I put the coins and food stamps aside and started reading the letters. If these are letters sent to Uncle Zhang by others, there is no reason for him not to open them. Is it because he is illiterate? But even so, it is enough to open it and ask someone who knows the alphabet to help read it. So I noticed the address on the envelope, and then I discovered that these letters were all written by Uncle Zhang and addressed to the same person. Judging from the postmarks, these letters had been sent out, but were returned.
In those days, if the two parties did not meet often, letters were the main method of contact. However, if a sent letter was returned, there were only two reasons, either the address was wrong, or the person was not found.
These letters from Uncle Zhang are all sent to Zhang Chunsheng of a certain military region, a certain army, a certain company and a certain platoon. This Zhang Chunsheng should be what everyone calls Uncle Zhang's son who no one has ever seen. If a person has changed his address because he moved, it may be possible that he cannot be found. However, even if the address of the army is wrong the first time, it can be verified by asking.
In this way, it seems that all the clues currently grasped are connected in series at this moment. The rifle revealed in the water bowl exactly corresponds to the attributes of the army. The address of a certain company and platoon indicates that this "Zhang Chunsheng" is just a soldier and not an officer. In those days, the standard weapon for soldiers was a rifle. However, the letter was returned, apparently not because the address was wrong, but because the person was not found.
Damao asked me, do you need to open these letters and read them? The reason why Da Mao asked this was because he felt that although things had made great progress at this point, the details were still vague. Especially the reason why Uncle Zhang stayed was because of the pile of returned letters? If you think about it, a person writes a letter to his son, just hoping that his son will reply and report that he is safe, or at least have news. There is no news about his son, and the death of the old man naturally makes him feel uneasy. So I said to Da Mao, I will open the letter now and take a look at it. You can help me watch the movements of ghosts in the Tianmu Seal. If I open the letter and make him unhappy, then we will burn the letter to the old man. This matter can be regarded as it's over.
Da Mao nodded and looked at the seals formed on his hands. I slowly tore open the letters according to the date on the postmark, starting from the earliest one. While looking at Da Mao, Da Mao told me, feel free to open it. The ghost of the old man seemed to be very calm, even calmer than before. Then I realized that Uncle Zhang was actually giving us guidance by hanging around the bedside, hoping that we would find the letter and read it, so that his story and wishes could be known to us.
The earliest letter has a worn cover and is dated 1946. At that time, I was only 3 years old. It took me a long time to read these ten letters. During this time, I didn't even notice that Da Mao and Uncle Ma had another quarrel. After reading it, I finally understood everything.
This man named "Zhang Chunsheng" is Uncle Zhang's son. In 1944, he lied about his age and joined the army without telling his family. Uncle Zhang did not live in the current place at that time, but when he woke up, he found that his son was missing, so he looked around for him. Because I have a disability, it is very difficult to communicate with others. I finally found out from the people on the pier that the child had left by boat from the pier a few days ago with a group of new recruits. When I got the news, it was already four days later.
At that time, the city of Chongqing was still under the rule of the national army, which meant that the army that Zhang Chunsheng joined was not the army that currently governs the country. Moreover, Uncle Zhang himself was also a soldier, so he knew that even if he found his son at this moment, he would not be able to let him go home again, because that was called a deserter and he would be shot. Two years after his son joined the army, he found out about his son's army from people in his former army.
So Uncle Zhang started to write letters to his child, but they were all returned because there was no one named "Zhang Chunsheng" in the army. So Uncle Zhang thought to himself that since the child lied about his age when he joined the army, it is very likely that even his name is It's fake. I don't know which name he used, so naturally I can't find it. But he still insisted on writing letters to his children from time to time, hoping that if his son saw a letter addressed to "Zhang Chunsheng" one day, he would know that it was him who wrote to him.
The last letter was written in March 1950. There were no more letters after that, because if Zhang Chunsheng had not defected to the enemy or died in battle, this unit would have been nowhere to be found from this point on. From that time on, Uncle Zhang sat on the dock every day and waited, because the war was over and his son was not an officer, so it was time to retire from the army. He had no other place to go, so he might return to his hometown. Uncle Zhang found a job as a handyman at the dock to support himself. After work every day, he would sit on the dock regardless of rain or shine, waiting for the last boat to dock, looking forward to the day when his son would leave the dock. When he came back, he dressed himself up, hoping that when his son saw him, he would still look the same as before, just a little older. However, this sitting lasted for more than ten years.
After reading the letter, I can't describe the feeling in my heart. It's a pity. After all, even if I knew the whole story, I couldn't help Uncle Zhang contact his son. After all, I don't know whether Zhang Chunsheng died in the battle, was captured, or retreated to Taiwan with the National Army. .
Apart from asking for rice using the water bowl round light technique, I have no other way to communicate with the souls of the dead, and asking for rice can only give me the choice to ask and answer questions to them. Da Mao can only see and communicate with the dead souls with the cooperation of the other party. If I were to perform the ritual of salvation and burn the letter to Uncle Zhang now, although I am confident that I could send him safely on his way, it would ultimately be a huge regret for Uncle Zhang. He chose to stay after his death just to find his son. If I sent him away, his obsession would not be eliminated after all.
So I decided to ask Mi again. I asked the soul of Uncle Zhang. If you are willing to follow me first, I will keep your letter for the time being. In the future, I will find out the whereabouts of Zhang Chunsheng for you no matter what, whether he is alive or dead. I will give you an explanation before your spirit. If you like, three of the seven meters will sink, four will float, and then one will float.
This time I asked twice before I received a response. It was obvious that Uncle Zhang was very hesitant about the choice I gave. But he knew that he was dead after all, and even if he really waited for his son, it would just be a sacrifice in front of the grave. Accepting my choice was nothing more than a matter of time.
So after asking for rice for the second time, Uncle Zhang agreed. I walked outside the house and told Uncle Ma and Da Mao what I learned about the situation. The two quarrelsome people agreed that this was the best way. I asked Uncle Ma to run over and tell the aunties that we are now going to perform the final ritual for Uncle Zhang. Uncle Zhang was well taken care of by the neighbors during his lifetime, and now he has to really say goodbye. If you can come and say goodbye, He will also be very happy for a ride.
However, all the neighbors came, and there were many people standing outside the small house. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, I began to lower my banners and perform the ritual of salvation for Uncle Zhang. The neighbors probably all heard from Uncle Ma the reason why Uncle Zhang stayed, and they all said that they would try their best to help find out the whereabouts of Zhang Chunsheng. So when I gave him salvation, he seemed particularly gentle, and even though he was filled with regrets, he felt relieved.
After the ritual was over, I wrote my address to the neighbors and told everyone that I would try my best to ask my friends in the world to inquire. I will take this letter away for now. If you have any news about Zhang Chunsheng, please tell me. Please send me a letter at this address.
When Uncle Ma saw that I had handled this matter, the stone in his heart fell to the ground. He asked me how much remuneration you need. I thought about it and said, then ten thousand yuan. Uncle Ma was taken aback and was so frightened that he didn't speak for a long time. I laughed and said, just give me the 10,000 yuan in French currency that Uncle Zhang gave you as a reward. This money was given to you when he was a ghost. If I find Zhang Chunsheng in the future, this money can also help me build a bridge and act as a medium.
Just when I was about to say goodbye, I found that Da Mao had already become famous among those aunts. Everyone praises him for being cute and sensible, and says that he has such good skills at such a young age. Hum, I am the master who performs the salvation ritual for Uncle Zhang, okay? You only praise him but not me, and you are not doing anything. Wrong.
From that day on, Da Mao became a very important friend of mine. He is still young. Although he has learned different techniques, if he is asked to exorcise evil spirits and catch ghosts, he is indeed a little behind in all aspects. From that day on, he and I became more and more familiar and became good friends.
This incident was just like what Master said. Although the ending was not perfect, it made me feel the return of my confidence and realize that human feelings are so simple. , it’s so pure. Originally, Uncle Ma didn't have to go through such a big detour to complete this matter. He only needed to solve the problem, but he agreed with my approach from beginning to end. This uncle with a disgusting face could not quarrel with a child like Da Mao. Still looks so cute. There are also those kind-hearted neighbors, each of whom is silently helping an old man who actually has no need to help him.
This moved me and made me feel that helping others, whether alive or dead, is so joyful.
After I got home, I told Master the whole story. Master praised my handling of the matter very well and promised that he would also ask someone to help find out more about it. And in May 1966, we finally got the news. It turns out that Zhang Chunsheng did join the army under a false name, saved his life on the battlefield, and became a prisoner. Later, after ideological enlightenment, he took refuge in the light. Now he is serving as a propaganda officer for ideological construction in a military region. When I wrote to him to tell him the news of his father's death, he said that he would return to his hometown as soon as possible to pay homage. As an outsider, I naturally couldn't say more, so he could leave it to him.
However, I did not burn those letters to Uncle Zhang, but gave them to Zhang Chunsheng for safekeeping. And I only kept those few food stamps and the French currency that could no longer be used.
After this matter was resolved, the story of Da Mao and me gradually spread among the neighbors in Wanglongmen. At first, people began to hear that there was such a young master who was capable and willing to help. Gradually more and more people came to the master's home.
After I helped them solve some big or small problems one after another, my skills began to become more and more mature. I still have the habit of reviewing the experience with my master every time I complete an order. Master's guidance and corrections are getting less and less, which means that I am becoming more and more like him.
However, such seemingly glorious days suddenly changed dramatically in September 1966.
