Chapter 1: First Encounter with Postal Service (3)

  "Get out, you damned crow's mouth! The gods have ascended to heaven, and yet you're still here spreading rumors and deceiving the masses." Although I spoke harshly, my heart was still a bit fluttery.

  "Do you believe it or not." Old Cang said, pointing at my nose.

  "Xiao Luo, if you don't believe me, I'll tell you something. This thing was told to me by the postman of the previous generation!" The speaker is Du Wei, this guy is also in his early twenties, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, looking elegant and refined, occasionally reciting a few lines of poetry.

  "What? What's going on?" I asked curiously, leaning in closer to him.

  Du Wei is quite familiar with our little post office, his father used to work here too. At that time, the treatment of postal workers was pretty good, but for some reason, his father left after working at the post office for ten years and started driving a taxi. When people are unlucky, even drinking water can choke them, and sure enough, his father's taxi career only lasted half a year before he died in an accident. It is said that when Du Wei went to the hospital, his father was still conscious, tightly grasping Du Wei's hand and saying: "Son, you must never be a mailman for me."

  Du Wei at that time must have had great ambitions, and hastily nodded his head. The old man finally passed away. However, this kid really lived up to expectations, and after half a day of struggling, he became a postman again.

  Many elderly people in the post office are quite familiar with Du Wei's father, so some of the inside stories in the post office mostly come from his mouth.

  At this time, Du Wei's eyes were bright and spirited, his breathing became a bit urgent, then he said slowly: "Do you know why my dad stopped being a mailman after doing it for ten years?"

  "Alright, stop teasing me here, just say it." I said impatiently.

  "Uh, over a decade ago, when I was still young, my dad was working as a mailman. One day he received a letter from a place he had never heard of before. At that time, being young and vigorous, he didn't think much about it. A few days later, in the middle of the night, my dad suddenly pushed open the door, his hair disheveled, his face pale. After entering the house, he locked the door tightly. From then on, my dad seemed to have changed into a different person. He started going out at night and hiding during the day, refusing to eat meat, always looking worried and depressed. Sometimes in the daytime, he would suddenly wake up from a dream, shouting 'Don't kill me! Don't kill me!' over and over again."

  Later, my mother saw that he couldn't go to work anymore, so she helped him resign. It was like this for about three months or more, and he gradually recovered. He bought a taxi with friends and drove it, but at that time, he only drove at night because he had to sleep during the day. The business was good at first, and my father was very motivated. However, one evening not long after, my father suddenly returned home. Originally, he should have been driving his taxi that night, but on that day, he came back home with his whole body trembling, his lips purple, and sweat pouring down like rain. He locked the door tightly, pacing back and forth in the room, chain-smoking one cigarette after another.

  "'They've come, they've found me.' I remember that during that period of time he would intentionally or unintentionally repeat this sentence. A week later when he went out driving again, he got into a car accident."

  Du Wei finished telling the story and turned his head to stare at me intensely.

  "Do you know where that letter was sent?"

  "Unlikely..." I coughed lightly and said, "It can't be Beigua Village!"

  Du Wei helplessly nodded his head.

  "Spare me!" I'm just a born stubborn person, although I said I didn't believe it, but in my heart, I still feel very uneasy.

  "Xiao Luo, believe it or not, no matter what happens in the future, I guarantee you'll have a great time tonight," Lao Cong said as he handed me a cigarette.

  "Wow! When did Lao Cong switch to Little Panda?" To be honest, we usually only smoke 4 or 5 yuan cigarettes. With our meager salary barely enough to make ends meet, being able to afford something that produces smoke is already a luxury. As for Little Panda, it's really not even worth considering.

  "Hey, didn't smoke many, take the rest with you on the road!" Old Xiao's skill of scaring people is really not ordinary, this sentence made me feel like I'm walking on the road to the underworld.

  "Alright, I'll take it then." I took the cigarette and casually stuffed it into my pocket. For the rest of the dinner party, everyone remained silent, except for Old Cong occasionally telling some off-color jokes to lighten the mood.