Chapter 24 Returning Home
Xiao Feng waved her left hand, and the light flew back. She flipped her palm and caught the light in her hand. Then she turned her head and glared at me, shouting, "Didn't I tell you to run away just now?"
I straightened up, sat on the ground, and said a little aggrievedly: "Sister, but you asked me to keep an eye on the Soul-Calming Flag before. So do you want me to keep an eye on the Soul-Calming Flag or run away?"
"You're a grown man, can you please stop being cute?"
The girl said with disdain. I curled my lips and muttered, "Can't you be a little reserved and polite as a little girl?"
"What did you say?"
The girl glared and snorted. I quickly laughed and said, "No, nothing. How's it going? Did you catch the little devil?"
"Of course, it's just a little devil. Come on, report to the mission and get your money."
Getting paid is what I like best. I jumped up and brushed off the dust on my body. Although I was choked by the stench of the evil ghost, my body was not hurt at all.
When this girl handed in the task, she would leave me alone in the hotel. I didn't know who she gave the task to, how much she was paid, etc. But I didn't care about these. I only cared about how much money this girl could give me when she came back.
After this mission was over, I went back to the taxi company I worked for before. I left in such a hurry that many things were not settled. Then I went back to my hometown to bring the money home. My younger sister was going to junior high school this year.
In the evening, Lu Xiaofeng came back. I told her that I was going to go home. She didn't say anything, but just asked me to contact her when I came back. When I returned to my previous workplace, Zhang Datou scolded me severely. This time I didn't talk back, after all, it was my fault. I briefly told Zhang Datou about the situation, but of course I didn't tell him that I was going to catch ghosts and make a lot of money in the future. As for the lie, I had already thought of it on the way back.
After completing some resignation formalities, Zhang Datou, who was unusually generous, treated me to a meal at a nice restaurant. We all couldn't help but think of Zheng Feng. Alas, the three of us used to eat out together.
Then I dealt with some things in the dormitory, threw away what needed to be thrown away, and paid off the rent. Then I went home with a big bag on my back.
Our Yejiazhuang is a pure and authentic small mountain village. I first took the train to the city, then took the bus to the county seat, and then took the minibus to the town. Finally, I had to walk for more than an hour and climb over a mountain before I could see our village from afar.
I have been away from home for several years, and I can only go home once a year at most. My younger sister is about to enter junior high school, and the burden on the family is even heavier, so I didn't go home during the Chinese New Year last year in order to earn more money. Now it is almost the end of the year, and if you count carefully, I haven't been home for nearly two years.
This time, I didn't inform my family in advance, so no one came to the village to pick me up. I was carrying a big bag by myself, and when I arrived at the village entrance, it was already evening, and wisps of smoke were rising from the village.
The taste of home, it feels so comfortable.
" Hey , isn't this Xiaoyun? Why did you come back so early this year?"
I was sighing with emotion when a rough female voice suddenly came from not far away. I turned my head and saw a tall, fat woman carrying a bamboo basket walking from outside the village to the inside. She was my third aunt, who married from a neighboring village. Every time I saw my third aunt, I couldn't help but wonder, how could my third uncle's small body hold down my third aunt's huge body?
"Hello, Third Aunt! I changed jobs this year and had an early holiday, so I came back early."
I waved back quickly.
"Oh, you changed jobs, are you making a lot of money?"
Aunt San asked jokingly. I chuckled. It was indeed a lot of money. If it was before, I would definitely think that I had made a lot of money. But after following that girl Lu Xiaofeng for a few months, I realized that one or two hundred thousand yuan is really not a lot of money.
"Hey, there's no such thing as a lot of money. I just need to make a living and get by."
Our village has a small population, with only more than 20 households. Many children go out to work when they grow up, and few children nowadays are willing to return to this desolate mountain village. The villagers were cooking dinner now, and I didn't meet many people when I entered the village, so I just jogged back home.
The two rusty iron doors of the house were half open, not locked, and smoke was coming out of the kitchen in the yard. I pushed open the door and saw the familiar yard, the familiar jujube tree, and the familiar rooms.
"Dad, Mom!"
I shouted twice. Then my dad came out of the room and my mom came out of the kitchen. They both looked at me in surprise. They certainly didn't expect me to come back at this time.
"Xiaoyun, why are you back?"
Dad asked curiously. Although he was curious, I could see the joy in his and mom's eyes. Alas, parents are pitiful. There is no parent who does not worry about their children who are away from home.
"Oh, I changed jobs this year, and there's not much work at the end of the year, so the company gave me an early holiday."
I made up an excuse. Of course I couldn't tell them that I followed Lu Xiaofeng to catch ghosts. They were already worried about me being alone outside, and if they knew about those things, they would definitely be even more worried and scared.
"It's good to be back, it's good to be back."
Dad nodded. Mom also smiled and said, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming back? I'll quickly make two more dishes."
During dinner , my father told me that my younger sister has entered the first grade of junior high school. Since there is only a middle school in the county town, and the county town is more than two hours away from our village by car, plus more than an hour's walk, my younger sister lives in the school dormitory and comes back once a month. In another half a month, it will probably be winter vacation.
Because I was afraid that they would worry, I didn't dare to tell them that I had saved more than 100,000 yuan. I handed a passbook with 20,000 yuan in it to my father and told them that the money in it was what I had saved in the past two years. There was no income in this mountain village, and the 20,000 yuan was just enough to pay for my younger sister's school expenses.
After dinner, my mother went to bed early, and my father and I were watching TV. I thought about it, hesitated for a long time, and asked: "Dad, did anything strange happen when I was born?"
My cheap master, the stinky old man, said that with a fate like mine, I should have died long ago, but I have lived until now. And I am a reincarnated ghost, so I think there must be something different when I was born from others.
"Strange things? What strange things?"
My dad asked me a question in return. I scratched my head, thought about it, and said, "Anyway, it's just some things that are different from other children's births. In short, is there anything strange that happens that you think?"
Dad scratched his head, thought about it, and suddenly his eyes lit up. He said, "I remember that when you were born, our family invited people to dinner. A Taoist priest happened to pass by that day and ate at our house. He even held you in his arms and said something about the Zhongyuan birth."
