"Are there any other precautions for burning pagodas? Or are there any other sayings or taboos?" Xiang Yang asked Grandpa Fu. The older generation was particularly superstitious. Since the burning of pagodas was originally for the purpose of worshipping the God of Fire, there must be many taboos or matters to be aware of. Xiang Yang must understand all of these things in advance.
Grandpa Fu smiled and said, "There is something to say. In fact, when the pagodas were first burned, they didn't just burn one, but two."
"Although there were less than a hundred shops and tens of thousands of people in the old street of Huhai Town during the Republic of China period, there was a difference between the left half of the street and the right half of the street."
"The left half of the street is backed by the sea and has no one to support it, but most of the shops are run by wealthy people, such as theaters, stone lion statue shops, shipyards, grain merchants, rice shops, money shops, pawn shops..."
"The right half of the street is mostly lined with small vendors, such as those selling rice cakes, snacks, and tailor shops. But the right half of the street is closer to the outside of the town, and it is backed by eight villages within a hundred miles, including Yanlong, Yanjiang, and Yanqian."
"At that time, every time the pagoda was burned, the left and right sides of the street would burn a pagoda each, competing with each other for victory or defeat."
Xiang Yang smiled and said, "For an event, we need to create an atmosphere. It will be more lively if we each burn one to see who wins and who loses."
Grandpa Fu shook his head. "It was like this at the beginning, but in the later stage it really became a fight for strength and victory. In 1947, the left half of the street and the right half of the street were fighting to burn the pagoda. At that time, the owner of the theater on the left half of the street changed, and he took out a hundred taels of gold to burn the pagoda. The fire burned for three days and three nights. There were still piles of firewood on the left half of the street, while the firewood on our right half of the street was almost burned out. But at that time everyone was eager to fight, who would admit defeat easily?"
Xiang Yang smiled. The gap between the rich and the poor was outrageous in that era.
The left half of the street seems to have only a few shops, but they are all big businesses making money. The right half of the street seems to have a lot of people, but in fact they don't have much money.
"The right half of the street must have lost." Xiang Yang said with a smile.
"How could that be possible?" Grandpa Fu said with great joy, "When the people on the right half of the street were in trouble, I don't know who took the lead and went home to carry a load of firewood to his home. Then the people on the right half of the street followed suit and went home. Some people carried their own loads of firewood to the arena on the right half of the street and continued to fight with the people on the left half of the street. The fire burned until the seventh day of the first lunar month. The people who were burning it were tired, and the people on both sides of the street had a great time. The firewood in the surrounding villages and neighbors' homes was almost burned out, and the hundred taels of gold in the theater were almost burned out. Only then did they end the fight peacefully."
Zhang Qicheng's eyes lit up as he looked at Xiang Yang. He thought the tower fighting thing was very interesting, and if possible, he wanted to restore it.
At that time, he and the investors of the Binhai Hotel will order a pagoda, and Xiang Yang and other people from Yanlong Village will also order a pagoda. Both sides will compete in tower building. It will definitely be very lively and will also be able to stimulate the enthusiasm of tourists. However, Zhang Qicheng cannot make the decision on this matter for the time being. He has to go back and discuss it with Li Chao and others. So after hesitating for a while, Zhang Qicheng said nothing.
"Uh." Xiang Yang blinked and said in surprise, "Firewood was not a simple thing back then. How could everyone be so enthusiastic? They were willing to carry their own firewood out?"
In fact, Xiang Yang wanted to say that it was irrational.
At that time, firewood was not just a simple matter, but a real necessity of life. Many families did not even have enough for their own use.
"Yes, enthusiastic." Grandpa Fu's eyes once again showed memories, "Fighting the tower is considered good, you don't know how to protect the tower."
"One year, the Japanese invaders reached Longcheng. A second Japanese invader from the defense corps was stationed in Huhai Town. That year, the country was in crisis, and most of the men in the town went to join the national crisis. Only a few old, weak, women and children were left in the village. We didn't plan to burn the pagoda that year because it wouldn't be lively with few people. I don't know who suggested burning it, saying that it should be burned to make it prosperous and a good omen."
"Since someone suggested burning it, then let's burn it, but the Japanese won't let us! We sent a battalion to stop them and destroy the pagoda to put out the fire."
Xiang Yang raised his eyebrows. He could imagine the scene.
At that time, the country was in crisis and most of the men had gone to fight for the country. There were only the elderly, the weak, women and children left in Huhai Town, who were looking forward to the triumphant return of their fathers, husbands and sons.
When burning the pagoda at that time, what was actually burned was not the pagoda itself, but a kind of expectation for the future.
But the Japanese devils all had guns. Even if everyone said that the Japanese devils' fighting ability was poor, it was not something that a group of old, weak, women and children could resist.
Xiang Yang and Zhang Qicheng looked at each other and both guessed that the pagoda did not burn down that time.
"The big boss of the theater at that time had delicate features and a frail body. He often dressed up as a woman to play Concubine Yu. Everyone laughed at him for being a weak man who couldn't carry anything. When we were young, we would scold him if we didn't like him. When you grow up, you will be like the big boss of the theater."
"That day, the Japanese invaders came and wanted to smash the pagoda with their sabers, beating anyone they saw along the way."
"That singer had no makeup on her face. She had a man's body but a woman's appearance. She looked like a great beauty who would bring disaster to the country. At that time, I didn't even see how he got in front of the leading traitor. I saw him grab the knife and seize the traitor's gun. He fired all the bullets and then laughed with his head raised. He was a traitor and a running dog, but he still dared to join in the fun. Well, why don't you chop off my head today to add to the fun?"
"Everyone was stunned at the time. After watching so many plays, it was the first time I realized that those weak and timid guys in the troupe actually had real skills."
"The boss of the theater brought a group of martial artists and beat the traitors to a pulp. In the end, he confiscated all their guns and killed a few of the evildoers. Then he abandoned the theater and rode on the horses of the traitors, carrying the swords and guns he had taken from them and left. In the decades that followed, I never saw them again, nor did I hear from them again."
Having said this, Grandpa Fu wiped his eyes, and the corners of his eyes were already wet.
Xiang Yang sighed. It was obvious that Grandpa Fu had already guessed the fate of the opera troupe. If nothing unexpected happened, they must have all died on the battlefield. No news was actually the best news, because no news meant that there was a slight possibility that they would become generals with outstanding military achievements in the future.