Chapter 26: The mysterious Beijing phone number

“Only we knew that this number was directly transferred to a special operator, who was responsible for transferring calls to a specific place in Beijing. Anyway, this was a job that only the upper echelons could handle…” My father’s secretary was a man who knew a lot about officialdom. He took the number and chattered on, looking at my father with a growing sense of curiosity.

This is a level that ordinary people cannot access, and it is called a special line. At that time, ordinary people could only dial a switchboard number and shout at the top of their lungs to ask which department, which unit, and who to call. What is the concept of a special line? I don’t know!

The secretary only vaguely knew that the special line could only be used when there was a major event, and that the special line numbers were different. What was behind it, I’m afraid, only a few people knew.

The secretary obviously didn’t know the specifics of this special line, and he was already quite impressed that he vaguely knew that this special line was in Beijing.

My father was stunned and didn’t know how to respond. The secretary’s scrutinizing gaze made him uncomfortable, so he just smiled and didn’t answer, making the secretary think that my father might have a deep background.

The call was quickly connected, and a pleasant female voice came from the other end, with a standard Beijing accent, asking, “May I have your extension number?”

Unlike a regular phone call, on this special line you don’t need to say the name of a specific company or organization. You just need to say a special number and you will be transferred to the designated place.

The secretary knew this and quickly said the three digits. The call was transferred, and then a female voice asked for the transfer number. The secretary said the last three digits, and the call was finally connected.

This took so long that my father was confused, and it wasn’t until the secretary called my father’s name that he finally took the call.

When my father picked up the phone, the secretary did not leave. After all, in those days, there was no such thing as privacy, and no one wanted to make a mistake. They had to be on guard against the possibility that my father was a spy!

My father naturally could not care less about this. After all, Master Jiang had also told him what to say, so there was no need to say anything special. It was good enough that he could make the call.

“Hello…” The call went through, and a calm male voice came from the other end of the line. Just the sound of “hello” made my father stand up straight on the other end of the line, as if he were reporting something to a big shot.

Some people are like this, and their bearing can be seen in their voice. The person on the other end of the phone seemed to have the bearing of a superior.

“You… hello…” My father held back for a long time, and finally managed to say a sentence in “pepper salt” Mandarin. After all, the other side was speaking standard Beijing dialect, and he was not sure if others could understand his Sichuan dialect.

“Who are you looking for? What is the matter?” Despite his extraordinary bearing, the tone of voice on the other end was also quite polite, but this kind of politeness had a natural sense of alienation and distance, and it did not make people feel close.

“I’m looking for Jiang Lichun, Master Jiang.” My father’s “pepper and salt” Mandarin was already difficult to speak, and the pressure from the other end of the line and the nervousness it brought him made him stutter even more. Even the secretary was sweating for my father.

The phone went silent, and my father’s hand holding the receiver was so sweaty that he couldn’t help but worry that the person on the other end would suddenly say that there was no such person.

Fortunately, the other person didn’t remain silent for long, and suddenly asked anxiously, “Who are you?”

“I, I, I am Chen Chengyi’s father.” My father reported who he was according to what the old man Jiang had told him. At this point, not only was the secretary puzzled, but I was also puzzled. Why didn’t my father say who he was, but instead said that he was my father? Do I have such a reputation?

The secretary didn’t know who Chen Chengyi was, and I guess she was just thinking, “Could this unremarkable villager have a talented child named Chen Chengyi?”

“Chengyi? Chengyi! That’s good, that’s good.” The other end of the line said something inexplicably, like a question, but also like an exclamation, and with two “goods,” my father was confused and didn’t know what he meant.

“Okay, I understand. I will inform Jiang Lichun. Is there anything else you want to tell him?” After a few exclamations about my name, he was ready to hang up, but politely asked one more question.

My father was not going to take it lying down. He was going to hang up? No way! I don’t know where the courage came from, but my father’s ‘pepper-salt’ Mandarin was fluent, and he said loudly, “Please be sure to tell Master Jiang that my daughter is not well and needs his help. I’m in a hurry.”

The other end of the line was still so calm. After listening, he just said slowly, “I will do it as soon as possible.”

After that, he didn’t wait for my father to say anything else, and hung up the phone, leaving my father alone with the receiver, listening to the “beeps” for a long time, unable to come back to his senses.

In short, my father had already done his best to save my sister. Compared to my sister’s life, even if he had to face a thin fate with me in the future, he had to endure it. My father made this call with this idea in mind.

However, the phone call was so confusing and inexplicable that my father was uneasy and could only sigh and leave the township office!

Do what you can, and accept your fate.

In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.

My sister’s condition was getting worse and worse. A few days ago, she would still have 1 or 2 hours of lucidity a day, during which she would cry and call out for her mother. I was afraid and would tell my family that she couldn’t remember anything.

In the past few days, my second sister has been in a coma or a deep sleep most of the day. When she is awake, she has big, empty eyes and doesn’t say or answer anything. She looks like a person without a soul!

As for the night, it is the most painful time for our whole family, because as soon as it is past 11 o’clock at night, my second sister will always get up and walk to the cemetery.

At this time, she is like a different person, her eyes and expression always become very sinister and vengeful. The family can’t stop her, and no matter how they restrain her, she will always find a way to hurt herself. Even if she is tied up, she will bite her own mouth and tongue.

My parents were in extreme pain and had no choice but to gag my second sister, who then tried to hit her head against the wall.

At the most painful moment, my father even took out a kitchen knife and shouted directly at my second sister, “You come out. Don’t mess with my daughter. I’ll die with you.”

All he got in return was a series of insane laughter and contemptuous looks. Even my father, who was always a strong man, couldn’t help but squat on the ground and cover his head in pain when he saw this result!

When their daughter is in pain, the parents’ pain is not much less.

In the end, we could only let my second sister go to the cemetery. We couldn’t bear to see her, who was already weak and frail, get hurt. She still sat on the grave and sang opera, and our family could only take turns guarding her.

But the worst was yet to come. The people in the village had already noticed what was going on. Who wouldn’t be scared when they heard the strange singing coming from the grave every night?

Old Wang was just the first to notice it.

After singing like this for three days, a few brave men in the village made an appointment to check out the cemetery, and eventually they discovered what was going on in my family.

The villagers were kind and many sympathized with my family, but in those days, it was not easy to say “strange powers and chaos.” If they wanted to help out with an idea, they could only come to my house quietly and whisper it.

And there were rumors in the village, and the basic rumor was: “Why did the good sister of the Old Chen family get a mental illness?”

“Alas, I’ve seen that girl. She’s so thin she’s unrecognizable, and her face is so pale it’s frightening.”

These kinds of things were said to my parents every day, but it was even more heartbreaking.

The people in the village also looked at it with a sigh, but everyone is an ordinary person. Even in the countryside, you hear a lot of stories about ghosts and spirits, but what can you do if you really encounter one? In fact, everyone is a sensible person, and they know that my second sister could not suddenly get any mental illness. Everyone knows in their hearts that my second sister has run into something.

In addition, despite their sympathy, the villagers were also scared because of my sister’s situation. The ghost was causing a big fuss, and everyone was afraid that the ghost would come after them next.

Mrs. Zhou came to my house.

She was the only person in the village who had had direct contact with the ghost. After all, she had lived with the ghost of Zhou Da for seven years, so she was considered an experienced person. My family had helped her and Zhou Da, and she remembered the favor, so she wanted to come to my house to see the situation and give me some advice.