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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 17 Resentment
The two of them kept saying some words of repentance, and I shouted at Aunt and Second Aunt: Where have you been all this time? Now you’re scared? Get out!
From the mouths of Aunt, Second Aunt, and Second Sister, I learned some things about Father and Three Aunts and the eldest sister.
Father has three younger sisters, and he is the eldest. Grandfather passed away early. As the saying goes, Eldest Brother Is Like a Father. Being the oldest in the family, he should bear the burden of the family. Father is nine years older than his oldest sister, so when the three sisters were still infants, Father began to work hard.
In those days, there weren't as many ways to make money as there are now. Father usually went to the railway side before dawn to pick up coal dust that fell from the coal-carrying Train after it passed the platform. He would then exchange it for some potatoes and wild vegetables at the Production Team, so that the family could have breakfast. After breakfast, Father had to go to work in the fields for the Production Team. After a long day of labor, he earned work points and received food rations, which allowed his aunts to have meals when he returned in the afternoon. In the evening, he would go to the Stone Yard to carry a Hammer and break stones to earn more work points to support his three sisters.
Later, Three Aunts got married one after another, and my Father also married my Mother. The family's situation improved slightly. Father was very smart; he was good at math and worked cleverly. Soon after, Father was elected as the Accountant of the Village, and their living conditions gradually improved.
At this time, however, Three Aunts were living in dire straits, often going without meals. Their home was extremely poor, with only a few benches and tables, a broken bed, and they borrowed even the most basic necessities from Father. Days passed like this, but slowly life improved for the three sisters, which made Father feel very gratified.
Due to his hard labor in youth, by his old age, Father suffered from numerous ailments: rheumatism, bone hyperplasia, and Diabetes, making him largely unable to care for himself. To pay for his medical treatment, the family spent all their savings, yet his condition did not improve.
My brother and I worked outside to earn money to support the entire family, so we entrusted the responsibility of caring for Father to my eldest sister Second Sister, along with Three Aunts, who all stayed in our hometown. Second Sister, Aunt, and Second Aunt were quite good; they often sent money and nutritional supplements to Father, taking care of his daily needs.
However, Three Aunts were quite calculating. When she got married during a difficult time for Father, her dowry was less than that of her other two aunts, which made her feel extremely unbalanced inside. She had a petty mindset and a narrow view. Her family was originally poor; seeing that Father could not earn money, she disregarded his suffering on his sickbed and mocked him coldly—implying that he was now experiencing what he once looked down upon others for. Wasn't he once doing well? Wasn't he a man? Now he couldn't even lift a finger?
The eldest sister also lacked ability; she learned this pathological mindset from Three Aunts. She held a grudge against Father for something that happened during her marriage. When she got married, her husband’s family was very poor. She asked Father to build her three tiled rooms, but with such a small salary each month that had to support four siblings including us going to school, where would he find money for building houses? Thus, she harbored resentment in her heart. Later on, she divorced her husband, remarried again, divorced again; by forty she still had nothing but complaints. She always attributed her misfortunes to Father. Whenever he couldn’t provide food for her table, she would say: A man who can’t even hold a bowl has no use! On his sickbed, tears streamed down Father’s face as he felt deep sorrow and anger with no one to confide in.
When my brother and I used to visit Father, he would always look at us with his wrinkled old face full of sorrow, tears welling in his eyes. At that time, we didn't know how the Three Aunts and our eldest sister treated Father. We asked, "Dad, what's wrong?" Father hesitated to speak, always sighing, but couldn't utter a word.
Later, Father developed heart disease and needed to undergo heart bypass surgery. The doctor suggested five stents, and after discussing it, the family decided to pool some money together. Once we had enough money, we called for a car to take Father to the Hospital. The Three Aunts and our eldest sister contributed money but felt unhappy about it. In front of Father, they said, "Why do you need five stents? Three should be enough; after all, you're sick and won't live much longer. Getting five will cost an extra twenty thousand yuan; it's not easy for anyone to earn money." Upon hearing this, Father jumped up from the stretcher and pointed at our eldest sister and the Three Aunts: "How can you repay me for raising you from childhood?" He... then couldn't say another word, clutching his chest, his head tilted, and collapsed on the ground, never to wake again.
While Father was alive, our family's financial situation was quite dire. At that time, he borrowed two thousand yuan from the Three Aunts. Unexpectedly, right after Father's death, the Three Aunts told my brother: "Your dad owes me two thousand yuan!"
My brother valued his pride greatly and was so angry that he threw two thousand yuan in the Three Aunts' face.
After saying all this, the Three Aunts and our eldest sister cried while repenting. My brother's heart softened and he said: "You should go to the Hospital first; I'll go to the Village to find Horse Daoist and see if he can perform a ritual for you." Horse Daoist is a Feng Shui Master in our Village who also knows some Taoist arts and medicine. He is usually kind-hearted and doesn't charge for treating minor illnesses; he is also quite accurate in Feng Shui.
Upon arriving at the Village and hearing my brother explain the situation, Horse Daoist became furious and exclaimed: "Everything has its cause and effect; they are where they are because of their own actions; they deserve it! I don't think this ritual is necessary; let them fend for themselves!"
With no other option, my brother had to return. That evening, the Three Aunts and our eldest sister returned from the Hospital. They were no longer vomiting but looked pale with darkened faces; the doctor said they really had coal slag, potatoes, and wild vegetables in their stomachs.
After hearing that Horse Daoist was unwilling to help them, they were filled with regret and begged my brother to invite Horse Daoist again.
So my brother went back with the Three Aunts and our eldest sister to see Horse Daoist. They knelt before him and said: "Daoist Priest, we were truly wrong! After this incident, we will do more good deeds and turn over a new leaf!" Then they knocked their heads on the Ground repeatedly until they bled.
Seeing this situation, Horse Daoist sighed and said: "Alright, I will help you this once! But whether it works or not depends on your sincerity. Tomorrow morning, bathe and change your clothes without eating anything; bring incense, yellow paper, offerings, and a lock of hair from each of your foreheads to accompany me to the grave."
The next morning, everyone arrived at Father's grave. Horse Daoist set up an incense altar, burned Joss Paper, held a Peach Wood Sword, and began performing rituals while stepping in a rhythmic manner and chanting incantations we couldn't understand.
After finishing the chant, he continued: "The altar is established; relief will come. The host is sincere; incense is offered in worship. All beings below raise their holy names. The sea of suffering calls forth its own calamity; those lost remain unaware even slightly. In mid-August when geese fly southward with a cry of sorrow; while wild geese may return one day; wandering souls do not return. With no evil thoughts in your hearts, good fortune shall surely follow..."
Then, the two tufts of hair were ignited and mixed with incense ash, placed into a porcelain bowl filled with clear water. A talisman was taken out, rubbed against the sword, and it ignited, being thrown into the bowl. Next, Three Aunts and the eldest sister each extended a hand, pricked their index fingers, and let a few drops of blood fall into the bowl, kneeling before the grave. The bowl of water was then poured onto the stone platform in front of Father's grave. It was said: Whether it succeeds or not depends on this moment.
The water splashed onto the stone platform and soon began to boil violently, with droplets flying everywhere. Many droplets splattered onto Three Aunts and the eldest sister, their color bright red, resembling blood. Three Aunts and the eldest sister hurriedly dodged, but Horse Daoist pressed down on their heads and said: Don't dodge or be afraid, quickly bow down! Upon hearing this, Three Aunts and the eldest sister quickly bowed their heads, hitting the ground's gravel with a loud "thud," causing blood to flow from their foreheads.
Strangely enough, after boiling for a while, the water on the stone platform gradually calmed down. After about the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, it seeped into the stone platform and disappeared. Horse Daoist let out a sigh of relief and said: It worked!
After returning home, Three Aunts and the eldest sister changed their ways, eating vegetarian food, reciting scriptures, and doing good deeds; soon their health improved.
A few days ago during the Double Ninth Festival, my family and I went to pay respects at Father's grave with my aunt and sister. Three Aunts and the eldest sister looked very remorseful, bringing heavy offerings and Joss Paper.
The eldest sister had been a primary school language teacher for a while; she had some poetic talent and wrote a poem for Father, expressing her feelings of remembrance: "Again on Cold Mountain mourning my kin, standing in the morning as the sun sets in the west; who knew of my sorrow while alive? After death, no ghost inquires of my grief; ashamed before the monument with autumn grass full, heartbroken on the mound with spring wildflowers; lamenting that my sister is not an emperor's sweat; to whom else can I ask about Ghosts?"
After visiting the grave and walking back not far, my five-year-old nephew suddenly turned around and looked at Father's grave. In his tender voice, he said to us: Look quickly! Grandfather is sitting in front of the grave, playing the erhu while singing Qin Qiang. Grandfather smiled!
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