I shifted my gaze and looked at Zhang Ma¡¯s portrait. Although we were attacked in the corridor before, we had no idea what Zhang Ma¡¯s ghost looked like, so I asked the old man, how did you and Zhang Ma know each other? The old man was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't expect me to ask such an irrelevant question. Then he smiled slightly and said, "She and I, we met in the countryside." The old man told me that when they first met, Zhang¡¯s mother was just 20 years old. My parents were both soldiers before liberation, so I was deeply influenced by red ideas since I was a child. Just a few years after liberation, there was a turmoil in the country, and everyone wanted to use their own abilities to contribute to the motherland. , all think that they are a screw and should be screwed to the place where the motherland needs them most. At that time, the old man went to the countryside and became a rural teacher. The place I live in is very poor, and there are actually very few children who can afford to go to school. Many people even don¡¯t think that studying is something worth spending time on. Then there is a girl who often sends a child to school. , the old man began to notice this girl. The old man said that that was the first time he and Zhang Ma met. Hu Zongren exclaimed that at the age of 20, his children can already study! The old man laughed and said that the child was not Zhang Ma's child, but Zhang Ma's eldest sister's child. Since Zhang's mother often sent her nephew to school, the old man, who was very young at the time, also took notice of her. After just paying attention to each other in silence for a long time, the old man finally decided to confess to Zhang Ma. But after the confession, she didn¡¯t get a positive answer. Zhang Ma's whole family is from the countryside. They lost their land during the war. The family is large and they are all crowded into a small house. They live in poverty. The whole family saves money just to send their children to the country. Go to school and have a good future. You can no longer live like them. The old man said that he could help them, so he often secretly brought some food to Zhang Ma's house, because he knew that others would not accept the money, and he didn't have much money at that time. They continued to stalk him like this for a long time, until Zhang Ma's children left school and were admitted to a middle school in a county. For five and a half years, Zhang Ma never refused or agreed to be with him. Intercourse. The old man said that people in those years were upright and honest, followed the rules and were more traditional. So for more than five years, almost everyone in the village knew that the old man was pursuing Ma Zhang. Every time he met people in the village, everyone would make jokes. Finally, after the two got to know each other, In the 6th year, Zhang Ma finally agreed to date him. Over the years, the Zhang family has also seen that the old man is a hard-working and honest person, different from those playboys in the city, and they quickly recognized the love relationship between him and Zhang's mother. But new problems also emerged. Both of them had reached the age of marriage and had established a relationship. When the old man brought Zhang Ma to the city and wanted to meet his parents, he encountered opposition. The old man said that his parents were both soldiers, and they were married in the army in their early years. It was just a word from the commander, and it was an assigned marriage. There was no mutual understanding or emotional basis before the marriage, but for People of their time seemed to approve of this method, and even felt that even if their children were not destined to get married in the future, they would at least have to find a girl from the army. Seeing Zhang's mother dressed in a rustic style and being from the countryside, my son felt completely irrelevant standing next to her. Therefore, the first meeting was very unpleasant, and Zhang's mother felt very inferior due to the strong force of the old man's parents, and she even proposed to give up the relationship at one point. The old man told us that he persisted in the end, and he quit his job as a rural teacher and returned to the city, but he was not in the same place as his parents. At that time, there was another trend of working as a worker in the country. In 2000, the social status of workers was probably similar to that of civil servants today. They thought they had a golden rice bowl and an iron rice bowl. Many people wanted to be workers. And because the old man was an intellectual and a descendant of the revolution, he quickly became a worker in the factory. Zhang's mother was originally from the countryside, with good hands and quick work. After being introduced by a guarantee, she also entered a textile factory and worked as a garment worker. Although they were in the same city, they lived in dormitories in their respective factories. Here, I can only go out to the park after get off work or on weekends. A few years later, both of them were almost 30 years old. In Zhang Ma¡¯s rural hometown, a 30-year-old woman would be looked down upon if she hadn¡¯t gotten married and had children. The old man knew this. , so he planned to marry Zhang Ma. The two poor people bought a few quilts, bought some new pots and pans, put a happy word on the windows and doors, and got married. The old man¡¯s factory was quite kind and knew that the two were getting married, so they allocated a single-room dormitory for them to live in. The two of them had their first home. Now that the marriage is over, the husband¡¯s family and the mother-in-law¡¯s family will alsoI can only accept this fact. However, in the following decades, even the old man's parents gradually began to praise Zhang Ma because of her diligence, ability to endure hardships, and being a virtuous wife. Zhang¡¯s family members believed that their daughter had jumped into Mi Luodou this time. Then several children were born, and although the factory eventually declared bankruptcy, before that, the two hard-working people still raised all the children and earned themselves a staff house, which is where we are now. . Hu Zongren asked the old man, since it is so difficult between you, your relationship must have been very good these years, right? The old man said yes, but this person talks a lot when he gets old. After he gets old, he nags so much every day that he is almost bored to death. Even though the old man said this, his eyes were still full of smiles. He told us that he had applied for a medical discharge because his health had become a little bad in the last few years of his stay in the factory. The same is true for Zhang Ma. She worked in a factory for a long time and had some bone problems. I had an illness a few years ago and then became wilted. Therefore, the old woman has been taking care of me all these years, knowing that I am not in good health. She would often get me some delicious snacks. Now that she has passed away so suddenly, my life is very sad. On weekdays, when I go out to buy groceries, I buy a lot of them at once, so as not to spend the same amount of money as she did every day. They all ran outside. Fortunately, there is a supermarket at the door here, not far away, so shopping is convenient. When I talked about the supermarket, I seemed to suddenly think of something, so I tentatively asked the old man, did you or Zhang¡¯s mother like to eat carrots before she was alive? Because I thought about the first time I saw a ghost in the supermarket, when I found some chewed carrots. The old man said, yes, your mother Zhang and I both like to eat carrots. As we get older, we need to eat more of these nutritious things. In the early years, there was famine and everyone had nothing to eat. At that time, we often used carrots to eat carrots. Carrots are eaten as food. It seems that I am half convinced that this trip was not in vain. So I then asked, in what month did Zhang¡¯s mother pass away? The old man said that it was almost two months ago. It was so sudden that it took a long time for me to recover. I calculated the time, and it happened to be the day after the ghost sighting in the supermarket, so everything made sense, and I was convinced that the ghost of the old lady in the supermarket was Ma Zhang. The reason why she stayed was not only attracted by the supermarket employees burning incense and paper, but also because of the carrots in the supermarket. To be more sure, I asked the old man again, did Zhang¡¯s mother often make carrots for you before she was alive? The old man said yes, almost every day, but he forced me to eat if I didn't want to. He said it was because I was getting older, and it would be good for my health to eat more of these things. In the end, I was in good health, but she took the first step. After saying this, the old man had that sad look on his face again, just like his expression when we first entered the house. So I glanced at Hu Zongren and gave him a wink, meaning whether we should tell the truth to the old man in front of me. Hu Zongren frowned and thought for a moment, then nodded to me. So I said to the old man, old man, please use your balcony while I discuss something with my friend. After saying that, Hu Zongren and I walked to the balcony outside the small door next to us. I asked Hu Zongren in a low voice, if we tell the truth, do you think this old man can accept it? Hu Zongren said, I only know that if you don't say it, it will be difficult for us to take away the ghost of Zhang Ma with our own abilities. The person who untied the bell needs to tie the bell. You forgot that we walked up the stairs from Did you fall down? I said, what you mean is that you want Zhang Ma¡¯s wife to enlighten Zhang Ma on her own under our guidance? Hu Zongren said yes, at least Zhang Ma and the old man had been close to each other for so many years, so she would not harm him. As long as we can feel more relieved than we are now, we can at least take away Ma Zhang's ghost. I asked him again, what to do with the remaining ghosts? Hu Zongren said that the origins of the remaining ones could not be traced, so we should finish the matter with Zhang Ma first before talking about it. I thought about it, and it seems that this is the most practical way. We can't waste too much time investigating the case. It's not good for the ghosts, and it's not good for other people's supermarkets. After all, people have to open their doors for business. After the discussion came to a conclusion, we decided to tell the old man the truth. Hu Zongren said, let him speak for himself. So I took a breath and looked at the sky outside. It was starting to get dark. Then I pushed Hu Zongren and said, let's go in.