C131 Was It the Cause or the Effect

In the early '50s, I was 17 or 18 years old, at a very restless age, and I caught up with the great earth reform movement, which made me even more restless. Every day, I thought about how to make a name for myself.

Director Fan, you might have heard that before I was released, I followed my father and fished up corpses on the Yellow River for a living. People called me "scavenging zombies. " This profession was passed down from my ancestors. In the Zhan family, we are the only people who have not been farming or doing business for generations. We specialize in this very ancient profession.

It seemed very easy to fish up the zombies. He shook the boat and, according to the family's request, fished up the corpses and handed them over to the family to get some money. However, this was a very dangerous profession. If they were not careful, they might drown in the Yellow River.

In the eyes of many people, the corpse harvesters were a very profitable profession. However, in reality, we bear a very heavy mental pressure. Because this profession often deals with dead people, scavengers are thought to be evil and unclean.

Among the few generations of our Zhan family, there are cases of people drowning in the river while scavenging corpses. My father has been a scavenger for his entire life, and has encountered quite a few dangers. However, he has finally survived, not drowned, and is also a person with great fortune and great fortune.

In our line of work, since ancient times, there have been many things that are taboo. They were passed down from generation to generation by our ancestors, and they were also exchanged with their lives, not allowed to be careless in the slightest. Otherwise, a great disaster would befall them, endangering the lives of their entire family.

If one wanted to become a fisherman of zombies, one's fate had to be sinister. Among the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. According to the principle of mutual augmentation and restraint, the harvester had to be either water or wood, and definitely not metal, fire, and earth. Otherwise, they would drown in the Yellow River. Only those who met these two conditions would have a tough life, and would not be dragged into the river by the dead souls.

There was also the saying of "Three does not fish. " One was that the corpse that stood upright in the water couldn't be scooped up, because it was an evil ghost that had been possessed by the baleful aura. This type of corpse's baleful aura was extremely heavy. It was because the dead were unwilling to die, so their souls turned into baleful spirits. Let the corpse walk upright in the Yellow River, once it meets a living person, It would wrap around the body with resentment, dragging the living person into the water.

One was that in a thunderstorm weather, one absolutely could not come out of the boat to fish for the corpse. This was because in this weather, the river water would rise explosively, and it was very easy for a flood to occur. If one was not careful, they could take the lives of the people who were fishing for corpses at any time.

The last type was the same corpse. If one failed to salvage it after three tries, then they wouldn't be able to do it again. This meant that this corpse wasn't easy to fish up. If they tried to forcefully fish it up, it would be easy for them to be tangled up by vengeful souls, and accidents would happen.

Furthermore, before they set off, they had to pay respects to the River God in order to ensure their safety. They had to bring a big red rooster along with them on the ship. When they put away the ship, they would cut the rooster's neck with a knife and throw it into the Yellow River. They would thank the River God for his protection and pay their respects to him.

In the second year of Daan's liberation, in the spring of 1950, my parents got sick and died one after another. I became the only scavenger on the Yellow River of Daan. Later on, when the class composition was divided, I was designated as a poor, middle-class farmer. I was given a few acres of land, and I volunteered to participate in the earth reform movement.

When the leader saw that I was able to talk and that I was smart, he let me be his messenger. After a few years, because of my proactive performance in the earth reform, And because I was brave enough to shoot, I was promoted by my superior to become a militia company commander, carrying a rifle on my back all day long and bringing along a few militia, specializing in dealing with the rich landowners.

At this time, I met Fan Jiadu's secretary, Li Jizhen. He's just a few years older than me, But the Mei Beach Society is famous for their activists, young and promising, highly regarded by the leaders. And your grandfather, Fan Zhengkun, is being criticized because he was the elder of the Big Brother Association before the liberation.

To be honest, Back then, I was very proud of myself. I was many times better than when I was fishing for corpses in the Yellow River. Every time a mass assembly was held, with a gun in hand, he would bring along those tyrants who used to be famous for their martial prowess. When he saw them lowering their heads, wearing high hats made of paper, and being criticized by the masses, he felt extremely happy in his heart.

There was once when. . . It seemed to be a summer in 1964. The weather was very hot, and people didn't want to go out. The big broadcast in the club told us to organize all the members to gather in the Mei Ban Grand Theater to participate in the Grand Assembly of the Land of Wealth and Land of Misfortune.

I will lead a few militia, holding guns, in charge of security patrols. After a while, Li Jizhen also brought along the militia and tied them up as he escorted your grandfather, Fan Zhengkun, into the venue. At this time, the slogan of the crowd was heard. They were all words to defeat the rebels. Many of them were very loud and world-shaking.

Your grandfather is the elder of the Big Brother Association. He is very famous on both sides of the Yellow River. I know your grandfather, and I admire him very much. I know that he is a tough man with a lot of guts. But now, he has become the subject of criticism. With two arms tied up, he is escorted to the main platform by two militia, one on the left and one on the right, to accept criticism.

Of course, I also know that Li Jizhen used to be the Fan family's longtime worker, and had let the Fan family's sheep live for more than ten years. However, now that he had become the Fan family's team secretary, his words held a lot of weight, and he had great power. On the other hand, he rode on the neck of his previous boss and sh * t and sh * t. It could be said that he had been living in the east for thirty years and in the west for thirty years.

In that day's competition, besides your grandfather, there were five or six other people. For example, Liu Laosi, the big landlord of Shangtan Village, and Feng Guotang, who was once the head of the National Party in Xiwan Village, etc. , they were either bullies or small leaders of the Big Brother Gang. They were all people who had some power in the Mei Beach area in the past. Of course, these people were all dead now.

That competition was very lively. Almost all the people in the Mei Beach had come. Men, women, old and young, the entire theatre was packed. There was a sea of people, and there were even slogans that shook the heavens and earth.

Many of the poor peasants went up to the stage to expose the crimes of these landlords and bad people. There were even people who took the opportunity to hit them with sticks and stones. If it wasn't for me bringing the militia to protect them, perhaps your grandfather would have been beaten to death.

Li Jizhen was the most proactive one among these people. He had been standing on the platform, waving his arms as he loudly exposed how your grandfather ravaged their family back then. He made them do a lot of heavy work, but it wasn't enough to feed them. He continuously punched your grandfather.

From the looks of it, he wished he could beat these bullies to death to vent his anger. At that time, I understood him very well, but now that I think about it, why should I? If it wasn't for the good intentions of the Fan family that took in the father and son, perhaps Li Jizhen and his son would have starved to death long ago.

Liu Laosi, Feng Guotang. The few of them were beaten black and blue and had their heads lowered obediently. However, even though your grandfather suffered a lot of punches and kicks and blood flowed from his face, from beginning to end, he raised his head very high. He looked like he would rather die than submit. No wonder he was the elder of the elder council.

He heard a few people who were watching the show quietly say that even though Elder Fan was the elder brother of the Elder Council, he had never bullied those poor people. On the contrary, he had even helped them from time to time.

After venting his anger, Li Jizhen stood at the side with a satisfied smile on his face. He watched the others go up on stage and criticize them. I think that when he was herding sheep for the Fan family, he would never have thought that there would be such a day where he would be able to hold his head high.

Once the round ended, he began to walk the streets. The Mei Beach terrain was narrow, and there were many people. It was very crowded. Li Jizhen came up with a good idea. He took these villains onto the boat and let me wave the boat to demonstrate to the public on the Yellow River.

I followed my father around the Yellow River since I was a child. After being a fisherman for more than ten years and experiencing all sorts of storms and waves, and relying on my youth and my high driving skills, I agreed without any hesitation.

Thus, under everyone's escort and hearing the loud cheers, I escorted the five or six villains onto a small boat. I personally drove the boat from the West Bay, along the Yellow River, and slowly drifted towards the Fan Family ferry. To tell the truth, That was the most glorious and proudest moment of my life.

I drove the small boat and looked at the sea of people on both sides of the river. My ears were filled with praises, and I felt that I was a great hero who received the worship of many people. You have to understand that this is a glory that my family has never enjoyed for generations.

Liu Laosi and the rest of Feng Guotang stood on the boat with their backs tied up under the escort of two militia. Uncle Fan's expression was very calm as he coldly looked at the rolling yellow river. It was as if he was appreciating the glory just like before.

One of the militia could no longer watch. He walked over and hit Sir Fan's back with his spear. He even threatened him loudly. If he did not plead guilty, he would throw him into the Yellow River to feed the fish.

Sir Fan did not resist. He only glanced coldly at the militia who had hit him. He was still looking at the Yellow River, and a cold smile appeared on his face from time to time.

I know that Sir Fan is a person who has seen the world. He is very open-minded about life and death. He is not like Liu Laosi, a lord of a land who cries and cries for death when he encounters a big matter.

When he was about to reach the Fan Family pier, an accident happened. The originally calm Yellow River suddenly has a strong gust of wind from somewhere. The force is very strong and almost capsized the small boat.

At this moment, a loud bang came from the bottom of the Yellow River. It was like an earthquake. The Yellow River seemed to be boiling. Large water bubbles the size of bowls popped out from the bottom of the river. The small boat also began to shake violently on both sides of the water.

At that time, I hurriedly stretched out my hand to grab the boat's oar. Unexpectedly, my feet slipped, and my body suddenly fell backwards, falling into the Yellow River. However, I did not panic at all. After being the Yellow River's corpse salvage worker for more than ten years, I have already trained myself to be good at water. What is there to be afraid of when water comes and goes?

However, I never would have thought that just as I was about to swim onto the boat, I felt something tightly wrapped around my body. It was very, very heavy, and it dragged me into the water with all its might. I struggled with all my might, but it was useless. My hands and feet were soft and I couldn't use any strength at all.

I understand. I was tied up by the Yellow River Water Ghost. These water ghosts were said to be formed by the souls of some dead people who couldn't be reincarnated. They often floated around in the water, searching for a substitute.

At the same time, I heard someone talking beside my ear, gloating over my misfortune. At that time, I didn't hear it clearly. Later on, after thinking about it carefully, I remembered that the water ghost said this sentence, "Let him be the scapegoat, and we will be reincarnated. " I will never forget this sentence for the rest of my life. Now that I think about it, I still remember it clearly.

"It's over. Today, I am going to drown in the Yellow River. After playing with the Yellow River for more than ten years, I was eventually drowned by it. " Even though I struggled with all my might, it was useless. I felt that my body was very heavy. I was dragged by the water ghost and fell into the water bit by bit.

Just as I was about to drown in the water, I suddenly felt a pair of very powerful hands holding me up, and then slowly drifting me upwards. This time, I truly felt that these were a pair of hands. They were very powerful, and my heart was filled with hope for survival.

Later, when I was sent to the ship by the pair of hands, I saw clearly that the person who saved me was your grandfather, Fan Zhengkun Fan. He stood on the ship and said with a cold smile, "With just this bit of ability, you still think you're a scavenger? Compared to your father, your child is still a little tender. "

Only then did I know that my father was also a member of the Big Brother Association, and was Uncle Fan's brother. Without Elder Brother's permission, no one would be able to do anything on the Yellow River. At that time, Uncle Fan's reputation was very influential on both sides of the Yellow River. No one dared to disobey his orders.

Director Fan, if not for your grandfather, Uncle Fan, saving me in time, I would have buried the Yellow River long ago. Two days later, I recovered and took advantage of a very dark night to get a bottle of good wine and a cooked rooster. I secretly made a trip to the Fan household to thank Sir Fan for saving my life.

Sir Fan was very forthright and did not take this matter seriously at all. In his opinion, this was a very common thing. He drank with me while eating meat and talked for half the night.

Uncle Fan told me that the Yellow River is a very mysterious river, and many mysterious things will happen. Until now, there are still many unexplainable mysterious things. If you don't have some skills, then stop showing off in the Yellow River.

When he left the Fan Family, there was the sound of a chicken barking. The sky was about to brighten up. I was worried that I would implicate Sir Fan, so I had no choice but to leave. At that time, some very absurd things often happened, and no one could tell.

After a few days, I made another trip to the Coiling Dragon Temple. At that time, an old monk who used to live in the temple, who was said to be the head of the National Party's secret service in Da An, was arrested by the Public Security Bureau. The temple was empty without a single person, it was extremely cold.

When my father was alive, he had a very good relationship with that old monk and often brought me to the temple. Every time I fished out a corpse from the ship, he would bring me to the temple. He would kowtow and offer incense to Buddha, begging him to bless us on our safe journey.

As for the smiling old monk, I really don't know if he's the Chief of the National Party's Secret Service or not. It has been forty to fifty years. I have yet to figure out the real identity of the old monk.

After that, for some unknown reason, I kneeled down. The moment before the Buddha statue, I suddenly had a strong feeling of becoming a monk. This sudden thought tightly coiled around me, like the hand of the Buddha, bringing me into a very free world.

I know very well that if it wasn't for the good karma that I've accumulated over the years. . . That day, Sir Fan wouldn't have saved me. I would have drowned in the Yellow River. All of this was because of the Buddha's blessing. Thus, I shaved my hair and lived in the old monk's old house, becoming a monk. I've been a monk for more than 40 years.

In order to express my sincerity towards the Buddha, I took out all the money I earned from collecting corpses and hired people to rebuild the temple. I even reconstructed the Buddha's golden body and secretly swore that I would accompany the Buddha and stay in the Coiling Dragon Temple for the rest of my life.

Director Fan, you're Uncle Fan's grandson. That's why I told you about these past events. This is how your grandfather, Uncle Fan, saved me. It's also the reason why I suddenly became a monk. After Uncle Fan passed away, I chanted the Six Paths Vajra Mantra 108 times for him as repayment for saving my life.