NFBE Chapter 1122: Only
Chapter 1122: Only
The Old Well, Chapter Two: The Bleeding Ears of Corn At daybreak, there were loud knocks on Erzhu's courtyard door. Cuilan rubbed her eyes and opened the door, only to see the entrance filled with commune members, some carrying hoes, some carrying buckets of water, all looking panicked, their eyes fixed on the water tank in the yard. "Cuilan, I heard... there's a shoe floating in your water tank?" Aunt Zhang from next door said in a trembling voice, holding her child, who was shivering from the cold without a coat. Cuilan then remembered the noise from the previous night, her heart skipping a beat, and she quickly led everyone to the water tank. Erzhu had sat by the water tank, watching over the half-embroidered shoe, his eyes red from staying up all night. Seeing so many people coming, his lips moved, but no words came out. The water in the water tank had calmed down, and the half-embroidered red shoe floated on the surface. The red cloth had become moldy from the water, with black and gray spots of mold, like a layer of moss. There was an irregular hole at the toe of the shoe, with rough edges, as if it had been bitten out by something, and a few tiny pieces of cloth were hanging from it. The sunlight shone in through the gap in the courtyard wall, falling on the upper of the shoe, illuminating the shadow in the hole clearly - it seemed to be filled with some black mud, exactly the same as the one on the edge of the well. "Are these shoes...really your mother's?" Wang Tieniu squeezed to the front, holding a jujube wood stick in his hand, wanting to poke but not daring to. The tip of the stick was hanging above the water, shaking constantly. He had seen Erzhu's mother wearing red embroidered shoes, but that was ten years ago, and his memory had long been vague. He only remembered that there were flowers on the upper of the shoes. Erzhu squatted by the tank and touched the upper of the shoe lightly with his fingers. The cold touch went up along his fingertips, making him shudder. He nodded, tears streaming down his cheeks, hitting the edge of the tub and splashing tiny water droplets: "My mother loved wearing red embroidered shoes back then. She embroidered them herself, with peach blossoms embroidered on the toes. Look at the edge of the hole, there are still marks of peach petals, but they have faded due to the water." Everyone came closer to take a closer look, and sure enough, they saw a faint pink mark on the edge of the hole, which looked very much like the outline of a peach blossom. Uncle Lao Gen squatted on the other side of the water vat, smoking his pipe with a "clicking" sound, the tobacco burning red, but he seemed not to notice the heat, just staring at the shoe, his brows frowned so hard that it could pinch a mosquito to death: "I'm afraid the thing in the well has woken up. Your mother fell in ten years ago, it wasn't an accident, she served as a substitute for it. Now it has rested enough, it's time to find a new one." "Uncle Lao Gen, don't scare people!" Li Xiu Lian, a young daughter-in-law in the crowd, took two steps back. The child in her arms was frightened and started crying. She hurriedly patted the child's back to comfort him, "Nowadays we are talking about destroying the four olds and overthrowing feudal superstitions. Where did these unclean things come from? Maybe it was a prank by some bad boy who deliberately threw the old shoes into Erzhu's vat to cause unrest in the village!" Li Xiu Lian had just married last year. She had not experienced the incident of Erzhu's mother falling into the well ten years ago. She thought the "things in the well" mentioned by the older generation were just nonsense. But as soon as she finished speaking, someone whispered back, "Who would be so wicked? What's the point of throwing away a worn-out shoe? Besides, Erzhu's door was locked last night. Who could have put a shoe in the jar so quietly?" No one said a word. Yes, Erzhu's gate was made of wood and bolted tightly at night. Even if someone wanted to play a prank, they would have to pry it open first. But the lock on the gate was intact, not even a scratch. The villagers were all terrified, looking at each other with fear in their eyes. Wang Tieniu cleared his throat and poked the ground with his jujube wood stick. A dull thud echoed. "Stop guessing! These shoes might have been washed away by the water when Erzhu's mother fell into the well, and last night's rain (it didn't rain, he just made it up) brought them back. It's pure coincidence! Hurry and get back to work. We have to harvest the millet on the west slope today. If we miss work points, no one will be safe!" He said this, but his heart was unsure. Just now, while squatting by the vat, he had clearly seen a shadow flash beneath the water, like a human hair, floating back and forth. But he was the team leader and couldn't show his fear. He had to bite the bullet and disperse the crowd. The members didn't dare to stay any longer and all shouldered their hoes to head west slope. No one spoke along the way, only the sound of footsteps and the rustling of hoes mopping the ground. Erzhu followed. Cuilan wanted him to rest at home, but he didn't dare. He felt unsafe at home and felt more secure with the main group. The millet on the west slope was indeed growing well. The golden ears were so heavy that the stalks were bent under their weight. When the wind blew, the grain rustled, making a sound like singing. At this time of year in previous years, the members of the cooperative would have already begun harvesting with laughter, but today no one was in the mood for jokes. They swung their sickles slowly, their eyes constantly glancing toward the old well—the old well was at the east end of the village. From the west slope, one could see the old poplar tree beside it, its leaves wilted from the sun, its head drooping. Chuntao was the youngest girl in the village, just eighteen years old. She was fair-skinned and nimble. She squatted in the field, cutting the millet with her sickle in hand. As she was cutting, she felt something prick her finger, causing her to cry out in pain. She looked down and saw that it wasn't the stubble, but something hanging from the ear of millet—a few dark red blood beads, like tiny pearls, glittering and shining, dangling between the grains. "Look! Why is the millet bleeding?" Chuntao screamed in fear, and the sickle in her hand fell to the ground with a clang. She shrank back and almost sat in the mud. The surrounding members of the cooperative were attracted by her cry and gathered around the millet. The sunlight shone on the ears of millet, and the blood beads were clearly visible. They dripped down along the grains and dripped into the loess. With a "sizzle", they disappeared without leaving even a trace, as if they were absorbed by the earth. Wang Tieniu squeezed to the front, squatted down, and carefully pulled apart the ears of millet. He saw a small hole at the base of the ear, which was round and had neat edges, as if it had been bitten out by something. The dark red blood was slowly seeping out from the hole. It seeped out very slowly, drop by drop, which made people feel creepy. "Don't make a sound!" Wang Tieniu quickly covered Chuntao's mouth and said in a low voice, "Maybe it was bitten by a wild rabbit, and the blood was stained on the ears of corn. Aren't there a lot of wild rabbits around our village? It's normal." But he didn't even believe what he said - how could a wild rabbit bite the corn so neatly? And bite it right at the root, and ooze out such regular blood beads? Someone looked around along the corn plant, and after a few steps, they found another corn ear that was bleeding, exactly the same as the previous one, with a small hole at the root and blood beads hanging on it. Looking around, they found several more plants, scattered here and there,