I shifted my gaze and looked at the portrait of Zhang's mother. Although we were attacked in the corridor before, we didn't know what Mama Zhang's ghost looked like, so I asked the old man, how did you and Mama Zhang meet? The old man was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't expect me to ask this irrelevant question, and then he smiled and said, "She and I met in the countryside."

The old man told me that when the two of them first met, Zhang's mother was just 20 years old. And his parents were soldiers before the liberation, so since he was a child, he was also deeply influenced by the red thought, just a few years after the liberation, the whole country was surging during that time, everyone wanted to rely on their own ability to contribute to the motherland, and they all thought that they were a screw, and they should be screwed to the place where the motherland needed them most. At that time, the old man went to the countryside to become a rural teacher.

The place where I live is very poor, and there are very few children who can afford to go to school, and even many people don't think that studying is worth spending time, and then there is a girl who often sends a child to school to attend classes, and after a few times, the old man began to notice this girl. The old man said that that was the first time he and Zhang's mother met. Hu Zongren exclaimed, he is only in his early 20s, and all children can study! The old man laughed and said that the child was not Mama Zhang's child, but the child of Mama Zhang's eldest sister. Because Zhang's mother often sent her nephew to school, the old man, who was also very young at the time, also targeted others. After paying attention to each other silently for a long time, the old man finally decided to confess to Zhang's mother.

However, after the confession, he did not receive a positive answer. Zhang's mother's family is rural, and they also lost their land during the war, and the family has a large population, all of whom are crammed into a small house, and their lives are very poor. The old man said that he could help them, so he often quietly brought some food to Zhang's mother's house, because he knew that people would definitely not accept money if he sent it, and he didn't have much money himself that year. After stalking like this for a long time, until Zhang's mother and children left school and were admitted to a middle school in a county town, for 5 and a half years, Zhang's mother never refused, nor did she agree to associate with him.

The old man said that the people in those years were honest and simple, and they also abided by the rules and were more traditional. So for more than 5 years, almost the entire village knew that the old man was pursuing Zhang's mother, and every time he met with the people in the village, everyone had to joke and something, and finally in the 6th year after the two met, Zhang's mother finally agreed to date him. Over the years, the Zhang family has also seen that the old man is a diligent and honest person, different from those flowery children in the city, and they quickly recognized the love relationship between him and Zhang's mother. But new problems also appeared, both of them reached the age of marriage and established a relationship, when the old man brought Zhang's mother to the city to meet his parents, but was opposed.

The old man said that his parents were both soldiers, and the two were in the army in their early years, and they became husband and wife, which was completely a sentence from the commander, belonging to the kind of assigned marriage, and there was not even a little mutual understanding and emotional foundation before marriage, but for the people of their time, they seemed to approve of this way, and even felt that their children would not be assigned to marry in the future, but at least they had to find a girl in the army. Seeing Zhang's mother dressed in a rustic manner, and she is from the countryside, her son standing with her has a feeling of being completely out of bounds. So the first meeting was very unpleasant, and the strength of the old man's parents made Zhang's mother feel very inferior, and she once proposed to give up this relationship.

The old man told us that in the end he persevered, and the village teacher was not a good teacher, and returned to the city, but he was not in the same place as his parents, and it happened that at that time, there was a trend of being a worker in the country, and in those two years, the social status of workers was probably about the same as that of today's civil servants, and many people wanted to be a worker with their heads sharpened. And because the old man was an intellectual and a descendant of the revolution, he soon became a worker in the factory. And Zhang's mother was originally a rural person, skillful, quick to do things, after the introduction of the guarantee, she also entered a textile factory to work as a female car worker, although the two are in the same city, but they live in their respective factory dormitories, only after work or weekends can go out to the park and the like. After a few years, seeing that both of them are almost 30 years old, in Zhang's mother's rural hometown, if a 30-year-old woman is not married and has children, she will basically be looked down upon, and the old man knows this, so he plans to marry Zhang's mother. The two poor and white people bought a few quilts, bought some new pots and pans, and pasted a happy word on the windows and doors, and they got married.

The old man's factory was quite kind, and he knew that the two were married, so he divided a single dormitory for the two of them to live in, and the two had their first home. The marriage is also concluded, and the husband's family can only accept this fact. However, in the following decades, because Zhang's mother was diligent and able to endure hardships, and she was a virtuous helper, even the old man's parents gradually began to praise her. And Zhang's mother's family thinks that their daughter has jumped into the rice basket this time.

Then several children were born, and although the factory was finally declared bankrupt, before that, two hard-working people still raised all the children and earned a factory house for themselves, which is where we are now. Hu Zongren asked the old man, since it is not easy for you to be between you, the relationship must be very good over the years, right? The old man said yes, it's just that this person talks a lot when he gets old, and when he gets old, he nagged a lot every day, and he was almost annoyed to death. Even if the old man said so, his eyes were still full of smiles. He told us that he was retiring from illness because he had been in poor health for the last few years in the factory. The same is true for Zhang's mother, who has been working in the factory for a long time, and has some bone problems, I am because I had an illness a few years ago, and then wilted, so over the years, it has been the old woman who has been taking care of me, knowing that I am not in good health, and often gives me some delicious supplements. Fortunately, there is a supermarket at the door here, not far away, and it is convenient to buy things.

When it came to the supermarket, I seemed to suddenly think of something, so I tentatively asked the old man, may I ask you or Zhang's mother did you like to eat carrots before you died? Because I thought about the first time I saw a supermarket, I found some carrots that had been gnawed off. The old man said, yes, your mother and I like to eat carrots, we are older, we need to eat more of these high-nutrient things, there was a famine in the early years, everyone had nothing to eat, at that time we often used carrots as food. Looks like I'm half convinced, this time it's not in vain. So I then asked, when did Zhang's mother die? The old man said, it's been almost two months, it's too steep, and it took me a long time to slow down.

I calculated the time, and it happened to be after the day of the supermarket's hell, so everything made sense, and I determined that the ghost of the old lady in the supermarket was Mama Zhang. And the reason why she stayed was not only attracted by the supermarket staff burning incense and burning paper, but also because of the carrots in the supermarket. In order to be more sure, I asked the old man again, did Mother Zhang often make carrots for you to eat before her death? The old man said yes, almost every day, I don't eat and force me to eat, saying that I am old, eat more of these things, it is good for the body. As a result, I was fine, but she took the first step. After saying this, the old man's face once again had that gloomy look, just like his expression when we first entered the house.

So I glanced at Hu Zongren and handed him a look, which means, should we tell the truth to the old man in front of me. Hu Zongren frowned and thought about it, then nodded at me. So I said to the old man, old man, borrow your balcony for use, and I will discuss something with my friend. After saying that, I walked with Hu Zongren to the balcony outside the small door next to us.

I asked Hu Zongren in a low voice, if we tell the truth, do you think this old man can accept it? Hu Zongren said, I only know, if you don't say it, it will be difficult for us to take away Zhang's mother's ghost just by our own ability, and we need to tie the bell to solve the bell, have you forgotten what happened when we fell down the stairs before? I said what you mean, you want to let Zhang's mother's wife enlighten Zhang's mother herself under our guidance? Hu Zongren said yes, at least Zhang's mother and the old man have been together for so many years, and she will not harm him. As long as we can be relieved more than now, we can at least take away Mama Zhang's ghost. I asked him again, what about the remaining ghosts? Hu Zongren said, the rest of the can't be traced, let's finish the matter of Zhang's mother first. I thought about it, it seems that this is also the most practical way, we can't delay too much time because we investigate the case, it's not good for ghosts, it's not good for other people's supermarkets, after all, people also have to open their doors to do business.

After discussing the results, I decided to tell the old man the truth. Hu Zongren said, let him say it himself. So I exhaled, looked at the sky outside, it was already getting a little dark, and then pushed Hu Zongren and said, let's go, let's go in.