lying on the ground."
And their house reeked. He Lai Di gagged a few times just mentioning the smell. You wouldn't believe how stinky it was! It was like their house was filled with poop. It was so disgusting, I didn't dare look any longer and ran away quickly.
Some of the old women who wanted to visit the Su family's old house hesitated after hearing He Lai's description of how smelly it was, but their gossipy nature suppressed their hesitation. "Let's go see what's going on," one of the old women said, discussing as they walked towards the old house.
By this time, the old house reeked of a terrible stench, because not only Old Man Su had soiled himself, but Old Woman Su, Old Man Su, and Zhao Xiaohua had all soiled themselves because they didn't have time to take their pants off. Finally, because their stomachs were in so much pain and they were too weak to move, they simply lay down in the yard and soiled themselves.
Su's four children also suffered from stomach aches and diarrhea. Each of them found a plate or bucket and went back to their room to relieve themselves. There was only one outhouse, which was far from enough for so many people in the family. Going to the village's communal outhouse was simply too late.
A lot of voices came from outside the door. The old man lying on the ground felt a chill in his heart. Oh no, if the villagers saw him like this, he would lose face. How could he face the villagers in the future?
Old Su was the first to react. He tried to sit up, but the strain was too great and he couldn't get any strength in. In the end, he rolled over, supported himself with his hands and knees, and slowly got up.
Old Mrs. Su was leaning against Zhao Xiaohua, so she grabbed Zhao Xiaohua's body and used it to stand up. Zhao Xiaohua was still young, so she managed to get up with a little more effort. Old Su's belly was too big, and he was too fat to lift anything, so he asked Zhao Xiaohua to help him up.
Just as Old Man Su and Old Woman Su were trying to find a place to hide, and Zhao Xiaohua reached out to pull Old Man Su, the people outside the door had already seen what was happening inside.
Those old women who had come to join the fun, although they had heard He Lai Di's description, were just talking; they couldn't possibly understand the real situation. Now they saw it for themselves and experienced it for themselves.
Outside the gate, a chorus of retching sounds erupted. The old women, holding their breath, fled the old house as if their lives depended on it. Only when they were far away from the Su family's old house did they stop, gasping for air.
One of the old women, her voice trembling, said, "No wonder Brother Lai was shouting that someone was going to die! This is what it looks like! The stench is so bad it's almost making people faint! My goodness, I've lived for over sixty years and this is the first time I've ever seen such a disgusting scene."
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