The Obedient Duck chapter 1

After school one afternoon, junior high school student Lily went to the east of the small town in a rural area of the United States to let her ducks out. There was an old, bumpy dirt road there, and there were many insects and grass that ducks love to eat in the ditches on both sides of the road.

At that time, there was a farm truck deeply stuck in a pothole on the dirt road. Although the driver kept revving the engine and a big – bald guy was pushing the truck with his butt sticking out, the truck still couldn’t move. Lily was a kind – hearted girl. She wanted to go over and help. As she walked, she wondered: This road hasn’t had much vehicle traffic for a long time. Why did this truck “go astray”?

When Lily got closer, she recognized that this farm truck belonged to a coal mine. Her school was near the coal mine, and she often saw this truck on her way to and from school. Lily came to the back of the farm truck and reached out her hand to push the truck, saying, “Uncle, let me help you guys.”

The big – bald guy who was pushing the truck immediately shouted at her, “Get out of here! Who asked you to meddle in other people’s business?”

Lily was stunned. She thought: I came here with good intentions to help. Did I do something wrong? She was feeling awkward and was about to turn around and leave. By chance, she glanced into the truck’s cargo area. The things in the cargo area were wrapped in plastic sheeting. A gust of wind blew, and the plastic sheeting lifted up. Suddenly, Lily was shocked: Under the plastic sheeting, there were several bare feet covered with coal dust!

Lily broke out in a cold sweat. She thought: Oh my god! Why are there dead bodies on this truck? She was both shocked and scared. She quickly left the farm truck and drove her duck flock back to the town. Along the way, there were a lot of questions in her mind: What are the big – bald guy and the others up to? I heard that there was a mining accident at the coal mine recently. Could the bodies on the truck be the miners who died in the accident? If so, why are they being transported in the opposite direction of the crematorium?

As Lily was walking, she met the town mayor head – on. He was holding a shovel and walking in a hurry. Lily secretly told the mayor what she had just seen. The mayor frowned and said, “Go home first. I’ll go over and check right away.” When they parted, the mayor repeatedly told Lily not to tell anyone about this, so as not to tip off the suspects.

When Lily got home and hadn’t even driven the ducks into the pen yet, the mayor came running, out of breath. He said that there were really dead bodies on the truck, and they seemed to be the bodies of dead miners. He said, “The situation is bad. The big – bald guy and the driver must be thugs working for the mine owner. These two guys might be hiding in the town right now. Once they realize that you’ve discovered their secret, they’ll do anything desperate. They might come to your house to kill you tonight to cover up their tracks!”

Lily’s heart skipped a beat and she got goosebumps all over. Her parents were not at home that day, and she was the only one at home. She was at a complete loss.

The mayor said that it was better to take some preventive measures just in case. He came up with an idea for Lily. He told her to lock the door from the outside, not to turn on the lights or cook, to create the illusion that there was no one at home. He also gave Lily a big iron lock, saying, “Your lock is small and easy to break. This one is safer.” As for dinner, the mayor said that he would cook for her at his home and slip the food to her through the crack in the door.

The doors of the farmhouses in this area were double – swinging wooden doors. When the locked door was pushed, there would be a big gap in the middle, which could be used to pass small items. And since it was an open – type lock, it wasn’t difficult to lock the door from the inside. Alone and helpless, Lily felt more confident with the mayor around. She immediately locked herself inside the house with the big iron lock.

Half an hour later, the mayor came over quietly in the dark. He passed the food to Lily through the crack in the door, saying, “Eat the food in the dark and then go to bed. I’ll come to open the door for you as soon as it’s dawn tomorrow.”

After the mayor left, Lily ate in the dark. She had gone to school in the afternoon and then let the ducks out after school. She was so hungry that she gobbled up the food. When she was almost finished, Lily suddenly felt that the food tasted strange. She put down the bowls and chopsticks, found a lighter, and lit it. By the light, Lily was so shocked that her hair stood on end: The vegetables she had eaten were made from water hemlock!

Water hemlock is a highly poisonous plant that grows in grassy slopes or bushes. Lily, who grew up in this rural area, knew how dangerous water hemlock was. If a big and strong man ate a lot of it, he would die within half an hour. She thought to herself: Why did the mayor cook food with water hemlock for me? Does he want to kill me? When she thought about the whole thing from beginning to end, Lily suddenly had an epiphany: The big – bald guy and the driver must be trying to dispose of the bodies secretly. The mayor is in cahoots with them. He wants to kill me to cover up their crime!

In fact, after the mining accident, the private mine owner, in order to avoid punishment, cruelly wanted to dispose of the bodies of several out – of – town miners. The mayor had a small foundry in the west of the town. And the tool these guys used to dispose of the bodies was the iron – melting furnace in that small foundry! That afternoon, when the truck carrying the bodies got stuck in the mud, the mayor originally planned to bring tools to help. But when he learned that Lily had discovered the bodies, he had the evil idea of killing her to cover up the crime, trying to create the illusion that Lily had accidentally eaten water hemlock and died…