Chapter 21 novella map

Xiaofei doesn't know the way of life of bees, she always wants to catch some bees to make honey for herself.She stayed in the rapeseed field at the back door all afternoon, and there were a dozen of them in her toothpaste box.Those are worker bees.Xiao Fei stuffed all kinds of small flowers into the paper box, then closed the lid, and put the box to her ear to listen.The bees are silent inside.Maybe the little things were crawling slowly inside, but she couldn't hear them.She lifted the lid to look, and saw they were all inside, hugging the flowers.They have no intention of flying out at all.Xiaofei closed the lid again, deciding not to peek too much, lest they can't produce honey.Xiao Fei worriedly held the box and did not let go, guessing the activities of the bees inside.Grandma, wearing reading glasses, plants a yellow flag on a map.The flagpoles of those pennants are pins, and the map is hung on the wall, which is a map that Xiaofei has never seen before. Grandma said that it is an ancient map, and she specially asked someone to draw it.

"Xiao Fei, if you are so impatient, there will be no results. Take your time." Xiao Fei thought that her grandmother had figured out what she was thinking, and quickly put the toothpaste box on the coffee table.But the grandmother said something else. "Look at her, Aqin, she is not in a hurry. Everyone is vying to stand out and surround the salesman. It is good for her to stay in the embroidery room and not come out. As a result, the embroidery factory handed over the business to her. Because she is reliable. what." After the grandmother finished speaking, she planted a yellow flag in the heart of a county, and then let out a long breath.She's so fat she's sweating for such a thing.

Xiao Fei is not interested in embroidery at all, and she also knows that her grandmother is not interested either.Grandma always urges her to learn those needleworks, and always thinks that Xiao Fei is very interested. I don't know why she insists on thinking so.Is it for making a living? Xiaofei heard that the family property is enough for two people to live for a lifetime.The shrewd Xiao Fei has long seen that those who learn embroidery are poor children, and there are many families whose life is far worse than hers, and their children don't need to learn embroidery.Everyone in the town said that her grandmother was a master at embroidery, but Xiao Fei had never seen her grandmother embroider with a stretcher.She just guides Xiaofei to work, regardless of the results.

The bee business certainly didn't work out.Xiao Fei changed batch after batch, but still no honey came out.She tried roses and gardenias again, with the same result.Some bees even died in the meantime.Xiaofei's friend Zhouzi suspected that the fragrance of the flowers was too strong and the lid was tightly closed, so the bees were suffocated to death.Xiaofei was a little unhappy, and when her grandmother asked her to do housework, she would inevitably fall around.Fortunately, my grandmother was deaf and could not hear clearly. One day, Xiao Fei caught a drone in the rapeseed field.She held it lightly with her canvas-gloved right hand and let it crawl into the toothpaste box by itself.By the time she finished her work, the sun was already high overhead.At the other end of the rapeseed field, a boy came over.It was a very thin child, the left cheek was burned, and the lips were turned down, so ugly that it was a little frightening. "Who are you?" he asked bluntly, his mouth moving strangely.

"I'm from the town, and I live here." Xiao Fei answered loudly. The boy was not interested in her answer, he blinked his good eyes, and seemed to be thinking about some questions that Xiaofei couldn't think of.Xiaofei noticed that only the right side of his head had hair, and the left side was covered with scars. "I'm looking for a man who has a grudge against me and lives in this area." Xiaofei was really scared. She raised her voice just now to embolden her courage.She pretended not to hear what the boy said, turned around and walked home. "Don't you want to help me at all? Maybe that person is your enemy too."

The boy followed her for a few steps until she ran into the house. "I've already seen that boy, he's from Meixian." As the grandmother said, she asked Xiao Fei to go over and look at the map.She pointed her finger at a small red dot among the mountains, and ordered Xiao Fei to stick the pin on it.Xiao Fei's hands trembled badly, but he managed to stick the little yellow flag up.Afterwards she felt inexplicably depressed. It seems that the grandmother knew the boy. Could the grandmother be the enemy that the boy said? Xiaofei's hands and feet became cold when he thought of this.She couldn't help but say out loud:

"I will never do this ugly man a favor!" Grandma laughed.Xiao Fei felt very uncomfortable, and she didn't want to talk about the boy with her grandmother.Zhouzi called her outside, she opened the door and looked around for a while before walking towards Zhouzi. "Don't you need to do laundry today?" Zhouzi asked. "I washed it early in the morning." "Okay, I'll take you to see the wild beehive." While walking, Zhouzi told Xiao Fei that the wild bee nest was on a persimmon tree in the suburbs, it was bigger than a big gourd, and when the bee flew out, it was a big black patch.Of course, as long as people don't attack them, they don't sting.Xiao Fei imagined the shape of honey, and her steps became brisk.But she suddenly stopped going.

"What's the matter with you?!" Zhouzi asked impatiently. "Look ahead." "What's in there? Just a little rascal? Let's go our way!" "But—I don't want to go with you. It would be dangerous." "You fool!" Zhouzi stomped his feet angrily, left Xiao Fei and went home.At that moment, the boy had already run to Xiao Fei.He made a horrible face at her, rolling down his blood red lower lip.Xiao Fei let out a horrific scream and couldn't stand on both feet. "I was burned like this by the fire. The city was full of smoke, and it was all on fire. I ran desperately, and the fire chased after me. When I ran, there was wind, and the fire became stronger. I heard a sound from inside the fire, that sound Said it was my enemy. I made a dozen boiling fires on the ground before it went out. I came to find my enemy, do you understand?"

He spoke angrily, as if Xiao Fei owed him a hundred dollars. "Did you find it?" Xiao Fei asked pitifully. "How can you ask me like that!" He was still furious, "Not to mention, just by your behavior of catching bees, you can see how vicious your heart is! You have such a bad heart, but you suspect other people every day. You. The rumors I've heard seem to have some truth." Because he kept blaming himself, Xiao Fei was too scared to speak, and only hoped that he would go away immediately. The boy refused to leave, and introduced himself as "Hammer", and asked Xiao Fei if he could visit her house.

"No! No!" Xiao Fei refused repeatedly. "Then I'll go around your house every day." He threatened. Xiao Fei took aim at an opening and ran away from him.He didn't come after him. Zhouzi did find a wild beehive, and she didn't know if there was honey in that nest, but she wanted to eat honey very much, so the quick-witted Zhouzi immediately thought of using Xiaofei.Xiaofei is not very courageous, but sometimes Xiaofei will do things that others can't think of.So Zhouzi held out hope.Then the little rascal showed up.Xiaofei was afraid of a little rascal, a little boy who didn't have a weapon in his hand, which made Zhouzi very angry.Watching from a distance, Zhouzi saw Xiao Fei's grandmother wearing that huge yellow robe coming out of the door. She was swimming in the street like a boat, circled in a circle, and swam to the back of the house. I went to the rapeseed field.Zhouzi and Xiaofei stole grandmother's little yellow flag together, but she didn't know whether grandmother found out the truth later.Zhouzi no longer enters Xiao Fei's house because he has ghosts in his heart, and whenever something happens, he just stands outside and shouts.

"Zhouzi's ambition is greater than anything else." The grandmother suddenly spoke behind Zhouzi's back, which shocked Zhouzi a lot.It turned out that the old woman walked around from the rapeseed field behind to where she was standing. "Do you know there is a Mei County?" Xiaofei's grandmother said with a smile, "It's an ancient city that was abandoned a long time ago." Zhouzi shook his head vigorously, and grandma's eyes dimmed, showing contempt. Zhouzi's biggest headache is geography knowledge. She can't remember those dense curves and graphics, and she is not interested at all.Zhouzi has been to many places with her family, and she can tell the customs and specialties of those places one by one, but if someone asks her in which direction those places are, her head shakes like a rattle.After she and Xiao Fei stole grandma's little yellow flags, they nailed all the little flags to the trunk of the sycamore tree in the backyard.Zhouzi thought that the reason why grandma didn't pursue her might be because she thought she stole those little yellow flags to learn geography.Thinking about it this way makes me feel a little guilty.One day long ago, she was standing at Xiaofei's home, and her grandmother pointed to the hand-painted map on the wall and asked her to look at it. "This is our town," said Grandma.What Zhouzi saw was a figure in the shape of an escargot, so he felt very suffocated, and at the same time hated his grandmother a little.But Xiaofei admired her grandmother very much. She said to Zhouzi: "My grandma always swims around in those ancient cities and eats good food, so she is so fat." Zhouzi is not interested in being a geography teacher. I don't plan to understand those maps in my life.She had known for a long time that Xiaofei's grandmother was drawing maps in the room, and she had seen her huge body like an old sow bending over the chopping board from the window, and she even heard her panting like a pig. After Zhouzi returned home, he was still chanting those two words: "Meixian". "What are you talking about?" asked her mother sternly. "Meixian. Xiaofei's grandma told me." Zhouzi couldn't help but blush. "Don't talk nonsense! It's the place where the dead are buried. The name has been changed a long time ago. It's now called Guangcheng." "Where is Light City?" "You don't mind this kind of thing." Mother went to the kitchen to chop beans.Zhouzi didn't like to talk to his mother, because she never asked the truth from her mouth, she was too irritable.Zhouzi ran to find his father in the miscellaneous room at the back, and his father was repairing the broken fishing net.There was a red patch on the clothes on his back.Dad put down his work and said: "Is Zhouzi out of work?" "I'm done." "Then find some work to do. Look at me, I'm never idle." "I don't want to work, why should he just hang around without working?" Zhouzi felt wronged and almost cried. "Who are you talking about?" "A little tramp wandering around the town, making Xiao Fei afraid to go out." "I see. It's the kid from Meixian. Of course he can stop working. Didn't you notice that he doesn't leave any footprints when he walks. When it's raining, he runs on the soft muddy ground without any footprints." Leave." After Dad said this, he became a little dull, as if he had a lot of things on his mind, he didn't care about Zhouzi, and he just went into a daze on his own.Zhouzi wanted to ask him about Mei County, but he didn't seem to hear. When Xiaofei and Zhouzi met, they both had secrets in their hearts.Their secret was Meixian, which was related to the boy.They all want the other to speak first, but they don't want to speak first.As a result, neither of them said anything, pretending to be okay.Although they didn't mention the ethereal Meixian, they still talked about the ugly boy.At that time, the two were sitting on the branches of the sycamore tree, and Zhouzi asked Xiao Fei about her grandmother. "She was always talking about the little tramp, but she didn't want to see him at all. She just kept rattling the little yellow flag, and her hands were all pricked." "This shows that the little rascal has a background!" Zhouzi sighed pretending to be an adult. "You said he was burned like that, I don't believe it. I burned my finger once last year, and I thought I was going to die. Can I still live after being burned like that?" "So he wants revenge. Who will burn him?" Xiao Fei felt very at a loss. "Except for people like your grandma." "You're talking nonsense." "I was kidding you. My daddy said he walked without leaving footprints, and I thought, I'm afraid he'll never grow old either? He must be older than he looks." Xiaofei also thinks that Zhouzi's conclusion based on certain evidence is reasonable.Sitting on a tall sycamore tree, you can see far away, but today, for some reason, the scenery in Xiao Fei's eyes is distorted and very bright.The small road in the town is like paved with gold bricks, burning in the sun; the red signboard at the gate of the billiard room is as red as blood; even the inconspicuous river is shining restlessly at this moment.Xiaofei's eyes were tired, so she suggested to go down.The two slipped down the tree one after another. Back home, Xiao Fei has to help his grandmother dry sauerkraut again.She set up the door panel, and grandma came out with a pot of sauerkraut.The sun was very strong, and Xiaofei heard the sound of "squeak--squeak" from the sauerkraut, and a lot of water evaporated in a short while.Occasionally, Xiao Fei looked up when he was working, and found his grandmother gesturing to someone. "That's that kid from Meixian, I want him to go away," she said. Xiao Fei followed her grandmother's line of sight and saw nothing. "I want him to go away," Grandma said emphatically. "Think about it, how scary would a person who can't even be burned to death be? He won't want to come to my territory." Xiao Fei thought, this home is the grandmother's territory, right? I don't know if the boy would dare to break in.Seeing his grandmother attaching so much importance to this matter, Xiaofei felt that the boy was not simple.I heard Zhouzi say that the place where he lived was only the dead. What kind of scene is that? You have to take a look.Xiaofei had seen a dead person before, it was Zhouzi's grandmother, covered with a white cloth, with hands like old bark protruding from the wide sleeves.Zhouzi's grandmother was buried in the soil when she died, so the boy "lived among the dead" could not be living in the soil.Maybe in the ancient city of Meixian, the dead walked around in groups.She recalled the ferociousness with which her grandmother inserted the pin into the little red circle, and she was terrified for a while. In Xiao Fei's imagination, "Mei County" has now become a place like the Underworld, she dare not think about it deeply, she knows that if she thinks about it, she will not even dare to leave the door.Thanks to the grandmother in the family, the home became a "territory".Otherwise, if the boy comes to take revenge, Xiao Fei has nothing to do.Although her grandmother is old, Xiaofei thinks she can live for many years.She eats an astonishing amount, and her skin is still smooth.The most important thing is that she is not afraid of any threats, but can threaten others.Just like Zhouzi who is proud, he is not proud when he is in front of his grandmother.Zhouzi also doesn't think her grandmother will die one day -- like her grandmother did.While feeling relieved, Xiao Fei was still faintly worried: the boy refused to leave.Since he dared to confront his grandmother, would there be a fierce battle? Xiaofei didn't see the boy until the sauerkraut was dried.Xiao Fei washed his hands, walked into the room, and picked up the half-embroidered rose flowers.She really didn't have the heart to embroider, and besides, Ah Qin had already taken over the business, so she couldn't compare to her.On the contrary, Xiaofei can understand the maps drawn by his grandmother at a glance, and he really wants his grandmother to teach him.But Grandma didn't seem to have planned for her to learn this.Xiao Fei thinks that she must enjoy the joy of owning those secrets to herself.It must have been some unusual secret, for Grandmother's voice became dreamy whenever it came to that.A dead person, a living person, an anecdote in a remote village, going up and down, far and near, never sure.Even when she fell asleep, she still talked about those things in the bedroom, and Xiao Fei heard it once when she was taking a nap.Xiaofei has seen his grandmother draw a map with his own eyes, and he is overwhelmed with admiration for his grandmother's ability to draw figures out of thin air.In the past few years, she can only draw pictures of Xiao Zhang. According to herself, it is because of her old age and lack of physical strength.The big map full of little yellow flags hanging in the living room, grandma said she asked someone to draw it, but Xiao Fei never saw her ask someone to draw the map.When Xiaofei asked who the person who drew the picture was, the grandmother replied angrily that that person could not tell because he (she) was "shameful".Xiao Fei was full of doubts, but he didn't dare to ask further.As the days went by, Xiao Fei couldn't help thinking that holding too many secrets might be a dangerous thing.Isn't it more dangerous to be blindly confused? Two days ago, Xiaofei dreamed that the boy rushed in to take revenge. She saw that he didn't even have the hair on the right side of his head. No.Xiao Fei kept screaming, but Grandma still sat still.Later, she started to push her grandmother hard, and she fell to the ground. Only then did Xiaofei realize that she was dead, just like Zhouzi's grandmother.Before she could cry, she woke up with a fright, drenched in sweat.When she woke up, she cursed herself because she dreamed that her grandmother was dead! Like his grandmother, Xiao Fei found a piece of paper to practice on.No matter how she paints, it can't be formed.Although the pictures drawn by my grandmother are all in my mind, the lines in her pen are so clumsy that I can't even look at them.Xiao Fei tore the piece of paper and gave up trying. The boy hid in the kitchen, and he said to Xiao Fei: "Don't yell, it won't be good if your grandma hears. I want to borrow five dollars from your grandma. You can ask her for it now. I'll wait here." When Xiao Fei asked grandma for money, grandma stared at her because five yuan was really a huge amount.Xiaofei thought that her grandmother was going to ask her, so she planned to tell the whole story immediately.But the grandmother took out her purse, counted out five yuan and handed it to Xiaofei without asking anything. "Grandma, don't you want to ask? I don't want to use this money!" She shouted into her good ear. "What are you asking? It's useless to ask. I'm not the kind of old woman who likes to chatter." Xiao Fei could tell from her grandmother's expression that she already knew who was asking for money. The boy took the money and said: "My nickname is Hammer. I was made like this by the fire, and the fire chased after me." "You said it last time." "I wanted to take revenge, but I couldn't find an enemy. Now I want to go back, but I can't go back." "Why can't you go back? The foot is on yourself." "There is no way to go back. Houses are being repaired everywhere, and there is no way. Even if there is, I can't find it." The boy sat on the small bench and took off his shoes, folded the money and put it on the sole of his shoes, and then put on his shoes again.And he danced a few more easily, saying: "I'm leaving." After a while he disappeared into the rapeseed field. Xiaofei felt very humiliated.I watched him take away five yuan without even saying thank you.Five yuan is her pocket money for half a year.Grandma was so generous to him, I don't know why.It is possible that "Meixian" was a place randomly invented by my grandmother. Didn't my grandmother draw those maps at random? But a person, a real little boy, will never be an invention of my grandmother.How did he get in touch with his grandmother? Isn't his grandmother afraid of him? Just now he said "I can't find an enemy", so my grandmother is not his enemy.Xiao Fei's worries eased a little, but the five yuan still made him unhappy. During lunch, my grandmother suddenly said: "If he came to ask for ten dollars, I would give it to him without batting an eye." "Did Granny owe him money?" "Yes, everyone owes him. He wants to find someone, but where can he find him? No one dares to mess with this kind of child. Listen to what Zhouzi's mother said, the forest fire has burned to our province." Grandma's nap was so long that Xiao Fei became worried.She put her ear to the door to listen, and heard her grandmother singing, singing a few words and then turning over on the bed, making the bed board creak non-stop.Xiao Fei thought, Grandma is very happy when she falls asleep, and she will be even more depressed when she wakes up.Some mornings, Xiao Fei is also a little depressed, but she is willing to have those good dreams, such as riding on the back of a big fish in the river and so on.She has never sung in her dream like her grandmother, her dreams are generally very restrained.When grandma finally got up, the bed creaked for a long time, as if the large carved wooden bed refused to wake up from a dream.Xiaofei slept on that big purple bed when she was very young, and that was the most comfortable thing in her memory.Amidst the loud snoring of her grandmother, she woke up and fell asleep, slept and woke up again, good dreams followed good dreams.Sometimes there will be a happy scene where the grandparent and grandson share a dream together. After waking up, she can't wait to discuss the details of the dream with her grandmother.Usually, they don't get up until noon.I don't know from which day, the grandmother suddenly got bored, she sent Xiao Fei to sleep next door, and she herself started to get up early.Was it from that time that she discovered the highest pleasure in dreaming to herself? Grandma got up in a bad mood.With swollen eyes, she sat at the table and smoked a pipe for a long time.Xiao Fei thought, who made her so happy in her dream! However, there seemed to be another reason for her bad mood, because she didn't go to plant a yellow flag in front of the map immediately after a nap as usual, but looked out the window anxiously. "Xiao Fei, do you want to be independent?" Grandma asked. Xiao Fei opened his mouth and looked at his grandmother, unable to understand what she meant. "I'm getting old, and I can't take care of you gradually. You have to be careful with friends like Zhouzi." She said again. Xiaofei waited for her to say more, but she closed her mouth and said no more. Something was making a constant noise outside the window.Xiao Fei went to look and saw a chicken pawing the ground with its paws, splashing sand and hitting an iron bucket next to it, making a "dang-dang" sound. "It's our cock." Xiaofei reported to her grandmother. "I'm going to kill it." Grandma bared her teeth. Xiao Fei trembled a bit, and remembered the hammer again.She went to the kitchen to check, but he wasn't there.Thinking that the boy would break in at any time, Xiao Fei felt extremely helpless.If he came to ask for money again, would she tell her grandmother? She decided not to tell because she was going to be "independent". After tidying up the kitchen, Xiao Fei walked outside through the back door.She didn't see Zhouzi, but Zhouzi's mother greeted her. "Xiaofei, Zhouzi has been obsessed with ghosts recently. She runs out every day and doesn't come back for a long time once she goes out. What is she doing outside?" "I don't know where she is." Xiao Fei said shyly. "Of course, she won't let you know. I'm just letting you know." She rolled her eyes and said, "I have nothing against you going out with her." Xiao Fei stared at her receding figure and felt that it was ridiculous for Zhouzi to have such a mother.Of course she can't compare to her grandmother, she doesn't know anything, she's just pretending. After walking lazily for a while, Xiao Fei returned to the rapeseed field at the door.It seems that Zhouzi has found her own pleasure in the past two days, she left her and went happily alone.For the first time in his life, Xiao Fei felt that his future was bleak.Didn't grandma also say that she would leave her behind? This was something she never expected.Just two days ago, she was going to pester her grandmother so that she would teach her to draw a map.She doesn't like being independent. The rapeseed field is a bit unusual today. Someone built a hut on the east side of the field near the tofu workshop. The hut is very simple, and the straw roof is shining yellow in the sun.This large rapeseed field belongs to the town government. Who chose to build a hut here, and what is the use of it? Xiao Fei walked over there, wanting to see what happened. Sitting in the hut was Zhouzi's father, with his arms propped on a small unpainted square table, his head resting on his hands, his eyes closed, and he wondered if he had fallen asleep.When Xiao Fei walked to the door, he opened his eyes. "It's Xiaofei, have you seen Zhouzi?" "No, Uncle Kui. Did you build this shed?" "yes." "What's the use of it?" "Shelter those who are homeless." "Who is a homeless person?" "I haven't seen them. I heard that there are quite a few of them, and some people from our town come to patronize them. I can't figure out Zhouzi's heart. She doesn't work honestly and runs outside. What is her plan?" "I don't know. I don't think she would go to that kind of place." Xiao Fei was proud of herself for saying what the adults said.The "place" she was thinking of was Meixian -- a place that made her hair stand on end. But Uncle Kui was not surprised at all, he said: "No, she's timid. But it's hard to tell." "Uncle Kui, what are you doing here?" "Wait for the homeless to meet. But I don't think they'll come during the day, what do you think?" "It's unlikely." Xiao Fei shook his head solemnly. He looked disappointed, stooped to pick up his ax and saw and went out. When he was far away, Xiao Fei went into the hut and sat down.The shed is very small, and it takes up just one chair and a square table.No sooner had she closed the door than a strange thing happened.Grandma talked to people in the dark shed, her tone was very anxious, not like her usual speech at all.Xiaofei was surprised and opened the door.The sun shines in, and there is nothing inside.Xiao Fei restrained her beating heart, sat down and thought for a while, then closed the door again.This time, there was no sound in the shed, and not even the sound outside could be heard at all.Xiaofei tried her best to recall, and remembered that her grandmother seemed to tell people that the house was going to be flooded, and the big bed had to be moved out first. She sat there for about five minutes, and was so frightened that she opened the door and stood outside.Looking around, I didn't find anything unusual. There were still so many bees, not only wild bees, but also bees released by beekeepers. Those beehives were placed beside the vegetable field. When Xiaofei came home, grandma was already preparing dinner in the kitchen.Xiaofei went to help wash the rice. "Grandma, will our river flood too?" "How could it be? This river is so small. You are talking about Mei County, but that river is a flood dragon, and it got angry and flooded the whole county. It was flooded once before, but after the water receded, it changed. It's called Mei County again." Xiaofei felt for no reason that if she told what she had just heard in the shed, her grandmother would disappear like Meixian.So it's better not to say anything. Another day passed.Lying in the dark, Xiao Fei listened to the noises made by her grandmother on the next bed, and suddenly felt wronged and resented her.She gritted her teeth, put on her clothes, took a flashlight, and tiptoed from the back door to the rapeseed field.She wanted to go to the shed to see what happened. From a distance, she could see oil lamps burning in the shed.It's Zhouzi sitting in it.Xiao Fei was overjoyed and asked her where she had been these two days.Zhouzi rested his chin on his hand and said: "Don't make noise, I'm not qualified to sit here. This shed was built by Dad for homeless people in that kind of place. I'm sitting here just to meet people who come here." "Who is the tramp, the ugly boy named Hammer?" "Bah! He's nothing but a wayfinder. Or, you can sit here instead of me. I'll come back after dinner. I'm starving to death." she left.Xiao Fei sat in the shed with the door closed for a while, and then the man came.Xiao Fei's teeth chattered, staring at the man intently.She was a not-so-young woman with ragged clothes and messy hair. She was carrying a large bamboo basket in which was a pair of baby shoes. "It turns out there are already people inside." She said hoarsely. Xiao Fei quickly got up and gave up his seat, but the woman stood still, as if thinking about how to talk to her. "No. Now you're going with me too. Whoever I catch. You're a kid, aren't you?" Xiaofei didn't know how to answer her, so he kept silent. "You take me to your house now." After she finished speaking, she grabbed Xiao Fei and pushed her out of the door.Then she walked behind Xiao Fei. Xiaofei slammed open the door of her own house, in order to make a loud noise and wake up her grandmother.But she didn't get there.As soon as she entered the room, the woman grabbed Xiao Fei tightly, for fear that she would run away.She quickly found her grandmother, lit the lamp, and went to drag her from the bed.Xiao Fei wanted to rush up to help his grandmother, but was stopped by her. I saw the woman take out a roll of cloth tape from her pocket.The grandmother obediently put her hands behind her back and asked the woman to tie her hands.There was a painful expression on her face that surprised Xiao Fei. The woman took grandma's little yellow flags out of the drawer and put them on the table, picked up a thick pin and put it in front of the oil lamp to have a closer look. Grandma raised her old face and closed her eyes.The woman stuck those little yellow flags in her face.Xiaofei turned her head and didn't dare to look at it. She guessed that her grandmother's face must be stained red with blood.He heard his grandmother groan.Strangely, the voice made by the grandmother is not necessarily painful, but like a sigh of relief.So Xiao Fei mustered up the courage to face her grandmother.Both cheeks and forehead were covered with small yellow flags, and several were also stuck on the nose.Xiaofei also saw blood flowing down her grandmother's neck and into her collar. As the woman stuck the pin into the old face, she sighed, "How happy you are! Some things really can be dreamed about! It's done." Xiao Fei felt disgusted and wanted to slip away.But she was drunk again by her grandmother. After the woman rested, she sat on the bed side by side with her grandmother.Xiaofei caught a glimpse of her grandmother's neck being red. "Are you here for revenge?" Xiao Fei summoned up the courage to ask the woman. The woman didn't answer Xiao Fei, but said: "Don't you see those maps on your grandma's face? Silly boy! Look how comfortable she is!" Grandma waved her hands vigorously, as if she was chasing away mosquitoes. "What does she want?" Xiao Fei asked.After I finished speaking, I felt ashamed because I had to ask a strange woman about my grandmother's needs. "She wants you to go away. Go back to your bedroom, but don't fall asleep." Xiaofei went to her own bedroom in the dark.There was already a person in the bedroom, and she shone a flashlight on that person's face.It's a hammer.He covered his face with his hands and said: "You are vicious. I came to give you a map. Look, this is it. Your grandma has done some useless work. The things she drew are far from reality. I'm leaving, you take a good look Bar." As he spoke, he climbed onto the windowsill, jumped, and jumped down. Xiao Fei took photos of those maps with a flashlight, and found that they were just a piece of white paper, that kind of relatively hard drawing paper.She put the blank paper into the chest of drawers, and went to bed to lie down.At first she remembered not to fall asleep.Then the eyes fight.Just about to fall asleep, the door was pushed with a loud "bang".This time it was Zhouzi who came in.Zhouzi clamored to see the map. "You can take it in the top drawer of the chest of drawers." Xiao Fei said sleepily. Zhouzi struck the match with a "click" and lit the lamp. "Ah! Ah!..." Zhouzi exclaimed one after another, making Xiao Fei so sleepy. "What did you see?" Xiao Fei became impatient. "I saw you!" She held up the paper and made a "crawling" sound. Xiao Fei snatched the paper and put it in front of the oil lamp.Obviously, that's still a blank slate.But Zhouzi asked Xiaofei to bring a pen, and Xiaofei took out a pencil, and she shouted beside him: "Draw it, draw it!" Xiaofei draws a line, and that line becomes the sign of the river.Xiaofei drew another circle, and the circle diffused and disappeared, and appeared on the paper after a while.But this time it is a topographic map in the shape of an escargot.Zhouzi said: "This is our town." Fascinated, Xiao Fei drew many small circles, small triangles, small squares and so on.After a while, a complicated topographic map appeared on the paper.Xiao Fei was so excited that she cried. "Why are you crying? Your grandma won't die! I just met her, it's okay!" Zhouzi is upset, she thinks that Xiao Fei is acting like a good boy when he gets an advantage, and is conceited.In fact, after she broke up with Xiao Fei tonight, she sneaked into Xiao Fei's house. She was shocked and confused when she saw everything, so she stayed at Xiao Fei's house and did not leave.When the strange woman planted a small flag on the grandmother's face, Zhouzi hid in the dark and became excited for no reason, as if that face was his own.Later, she collided with the hammer in the aisle.She was knocked down, and the boy stepped on her belly, immobilizing her for a long time.Lying in the dark, she heard people coming and going in the room, and she felt resentful in her heart.She thought that Xiao Fei had hidden many things from her, and that grandmother was simply a mage, not an ordinary person.Now Xiaofei has everything, but she still cries.Zhouzi's heart was empty, and his eyes were dark.When she took out the drawing paper from the drawer just now, she saw many sharp arrows drawn on the paper, piercing hearts; every time she shook the paper, an arrow shot into the air.Later, when she asked Xiao Fei to draw a picture, she was surprised by the intention of playing a prank, but she did not expect that she could draw the map like the one drawn by her grandmother without a teacher. "I might as well die!" Zhouzi said to himself. Suddenly, the two girls were stunned at the same time, because the face of their grandmother appeared in the mirror in front of them.There is no small yellow flag on that face, but there are many small holes, like a pockmarked face after having acne, but the holes are very deep.There are two furry paws on the grandmother's neck, the paws of an unknown beast.The two girls turned their heads to look at the same time, but there was nothing behind them.How could the scary face of the grandmother be reflected in the mirror? They were too afraid to stare at that face.Later Zhouzi blew the black light.Xiaofei asked Zhouzi to sleep on the bed with her, and they got into bed, both of them covered their faces tightly with sheets. There was a constant noise in the grandmother's room next door, and Xiao Fei had already noticed it. "How does your grandma want to die?" Zhouzi whispered under the quilt. "My grandma won't die!" "I thought so too, but now, I've changed my mind." It was already past midnight, and there was still noise in the grandmother's room, and both girls heard heavy panting.Xiaofei really wanted to go to see it, but she didn't dare to disobey her grandmother's order.After a while she became dazed.Even though she was confused, she could still feel Zhouzi binding her legs with something.After a while, his hands were also tied behind his back. "Now she's going to stick a pin in my face." Xiao Fei thought about this, as if it had nothing to do with her.But instead of sticking a pin in her face, Zhouzi left her and went to the next door.Xiaofei heard the three of them talking and laughing loudly next door, and fell asleep in peace.She couldn't keep her eyes open. Xiao Fei looked at the clock when he woke up, it was already afternoon.家里就像什么事都没发生过似的。她的心里变得轻松起来，她甚至哼起了歌。她冲到厨房里漱洗完毕后又吃了一碗炒饭。这时她才记起祖母。 祖母仍然躺在那张大床上，脸上插满了小黄旗，只不过双手已经不再绑在背后了。一阵惨痛的感觉袭来，小非想，原来一切都是真的。 "小非，小非……"祖母微弱的声音喊道。 "奶奶!奶奶啊!!" "你帮我把鼻子上的这几面小旗拔下来。"祖母的声音像口里含了一口痰似的。 小非爬上床，开始拔出一根针。但这根针不是原来那根针!原来的大头针都是一寸多长，这一根却有五寸长。这么长的针，一定刺到祖母的脑髓里头去了。小非想到这里，又看看带血的钢针，心里只想吐。 "小非，你快点呀。" 小非定了定神，鼓足勇气又去拔另外四根针，一一将它们拔下。她不敢细看这些五寸长的针，也不敢看血糊糊的鼻子，她心里不知怎么有溜走的冲动。 "这回我好多了。" 祖母叹了口气，也不管满脸的小旗，一下子就坐了起来。但很快她又往后一倒，"唉哟唉哟"地叫了起来。 "怎么啦?怎么啦?!"小非狂乱地扑到祖母身上，想按住她乱抖的身子。突然，她的身躯僵硬了，在床上挺得像一把弓一样，后又轰然塌下去。 "你要压死我了。"她的声音像快要窒息了一样，"有一根针断在我里头了。" 小非以为祖母要死了，就坐在板凳上哭了起来。她听到舟子在外面叫她，但她一点也不想回答。舟子叫了一声又一声，还愤怒地用脚踢门。她不知用什么方法撞开大门冲进来了。 舟子一进卧室就走向祖母，麻利地将那些大头针一一抽出来扔到地上，那上面全都带着血，小黄旗也被染红了。做完这些后，她就用一块白布将祖母的脸盖上了。小非握住祖母的手，从那温热的手心小非感到祖母其实心里是很平静的。 "舟子真能干。"祖母在白布下面说。 奇怪的是床单上并没有染上大片血迹，会不会祖母已经自己复原了呢?小非想去揭那块白布，舟子制止了她。 "这可是我的功劳。要不是有根钢针断在她里头，我也不会来帮你这个忙。"舟子得意洋洋地说。 "针断在里面会有生命危险吗?" "哪里会呢?这是件大好事。" "舟子真聪明。"白布下头的嘴又说话了。 舟子告诉小非说，她已经找到蜜了，在一个巨大的蜂窝里头。不过她已经改了主意，不打算去获取那些蜜了，她要将那些蜜当成一个秘密存在心里，这样更有意味。她每天都去看一看那个蜂窝，这样做已经好几天了。小非听她矫揉造作地说出这些鬼话，不由得皱了皱眉。她隐隐地感到舟子说话越来越像她母亲了，而且她母亲是小非厌恶的那种人。 这时白布下面祖母的那张嘴又开口了。 "小非要好好向舟子学。我已经帮不了你什么忙了。" 可是祖母这句话却使舟子顿时沮丧起来。本来她已经在用水清洗那些钢针，听了这话之后她就一愣，将大头针从盆里捞出来，随随便便地扔在桌子上。她将湿手在自己的衣服上揩干，坐在小凳上发起呆来。 看来祖母问题不大了，小非心里也轻松起来。她将卧房里的东西收拾好，又搬了张小登进来，同舟子并排坐下。 "我想起了锤子那个小流氓。"舟子说，"他竟敢找你借钱。" "是啊--"小非夸张地拖长了声音。 "我爹爹早就认识这个混蛋。" "那是肯定的。"小非赞同地点头。 "你们一家人到底是从哪里来的?!" 舟子霍地站起身，声音陡然提高八度，眼里像要喷出火来一样。突然她一转身，"咚咚咚"地走到外头去了。小非吃惊得合不拢嘴。 "这孩子性子真急啊。"祖母说。 她要小非帮她从柜子里拿头套出来。小非打开柜，拿了那只祖母早就准备好的黑布头套，交到祖母手里。祖母飞快地戴上了，小非没来得及看清祖母的脸。 祖母戴上头套之后就起来了，在屋里走来走去的。似乎是，她看得见外面，别人却看不见她的脸。小非想，原来她早就缝了这个黑头套放在柜子里啊。现在她看起来一点痛苦都没有了。她从桌上抓起那些五寸长的钢针，找出浆湖和黄蜡纸，又做起小黄旗来。不知她打算如何样将这些五寸长的钢针插到地图上去。 "有根针断在我脑袋里头了。"祖母又提起这事。 小非幻想着那根针在祖母脑袋里头的情景，直想得自己的脑袋一阵阵跳痛。 自从祖母戴上黑头套之后，小非就再也没见过祖母的脸了。那黑头套共有两个，祖母还可以换洗。本来小非还以为她脸上伤势严重，总得换换药之类的。但偏偏祖母什么药都不涂，没那回事一样。不上药，也绝对不取下头套。有次她弯腰去拿东西，头套滑落了一点，她"哎哟"一声，用双手护住了。大概这头套就是她的治疗手段吧。 祖母出门买东西也戴着它，还走得飞快。小非不放心，就远远地跟着她。她到镇口买了豆腐和酱油，回家的路上碰见邻居梅芳嫂，两人又聊了一阵天才分手。小非觉得所有的人都对祖母改换形象的事毫无反应，好像祖母头上从来就生着个黑头套似的。不过她戴着那东西倒也真方便，刮起灰沙来眼都不用眨。 "我奶奶脸上有伤。"小非对舟子说。 "那倒不一定，你又没看见。" "可是你看见了呀，你帮她一根根拔出了那些长针。" "她出了点血，这有什么。那种针伤不了人的。" 小非开始相信舟子的话了。毕竟，祖母总不会故意将自己弄成重伤吧。她还要做饭呢，她还要打扫房间、上街买东西呢。但那么多粗针扎进一个人的脑袋里，还有一根断在里头，又怎么会一点事都没有呢? 有一回，小非在油菜地里看见了那个往祖母脸上插针的女人，她一闪就过去了，不知道她是不是从那个茅棚里出来的。小非就赶到那棚子里去看。 那桌子上赫然摆着一张手绘的地图。小非仔细看了看，觉得很像家里挂的那一张，在相同的位置也有一个红圈。比祖母画的那个圈更大、更显著。小非用食指摸了摸那个圈，感到有点发烫。她刚刚用手掀起地图，它就着火了，一会儿就成了一小撮灰烬。在桌子底下，小非又发现了那双婴儿的布鞋，上头绣着绿花。 外面的油菜地里，油菜已经结籽了。小非记起好久没见过那男孩了。他的脸是不是被刚才那种火烧坏的呢?小非惆怅地想着往后的前途，然后又想男孩说的报仇的事。这些日子，她又用铅笔画了好多次地图，却再没有成功过。即使她绞尽了脑汁也还是画出那些拙劣的模仿。 棚子外有男人讲话，小非走了出去。是舟子的父亲，他蹲在地上，用双手捧着头，站在她旁边的是舟子的叔叔。 "我干了什么?我什么都干不成!"他说着就用手捶着自己的脑袋。"那些人夜夜都来，可是根本不用呆在棚子里。昨天他们还到我床上来了呢!我对他们说我会死，没有人相信。就那么挤呀推呀，吵闹了一夜。为什么?" 舟子的叔叔低声细语地劝他。He said: "大哥啊，你要心静，心一静问题就解决了。我们这个镇子什么没遭遇过呢?还不是过来了!我自己夜里也不能睡，来找的人太多了。唉，不管事情到了哪一步，我们都要慎重啊。睡觉前那些鸡啊鸭啊的全关好，就会睡得安一些。你呀，不要那么居功自傲吧，这个棚子是你搭的，但是它并不能解决问题，因为他们人那么多。这倒不是说你浪费了时间，你是做得很好的，以后还要多做。让我们鼓起勇气来面对困难，好吗?" 他说到最后还挥了挥拳头，小非听了一阵肉麻。舟子的这个叔叔是一个阴阳怪气的人，他长年在街头卖泥鳅为生。小非一听他的声音就联想到溜溜滑滑的泥鳅。但是他的话舟子的父亲爱听。葵叔的脸逐渐开朗，也不再捶脑袋了。后来他站起身，还伸了个懒腰，他说自己是"庸人自扰"。 "这就对了!!"舟子的叔叔拍了拍手。 他俩转过身来，看见了小非。葵叔说： "小非啊，你看见棚子里的东西了吧，那都是那些人扔的，他们扔了就走了。这些人走家串户，你奶奶把他们纵容坏了啊。" 葵叔又皱起了眉头。小非赶紧离开他，免得惹他心场Ｋ圩拥氖迨逶谏砗笏担?/p> "这小丫头一下就长大了，像她奶奶一样爱钻牛角尖，要是当年她父母把她带走……" 小非很少想自己的父母，倒不是有什么忌讳，而是不习惯。她从未见过父母，也没人向她提醒她应该有父母，所以她只习惯将自己看作祖母的孩子。现在这个人无缘无故说起她父母，她心里很厌恶。 这件事之后，小非变得沉默了好多。她不再随便用笔画地图了，祖母的地图挂在厅屋里，她也不敢任意靠近。她将右手臂伸得长长的，小心地去抚摸那些图标，她的指尖感应到图标散出的温热。小非暗想，她可不愿意被烧成锤子那副模样。祖母后来又画了许多小幅地图，但这幅大的始终挂在墙上，并且又被插上了黄旗。小非怀疑它是那个陌生的中年女人绘制的。 镇上传说一种流言，说有一种女人随时可以放火。比如她在街上遇见你，用手在你头上摸一摸，你的头发就烧焦了。小非听了之后就想起那张着火的地图。接着她又忽发奇想：那中年女人总不会是自己的母亲吧?这个念头一冒出来就粘在她脑袋里了，拂都拂不掉。她感到那女人同祖母的确有默契，她们相互都能明白对方的心思。而她小非，同祖母之间总是隔着什么，像猜谜一样，从小到大都这样。但那女人不可能是她母亲。她干吗要老是带着那双婴儿的小鞋呢? 养蜂人后来给了小非一块蜜。不知道他是出于什么理由。他将装在宽口瓶里的蜜交给她，还夸她"心细"。舟子得知这件事以后很不以为然，她说养蜂人的职业并不是养蜂，他的真正职业是做贼，养蜂只是个幌子。"这个养蜂人到底是谁呢?"她喃喃地自言自语。实际上，在她提出问题之前小非也一直在想这件事。最近出现在镇上的这几个人她和舟子都从来没见过。不过老一辈的人倒不觉得他们面生，就好像这些人是久违了的远亲一样。比如这个养蜂人吧，如果小非向祖母提起他，祖母一定是早就知道的，就像她知道男孩锤子一样。镇上的陌生人又增加了。昨天小非出门时有两个破衣烂裳的女人向她兜售柿子，那些柿子的外表难看，像是被存放了很久的旧货。但她们不泄气，一个劲地夸这些"家乡的柿子"的好处。她们的过分热情让小非生出很多疑窦。小非后来推不过，就勉强买了一个柿子。拿回家后，祖母看了一眼就要她扔到垃圾桶里去了。"那是两个真正的乞丐"。祖母说。小非想，她们明明是小贩，祖母怎么说是乞丐呢? "小非啊，如果我不在了，你怎么管理我这些地图啊。"祖母忧虑重重地说。 "奶奶怎么会不在呢?奶奶好好的嘛!" 但是蒙在黑布里头的奶奶没有听见小非的话，自顾自地说下去： "我是比较喜欢冒险的，因此丧命也说不定。这个家并不是我的，这是你的家呢，所有的东西都要留给你。有一天早上你从床上起来，会什么全明白的。" 顶着个黑头罩，她做起家务来还是麻利得很。有时小非怀疑，罩子里面的那双老眼已具备了穿透力，她只要呆在家里，就可以看见镇上发生的一切。她画图画得越来越简练，纸张也越来越小。那些绘出的地图已不再是小非以前熟悉的风格了，图纸上只有一些直线和用彩笔画出的红圈、蓝圈和黑圈。如果不是祖母所画，小非肯定不会认为这些是地图。有一次祖母叫小非将桌上那张"梅县"拿来，小非一看，"梅县"已经成为了白纸上的三个黑点。这一来小非又想，也许隔着黑布，画起图来还是有所困难的吧。小非近几天见过祖母绘图的样子。她不再将整个胖大的身躯伏在案板上工作了。现在她坐得笔直，将小张的绘图纸拿在手里，放到眼前(黑罩前)，一远一近地反复移动，移了半天，才忽下决心，匆匆地在那张纸上画下简单的线条，画完后就不理会了。小非虽然佩服祖母的潇洒，却怎么也理解不了这些简略图。 "梅县怎么会成了这个样子呢?" "这样你就可以打消去找它的念头了。那男孩好久没来了呢。" "是啊，他该不会生病了吧。" "那是不可能的事。" "镇上的生人多起来了。" "嗯，慢慢地你就对他们熟悉起来了。这些人呆不了多久的。" "奶奶，你怎么什么全知道啊。" "不会吧。我还时不时的有外出探险的念头呢。" 当祖母的听觉偶尔变好时，祖孙俩就像这样一问一答。 祖母连睡觉都戴着黑头罩。小非相信她只有洗澡时才取下来。可是祖母坐在木盆里洗澡时将门关得死死的，根本不让小非进去。她洗完出来倒水时，已经换上了干净的黑头罩。天这么热，她将脸罩在里头，却一点汗都不出。小非也问过祖母为什么不取下头罩，祖母回答说因为她的脸已经破了，"没法看"。还说，"这样对谁都好。" 然而祖母出其不意地病倒了，她觉得自己要死了。前一天她还好好的，还说要去学养蜂的技术，夜里忽然就脚痛，爬起来大喊大叫，要小非将屋里的门窗关好。她没起来吃早饭。到了中午，小非将两个荷包蛋送到床前，她就将碗端到头罩里面悄无声响地吃了。小非松了一口气，想道，既然还能吃两个蛋，就一时半时不会死。祖母不这样看，她坚定地认为自己正在一点点死去。 "小非，你摸摸我的脚，是不是已经冰冷了啊?" "小非，我的左手已经端不住碗了。要是两只手坏掉，我就不吃东西了。" "小非，你想看我的脸吧?等我死了就可以看了。" "小非，你今后来睡这张床好吗?" "小非，我已经不会大便了，大概是快了吧。" 她听不见小非回答她，她只是说给小非听。有时候小非不在房里她也"小非小非"地说那些话。小非要操持家务，自然就不能老是陪着她，这又让她感到无望。"倒不如悄悄死了，趁没人时埋掉。" 一天下午，那个中年女人来了，提着空篮子，里面没有婴儿鞋。她在卧室里坐了一会儿，对祖母的黑头罩大加赞赏。那人走了之后，祖母就说： "这个人是舟子的妈妈吧?" 小非大声地反驳，祖母听到了，就点点头同意了。 "反正这种女人都是那种类型的。刚才她偷偷地摸了我的脚，我没法反抗，真是屈辱得要命。我要是动得了的话，就在这面墙上碰死了。小非啊，你可要好好地收藏我的地图啊，有那么一天它们都要见天日的，你得仔细!" "我当然会的，奶奶。" 小非发了个誓，可是祖母没听见，她陷入回忆中去了。 小非汗流浃背在家中操劳，很少到外面去了。舟子也来过一回，舟子看了她的现状，就建议她逃走。 "反正你奶奶的病好不了了。你想，那么多的钢针扎穿了她的脑袋，还有一根断在里头了，她还怎么恢复呢?她是自己寻死嘛。你把家里的钱带上，我同你一起跑。" 小非谢绝了舟子的好意。她倒不完全是为了祖母，因为她知道祖母是真的想死(她已经三天不吃不喝了)。她之所以要呆在家里，大部分是为了那些地图。昨天她将一幅图拿到阳光下，她亲眼见到那图纸烧起来了，一眨眼就成了灰烬。最先着火的是图纸上的几个红点。这幅地图是祖母病倒的前几天画的。这情景使小非又兴奋又跃跃欲试，她已经猜出了祖母话里的某些意思。祖母打鼾之际，她就偷偷地将手伸进抽屉里去摸那些图纸，纸上的图案让她的掌心感到灼热，她的心狂跳不已。可是她不敢再将图纸拿出去了，她决心好好地保存这些东西。如果祖母真的死了，她只要摸一摸这些图纸，祖母不就像在她身边一样吗?这些日子，小非已经学会从悲哀之中寻求慰藉了。 小非六岁那年曾经问过祖母为什么要每天画地图。她记得当时祖母闭上眼，显出陶醉的表情，轻轻地说： "因为快乐啊。那些地方，我再也不能去了。" 随着年龄的增长，小非发现了祖母的很多不凡之处。有时她甚至觉得，整个镇上的人们的念头全是跟祖母转的。她听到过许多人谈论那些久远的、飘渺的事物，那些事物同日常生活无关，但不知怎么的，事物或人物所在的地点都已被祖母描绘过了。祖母从不向人展示她的地图，然而从人们口里蹦出来的那些地名却都在祖母的地图上看见过。是先有地图还是先有那些地名呢?祖母坚持说先有地图。"是我告诉他们一切的。"祖母自豪地说道。那么祖母画的是什么地方呢?祖母说以后就会知道的。现在那些秘密似乎正在渐渐地浮到表面上来，越来越多的人来到镇上，他们都是从祖母的地图上标出的某个小城里来的，当然也许他们从前就时常来光顾这个镇，只是没人知道他们是哪里来的罢了。祖母不出门，就知道什么人到镇上来了。或许，她是通过地图上面的变化推测出来的吧。自从男孩锤子声称他是来这里寻找仇人的之后，小非一直感到不安全。祖母却不这样。祖母既不躲避，也不是逆来顺受，而是，怎么说呢，默默地渴望某些事发生。小非不知道锤子是不是已经找到了仇人，她心里有点可怜他。她觉得，因为从前死里逃生，他好像已经什么都不在乎了。他每时每刻都没有着落，要是换了她，是不可能像他那样坦然对待的。 在厨房干活时，小非偶然听到舟子的母亲在同人谈论自己。那女人说小非"虽然样子长得并不伶俐，其实还是很有心计的。"同她说话的是修锁匠。 "这样一栋大房子，里头还有那么多东西，她如何继承得了呢?"修锁匠傻里傻气地问。 "这你就不要担心了。"舟子的母亲笑起来，"她会弄得井井有条，滴水不漏。我呀，上次同她说了两句话就已经看出来，没有她搞不清的事了。" 他俩刺耳的笑声令小非十分愤怒。小非想，舟子应该逃跑才对。小非并不完全懂得他们话里的意思，只是又一次感到身处危险。她从窗口望出去，看见油菜地尽头的那个草棚已被拆除了。这是什么兆头呢? "他们才不想在草棚里呆呢，住到家里来最合他们的心意!"女人在外头说道。 祖母是迟早要死的了。葵叔已经来察看过几次，他对小非说： "她一完结，我就来帮你把她抬出去。镇上还有好几个人都愿意帮忙：你奶奶人缘好啊。小非，你准备好了么?" 小非懵里懵懂地点了点头。葵叔就大声夸她"懂事"，还拍着自己的胸脯说今后有事找他就是，决不会有问题。他说话时小非就奔过去关好祖母卧室的门，生怕她听见了。可是他偏偏要嚷得满屋子听见。 祖母一点都不在乎葵叔的鲁莽，只是叮嘱小非"今后对这一家人多加防备"。她似乎还在头罩下面笑了笑。虽然这么久没吃东西，她却并没有消瘦。她伸了伸肥胖的双腿，让自己睡得更舒服一点。从她的袍子里掉下一点东西，小非捡起来一看，是一双婴儿鞋，同那个陌生女人篮子里的婴儿鞋一模一样。小非清楚地记得那女