During the Northern Song Dynasty, villager Ma Shun followed the carpenter ** Elder Zhao to live in the Shanxi area for several years. On this day, the two of them repaired the wooden gate for the villagers in a neighboring village, and the trees beside the road were swaying, and it was just in autumn, Ma Shun thought to himself: "* The skills are superb, and this work should be completed soon." ”
Soon, a strange man came to ask Elder Zhao to check on the wooden door of his house. Elder Zhao instructed Ma Shun to continue his work and left. Ma Shun continued to carefully repair the remaining wooden door until it was getting late.
Ma Shun looked around, and a few dim lights floated in the wilderness in the distance, looming in the darkness. Ma Shun's heart moved, and he decided to speed up the completion and go home, so as not to catch up with the night in this strange village.
As Ma Shun hurried through the wasteland with a carpentry bag on his back, he suddenly heard the cry of a baby and the laughter of a child in the grass. He was amazed, how could there be children playing in this deserted place?In the midst of confusion, five or six ragged children emerged from the bushes, holding lanterns, and slowly gathered around.
What kind of child are you, still playing in this wasteland late at night?Ma Shun asked tentatively. A slightly older child looked at him with empty eyes and said in a dumb voice, "Uncle, we like you and want you to come with us!"”
Ma Shun's back sank, and he remembered that the villagers had said that strange things had happened here, and they must have encountered evil things!He scolded loudly: "Don't leave quickly, don't pester me!".As if they hadn't heard, the children slowly gathered around him.
Ma Shun remembered the teaching of Elder Zhao: "The carpenter's belongings can drive away ghosts and avoid evil spirits, and when encountering strange things, you can use adzes and ink lines to deal with them." Ma Shun decided to try the adze, he secretly took the adze from the bag, held it in his hand, and waved it at the children while shouting loudly. Hearing the sound of "bang", the white light flashed, and the lantern in the child's hand fell to the ground, and the child screamed and ran towards the wasteland.
Ma Shun is overjoyed, it turns out that what he said is true!He grabbed his adzes and hurried to the wasteland, only to see that the children were gone. Ma Shun smashed the lanterns they had dropped one by one to vent his fear.
The next day, Elder Zhao came to Ma Shun to discuss today's work. Ma Shun hurriedly described the strange incident that happened last night to Elder Zhao in detail. Elder Zhao was taken aback when he heard this, and pulled Ma Shun to the wasteland again to check.
I saw that the wasteland was full of churned earth pits, scattered with dilapidated small coffins and straw mats. There were also tiny baby bones rolling around. Elder Zhao muttered, "Babies who died have been buried here for many years, and I think those poor ghosts are haunted. You got out unharmed, and that's a fluke. ”
Ma Shun also wanted to vent his anger for **, but was patted on the shoulder by Elder Zhao and comforted: "My apprentice is too hot-blooded, just don't take it to heart." ”
Since then, Ma Shun no longer dares to walk alone at night when he goes out, and he is still afraid every time he thinks of those children with empty eyes. The village elders said that after the embankment was built, many baby coffins were dug up in the wasteland, and strange things never happened again. Despite this, Ma Shun would rather travel long distances and rush home before dark.
Later, Ma Shun married a wife and had children, and the elder Zhao often came to the house to take care of him. Whenever the family is chatting, Ma Shun always has to pull the children to teach, and he is not allowed to play alone.
Did you know that something strange happened on the edge of the wasteland many years ago?If you meet those children who haven't grown up, all of them have gloomy eyes!”
The children laughed and teased the old man Ma Shun. Ma Shun also laughed, thinking that even if it was a little exaggerated, it was for their sake.
Ma Shun's eldest son also learned carpentry from Zhao when he grew up. Elder Zhao valued him very much and taught him many valuable carpentry secrets. Ma Shun's son was gifted and became an excellent carpenter.
One day, Ma Shun's son went out to work alone, caught up with a storm, and had to spend the night at a villager's house. The family had just given birth, and Ma Shun's son listened to the baby's crying at night, remembering the past that his father had said, and couldn't help but feel terrified. After dawn, Ma Shun's son hurriedly packed his bags and went home, and he didn't dare to stay out for three days.
Ma Shun's son has a good friend, a young talent in the village. Xiucai studied hard for three years, and finally raised people in high school, and was admired by the villagers. Ma Shun's son was envious and asked him to tell some reading stories several times.
One day, Xiucai asked Ma Shun's son to come to the school to talk about reading in detail. The two talked and laughed, and Xiucai sincerely persuaded him: "My friend, no matter how good the carpenter's skills are, it is not as noble as reading." Why don't you brace yourself up and read, I'm willing to guide you. ”
Ma Shun's son was thrilled after hearing this, and decided to change his career to study. The next day, Elder Zhao was shocked when he heard about it, but remembered that he was old, so he had to go.
Since then, Ma Shun's son has happily devoted himself to poetry and classics, and gradually has gained experience. The young people in the village came to ask him for advice, and Ma Shun's son often lectured at the village school. Ma Shun and his wife saw it in their eyes, and Elder Zhao was also quite pleased.
Year after year, Ma Shun's son finally passed the layers of imperial examinations and entered high school, and the villagers were all proud of him. Ma Shun is also sincerely happy for his son's achievements. Occasionally, the father and son climbed high and looked into the distance, Ma Shun couldn't help but sigh: "Back then, I was sleeping in the wasteland, and I encountered many strange and chaotic things, it was really unlucky!."”
Ma Shun's son laughed: "Father, I may not believe all the supernatural events you said!."But I deeply feel the hardships you had back then, which is why I studied so hard!”
Time flies, and Ma Shun and Elder Zhao have aged one after another. Ma Shun's son also married a wife and had children, and his children and grandchildren were around his knees. Many people in the village came to him to ask him to name their children.
One day, Ma Shun's son opened the "strange things in the wasteland" written down by his father in his spare time and savored it. Just as he could see the gods, his teenage son ran in and said excitedly, "Grandpa, we are playing hide and seek in the wasteland at the edge of the village, it's fun!"”
Ma Shun's son closed the book with a "snap" and said, "What are you running around!."Come back to me!His wife also stepped forward to coax: "The child hit by mistake, and I have to ask Elder Zhao to come forward to remind him." ”
Ma Shun's son realized that what his father said was not fiction. He asked his son to go to Elder Zhao to confess his mistake and apologize, and then he was relieved.
Later, Ma Shun's family moved to a city in a neighboring county, and gradually no one in the village remembered the strange things of the former wasteland. Ma Shun's son became a petty official in the city and had a smooth life.
Occasionally, when Ma Shun's son passed by the wilderness, he would also think of listening to his father's ghost stories when he was a child, and he couldn't help but wonder. He saw his father and ** standing side by side in a trance, waving and smiling at him.
Ma Shun's son's heart warmed, and the surrounding scenery became warmer: little raccoons frolicking in the grass, and distant mountains melting in the sky. Ma Shun's son thought to himself: "After all, I didn't sleep in the open air, and I haven't seen ghosts in the wasteland, so I'm really lucky." ”
He let out a long breath and walked away, at the end of the long road, back to the warmth of his home.