I returned to the courier station, went into the office, and found Zhang Guangyin fast asleep, snoring loudly.
I checked the time; it was already noon. I decided to go out for lunch first, and then call Hu Ergou to ask if Deng Xiaohong had come to see him.
Zhang Guangyin was still fast asleep, so I didn't wake him. I rode my electric bike out again.
After I finished eating, I went to the park next to the Grand Temple to cool off under the big tree. I didn't have to deliver packages today, which disrupted my routine. If I didn't have to go back with Uncle Huang this afternoon, I would have wanted to go home and cultivate myself.
I took out my phone and called Hu Ergou, subtly asking him a few questions.
Deng Xiaohong actually went to see him today, but she didn't ask anything. She just bought some fruit and two packs of cigarettes for Hu Ergou.
What on earth is Deng Xiaohong up to?
I thought he went to see Hu Ergou to ask me about something, but I didn't expect him to just have a simple chat with Hu Ergou about everyday things.
I was so bored that I took out a cigarette, lit it, and leaned against a big tree to smoke, watching the pedestrians passing by at the intersection.
As I watched, I fell asleep.
I don't know how long I slept, but I was woken up by mosquito bites. I took out a cigarette, lit it, and slowly smoked it.
"Huh, that person looks so familiar?" I exclaimed softly, stood up from the ground, stubbed out my cigarette, and threw it into the trash can.
I quickly walked to the side of the road and looked at the person's back. I had only caught a glimpse of him just now. It seemed to be Ma Dajun from Mawu Village, but I wasn't sure if it was him. He was riding a motorcycle and heading towards the Dahuang Temple.
Since I had nothing better to do anyway, I rode my electric scooter and followed them.
A middle-aged man, suspected to be Ma Dajun, parked his car in front of a paper incense shop at the Da Huang Temple, then got out and went inside.
I parked my car in front of the incense and paper shop and looked inside. Sure enough, the middle-aged man was Ma Dajun from Mawu Village.
Ma Dajun looks much older now. He didn't have much white hair before, but now more than half of it is white. It's not surprising, really. His two children died one after another. Anyone would be devastated. What's puzzling is why Ma Dajun came to the incense and paper shop. Was he buying incense and paper to take back and pay respects to Ma Jiabao?
I didn't go into the store. Instead, I sat on my electric scooter, planning to wait for Ma Dajun to come out so I could talk to him.
About ten minutes later, Ma Dajun finally came out of the incense and paper shop, carrying two black plastic bags in his hands.
"Hey, Uncle Ma, what a coincidence!" I got off the electric bike, walked up to Ma Dajun, and suddenly said.
Ma Dajun turned around and saw me, somewhat surprised, and said, "It's you, Zuo Changming."
"Um, Uncle Ma, what's this?" I asked, looking at the two large bags in Ma Dajun's hands.
"Sigh!" Ma Dajun sighed deeply, looking as if he had aged a lot. He said, "Changming, you must have heard about what happened at the traffic light intersection a few days ago. Jiabao is gone."
"I've heard some of it, Uncle Ma. You need to take good care of yourself." I nodded.
Ma Dajun hung the two large bags he was carrying on the motorcycle, then looked at me and said, "Changming, Jiabao has come back to find us. I bought all these things to burn for him."
"You saw him?" I asked curiously.
Ma Dajun glanced around, pointed to the park over there, and said, "Let's go over there and talk."
"good."
I also felt it wasn't convenient to talk here, so I followed Ma Dajun to the big tree over here in the park.
"Uncle Ma, when did you see Jiabao?" I took out a cigarette and handed it to Ma Dajun, asking as I spoke.
"Just last night, to be precise, my wife and I picked Jiabao up and took him home," Ma Dajun said slowly, lighting a cigarette and taking a deep drag.
"Uncle Ma, what you're saying is a bit confusing to me." I lit a cigarette and said with a puzzled look.
Ma Dajun took a few deep drags on his cigarette and slowly said, "Ever since Jiabao's accident, my wife and I have often dreamed about him. He tells us that he is at the traffic light and wants to go home. I called Master Hu, but Master Hu said that he was injured and could not help me. So I bought some offerings and went to the traffic light to bring Jiabao home."
My eyes narrowed, and I suddenly remembered that last night when I went to rescue Tong Liu, I saw the two people burning paper money at the traffic light intersection. They must be Ma Dajun and his wife. But at that time, I seemed to see a person in red standing behind them.
"Uncle Ma, did you take Jiabao back?" I asked hurriedly, afraid that Ma Dajun had taken the one in the red clothes back home.
“We don’t know if they’ve taken him back yet. Jiabao said in his dream that he would go back on the seventh day after his death. Tomorrow night is the seventh day after his death. I came to buy these things so that I can burn them for him tomorrow night.” As Ma Dajun spoke, tears welled up in his eyes.
"Uncle Ma, my condolences." I didn't know how to comfort him, so I just gently patted his shoulder.
"Waaah, my poor children!" Ma Dajun squatted down, hugged his knees, and cried bitterly.
I felt very sad and stood quietly behind Ma Dajun.
Ma Dajun cried for a while before slowly standing up. He wiped the tears and snot from his face haphazardly and looked at me, asking, "Changming, is Master Hu seriously injured?"
"It's quite serious." I knew Ma Dajun wanted to ask Hu Ergou and his team for help, but Hu Ergou definitely wouldn't take on this kind of job again anytime soon, so I simply made it sound more serious to thwart Ma Dajun's idea.
"Sigh..." Ma Dajun sighed again.
"Uncle Ma, I'll come to your house tomorrow night to drop off Jiabao." I had originally planned to visit Ma Dajun's house as well, but since it's a coincidence, I'll let Ma Dajun know in advance.
"Changming, you're so kind." Ma Dajun nodded heavily at me, his face full of gratitude.
"By the way, Uncle Ma, did you see a woman in red at the traffic lights?" I asked, remembering the woman in red.
“I’ve never seen her, but I’ve heard many people have. She’s a crazy old woman.” Ma Dajun shook his head and asked, “What do you want with that woman in red?”
"Nothing, just asking casually." I shook my head. It seemed that Ma Dajun didn't know that Ma Jiabao had fed the woman in red.
Ma Dajun glanced at the time and said to me, "Changming, it's getting late, I'll head back now."
"Okay, I'll go there earlier tomorrow night."
Ma Dajun nodded and rode away on his motorcycle.
Looking at Ma Dajun's desolate figure, I felt really bad. If Ma Jiabao really comes back tomorrow night, I must ask him who exactly harmed him.
Just then, my phone rang. I took it out and saw that it was Zhang Guangyin calling.
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