Mysterious Event 031

  Uncle looked in the direction I was pointing, his puzzled gaze turned to me.

  I rubbed my eyes, but there was nothing.

  "Let's go," said Uncle.

  Following Uncle Shang's footsteps, but I believe that just now I really saw it, maybe Uncle also saw it, but didn't want to make me panic at night.

  Qin Village's lights are shining brightly, a warm feeling arises spontaneously. Ten years later, stepping into this land again, my heart is extremely excited, but the feeling has become so unfamiliar.

  Followed Uncle Qin, walking towards his home. In the past nights, village women liked to carry small stools and sit under the Osmanthus tree to weave shoes, with children surrounding that Osmanthus tree.

  Under the osmanthus tree now, there isn't even a single person's shadow.

  Ten years later, Qin Da Shu had married and had children. His wife was a woman from the neighboring Miao village, who was the one who opened the door for me and my uncle. She wore a earth-gray dress, with a Miao-style hairpiece, and a wooden hairpin inserted at an angle.

  When she saw outsiders coming, she became somewhat flustered, "You, you're looking for whom?"

  I was sizing up the woman in front of me when Uncle spoke up and said, "Hello Auntie, I'm Qin Yuanyang."

  The woman listened and her face lit up with joy, she immediately turned around and called out to her husband. I looked at Uncle Ah in confusion, wondering how he knew this woman was the mistress of the house, and how he knew she was Qin Da Shu's wife.

  The sound of footsteps on the wooden stairs came, and Uncle Qin appeared before our eyes.

  Mr. Qin has aged a bit, wearing a red vest inside and just throwing on an overcoat outside, his beard seems to have not been shaved for a long time, but he has a masculine air unique to rural men.

  He stared at Uncle Ah for a long time, stepped forward and grasped Uncle Ah's hand with some trembling, not saying a word for half a day. Uncle Ah called him, "Bao Ge, it's me."

  Mr. Qin's name is Qin Dabao, and everyone in the village calls him Dabao.

  Mr. Qin suppressed the excitement in his heart and finally spoke up, "Come on in, take a seat."

  I followed Uncle into the house, and the facilities here have changed a bit from before. I looked around, Aunt Qin brought some peanuts to the table, I said thank you, Aunt Qin turned red with embarrassment and went to the kitchen.

  When that boy brought over the sweet potatoes, I was startled. Wasn't this boy's figure the same dirty thing I saw by the bamboo forest when I entered the village?

  I leaned in close to Uncle Ah, and he noticed something was off about me. He turned his head to take a look at this boy.

  It was Uncle Qin who broke the deadlock, he let out a hearty laugh, "This is DouDou." After saying that, Uncle Qin put down the sweet potatoes and walked over to DouDou, who had been standing by his side, and hugged him in his arms, "My son."

  To the son in her arms, "You silly boy, quickly call uncle, this is sister Ali."

  Doudou looked at Uncle Qin and hid in his father's arms. Uncle Qin said that Doudou is introverted, never calls out to strangers, and will be useless when he grows up.

  Doudou looks like a chubby face, but he is lovely, I find it hard to imagine him as a boy by the bamboo forest.

  He hid in Uncle Qin's arms for half a day, his eyes peeking at me. I smiled at him and he turned away again. Uncle Qin explained, "Really not good enough, it's not like you're an outsider. You've been wanting to see Ah Li sister for so long, now that you've seen her, you're shy. When you grow up, be careful or you won't be able to marry a wife."

  I smiled and looked at Uncle.

  Uncle patted the back of my hand under the table, I knew what Uncle meant. Uncle smiled and said, "It's normal for kids to be shy at first, don't make it hard for him, he'll get used to it naturally."

  Uncle Qin nodded in agreement with a smile, and Uncle asked, "How old is DouDou this year?"

  As he watched Aunt Qin take DouDou to the kitchen, Uncle Qin finally replied, "Nine years old." He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "This kid doesn't know what's wrong with her either. Since she was little, she hasn't liked to cry or make a fuss. Everyone says this kid is easy to bring up and obedient, but I always feel that it's not just a matter of temperament."

  My heart skipped a beat when I heard this, could it be...

  Mr. Qin looked at Ah Shu, his face somewhat helpless, "When DouDou learned to speak, he called out for his grandmother, you said my mother passed away when he was not yet born." Mr. Qin said, lighting a dry cigarette, exhaling a long stream of smoke, "Later on, I asked him and his mother why he always had 'grandma' on his lips, this kid didn't say anything at first, but when he did, it scared me so much that I couldn't eat for several days."

  He fixed his gaze on Uncle's face, and Uncle was as calm as a clear breeze, without any extra expression.

  I'm getting anxious, what did DouDou say exactly?

  I asked Uncle Qin, "Uncle, what's wrong with Doudou?"

  Uncle Qin sighed, "Doudou said that every night he sees his grandma, and every night she rocks him to sleep, telling him stories about the old days in Qin Village."

  A chill ran down my back, and Uncle took my hand in his, signaling me not to be afraid.

  "Didn't Grandma Qin pass away ten years ago? DouDou is only nine years old..." I suddenly remembered the face of Grandma Qin outside the plane window, and how she was killed by the thousand-year-old female corpse in the hotel. Could it be that Grandma Qin's ghost has been wandering around all this time?

  Qin Da Shu sighed deeply and looked at Ah Shu, "So, I called Yu Yang..."

  I finally know why Uncle Ah knew Qin's wife. It turned out that for the sake of DouDou, Uncle Ah used the excuse of going on a business trip to visit Qin Village.

  "I didn't want to trouble you either, but recently Doudou's changes have been too great. Sometimes... sometimes..." Mr. Qin spoke hastily, what happened sometimes?

  What else happened besides DouDou being able to see Grandma Qin at night?