Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Grandma suddenly reached into Zhou Laolian's mouth, rummaging around for a moment before pulling out a large piece of mutton from her throat.
At the moment Grandma extracted the meat, we heard a sound from Zhou Laolian's throat, a muffled "ugh... ugh..." as if the breath she had been holding was finally released. After exhaling, Zhou Laolian's mouth closed.
The villagers exchanged glances, murmuring, "It's so unfair that Zhou Laolian died like this, choked by a piece of mutton."
"Indeed, a piece of mutton took her life."
Zhou Laolian had been a decent person during her life, and the villagers were lamenting her passing.
Grandma stared at the piece of mutton in her hand, lost in thought. With Zhou Laolian's sudden death, according to our hometown customs, she had to be cremated before sunset to prevent any chance of resurrection.
The villagers worked together to build a pyre. A few young girls lifted Zhou Laolian onto the pile of wood and then set it ablaze. Her body was immediately engulfed by the flames, crackling loudly as it burned.
The air was filled with the smell of charred flesh.
Grandfather leaned closer to Grandma and whispered, "Wife, it's unusual that Zhou Laolian choked on mutton."
Grandma's expression darkened as she impatiently replied, "What's so unusual about it? Zhou Laolian came from a poor family and hardly ever ate mutton in her life. She was too greedy for it and ate too quickly; it's only natural she choked."
Zhou Laolian's body burned for an entire day and was not completely consumed until dusk.
A few young girls stayed behind to handle the aftermath while the others dispersed.
Back home, Grandma fished out some sheep entrails from the pot and cut up some mutton from the head, placing it on a plate.
I unconsciously swallowed; it had been so long since I had eaten mutton. I reached out to grab some but was smacked on the hand by Grandma with her chopsticks. "What are you in such a hurry for?"
While Grandma forbade me from eating the mutton from the head, she indulged herself heartily. I could only watch enviously as she devoured it with grease glistening on her lips.
Looking at Grandfather, Grandma said, "This meat is fine to eat; there's no need to be suspicious."
As she spoke these words, she appeared quite pleased with herself and picked up two more pieces of fatty meat to chew on vigorously.
Suddenly, Grandma dropped her chopsticks on the floor and clutched her throat with wide eyes.
Grandfather asked anxiously, "Wife, what's wrong?"
Grandma began to roll on the bed, making sounds of "ugh... ugh..." as if she were choking.
Grandfather quickly reached into Grandma's mouth and pulled out chunks of meat. Grandma was bent over on the kang, gagging a few times before suddenly vomiting.
What she expelled was black and foul-smelling, like rotting, stinking meat.
After vomiting, Grandma slumped back onto the kang, gasping for air, her eyes filled with fear. Her face and neck were flushed red; she had nearly choked to death.
Grandfather said, "Old woman, are you alright? This mutton is too sinister! I should just throw it away."
As he spoke, he was about to discard the meat on the table.
Grandma stopped him, saying, "We can't throw it away; it's perfectly good mutton! I'll take it to the market tomorrow to sell."
Grandfather furrowed his brow and whispered, "This meat is off; what if we sell it and it harms someone?"
Grandma shot him a glare and replied loudly, "What does that have to do with us? It's good mutton; we can't waste it."
The next morning, Grandma loaded the mutton onto the mule cart, preparing to take it to the market.
Grandfather stopped her again, saying, "Old woman, I had a dream last night. I dreamed that our Old Flower Goat asked me to collect its remains."
Grandma snorted in annoyance and said, "The mutton is all sold out; where are we supposed to find it? How can we collect its remains?"
With that, she climbed onto the mule cart.
Grandfather blocked the cart and said, "The Old Flower Goat told me that the remaining mutton is buried under the abandoned house at the west end of the village. We should go check it out."
At the west end of our village stood a dilapidated old house that had been uninhabited for decades; there were legends of someone having hanged themselves inside.
Grandma's eyes darted around before she slowly said, "Then let's go investigate."
The old house was in ruins, with no surrounding walls left.
Grandma asked, "Where's the meat?"
Grandfather headed straight for the threshold of the old house and began digging nearby. He dug a pit half a meter deep and discovered frozen meat—many chunks of it.
He pulled out the frozen meat and laid it on the ground; all of it was from what had been sold, even including the portion sold to Zhou Laolian.
Grandfather's face was filled with shock as he said, "Old woman, what that filthy old hag said was true!"
Comment 0 Comment Count