Remembering Erlang's cow, Lady Xin speeded up her meal. Seeing Xin Lang put down her chopsticks, she also wiped her mouth and looked at Xin Dalang longingly.
Xin Wang is a man who is not very good at talking. He just heard Aunt Chen's words and accepted it. He slipped on his shoes and "brought a stick and a torch."
Mrs. Xin knew that this was the master's consent, so she quickly agreed, and quickly started to tie up the rosin, and wrapped two thick torches around it and came out. On the other hand, he warned Xiang Mao Zi, "You take your brother to sleep at home and close the door. Be alert and don't sleep like a dead pig. If your father comes back, he won't open the door and beat you."
Xiangmaozi nodded, opening and closing her mouth several times, her expression was too obvious. Lady Xin asked her, "What's the matter?"
Lemongrass said, "Mom, pay attention when you go up the mountain to look for cows. If you see Aster, pick her back up. She is timid, so she may cry."
Mrs. Xin looked at Xiangmaozi for a long time, and then sighed, "Okay." She agreed, but her expression was a little ugly.
Lemongrass was so happy that she immediately picked up the dishes and washed them with her hands and feet, showing off her efforts.
Xin Wang took Lady Xin to the west of the village.
Xiangmaozi directed Xin Mao to wash his little hands and feet. Without her parents around, Xin Mao has always been obedient, because he tried several times and Xiangmaozi really beat her. Even if he complained later and asked his parents to beat him back, Xiangmaozi would still beat him next time.
After Xin Mao washed his hands and feet, Xiangmaozi drove him to the kang. Then he used the residual heat from the stove to heat a pot of warm water and came back for his parents to wash. At this time, she realized that there was no water in the tank. She secretly remembered to get up early tomorrow to fetch water, otherwise her stepmother would find out and incite her father to beat her.
Then she fastened the doors and windows, and lay down next to her brother fully clothed.
After a while, she fell asleep in a daze.
Lemongrass was woken up by a sound of "sighing". The sound was very strange, a bit like a weasel robbing a chicken coop, but not exactly the same, it was louder than that sound.
Lemongrass immediately became alert and wondered, why didn't the chicken crow? !
"Who?!" Xiangmaozi shouted, but the voice was still scratching and he didn't seem to hear it.
What time is it? Why haven't my parents come back yet?
Xiangmaozi swallowed a sip of saliva, crept down to the ground, and looked out through the crack of the window.
Today happens to be the fifteenth day, and the moon hangs high in the sky like a refined silver plate. Make the yard clearer and brighter. Through the gap in the window, Xiangmaozi saw a huge black figure passing by the courtyard wall.
The figure looked a bit like the wild boar Xiangmaozi had seen, but it was several times bigger, and its back was even higher than the courtyard wall. The bright moonlight saw its broad back, which was raised high and had stiff black hairs on it.
What is this, a wolf or a jackal? How could it be so big?
Xiangmaozi bit her lip and held the window tightly with her fingers, fearing that she would make any noise to attract the monster's attention.
The monster seemed to be rummaging for something in the corner, then it raised its head, and a hoof jumped twice at the corner of its mouth. The sound of cracking bones "click, click" spread far in the quiet night. It was the neighbor's pig, and it was eaten by the monster within a few bites!
Lemongrass's eyes widened. The pig had been fed by a neighbor for more than half a year and was already very fat. She didn't expect it to be swallowed alive so easily.
The monster raised its head and swallowed. The moonlight shone down, highlighting the monster's appearance. It had a ferocious beast face, thick fangs, a flat nose, and its eyes glowed yellow in the moonlight. Condensed into a thin vertical line, it looks very fierce. Pig blood flowed down the corners of its mouth and disappeared into the black hair.
When Lemongrass saw this, her hands and feet were numb.
Through the thin earth wall, she felt that the monster could knock over the wall of the house and rush in at any time.
She prayed silently in her heart: Don't come over, don't come over.
But contrary to expectations, the monster sniffed, as if smelling something, and slowly approached the house. Surrounded by lemongrass seeds, the room was empty. Except for her sleeping brother on the kang, she couldn't find even a stick.
what to do? She and her brother combined were not as big as that pig. It is estimated that if the monster's mouth was bigger, it could swallow them both whole in one bite.
The monster is getting closer and closer, but Lemongrass has nothing to do.
"Ah!" At this moment, a sharp and harsh cry suddenly sounded. Xiangmaozi clearly heard the cry of the neighbor's aunt.
Almost instantly, the monster jumped up and jumped over to the courtyard wall. The neighbor's aunt made a few short calls, as well as the monster's chewing and swallowing sounds.
Xiangmaozi should feel sad, but she didn't know why. While she was scared, there was a faint feeling of joy in her heart that could not be suppressed.
Soon, the sound from the other side of the courtyard wall disappeared. However, stimulated by the screams of the neighbor's aunt, more questions and exclamations rang out in the yard.
Then there were screams.
More screams, cries, barking dogs.
The small village began to become chaotic and panicked.
"Huh?!" Xin Mao made a dissatisfied nasal sound. He was woken up by the violent noise and was about to groan.
Xiang Maozi reacted instantly. She jumped onto the kang in three steps and held Xin Mao's mouth firmly. She threatened Xin Mao in a low and fierce voice, "Don't scream, do you hear me?"
Xin Mao finally woke up completely. He heard his sister's threatening voice and nodded instinctively. Xiangmaozi felt Xin Mao's relaxed and surrendered attitude, and then she gently let go, "I let you go, but you must not yell, remember?"
Xiangmaozi felt Xin Mao nod under her hand.
She gently let go of her hand, not moving away, lest Xin Mao suddenly scream.
Fortunately, Xin Mao was not there this time. Xiangmaozi moved his hand away, and slowly touched his sister's face with his little hand, then leaned over and asked in a low voice, "Where are dad and mom?"
There was a faint sound of wailing outside the house, but it was a bit far away and couldn't be heard clearly.
Xiangmaozi leaned against Xin Mao's ear and said, "My parents haven't come back yet, but there was a big monster in the yard just now. It ate the neighbor's aunt's pig. I think it wants to eat people."
Xin Mao's little body trembled obviously, and he asked helplessly, "Then, what should we do?"
Xiangmaozi was Xin Mao's biggest support at the moment. She thought about it and came up with an idea, "I'll put some clothes on for you and let's hide."
Xin Mao nodded immediately.
Xiangmaozi always had to get up early in the morning to cook, and she was very skilled at getting dressed. She helped Xin Mao put on his clothes and trousers, and fumbled to help him put on his shoes.
The two people slid down the kang almost silently.
Xiangmaozi looked at the crack in the door for a long time and found that the cries were coming from the back of the village, so she carefully opened the door bolt and poked her head out to take a look, but found nothing unusual.
He quickly took Xin Mao's hand and walked to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, she touched the kitchen knife in her hand, and then led Xin Mao to overturn the water tank, pull it over, and the two of them got in. At this time, Xiangmaozi was lucky. Fortunately, there was no water in the water tank, so she could move it.
The water tank is very big. Xiang Maozi and Xin Mao are both half-year-old children. The two of them hugged and hid in it, and they were not too young.
It was so dark that no sound or light could be seen at all. Xiangmaozi held the kitchen knife in one hand and hugged his brother in the other, holding on tightly.
The sounds outside gradually became quieter.
Were the monsters beaten away, or were all the people eaten? ! Thinking of the latter, Xiangmaozi shook uncontrollably and hugged Xin Mao tighter.
When her hands and feet were so numb that they no longer looked like her own, the sky outside finally became brighter. The light filtered in along the raised edge of the water tank, reminding Lemongrass that it was already another day.
At this time, Xiangmaozi's hands and feet were numb. She hit Xin Mao hard with her head. After hitting him many times, Xin Mao woke up. He was held in Xiangmaozi's arms and actually fell asleep in the second half of the night. He was not as worried and scared as Xiangmaozi had been all night.
"Quickly move aside, we have to find a way to go out and take a look, but now my hands and feet are numb and I can't move." Xiangmaozi directed Xin Mao to step aside and let her move a little.
Xin Mao moved her body as far as possible. Through this small gap, Xiang Maozi moved her hands and feet. The blood gradually flowed to her limbs. Her arms were numb and swollen. It took a while before she dared to use force. Xiangmaozi used her fingers to pick up the edge of the jar and lifted it up hard, and directed Xin Mao to follow her. The two of them used all their strength to suck the milk, then opened the jar and climbed out.
Xiangmaozi still remembered the monster. She told Xin Mao not to run around and scream, and she carefully poked her head out of the kitchen. The yard was in a mess, and there were traces of being trampled and disturbed by monsters everywhere. There are no more chickens in sight. I think they all became snacks for monsters last night.
The wooden fence gate on the courtyard wall is still closed, and my parents didn't come back last night.
Thinking of this, Xiangmaozi couldn't tell whether he was happy or worried for a moment.
"Sister, I'm hungry." Xin Mao followed. Today he was extraordinarily well-behaved. He stopped calling her by name and called her sister in a low voice.
Xiangmaozi was also hungry, but this was not the time to cook. She thought for a moment and went to the kitchen to take out the pancakes baked yesterday. They were dry food, the staple food she brought with her parents when they went to the fields. She prepared them yesterday. I plan to take away food for my parents today, only two in total.
She took out a piece of cake and broke it into two large and small pieces. The big one was given to Xin Mao, and the small one was stuffed into his mouth. "You eat this first, and don't run around. The man-eating monster from yesterday may still be there."
Because children are snatched away by wolves every year, Xin Mao is extremely obedient in this regard. When he has food, he naturally squats at the door and does not move.
Xiangmaozi still held the kitchen knife in her hand. She stepped on the chicken coop and lay on the wall to look at the neighbor's house.
The neighbor's yard was much worse than his own. The floor was covered with dried and sprayed blood. There was a pale arm in the middle of the yard, which was particularly scary. Looking at this scene, Lemongrass couldn't help but shudder. Through the half sleeve on the arm, Lemongrass recognized that it was the arm of the neighbor's aunt. Thinking of last night's screams, Xiangmaozi guessed that her aunt was probably eaten by a monster.
The neighbor's yard wall was knocked down by the monster. Following the gap in the yard wall, Xiangmaozi saw a series of damaged houses and debris on the ground. The monster bit it all the way through.
Xiangmaozi remembered that last night, most of the young men and women in the village went to help Erlang go into the mountains to find the lost cow. The remaining people in the village were the old, weak, sick and disabled. Pianpian caught up with the man-eating beast at this time. He didn't know how many people would be left alive in the village after all this trouble. But she didn't dare to look for it. Xiangmaozi had raised rabbits and chickens before, and knew that animals would sometimes find a place to rest for a while when they were full. If she wandered around and bumped into a full monster, she would just send him there for a meal. Just snacks.
What is that monster?
Lemongrass climbed down from the ladder with difficulty. There was a vague fear in her heart. Could that terrible monster be the mountain god that adults say...
He couldn't stay in the village, not to mention that the monster might still be hiding in the village. Even if the monster is gone, the house is so badly damaged, and the adults are not around, it will probably take less than two days for the blood everywhere to lure the wolf down from the mountain.
Lemongrass began to use his brain, where to escape?
This is really a huge problem for a rural girl who is only thirteen years old.