Soul Patch

Chapter 79: Electrocuted to death?

There were fewer pedestrians on Sunday morning than usual.

When Wenjie arrived at the long-distance bus station located on the Fourth Ring Road in M ​​City, it was not yet eight o'clock.

The bus station was bustling with people, carrying luggage in and out everywhere.

He patted his rumbling stomach and walked toward the KFC next to the bus station. To be honest, he thought KFC's breakfast set was quite reasonable, with a porridge and sunny-side-up egg set for only six yuan.

A few years ago, an egg pancake cost 1 yuan, a set of crepes cost 3 yuan, and a KFC breakfast set cost 6 yuan.

Back then, everyone thought eating KFC was too extravagant.

Egg pancakes are now 3 yuan, and crepes are 6 yuan. Add a cup of watery, sealed porridge or saccharin-laced soy milk, and it will cost seven or eight yuan. Meanwhile, KFC's savory porridge set meal is still 6 yuan.

Wenjie pushed open the door and looked at the line of people waiting to order food. To his surprise, he saw Zhao Xiaolong in the line.

This kid really does miss home.

Wenjie stepped forward, patted Zhao Xiaolong on the shoulder, and asked him to order him a porridge and fried dough stick set meal, plus a sunny-side-up egg.

The woman at the back of the line was a little unhappy and glanced at the two tall men with their arms around each other's shoulders.

Wenjie ignored him and quickly grabbed a seat.

As a result, Zhao Xiaolong brought over the food tray, and the two of them devoured the food in no time. Wenjie slurped down his porridge, saying, "Let's go back and check on Aunt Pang first!"

"puff……"

Zhao Xiaolong was chewing on a pork and egg cheese burger when he heard Wenjie say something that almost made him spit it out: "Hmm...you're so filial!"

"That's right!"

……

The two were very close throughout the journey, and Wenjie also felt that having a companion on the road was indeed great, making the journey less boring.

He always managed to shut Zhao Xiaolong up with a single sentence, which felt pretty good.

Zhao Xiaolong watched Wenjie sending WeChat messages. He glanced at the profile picture and asked, "Do you know someone in our branch office named Yang Shanshan?"

"Of course, I'm not blind."

He was texting Yang Shanshan when Zhao Xiaolong asked him this question.

"I mean, this contact on your WeChat looks a bit like Yang Shanshan."

Wenjie put down his phone and looked at Zhao Xiaolong with sympathy: "She's my girlfriend."

After thinking for a moment, he asked with a hint of sarcasm, squinting his eyes, "What, you want to kill her?"

Zhao Xiaolong was stunned. He looked at Wenjie as if he were crazy, and forced a smile: "Crazy! You...you guys talk, you guys talk."

Wenjie casually teased Zhao Xiaolong, and the three or four-hour drive passed in the blink of an eye.

The long-distance bus station was located at the eastern end of Wubei County. After getting off the bus, Wenjie walked towards the fruit stall, but Zhao Xiaolong stopped him and said:

"Let's not buy fruit then."

"It's not good to go empty-handed!"

"The fruit at the station is expensive too, let's buy it when we get to the village."

Zhao Xiaolong is right about this. For the same price, you can buy half a bag of fruit at the train station, but you can buy a whole bag in the village.

Wenjie carried a bag full of fruit and walked on his way to Aunt Pang's house.

The two hailed a tricycle, and after a bumpy forty-minute ride, the scenery around them gradually became familiar.

Wenjie pointed to a patch of weeds and asked, "Zhao Xiaolong, do you remember this place?"

In fact, Wenjie felt extremely heavy-hearted when he saw that patch of weeds from afar. The more Wenjie tried not to think about the shameful deeds of those cross-dressing men and the bloody scenes, the more they burrowed into his mind.

He was aware of his actions within the system, which were indeed happening.

The system can be corrected, it can be restarted... It has a somewhat illusory element, and compared to reality, it still gives him a different feeling.

Zhao Xiaolong looked outside and sniffed:

"Yes, I remember. I passed by here every time I went to and from elementary school. I walked this way countless times."

Wenjie rolled his eyes at Zhao Xiaolong, his eyes saying: Get lost, you don't even remember that!

Soon, when the two were being chased by Aunt Zhao, Wenjie was relieved that Zhao Xiaolong hadn't rolled far away.

The two were chased for two blocks by the plump aunt surnamed Zhao. Wenjie ran desperately ahead, with Zhao Xiaolong close behind.

Hearing Zhao Xiaolong's screams from behind, followed by the thud of fruit hitting the ground.

I didn't expect this chubby auntie to be so fast. She could even throw fruit at them while running. Amazing!

Gradually, the shouts behind him stopped, and Wenjie finally felt relieved.

Sure enough, Aunt Pang got tired of running and stopped chasing.

The two of them quickly hid in a farmer's haystack.

Zhao Xiaolong, breathless, said, "I told you not to buy fruit! Look..."

As he spoke, he pointed to his back, which had been hit by a rotten peach and was soaked.

"And here," Zhao Xiaolong pointed to his shoulder.

When Wenjie looked, he saw a red mark on his shoulder.

"Did an apple hit you?" He reached out and rubbed Zhao Xiaolong's forehead, then thought for a moment and asked:

"I might as well have bought durian..."

Zhao Xiaolong imagined the horrible scene of being hit by a spiky durian, and shoved Wenjie, saying, "Are you trying to murder me?!"

"No, no, you misunderstood. Aunt Durian is too heavy to throw."

Seeing Wenjie's serious expression, Zhao Xiaolong was speechless.

"Stop joking, Wenjie, why is she chasing us away? Did you offend Aunt Fatty?"

Zhao Xiaolong was truly aggrieved. Aunt Pang had always been very kind to him, but today, as soon as he entered the house with Wenjie, she went berserk, grabbing fruit from the table and throwing it at them.

Wenjie's heart sank at the question.

His purpose in coming here was simply to see if Aunt Pang would remember him.

As it turns out, not only did I remember it, but it left a very deep impression on me.

No wonder, more than a decade has passed and Aunt Pang has aged a lot, her back is bent. Although she is still very healthy, you can see the ravages of time on her body.

But Wenjie hadn't changed at all; how could she not recognize him?

Since she recognizes him, it means that the kitchen knife, the perverted old man, the blood... all really happened back then.

This stirred up strange emotions within him, making him feel depressed and sullen.

"Xiaolong, was there really only one boy who was electrocuted in the nearby villages that year?"

Zhao Xiaolong stared at Wenjie for a moment, then tried hard to recall, and then said with certainty: "I remember that when I was 12 years old, there was only one person who was electrocuted by a high-voltage line."

After that, I went to junior high school. That summer, my parents repeatedly told me to stay away from utility poles, substations, and the high-voltage power gate on the west side of town… I can’t remember it wrong.”

"What was the name of the boy who was electrocuted?" Wenjie asked sullenly.

"I don't know what his name was, but the adults all say that the widow's son was electrocuted..."

"Living widow?" Wenjie was a little resistant to this term.

"Well, you know how it is in the village. That woman's husband never seems to come back, so that's what they call her."

"What is her husband's last name?"

"Oh... I really don't know. I'll go home and ask around for you. I think your parents should know."

(End of this chapter)