Northeastern Folk Tales Told by Grandma

She is the best "storyteller" in the country. On weekdays, Liu Guilan is just an ordinary rural grandmother, sitting on the kang, picking up shoe soles, peeling corn, and smiling all over her face. But every night when people are quiet, her cloudy old eyes will suddenly become extraordinarily clear. She will lower her voice and come closer to you and say: "Baby, grandma wants to tell you something -" The stories she tells never happen far away, but in the neighboring village, in the mountains behind, or in the old well you pass by every day. She remembered the name of the owner of each pair of embroidered shoes, knew why she couldn't take the last bus, and heard the response to the knocking on the wall in the middle of the night. Some people say that she encountered "dirty" things when she was young, while others say that she has yin and yang eyes. But Liu Guilan never admitted it, but every time he finished speaking, he would throw a handful of rice on the ground and say softly: "Those who listen to the story stay, and those who finish listening leave." She always holds an old cattail leaf fan in her hand. There are three holes in the fan. Through the holes, it seems that she can see another world.