At this time, the old man bowed and said, "My friend, this family and I have some connections. Now that you are angry, I would like to trouble you to help them get rid of the disaster and solve the problem!"
My grandfather looked up at the sky without saying anything. The old man asked the family with a cold face: "What other etiquette have you not fulfilled?"
The old woman quickly ran over, knelt on the ground, raised the five hundred yuan above her head with both hands, and didn't dare to say a word.
My grandfather stretched out his hand and took out three bills, then led me out. When we reached the front door, he kicked a brick off the door and said, "This is what happened."
Before I could figure out what was going on, my grandfather dragged me away. When I looked back, I saw that the old man was still bowing towards my grandfather. I saw him doing this several times in a row, as if he didn't dare to look up until my grandfather left.
My grandfather never took that family seriously from the beginning to the end, but Old Zhang was so excited that he kept talking all the way, talking about this and that, almost praising my grandfather to the sky. But my grandfather had a gloomy face and didn't say a word.
I listened for a long time and finally figured out what Old Zhang meant when he said my grandfather was a "great master".
The word "sir" has many meanings in the Northeast.
In the old days, people who could read and write, or who had prestige and ability in the local area were called "Xiansheng"; people who could tell fortunes, locate dragon points, and exorcise ghosts and evil spirits were also called "Xiansheng".
Those who were called "Big Sir" were either well-connected figures in the underworld or masters of the underworld. In the past, just by the three words "Big Sir", the bandits would bow and salute, and no one dared to provoke them.
When we were almost at the neighboring village, my grandfather said, "Old Zhang, don't you want your descendants to be rich and powerful? I will find you a good burial site, and your family will never have to worry about money for three generations. You have to give me this car, and you are not allowed to tell anyone what I do within three days!"
"Okay, okay..." Old Zhang was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. My grandfather asked us to drive the car to the edge of the mountain and pointed out a cemetery for him. Old Zhang sneaked back home like a thief, but my grandfather harnessed the car at night, moved the family's coffin onto the car, packed up some things, and left the village before dark.
I asked him where he was going, and my grandfather said, "We can't live here anymore, we have to move. Old Zhang is a man of few words, if he spreads things out, it will be difficult for us to leave."
I don’t know why my grandfather was afraid of people knowing what he did, but since he said so, I didn’t dare to ask anything else.
The cart that Old Zhang had was not very big, but the coffin that my grandfather had brought up was a bit narrow, and I was lying right next to the coffin. My grandfather was talking, and I was lying next to the coffin listening, but as I listened, I felt something was wrong.
I heard the big coins in the coffin rustling and clattering, and it was like they were bumping against me in the coffin, making the coffin board tremble. If I didn't know there was no one in the coffin, I would have thought there was someone lying in the coffin pushing half a coffin of big coins towards me.
"Master..." I just shouted, and a big coin fell out from the crack of the coffin. I didn't think much about it, and I reached out and grabbed the big coin.
That big coin was not only much thicker than an ordinary copper coin, but also two times larger. It also shone brightly under the moon, making it hard for me to open my eyes. Before I could see what the big coin looked like, my grandfather snatched it away.
"Grandpa?" When I looked up at my grandpa, his face was so distorted that it made people feel creepy.
It took my grandfather a long time to say a word: "Go to bed!"
I scared my grandfather so much that he quickly lay down beside the coffin, covered his head with clothes and fell asleep.
It was still summer when we left the village, and the night was not too cold, so I fell asleep in no time. When I was half asleep, I suddenly heard the horse pulling the cart neigh.
Although I have never raised livestock, I know that the horse was frightened.
I opened my eyes and saw that my grandfather was nowhere to be found. There was only a coffin on the cart, and a white cloth lantern was hung on the shaft. The yellow light from the lantern made the area around the cart half bright and half dark, and in the distance was a dark sorghum field.
When my grandfather was driving the car just now, where was this white cloth lantern? Besides, this thing is only used when someone dies. Who would leave the flashlight unused and carry this thing on the car? If this thing is carried out in the middle of the night, wouldn’t it attract evil spirits
I was so scared that I jumped up from the car and shouted in a trembling voice: "Master—"
My grandfather didn't agree, but there was a rustling noise coming from the sorghum field in the distance. I turned around and saw a red cloth with white flowers on the edge of the sorghum field. It looked like an old lady had fallen there and couldn't get up or speak, and was trembling and waiting for someone to save her.
Wolf! That's not a human, it's a wolf! I shuddered as soon as I stood up.
I heard from the older generation that in the past, there were three evil creatures in Northeast China: mountain bandits, sky eagles, and man-eating wolves that could become spirits.
Wolves are naturally fierce, and old wolves that have become powerful are even more powerful. Old wolves can dress up and lure people to eat. Some people say that after eating an old lady, the wolf puts the old lady's flowered headscarf on its head and squats in the cornfield or sorghum field waiting for people. If someone is not paying attention in the middle of the night and thinks it is an old lady who has fallen on the ground, and walks over and looks down, the old wolf will jump up and gouge the person's throat.
Could that be a "wolf hat" on the edge of the ground
I was so scared that I reached out and pulled down the white cloth lantern, and tried to look over there with the lantern. But the lantern didn't go over, so I took my hand back - the wolf couldn't be startled, or it would pounce on me and eat me!
I didn't dare to run, nor did I dare to shout for my grandpa. I could only squat on the car with the lantern in my hand, hoping that my grandpa would come back soon.
But where did my grandfather go
I didn't move, and the old wolf didn't move either. It must be afraid that there were people nearby. But it's no use for us to just stand there like this. When the old wolf sees that there's no one nearby, won't it come up and eat me
I thought for a long time and decided that I should drive the car a little further, maybe I could get rid of the old wolf. I had a lantern in my hand and the road was straight, so I was not afraid that my master would not be able to find me.
I plucked up my courage and imitated my grandfather's way of driving a cart. I grabbed the reins and shook them hard twice, but the horse didn't move at all.
I got anxious and stood up from the car, looking sideways to the front, but I was almost scared to death.
I saw a pair of hands reaching out from the darkness in front of me, covering the horse's eyes, one on the left and one on the right. But I couldn't see anyone in front of the carriage, only a pair of snow-white hands.
I was so scared that I almost cried: That was a ghost covering its eyes!
Old Zhang has been driving a chariot for many years and he likes to brag. He used to tell me a lot of stories about charioteers. He said that the most frightening thing about driving a chariot in the middle of the night is encountering a ghost blindfolding the horse, that is, a ghost blocking the front of the chariot and stretching out its hand to blindfold the horse.
The horse can't see the road, so it either stands still or walks in circles towards its death. You might end up dragging the horse and the cart into the river. So, when driving at night, you have to be extra careful and don't fall asleep. If a ghost takes advantage of your sleep and covers the horse, the driver won't know how he died.
I also specifically asked him what to do if a ghost blindfolds you. He told me: You have to crack the whip. The louder the whip, the better. Ghosts are afraid of whips. Once the whip sounds, ghosts will be scared away.
I didn’t know whether what he said was true or not before, but now that the devil has deceived the beast, how can I not believe it
I was so frightened that I didn't know what to do, but the animals pulling the cart started moving at this moment, pulling the cart forward.
I didn't drive the cart, but the animals moved forward. Isn't that because they were led by ghosts
There is a ghost in front, a wolf behind, and the only thing in the car is me and a coffin.
At that time, I don’t know if I was quick-witted, but I reached out and stuck the lantern behind the car, and then lay on the car to find a whip.
At that time, I had only one thought: Aren't wolves afraid of fire? I would first shine the lantern behind to prevent the wolf from coming over, and then I would whip the ghost twice to scare it away.
I tossed around in the car for a while before I finally figured out where the whip was.
The big whip used by drivers in Northeast China is at least one meter long, with a cowhide whip tip at the front. Such a long whip is not only used to drive animals, but also can be used in emergencies, so if you don't have some strength, you can't swing it.
At this point, how could I care about whether I could swing the whip? I just had something in my hand, which gave me peace of mind!
But as soon as I touched the whip, I felt the whip handle was stuck in the coffin, so I couldn't get it out. I quickly lowered my head to get the whip. Who knew, as soon as I lowered my body, I felt a weight on my shoulders.
When I tilted my head, I saw a furry wolf's paw on my shoulder, and a hot, fishy air was blowing towards my neck.
It's over! The wolf has my head on my shoulder! My head suddenly buzzed.
The older generation said that when you are walking on the road at night, if someone pats you on the shoulder from behind, you must never look back, because that person is not a human being, but a wolf that wants to eat people.
The old wolf is old and may not be able to beat a living person, but the old wolf will cheat. It will pat the person's shoulder from behind, and as long as the person turns around and puts his neck under the wolf's mouth, the old wolf will cut the person's throat with one bite!
If a wolf gets on your shoulder, you have to quickly grab the wolf's claws and pull it forward, pulling the wolf close to your body, using your head to push the wolf's chin to prevent it from opening its mouth, and run towards the village with all your strength. If you run back, you will be saved. If you can't hold on any longer, you will have to feed the wolf.
At that time, I didn't know where I got the strength from. I grabbed the wolf's two paws and pulled forward with all my strength, and pushed my head up with all my strength. After the top of my head finally touched the wolf's chin, I stood up and pushed up on tiptoe.
I had to do this! How tall was I at that time? The wolf stood up and was more than a person's height! If I let the wolf's hind paws dig into the ground, could I beat it? (To be continued)