#34. Vietnam ghost dog - 05

 Chapter 3: Afternoon nap

Just when the grandmother was observing the golden boy, the picture stopped, and the grandfather turned around with a slight snort at the corner of his mouth. Grandma didn't do that anymore, she turned around and followed behind him, before I could see the golden boy's expression, when I looked back, it was no longer where it was, and I don't know where it went. Then she told him to go back to bed because it was already midnight. The chicken hasn't crowed yet. The old woman was always falling asleep because of strange experiences, which made her a little tired.

The next morning, she woke up later than usual. Typically, grandparents wake up very early, around 5 or 6 am. Today, he woke up early, but she didn't wake up until six thirty. Seeing him coming in from the garden, she squeezed the mosquito net tightly and went out of the yard. There was some inexplicable anger on his face, and he muttered in his mouth. She asked, "What's the matter, sir?" He put an old handkerchief on his shoulder, and said angrily, "I don't know which buffalo herder left his buffalo unattended, let him hit the horn on the coconut tree, break it A string. So, let him face him." A few more times. Plus, if you bring down the tree, the fence will all come down! ". To make this part clear, my garden intersects with a neighbor's garden, initially separated only by hedges, hibiscus bushes, and growing wild plants.. Later, the other coconut trees grew tall and grandpa built one A clearer fence, clinging to the trunk of the coconut tree that divides the two gardens, this tree is not as tall as the others, smaller in body but very forthright. Most forthright. This is the last of that team tree, so the location is in the corner of my east garden. Generally speaking, it is so good to grow "skilled", and it is still the grandparents next door. I didn't see what she said, so I didn't know. , Grandma couldn't figure out what happened, so she asked him again: "What is the buffalo that sits still and hits the tree? ". He made a grimace and said: "Crazy buffalo", and went to the well to wash his hands and feet. A thick wooden stake, the upper part is about one hand long from the root of the tree. A bunch of trunks are scratched, with many horizontal and vertical marks, as if they have been cut. A machete, but not deep and not sharp. Under the tree, the soil is scattered , as if being trampled on by someone. Grandma came back with a mess in her stomach, why have she encountered so many messy things in the past few days.

When serving the meal, she said to him: "Look, the buffalo is so big that it can be supported by its buttocks. It must be at the same height as the buffalo. I went out to see just now. It's not a buffalo. Is there anyone under such a tree?" Sneak in and steal coconut trees?". He Gang and Fan replied: "Staying at home all day, I saw someone sneaking in. If there is a golden one, I would have found it long ago. But even if it is that kind of coconut tree, you can chop it down if you want." Immediately, don't steal bamboo. , don't steal the coconuts. Who's crazy to try to steal a coconut and cut down the whole tree? This is obviously nonsense. "Winnie the Pooh grinned and said, "If the buffalo spanks, it should be outside the bamboo fence, and it's still in our garden. He put down his chopsticks and scolded her: "Don't be so sad, I'll see what to do in the future, if you know who I am, just put one on my leg!" (Bullet, when I was a child, I participated in the anti-American war in Cambodia. I don’t remember it. In short, I was short-tempered and wounded. He has experienced fierce shells on the battlefield, the past youth.

After lunch, the sultry weather was accompanied by the chirping of cicadas, adding a bit of coolness to the sweltering summer. Grandpa, wearing a peace cap and holding a worn-out green cloth hammock under his arm, walked slowly towards the garden. This hammock is his memory when he was in the army. It was given to him by the unit. Later, he followed him back to his hometown, got married and had children, until now. My grandmother stayed home to take care of the baby, and sometimes she noticed the golden boy. To be honest, Granny has been suspicious of the dog ever since that incident, but can't explain it, like it's just a feeling. But in appearance, it is no different, just a dog with yellow hair and brown eyes like other country dogs. Animals have more acute senses than humans, and they can see and hear things that we humans can't, she said. As for the strange things she saw, perhaps the golden one could see better. If so, then I wonder what it sees. It's expressed differently today than any other day. Usually there are two mornings and afternoons, it often follows him down to the garden to pick up dry firewood, sticking out its tongue, looking amused. Not today, when he went to the garden to eat rice at noon, when he saw him, he stretched his neck, stared wide-eyed, and pricked up his ears vigilantly, and kept this posture until his shadow disappeared into the thick bushes. sapodilla tree. After speaking, it snorted as if sniffling, then squatted down and jumped onto the roof of the chicken coop, with its nose propped up on its front legs, and looked at the tall coconut team, leaving behind the plate of rice and fish it was eating. eat. Usually a grain of rice is not spared, and it grows very quickly. Brought it back as a baby, now tripled, like a saint. No wonder it jumped on the roof of the chicken coop, it wasn't that high. All these actions were seen by my grandma, who was standing in the room brushing her teeth, and the chicken coop was outside the window...

As for my brother, after lunch, he plans to go to bed and rest for a while, and then collect firewood and look at the garden in the afternoon. But remember the coconut tree, if it sneaks in during sleep and steals the bamboo or some ripe pomelo to hang on the tree that the grandparents keep waiting for their father and aunt and uncle to come back from school to pick. jute. After thinking about it, he left. Anyway, there are many tall trees in the garden, which are lush and lush, and it would be nice to hang a hammock. Swaying gently in an ancient hammock, amidst the tree-lined vistas, he reimagines his time in the army. Comrades, someone died after sleeping in a hammock for a short while, because bombs fell, stray bullets, enemy ambushes, wars... and then he fell asleep from time to time, counting on him. That's it, lie down, and you can fall asleep right away without thinking about anything until the next minute. The place where my younger brother hangs the hammock is two oval-shaped trees planted a long time ago, with luxuriant branches and leaves growing parallel to each other, right in the center of the garden. He buried his head in the eastern corner of the garden so he could survey the area easily. Then fell asleep. Above the house, my grandmother also took advantage of the bed to sleep for a while. After watching for more than an hour, when he heard the sound of his slippers, he went straight to the house from the garden, poured a cup of strong tea on the chair, and took a sip from it. The look on his face right now is hard to understand. Under normal circumstances, when something happened, he didn't have any expression on his face, he just didn't say a word. Besides, when he came up from the garden, he always went to the well to wash his hands, his face, his face before he entered the house. Hearing this, she got up, put on her sandals and went out to inquire. Before she could speak, she was stopped by the piercing cry of the golden beast. No one told anyone, grandpa and grandma turned their heads to look at the garden, the dog barked timidly but fiercely and loudly...