PCJ – Chapter 27 Shock

“Teacher, see, I didn’t lie to you. Jiaohua can see ghosts,” Zhang Jiujin said triumphantly.

“Nonsense, this is feudal superstition. In the future, everyone will be students of the 90s. We can’t engage in feudal superstition. If parents engage in feudal superstition, you should still fight against it,” Gong Ziyuan said seriously.

“Teacher, it’s not possible. My dad said, ‘Three good words are not as good as a beating.’ If we fight against our parents, we’ll get beaten,” barefoot doctor Liu Zongtai’s son, Liu Jinyu, hastily said.

“My dad never uses things to hit, he just pulls down my pants and spanks. He only uses one finger to hit with a stick, my dad has six fingers on one hand,” Ma Dafang said indignantly.

The troublemakers took turns to complain, listing various ways the troublemakers in Meizi’ao village were beaten.

Zhang Jiaohua listened with scalp tingling, never expecting that the children from other families would lead such miserable lives. Upon reflection, he realized he was actually the luckiest. Although he had been beaten before, when his parents laid hands on him, they were much gentler than the others. He hadn’t expected that there would be a Daoist priest in every family in the class. Thinking about how he was tormented by the Daoist priest every night, now listening to the miserable world of the Meizi’ao village troublemakers, he felt the world had become much more wonderful.

Suddenly, Gong Ziyuan felt it was extremely unwise to argue with the little troublemakers about whether they wanted to sit at the same table with Zhang Jiaohua. So he decided to stop this issue. He glanced at Zhang Jiaohua, who was still doodling and writing, not knowing what he was writing.

After school, Zhang Jiaohua also went home alone, and none of the children along the way wanted to walk with him. When leaving school, the teacher arranged for the children to line up in queues to go home one by one. Zhang Jiaohua also queued up with the other little troublemakers, but shortly after leaving the school, just past the school gate, these little troublemakers scattered, leaving Zhang Jiaohua alone behind. Zhang Jiaohua also knew what they were thinking; they didn’t want to walk with him at all. So he walked back home alone.

On Zhang Jiaohua’s first day of school, Liu Qiaoye was very worried because Zhang Jiaohua was reluctant to go to school. So she was particularly worried that Zhang Jiaohua would be ostracized at school. But when Zhang Jiaohua came back, there seemed to be nothing unusual, so she felt relieved.

“Jiaohua, what did you learn at school today?” Liu Qiaoye asked.

“I learned to write and count,” Zhang Jiaohua felt that he already knew these things, so he didn’t feel enthusiastic about learning them.

“Really? What words did you learn? Show them to Mom.” Liu Qiaoye smiled. Seeing her son could learn normally, she finally relaxed.

The mute’s mother Ma Jinxiu came to Zhang Jiaohua’s courtyard and shouted loudly, “Qiaoye, Qiaoye, are you home?”

“I’m here.” Liu Qiaoye walked out and asked Ma Jinxiu, “What’s the matter?”

“Did any of our ducks come to your house? Last night when our ducks came back, I didn’t count them. When I let them out today, I found one missing. I recognize that duck with a white ring around its neck. Today, when your ducks come back, pay attention.” Ma Jinxiu said.

“Alright. When the time comes, you come and check it yourself. Our ducks have a patch of feathers cut off on their heads and backs, and the left foot paw is also cut open. It’s easy to distinguish.” Liu Qiaoye didn’t take this matter to heart.

In the evening when the ducks returned, Ma Jinxiu really came. The ducks of both families were bought together at the market. After growing up, it was hard to tell them apart. Both families bought fifteen ducks, but three died on the way for Zhang Jiaohua’s family. Ma Jinxiu’s family didn’t lose any. The ducks from both families mixed together, except for the time when three of Zhang Jiaohua’s ducks died. So, from that time on, Liu Qiaoye was cautious. She cut off a patch of feathers on the head and back of the ducks and also cut open the left foot’s paw. Triple anti-counterfeiting. Therefore, Liu Qiaoye wasn’t worried about Ma Jinxiu coming to take their ducks for feeding again.

“Jinxiu, did your ducks have any markings? There’s one of our ducks with a white ring around its neck. Don’t confuse it.” Liu Qiaoye knew Ma Jinxiu was not very reasonable, so she preemptively made a point.

“My ducks didn’t have any markings. You can rest assured, I’m not an unreasonable person. I won’t take your ducks.” Ma Jinxiu did have such intentions. Even if she didn’t find her own ducks, she wanted to take one from Zhang Jiaohua’s family. But she didn’t expect Liu Qiaoye to be so shrewd.

In the evening, the ducks would come back home in groups. It wasn’t unusual for one or two stupid ducks to be brought back. Chickens are smart, they return to their coop when it’s dark. But ducks have to follow the flock. There are always one or two clever ones that bring the flock back. Watching the ducks waddle back home in an orderly manner was quite amusing.

“One pair, two pairs… six pairs. Jinxiu, it seems your ducks didn’t come to our house. Our ducks come in pairs,” Liu Qiaoye counted and found that the numbers matched perfectly, so she said.

“It’s not certain. How can you be sure that all these ducks are yours?” Ma Jinxiu refused to give up.

“Take a closer look. Our ducks have been trimmed on the head and back, it’s easy to tell at a glance. Look, don’t all these twelve ducks have markings on their heads?” Although Liu Qiaoye was unhappy, she still patiently reasoned with Ma Jinxiu.

“Then my duck must have been eaten by that cursed kid! If my duck is eaten, your whole family will perish! If my duck is eaten, your family line will be cut off…” Ma Jinxiu started cursing before she even left Zhang Jiaohua’s courtyard.

Liu Qiaoye became unhappy, “Jinxiu, you are being unreasonable. If your ducks are lost, you can curse all you want, no one can control you. But you are cursing in my courtyard, what do you mean?”

“Whoever ate my duck knows it. I’m not naming names. Whoever comes to me will have a guilty conscience!” Ma Jinxiu became even more arrogant.

Zhang Jiaohua rushed out of the house and shouted, “Get out!”

Ma Jinxiu’s face changed suddenly. She hurriedly fled from Zhang Jiaohua, running away in a panic. She was afraid of being chased by people along the way. When she returned home, her hair was disheveled, looking like a madman. When others asked her, she couldn’t say a word.

No one knew what had happened. Since that day, Ma Jinxiu had been scared to see Zhang Jiaohua. When Zhang Jiaohua shouted at her, he used Dao techniques, intimidating Ma Jinxiu’s soul, making her fear from the depths of her soul.

[Note: The translation provided is a faithful rendering of the original text, which appears to be a story from a Chinese website. Some cultural nuances and references may require further contextual understanding for non-native speakers.]