Zhao Mingyue picked up the ginger from the dish and ate it herself. Shen Xuyue noticed her action and smiled somewhat embarrassedly: "I can't eat ginger. Eating ginger makes my stomach feel bloated and uncomfortable."
Zhao Mingyue suddenly realized: "Oh, I see. Are you allergic to ginger? I'll eat the ginger."
The stir-fried green beans with pork contained several slices of meat with alternating layers of fat and lean meat. In her previous life, Zhao Mingyue had avoided fatty meat for many years to lose weight, and even the sight of it made her feel nauseous. However, now, she didn't feel any aversion to meat at all. She hadn't eaten any meat since coming here. Perhaps it was due to the lack of oil and fat, so Zhao Mingyue ate a slice of meat. The pork in this era was all raised for a full month on pig feed, resulting in incredibly flavorful and delicious meat.
The three of them finished all four dishes. The two men each ate three large bowls of rice, and Zhao Mingyue also ate two large bowls. In those days, it was not unusual for a woman to eat two large bowls of rice; it was extremely common. Even Shen Xuyue's female educated youth colleagues could eat that much.
This was the most satisfying meal Zhao Mingyue had eaten since her rebirth. How could her family possibly have so many dishes? At most, they'd have two dishes: a pickled vegetable dish and a vegetarian dish. The only meat dish was steamed small fish with just a small spoonful of lard. It was truly stifling. Zhao Mingyue longed for this kind of life to pass quickly so her family could become wealthy again, at least enough to fill their stomachs.
After dinner, the three of them went back together. Shen Xuyue put on his straw hat and noticed that Zhao Minglang and Zhao Mingyue were both bald: "You guys aren't wearing hats?"
Zhao Mingyue shook her head: "No, we forgot." They were in a bit of a rush when they left in the morning, and they weren't very experienced, so they forgot to wear hats.
Shen Xuyue said, "Go buy a straw hat. It will take more than an hour to ride back. People will get heatstroke if they stay in the sun for too long."
Zhao Mingyue thought that made sense, so she went to the department store and bought two more straw hats.
Zhao Mingyue sat behind her brother Zhao Minglang, while Shen Xuyue deliberately lagged behind them, so that he could see Zhao Mingyue's figure with a simple glance. They would occasionally exchange a glance, then turn their faces away to hide their excitement, their hearts pounding and their lips involuntarily curving into smiles. Zhao Mingyue hadn't felt this kind of overwhelming joy just from seeing the other person in many years; the last time she felt this way was when she had a crush on Shen Xuyue in her past life.
Zhao Mingyue suddenly sighed softly. After all the twists and turns, she had returned to the beginning. Was this fate?
In the early afternoon of August, when it was the hottest time of the year, Zhao Mingyue wore a brand-new straw hat. Although it was still hot, she had avoided the direct sunlight. She couldn't help but think that Shen Xuyue had been very thoughtful and was quite a considerate person.
The three chatted as they walked, and time flew by. When they reached an intersection, Shen Xuyue suddenly stopped and said, "You guys go back first. I need to deliver some things to my friend."
Zhao Mingyue guessed that he was going to deliver that ball of yarn, and it seemed that it was indeed bought for Wu Jie. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a little down.
When the brother and sister returned home, their parents had been waiting for them for a long time: "How are you, Mingyue? Is something wrong?"
Zhao Mingyue smiled and comforted her parents, "Dr. Xie said there's nothing wrong, there's nothing wrong. It's probably just because they're too tired."
"That's good, come and eat," Hu Nianchun said.
Zhao Mingyue said, "My brother and I have already eaten out."
Hu Nianchun paused for a moment, then nodded: "Oh, what did you eat?"
Zhao Mingyue lowered her voice and said, "We ran into an acquaintance, and he treated us to a meal."
When Hu Nianchun heard that he hadn't paid for the meal himself, he said, "How could you let someone else pay for it? Did you pay him back for the meal?"
Zhao Mingyue looked at her mother, forgetting that her mother was a principled person who particularly disliked taking advantage of others, and said, "No, I'll treat you next time. Mom, you guys eat, I'm going to rest for a bit."
Hu Nianchun watched his daughter's retreating figure and shook his head. Zhao Mingyue lay on the bed, flipping through her history textbook. Her mother came over after dinner and sat down beside her daughter's bed: "Why are you reading in bed? Don't your eyes hurt?"
Zhao Mingyue put down her book: "It's alright."
Hu Nianchun said, "The doctor said you're fine, so why have you been in pain for two nights?"
"I don't know either." Zhao Mingyue also found it strange; the pain really didn't seem to be caused by anything. "But I was perfectly fine during the day."
Hu Nianchun lowered his voice and said, "Luo Wu's wife said that you may be possessed by an evil spirit, and she wants me to find a shaman to help you exorcise it."
Zhao Mingyue sat up: "Mom, who would dare to consult a shaman these days?" These days, feudal superstitions are being eradicated, and anything related to it is prohibited.
Hu Nianchun said, "It's not uncommon to invite people secretly, as long as no one knows."
But can such a thing be kept secret, especially in the countryside? If any outsider comes to the house, all the neighbors will know and find out everything about them. If someone with ulterior motives seizes on this and accuses them of promoting feudal superstition, then that would be a terrible situation.
“You can come with me tonight, we can leave after dark,” Hu Nianchun said.
In the past, Zhao Mingyue would have thought that Aunt Luo was talking nonsense. How could there be ghosts and monsters in this world? But her own rebirth has completely demonstrated the existence of supernatural phenomena, so no one can say for sure about her. Why not go and see for yourself?
After dark, Hu Nianchun indeed took Zhao Mingyue out, with Zhao Minglang following behind to act as bodyguards for his mother and sister. The three of them, carrying a lantern, went to a nearby village to find a sorcerer.
Zhao Mingyue said, "Mom, doesn't Wang Qiulan's mother know this?"
"How can we ask her? Can we trust her? What if she reports us? That would be terrible." Hu Nianchun was very thoughtful. He had to find someone completely unrelated and without any vested interest to ask, otherwise it would backfire.
The mother and her two children walked in the dark for almost an hour before finally finding a house. They knocked on the door, and an elderly woman in her sixties or seventies came out. After explaining their purpose, the woman let them in, glancing outside to make sure no one had discovered them before closing the door.
Hu Nianchun said, "Aunt Zhang, we turned off the lights when we entered the village, so no one noticed."
The woman, called Aunt Zhang, nodded and lit the oil lamp in the room: "Come and sit down."
As they were talking, Zhao Mingyue felt a sharp pain in her chest. She squatted down in agony. Aunt Zhang opened her cloudy eyes wide and stared intently at her: "Girl, is your heart hurting?" When they came earlier, they didn't say that Zhao Mingyue had a heartache. They only said that she wasn't feeling well. But Aunt Zhang saw the symptoms at a glance, which made Zhao Mingyue believe that she had some skills.
After a long while, Zhao Mingyue finally calmed down and nodded: "Yes, it felt like someone was pricking me with needles."
Aunt Zhang reached out her hand and quickly pulled her to sit down at the table: "Come here." She carefully examined Zhao Mingyue by the light of the oil lamp, then picked up the lamp and held it up to Zhao Minglang's face, "You've been in pain for three days, haven't you?"
She said it perfectly, which surprised Zhao Mingyue greatly. Hu Nianchun quickly said, "Yes, yes, it's three days. Today is the third day."
Aunt Zhang said, "Someone is cursing you. If this ritual is performed for forty-nine consecutive days, you will die."
Zhao Minglang's eyes widened: "Who is so vicious as to curse my sister?"
Hu Nianchun was also startled: "Aunt Zhang, you must save my daughter!"
Aunt Zhang said, "Think carefully, have you gone to any places you shouldn't have recently, or offended anyone?"
Zhao Mingyue frowned, but what could be the reason? She hadn't gone anywhere recently, except for swimming in the river a while ago. Suddenly, Zhao Mingyue remembered Tang Jiu Mei, the charlatan. A few days ago, she had caught the Wang family stealing grain. Could it be that they were taking revenge on her?
Thinking of this, Zhao Mingyue couldn't help but shudder: "I think I've offended someone recently, and she seems to know about these things too."
Aunt Zhang said, "Explain it to me more clearly."
Zhao Mingyue then recounted the story of catching the grain thief, as well as Wang Qiulan's story, including how she herself had been reported. Aunt Zhang said, "That's right. You offended someone, and she wanted to get revenge on you. She just happens to know about this, so she cast a spell on you."
Zhao Mingyue said, "Is such a thing really possible? Can a curse really kill someone?"
Aunt Zhang sighed and said, "It might not kill you, but it will make you suffer for a long time. After all, if she uses such an unnatural method to kill someone for no reason, she will also pay a heavy price herself. This is a crooked and evil way that ordinary people would not use. Although it may be used to get revenge on others, it also requires her to take great risks and is very likely to be backfired on."
"What am I supposed to do? Just keep in pain?" This is too painful. Even if you don't have heart disease, it will still give you a heart attack.
Aunt Zhang said, "I'll help you resolve this."
Zhao Mingyue clasped her hands together and said, "Thank you so much."
Aunt Zhang took out a talisman, chanted something, and then stuck it on Zhao Mingyue's forehead. She also took out a bowl of rice to calm her nerves. Zhao Mingyue knew that there were folk methods for calming nerves, and they weren't considered superstition. However, those were for children. She was too old for such methods.
Aunt Zhang calmed Zhao Mingyue's fright, then burned the talisman and put the ashes in wine, making Zhao Mingyue drink it. Although Zhao Mingyue found it somewhat unbelievable, she still drank the talisman-infused wine.
Aunt Zhang then put the bowl of rice meant to calm the spirit into a red cloth bag: "Take this back and put it in your pillow. Sleeping with it under your pillow will keep you safe and sound."
Zhao Mingyue asked, "What will happen to the person who cast the spell on me?"
Aunt Zhang said, "They will be punished for doing such immoral and unconscionable things. Girl, just do good deeds and don't have any evil thoughts. That way you will be safe and sound."
"Thank you, Aunt Zhang." Zhao Mingyue bowed to Aunt Zhang, surprised that Aunt Zhang would say such a thing at the end.
Hu Nianchun slipped five yuan to Aunt Zhang: "Thank you, Aunt Zhang, for saving my daughter."
Aunt Zhang took out three yuan and gave it to Hu Nianchun: "I'll only take two yuan. This is what my master taught me. Saving people and helping the world should not be used to make a fortune. You should do everything according to your conscience."
Zhao Mingyue nodded: "I understand, thank you Aunt Zhang."
Zhao Mingyue returned home with her mother and brother. She had only experienced pain once that evening at Aunt Zhang's house, and hadn't felt it again. Perhaps she was truly cured, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She hoped this matter wouldn't bother her anymore.
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