Who is this for
There is a brick bed on the left wall, with a coal stove in front of it, a typical farmhouse from the old times. I remember seeing this scene in the homes of my classmates who were from poor families when I was a child.
The old lady asked us to sit on the chairs and poured us some hot water. Then she sat on the edge of the kang and said with a smile, "I am an old widow who has lived alone for many years."
It can be seen because there is only one blanket on the kang. When I was about to speak, the old lady said again: "Our village is too small, with only a dozen households living there. Maybe there are too many white flowers, which dazzles people from outside and makes them have hallucinations, seeing that there is no grass in the valley. But once you come in, you will see that it is not a strange thing. Drink water, drink water." The old lady urged us enthusiastically.
Shen Bing and I hurriedly picked up two blue and white porcelain cups and drank a sip of water. Suddenly, I felt something was a little strange. How could such a backward mountain village possibly use blue and white porcelain? You know, this thing is not something that poor families can afford. Besides, from my perspective, I can tell that this kind of porcelain cup is not a product of a small kiln, and it doesn't fit in with the shabby furnishings in the house.
Also, the old lady's words cannot be believed. Even if I saw hallucinations in the valley from outside, how could I also have hallucinations when I was inside looking out? Shen Bing then inquired about the situation of other residents in the village.
The old lady told us that this village is called Celi Village. After a woman died unjustly in the village, all the flowers in the valley turned white. Since then, people have regarded this place as a ghost village and no one dares to approach it. Most of the villagers are elderly women and children who don’t have the strength to climb the mountain, so they grow crops in the valley to make a living.
I could accept her explanation, because there was no movement in other houses, so they were all old ladies, and people of this age usually don't move. But questions followed, why were there only women and children in the village
The old lady saw through my thoughts and explained without waiting for me to ask that when she was young, there was a war and all the men in the family were taken away to serve in the army. After they left, the men never came back, and later there was plague and famine, and all the children died, leaving only a dozen old ladies alive here.
Oh, so, that makes them quite pitiful. But I still had a lot of doubts in my heart. It was not easy to ask so many questions in front of the old lady. After chatting for a while, we asked the old lady if she had heard of a place called Red Flower Valley in Mangshan. The old lady shook her head, and we were completely disappointed.
When we were about to leave, we found that it was getting dark outside. The old lady lit an oil lamp and advised us to stay for one night and leave tomorrow morning. She said that there were wild animals around and it was better to leave during the day. She was so enthusiastic that we would rather sleep in the house than in the tent. Besides, I still had many questions in my mind that had not been clarified. Although it had nothing to do with Xiaoxue, I felt uneasy if I couldn't figure it out.
So at night we ate the yellow cakes and cornmeal porridge made by the old lady, with pickled wild vegetables, which were so delicious. You say we are all cheap bones, used to eating white flour buns and big fish and meat, but we think this kind of coarse grains are particularly delicious.
Shen Bing and I slept on the floor in sleeping bags, while the old lady slept on the kang. Shen Bing was tired after a day's work and soon fell asleep, but I was not sleepy at all. Hearing the old lady snoring slightly, I sat up and wanted to see what the valley looked like in the night. I got up quietly and just walked to the door when I heard a "squeaking" sound coming from outside.
With a shudder in my heart, I gently unbolted the door and looked out. The moonlight outside was bright, and I saw something so strange that it made my scalp numb!