My hometown is Yongchang County, Jinchang City, located in the northwest of Gansu Province. Before the 1980s and 1990s, the water used for irrigation in Shuiyuan Town was spring water from the springs near Fanggou Village and Songjiagou Village under the jurisdiction of Shuiyuan Town. People come from the village spring , and the water for irrigation in Zhuwangbao comes from the spring nest near Yongning Village under the jurisdiction of Shuiyuan Town.
To irrigate the ground with spring water, a dam needs to be built to store water, and then each village will release the water for their own use during the water season. The dam built near Quanwo in Fanggou Village is called Qinghe Dam, and the dam built near Yongning Village is called Wuniu Dam, but the water comes from Shuiyuan Town, so the people in Zhuwangbao and Shuiyuan Town are both called Qinghe people, Xinyou's My hometown is Shuiyuan Town.
I heard from my father that in those days, the villagers would go to Qingquan every April to dredge the river, but the mud in the river turned into black and smelly mud after the winter freeze and spring thaw, so people in Xihe and Donghe People also gave us a nice name – Qinghe Zini Master (Ni is pronounced "mí" in the dialect of my hometown), so every time I go to my uncle's house, my uncles tease me and say, Qinghe Zini Master is here again.
In 1971, Maobula Village built the Daquan Reservoir, which diverted water from the West River to Maobula Village to supply the entire village with daily water. At that time, the captain of the production brigade of Maobula Village was my mother's uncle Mao. , that is, my uncle.
I heard from my mother that Aunt Mao was a hot-tempered male chauvinist. If the cloth shoes made by my aunt didn't fit even slightly, he would chop the shoes into two pieces with an axe. Aunt Mao would be so angry that she would quarrel with him all year round. But Aunt Mao was a bit clumsy, so every time he couldn't argue with Aunt Mao, he would smash the bottom of the family's dinner pot with a stick.
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Ajin Shimomura Izumi ghost father_Ajin Shimomura Izumi ghost father_Ajin Shimomura Izumi ghost father’/>
In that era, a family only had one pot. In some families with many children, the pot used to eat was bigger than the stone rice mill used for grinding rice. No matter how much the couple quarreled, the children also had to eat. In this way, every time Uncle Mao smashed the bottom of the pot at home, he would find a straw rope within half a day, carry the pot on his back, and look for the hoop in the next village. The potter, if he takes the blame too many times, the villagers call him Mao the potbearer, so every time he goes out carrying the pot, everyone knows that he has quarreled with Aunt Mao again.
Although Uncle Mao has a bad temper, he is still very hardworking in his work. He usually leads the villagers to work in the fields and does not bully the weak. He has clear rewards and punishments, so everyone still respects him. Such a rough man leads the villagers The Big Spring Reservoir was built. In that era, transportation was far less developed than it is now, and Maobula Village was located in the mountains, so those who built the reservoir would hit the road and set off at Tianma light. They would wait until night and then drag their tired bodies back home one by one. Just eat some steamed buns that I brought here. On the way to Daquan Reservoir, you have to pass by the famous West Beach.
My mother told me that there were a lot of ghosts on West Beach when they were young. The most terrifying ones were the Jiangwozi (dialect, which means garlic nest) ghosts and roasting fire ghosts. Lantern ghosts were very common. In the summer, she and her second aunt occasionally walked together at night. When they walked to the West Beach, they heard someone pounding something with a ginger nest in the middle of the night. It sounded very crunchy and made a crackling sound. There was a ringing sound, and occasionally the iron pestle touched the inner wall of the ginger nest, and there was a "bang", and there was a lingering sound, and at the same time there was a sharp giggle, which made the night in the era of only kerosene lamps particularly scary. At this time, the two The aunt pulled her mother and ran like crazy. The mother was dragged by the second aunt after running a few steps. Then she lay on the ground and cried. The second aunt scolded her and put her on her back and ran home. But the speed is getting faster and faster, and the giggles are getting louder. I heard the old man at home say that it was wild ghosts breaking people's bones, so it sounded very fragile.
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Ajin Shimomura Izumi ghost father_Ajin Shimomura Izumi ghost father_Ajin Shimomura Izumi ghost father’/>
In winter, people in my hometown say, "If you don't take action in 1929, you will walk on the ice in 3949." People in Sanjiu Tian are afraid of cold, and ghosts are also afraid of cold. At night, ghosts howl are often heard. The sound starts from the east, keeps howling, and then falls in the west. It is very desolate, so the fire-roasting ghost appears.
The mother said that in winter, she and the children in the village went to carry water from the reservoir. Passing by the West Beach, they saw a bunch of people warming themselves by a fire in the distance. When they saw them coming, those people waved and shouted, "Come on, come and warm up." On a cold day, you can warm yourself up by the fire for a while." But they all pretended not to hear. The only weird thing is that the faces of these people have never been clearly visible, and it always feels like there is a layer of fog blocking them. But at this time, as long as someone is fascinated by the ghost and runs over to warm up with the fire, they will freeze to death in the wild, because the thing that looks like a fire has no temperature at all.
So when they first started building the Daquan Reservoir, Aunt Mao and the others had to pass by West Beach. They knew that there was a man named Xiancun Quanguifu from that place, so they hurried as far as possible at night and did not dare to stay on the road.
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Ajin Shimomura Izumi ghost father_Ajin Shimomura Izumi ghost father_Ajin Shimomura Izumi ghost father’/>
One night, Uncle Mao and the others ended their work late, and there was a sandstorm on the way back. Seeing that they were approaching the West Beach, no one dared to leave. The bad weather encountered a place that was often haunted by ghosts, and many people died unexpectedly. There are also many people. The key is that Uncle Mao is the captain. He leads everyone to earn work points, but he cannot lose everyone's lives. After much deliberation, I thought of the Mao family cemetery not far from West Beach. All members of the family are buried in the cemetery.
As the old saying goes, if you are traveling at night, you would rather stay in a cemetery than find a ruined temple. All cemeteries are owned by the owner. When you go in, you kneel down respectfully and explain the reason. Generally, nothing will happen. However, the ruined temple has lost its incense due to its disrepair and the Buddha inside has long gone to other temples, thus leaving some ghosts behind. It's a good place left, and strangers who break in will inevitably get confused and lose their lives.
So Uncle Mao took everyone into the Mao family cemetery. However, the wind stopped when everyone stepped into the cemetery. When they left the cemetery, the wind and sand were still there, so everyone tied up the carriage side by side and leaned on the wheels to rest.
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Ajin Shimomura Izumi ghost father_Ajin Shimomura Izumi ghost father_Ajin Shimomura Izumi ghost father’/>
There are many black tree stumps looming in the cemetery, and there are many sounds, including the sound of brooms cleaning the courtyard, the sound of chopping boards in the kitchen, the clink of dishes being washed, and the sound of tables and benches being lifted. There are sounds of children chasing and playing, and there are sounds of men scolding maids…
Suddenly, a door opened with a creak, and a woman's voice asked, "Mr. Mao, why are you so busy today? Do you have any guests?"
At this time, an old man replied in a hoarse voice, "Yes, we have guests at Mao's house tonight. Let's get ready."
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Ajin Shimomura Izumi ghost father_Ajin Shimomura Izumi ghost father_Ajin Shimomura Izumi ghost father’/>
The woman asked again, "Who is here to do this?"
The old man replied, "We are the descendants of the Mao family. The dead Zhao Da below is waiting for his replacement on the West Beach tonight. I will welcome the descendants to our village and send them out at dawn tomorrow."
The old man continued, "Every year after Tomb Sweeping Day and July 15th (the Hungry Ghost Festival in the north is called July 15th), people burn a lot of money for us, and we save what we can't spend. We have to protect our descendants. If we live well, our ancestors will have money to spend.”
The woman said, "Come on, old man, we will feel relieved when our descendants live well."
In this way, Uncle Mao and the villagers stayed in the Mao family cemetery all night without incident. At dawn, the chickens in the village in the distance also crowed, and everyone started to pack up their carriages and horses and walk slowly towards the village.
Let me ask, who said ghosts are heartless, and who said ghosts are heartless! As the saying goes: Great kindness comes from great goodness, great goodness comes from great love, and great love comes from great virtue. The descendants will have merit and filial piety, and the ancestors will have love and charity in another world, so how can the descendants not receive blessings!