Chen Xishuang was moving rustlingly on the kang, feeling very concerned about the spit. Even though it wasn't spitted on his end, it was still in this room.
When you breathe, you also inhale the air that smells of phlegm.
The more Chen Xishuang thought about it, the more disgusted he felt. He stood up, turned on his phone and took a picture of the ground. He wanted to crumple up a few pieces of paper and throw them over to cover it up, and let Liu Shun clean it up himself tomorrow.
What about phlegm
Why not
Did I misremember the location
Chen Xishuang searched the entire area in front of the kang, but still couldn't find it. The ground here is made of dirt, so the phlegm would seep into it, but there would be at least one trace left.
"What are you doing? Why aren't you sleeping yet?"
Chen Xishuang heard Liu Shun's confused voice and blurted out a complaint: "It's just because you coughed up phlegm just now."
Liu Shun said strangely: "I didn't cough."
The people in the room sat up in horror.
Wang Kuanyou's previous sense of disharmony instantly turned into a chill: "You coughed so hard that you almost died, and even spat a mouthful of bloody phlegm onto the ground, and that was less than two minutes ago."
Liu Shun got up in a daze: "I, cough up phlegm? And with..."
He was stuck on the last word. He blew some air into his half-closed palm and it smelled fishy.
The room was dead silent.
Chen Xishuang came to his senses, threw away his phone, hid in the bed, and shivered while hugging the quilt.
Wang Kuanyou got off the kang and pulled the light cord. The bright light in the room eased everyone's panic, except Liu Shun, who sat motionless on the kang, with horror in his dilated pupils.
Liu Shun never thought that he would be the first one to be hit, and he was still unconscious.
He just thought he was sleeping.
Wang Kuanyou said in a serious tone: "Think about what taboos you have violated."
Liu Shun rubbed his cold face and said hesitantly: "I ate it on the table during dinner...Did I eat anything?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the other two people who had sat at the table gasped.
Li Ping was so frightened that he shouted, "Bullshit, that's definitely not the case!"
"You must have touched something else to violate that taboo. It has nothing to do with dinner!"
Xu Dingyi also glared at Liu Shun with his fat face trembling.
Liu Shun was looked at like an enemy by them, and he coughed awkwardly: "I was just saying it casually, I don't mean anything else. I also don't think it's a food issue, I'll think about it again."
When he coughed, everyone in the room looked over at him.
"It's me," Liu Shun trembled his thick lips, "It's still me! Don't be afraid, my throat just... feels uncomfortable."
The last three words were spoken with trembling voice.
Liu Shun has pharyngitis, an old ailment that sometimes gets better and sometimes gets worse, and never feels well. He often feels like there is a foreign object in his throat, and it was the same feeling now.
Although it was so familiar, Liu Shun broke out in sweat on his forehead.
When no one spoke, Chen Yang, who had been observing, spoke cautiously. He asked Liu Shun to open his mouth and asked Wang Kuanyou to shine the flashlight on his mobile phone into it.
Wang Kuanyou is the most suitable person to do this. First, he lives next to Liu Shun, and second, he has a relatively stable personality and can be trusted to do things.
Wang Kuanyou also knew that he was suitable. He swiped the screen of his phone without any hesitation and said to Liu Shun calmly, "Jiang Da, let me show you."
Liu Shun swallowed, tensed his body, tilted his head back, and opened his mouth as wide as possible.
On the other side, Li Ping was afraid that Liu Shun would blurt out something else, so he stood up and walked away in a hurry, not even stopping when he stepped on Xu Dingyi.
Without Li Ping standing between them, Xu Dingyi also left.
After a while, Liu Shun's mouth became empty, and the light from Wang Kuanyou's mobile phone shone into his mouth.
Others dared not breathe a word.
Two or three minutes later, Wang Kuanyou turned off the flashlight on his phone, and his stiff and numb hands gradually recovered: "Jiang Da, there's nothing in your mouth."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment in a ghost movie, there would be the usual hair, internal organs and so on, but luckily there wasn't any.
That's good.
Liu Shun swallowed the saliva secreted from his mouth, and a large area of his back was wet. This was his third mission. He had experience and could also make inferences, so he had to say something at this time.
So he expressed his thoughts.
"Maybe it's not... I'm just discussing this with you guys, don't think too much about it..."
Everyone: “…” Doesn’t this just make everyone think too much
Li Ping pulled the big gold chain around his neck and said impatiently, "You're squeezing toothpaste. If you want to say something, say it quickly!"
"I was wondering if it wasn't me who violated some taboo, but all the ginger..."
Liu Shun realized that he had said something wrong and changed his words in time. He looked at Li Ping and Zhang Guangrong, the two "Jiang Da" and said: "All of us will become us at some random time."
The temperature in the room dropped sharply.
Everyone understands what Liu Shun means, and also understands what the two "we"s represent respectively.
If so, that's even more terrifying.
Not only Jiang Da, but also Jiang Ren and Jiang Miao will be like this.
Chen Yang had never been possessed by a ghost before, so he had no idea what it felt like at that moment or what the whole process was like, but he didn't want to know.
If Liu Shun's guess is correct...
Chen Yang's expression changed again and again, his hands on the quilt curled up, his fingertips clenched, and upon closer inspection, they were still trembling slightly.
Wang Kuanyou was a little bit unbelievable.
After this person came in, he was obviously very calm, had good observation skills, first-class logical thinking, was good at searching for details, and was very capable. He was one of the two people he admired most this time.
How come he is even worse than Li Ping now
It's just being possessed by a ghost. As long as you don't die, it's nothing.
Is he afraid of ghosts
It shouldn't happen. After going through two tasks, one will have to deal with ghosts a lot. Most people can manage their facial expressions to a certain extent and won't behave in a too out-of-control way.
Unless you are the kind who is so scared at the sight of it that you become like a dead dog and cannot take care of yourself.
Wang Kuanyou thought, if he was really scared to that extent, it would really be... a big loss for the team and a big disadvantage for himself.
Out of politeness, Wang Kuanyou hid the sympathy and pity in his eyes: "At present, these are just guesses. We will be able to figure out the results after watching it later."
Chen Yang received a comforting signal from Wang Kuanyou and forced a smile at him.
"It's late, I'll sleep as long as I can. Tomorrow will be very busy. Selling things and dealing with customers will be more difficult than we thought. There will also be emergencies. It's not a good thing to have no energy."
Wang Kuanyou was about to turn on the light, but Chen Xishuang poked her head out from under the quilt and pleaded pitifully, "Just leave it on like this."
Seeing that no one else said anything, Wang Kuanyou didn't turn off the light.
Liu Shun is the first one to get into trouble. Everyone will wait and see what will happen to him next and whether he will die.
Who is next
Chen Yang didn't know if other people could sleep, but he couldn't. There was a constant stream of thoughts in his mind, and there was a grimace in every window of the train. He couldn't calm down at all.
When a ghost possesses a person, everything they do or say is a clue.
This is a good thing.
It doesn't affect his fear.
His shoulders sank and Chen Yang pushed away the head that was leaning towards him.
Chen Yang's mind was full of ghosts and he didn't pay attention to the strength he used. A muffled "bang" sound was heard from the wall, and then a murderous gaze was fixed on him.
"… "
"Hmm." Chen Yang pretended to be asleep and turned over, his back facing the person inside.
The sight behind him was still there, as if to poke a hole in his skull and thread it back together.
Chen Yang turned back helplessly and apologized sincerely in a low voice: "I'm sorry, I didn't pay attention, there shouldn't be a blister."
Chao Jian's voice was filled with anger at being ignored: "It won't hurt if there's no swelling?"
Chen Yang: “…”
Chen Xishuang over there: "..."
The other six people to the left of Chen Xishuang: "..."
The yellow light bulb was on, and the seven heads were tilted towards Chen Yang at the same angle.
Chen Yang first checked Chao Jian's head, and when he was sure there was no bump, he breathed a sigh of relief and said without hesitation: "Earth walls are not like cement bricks, so they don't have much lethality."
Chao Jian: "Then bump into him."
Chen Yang ignored other gazes and lay back down, tucked his hands and feet into the quilt, and told Chao Jian in a low voice what had happened.
Chao Jian was silent.
Chen Yang wanted to hear his opinion. It would be best if he could deny Liu Shun's guess and tell him that he would not be possessed randomly.
"Maybe..." Chao Jian had just said two words when Chen Yang grabbed the quilt and covered his mouth.
The aura around Chao Jian suddenly became cold.
The other people on the kang sensed it and were all startled, looking at the young man with wary eyes.
He is a dangerous person.
Is he going to hit the guy next to him? How can I persuade him
We are not familiar with each other yet, and if I want to say something, what if I end up making things worse
Everyone was nervous, but the two men didn't move at all.
"… "
Chen Yang pulled the quilt away from Chao Jian's face and wanted to move away from him and towards Chen Xishuang.
Chen Xishuang was afraid of the beautiful woman with terrifying aura, but at the same time she welcomed his arrival.
However, when the beauty looked at him with a sinister gaze, he couldn't help but wrap the quilt tightly and closed the door facing Chen Yang.
Chen Yang couldn't move, so he had to bite the bullet and be hit by the storm.
Chao Jian threw the quilt on his body towards Chen Yang.
Chen Yang sniffed and smelled it: "Fortunately, it's not dirty, and it smells like it has been washed and dried."
Chao Jian had a blank expression on his face.
Chen Yang said seriously: "You can't cover your mouth either."
Chao Jian bit his back teeth coldly and spoke word by word: "This won't happen again. If it happens again..."
Chen Yang nodded and continued, "Cover it back."
Chao Jian stared at him for a while, then closed his eyes without saying anything, and rolled his eyes in the middle as if he was extremely helpless.
Chen Xishuang sent a concerned greeting: "Chen... Jiang Ren, are you okay?"
"It's all right."
Chen Yang put the quilt back on his partner, tucked it in naturally, and almost couldn't help patting him and humming a lullaby.
Chao Jian fell asleep quickly, and leaving the light on did not affect his sleep.
Chen Yang envied this person from the bottom of his heart. Ever since they started living together, the other person has become like a pig when it comes to sleeping.
He remembered that in the earliest days, this person had dark circles under his eyes and had a clear tendency to insomnia.
Maybe it was the incense.
Chen Yang put his arms behind his head. In one ear he could hear Chao Jian's breathing, in the other ear he could hear Chen Xishuang making pancakes, and outside he could hear frogs croaking.
Putting aside the matter of possession, Jiang Ren and Jiang Miao could be siblings, or siblings, or even cousins, and the relationship between Jiang Da and them is still unclear.
Chen Yang believed that they were all dead, and the cause of death was related to the market, which resulted in the people here having to hold the market as usual on that day every year according to custom, and they had to buy and sell, and they had to call all the stall owners in the old market village as those three people.
People from other villages come to buy and sell as before. The income of each stall owner in Laoji Village is at least 60 in three days, and the total income is 1,500.
What caused such a large-scale curse to break out
“Lord, I am your most loyal subject… I love you so much… Please look at me…”
Chen Xishuang folded his hands in front of his chest, closed his eyes and began to pray.
The room was very quiet. Everyone else heard his voice and had different reactions. Some imitated him, while others did not learn nor laughed at him.
When Chen Yang lay down until his whole body was numb, he looked at his phone and saw that it was three o'clock.
We have to gather at the village chief's house in one hour.
Set up a stall and display goods.
Try to stay as close to Chao Jian as possible, but not too far away.
Chen Yang let out a breath of anxiety and once again recited his own name in his mind to hypnotize himself.
Ginger, ginger, ginger, ginger...
"Jiang Ren!" A loud shout suddenly came from outside the door.
Chen Yang suddenly fell silent.
The light bulb was on, and the people on the kang were all feeling cold.
"Jiang Ren, open the door!" The voice outside was still shouting, "Jiang Ren!"
There are six ginger people in the room, which one are you looking for
They didn't dare to respond casually.
Is there a person or a ghost outside? Should I open the door
Chen Yang held his breath and called Chao Jian, asking him to take their self-defense weapons and crutches in case they ran away at any time.
There was a loud knock on the door. The wooden door couldn't withstand the knocks and the dust on the door fell down.
"Ginger man? Ginger man! Come on, I need you for something!"
Wang Kuanyou pondered, since they were looking for Jiang Ren, then... He looked at the three middle-aged men in their group.
"Jiang Da, go and open it."
It is impossible for three Jiang Da and Li Ping to be together. Zhang Guangrong did not express his opinion, but his meaning was clear.
Liu Shun was the only one left. He thought for a while and then went to open the door.
Outside the door was a middle-aged man with a broken hand. He stepped over the threshold with the chill of the early morning and walked angrily to Chen Xishuang: "Jiang Ren, I called so many times, why are you opening the door now?"
Chen Xishuang’s little face was pale. He had just finished praying, and before the Lord came, the god of death came.
"I fell asleep and didn't hear it." Chen Xishuang was so scared that tears welled up in his eyes.
The middle-aged man had a stern face and his mouth was full of the pungent smell of cigarettes: "Why are you sleeping? I haven't even had a drink of water since this afternoon."
Chen Xishuang was about to cry. He was alone when he was walking in the village earlier and met this uncle. They had a good chat. The uncle said that the skin on his hands was very good. He also said that his wife's hands were cracked and it hurt when she went into the water. He gave the uncle the hand cream he had just bought without saying a word. Why was he trying to harm him now
"Then why are you looking for me..."
"I asked you to help me knead the flour. We haven't even steamed a single bun yet, but you keep urging me. You're so busy you're dizzy!"
The middle-aged man walked towards the door, turned back and glared at Chen Xishuang who was standing there: "Jiang Ren, go!"
Chen Xishuang did not ask for help from others. Who could save a person who was being harmed by a ghost
If it's not a ghost harming people, then he won't die.
While Chen Xishuang was analyzing rationally, he tried hard to move his shaking legs and stagger to keep up.
Before everyone in the room could recover from Chen Xishuang's incident, the village chief appeared outside the door, still wearing the same clothes, holding a pipe, and looking like he had never closed his eyes, his swollen eyes were filled with red bloodshot.
There were six ginger people, but one was missing. The village chief asked where he had gone.
"I'm going to help Jiang Da knead the dough." said Chen Yang.
There are twenty-five stalls, and there should be only one selling steamed buns.
As expected, the village chief knew who it was as soon as he heard it. He knocked on the table with his pipe in his hand and said, "This Jiang Da! He sells steamed buns by himself and asks others for help. How can he be so stupid!"
Then he urged Chen Yang and the other eight people, "Send someone to wake up Jiang Miao from next door. Everyone, wash your faces, pack up and follow me."
"Where are you going?"
"Set up the stall." The village chief was very anxious.
Everyone was confused. Didn’t we have to gather at 4 o’clock and set up the stall before 5:30
"This year, vendors from other places came earlier than in previous years. They left their homes early and rushed here overnight. All the good spots were taken up by them!"
The village chief was so angry that he banged his pipe loudly: "Without a good location, it will be difficult to do business. Can we make back the investment? Can we make back the investment? Can we?!"
Seeing the village chief like this, Chen Yang was afraid that he would turn into a ghost, so he quickly comforted him gently: "Village chief, don't worry, there are so many of us, we will find a way."
The village chief stared at him and said, "The per capita income in three days must reach at least 60, so that our village can make a profit."
"I know, we all know, we must sell it well."
After hearing what Chen Yang said, the village chief returned to his approachable manner, sighed and said, "We can't lose money anymore."
Chen Yang secretly probed the old man to see if what he meant was that there was no profit last year, terrible things happened, and they couldn't lose money this year.
Wang Kuanyou went next door to call for help, but the others just stood there without moving. Why should they wash their faces? Their lives were about to be lost, so who would care about personal hygiene
Unexpectedly, the village chief asked them to wash.
"How can anyone buy things from you when you are so shabby?"
The village chief walked back and forth with his hands behind his back, and said in a loud voice: "Doing business requires hospitality. Customers are God! If you don't brush your teeth or wash your face, how can God like you?"
"… "
Everyone brushed their teeth, washed their faces, and combed their hair.
Chen Yang wrung out the towel in the basin, raised his head and wiped his face, and said amid the noise from the next room: "What do you think about Chen Xishuang being called away?"
Chao Jian hung one arm on the crutch and rubbed his eyes with the other arm: "I didn't see it."
"… "
Chen Yang wanted to pour the water out and pour it again, but he saw him wipe his face with his towel that was still dripping with water, very casually.
Chao Jian grabbed his hair and pushed it back, revealing his three-dimensional facial features.
"You're fine like this." Chen Yang put the towel on the rope, "Or I can ask a girl in the village to get you a rubber band, so you can tie your hair up."
Chao Jian answered the question irrelevantly: "There are many ghosts in this mission, more than three, a lot."
Chen Yang was about to pour the water in the basin out the door, but it splashed into the house instead when he shook it.
The others were startled.
The village chief yelled, "Jiang Ren, you are a coward. It's cloudy today, and you poured water in there. What else can you do?"
Chen Yang avoided the mud on the ground and apologized.
The village chief waved his hand and said, "You become more and more unstable as you grow older. Sometimes you act like an adult, and sometimes you are no better than a child."
"What are you doing? You're leaving after you've packed up. Where's Jiang Miao? Jiang Miao?"
"Yes, yes."
The four girls next door responded one by one.
A group of people followed the village chief out. Chen Yang walked at the end of the team. He was very concerned about the many ghosts that Chao Jian mentioned.
"Did you see that?"
"This village is too gloomy." Chao Jian said something that didn't make sense. "Give me a milk slice."
When Chen Yang heard the second half of the sentence, his heartbeat got stuck in his throat.
There were whispers among the crowd.
"Didn't they say that there would be a lot of vendors? Why don't I see any of them?"
"In front."
"… "
“So many lanterns!”
Wang Xiaobei in the crowd suddenly exclaimed.
Then there were a few inhalations.
Hearing the voice, Chen Yang looked in the direction everyone was looking and his eyes widened involuntarily.
The tops of every tree in front were hung with lanterns.
When was it hung up
There was no movement at all.
While the group was stunned, the villagers lit up all the lanterns.
The whole village is decorated with lights and is bustling with activity.
Not only in this village, but also on the other side of the bridge, lanterns are usually lit at the appointed time, and strings of red lights form a long dragon.
Under the cover of night, a creepy festive feeling spread across everyone’s face.
Chen Yang looked at his phone. It was three-thirty.
Under the lanterns, the stalls are next to each other, with goods spread out on the tables or directly on the ground, stretching from one end to the other.
Lively, noisy, and bustling.
"See? All the good spots are gone. Hurry up and familiarize yourself with the items on the list and match them with the items on your stalls. If you can't remember the prices, just look at the list."
The village chief walked quickly: "Forget about breakfast, I'm too busy to take care of it. You can find something to eat at noon. Keep an eye on the stall. We will close the stall at nine o'clock in the evening, and then we will count the goods. Remember!"
We had said before that the stalls had to be set up before 5:30, but now it’s different, the stalls are all set up and it’s very rushed.
The village chief asked Chen Yang and the other twelve people to stand over one by one and claim their stalls.
Chen Yang and Chao Jian were not on the same side. They were separated by three stalls and could see each other's situation.
Others are some far away, some near.
The stall on the left of Chen Yang was owned by a shoe repairman, who was from another place. His shoes were covered in dirt and he must have walked a long way to get here. At this moment, he was swallowing a pancake dry-cooked.
On the right is one of the twenty-five stalls in Laoji Village, and the middle-aged woman, Jiang Miao, who delivered meals to them yesterday.
Chen Yang greeted: "Jiang Miao, what are you selling?"
"Chickens." The middle-aged woman sat cross-legged on the ground with a basket in front of her and a piece of cloth on it.
Chen Yang asked: "Where did it come from?"
The middle-aged woman didn't raise her head and said in a low voice: "I bought it from outside in bulk."
Chen Yang stood at his position and looked around, trying to find the same basket. If there were people selling chicks, there must be people selling ducklings and geese. Most of them were villagers.
Why do they seem to be selling pigs and cows? Chen Yang followed the smell to find the direction. The pigs were with Da Yan and Wang Kuanyou, and the cows were with Li Ping.
The vendors from other places came early, so the villagers had to set up their stalls in advance. There are not many people visiting now, and the main group has not arrived yet.
Chen Yang took pictures of the goods on his stall and the surrounding areas, including both photos and videos.
After that, Chen Yang sat in front of the stall and observed the passers-by. They were all wearing homemade cotton clothes and shoes. Some were walking, some were carrying loads on their shoulders, and some were riding old-fashioned bicycles with two large panniers.
Several children, wearing red and green flowery clothes, were jumping happily in the market.
Chen Yang had a tense face. The scenes of people, things and objects before him were filled with the smell of the past so heavy that his eyelids twitched constantly.
There are more and more people.
Chen Yang had been looking at the market and didn't notice when they arrived.
An old man came over and pointed at a large bamboo rake: "Mr. Jiang, how much is this bamboo rake?"
Chen Yang thought about the price on the list, two dollars and a half, and he said, "Five dollars."
The old man glared at her and said, "It's too expensive! You're talking nonsense! No one would quote a price like that!"
Chen Yang quickly integrated himself into the identity of a vendor: "You get what you pay for, sir. I made this myself. It's very sturdy and can be used for a long time."
The old man asked immediately: "How long will it take? If it breaks, can you give me a new one?"
Chen Yang said: "… Change it within three days, it won't work after three days."
"This is made of bamboo. How can it break in three days? I'm not buying it to break it for fun."
Chen Yang choked. This old man really knows how to talk.
The old man didn't leave, intending to buy a bamboo rake. He flipped through the things on the stall and said, "Jiang Ren, you have no conscience."
Chen Yang: "Why don't I have it?"
The old man snorted coldly: "Have you forgotten that when you were sick, it was my son who prescribed the medicine for you!"
Chen Yang acted helpless: "Okay, okay, you name a price."
“Two!”
Chen Yang smiled and said something he had heard before: "Uncle, how about this, you add a little more, two dollars and fifty cents, and we each give in, see if that works."
"Okay, two dollars and a half is two dollars and a half."
The old man paid the money and squeezed into the crowd carrying a bamboo rake.
Chen Yang sorted out the remaining bamboo rakes, leaned against the stall, and made his first business deal.
Today's income went from zero to two dollars and fifty cents.
Chen Yang pursed his lips and looked at his partner through the moving figures, but he couldn't see him.
There were people in front of the stall, all women, ranging from 35 to 60 or 70 years old.
Chen Yang shook his head. With such a good customer base, if he didn't want to sell more, he could only ship smaller quantities of goods in batches.
It can't be that someone wants to buy it but he won't sell it.
This is not the normal process of doing business and it is easy to violate something.
Chen Yang was sweating profusely in annoyance. If his partner was standing, he would be able to stand out from the crowd, but now he was sitting and was covered tightly.
Just when Chen Yang was about to look away, the young man stood up and looked at him easily across the crowded crowd.
Chen Yang quickly put the information into his eyes so that his partner could feel it.
Jiang Ren was sick before.
Chao Jian looked at Chen Yang with half-squinted eyes. When Chen Yang was anxiously using his mouth and hands to gesture, he pulled the corners of his lips and sat back in front of the stall.
Chen Yang didn’t know whether his partner had received the message. He blinked and relaxed his eyelids. The morning was so long, who knew what would happen.
So we can’t wait until noon to exchange clues. It’s best to release them as soon as we get one.
Chen Yang found Liu Shun, who was the closest to him besides Chao Jian, and communicated with him with his eye contact, asking him to pass the message to other people, one by one.
Liu Shun: Can’t leave your stall
Chen Yang: I’m not sure yet whether it’s possible. To be safe, it’s best not to leave right after setting up the stall.
Liu Shun: What about going to the toilet
Chen Yang: I don’t know, maybe I’ll know when the time comes.
Since these people are Jiang Da, Jiang Ren, and Jiang Miao, and they want to set up stalls to sell things, it is very likely that these three people lived like this when they were alive.
Then when they want to go to the toilet, corresponding things will happen.
Chen Yang stood there for a while and sold two more bamboo rakes, which totaled seven dollars and fifty cents. He counted the money and put it away, then checked the time on his cell phone.
It was four o'clock and two of the twenty-five stalls were still empty.
I don’t know how Chen Xishuang is doing.
Chen Xishuang was working so hard in the kitchen, groaning. He spent half of his living expenses on his hands every month. Every piece of skin on them was precious to him, but now he was using them to knead dough.
Something I could never imagine in my lifetime.
Chen Xishuang was tearing the honeycomb-shaped dough. The uncle asked him to help knead the dough, and he just kneaded the dough. Without any of the horrible scenes in his mind, he strolled around the edge of death. The tense string loosened, and his little emotions burst out.
My hands are so sore and I feel so tired.
Chen Xishuang secretly glanced at the uncle's wife. The uncle was selling steamed buns alone and he was the only one who set up the stall, so his wife should not be Jiang Miao.
Why not try calling
"Auntie."
"What are you doing?" The auntie continued to clean the stove.
Chen Xishuang knew his guess was correct from her reaction: "It's ok, right?"
The aunt shook the rag on the ground and asked, "Is it sticky?"
It was sticky, like spider silk. Chen Xishuang didn't want to rub it anymore. He opened his eyes and lied, "Not sticky, not at all!"
Amid Chen Xishuang's silent wailing, the aunt reached out her hand, grabbed the dough, and twisted it: "Oh, it's so sticky, no, I need to knead it a little more."
“…” Chen Xishuang wanted to die.
What the hell, he has no idea how to be grateful to others. He gave away the hand cream for free.
"Jiang Ren, sprinkle some dry flour." The uncle who was squatting by the pot and lighting a cigarette leaned forward.
Chen Xishuang scooped some from the bag and sprinkled it on the dough, then turned it over and sprinkled it again, rubbing and patting it like a facial massage.
Not long after, the villagers came to the uncle for something.
Before leaving, the uncle reminded the aunt to go and get the borrowed steamer back after kneading the dough.
Chen Xishuang yawned.
The aunt and uncle, along with the villagers, went to the door and came back to urge, "There are a lot of people outside, and they are selling fried dough sticks and buns. We have to hurry."
"Steamed buns are different from them. They can be kept for a long time and many people will buy them even after mealtime." Chen Xishuang punched the dough.
The auntie kept urging: "The dough hasn't been kneaded yet, it still needs to be steamed later."
Chen Xishuang was about to speak, but she interrupted him: "Stop talking. If you have that strength, you might as well use it on your face."
"I think it's almost done." Chen Xishuang picked up the dough and said good-naturedly, "Look, Auntie, it's not too sticky..."
Interrupted again.
The aunt's face was full of disdain and impatience: "No means no, the dough is not kneaded well, and the steamed buns made will not taste good. Look at you, your arms are arms, your legs are legs, you knead the dough so slowly, and you have such delicate skin and tender flesh, you don't look like a man at all."
Chen Xishuang hated being told he wasn't manly. He threw the dough onto the chopping board with an unpleasant look on his face: "Auntie, this is my first time kneading dough. Is this okay?"
The aunt laughed awkwardly: "You are such a kid. You don't even want to listen to me. Your hands are weak. When kneading the dough, you have to knead it deep. Knead it deep to remove the large pores inside. I'm not asking you to rub cotton. Look at you..."
Chen Xishuang chuckled a few times: "I'm rubbing it, I'm rubbing it."
"Hurry up, wait until you finish kneading the dough so I can get the steamer."
The auntie was supervising beside me, mumbling non-stop: "What I just said was in vain, you are not using the right strength, use more force, rub it..."
"I'm kneading, I'm kneading."
Chen Xishuang's face twisted as he spoke. He grabbed something and threw it at the middle-aged woman, yelling crazily, "I said I'm rubbing it!"
“You…you…he…” The old lady fell to the ground with a kitchen knife stuck in her stomach.
Chen Xishuang was stunned.
The old lady covered her bleeding wound and tried to get up but failed. The blood was flowing more and more. She grabbed Chen Xishuang's trouser leg and held it tightly: "Help...Help..."
Chen Xishuang terrifiedly pried the middle-aged woman's hands apart, staggered back several steps, and hit his lower back on the cupboard.
What if I killed someone
I killed someone, I killed someone, I killed someone, how could I kill someone, why did I kill her? Yes, yes, yes, she was always annoying me, she kept talking and kept urging me to knead the dough.
I told you I was kneading!
She also said that I was not like a man, and that she was so annoying. She forced me to do this!
Chen Xishuang looked at the body on the ground, scratching his hair with both hands. What should he do now? He couldn't let anyone find out.
That’s right!
She's going to get the steamer!
I can bury her, and when the uncle asks me, I will say that she went to get the steamer, and then no one will know where she went.
Bury her, find something to bury her.
Chen Xishuang's panicked eyes moved around the kitchen and finally stopped on the shovel.
The uncle came back and asked where his wife was.
Chen Xishuang wiped the flour off the stove with a rag: "Auntie went to get the steamer."
"Oh, yes." The uncle said, "I asked her to get it."
He wiped the dirty dust on his hands on his pants and walked towards the stove: "Have you kneaded the dough?"
"Knead..."
Chen Xishuang noticed a few spots of blood on the dough and hurriedly blocked them with his body.
The uncle asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's not kneaded well yet." Chen Xishuang reached his hands behind him and quickly and randomly fiddled with the dough to hide the blood stains.
"That's enough. Your aunt is just a bit of a nag..."
The uncle was going to check the dough, but after taking two steps, he suddenly stopped and looked over there: "Why is the shovel there? I remember I put it behind the door."
Chen Xishuang's face turned pale.
"Why is there still dirt on the shovel?" The uncle went to take a look. "The dirt is wet." He turned his head to look at Chen Xishuang. "Have you used it?"
Chen Xishuang whimpered in his throat: "I... I didn't... I... wasn't..."
The uncle glanced at Chen Xishuang with suspicion, asking what was going on. He took a shovel and went to the yard. He found a piece of land covered with a layer of broken grass. He frowned and walked over with the shovel.
A shovel pushed aside the broken grass, revealing the soil underneath.
"Why are you digging the dirt in my yard?" The uncle stuck the shovel into the dirt, stepped on it, and dug up a piece of dirt.
Chen Xishuang's eyes widened with fear.
Run! Run!
Chen Xi stumbled to the gate of the yard and opened it hurriedly. He heard a middle-aged man's puzzled voice behind him.
"Ginger, what did you bury in my yard?"
Chen Xishuang stepped out of the door with one foot, and there was another voice behind him, a woman's voice: "Yes."
His pupils constricted and he turned back. The middle-aged woman was looking at him at the place where he buried the body.
"Ginger, what did you bury in my yard?"