What exactly is Yellow Tail’s business? He kept it secret and asked everyone to wait for news from him.
You can wait for the news, but your belly can’t wait.
The other ghosts were selling their characters and their strength, while Li Changan picked up a long flag and went around the streets selling talismans. I thought to myself, with Qian Tang’s style, wouldn’t it be possible to achieve great things in the vast world?
Ever since.
One day at Zhongmiaofang Pier.
Cars, boats, and pedestrians are just like the mighty water of the river that never stops for a day.
Er.
Beep, beep~ A group of government officials rushed in with bamboo whistles, like a big stone hitting the river, creating a chaotic wave.
"Quick! Don't let that guy run away again!"
"Damn that fake nose, Grandpa caught him and had to skin him!"
The storm came and went again, leaving Li Changan alone with his head tilted up and watching their backs, his eyes full of melancholy.
"Dao Ren Li." The stall owner selling steamed buns next to him asked angrily, "Is it you who sold fake charms to attract officials again?"
Li Changan glanced at him.
"It's not your fault that you're blind, but it's your fault that you're full of farts. How has Pindao ever sold fake charms?"
The vendors doing business around him burst out laughing happily.
"A bull's-head but a tough-tongued mouth?"
"Your yellow talisman doesn't even have a stamp, and you're saying it's not a fake talisman?"
"The official doesn't arrest others, but he only chases you away?"
Amid the commotion, the bun seller pulled off the yellow talisman attached to the stall and showed it to the Taoist priest.
"Look clearly. I just asked for the 'Wealth Talisman' at Zhongmiao Temple last month. Did you see the cinnabar red seal on the head of the talisman? This is a serious talisman!"
Of course Li Changan saw it clearly. Not only could he clearly see the Taoist talisman officially certified by the Monk Temple, but he could also clearly see a line of large characters scrawled on the yellow talisman: The general is here.
This is clearly another corpse-suppressing talisman! As a bun seller, you stick to this thing every day. What? Could the stuffing of your buns be fake?
Our local colleagues are really... Li Changan hesitated to speak, and finally said in dismay, his interest waning:
"steamed stuffed bun."
The bun seller won the victory, smiled crazily, and carefully put up the yellow charm: "What kind of stuffing?"
"It's food."
"Eight articles."
"What the donkey said! The price of Dogecoin has increased again."
"You talk like a donkey but don't talk like a dog. Are you a monk? This is the price of a fart bun, why don't you buy it?!"
Yes, half a day’s hard work has filled my belly.
Li Changan muttered and took out his belongings. The bun seller glanced at it and opened the steamer with a smile. The big white buns were steaming with cinnabar moles on top.
"Taoist, Taoist!"
There was a shout from afar, and when Li Changan saw it, he saw that it was the youngest among the country men, named Dahan, who had been following Huang Wei for the past few days. Since he came to look for himself, could it be...
"Brother Huang asked me to tell you that it's done and I want you to go and have a meal."
Li Changan turned around and saw that the stall owner had already picked out the big cinnabar buns.
"Qiwen?"
"Pooh!"
…
The place to eat was in a wealthy family's Deshufang in the west of the city. From a distance, you can see that the lintel of his house is hung with white flags, white cloth, and white lanterns. The Chinese character "Dian" made of silk cloth is particularly conspicuous. Dozens of running water mats are placed from the courtyard to the street.
Huang Wei and other ghosts had occupied a table early, and came to greet them from afar.
The Taoist priest and Dahan went over and sat down.
"Business……"
"Don't worry, eat first."
Li Changan followed the good example and picked up the chopsticks, but frowned.
The food on the table was completely opposite to the ostentation.
There were eight dishes, mostly vegetarian but not meat. Only a three-piece set of chicken, duck and fish was placed on a white porcelain plate with silver thread and auspicious clouds in the middle of the table. Steamed river fish, sauce-roasted chicken, and white teal duck are all bright in color, plump and delicious, making people drool.
The big guy was the most greedy. He looked straight at him, and the fellow villager twisted his thigh and whispered: "The Taoist priest and the others didn't even use their chopsticks. You should quickly hold back your greedy water."
He raised his eyes and saw that, sure enough, Li Changan, Huang Wei, the old shopkeeper, and the scholars all had chopsticks that were about to turn over, but they didn't even touch the chicken, duck or fish.
But he was really greedy and thought to himself: If they don't want to eat, can't I eat too?
It happened that the host came out to distribute drinks and talk about the scene.
Everyone's attention was drawn to it, and he couldn't bear it anymore. He reached out his chopsticks towards the fish's tail. Without thinking, he hesitated to prick it.
At this time. After the host finished speaking, he felt anxious and put the whole fish into the bowl. He ignored it and took a bite of it.
Karma~
Fish are tougher than teeth!
He immediately covered his cheeks and screamed, and the fish landed straight on the table, making an "empty" sound. There was a huge tooth mark on the fish's body, revealing the color of the wood inside that was soaked in soup.
Eyes from all directions were directed at him, and Huang Wei hurriedly stood up, bending down and apologizing.
Li Changan suppressed his laughter, took the fish back to the plate, turned it over to hide the tooth marks, and whispered:
"You are really stupid! This is called 'looking at the food'. The fish is carved from wood; the chicken is made from clay. You can only look at it, but you can't eat it."
Dahan heard this and looked around.
There were chickens, ducks and fish on the table, but no one touched the chicken, duck and fish on the table. Some people pointed at him and laughed at him. They were laughing at him for being a country bumpkin!
He was in pain, ashamed and annoyed, and said gloomily: "If you can't eat it, why put it on the table?"
"For the sake of face."
"Everyone knows it's fake, so what kind of face do you have?"
Huangwei gave him a piece of tofu. Although it wasn't meat, it was still full of fat.
Meaningful:
"If fakeness is not face, then where will our business come from?"
…
After eating, it is time to carry the coffin and bury.
The ghosts sneaked into the funeral procession.
Li Chang'an was tall and handsome, and got the job of holding the long banner at the front of the team; Huang Tail was awake, and he hid in mourning among his filial sons and grandsons, wearing sackcloth and mourning. Of the hundred or so people in the team, he was the one who howled the most sincerely.
Just like that, beating, advocating, crying, and throwing paper money all the way, we walked through the market, out of the city gate, and arrived at a hill near the lake in the western suburbs.
The scenery here is open and green.
The Taoist priest concluded at a glance that it was a geomantic treasure land for burials. It was not because he knew anything about the art of keeping people buried, but because he saw many luxurious tombs along the way.
Where rich and dead people gather together, the feng shui is probably good.
then.
It's a long set of ritual steps.
Offer sacrifices to gods, clean tombs, place town objects, distribute gold for burials, place ghost vessels, build tombs and seal mounds...
After a whole set of procedures was completed, the sky and people became dizzy.
The Taoist priest yawned and took the wages from his master. He followed the flow of people and walked back to the city. Huangwei quickly grabbed him, dumbfounded: "Where are you going, Taoist priest? Our business has just begun!"
"What kind of business is this?"
"There's no rush. We'll find out later."
Huang Wei’s secret will never be revealed until the last moment.
The crowd in front of the grave dispersed.
He dug out a bundle of pickaxes, shovels and other tools like a treasure, stuffed a handful into Yigui's hand, and then looked at the new grave with a fierce look in his eyes.
"Brothers, it's time for us to get rich today!"
The Taoist priests were stunned, the country men were dumbfounded, the old salesman threw away his pickaxe in a fit of excitement, but the scholars gripped their shovels tightly and looked at the yellow-tailed Tianling Gai eager to try.
This yellow-haired old ghost has been talking about making a fortune for several days, but is he robbing tombs? !
…
After all the chicken and dog jumping.
"Are we that kind of people?!"
Huangwei covered his head and cried out.
"They don't believe me, Taoist Master, you have to... put the talisman away first."
Huang Wei finally understood the disadvantages of showing off, patted the grass clippings and mud on his body, shook his head and explained:
"The most important thing in life is life and death. We, the Tang Dynasty people, love face and pomp the most. To put it bluntly, we would rather be ragged on the inside than glamorous on the outside. Especially for funerals, the most important thing is to be grand and extravagant, and the coffin and coffin are the most important. , ghost weapons, propaganda, banquets, etc., everything is indispensable. If you make any mistakes, not only will you be laughed at, but you will also be poked in the spine behind your back, saying you are unworthy. But these expenses are only a small part of the cost, the big part is... …”
He stabbed the grave with a big thorn and patted the tombstone.
"land!"
"This family made their fortune by sea trade, and they were once considered a well-known and wealthy family in the city. Unfortunately, the passing of time has been unfavorable. In recent years, the ships have either encountered shipwrecks or been robbed. This year, the owner of the family wants to make a comeback. , gambled on luck, borrowed money to raise three ships of goods, and just went to sea, he ran into pirates. Fortunately for this man, he was so angry that he lost everything. Poor family, in order to pay off the debt, everything they could sell was sold, leaving nothing ancestral home.”
"Even setting up a running water table, you have to rely on 'looking at the food' to keep up appearances. You think, in such a situation, how can I afford to sleep in such a Feng Shui treasure cave?"
Huang Wei sneered.
"This treasure cave is rented!"
"Not only this place, but also the tomb bricks, coffins, and artifacts... they are all rented to keep up appearances."
"And our business is based on this. They gain face and we gain money. It's just like 'looking at the food', it's called 'looking at the funeral'!"
"If you don't believe it."
Huang Wei pointed to a few donkey carts left behind after the crowd left beside the grave.
"The shopkeepers from the brick and stone shop, the coffin shop, and the underworld shop are still waiting at the foot of the mountain, waiting for us to return the rented things to their original owners."
All the ghosts looked at each other in confusion, thinking that this business sounded too ridiculous, but Huang Wei was so sure of his words that in the end they had no choice but to follow Huang Wei in dismantling the new grave.
"Those are fine green bricks, be careful when prying them!"
"The underworld weapon is light? The paint on the wood makes it light."
"The shroud was also taken off. The gold and silk noodles were also rented."
"Dentures... Oops! The teeth are your own, so put them back quickly!"
Not long after.
The deceased was invited into a brand new thin wooden coffin, and his luxurious mansion had been torn into pieces and filled with donkey carts.
Huang Wei called on the other ghosts to help him drive down the mountain. As expected, a group of shopkeepers and waiters were waiting at the foot of the mountain. The two sides murmured for a while, then the other side took the donkey cart and left, while Huang Tail returned to the cemetery with great satisfaction.
The sun was setting in the west, and the setting sun seemed to have painted every yellow hair on his body with a layer of golden paint.
Everyone looked at him expectantly.
"How much did you make?"
Huangwei Shishiran: "I don't want a single copper plate!"
What? !
The ghosts were in an uproar.
Huang Wei laughed loudly: "Look, none of you are good at doing business! What matters in doing business is a person who can win people's trust and have a steady flow of water. Our trip today is to set an example and establish a good relationship. From now on, it will be natural It's a matter of course, and according to Qian Tang's rules, the accounts will be settled at the same time at the end of the month!"
He patted the thin wooden coffin again.
"alright!"
"It's time to send this guest to where he belongs."
…………
To the west, the sun has gathered its last bit of light; to the east, the lone moon shines high on the grass.
The dead are carrying the dead, and their statues appear one after another under the moon.
If he were caught by someone, he would probably be scared to death on the spot. There are even rumors that there are ten ghosts carrying coffins at night in the suburbs of Qiantang. If they meet on the left side of the road, they will be taken by the ghosts to carry the coffins in their place.
It adds another absurd tone to Qian Tang's rural slang.
Fortunately, in this desolate wilderness, there are no people in the vast night, only ghosts - wild ghosts lurking in the grass cages, woods, ravines and other dark places to peek.
Li Changan had discovered them a long time ago and knew why they came.
A fresh and intact body in a coffin.
The world is a sea of suffering, and the body is a boat. For the ghosts, a intact and still-viable corpse can not only be used to escape the wind and rain, but can also be used to bring the corpse back to the living person's home to obtain some blood food, incense and candles as offerings to comfort the hungry and cold.
"Taoist priest?"
"Stay away."
The ghosts quickly got into the coffin.
Li Chang'an held the yellow talisman high and gave an order. The talisman's fire ignited and burst out with dazzling golden light, like a new sun rising slowly in the wilderness. Under the exposure of the golden light, all the monsters and demons were exposed.
"If you dare to cause trouble, your soul will be driven to pieces!!!"
The sound of scolding was accompanied by the strong wind.
When the yellow tail emerged from the cracks in the coffin, I saw that with the coffin as the center, tall grass as tall as a person fell outwards. As far as I could see, the wilderness became flat, open, and clean. What? nor.
A smile suddenly broke out on Huang Tail Mao's face: "I always thought that you, Taoist Priest, had a complete truth! Now look at it, could it be that you are still a god descending to earth?"
"If you don't flatter me, no one will think you are dumb."
Li Changan greeted everyone and quickly carried the coffin and continued walking. It would be late at night and the cold wind would make it even more uncomfortable.
Then he went all the way to the middle of the moon.
Finally we arrived at our destination - a deserted depression at the foot of a mountain.
This place is not as beautiful as the previous cemetery. Looking around, there are thorns, wormwood, trees, and strange rocks. The wind is cold and the moon is full of smoke. At first glance, it looks like the set of an old-fashioned horror movie that Li Changan watched when he was a child. If you put a hoe down, half a zombie can jump out.
"What the hell place?"
"The more glamorous the face, the uglier the inside will be. Otherwise, how can we make money?"
Huang Wei didn't care, he chose a "treasure place" facing north and south, and invited everyone to help the guests settle down.
The soil here is thin, the grass roots are deep, and there are many rocks. It is very laborious to dig a hole.
Li Changan never expected that he could escape from the pier's baggage resistance, but could not escape from digging holes in the wild. Could it be that he was born to be a coolie?
He suddenly thought of the wild ghost he met on the road, and took the time to ask:
"I thought Qian Tang's ghosts were all working as cows and horses in the city. Why are there so many... well, traditional lonely ghosts in the suburbs?"
Huangwei replied: "There are unruly people who disobey the king among the living, and of course there are unruly ghosts among the dead who disobey the discipline."
He stood up straight and pointed around.
"This mountain is called Feilai Mountain. All the ghosts and ghosts in Qiantang who do not obey the rules and have made mistakes and have been expelled gather in Feilai Mountain. The local people and ghosts usually dare not approach this area, so I bought it. We decided to use this land as a real coffin burial ground. Since we have made money by relying on other people’s reputation, why don’t we help them hide it?”
As he spoke, he dug out the last shovelful of soil.
Huang Wei called and put the coffin into the pit, and now it was necessary to bury the coffin and seal the mound. The ghosts hesitated for a moment. There were many steps in the previous burial, but how could there be nothing at all when they were buried here? Everyone is dead, isn’t it too perfunctory?
"That's right." Huang Wei nodded pretendingly and came closer to Li Changan, "I have to trouble the Taoist priest again."
Taoist priest: "What?"
Huangwei said seriously: "Write two talismans. One to exorcise ghosts on the coffin to prevent the lonely ghosts in the mountains from causing trouble; one to write on the forehead of the corpse to prevent him from pretending to be a corpse and come out in the middle of the night to scare people."
The Taoist priest was speechless.
"I think I need to write another one and stick it to your heart to cure the bad things inside."
"The Taoist priest really knows how to joke."
The Taoist priest rolled his eyes at him and spread his hands: "Stop being a good boy and take out your things."
"What?"
"No charge!"
"Hehe! The Taoist priest is so generous!" Huangwei immediately changed his face and brought out the incense candle tribute and a roll of white silk as a gift.
Taoist priest: "Buying land coupons? Silk cloth? Is this enough?"
"Enough, enough!" He nodded repeatedly, "Any more and you will lose money!"
Having nothing to say anymore, the Taoist priest picked a big stone as a tribute table.
"The local city god... what is the name of Feilai Mountain God?"
"Wannianjun."
The Taoist priest nodded, placed the tributes, and lit incense candles.
Bow down again and again.
My thoughts slowly escape into the void with the incense.
In the dark, I saw a figure in simple clothes nodding gently on the towering mountain in the night.
The Taoist priest understood that this meant that the mountain god had received the incense and given spiritual responses.
He then spread out Bai Juan and wrote "land purchase coupon" with a pen.
The so-called "land coupon" is actually a part of the funeral ceremony. It is a contract between the deceased and the gods of the underworld and the earth. It has been widely circulated and has mixed contents, but the content is generally about suppressing ghosts and gods and protecting the souls of the dead, as written by Li Changan :
"Taoist Li Xuanxiao informs the Empress Dowager and the Tomb God Tubo and the Ten Thousand Years King that a certain person who died in the Tang Dynasty bought a treasure cave at the foot of Feilai Mountain for a house. It is worth ten thousand, and the money will be paid immediately. The certificate is clear, so the four corners are set up. The boundary is sealed to the nine heavens and the nine underground. The evil spirits, evil spirits, ghosts and monsters cannot be invaded. If there are any offenders, they will be sent to the underworld immediately. The souls of the dead return to the wormwood, and their souls are not allowed to be labored. During the twelfth lunar month, they must not be blocked from going up and down, so that they can Receive good food, protect your children and grandchildren, and nourish your hometown. Just like the laws and regulations."
Write it in one breath.
Put it in the coffin in an orderly manner.
Then fill with loess.
The business is finally done.
