Chapter 11 The Little Carpenter It’s strange to say, but since the Aunt Zhao incident, I haven’t heard anyone say anything bad about me for a long time. Even my second uncle’s family has been oddly quiet. After dinner, my brother whispered in my ear that people outside the village are afraid of me because of Aunt Zhao. In addition, my father, a small contractor, needs manpower on the construction site. Many villagers want to follow my father to earn some wages. For this reason, the gossipers in the family will stop talking. I sneered. These women can see the situation clearly and know the word "fraternity". My brother also told me not to laugh in the future. Laughing and sneering, I don't look like my sister Bai Tian anymore. I feel scary. I touched my face. I was thinner, but why didn't I look like Bai Tian anymore? I was a little puzzled. Life without the gossipy woman was much better, and the haystack was a good place for me to spend my days lazily. Ah Huang and Ah Wang were even more attached to me now. I stretched lazily, and just as I lay down, I heard a slight cat cry. I was a little surprised and turned my head to see. Not far away, a cat was walking towards me with its head held high and its chest puffed out, walking elegantly. Its quiet black body could not help but attract people little by little, as if falling into endless darkness. When I met its eyes, it looked at me vigilantly, full of hostility and expulsion. "It's you, little black monster." Thinking about the big monster I met a few days ago, covered in blood, and now staying in my house so quietly, it makes people feel inexplicably curious and weird. With a cry of "Little Black Monster", the black cat's eyes like blue lakes suddenly turned cold, and its mane, which was already like black brocade, stood up a little. "Don't be upset. You are black and can transform, aren't you a monster? Look, I am not black and I can't transform, but everyone in the village calls me a monster. But I am used to it, so I am not angry anymore." I had a brief look of disappointment on my face, which turned into distress. I couldn't help but yawn again. "Little black monster, come here." I stretched out my hand to it, wanting to hug it. The black cat looked at the little body on the haystack with some disgust. "Humph, you are the only girl in the world who dares to call me Little Black Monster. Considering that you saved my life, I will spare your life for the time being." The black cat glanced at the sleeping girl like a king from another world. There was still a gentle breeze under the warm sun, and my thin body was shaking a little. I suddenly felt something soft in my arms, and then I felt warm all over, as if I was being heated by a stove, and I fell into a sound sleep in the warmth. The little black monster half-closed his eyes and inexplicably felt sleepy. He couldn't help feeling ashamed of his behavior. When did he become a monster who warmed the bed for this girl?
"Bai Tian girl, what are you doing here?" On the road behind the house, a strong-looking man wearing a straw hat waved at me. I half-closed my eyes, a little surprised. This was the first person from outside the village who greeted me since I was born. Seeing that I didn't say anything, the man smiled and said, "I'm afraid you don't recognize me. When your house was built, you were only about three years old. Now you are almost six years old, and you still don't like to talk." Is it the little carpenter who saved me? I couldn't help but think of the moment when I fell into a deep well when I was a child. The little carpenter rushed over like an arrow and grabbed me... Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel warm in my heart. I smiled at him a little awkwardly. Brother Hai was a little surprised, then he scratched his head with a smile: "Bai Tian, you have grown up and become a pretty girl. Brother Hai has something to do down the mountain today, I will come to your house to play later, but you should not sleep here, the haystacks are prone to hiding snakes and monsters, and it is easy for you to catch a cold if the wind is strong." "Hai, you don't..." I don't know why, I wanted to say to Brother Hai, you better not go down the mountain. But I was surprised why I had such an idea, what does Brother Hai's going down the mountain have to do with me? I'm not good at talking, so I stopped talking. Not far away, Brother Hai turned back and waved to me from time to time, and I saw his body gradually disappearing on the path. At this time, the warm sun was gone, leaving only some weak and bleak white light swaying in the wind. I stuck some of the hair that was blown away by my ears and stood up. At this time, Brother Hai's handsome smile kept flashing in my mind. I felt inexplicably depressed and unhappy, so I didn't lie down anymore. "Meow," the little black monster was accidentally thrown to the ground by me. It called out to me a few times with some dissatisfaction and then walked away yawning. I rubbed my eyes and shrugged at it, forgetting that I was holding a sleeping cat in my arms. That night, I tossed and turned in the coffin but couldn't fall asleep. My mind was in a mess, and I kept thinking about Brother Hai's smile, and then Aunt Zhao's strange neck. I felt a soft ball in my arms in a daze, and then I fell asleep. I don't know how long I slept, but I heard a burst of crying, a woman's shrill narration, and an old woman's wailing. In the main room, the light was dim. Grandpa and Dad got up from bed at some point, sitting on the bench and talking. The shrill crying behind the house was echoed by the sound of gongs and drums. "Dad, who is beating the drum? It's so noisy." My brother also woke up. "Alas, it's your brother Hai who met the water god." Grandpa said and continued to smoke his pipe. "Brother Hai met the water god? Grandpa, this is strange, Brother Hai is the best swimmer in our village." My brother's words were exactly what I was wondering. "That's true, but did you know that 'all those who drown in the river are ducks', boats are prone to capsizing in the gutter, and ghosts are likely to appear when walking on the road at night for a long time?" Dad gave examples with sighs and warnings. "What happened in the past two months? There are always accidents in the village. Dad, I'm afraid you will be busy again." Mother also came out with her clothes on. "I said before that I won't get involved in matters concerning the water god. I won't take on a job without the right tools." Grandpa blew out smoke rings and shook his head. "Does the Water God have the right to take Brother Hai away?" I said unhappily. My mother came over and picked me up: "Silly child, what are you talking about? It's not even seven days yet, I'll be looking for a replacement everywhere."
"Mom, who cares about the water god or the fire god? He can't take Brother Hai's life for free." I pushed my mother away and sat down angrily. “Bai Tian, you’re trying to kill yourself.” Hearing my words of disobeying the Water God, my brother looked outside in horror and quickly ran over to cover my mouth. "As expected of my seventh son, he has a modern mind." Dad said with a smile. "Children, Daddy also wants to tell you that you must always believe in yourself and that your destiny is in your own hands." Daddy raised his eyebrows at us. Grandpa and Mom didn't say anything. "Alas, Haiwa is too young. His wife just gave birth to a child not long ago. How will she live?" Mother sighed. "The weather is hard to defy, and fate is not in our control. Let's ignore all that for now. It's not dawn yet, so let's all get some sleep." Grandpa didn't scold Dad today. He turned around and went to the inner room to rest. Everyone felt a little depressed. I lay back in the coffin without saying a word, but I tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. All I could think of was Brother Hai smiling at me, turning his head towards me, and the vague memory of him jumping down to save me. Why did such a healthy person just disappear? Was it related to me? This was the first person who treated me kindly, other than my family, but he just disappeared. I felt inexplicably sad, and the little black monster beside me also opened his eyes alertly. (End of this chapter)
