Diary of Getting Rich Quick in the South

Luckily, I reacted quickly and pushed Su Wan away.

Otherwise, the knife would have struck her head directly. However, I also got a small cut on my arm, and blood was gushing out.

"Chen An, are you alright?"

Su Wan was also startled and quickly grabbed my hand.

"It's nothing, just a minor cut, nothing serious."

I quickly shielded her behind me.

"Auntie, what are you doing? My cousin wasn't killed by Sister Wan; he died of illness."

Because it involves a criminal case, and my cousin was being chased by debt collectors when he fell from the building, it's not a pleasant story to tell.

So we told the outside world that my cousin had died of illness.

But at this moment, Auntie went crazy, pointing at Su Wan's nose and cursing loudly while she was crying.

"It's her! It's that jinx! She's the one who killed Xiaolong! I was against her being with Xiaolong from the start, and now look what happened! She killed my son! You bitch, I'll make you pay for bringing misfortune on my son! I'll make you die with him!"

As she spoke, she tried to rush forward again, but fortunately my mother and uncle stopped her.

Unable to break free, the aunt collapsed to the ground, flailing her arms wildly.

"Dragon, why is your life so miserable? Mr. Jin told you back then that this woman would bring you bad luck, but you wouldn't listen. If you hadn't married her, none of this would have happened. You died so unjustly!"

The heart-wrenching cries brought tears to the eyes of everyone present.

Su Wan's tears streamed down her face. She wanted to go forward and comfort her aunt, but I stopped her.

Going up now would be like adding fuel to the fire, wouldn't it?

"Xiao An, is your hand alright? Your aunt is too. What does Xiao Long's accident have to do with Xiao Wan? How could you use a knife? Let Mom see your wound."

My mother came over and took my hand with heartache, her words tinged with anger.

I wiped the blood off my arm and smiled, saying it was nothing, just a small cut that had stopped bleeding.

Seeing that there was no more bleeding, my mother was relieved and said, "Xiao An, you must be tired after such a long drive. Take Xiao Wan home to rest first."

I glanced at my aunt, who was overcome with grief, and felt a little uneasy.

"Go back. There are so many people watching here, nothing will happen. It's not good for you to leave Xiaowan here."

Seeing that I didn't move, my mother gave me another push and then held Su Wan's hand to comfort her, "Xiao Wan, you go back with Chen An first. Your aunt is here, it'll be alright. Your mother will calm down soon."

As she spoke, she gave me a wink, then shook her head as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

I glanced around at the villagers and noticed that many of them were looking at us and whispering. A few elderly women were pointing at us and saying something.

When they saw me looking over, a few of them turned away somewhat guiltily and went to chat in the side.

On the way back, Su Wan was like a walking corpse, not saying a word, her eyes unfocused, and she almost walked into the drainage ditch next to her several times.

My house is a courtyard house-like structure.

To the left of the entrance is a chicken coop, and in the middle is a large courtyard. When it rains, rainwater will flow down the tiles and collect in the well in the middle.

When we were little, my cousin and I loved playing in the water and taking baths here.

The adults were washing clothes and vegetables nearby.

The row on the right is where you stay.

Because I am an only child, there are only two rooms in the house where we can live. The other two rooms are used to store farm tools and some miscellaneous items.

My room is the one at the very end; the one at the front is my mom's and stepfather's room.

As I passed the first room, I saw my stepfather lying on the bed, his eyes closed as if he were dead. He was covered with two blankets, and he had become much thinner. His face was covered only by a layer of skin, and you could hardly see any flesh.

I hesitated for a moment, but still didn't go in.

Is my aunt's husband sick?

Su Wan also saw her stepfather.

Out of politeness, she tried to go in to see me, suppressing her grief, but I stopped her.

"My mom said he hit his head while drinking and is now in a vegetative state. He poops and peees in bed, and the smell is really awful, so don't go in."

Even though I caused him to become this inhuman and ghostly state, I feel no guilt whatsoever.

If he doesn't get into trouble, my mother will be beaten to death by him sooner or later.

I brought Su Wan to my room and, seeing that she looked unwell, asked with concern, "Sister Wan, you've been on the road for so long, don't you want to rest?"

Su Wan forced a smile and shook her head: "It's nothing, I'm just feeling down. I'll just sit and rest for a while. You go and keep your aunt company. She must be very sad that your cousin is gone. Don't worry about me."

I knew she needed to be alone, so I didn't say much, just told her to call me if she needed anything, and then I left.

My aunt gave birth to my cousin relatively late, and he died before he was thirty-five years old. According to the rules, he could not be buried in the ancestral grave, nor could a grand funeral be held, as it was considered unlucky.

Since my cousin's body wasn't at home, we didn't invite any suona players; we only invited a few Mr. Jin to chant sutras and burn some paper money.

When I arrived, several Mr. Jin were already there, wearing yellow robes and chanting sutras while circling the clothes my cousin wore.

My aunt's mood improved a lot, and she wasn't as agitated as before. She sat alone on a small stool, secretly wiping away her tears.

The young men in the village also came to help slaughter the pig and wash the vegetables. They will treat the helpers to a meal later.

Seeing me come in, my uncle, with red eyes, handed me three sticks of incense, a bowl of raw rice, and a sickle, and told me to follow my cousin's footsteps through the village.

The so-called "collecting footprints" is a local tradition.

It is said that after a person dies, all the footprints left during their lifetime should be collected.

Only after all the footprints have been collected can one register with the King of Hell; otherwise, one remains a wandering ghost.

To put it simply, it means going to some places the deceased walked through before their death and scattering rice along the way.

The sickle is used to cut down those wandering ghosts who try to hold onto their cousin's feet and prevent him from being reincarnated.

Such things are usually done by the deceased's son, but the cousin has no children, and Su Wan has never had a formal wedding with her cousin in the village, which is not recognized by their ancestors.

Among us younger generation, I was closest to my cousin, and since I was the one who announced the death, this task fell to me.

I took the incense and raw rice, and walked along the village entrance, scattering rice as I went.

Revisiting the places I used to play with my cousin, a wave of sadness welled up inside me, and my nose stung with tears.

Just as I reached the low wall beside the pond, I suddenly heard a woman's exclamation.

"Go easy on me, it hurts so much! Don't keep ramming me like that, you want to die!"

"Who told you to be so tempting..."

Hearing this conversation, I couldn't help but want to laugh.

This pond used to be the village's communal water source, but after water pipes were installed from the mountain, the place was abandoned and overgrown with weeds.

Normally no one comes.

Those who came were all couples having affairs.

My cousin, my friends from the village, and I used to often go to this place. If we were lucky, we could see two couples a day.

I wouldn't have come here if it weren't for collecting footprints.

Just as I was about to leave, I suddenly heard the woman's voice again.

"Bullshit! I think it wasn't me who was alluring, it was that vixen Su Wan who was alluring. Tell me, did you just mistake me for her?"

Upon hearing Su Wan's name, I instinctively stopped in my tracks.

After a pause, the woman blurted out another sentence.

"Isn't it a coincidence? The Chen family's son just went to the provincial capital, and Wang Long died of illness..."