Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Day Liu Yulan Died

Grandma woke up very early.

She was in exceptionally high spirits today.

She took her new clothes out of the wardrobe and tidied them up.

“I burned all of their clothes before.”

It seemed to be the local custom to burn a person’s clothes after they passed away so they would have them in the afterlife.

“I wonder if I’ll be able to meet them.”

I quickly offered comfort. “You will.”

In any case, once she walked the Yellow Springs Road, reached the Naihe Bridge, and drank the Meng Po Soup, she wouldn’t remember a thing.

“I secretly kept two things, though.”

I looked over and saw two hats.

One was pink, and the other was black.

“I’ll take them with me when the time comes.”

When Grandma ate, her hands shook so much she could barely hold her bowl.

Every time I tried to help her, she refused.

“This is something my old man would do. Don’t be fooled by his age; he was always teasing me. But when it came to taking care of me, he never slacked off.

“He would tuck me in, throw snowballs at me, and intentionally hide in corners to make me look for him. He fed me every single day. Back then, I even told him that if he wasn’t there, I wouldn’t eat.

“We promised to spend this Lunar New Year together.”

She ate with trembling hands.

“My granddaughter is very busy working away from home; she only comes back a few times a year. Every time she returns, she loves eating this vegetable rice I make.

“It wasn’t easy, but I finally learned how to use a smartphone. That little liar… she never video-called me again.”

I looked into my own bowl.

It was just green vegetables and raw rice stewed together until soft and mushy.

Though the greens had a hint of sweetness, they tasted increasingly bitter to me.

Because she said, “After she passed away, the old man and I couldn’t handle spicy food anymore. We didn’t have to scoop chili sauce into her vegetable rice ever again.”

But when I was serving the rice in the kitchen just now, there was clearly a full jar of homemade chili sauce sitting right there.

She didn’t do much today.

She just stood in the courtyard by the door, staring blankly.

She even cooked a meal she didn’t eat, as if she had only made it for me.

In truth, it isn’t hard for a Ghost Agent to reap a soul; what’s hard is that so many people are reluctant to leave this world.

Before her afternoon nap, she said to me, “In the wardrobe by the head of the bed, there’s a wallet. There are a few hundred yuan inside; take it.”

My eyes stung. “I don’t want it.”

“It’s no use to me anymore.” She changed into her new clothes and lay back down on the bed.

“The old man liked it when I wore red. My granddaughter liked putting flowers in my hair.

“I really miss them.”

Hearing this, I hurried into the courtyard to pick some flowers for her.

By the time I returned to her side with the flowers, she had closed her eyes for good.

I placed the flowers on her head and leaned down to whisper.

“Grandma, come with me.”

How strange. Do Ghost Agents cry too?

Meng Po glanced at me.

“Not bad. For the sake of your performance metrics, even a little ghost like you can bring someone in?”

The Netherworld was always lacking light, dim and gloomy. As Liu Yulan followed me along the Yellow Springs Road, she seemed very frightened.

“Don’t be afraid, Grandma. Just drink this bowl and it’ll be over.”

“Is the newcomer Liu Yulan?” Meng Po handed a bowl of soup to Grandma.

Grandma took the bowl and said, “I am Liu Yulan.”

Meng Po took up the ritual words: “Drink this Meng Po Soup, forget the grievances, loves, hates, rights, and wrongs of this world, and go forth to your reincarnation.”

But Grandma asked me, “Little girl, I didn’t expect you to be a Ghost Agent. What is your name?”

I was dazed for a moment, then smiled. “Grandma, I’m just a Ghost Agent. How could I have a name?”

But she said thank you to me.

“Thank you. Thank you for staying with me in my final moments.”

I saw her hesitate.

Her hand gripped the bowl, delaying the moment she brought it to her lips.

I leaned in and whispered a promise in her ear:

“I will bury you next to Grandpa and Jiang Chu.”

She smiled, nodded at me, and downed the soup in one gulp.

“I’ve never seen a Ghost Agent act like this, having to arrange a burial for someone,” Meng Po grumbled, watching me. “Do you just not have enough work to do?”

“If she didn’t drink it, what would happen to my promotion plan?”

I returned to the world of the living.

Following what Liu Yulan had said while she was alive, I buried her.

She lay beside Grandpa.

I threw her clothes and those two hats into the fire.

Heavy snow began to fall again.

I transplanted some plum blossoms over, though I didn’t know if they would survive.

“Happy New Year, Grandma.”