Gu mouse

  Written at the beginning: If it weren't for that blind date, I might still be stuck in a rural village in Henan. Qinglong said, all of this is fate. My destiny may have been predetermined long ago, and there's no escape or way to change it. And as for me, after going through so many things, I don't dare look back and think about whether I like being busy every day like today, or spending the rest of my life in that village from years ago.

  My name is Cheng Dali. I'm an orphan, my parents were gone when I was aware of things. I live in a broken house that's said to be our family's ancestral home. I rely on the charity of fellow villagers to get by.

  Some people may think that eating leftover rice is a very cool thing, symbolizing strength and resilience. In fact, the cold shoulders and ridicule that orphans suffer in order to fill their stomachs are not something that ordinary people can understand.

  Benefiting from the new mayor's three fires, I officially started my nine-year compulsory education at the age of 12, with tuition fees paid by the village committee. Two years later, the village allocated a few acres of wasteland to me.

  After graduating from junior high school, I didn't continue studying. Firstly, tuition fees were a big problem. Secondly, I was already twenty years old. It's really embarrassing to still be in the same classroom as kids learning together.

  After dropping out of school, I neither loved farming nor went out to work. The most thing I did was sitting on a pile of dry firewood at the door, leaning against and basking in the sun. My eyes were fixed slyly on the big girls and young wives who came and went.

  Spring is in full bloom, and all things are reviving. I was warmed by the warm sun, and my whole body itched. My right hand unconsciously stretched under my arm, pulled out a flea, put it in my mouth, and made a crisp sound.

  Mm. I'm satisfied with spitting out the bloody corpse. And continue to touch the next one.

  A-Jin walked by with his gold-rimmed glasses, looking at me with disdain. His city girlfriend giggled and pointed at me, asking: "How come your village has a living, breathing Ah Q?"

  He looked at her with disdain: "Him? Don't insult me, baby."

  The two of them burst out laughing and walked away.

  I watched their silhouettes, and with a snort of disdain, I said: "So what if they've been to college. They look down on working-class people. Let *** slaughter you ***. But... this girl's figure is really not bad... If only that small hand could let me hold it..."

  "What's on your mind, looking at you so beautifully?"

  A voice exploded in my ear, and I was startled. I rushed to scold the person: "Auntie Ba, can you speak a little softer? You scared me silly!"

  "Hey, you little rascal! Don't be ungrateful. What's this nonsense about scaring me stupid? Wasn't it me and the villagers who raised you all those years ago? My loud voice isn't something new, is it? You're still not used to it?"

  Auntie has always had a temper that flares up at the slightest spark. It's not good to get on her bad side. I quickly said, "Auntie, don't be angry. We were just joking with you, weren't we? What do you want from me? Are you going to introduce me to a potential wife?"

  Auntie patted her thigh and shouted: "Ah, Dali, you really said it! I'm here to talk about your wife!"

  I was stunned as soon as I heard this, you're telling me to get a wife? You're telling me to get a wife like that? With an empty house and being lazy and gluttonous, which one of these has anything to do with getting a wife?

  I hastily said to Auntie Ba: "This joke can't be played. If you're deceiving me, I'll come back and ask for my wife."

  Auntie's face was stern and just: "Tomorrow at this time, come to my house and find me. Auntie will take you there. Hehe, only I care about you in the whole village. I know what you're thinking about your lifelong event. That girl is my niece, she looks incredibly beautiful."

  "My face filled with gratitude: 'Who's been taking care of me? I'm still not clear. Auntie, your kindness, I remember it all.'"

  Eighth Aunt nodded in satisfaction. She said to me, "Alright then. Fix up that messy hair of yours, find two decent clothes, don't embarrass me too much. And take a bath tonight."

  I smiled all over my face: "Hey, don't worry about it."

  Look up and see, it's still early. I wandered to the village head's barber shop.

  Barber Fu Laoma laughed and greeted him half-jokingly: "Hey, Dali's also come to the barber shop? What a rare guest!"

  I sat down on the chair: "No need for nonsense, just style a nice-looking hairdo."

  The old man's face was incredulous: "You? A haircut?"

  "Ah, I'm getting a haircut. What's wrong, hurry up."

  The old woman picked up the comb and made a few strokes on my head, her face full of reluctance: "This hair is all muddy, how can I style it?"

  "You're getting a haircut but you still don't wash your hair?"

  The old lady reluctantly pushed me to the side of the pool, washing and muttering: "Dali, you can't even get a haircut once a year, but you're quite familiar with my process. Hey, I'm saying, your hair is dirty and long, wasting a lot of shampoo, we'll have to add money later."

  I sat silently, thinking: "You're really something. Who have you seen dare ask me, Cheng Dalie, for money?"

  Old Ma is talkative. The haircut was quick. In a short while, I had a small flat head. I looked in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction. I said to Old Ma: "Thank you, Grandpa Ma."

  Old Man Ma: "No need to thank me. Three yuan five jiao. Haircut is three yuan, shampoo is five jiao."

  I made a bitter face and said: "Grandpa Ma, I have no money. Otherwise, you can reattach my hair for me."

  The old barber was furious: "What, you don't have money? You come for a haircut without money? Are you kidding me?"

  "No way! Tomorrow I'm going to meet my fiancée. I have to tidy up a bit."

  Old Ma looked at me: "Looking for a daughter-in-law? You? Wait, whose matchmaker."

  "Ah, Eighth Auntie, I just told you."

  The old man laughed as soon as he heard this: "Let's go, let's go. Don't want the money anymore. Let's get married, haha."

  I came out of the barber shop. Walking back with a happy mood. You know, after washing my hair clean, it feels different. However, why does Lao Ma's smile make me feel so uncomfortable? Is there something wrong with tomorrow's blind date?

  Years of living with a hundred families have long taught me to be observant and sensitive to others' emotions. Only this time, the intense joy of finding a wife has covered everything up.

  I returned home and wanted to take a bath. I walked around the overgrown courtyard, but couldn't even find a watertight bucket.

  Everyone in the village who has money now owns a mobile phone. I don't even have a water bucket. To think of it, the only electrical appliance at home is an old broken radio. It was stolen from the school gatekeeper when I was still in school.

  No choice, I quickly took off my shirt and fetched a bucket of water from the well. Before he could leak out any more, I swiftly poured it over myself.

  I heard that great men also bathe like this. I scrubbed the mud while imagining the scene of a black chicken turning into a phoenix in the future. One day, if I rise to prominence, humph, first I'll snatch away that little hussy from Ah Jin's city girl.

  Although it's early summer now, the night wind is still very cool. I washed with well water for a while and my hands and feet were numb. Finally, I shivered and wiped myself clean, then got into bed to sleep.

  The next day. Sleepiness was thick. Heard a loud voice shouting: "Dali, Dali. Get up?"

  "I was putting on my pants while responding: 'I'm up, who is it?'"

  A person walked into the courtyard, it was Auntie Ba. She looked around and searched for me: "Dali, where are you?"

  I walked out of the house. What's this?

  Auntie Wang panted as she walked over: "Dali, the grass in your yard has grown taller than the house! I had a hard time finding you. When you have some free time, you should mow it. It's almost grown into a forest. Don't dawdle, let's go. Your wife is still waiting."

  I was buttoning up and walking out: "I haven't even had breakfast yet."

  Eighth Aunt didn't even turn her head as she walked ahead: "Don't fool me. In these decades, which day have you ever eaten breakfast? You sleep until noon every day and now you want to eat breakfast?"

  I chuckled and followed him. Turning back to look at the overgrown courtyard, it indeed had a eerie atmosphere. Thinking about it, I suddenly felt a chill in my heart: I sleep here every day? It looks just like a haunted house from a novel.

  The object of blind date is called Taohua. Lives in Qianyanjing. This village is located north of our village.

  It is said that the well in this village does not produce water, but is used to raise snakes. One well is a snake den, where thousands of snakes can live. The well has been drilled with thousands of holes by snakes. So the village is called Thousand Eyes Well.

  We walked for more than two miles. Auntie Wang led me to the front of a courtyard. I saw that the walls of the courtyard were high and grand, with red bricks and green tiles. This family must be quite wealthy.

  I asked Auntie Ba: "This family is quite wealthy, right? What kind of son-in-law can't they find? Why bother with a poor guy like me?"

  Eighth Aunt smiled: "Because our family's Da Li is the most handsome."

  I suddenly feel that Auntie Ba is a **child**, pushing good women into the fire pit.

  As I was lost in thought, the courtyard door opened. A middle-aged woman walked out, probably Peach Blossom's mother, looked at Eighth Aunt and then turned to look at me: "Are you here?"

  "Auntie is here."

  The two didn't stand on ceremony. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they let us in.

  I walked into the courtyard. At a glance, I saw that the entire courtyard was filled with snakes. There were at least five or six of them. Thinking about it, all the snakes in there had slimy bodies, entwining and climbing over each other. Suddenly, I felt a little nauseous. My heart felt queasy, and I thought this place was eerily gloomy.

  Eighth Aunt saw that I was not feeling right, but this old rascal pointed at me and laughed loudly: "Look at Big Power, usually so carefree. Now that he's going to meet our Peach Blossom, his face has turned white with nervousness."

  Peach blossom mother also smiled along with her.

  We walked into the house and sat down. Taohua's mother called out: "Taohua, come out and take a look."

  Right after that, I heard a faint rustling sound of footsteps coming from the inner room. Then a hand lifted the curtain and revealed a girl's face. She glanced at me lightly and then turned back.

  To be honest, this girl is really good-looking. But I don't know if it's because of the snakes in my mind that I always think about the yard, when I see this girl, my first feeling is not beauty, but chilliness. How can this girl's eyes make people feel so scared with just one glance?

  I shook my head, good things are hard to come by. It's easy for me to have a wife now. The heavens are making me think of these ideas again to annoy me.

  I thought Peach Blossom Mother would ask some questions about my family situation. But this old lady just took a glance at me and casually asked how old I was, then stopped talking to me. She only whispered to Eighth Aunt.

  I think these two old women are too unreasonable. There are only three people sitting in this room. You two whisper to each other in front of me. What can't I hear? This is also too much, not taking others seriously at all.

  I am suffocating in this life. All I can hear is the sound of Peng, Peng, Peng coming from the courtyard. At first, it was a slow and intermittent beat. Then it turned into a duet, followed by more and more sounds, getting denser and denser.

  I just feel that this voice hits the heart and lungs, the more I listen to it, the more suffocated my chest becomes. If I weren't afraid of showing weakness in front of my future mother-in-law, I would have covered my ears with my hands long ago.

  Obviously, Taohua's mother also noticed this situation. She rushed into the room and shouted: "Taohua, go and take a look at what's going on with the well."

  As soon as I heard it was a well, my heart skipped a beat. It's said that the wells that raise snakes are called water wells even though they never produce water, while real water wells are called water ponds.

  Is there something I don't know about? Anyway, as soon as I heard that Peach Blossom asked to look at the well, I knew those snakes were problematic.

  At this time, the voices in the yard were getting louder and more urgent, and the suffocation in my chest was also getting stronger. I felt like there was a lump of air stuck inside me, swelling bigger and bigger, about to burst out at any moment. I thought that by now I must have looked miserable, with my mouth twisted and eyes crooked, and even the beautiful peach blossoms running past me didn't get a chance to be appreciated.

  It's really unbearable. I raised my head and took a glance. Auntie Ba and Peach Blossom Mother were still whispering to each other. My god, I'm about to spit blood, can't they talk later?

  Just then, a loud noise was heard. The sound may not be big, but I felt unbearable and couldn't open my eyes, extremely sensitive to the drumbeat in the yard. This noise made my ears numb, but all the previous suffocating feeling disappeared. Instead, it was the feeling of breaking free from the cage. Like a trapped beast finally being released.

  I thought to myself: "It's finally over. I wonder what these snakes are up to in the well."

  Before I could take a deep breath, I smelled the increasingly pungent stench. At the same time, Taohua shouted loudly in the courtyard: "Mom, something's wrong!"