Chapter 26: The Master of the "Ghost House"

  After walking over the wooden bridge, I entered a dense forest and walked for about 100 meters. Suddenly, in front of me, it opened up to a vast expanse. Under the embankment, amidst the dense trees, there was a large clearing. In the middle of the clearing stood a row of abandoned, dilapidated dormitories, about seven or eight rooms in total.

  The dormitory has been deserted for many years, with a scene of desolation and decay. The doors and windows are broken, the glass is damaged. The wind blows through them, making all sorts of strange noises. From time to time, stray cats and dogs pass by from the surrounding area.

  There is a pool in front of the door, and when you turn on the faucet with force, there is actually clear running water coming out. The dormitory doors are all locked, with rusty locks, and various miscellaneous items are piled up chaotically inside. Looking around to the left and right, there is a special kitchen on the west side, and on the east side of the main house, there are men's and women's toilets built in the back.

  He's getting a bit tired, what a great place!

  It's really true that heaven won't cut off a person's path. Just when I was worried about having no place to live, I discovered this treasure land. Judging from the broken tables and chairs piled up here, this dormitory must belong to the school. From the degree of damage to the dormitory, it's clear that it has been abandoned for a long time with no one living here. He felt a wave of excitement - since he had nowhere else to go, why shouldn't he move in here?

  Thinking of it, I climbed up the big dike again, and what entered my eyes was the vast irrigation river and the rushing river water. Especially, there was a long, long pier made of circular wood on the riverbank, about 10 to 15 meters wide and 70 to 80 meters long. Although it was early autumn, there were already reeds floating under the pier, reed catkins flying in the sky, bubbling and fluttering, a poetic and picturesque scene.

  At this moment, he made up his mind, I'm going to stay here!

  After finishing the reconnaissance, I estimated that Teacher Zhang was also about to finish her class, so I hurriedly ran back to the delivery room. Teacher Zhang indeed came looking for me, panting: "Where did you run off to? You made me search all around, quickly take these things and follow me." Yu Songyuan carried the bedding, washbasin, thermos, and backpack, following Teacher Zhang into the staff residential area.

  Walking to the middle row of houses, opening one of the doors, Teacher Zhang said: "This is my home, you can stay here tonight. Don't worry, there are too many students, I'll think of a way to coordinate with the school administration to find a dormitory."

  Teacher Zhang is only a few years older than Yu Songyuan, and is about the same age as his sister Yu Qin. They are sweet-looking and newly married. The school provided them with two double rooms, one for cooking and one for living, adding up to twenty square meters. Yu Songyuan could only set up a folding bed in the kitchen, which had to be folded up when cooking.

  He told Teacher Zhang: "I've already found a great place to live."

  Teacher Zhang said: "You don't even recognize people, how can you? Don't worry about us, Yuqin and I are classmates and sworn sisters, consider me your sister. We're all our own people, no need to be shy."

  At this time, Zhang's partner pushed a bicycle back and introduced himself briefly. It turned out that Zhang's partner was called Liu Gong, who worked at the county industrial bureau. Liu Gong said: "Don't worry about it, who doesn't have difficult times? Besides, we haven't had children yet, and our elderly parents don't live with us, so it's just a matter of setting up a bed and a pair of chopsticks."

  Yu Songyuan said: "It's not all about being afraid of disturbing you, but rather being afraid that my own studies will be affected."

  He came up with this reason, and Teacher Zhang and his wife couldn't insist anymore. So they asked: "Then where is the place you found? Take us to see it."

  Yu Songyuan said: "It's that row of old houses under the river embankment."

  Mr. Zhang and his wife looked at each other, shocked with their mouths agape. Mr. Zhang said: "That's a 'haunted house'! It's not clean there, always having ghosts, are you crazy? Absolutely not! Absolutely not!"

  Liu Gong also said: "You're kidding, right? People have died there. It's two or three miles away from school, and it's desolate all around, not even a wisp of smoke. Do you know what used to be under the river embankment? From the Qing dynasty to today, it's always been an execution ground! At night, it's like ghosts crying and wolves howling, no one dares to live there."

  Yu Songyuan said resolutely: "I'm serious, I've been brave since childhood. I took a closer look and found that it's all piled up with school stuff, and it's also the school's house. It would be better if the school agreed, but if not, I'll just quietly move in. Besides, I've practiced martial arts since I was young, so I'm considered a bad guy too. If there really are ghosts, they should be afraid of me."

  The couple exchanged a glance, and seeing his resolute attitude, they had no choice but to agree to try the school affairs office again.

  Teacher Zhang took Yu Songyuan to the school affairs office again and proposed that Yu Songyuan live in the old warehouse under the river embankment, while also helping the school take care of those old tables and chairs. The director of the school affairs office said indifferently: "As long as he dares to live there, it's okay. But think carefully, we've made it clear that if any problems arise, they have nothing to do with the school."

  Mr. Zhang said displeased: "You can rest assured, if there is a problem, we will be responsible for it."

  In this way, Yu Songyuan moved into the "ghost house" through Teacher Zhang's coordination and efforts. The biggest problem of accommodation was finally solved, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

  The head of the logistics department finally found the key, and Yu Songyuan carried his luggage alone to the abandoned dormitory. Opening the door, pressing a switch, the light actually turned on. The windows were all broken, just need to paste newspaper. Inside, there were old tables and chairs and broken bunk beds, only need simple cleaning and repair can be inhabited, not difficult.

  The westernmost room in the dormitory is a shared kitchen, with a stove, two large iron pots with rust spots, and a dirty pot lid rolling on the ground, covered in dust. The broken cupboard has some old bowls and plates stacked randomly inside. Kitchen utensils such as knives and cutting boards are all piled up haphazardly against the wall, almost buried in dust. A square dining table is covered in bird droppings. When he turned on the faucet, clear water flowed out, which made him feel relieved, the conditions were not as bad as rumored.

  Behind the stove, the hay was laid out very neatly, as if someone had just slept there. It seemed that this place had also been lived in before. And now, perhaps there were still vagrants who spent the night in the kitchen.

  It was later learned that the so-called "ghost house" was originally a temporary house built by the county fishing company. Due to its desolation and secrecy, it had become the largest place in the county seat for detaining and struggling with "prisoners of war" from the rebel faction. Several people died here during their detention, including a husband and wife who hanged themselves, both of whom were secretly buried on the riverbank overgrown with reeds below the embankment after their deaths.

  A few years ago, a middle-aged teacher named Wang, who had been suffering from illness for many years and remained unmarried, was infected with a highly contagious lung disease. To avoid infecting others, he voluntarily moved into this place. Before his death, he coughed up blood repeatedly, wailing incessantly, his condition extremely miserable. After his death, this place became even more terrifying.

  Although the school's housing is tight, young single teachers would rather rent houses outside the school and do not dare to move in. As a result, it has been idle all the time, becoming a temporary warehouse for the school affairs office, with the door locked tightly, becoming a habitat for cats, dogs and various birds.

  Actually, from today's perspective, this place has a quiet environment and unique scenery.

  Behind the house is a high embankment of the irrigation canal, on top of which is a road about two meters wide. The road is lined with tall trees such as poplars, catalpas and other varieties. There are no streetlights, so at night it's dark and quiet, with only the sounds of rustling leaves, whistling wind, flowing water, barking dogs, meowing cats and chirping birds breaking the silence.

  Standing on the embankment, looking around, both sides are desolate river beaches, with no signs of human habitation within 4-5 kilometers. Dense forests and thick reed marshes are filled with tall trees, where various birds chase, play and sing. A small river winds its way through the forest, with colorful fish swimming inside. The banks of the river are lined with tall weeping willows, and at this moment, it's late autumn, with cotton-like seeds floating in the air like snowflakes.

  Unfortunately, it is precisely because of the so-called "ghost house" that it is too far away from school, and very few teachers and students dare to come here to enjoy the scenery. Even in summer, people who swim in the irrigation canal will bypass this place, making it look even more desolate and eerie.

  Yu Songyuan didn't care about these things and moved in here that very day.

  In the afternoon, he took a pile of old newspapers and paste found by Teacher Zhang, chose the relatively better one on the far east side, pasted the doors and windows with old newspapers, moved the extra old tables and chairs into other rooms, then carefully swept the floor and made the bed.

  Soon, everything inside and out was brand new, the bed was made, the table and chairs were all in place, he even thoroughly cleaned both the men's and women's toilets. After finishing everything, he went to the water pool in front of the door, turned on the faucet, washed his face with a refreshing feeling, and then filled a thermos with hot water from the school water tower. Returning to the dormitory, turning on the electric light and lying down, he felt extremely comfortable and relaxed all over.

  He took out the pancakes his mother had baked and the salted yellow beans Yu Yue's aunt had stir-fried, and simply ate dinner. Then in the faint light of dusk, he walked up to the river dike, and ran a few laps on the wide river dike and the long plank bridge, feeling extremely comfortable. The wind blowing through the trees on the dike and the dense reeds under the bridge made a rustling sound. Suddenly, he curled his hands into a trumpet shape and let out a long, loud "A-yo-o" towards the vast river surface.

  Suddenly, he faintly heard someone calling him, and he hurriedly ran up the riverbank from the wooden bridge. It turned out that Liu Gong and Teacher Zhang had come to visit him. The two were seen walking hand in hand, trembling with fear. Liu Gong was holding a flashlight, while Teacher Zhang was carrying a rice bowl.

  Teacher Zhang said with some reproach, "You're really bold, aren't you afraid of getting into trouble? Running alone to the riverbank, if we hadn't heard your cries for help, we would have been worried to death and wouldn't have found you."

  "That wooden bridge has a history of several decades, almost a hundred years. Be extremely careful, underneath is the rolling river, if you fall down it's doomed. You live here alone, not even one person to save you, can't be careless." Liu Gong also said.

  Back in the dormitory, Teacher Zhang looked around and was greatly delighted, seemingly letting out a sigh of relief. Having tidied up like this, it really wasn't bad, and had some semblance of a student dormitory.

  Yu Songyuan also took them to visit the kitchen, pool and toilet. Teacher Zhang walked into the women's toilet, came out after finishing, smiled and praised: "Even the women's toilet is swept clean, quite meticulous."

  "This is actually my first time entering a women's restroom," Yu Songyuan said hastily, "Of course it was to clean up."

  Liu Gong burst out laughing, and Teacher Zhang tapped Yu Songyuan's forehead with a smile, "What else do you want? Living here alone with no one to supervise you, don't learn any bad habits."

  She touched his quilt and said, "It's too thin. Now it's autumn, and soon it will be the coldest time of the year. You go home tomorrow to get it, coincidentally there is a ready-made thick cotton-padded mattress at home, and the fabric for the cover is also ready. I'll sew a thick quilt for you tonight, and I really don't dare to take this road myself."

  Yu Songyuan said, "It's not cold, it's not cold, the new quilt is easy to be stolen, I'm used to covering this bed quilt at home, it's thick and uncomfortable. Besides, here is under the river embankment, with wind and sunshine, it's really not cold."

  It's bitter to say this, but the quilt was still sent by Wang Feng's aunt. After the "calamity" of family planning, there wasn't even a needle left in our home, let alone a quilt for him to bring to school.