In Qizhou at the end of the Tang Dynasty, there was a woodcutter named Wang Erxi, who came from Wangjia Village. Due to the family's financial difficulties, his father died when he was only five years old, and since then, he and his mother Zhang have lived together. The hardships of life make them often suffer from the cynicism of others, and the ridicule of those people often echoes in Wang Erxi's ears.
Wang Erxi is a simple and kind person, he is taciturn and not good at expressing his emotions. Today, he is close to thirty years old, but there is still no girl willing to marry him. Looking at her son's predicament, his mother Zhang's heart was like a knife. She kept visiting the matchmaker, hoping to find a suitable partner for her son, but this made the matchmaker avoid her.
In an old Chinese proverb, there is a saying that is good"There are unpredictable circumstances in the sky, and people have good and bad luck"。That year, Wang Erxi's hometown was hit by a severe drought, and the rivers outside the village dried up, forcing the villagers to travel farther farther to fetch water in order to survive.
One morning, Wang Erxi woke up as usual, and without any extra words, he picked up two buckets and walked towards the big river outside the village. Because of the long distance, the mountain roads of that era were rugged, and when he returned home with two buckets of water, half an hour had passed. Just as he was about to get home, he suddenly heard his mother shouting loudly in the courtyard:"Come on! Help me! "
Wang Erxi's heart tightened, and he immediately put down the bucket and rushed into the house. He saw his mother sitting on the ground crying, with a wound on her calf, as if she had been bitten by something. He hurriedly picked up his mother and asked worriedly"Mother, what's wrong with you? What's going on? "Looking at his mother's wounds, his heart tightened, and he knew he had to find medical treatment for his mother as soon as possible.
Oops, my son, you're finally back! I was just about to go to the chicken coop to get some eggs, but a weasel suddenly rushed out of it and bit me, so painful that my tears almost fell. "Zhang looked at his son and complained helplessly.
When Wang Erxi heard his mother's words, his brows furrowed, and he hurriedly asked, "Mother, don't worry, that weasel is now in **?" I'm going to help you get revenge! ”
Zhang gently reminded: "You have to be careful, that weasel is still in the chicken coop." ”
After hearing this, Wang Erxi immediately picked up a wooden stick and rushed to the chicken coop without fear, determined to compete with the weasel.
When he arrived at the chicken coop, he did not hesitate, and immediately picked up a stick and stirred it inside. Soon, a piercing scream came from within. Suddenly, a red weasel sprang out of the hen's coop and jumped directly onto the roof. This weasel's eyes were full of **, and he stared at him viciously.
Then the weasel let out a shrill cry at him: "Boy, you are so bold to disturb me from eating, we are not finished!" As soon as the words fell, the weasel swooped and disappeared into the air.
Seeing this scene, Wang Erxi said nonchalantly: "Hmph, it turns out that it's just a weasel who has practiced!" I'm not afraid of you! Then he immediately returned to Zhang's side. He glanced at her wound, and his heart was full of guilt: "Mother, it's all my fault, if I hadn't gone out to fetch water at that time, you wouldn't have been hurt." ”
Child, how can I blame you for this? It was just an accident, and half a month's recuperation would be fine. "Zhang comforted softly. But Wang Erxi is a stubborn person, he thinks it is his fault, if he didn't go to carry water, Zhang wouldn't have been hurt. A flash of inspiration flashed through his mind: if a well was dug in the village, wouldn't the problem be solved? He excitedly ran to find the village chief.
After a while, he ran to the door of the village chief's house and shouted, "Village chief, I want to dig a well!" You find me a few people! The village chief was drinking tea in the house when he almost choked on this.
He said unhappily: "Erxi, are you crazy?" Do you know that I dug several places in the village and didn't find water? "Village Chief, you just don't care enough. As the saying goes, as long as the kung fu is deep, the iron pestle is sharpened into a needle. I'm sure I'll be able to dig up water, so help me find someone! Erxi did not give up, and said with a firm face.
In this way, the two men had a heated discussion, and in the end, the village chief agreed to give him a piece of land, but did not send him anyone to dig a well.
However, Wang Erxi has his own plans. Finding that the village chief had not sent manpower to help him dig the well, he decided to enlist the help of a few friends who had been playing since childhood. Immediately after finding them, he explained the whole thing in detail. To his surprise, his friend Li San responded with a smile after hearing it: "Erxi, this is a great thing!" In fact, we have wanted to dig the well for a long time, but no one has taken the lead. "That's great, let's start digging the well tomorrow." Wang Erxi said excitedly.
Wang Erxi ran home excitedly and told the Zhang family the good news. Zhang was taken aback when she heard this, she was not optimistic about this matter in her heart, and felt that it was almost impossible to succeed. However, she could see that the child was filial to herself, and her heart was full of emotion, so she agreed.
The next morning, after having breakfast, Wang Erxi immediately led a few friends, holding various well-digging tools, to the wasteland in the east of the village and began the hard digging work.
However, just as they were digging two feet deep, they suddenly came across red soil, which was supposed to be loess. The discovery surprised everyone. Zhang Fei, his friend, frowned, and a sense of foreboding surged in his heart. He immediately shouted: "Erxi, stop!" My grandfather once said that digging a well and encountering laterite is not a good sign. ”
When Wang Erxi heard this, he was very dissatisfied. They had worked hard for three days, and now how could they say stop? He said with a firm face: "Zhang Fei, don't believe those superstitious words. If we hold on a little longer, we might be out of the water. When they heard this, they thought it made sense. After all, no one wants to give up.
Two hours later, there was a sudden loud bang. Li San shouted in the pit: "Erxi, come down and take a look." A large stone slab appeared here, on which were also engraved with Sanskrit inscriptions. ”
After Wang Erxi heard this, he immediately jumped down and carefully examined the handwriting on the large stone slab. However, he also failed to discern the meaning of the words. At this time, he secretly said in his heart: This big stone slab may have an extraordinary origin, but in order for the villagers to have access to water as soon as possible, he can't care about it.
So, he rolled his eyes and shouted: "Brothers, stop thinking nonsense, it is estimated that this is just a useless stone tablet, so it will be buried in the earth." Let's smash it quickly, finding the water source is the most important thing! ”
After speaking, Wang Erxi picked up the sledgehammer and began to smash the stone slab violently. Seeing this, his friends also dispelled the doubts in their hearts, and they all picked up the hammers and joined the ranks of smashing the stone slabs. About half an hour later, suddenly a golden light flashed, and with a loud bang, the large stone slab instantly turned into pieces. When Wang Erxi saw this, he was overjoyed in his heart, and hurriedly moved these pieces away with everyone.
At that moment, the ground suddenly cracked, revealing a bottomless dark hole, which shocked everyone. Immediately afterwards, Wang Erxi lit the torch and leaned into the cave. When the firelight illuminated the scene in the cave, everyone gasped and saw a big green snake with a length of 5 zhang lying in the cave, its eyes closed, as if it was sleeping.
Zhang Fei's face turned pale, and he said in a trembling voice: "I knew that coming to the Red Clay Land this time would not be so simple, but I didn't expect to meet a monster." Wang Erxi was speechless and returned home with a heavy heart.
Surprisingly, that night, Wang Erxi had an unbelievable dream. In the dream, he heard a voice calling his name, so he followed the sound to the well that he had dug during the day. When the sound disappeared, suddenly a golden light streaked across the sky, and a 5-zhang long green snake appeared in front of him. Amazingly, the green snake instantly turned into a woman about 20 years old, staring at him with a smile.
Hearing this, Wang Erxi's face turned pale with fright, took a few steps back, and asked loudly, "Who are you?" Why did you summon me here? ”
When the woman heard this, she covered her mouth and chuckled, and then said: "Don't be afraid, Childe, I am a snake immortal who has cultivated for thousands of years, and eight hundred years ago, I encountered a strange monk. He tried to take me as a pet, but I naturally didn't obey him, and fought with him, but due to lack of mana, I was defeated and sealed here by him. Today, fortunately, I was rescued by my son, and I was able to be freed. In order to repay the kindness of the son, I have good news to tell you: if the son digs down a zhang, there will be a sweet spring gushing out. However, I see that Gongzi seems to have a disaster recently, and I hope that Gongzi will quickly buy a goose that is more than ten years old, and put it under the bed at night to ensure safety. Remember, remember! ”
With that, the woman in green turned into a white light and disappeared without a trace in an instant.
Wang Erxi suddenly screamed and woke up from his dream. He opened his eyes and saw Zhang sitting worriedly on the side. He felt something was wrong, so he asked, "Mother, why are you here?" Zhang replied, "You just shouted loudly, and I rushed over when I heard it." Wang Erxi suddenly blushed, scratched his head in embarrassment, and told Zhang's experience in the dream.
After listening to his narration, Zhang was stunned. After thinking for a while, she said solemnly: "Erxi, this kind of thing would rather be believed than not. Well, I'll go find the 10-year-old goose, and you continue to dig a well with your friends. Let's go our separate ways. With that, she immediately went to the town to look for the goose.
Wang Erxi didn't think much about it, didn't say a word, turned around and went out to find a friend to gather.
When he and a few friends visited the bottom of the well again, the giant cyan snake suddenly disappeared without a trace, much to the consternation of everyone. Recalling the entrustment of the green snake, Wang Erxi encouraged everyone to continue digging. Five hours later, a loud bang was heard, and a clear spring gushed out of the ground, which quickly spread out in all directions.
Seeing this scene, they were overjoyed and couldn't wait to climb out of the well, excitedly sharing the good news with everyone in the village. When the villagers first heard about it, they were all skeptical, but when they witnessed the miracle of the well, they shouted one after another. When the village chief heard the news, he rushed to Wang Erxi approvingly and said, "Erxi, you are really a big hero of our village!" If you have any problems in the future, come to me. ”
Subsequently, the village chief immediately organized the villagers to repair the well.
On the night of three days later, Wang Erxi completed the instructions of the green snake and fed the goose hidden under the bed, and then fell asleep with peace of mind. However, at the third watch, a loud noise woke him up. The wind howled outside, and the door slammed open.
He sat up in horror, and when he looked up, he saw a red-haired weasel slowly entering the house. The weasel looked at ** and coldly threatened: "Boy, you used to be rude to this immortal, but now I have greatly increased my mana, and I am here for revenge." Are you ready to die? ”
After Wang Erxi heard this, his back was cold, but he had an unyielding stubbornness in his bones, and responded loudly: "Hmph, you are just a big mouse." If you have the ability, you will come and kill me, and in eighteen years I will be a good man again. ”
When the weasel heard this, he immediately became furious and shouted: "Boy, you are so stubborn, suffer death!" As soon as the words fell, the weasel opened its bloody mouth and pounced on Wang Erxi.
Just when it was critical, the goose under the bed suddenly let out a loud chirp, spread its wings and rushed towards the weasel, pecking violently. The weasel's screams intensified, and finally he lay on the ground, motionless. The big stone in Wang Erxi's heart fell to the ground, and he couldn't help but sigh: "It seems that good deeds will be rewarded." ”
The matter was supposed to end there, but it was unexpected. Since that day, Wang Erxi has dreamed every night that the green snake woman is drinking and having fun with him, which makes him distressed.
On that night 30 days ago, Wang Erxi sat alone in the room, his eyes fell on a painting in front of him, and he whispered a little confused: "Green Snake Girl, what I long for is not only to meet in my dreams, if you become my partner, what a wonderful miracle it will be." As soon as the words fell, suddenly, a golden light flashed in the air. In the blink of an eye, a beautiful woman about twenty years old appeared in front of him.
The woman walked up to Wang Erxi lightly, gently stroked his cheek, and said with a smile: "Husband, I'm here." When Wang Erxi heard this voice, he immediately hugged the woman tightly, bursting into tears and full of emotion.
Folktales