Chapter 10: Yin red soup (Part 1)

But honestly, I don’t want to leave the village, I don’t want to see the outside world. I’m not even curious about how it looks because living with my grandmother is the best.

When I nodded, grandma smiled.

After grandmother ate dinner, she went out again. She said she will go for a walk and I’m not allowed to follow her. Well, certainly she will go to Secretary Ji Kang’s house again.

Ji Chuan Cheng has been absent for a week because Secretary Ji Kang keeps pushing away my grandmother every time she will visit at night. But when Ji Chuan Cheng condition is getting worse than before and Secretary Ji Kang doesn’t know what to do anymore. He finally let grandmother enter their house.

When Grandma came back, her face was very pale again, but Ji Chuan Cheng’s conditions have improved. The next day, Secretary Ji Kang sent many gifts to our house.

Some of them are expensive wines, cigarettes, a big box of chocolates and a cake, which children like us who live in this rural village can only see on television.

Secretary Ji Kang generously gave these things to us, but grandmother flatly refused. When grandpa saw the expensive wine, he disregarded grandmother’s refusal and grab all of them.

“Oh really! If you volunteer to help people you shouldn’t expect for something in return.” Grandma said and while she was lying in bed she slightly coughs again.

“Grandma, look at yourself, your health is getting worse again. Get some rest now.” I poured a water for her to drink.

Grandmother who can hardly sit up urged me to go to sleep already, while she changed her clothes and go in the direction of the door.

“Grandma, where are you still going at this hour?” I got puzzled, usually, the village people don’t have any entertainment activity, so generally they will sleep around at nine. And now it’s already past eight in the evening, but still, grandmother wants to go out.

Grandma waved her and told me to rest early and then left.

In fact, this is not the first time that grandmother went outside during the night. After all, her identity is different, she has always done this before. So I didn’t ask her anymore, but I’m still worried about her body and health.

I wanted to sit in the living room and wait for her to return, but we have examination tomorrow, so I just returned to my room to sleep.

When I lie down, I felt someone was constantly stroking my cheek and called my name. My eyelashes trembled for a long time and I felt drowsy when I opened my eyes.

I can vaguely see a man was sitting on my bed and is looking at me. The bedside lamp is clearly lit, but I still can’t see his face.

“People will always come and go, but don’t worry I will always protect you!” He slowly spoke to me.

This voice? When I heard the man’s deep voice, I suddenly got goosebumps.

I know clearly in my heart, that this man is the ghost monk that my grandmother arranged for me to be my future husband.

Ever since that night of betrothal, he didn’t visit me in my room. Except for those two times that he save me. So I can’t understand why did he appear tonight?

“In a few more days you will have your “jiji hour”, so you and I will soon become husband and wife.” His eyes look very bright and when I listened to his words my scalp was tingling.

“No! No!” I shouted desperately and push away his hand. And when I touch his hand I felt that his palm is very cold. The feeling of pain immediately pulled me back to reality.

When I open my eyes I saw grandmother was holding my hair and a pair of scissor. She was standing in front of me and there was some dripping blood on that scissor.

“Oh, why did you suddenly woke up?” Grandma got scared and quickly put down the scissor and my hair. She carefully looks at the wound in my palm.

“Grandma, what are you doing?” I looked at grandmother and got suspicious. And then, I look at the alarm clock above the table and saw that it’s already three in the morning.

“Nothing, when I was looking at you I found out that you have so many split ends in the hair, so I wanted to give you a trim.” Grandma somehow embarrassing smile at me when she was trying to explain.

However, her reason is unbelievable. Who will trim someone’s hair in the middle of the night?

But what more important right now is my dream. The bald monk said that I will soon have my “jiji hour”. What was does it mean?

So I ask grandmother, but when she heard me she got surprised. She fidgets her finger and forgot to answer me for a while, then suddenly her face turn pale and her lips trembled a little, she said: “Xiao Xi, the day after tomorrow will be your nominal 15th birthday.”

I know that during ancient times, when a girl turns fifteen years old, their parents will already arrange their marriage.

But in our village, we don’t follow the ancient time’s calendar. So why is grandmother telling me that it will be my 15th birthday? When originally, I will only be 14 years old.

Isn’t it supposed to be next year?

“But this… … Why are you following the ancient time calendar? We are not the ancient people!” I feel so disappointed so I shouted at grandmother.