Chapter 22, the first chapter before it goes live (VIP chapter), officially starting my mail delivery...
At five o'clock in the morning, it was still dark, and the people in the village were still asleep. Cheng Ying rode her bicycle along the misty village road, with Da Huang following behind at a steady pace, occasionally letting out a soft bark that carried far in the open countryside.
Cheng Ying heard Da Huang's voice and occasionally slowed down to see if Da Huang was following.
Finally, unable to resist, I let Big Yellow sit on the back seat of the bike, and then pedaled quickly to the town's post office.
The branch manager had been waiting at the post office for a long time. When he saw her arrive, he said, "I thought you overslept and would be late, or that you were having second thoughts and wouldn't come. But it seems you're just in time. Look, the newspapers, letters, and packages on the left side of the table are what you need to deliver this time. There are fifteen newspapers, thirty-eight letters, and eight packages. One letter and one package are to be delivered to Pucang Village in Ayishan. The Miao people live there. Has your father told you about the situation there?"
"I already said that." Cheng Ying opened the large mailbag and sorted out her newspapers, letters, and other items that were on the large wooden table at the main entrance of the post office, putting them into several different small bags in the mailbag.
Yesterday afternoon, she took Dahuang back to the Cheng family in Qingshui Village, found Cheng Jiantong, and told him about Dahuang. Cheng Jiantong then told Dahuang a lot about how Dahuang would follow her in delivering mail, and then talked to her about delivering mail for several hours.
What Cheng Jiantong was saying was nothing more than that an elderly person in a certain village was in poor health, or that someone was illiterate and needed to take a detour to reach his house, or that someone needed to read a letter to him, or that someone in a certain village had a bad temper and that he needed to be careful when delivering the letter, or that he needed to stay overnight at a familiar house in a certain village...
The other most talked-about place is Pucang Village.
When Cheng Jiantong spoke of Pucang Village, his expression became very serious. He said that the Miao people of Pucang Village were a branch of the Miao ethnic group who migrated from western Hunan during the war. He believed that the Miao people in that village could use witchcraft. Although no one had ever seen the Miao people there use witchcraft, Cheng Jiantong firmly believed that the Miao people there could use witchcraft. He kept telling Cheng Ying not to have too much contact with the Miao people there, to leave after delivering the letters and packages, and not to linger. He also told her many taboos of the Miao people and not to violate the taboo rules of the Miao people.
The national and local government departments have always treated the Miao people of Pucang Village well. Pucang Village is a small society of its own, unlike other villages and towns outside that follow any collective system. They are self-sufficient and live in their own territory. Apart from paying the necessary grain taxes every year and sending some letters and packages to communicate with the outside world, the Miao people of Pucang Village rarely go out and rarely communicate with outsiders, which makes them seem very mysterious.
When Cheng Jiantong fell down the mountain, he was surprised to find that Miao people rescued him and took him to a far place, to Qingshui Village, where the terrain was relatively flat and there were many people, where the villagers saved his life.
In previous years, Cheng Jiantong would deliver letters and packages to Pucang Village. No matter if it was dark or light, he would deliver the letters and leave without lingering.
He didn't know much about the situation inside Pucang Village, but he instinctively felt that the Miao people in Pucang Village were mysterious and dangerous.
However, the people there saved his life, and he was very grateful to the Miao people of Pucang Village. Last night, he repeatedly told Cheng Ying that when he arrived in Pucang Village, he should find the Miao people who saved him and kneel down and kowtow to them on his behalf to express his gratitude for saving his life. He also took out more than fifty yuan of his personal savings and asked Cheng Ying to distribute the money to the Miao people who saved him as a way of expressing his thanks.
Cheng Ying put the money he gave her into the postal crossbody bag she carried with her. Inside, there was not only his money, but also some of her own money, as well as the chili powder and knife that Cheng Xue had given her, her own military dagger, some toiletries, a military water bottle, and some dried biscuits and dry food that Wan Shuhui had given her the night before... a bulging big bag.
Yang Dehai and another middle-aged postman were packing their own parcels of letters into their respective mailbags. Watching Cheng Ying pack her letters and sort through newspapers, Yang Dehai couldn't help but ask, "Yingzi, aren't you afraid?"
Cheng Ying packed everything up, slung the heavy mailbag over her shoulder, and started walking out. "What's there to be afraid of?"
Yang Dehai, carrying his mailbag, walked out. "Using Gu poison? Aren't you afraid the Miao people of Pucang Village will use Gu poison on you? I've heard that the Miao people there are just like the Miao people of Xiangxi, very skilled at making and using Gu poison. If they meet someone they like, they'll use Gu poison on them to keep them by their side, regardless of whether the person wants it or not, making them 'willing' to live with them. The Han people in the nearby villages are quite afraid of them. You're a young woman, and you're very pretty. Even though you're a retired female soldier and quite skilled, you're useless against those mysterious Gu poisons."
Cheng Ying got on her bicycle and smiled at Yang Dehai. "Uncle Yang, my dad has been delivering letters and packages to Pucang Village for over twenty years without any problems. I'm just taking over his job and delivering letters and packages to the people of Pucang Village. Why would they cast a spell on me? This is a society governed by law. No matter how much the country treats these ethnic minorities well, it would never allow them to do anything illegal or disorderly, right? Please rest assured about that."
Yang Dehai hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
Another postman named Zhao Gang couldn't help but say, "When your father first went to Pucang Village to deliver mail, the Miao people there cast a spell on him. He was unwell for several years. Later, they probably saw that he was just a mailman and posed no threat to their village, so the Miao people there removed the spell from him."
Cheng Ying was stunned for a moment. "The Miao people of Pucang Village used a curse on my father? Why didn't my father tell me why those Miao people used a curse on him?"
"This..." Zhao Gang couldn't give a coherent answer.
Yang Dehai sighed and said, "I didn't originally want to tell you this. Your father didn't bring it up, so I didn't feel comfortable saying anything either. But since we've come this far, I'll say a few words. When your father delivered messages to Pucang Village, he was a very handsome young man. Although he lost an eye while participating in the Korean War, his military bearing and handsome appearance won the hearts of many unmarried women. Before your father went, only a few government officials had been to Pucang Village to persuade the village's elder chief; no other outsiders had ever been there. The first time your father went to deliver messages to Pucang Village, he caught the eye of a Miao girl from the village..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but Cheng Ying understood. She guessed that her father didn't like that Miao girl. No matter how much she tried to win him over, he refused to be with her. The Miao girl, enraged, put a spell on him.
Even so, her father was still unwilling and married her mother, who was arranged by her grandparents. The Miao woman was probably heartbroken and couldn't bear to see him die, so she removed the curse from him.
No wonder her father had such a mysterious expression when he talked to her about Pucang Village yesterday. He firmly believed that the Miao people of Pucang Village could use witchcraft. It turns out that he had been bewitched by the people there before.
Cheng Ying said, "Thank you for the reminder, Uncle Yang and Uncle Zhao. I will be careful. Once I arrive at Pucang Village, I will leave after delivering the message. I will not linger and will not get involved with anyone. I will try my best to avoid being bewitched and return safely."
After she finished speaking, she called Dahuang, and the two of them, one human and one dog, set off to deliver letters to several alleys on East Street.
The three men, including the branch manager, watched her departing figure and sighed with worry.
Cheng Ying rode her bicycle along the winding, cobblestone streets of Qingqu Town, following the footsteps of Da Huang who was jogging ahead, delivering the letters belonging to her route to the corresponding households one by one. Then she rode her bicycle to deliver the letters to Qingshui Village.
By then it was already broad daylight, and everyone in the village was awake, either squatting in the yard washing and brushing their teeth or cooking in the kitchen.
When people saw Cheng Ying dressed in her post office uniform, carrying a mailbag, and accompanied by her dog, Dahuang, delivering letters and packages to households in the village, many greeted her in surprise: "Yingzi, you've really taken over your dad's job and come to deliver mail for us?"
Cheng Ying nodded politely to them, "Yes, uncles/aunties, from now on I will deliver all the letters and packages in our village. You can give me any letters you have and I will deliver them to you in town."
The daughter took over her father's business, and everyone laughed. "Great! From now on, we can give you our letters directly, saving us the trouble of going to town."
Cheng Jiantong used to help villagers collect mail. This was something the postman did voluntarily, not something required by the post office. He usually collected mail for people in more remote rural areas because it was not easy for them to leave the village. So Cheng Jiantong helped them collect the mail.
However, this meant that Cheng Jiantong had to carry a lot of letters and packages back and forth, which was quite strenuous and tiring. In fact, doing such a thing was a thankless task.
Cheng Ying certainly wouldn't be like her father, helping to deliver everyone's letters and packages to the town's post office.
She can help deliver things, but if someone asks her to pay for postage or stamps, or if they are a bad person or have had a conflict with her or her mother, she simply ignores them and rides away on her bicycle.
After delivering the letters and packages to Qingshui Village, Cheng Ying rode her bicycle back to the house she had bought on East Street in town and parked the bicycle in the yard.
Then he went to Old Yu's place and told him and his great-granddaughter that he was going to deliver mail and would be back in three days.
They were asked to keep an eye on her yard during this time, so that no tactless people would know she was out delivering mail and wouldn't steal from her.
Both Old Yu and his wife agreed. Old Yu's great-granddaughter, a little girl named Yu Lingling, held the spare key she was given and nodded very solemnly: "Sister Xiaoying, don't worry, I will come to my house anytime, no, to your house, to help you take care of the house, clean it, and feed Xiao Hei. I won't let any thieves steal anything from your house."
Cheng Ying smiled and nodded, "Yes, I believe you."
She naturally believed the little girl. This old house held many memories for her, and the little girl's feelings for it were extraordinary.
Although the old house was sold to her, there was an agreement made by Old Yu that Yu Lingling was recognized as her god-sister. It was reasonable for her to give Yu Lingling a spare key to guard the house, and Yu Lingling would naturally not allow any outsiders to damage her home.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
