Carrying a girl across the river

This is a true ghost story that was widely circulated in Jidong before liberation.

Wang Da from Xiazhuang Village in Hedong worked as a long-term laborer for a wealthy family in Hexi. Wang Da had to cross this river every day when he went to work for his employer. At that time, the river was fast-flowing and wide. There were ferries on the river. People on both sides of the river used these ferries to shuttle back and forth every day.

At that time, there was an unwritten rule for poor people to work long-term for the rich: wages were paid once a year, and the settlement day was usually at the end of the year and the twelfth lunar month. In the blink of an eye, it was the twelfth lunar month again. Early in the morning, before dawn, Wang Da went out to ask for wages from his employer, wearing a torn cotton jacket and a dog-skin hat that leaked from all directions. Wang Da knew that the distance to his employer's house was not short. It would take a whole day to walk back and forth just on two legs! It wouldn't be possible if we didn't do it sooner. Wang Da's wife asked him to bring two wotou. Wang Da waved his hand and slowly disappeared into the misty morning mist without even looking back. He knew that his master was usually nice to him, so when he arrived at the rich man's house, the rich man's boss would naturally let him have dinner. After we had had enough wine and food, we paid off our wages, and it was almost sunset. Wang Da knew that the days were short in winter and it got dark early, so he naturally did not dare to delay any longer. I stuffed a few pounds of wages into my ragged cotton-padded jacket, said goodbye to my employer, and hurried home.

The cold winter wind was blowing, Wang Da lowered his head and tightened his neck, and hurried forward in silence. It was already dark. Wang Da quickened his pace and gradually heard the sound of water flowing. He knew that the ferry on the river bank was approaching. The strange thing was that usually there was a lot of people here, but today he couldn't hear any movement. Wang Da was a little worried and ran all the way to the ferry. As expected, not to mention the ferry, not even a person could be seen. Wang Day thought, it must be the end of the year, the weather is freezing, no one wants to go out anymore, they are all at home. There is little ferry business, so they must have collected the boats and gone home early! Seeing that there was no way to cross the river, Wang Da sighed and rubbed his hands anxiously. I wanted to go back to my employer's house to stay for one night, but after calculating the distance, I was afraid that even if I went back, everyone would be asleep. After much deliberation, the only option was to go upstream and cross the river from the pontoon on the water there. He thought that as long as he stepped harder and took the shortcut, he would probably be able to get home in the middle of the night!

Having made up his mind, Wang Da continued to keep his head down and set out on the road again. Accompanied by the whistling of dead grass in the wind, we finally arrived at the floating bridge. At this time, the moon was already hanging on the treetops. Through the dim moonlight, we could vaguely see a white thing moving at the end of the bridge. Wang Da's heart tightened and he looked around. He saw that the surroundings were empty and nothing unusual could be seen. There are many legends about gods and ghosts in old age, and people are all superstitious. Wang Da is no exception. He is thinking, maybe he encountered something dirty that he shouldn't have seen? The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. He wanted to turn around and go back, but after seeing the river, he would be home in a short walk. If he delayed, it would be late at night. It would be daybreak when he got back, and the cold weather in this winter The wind was howling, and it was freezing that night.

So I felt a sudden change in my heart and walked forward slowly. When I was about twenty meters away from the thing, I suddenly heard a sad cry. After listening carefully, I still heard it. Female. Wang Da suddenly panicked, thinking that this must be bad luck and he bumped into a female ghost! Perhaps he was too frightened, but he was so frightened that he collapsed and lay on the ground without daring to breathe! Obviously, the female ghost also noticed Wang Da and turned around without saying a word. The two sides remained in a stalemate for a while. Finally, the female ghost asked tremblingly: "Who are you... who... who are you? Who is... who is there?"

Wang Dayi listened

The female ghost Qi Qing'er was more scared than me, so she immediately became bolder, and when he looked straight, he saw the female ghost limping towards him. When the female ghost saw Wang Da lying on the ground, trembling all the time, she laughed out loud and said, "Brother, what's wrong with you? You are more timid than a woman like me. Are you going to take advantage of me?" Are you a ghost?" When Wang Da heard this, he looked carefully and saw that the female ghost was wearing a small cotton-padded jacket with broken blue flowers, a gray linen towel on her head, and a package covered with mud in her hands.

I thought to myself, what kind of female ghost is this? She is clearly someone’s daughter-in-law!

Wang Da stood up, patted the soil, and asked: "Sister, where are you from? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" After hearing this, the woman actually started to cry aggrievedly and choked with sobs. He replied: "I am from Shangzhuang Village. I originally wanted to go back to my parents' home years ago, but there were no boats at the ferry. I took a long detour to get here. I wanted to cross the river along the bridge, but the pontoon bridge was very difficult to walk on. I sprained my foot before I even took two steps. I've been here for almost two hours, and no one has come. Brother, it's great that you're here. Please help me get across the river..."

When Wang Da heard this, he interrupted her and said: "Sister, I am also going home here. I saw you just now and thought you were a female ghost! It scared me to death. I am from Xiazhuang Village, and I will follow you to Shangzhuang Village. It's a neighboring village, it's okay! I can just carry you over. We have a companion!" When the woman heard that Wang Da was going to carry her across the river, her face turned red. Fortunately, it was dark and she couldn't see her. Unfortunately, my foot was injured and there was no other way. He had to bite his lip, nodded slightly and said "Yeah". When Wang Da saw this, he picked up the woman and left without saying a word.

The pontoon bridge on the river is made of a bunch of logs tied with ropes. Both ends are fixed on the river bank. The entire bridge floats on the water, so that you can ride on it whether the tide is high or low. pedestrian. It's just that after people walk on the bridge, the bridge swings back and forth, making it difficult to walk. It can be said that Wang Dazheng was young and strong, and was used to doing rough work. It would have been easy for him to cross the river carrying this heavy man weighing more than 100 kilograms. Unexpectedly, it was a winter night, the moon was shining, and the vision was blurry. Not only was the pontoon log slippery, but it was also covered with ice, making it difficult to walk. What was even worse was that Wang Da was carrying such a young daughter-in-law on his back. The warm body temperature could be felt on his back through the woman's soft body, which inevitably made people have distracting thoughts. Wang Ziran was also flustered. He was not careful, his feet were not steady, and his body lost his balance. Wang Da suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and was about to fall into the river. He twisted around hard and threw the woman onto the river bank like a sack. Wang Da inevitably fell into the water with a crash.