Xu Zhenhuan, a native of Shanghai, was a middle school student in the 1970s. He came to Guizhou to join the ranks when educated young people went to the mountains and countryside. He stayed in the home of an old farmer who had no children and lived with his wife. The old man went to the fields every day and the old lady took care of the housework at home, which was quite satisfying. But Xu Zhenhuan suddenly moved from Shanghai to a remote rural area. The gap in life was really huge, and he felt very depressed.
Two days later, Xu Zhenhuan came home from work. As soon as he walked in, he saw a dark red round cake-shaped thing at the door. He picked it up and saw that it was a chess set made of jujube wood. It must have been quite old. The color of the words on the chess piece had peeled off, and the whole body was shiny.
As he was watching, he saw the old man walking out hurriedly. When he saw the chess piece in his hand, he sighed and said, "Xiao Xu, you picked it up. I was afraid I would throw it outside and not find it again!" Xu Zhenhuan asked: "Old man, can you also play chess?"
As soon as he heard that chess was being played, the old man's eyes suddenly lit up and he said, "Xiao Xu, can you play chess? Come on, let's kill the game!" Then he dragged him to the backyard and brought out a big box. Inside the box was a pair of jujube chess pieces, and what was missing was the one Xu Zhenhuan picked up.
From that day on, the old man and the young man came back every day to play chess to relieve their boredom. The two of them met their opponents in chess, and the game was even more interesting.
A few years later, news suddenly came that the university had resumed enrollment, but a recommendation system was adopted. Only those who had been workers, farmers or the People's Liberation Army for three years were eligible to be recommended and called "worker, peasant and soldier college students."
Naturally, those with connections should be given priority for such an approach. Xu Zhenhuan's parents were both ordinary workers. He thought that such a good thing would never happen to him, so although he was tempted, he immediately gave up. But he didn't expect that a notice would come out, asking him to report to the commune. It would be his turn for this group of workers, peasants and soldiers college students.
Only later did he learn that there were two people with strong backgrounds vying for a spot in the commune. Because the backgrounds of these two people were evenly matched, the fight turned out to be unseemly and had a very bad impact. The superior was angry and simply kicked out both of them. Lots were drawn among the remaining people, and Xu Zhenhuan was chosen.
When Xu Zhenhuan heard the news, he couldn't help but be ecstatic. He told the old man, and the old man was also happy for him. He cut a piece of bacon that day, fried some garlic, and the two drank a few drinks. Xu Zhenhuan was so happy that he couldn't sleep all night, but in the middle of the night, his stomach suddenly hurt as if it was strangled.
He originally thought that he would be fine if he lay down for a while, but the more he lay down, the more painful it became. In the early morning, he couldn't bear the pain anymore and started moaning. The old man heard the sound and hurriedly came over and said, "Xiao Xu, what's wrong with you?" Xu Zhenhuan said that he had severe stomach pain, so the old man immediately got a car and sent him to the commune hospital.
The doctor looked at it and said that it was acute appendicitis and that he needed to be operated on immediately. However, the commune hospital did not have such conditions and had to be sent to the town hospital. When Xu Zhenhuan heard that it was appendicitis, his face turned pale with fright. It was not that he was afraid of surgery, but that he would have to rest for at least a month or two after the surgery. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to college would be lost, so he thought about holding on until school. , so no matter how much the old man tried to persuade him, he still refused to go to the town hospital.
The old man had no choice but to think for a while and said: "If you don't want to have an operation, there is another way. But this method may not work. If it doesn't work, you have to go to the hospital anyway."
When Xu Zhenhuan heard that there was still a way, he hurriedly agreed, but he thought in his heart: Even if it doesn't work, I won't do the surgery.
The old man brought him back. As soon as he got home, the old lady saw them and asked anxiously: "Why did you bring Xiao Xu back?" The old man said: "Xiao Xu said that once the operation is performed, the opportunity to go to college will be lost, so I definitely won’t go.”
The old lady said anxiously: "Human life is at stake, how can you be so ignorant!"
The old man said at this time: "Isn't there another way?" When the old lady heard this, she was extremely hesitant. The old man pulled her aside and whispered for a long time before the old lady nodded and said: "Then I will try it. Bar."
When it got dark, Xu Zhenhuan was in so much pain that he was covered in cold sweat. At this time, the old man suddenly came over to help him up and said: "Xiao Xu, hold on a little longer, and remember not to talk."
Xu Zhenhuan didn't know what was going on, but he felt the old man put something on his back. His body lightened up, and the old man carried him on his back. The old man was short in stature, half a head shorter than Xu Zhenhuan, but he was quite strong. As soon as he went out, he saw the old lady walking in front carrying a white lantern. The mountain road was winding, with the old lady leading the way and the old man carrying him on her back. Xu Zhenhuan was so painful that he fainted.
I don't know how long it took, but he suddenly woke up. He could feel the mountain wind in his ears, and he was actually in the wild. He opened his mouth to say something, but the old man covered his mouth and signaled him not to speak.
At this time, he suddenly felt a cold feeling in his lower abdomen. When he looked down, he saw a gold needle stuck in his abdomen. Logically speaking, moxa would be used to burn the needle, but what he felt was a biting chill. Just as he was wondering if he felt cold because he was too hot, he saw a hand reaching out from the darkness and pulling out the golden needle on his lower abdomen.
No abnormality was seen when the needle was inserted into the abdomen, but when it was pulled out, it was discovered that it was about two feet long. Strange to say, as soon as he pulled out the golden needle, he felt the pain immediately subsided. If the old man's hand hadn't been covering his mouth, he would have let out a long sigh.
At this time, someone said in his ear: "This man's intestinal carbuncle has healed." The voice was as low as coming from a deep well. The old man didn't say anything about the ghost story in the mountain village , and motioned for Xu Zhenhuan to follow him and leave.
Xu Zhenhuan no longer felt pain and could walk. After following the old man for a few steps, he was very curious. He turned around and took a look, only to see a shadowy figure sitting behind him. He was wearing a long gown, and there were many other people, each of whom was holding a white lantern. It's just that there are so many people, but no sound can be heard.
He was curious and scared. When he returned home, the old lady lit the white lantern at the door and burned it. The old man sighed and said, "Fortunately, Xiao Xu, you can talk now."
Xu Zhenhuan couldn't bear it anymore and asked: "Old man, where did you take me just now? Who was the person who gave me the acupuncture?"
The old man said: "He is the most famous doctor in the city. Fortunately, he can cure it, otherwise your illness would have been delayed."
Xu Zhenhuan asked again, but the old man refused to tell anyone. He just asked Xu Zhenhuan not to tell anyone. Later, after Xu Zhenhuan went to college, he was assigned to work as a cadre in a factory in Jiangsu. He was very grateful to that old couple, but he didn't have the chance to go back. He wrote several letters but got no reply. Thinking of what happened that night, he always felt that it was both real and illusory. He could hardly believe that it was a real experience.
The name of intestinal carbuncle first appeared in "Suwen", which is what modern medicine calls acute and chronic appendicitis. Acupuncture does have a certain effect on chronic appendicitis, but what Xu Zhenhuan suffered that time was undoubtedly acute appendicitis. It was really miraculous that acupuncture could cure the disease.
The name of "prefecture and city" can be found in "Wuzazu" written by Xie Zhaozhe of Ming Dynasty. It mentioned that "Qin Shihuang established an underground market so that the living could not bully the dead. It was a market between humans and ghosts." It's just that Qin Shihuang's city is near Xianyang, not in Guizhou at all, and it's just a legend. No one knows whether the "city" mentioned by the old man is the same place as the city written by Xie Zhaozhe, or just similar.