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墨書 Inktalez
In many rural areas in the early years, there were numerous taboos.
For example, when eating, chopsticks could only be laid parallel on top of the bowl and could not be directly inserted into it, especially not vertically. The elders said that rice with chopsticks inserted was meant for the dead: the inserted chopsticks were akin to incense offered to demons.
It is said that there was a mischievous child in the village who ignored the elders' warnings and often inserted his chopsticks into the bowl. Over time, he constantly complained that the rice was cold and tasteless. His body visibly weakened day by day.
The family invited a "master" to take a look. The master said that since the child kept inserting his chopsticks into the bowl, wandering spirits thought it was food meant for them and rushed to eat it first. Later on, whenever the family saw him inserting his chopsticks into the bowl, they would slap him on the head, and he eventually corrected this habit, slowly regaining his health.
There were also some taboos that young people today do not pay much attention to. For instance, when a snake or hedgehog appeared in someone's home during childhood, adults would not allow anyone to harm them, saying these were "Wealth Gods." The presence of such creatures in a household signified the arrival of wealth; harming them would bring misfortune to future prosperity.
However, snakes are indeed frightening. As the elders passed away one by one, some taboos gradually faded from the memory of the younger generation. If a snake was spotted, they certainly wouldn't keep any twisted or crooked things in their homes.
When Brother Three was in elementary school, the school was surrounded by earthen walls, with a large ditch outside the eastern wall. To take a shortcut home after school, students would often climb over the earthen walls and pass through the ditch.
One summer, after a night of rain, when heading to school in the morning, they discovered that much of the mud from the earthen walls had been washed away by rainwater. At one spot at the base of a wall, a complete white skeleton was exposed, with ribs neatly arranged. Later, when the school installed water pipes and excavated the ground, they also unearthed copper coins from the Qing Dynasty and more remains. The village elders said that the school was built later; during earlier times of war and chaos, it was unknown whose body had been buried there.
Under normal circumstances, such places were mostly considered "unclean," but since it became a school where innocent children gathered, it accumulated positive energy. With an abundance of positive energy, even demons had to retreat.
However, if a household lacked positive energy or if their house was built in an unsuitable location, it might attract resentment from spirits and ghosts.
Speaking of which, when Brother Three was building his house and land was scarce, he hastily chose a piece of barren land by the village that had only grown weeds for many years without any crops. He applied to the village for permission; by then, the village officials had lost their patience with his persistent requests. In those days, anything without clear ownership belonged to the collective, so the village agreed.
Brother Three eagerly began laying the foundation and starting construction.
After work in the evening, a large amount of construction materials and tools were left behind. Since it was on the edge of the village, fearing that someone might steal them, Brother Three moved in with bedding to sleep at the construction site. After a long day of hard work, he fell into a deep sleep as soon as he lay down at night.
In a daze, an old man with a white beard suddenly appeared from nowhere. Without saying a word, he swung his cane at Brother Three and shouted, "Who told you to come to my place? Get out!"
Brother Three raised his right arm to shield himself while explaining, "Don't hit me! Listen to me, this is the land allocated to me by the village!"
Suddenly waking up, it was just Nanke Dream, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
When morning came and the workers arrived, Brother Three felt that his right arm was weak and slightly painful after all the busyness. Rolling up his sleeve, he saw a bruise on his right arm. Even more unexpectedly, no matter how straight the lines were marked, the walls built by the experienced workers ended up crooked and uneven. Even more alarming was that in the middle of the morning work, one of the workers suddenly fell from the scaffolding and got up with a dark face, throwing down his trowel and going home.
The construction had to be halted.
The older villagers said that the barren land used to be a graveyard for a Scholar's family during the late Qing Dynasty. Later, as their fortunes declined and their descendants dwindled, no one added to the graves, and it gradually appeared flat. Now Brother Three wanted to build a house on their ancestral burial ground, which naturally displeased the Master's Family!
The worker who fell from the scaffolding also said: "While working, an old man with a white beard came over with a cane: 'You can't build here; get out!' Then I just fell down in confusion..."
What happened next?
It seemed that under the guidance of a "master," Brother Three bought incense and paper offerings. He prepared paper models of cars, buildings, and young boys and girls—items only filial children would burn—and held a ritual. Eventually, the house was built.
After that, third Sister married in, and when children were born, everything went smoothly.
In the early 1980s, with the implementation of the Household Responsibility System, every family became busy. The livestock from the production team was distributed among households, and as the Livestock Shed ceased to be the center for gossip, it disappeared as well.
Later, the village got electricity and television, and such stories no longer had a place to grow.
An era has thus come to an end.
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