Chapter 3 The Mouse's Scheme

  Eighth Aunt and Peach Blossom Mother were both stunned: "No snakes? Not a single snake?"

  I nodded.

  "Auntie Wang said: 'No wonder. No wonder those snakes are restless. However, your house is a great place to raise snakes with its gloomy atmosphere. How come there aren't any snakes? This is really strange.'"

  I cursed in my heart: "Your family is the one that's gloomy." But on my face, I still had a pile of smiles and said to Peach Blossom Mom: "It's not necessarily necessary to raise snakes. Let Peach Blossom marry me. We can do other things too. Planting fields, working, life will go on as usual."

  Peach Blossom Mother shook her head: "You're not very familiar with the customs of our Qianyanjing. In this village, all the women are in charge. All the men are married into their wives' families. Our ancestors set down the rules that the snake-raising craft can't be lost. So if you want to marry us Peach Blossoms, you must marry into our family. Once you've married in, you have to raise snakes. Every household in Qianyanjing raises snakes. How could we not?"

  I was getting anxious, thinking that things were going to fall through, when I saw Eighth Aunt deep in thought. In a moment of inspiration, I said: "Eighth Aunt didn't marry into our village? If Peach Blossom married me like Eighth Aunt did, wouldn't that be fine?"

  Auntie Wang heard me say that and laughed, saying: "You dare to speak like this. You have eight goddess sisters, three of whom are married out. One or two is nothing, but the other family's peach blossom is a precious only child."

  My heart sank when I heard this. Watching my wife die before my eyes.

  "Hey, big nephew, don't be discouraged. The day after tomorrow, I and your eighth aunt will go to your house for a visit. Let's see if we can find any illness without snakes."

  I heard there was a way in. I hastily sat up straight. My head nodded like a little chicken pecking at rice.

  I bid farewell to the Peach Blossom House. Eighth Aunt said to me, "When you get back, tidy up that doghouse of yours too. Don't let people have nowhere to put their feet. Your mother-in-law is coming, and you can't be too out of line."

  I said to Auntie Ba, "Didn't you say that my home has a gloomy atmosphere suitable for raising snakes? I've tidied up now, what if it's not gloomy anymore?"

  "Ha! Your place is a mess, it's not just one or two days. Even if you clean up, it won't be much better. Luckily Peach Blossom doesn't have to marry into your family, otherwise I'd never agree even if you killed me."

  When I got home, it wasn't even noon yet. The more I thought about it, the happier I became. I even forgot to eat. I just casually found a broken iron shovel and used it as a scoop for this meal.

  Then the weeds were piled up in the yard and set on fire. The weeds hadn't dried yet, but they caught fire anyway, emitting thick black smoke that filled the street. Passersby cursed as they walked by. But who cares? I'm going to marry a wife!

  After clearing the weeds, I found that my yard was bumpy and not as flat as I had imagined. There were also some broken grass roots left on the ground. Overall... it looked like a plucked chicken.

  I wanted to tidy up a bit more, but I was really too tired. So I went back into the house and sat down.

  Let me think... What's for lunch? Dumplings!

  When people encounter happy events, their spirits are lifted, and eating a meal of dumplings is not excessive.

  Don't look at my home being messy, but I actually have a set of skills for wrapping dumplings. This is mainly thanks to the "hundred family meals" in my early years. Whoever wants to go eat at someone's house has to be responsible for cooking for them. At first, it was just helping out, but later on, I had to take full responsibility. After eating, I even had to wash the pots. So, I don't have any special gratitude towards my fellow villagers; that's just what I earned through my own labor.

  When I was a kid, every time it came to the Spring Festival, I had to go from door to door wrapping thousands of dumplings. So eating dumplings today is absolutely effortless.

  I took out a small amount of flour. Went to the neighbor's vegetable garden and pulled out some vegetables. Then started wrapping dumplings.

  Dumplings are an art that emphasizes kneading, cutting, wrapping and cooking. In the hands of this artist, it's done in just 20 minutes.

  I found a few broken bricks and built a stove in the yard. I brushed that iron pot and put it on top. Fortunately, this pot didn't leak like that bucket, like a sieve.

  I lit the fire and sat down to wait. Before long, the water boiled, and the dumplings were put in the pot. After waiting for a while, steam filled the air, and the dumplings were cooked.

  I took a large bowl and scooped up a full bowl of dumplings. I put it on the table in the house. Then, I took another empty bowl and scooped out the remaining ones.

  As I walked to the door and was about to enter the house, I saw a small head peeking out from behind the broken door, looking around cautiously.

  I took a closer look, and it was clearly a small mouse. Its head was facing the dumpling bowl in my hand. Its nose twitched back and forth as if smelling the aroma. I was delighted and intentionally teased it.

  He picked up a dumpling with chopsticks and waved it in front of him, making the old mouse so hungry that it scratched its ears. Its two small eyes rolled around, seemingly wanting to eat the dumpling but also being a little afraid of me.

  I held the dumpling in front of him and waved it back and forth. The little mouse finally worked up the courage, opened its big mouth and was about to take a bite. I quickly pulled the dumpling back, leaving it biting at air. Then I stuffed it into my mouth and started eating.

  The little mouse seemed a bit angry, staring at me with its beady eyes. I burst out laughing.

  Unexpectedly, the mouse took advantage of my carefree moment, jumped up suddenly, pulled a dumpling out of my bowl, and bit off half of it in front of me.

  Damn it! One mouse poop ruined the whole pot of soup. I may not be very clean, but I'm not going to eat from the same bowl as a mouse. How am I supposed to eat this bowl of dumplings now?

  I put the bowl on the ground and stared at the mouse without moving. I also planned to take it by surprise.

  The little mouse saw that I didn't move. It looked at me cautiously and then started eating the remaining half of the dumpling.

  I sprang up and pounced, my hands moving like lightning. My whole body was like a starving tiger pouncing on its prey, with both hands reaching forward, and in an instant I was right next to the mouse.

  There's only one thought in my mind: "Just wait till I catch you, and see how I'll torture you to death."

  But unexpectedly, I moved quickly. That little mouse seemed to have calculated where I would come from. It lightly jumped back, grasping the timing and position with precision, as if strolling in a leisurely courtyard, feeling pleased with itself, without any sign of panic.

  I fell flat on my face, landing heavily on the ground. I happened to fall right in front of that mouse. It was as if I had stuck my face out for it to bite. The mouse didn't hesitate either, opening its mouth and nipping at my nose.

  I was in so much pain that I yelled and scrambled to catch the little mouse, but it scurried around everywhere and couldn't be found again.

  I cursed my bad luck. I turned back, and this time it was not a big deal. All I saw were four or five large rats lying on my dinner table, dragging and pulling away a full bowl of dumplings.

  I took three strides and made two steps to hurry over, but it was too late. I watched as the group of mice scurried into a hole.

  Suddenly remembered the small bowl I put on the ground earlier. Rushed over to take a look and it was just an empty bowl left.

  "Haha, great. You want to play this trick on me? I'm usually idle and bored, sunbathing every day. Today, I'll just use you guys for some entertainment."

  I found some cold mantou and soaked them in water to eat. While eating, I was thinking about how to deal with these mice.

  This meal is really enough to make me angry. I threw the leftover buns into the pot and covered it well. Then, I started throwing all the broken things in the house into the yard. I have to clear the field and have a good fight with these mice.

  When I was a kid, I saw adults catching yellow weasels. Yellow weasels are extremely cunning, and once they burrow into their holes, it's hard to catch them. Moreover, these animals have many entrances to their dens. You can't dig them out either.

  Later, the adults came up with a solution. They lit a pile of firewood at the entrance to the cave and fanned the smoke inside. Wherever they saw smoke coming out was where the exit was, and then they sealed it off one by one.

  After being smoked for a while, the yellow weasel will become dizzy and disoriented and crawl out, allowing people to slaughter it without any resistance.

  I'm going to exterminate the mice today. I'll use this trick too. The withered grass in the yard that hasn't been burned yet, light a pile on fire, and thick smoke quickly pours into the mouse hole along with the wind.

  These mice are indeed cunning and have more than one hole. Before long, wisps of smoke emerged from a corner behind me, I stuffed the cotton balls and stick handles to block it. Then sat in front of the fire heap and fanned the flames. While fanning, I confirmed that there was no other place for smoke to emerge.

  After fanning for a while, I think the time is almost up. But strangely, not even one mouse surrendered itself. Could it be that this group of mice has character? Would they rather die from smoke inhalation than come out?

  I was shaken. At this moment, I heard the empty bowl that had been placed outside the door making a slight noise. The sound was very small, but for someone like me who was concentrating and listening carefully, it was enough.

  I hastily got up and looked over. These mice actually had another hole in the yard, which was now emitting thick smoke. A group of mice rushed out in a swarm and escaped to the west wing.

  This courtyard is in a state of disrepair. The room they call the western wing, even I feel ashamed to look at it. There's all sorts of trash inside, and the beams are all rotten. It's not as sturdy as a thatched hut.

  I was about to chase after it. Suddenly, I saw a hairless little mouse lying on the ground. Pink tender flesh, plump and lying on the ground. It seems that the mother mouse escaped in a hurry and dropped it on the ground earlier.

  As I looked at it, I suddenly had a brilliant plan.

  It was night, and the moonlight was bright and clear, with a coolness like water.

  I didn't light a lamp. Instead, I sat in the corner of the wall, leaning against a pile of rubbish. For a long time, I remained motionless. But I wasn't asleep; on the contrary, my eyes were wide open.

  I am waiting for a mouse. That mother mouse.

  At this time, the courtyard was tied up with a young mouse in the middle. The young mouse was surrounded by mousetraps and traps... even my broken bucket had been transformed into a mouse catcher. Tonight, I'm going to watch a good show, the name of which is: Deep Love Rushes into a Sea of Blades, Carelessly Losing One's Hand and Being Captured Twice.

  Not everyone can persist in such a bitter wait. I waited bitterly until midnight, and my eyelids started to fight too. Although there were thousands of voices in my heart calling out: "Don't fall asleep, the good show is about to begin." But my eyelids became more and more disobedient.

  At this moment, a black shadow appeared at the door. I suddenly felt a thrill: it's here.

  The black shadow emerged from the darkness and became clearer. When I saw its appearance, I was tongue-tied and scared stiff.

  This is a gigantic rat. Wearing a python robe, wearing a golden crown. With an air of majesty, looking down on the world. Only to see this giant rat's small hand beckoning, behind him a dense group of mice appeared. Immediately after a gesture was made, those mice surged towards me like a flood.

  I was so scared that I shuddered and turned around to run. But as soon as my body moved, I knocked something over. With a loud crash, it startled me awake.

  I opened my eyes and saw: the moonlight was bright and clean, the night was cool as water.

  I wiped the sweat. My heart still had lingering fear. At this moment, I heard a rustling sound in the courtyard, and that mother mouse was caught by the mousetrap.

  It turned out that the mother mouse had been lurking in the dark for a long time. Seeing me asleep, she quietly snuck over to rescue her young mice. This guy was really capable, dodging countless traps and almost succeeding. Just as I was having a nightmare, I kicked a broken bowl.

  The mouse was startled and gave a sudden twitch, and was caught by the mousetrap.

  I watched from the side with clarity, but didn't make a sound, still pretending to sleep sweetly.