Back at the dam, we washed all the dozen sweet potatoes. I immediately ate one raw. Just like Hao Junqi said, sweet potatoes that have not been frosted always lack a little taste, and this is true, just like dates, unripe dates not only have no sweetness, but are astringent.

The flame in the fire was not high, but we threw some firewood into it, and the flame was revived.

Night began to fall. In the distant villages, the lights are shining.

The surroundings became more and more silent. And the rumbling of the flood seems to be louder. Frogs chirp. An indescribable bird call came from the col, one and another, and then two in a row, and Hao Junqi leaned closer against me. The sound of a beast pierced the night sky, as if in harmony with the birdsong, one, and again, and twice. And the voice was deeper, but it seemed to be more penetrating.

I added a stick of firewood to the fire.

"Brother—"

"Scared? Didn't we hear this sound when we were kids? ”

"It was in the village. Here'......"

"All animals are afraid of fire. We burned the fire so vigorously that no animal dared to come over. "I comfort Hao Junqi.

But I said this very floatingly, because I don't quite believe in this statement myself. Could it be that the light attracts some animals? I do not know. So I deliberately found a wooden stick to put next to me.

"But the people in the surrounding villages are scared because of the fire we have here." I say.

"Why?" Hao Junqi used a wooden stick to pluck the sweet potatoes that were thrown into the fire.

"Hellfire. From afar, isn't our fire a ghost fire? ”

"Ah, don't say anything about the hell." Hao Junqi made a frightened gesture.

"Actually, you like to listen to ghost stories the most. Grandpa Hao, when Zhu Jinshan's father told us ghost stories, you shrunk in Uncle Hao's arms, but you listened the hardest. I still remember the story of those water ghosts told by Grandpa Hao. ”

"Grandpa told many stories about water ghosts, which one do you remember?"

"What impressed me the most was the story of the wooden plank bridge in the village that went down to the Song Dynasty - it seems to be called the Huang family - Grandpa Hao said that there was a water ghost there all the year round. At noon or on a moonlit night, the water ghost squatted on the bridge, like a child. "I recalled the ghost story told by Grandpa Hao.

"Didn't Grandpa say water monkeys?"

Grandpa Hao said that it was a water ghost turning into a water monkey, attracting passing children to it, and then dragging the children into the water. Grandpa Hao also said that the water ghost was changed by a drowned person, and he had to pull an unlucky bastard to drown him as a stand-in before he could be reincarnated. So he lurks under the water all the year round, and squats on the bridge to tempt children whenever he has the opportunity. ”

"Brother, you're a doctor now, do you still believe in these ghost stories?" Hao Junqi asked.

"I can't tell whether I believe it or not. I usually don't pay much attention to it. Maybe it's still the old saying, if you believe it, you have it, and if you don't believe it, you don't. What about you? ”

"It's pretty much the same." Hao Junqi said.

"There are a lot of things that science can't explain," I said, "like the meat ring in our hands, how to explain its supernatural spirits." ”

"yes."

"There are some phenomena that even medicine can't explain, so I'll tell you a story that happened in our hospital, and it was spread very much at the time." Because there was nothing to do, we were chatting like this. The long night always has to be thought of.

"Is that what happened in your hospital?" Hao Junqi continued to pluck the sweet potatoes in the fire with a stick. We seem to smell the sweet potatoes baked.

"yes, it happened in our hospital. An incident experienced by a nurse named He Jinying in the internal medicine department of our hospital. At that time, a patient in the internal medicine department was cured, and the attending doctor told him that he could be discharged and go home the next day. The patient was so happy that he went to the shop that night to buy wine and celebrate in the ward, but in the middle of the night, he died silently. ”

"Huh?"

The patient in the same ward reported to Ho Jinying, and she immediately went to the resident doctor, who examined her and told her to carry the body to the morgue. Since it took two people to carry the body, she went to the head nurse who was also on duty. Strangely, when they carried the body to the entrance of the building, the power suddenly went out, and the hospital was suddenly dark. Fortunately, the head nurse brought a flashlight with him. ”

"It's scary." Hao Junqi said.

"Listen. The bizarre is behind. "I reminded Hao Junqi," He Jinying and the head nurse carried the body down the stairs, for some reason, she felt heavier and heavier, and she still felt very heavy when she lifted it with both hands, while the head nurse, with one hand shining a flashlight and the other hand carrying the corpse, did not see a little tiredness. She then nagged: 'Why is this man so heavy when he is dead?' 'And guess what? ”

"What's wrong?" Hao Junqi asked.

Before He Jinying's words fell, one foot suddenly stepped on the air, fell down the steps, and knocked out two of his front teeth. I say.

"It's obviously a coincidence." Hao Junqi eased her emotions.

At that time, the head nurse rebuked her. After arriving at the morgue, the head nurse told her to take a deep breath and rub the body three times to apologize. When she returned, the head nurse warned He Jinying that she could not complain in front of the corpse, and if she did not apologize, there might be some disaster ahead. ”

"Did anything else happen afterward?" Hao Junqi snorted. It was completely dark outside.

"Nope. Because she threw herself at the corpse. I said.

"It doesn't seem that scary."

"That's why I said you're not afraid to listen to ghost stories."

The aroma of sweet potatoes is already strong when they are roasted. We saw a few sweet potatoes that we had thrown in the fire with crumpled and black skins, but we all knew from our childhood memories that the sweet potatoes were not fully ripe. No matter how hungry you are, you have to wait.

Raw and undercooked sweet potatoes that are roasted are the worst to eat.

I swallowed in my stomach.

"Speaking of ghost stories, when I was living in Qijiatun County, I heard my aunt, that is, Qi Zhengzhe's mother, say one, which is so scary. Do you want to hear it? Hao Junqi continued the topic of "ghost stories".

"Tell me about it. It's okay anyway. ”

"It's about a person who went to the street to buy zongzi to eat around the Dragon Boat Festival. By the time it was time to go home, it was getting late, and his home was in the suburbs, passing through a cemetery. On that part of the road to the cemetery, he always felt a rustling sound follow him. He stopped, and the sound stopped, and as he walked, the sound sounded again. He's slow, his voice is slow, he's fast, his voice is fast. Hao Junqi said eloquently.

"Hello will set the mood." I say.

"Where? That's what Auntie said. The man was so frightened by the sound that he ran home with a sigh of relief. When he got home, he pushed the door and shouted, 'The devil is coming!' ’。 Guess what, brother? Hao Junqi paused deliberately.

"It's not fun. Copyright Invasion. I said.

"Brother, guess."

"Did anyone be scared to death?"

"I saw that the people in his house who were originally gathered around the table of the Eight Immortals were so frightened that they hid everywhere, some hid in the room, some hid under the table, and some ran to the kitchen." Hao Junqi uses gestures to assist her story.

"Is it so scary?"

"There really is. Because, his family also sat at the table and talked about ghost stories, and he exclaimed so much, how can there be any reason not to be afraid? ”

"Damn." I laughed.

"Guess what's going on with that voice?" Hao Junqi raised her eyes and asked me.

"How can you guess that?" I used a stick to pull a sweet potato out of the fire. The skin of the sweet potato turns yellow, which means that the sweet potato is fully ripe.

"Come to think of it, there's a hint ahead."

"Is there one?" I still don't know the essentials because my mind is all about sweet potatoes. I endured the scalding and split the sweet potato in half, and then handed it to Hao Junqi. "It smells so good."

"What is this man for?" Hao Junqi took the sweet potato and gave me a further hint.

"Go to the street and buy zongzi to eat."

"yes, guess and you'll have the answer."

"I can't guess." I took a bite of the sweet potato and it was delicious.

"It seems that my brother is really stupid. It was his shoes that stuck to the leaves of the dumplings, and the rustling sound was the sound of the leaves rubbing against the ground. ”

"Ahh

"I thought of it immediately when my aunt tested me." Hao Junqi said proudly.

We just ate roasted sweet potatoes while telling ghost stories, and time passed quickly, but there was an obvious negative effect of talking too many ghost stories, Hao Junqi didn't dare to go out alone to "relax", she went out to "relax", and I had to accompany her.

It was a moonless night, about seven or eight o'clock in the evening, and it was the most lively time in the county seat, but here, in the countryside, it had already entered the middle of the night in advance. The sparkling lights that could have been seen have all been extinguished, and the village has long since fallen asleep.

We hurried back inside.

In the process of telling the "ghost story", Cheng Wei called twice. It's all for Hao Junqi. From their conversation (Hao Junqi turned on hands-free) I sensed that Cheng Wei had a lot of worry and a strong sense of frustration, at least sending me a message: he was restless.

Cheng Wei even had an urge to drive to Yongtai to find us.

I first knew how much pain my trip to the east gate with Hao Junqi had brought to Cheng Wei. I also further perceive the extent to which Cheng Wei has fallen into the whirlpool of love.

Cheng Wei's whole person was deeply involved, which I didn't expect.

"Brother, what do you say about it? I'm afraid it will affect your brotherhood. When I went out to "relax" and then returned to the hydropower station, Hao Junqi took the initiative to sit next to me and rested her head on my shoulder. We sat together on a plank.

"We can only wait and see how things change. What else can be done? He will not let the flesh ring spirit be inflicted on him. I gently hugged Hao Junqi's waist.

"How is that possible?" Hao Junqi said angrily, "Anyway, I'll stay away from him as much as possible." ”

"If you don't give him hope, he'll despair after all." I say.

Actually, I know it's already a good idea. My concern is that the wound will be opened, and even if it heals, it will leave a scar.

"That's all it can be."