In Zhongle Village, west of Anyang County, there is a thick and tall old locust tree, which everyone knows is a fairy tree. The reason why this old locust tree is regarded as a fairy tree is because it contains a touching story.
Once upon a time, Zhongle Village was a small and barren village, and the villagers lived a hard life. There is a family of three in the village, and three generations of grandparents depend on each other. The grandfather is old, the grandson is young, and only the middle-aged person bears the burden of the family. However, the year is not good, life is difficult, and they often eat the last meal without the next.
When spring comes, strings of golden locust rice are produced on the old locust trees. On this day, the middle-aged man wandered around the street, worried that he had no food to eat, and suddenly looked up and saw the strings of locust rice on the tree, so he wanted to pick a few strings of locust rice on the locust tree to satisfy his hunger. But everyone in the village knows that this locust tree has a fairy spirit, and when he picks it, the people in the village will definitely scold his eighteenth generation ancestor. So he made up his mind, and went home and slept soundly. In the evening, he picked up an axe and secretly climbed to the locust tree, spotted a branch with a lot of locust rice, grabbed the axe and cut down one.
He picked up the branch and ran home, only to run to the door of the house, I don't know why, it was dark in front of him, and he fell with a "plop", and his grandfather and grandson also became seriously ill that night. The people in the village began to talk about it, thinking that the old locust tree was angry and punished the middle-aged man's behavior.
The next morning, a fortune teller came to his house, and the fortune teller came into the house and said to the middle-aged man, "I can cure your whole family, but if I ask you something, you need to tell the truth." I ask you, did you go to the old locust tree last night to cut down branches? The middle-aged man said with a sad face, "Yes." I won't dare again. The fortune teller said, "Go and put the branches back on the tree." Kowtow again, and your family will be well. His father agreed, and in a blink of an eye, the fortune teller was gone. There was a lot of silver on the house, he knew that it was Huaixian who was helping him, as soon as the morning dawned, he endured the pain, put the branch on the old locust tree, and then pulled his grandfather and grandson, bought incense and paper money, and respectfully kowtowed to the old locust tree. After returning home, their grandfather's illness was indeed cured.
From then on, he vowed not to steal again, and with the money given by the fortune teller, he bought land, built a house, and lived a happy life. He knew that all this was a gift from the old locust tree, so he often brought his family to the tree to give thanksgiving and worship.
With the passage of time, the days of Zhongle Village have gotten better and better. The villagers are grateful for the protection of the old locust tree, and every year they will come to the tree to burn incense and kowtow to pray for peace and a good harvest. The fame of the old locust tree has also spread throughout the surrounding villages, and many people come here to pay their respects to it.
Today, Zhongle Village has become a rich and harmonious village. The old locust tree is still standing, witnessing the changes of this village and the gratitude of the people. And the middle-aged man and his descendants have always remembered the kindness of the old locust tree and inherited this touching story.