Seeing thick smoke rising from the direction of the old courtyard in the distance, Yunduo's little head buzzed as if she had been hit hard with a hammer. Then she realized what was happening and screamed, "Fire! My house is on fire!"
"What? Fire? Where?"
"Where's on fire? No?" Chen Fenghua looked around, somewhat confused. Yun Duo let go of her hand and ran forward like crazy for a while before she realized what was happening: "Yun Duo, little girl! Don't worry, it's not on fire, your house isn't on fire."
Chen Fenghua called out to Yun Duo as she quickly caught up with her and grabbed her arm.
Yunduo was worried about her grandparents and didn't hear clearly what Chen Fenghua had shouted to her earlier. She just stammered, "Sister Fenghua, fire! My house is on fire! Let me go! I want to go home..."
"There's no fire!" Seeing that Yun Duo was so anxious, Chen Fenghua quickly squatted down, put down the basket, and put her hands on Yun Duo's shoulders, making her look into her eyes. She said loudly, "Yun Duo, your house isn't on fire. They're just smoking out the insects. Old houses that have been uninhabited for a long time are full of insects and such in the cracks of the mud walls. They have to be smoked out before people can live in them. Don't worry, it's not on fire."
Hearing Chen Fenghua's words, Yun Duo finally felt a little calmer, but she was still afraid that she had misheard, so she asked cautiously, "It's not a fire?"
“It’s not a fire!” Chen Fenghua replied emphatically.
"Phew..." Yun Duo let out a heavy sigh of relief, murmuring, "Thank goodness it's not on fire, thank goodness it's not on fire... That scared me to death..." Then, a little embarrassed, she unconsciously rolled up the corner of her clothes, lowered her head, and whispered, "Sister Fenghua, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, I didn't know..."
"What's the big deal?" Chen Fenghua smiled and patted Yun Duo's head, saying, "I know you didn't mean it, I don't blame you. But you, you were quite frightened, weren't you?"
"Mmm!" Yun Duo nodded vigorously.
Wasn't he terrified? He was scared out of his wits!
"It's nothing, just burning some cypress branches, worms, rats and ants, don't worry." Chen Fenghua said, standing up, holding a basket in one hand and a cloud in the other, and led her forward.
She couldn't help but complain, "Speaking of which, your uncle's family went too far. Even if they wanted to divide the family property, they couldn't have said it that day and made the elderly move out immediately. This old house has been uninhabited for too long. They should have at least fumigated it with sulfur and cypress branches, closed all the doors and windows to drive away the insects, and sprinkled some realgar and lime to keep snakes away, right? How could they clean it up and move in the same day? And your aunt, she always goes around saying how filial her family is. I spit on her..."
Chen Fenghua kept talking as she walked, not caring whether Yun Duo was listening or not; her mouth never stopped the whole way.
As for the clouds... Chen Fenghua's incessant chatter had been giving them goosebumps and making their hearts pound with unease...
Goodness gracious… How could she forget that the old house in the countryside is infested with snakes, insects, and rodents… And now it's summer, the peak season for these creatures… Ants are manageable; with Xiao Jiu around, no ant would be so blind as to bite her. But what about other insects? Like centipedes, bedbugs, and so on… Most importantly, snakes!!!
The thought of those cold, mollusks sent a shiver down Yunduo's spine, raising goosebumps all over her body.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
