Chapter 009 Grandma's Shoes

By the light of the lamp, I saw her dripping wet hands. Finally, I couldn't hold back any longer. "Ah!! Grandma!!!" I wanted to move my feet, but it was as if they were nailed to the ground. I simply couldn't move at all. Apart from shouting desperately, at that moment, I really didn't know what else to do. "You little wretch! How dare you come to my house again!" Grandma suddenly shouted loudly behind me. Immediately after, she threw something over. Fengxia was hit by the thing Grandma threw. With a "woof"! She let out a scream and disappeared from the top of the wall in an instant, leaving only a puddle of water stains. As soon as I saw Fengxia disappear, I shakily turned my face and looked at Grandma who was running towards me. I opened my mouth and said, "Grandma, you scared me to death..." Grandma ran to my side and reached out to hug me. "It's okay now, it's okay. Jiaolong, Grandma is telling you. No matter how fierce a ghost is, it's still afraid of people. It's said that people are three-tenths afraid of ghosts, but ghosts are seven-tenths afraid of people. The next time you see these things, don't be afraid. Just scold them. If scolding doesn't drive them away, then spit at them. Once they see that you're not afraid, they won't dare to scare you anymore." I stood there without moving. When I lowered my head, I suddenly realized that Grandma was missing one of her shoes. "Grandma, where's your shoe?" "I threw it out." Grandma said as she took my hand. "Jiaolong, do you still need to go to the toilet?" I pursed my lips. "I'm done." I'm not sure if it was out of shame or something else, but tears welled up in my eyes anyway. When Grandma lowered her head, she indeed noticed that my shorts were wet. She didn't say anything more and led me back to the room by the hand. While changing my shorts, Grandma told me a lot more. Mainly, she told me not to be afraid. The more afraid I was, the more rampant they would become. After I changed my pants, I finally felt a bit better. Looking at her, I said, "Grandma, did you drive Fengxia away with your shoe?" Grandma nodded and looked at me seriously. "Jiaolong, remember this. The next time you see one of those things that died a violent death and scolding doesn't drive it away, and spitting doesn't work either, then hit it with the sole of your shoe. Shoes are things we step on with our feet, and they (the ghosts) are also things that should be under our feet. Those good-for-nothings will run away as soon as you hit them." I nodded, sniffled, and looked at Grandma. "But what if Fengxia comes again?" Just thinking about the way Fengxia squatted on the top of the wall when I was in the toilet made me scared. I was almost getting a psychological shadow. Grandma frowned slightly. "Don't be afraid. Tomorrow, Grandma will deal with her and make sure she can only stay obediently in that river. She's already caught two people as her substitutes and still isn't satisfied. She's just as bad after death as she was when she was alive!" I was a bit scared by the look on Grandma's face and didn't respond anymore. Because of my fear, I still clung to Grandma when I went to bed that night. I felt that Grandma would become very fierce when she saw those things, and this fierceness gave me a great sense of security. Early the next morning, Grandma went to Xu Meijin's house. I followed behind Grandma. At that time, Xu Gang was still at home drinking. As soon as Grandma entered the house, she saw Xu Meijin's thin and small figure cooking at the stove. Just looking at her like that made me afraid that she would fall into the pot and get cooked. "Gangzi, what are you drinking for so early in the morning? And you're making Daya cook. She's just a little kid!" Grandma couldn't stand the sight and directly chided Xu Gang when she saw him. Xu Gang still had some respect and awe for Grandma. Looking at her, he said, "Auntie, what else can I do if I don't drink? My wife is gone, and my family is falling apart. If I don't drink, I'll get all worked up inside." "You're so spineless! You're still young. Besides, you're the only one in the village who studied in the city. How could you end up like this!" Grandma said as she directly entered the inner room of their house and looked around. "Did you burn all of Fengxia's things?" Xu Gang nodded. "What's the point of keeping them? Aunt Ma, what's the use of my studying? I still had to come back and farm. Now I can't even support my own son. Am I even a man?" "If you think you're a man, then go and work right away! I don't believe that if you go out and work, your son won't come back!" Grandma said. Then, with a sweep of her eyes, she saw a pair of women's shoes in the kang hole of Xu Gang's house. She picked them up directly. "Are these Fengxia's shoes?" Xu Gang glanced at them. "Yeah, they're hers. How could I have forgotten to burn these shoes? Auntie, take them and burn them for me. I don't want to keep her things in this house. It's unlucky. If it weren't for her stealing my mother's things, none of this would have happened. And she even had an affair with that old bachelor San Quezi. I can't even hold my head up in the village now!" As Xu Gang spoke, he looked as if he wanted to howl at the sky and took another big gulp of wine.

Grandma looked at him and let out a sigh. "Gangzi, I'm going to lay it on the line for you today. If you keep going on like this, your family will definitely fall apart. But if you turn things around, maybe you can even find yourself another wife..." "Can I really find another wife?!" Xu Gang perked up as soon as he heard Grandma say this. Grandma gave him a glare. "But with the way you are now, which girl's family would be willing to give their daughter to you? You should be more sensible!" After saying that, she took Fengxia's shoes and turned around, walking straight out. Xu Meijin didn't say a word during this whole time. She silently went around the stove. I walked up to her and took a look at her. "Daya, come to my house." "No way! She's not going anywhere until she finishes cooking for me!!" Xu Gang roared from inside the house. Xu Meijin's eyes immediately turned red. Looking at me, she said, "Jiaolong, I'll come to find you after I'm done with my work." I felt a pang of pity for her just by looking at her. I followed Grandma and walked out. As soon as we walked out of their yard, I looked at Grandma and said, "Grandma, I think Daya is可怜 (pitiful)." When her grandmother was alive, she wasn't nice to her. Her mother even wanted to take her to die together, and her father wasn't good to her either. By comparison, the treatment she received was much worse than that of her younger brother. Grandma glanced at me. "Alas, you can't choose where you're born. Be nice to Daya. This child has had a hard life." I nodded and silently thought to myself that when I grew up, I definitely had to protect her. Because I had been lost in thought all the way, by the time I came to my senses, Grandma had already led me to the riverside. I was taken aback for a moment and looked at Grandma. "What are we doing here?" It was clearly summer and very hot at that time, but after coming to the riverside, I inexplicably felt cold, and goosebumps appeared all over my body. Grandma lit a cigarette and stood on the riverbank with half-closed eyes. Her body seemed to be controlled by someone. She turned around mechanically, then took a few steps in one direction. When she opened her eyes again, she looked at me. "Jiaolong, come here!" I was stunned for a moment, but still ran over to Grandma's side. Looking at her somewhat stern face, I opened my mouth. "Grandma, what's wrong with you?" Grandma pointed downwards, took a look at me, and her voice was sharp and cold. "Dig!!"