Paper Maker

Chapter 2

Maybe someone will ask now, are there really ghosts in this world?Can the ghosts really receive those paper horse paper figurines if they are burned?
This question has indeed entangled the Chinese people for thousands of years. Can I tell you that there are really ghosts in this world?Shall I tell you that the underworld is very bleak, and the dead have nothing there?Would I tell you that the deceased relatives will often go home to see you if they are worried or have a miserable life?Since I took over the paper-making shop, I have encountered a series of ghostly things, and I will record them all here...

I still remember that in the few months after my grandfather passed away, my grandfather often went back to the store to make noise.At that time, I had just graduated from high school, and I was very sad when my grandfather left. First, I had no relatives in this world, and second, I felt sorry for my grandfather, because his greatest wish was to let me pass on his yin and yang skills, but I His wish was not fulfilled.

I planned to close the paper-making shop and go out to work. Anyway, Tiao Ran has nothing to worry about, and it doesn’t matter where I go, but the night before I was going to go out, there was a commotion in the shop.

That night, I had a dream in a daze. I dreamed of my grandpa.He asked me in the dream if I was going to close the shop and go outside?
At that time, I knew very well in my dream that my grandfather had passed away, but I didn't have much fear. I just nodded and said that I wanted to go out for a walk.As a result, grandpa said, the store cannot be closed, you have to stay in the store, if you feel lonely, then grandpa will often come back to see you.

After finishing speaking, Grandpa left, and then woke up from the dream.

But when I woke up, I became scared, because this dream was so real, as if my grandfather had really communicated with me.

But this was just the beginning, and then I kept thinking about the strange dream I had before, and the more I thought about it, the more incredible it became, and the more I thought about it, the more panicked I became.If the dream is true, I am really afraid that my grandpa will come back to see me. Although he is my grandfather, he is dead. Thinking about the dead person coming back to see me, I am afraid after thinking about it.

I couldn’t fall asleep, so I sat up from the bed, but just when I was dreaming, I suddenly heard the shop door outside the hall creaking, as if someone was pushing the door outside the shop .

This frightened me terribly, and I thought to myself, could it be that grandpa is really back?All of a sudden...

Although it was already midnight at that time, I didn't feel sleepy and was very awake, knowing that I heard right, the sound just now was definitely the sound of pushing the door.

I held my breath immediately, and listened carefully with trepidation, and then the door outside the hall continued to hear the sound of "squeak, squeak, squeak".Although the sound of "squeak, squeak" was not loud, it was extremely ear-piercing in the middle of the night...

This "squeak" sound rang for a while, and then suddenly I heard the door of the store "Peng" open, and my heart was startled, and then I heard the sound of "dong dong" footsteps as if from Walked in from outside the store.

The front hall of the store is where all kinds of paper-wrapped objects are placed, while the back hall is where some coffins are placed and cooking is usually done, and the room next to the back hall is the room where I sleep now.

After hearing the "dong dong" footsteps coming in from outside the door, he walked directly through the front hall to the back hall.This made me feel that the person who came was Grandpa, because if other ghosts wanted something made of paper, there would be one in the front hall, and they would not come to the back hall.

At this time, I was already hairy all over, and all the hairs were standing on end.And at this moment, there was the sound of washing dishes and the sound of bowls being stacked together in the back hall.

I couldn't help but ask myself if grandpa is back?At this moment, I heard Grandpa opened the cupboard with the bowl in his arms, put the bowl in, and closed the cupboard door again.I was very nervous, and when I was hesitating whether to get up and run away, I heard footsteps coming towards the room where I slept, and then the door connecting the back hall and the room where I slept opened with a "squeak".

Thinking of my grandfather actually entering my room and wanting to see me, I was so scared that I jumped out of bed, hugged the quilt and ran out with my eyes closed...

Before my grandfather was alive, I often washed the dishes at night, because I had to make paper people and do business during the day. Every time I went to bed early, I often heard the sound of my grandfather washing dishes in the back hall in the side room. This sound is similar to what I heard just now. It's exactly the same, even the sequence of actions is the same.

That night, I stayed in the classroom of the elementary school in the village all night, and I dared not go back to the store until dawn.But since that night, grandpa often came back to the store to wash the dishes, or came into my room to visit me, which scared me so much that I was often afraid to sleep.

After being tortured by my grandfather for more than half a month, I dreamed of my grandfather again one night.This time in the dream, I got angry and asked him why he came back to scare me.

Unexpectedly, my grandpa scolded me, saying that I was too courageous, and I looked like I hated iron and steel, and my face was full of disappointment.Seeing his lost look, I suddenly thought that the person in front of me was a relative who had raised me for more than 20 or [-] years. Although he had passed away, he was still my relative. Why should I be angry when my relative came back to see me?

However, I also know why he came back to make noise. One is because he misses me, and the other is that his wish has not been fulfilled.So I asked him, do you want me to stay in the store and continue to open the store?

When Grandpa heard me ask this question, his angry expression immediately changed, and his face was full of relief.Then he sighed and said, it's not that grandpa insisted on forcing you to do this job, but because your horoscope is too yin, and you are doomed to attract evil things in this life.In the past, if grandpa was around, he could still keep you safe, but now I am separated from you by Yin and Yang. If you don't learn some skills, then you may come down to accompany me soon.

Hearing this, I was surprised and moved.I only knew that I was born on the [-]th Ghost Festival of the seventh lunar month, but I didn't know that I could recruit ghosts.But what moved me was that the reason why grandpa wanted me to inherit his yin and yang skills was to protect me.Thinking of this, I blamed myself, blamed myself for blaming my grandpa for his painstaking efforts, and even blamed myself for being afraid of my dead grandpa.

Later, my grandfather told me that there was a book under the cabinet, asking me to study hard, do more good deeds, and take good care of myself.

After explaining this, he left, saying that the ghost messenger only gave him this time to stay in Yangshi, and now that the time limit is up, he has to report back to the underworld, and he will never come back if he wants to.

After waking up from the dream, I hurriedly opened the cabinet and found a book from under the cabinet.This is an old hand-bound book that has already turned yellow. On the cover of the book are written the words "Secret Method of Yin and Yang", which looks like a secret book of martial arts.

The so-called "Secret Methods of Yin and Yang" in this book actually talk about some strange methods such as recognizing yin and yang, determining good and bad luck, avoiding disasters, saving people's lives, etc.The first time I read it, I couldn’t understand anything at all, like a heavenly book, and even some ancient characters I didn’t know at all. However, after studying page by page, I was surprised to find that the knowledge in this book is really all-encompassing and theoretically comprehensive. Interlocking and extremely systematic.

In the days that followed, I made paper for business during the day, and at night I held this "Yin-Yang Secret Method" and grinded it. Slowly, I learned some knowledge from it.

But grandpa is right. I am a person who is indeed easy to provoke ghosts and evils. After I took over the paper making shop, ghosts have never left me...

Speaking of paper-making shops, in fact, this business is far from being as simple as everyone imagined. This ancient industry has many rules and taboos, and there are countless details. It is not the appearance of pasting paper to fool strangers. .

After all, for this business, the things that are pierced are burned for the dead, and they cannot be as casual as the things used by ordinary people.Take the paper figurines as an example, the paper figurines are nothing more than boys and girls, but the color of the boys and girls is very particular, the boys must use red, and the virgins must use green, this is the so-called red men and dolls.Moreover, if the paper figurine is tied up, it is not allowed to draw eyes, because if the eyes are drawn, it will come alive.

Some people may ask, how could the paper man come back to life? Isn't this too dick?In fact, when I say come alive, I don't mean that the paper figurine itself will live, but that there will be ghosts and ghosts who will take advantage of the void and attach themselves to the paper figurine, thus making the paper figurine come alive.And burning such things is also very particular. Take paper horses and the like, men burn horses to death, women burn cows to death, but not everyone burns white horses when they die, otherwise the dead will not be able to pass the gate of hell.

Of course, there is another way of saying this.Some say that after a man dies, he went to another place to take office, and he rode a fast horse, and some said that this was a custom left over from an ancient legend. It is said that in ancient times, the man rode a flying horse and flew So in the future, people burn paper horses to the dead in the hope that they can ride horses and fly to the sky like the ancients.For women burning cows, it is said that it is a sin for women to waste a lot of water while doing laundry and cooking, and it is a sin to burn a cow and ask the cow to help drink water to alleviate the woman's sin.

Believe it or not, in short, these rules are set by the older generation and have been used for thousands of years. Some rules cannot be easily changed.

(End of this chapter)