C4 Semen Puerariae Cinnabarinae
The following story, which I have heard from a friend, cannot be proved. Today, friends are no longer connected, but the story is still very impressive, I have adapted and shared with you.
It was a place called Jia Village, located in the outskirts of Wenzhou. There was a small restaurant at the entrance of the village called Xiaobei Pu Zi, and the owner was a local with the surname Hu, who was known as the Mr.Hu.
Outsiders would definitely find it strange. A good restaurant had bricks and tiles, so why did it have to be called a shop? In fact, the hotel may have been older than the village. In the late Qing Dynasty, there was an ancestor in the Mr.Hu who sold buns. His name was Hu Xiaobei, and he opened a bun house.
When Mr.Hu had just taken over Xiao Bei's shop, he was only slightly over twenty years old. That year, there was a fair market at the entrance of the village three miles away. Over time, he accumulated money, married his wife, and had a daughter in less than two years.
The Mr.Hu had a bad habit, like to gamble, and it was probably a common disease of the people of Wenzhou. At that time, he was a frequent customer of Jia Village's underground gambling den. When people made a bet, they would usually do other things without the mood to, and it was also from then on, when the restaurant's business was not as good as before, and when Mr.Hu and his wife quarrelled every night, and in the end, there was no divorce, so his wife directly carried her daughter and left.
During this time, Mr.Hu should have had a son, but he died of a severe illness right after being born. This was also the reason why he made up his mind to let his wife leave.
Ever since his wife and daughter left, Mr.Hu had completely stopped gambling. However, misfortune came one after another, and every time he rode a bicycle at night, he would fall into the ditch and lose a leg. From that point on, he was leaning on his walking stick, and he also became a lot older.
Fortunately, there was a big road in front of them, and truck drivers would occasionally come to eat their meals, which allowed Mr.Hu to barely survive.
Mr.Hu often said that he was suffering.
The really weird part of the story began one winter night in 2008.
It was mid-December, close to the winter solstice. The weather was cold and the wind was howling. The sound of the bucket filled with water was heard.
As usual, when Mr.Hu saw that it was almost 9, he packed and prepared to close the door. At this time, the chef and the little girl had already gone home, leaving only the Mr.Hu himself.
Suddenly, a tall, thin man dressed in a rustic black cotton jacket appeared from the outside. After entering the shop, he asked to see the menu.
"Close down, stop doing business." The Mr.Hu said bluntly.
The man seemed to turn a deaf ear and continued to sit down:
"The dishes should be fresh, the food should be hot, and the chopsticks and bowls should be washed clean."
Mr.Hu thought, could it be that this person's ears were not good, he even said that it was closed?
"Go to another house." Mr.Hu opened the door for him.
The man remained motionless.
"It's too late today. I don't cook midnight snacks."
Mr.Hu was speaking the truth. Normally, the restaurant would not have business since after seven, and Mr.Hu would not have waited until now because of staying in the shop.
"This big deal of mine is enough for you to earn." The man replied coldly.
Mr.Hu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He thought to himself, you're the only one, how much can you eat, and how much can you eat?
"How about I get you a bowl of Egg-Fried Rice?" Mr.Hu remembered that there was half a bowl of leftovers in the kitchen. Originally, he wanted to treat it as a midnight snack, but he had no other choice.
Just as Mr.Hu was about to enter the kitchen with a crutch, he said, "Egg-Fried Rice is no good, let's eat something decent. Let me see the menu!"
Seeing that it was inconvenient for Mr.Hu to move his legs, the man picked up the menu, used his brush to tick it for a long time, and handed it over to Mr.Hu.
"Stir-fried leek, pickled cucumber, phoenix claw, steamed fish, sweet and sour pork, spicy tofu, fried meat with wooden ears …" Seeing so many dishes on the menu, Mr.Hu was stunned. How could this be a person's share? This was a table full of dishes!
"Wait, I have people coming. For these dishes, cook two tables for me, heat up a few jugs of rice wine and serve some rice."
Mr.Hu finally understood that this group of people was here to eat and drink. The entire two tables of food was indeed simple, even though it was worth it.
"Oh, how many people are there?" Mr.Hu was immediately alert.
"A dozen."
"Alright, I understand. You stay here for now."
Mr.Hu turned and entered the kitchen, secretly delighted in his heart. After all, it was unknown how many years it had been since he had seen such an extravagant guest. Perhaps in the future, he might be able to return as a guest.
Ever since he broke his leg, Mr.Hu had rarely gone to the kitchen to cook, but he had still accumulated some culinary skills. Not long after, the two tables were set up with hot dishes and two big bowls of rice.
After that, the Mr.Hu saw that the man just sat there and waited, not saying a word.
When Mr.Hu opened the door, he saw another person wearing black cotton clothes. He was also tall and thin, and at first glance, he thought the two were twins.
"It's snowing outside and it's very cold. A total of seventeen, all here. "
Hearing that, Mr.Hu estimated that two big bowls of rice were not enough to eat, so he went into the kitchen to cook some more noodles for them.
But when Mr.Hu came out with a large bowl of noodles, the most surprising scene he saw in his life instantly stunned him.
Aside from the two who were sitting and drinking, all the other dishes on the two tables were swept clean! Why did Mr.Hu know at a glance that it was food? Because all the yellow fish, ribs, and duck legs are just bones!
The problem was that there were only two people in front of him, and the others hadn't arrived yet. In the time it took for a bowl of noodles to be cooked, he actually managed to eat all of the food. How was this possible?
"Boss, settle the bill, calculate how much it will cost me." The first person stood up and prepared to leave.
"Also... Over a dozen people, have they arrived yet? " After a long while, the Mr.Hu finally said this.
"Aren't you sitting there? You can't see it, right?"
A bowl of noodles fell onto the ground in Mr.Hu's hands. He was too frightened to move.
"It's alright, a bunch of hungry ghosts, let them eat their fill and set off on their journey."
These were the words that Mr.Hu remembered the most.
After that, the Mr.Hu was busy asking around and found out that the two were a yin servant and were rushing to the underworld with a group of hungry ghosts.
Originally, the Mr.Hu did not really care much about this matter after it had passed. However, not long after, the restaurant often had an inexplicable shortage of food.
It was as if someone was secretly living in Xiao Bei Pu Zi's shop.
Over time, rumors spread that this restaurant was haunted, and Mr.Hu's business plummeted.
After a while, even the chef and the little girl who helped to carry the dishes left, leaving Mr.Hu alone. He knew that something was wrong with the hotel, and that it was probably related to the two perverts. But other than this place, he had nowhere else to go, and was reluctant to leave it.
After being in a muddle for a few years, Mr.Hu had gradually gotten used to it. It was just that his days were a bit bitter, so it was impossible for the restaurant to return to its former prosperity.
He had a vague feeling that when the two Yin Guards took away the group of hungry ghosts, a hungry ghost had secretly stayed in the store and had stayed there all those years. Right now, his mind was very calm. One night when he had drank too much, he would shout at Xuanlian, "You sure are happy. If you keep eating and drinking for free, I will become a pauper myself!"
A sigh immediately rang out from the hanging beam.
The reason why Mr.Hu complained so bitterly was because his wife came over three days ago. However, he did not change his mind, but wanted to get a divorce from Mr.Hu and split his assets with her. He also said that his daughter had fallen for someone, that they were about to get married, and that they might go abroad in the future. No matter what, Mr.Hu had to take out a sum of money.
At the beginning, Mr.Hu did not want to, but his wife moved out of the legal system to deceive him, intimidating him would definitely cause him to lose the restaurant. With no other choice, Mr.Hu could only take out his old money and borrow some money from the old brothers in Jia Village. He gathered a hundred thousand and gave it to his wife, signing the divorce agreement.
Before his wife left, Mr.Hu made a last request, which was to see her daughter. He even asked her if he could attend the wedding, but his wife only replied with two words, "We'll talk about it later."
In the end, Mr.Hu did not meet his daughter even once, even after stepping into the coffin.
It had been about two years, but Mr.Hu looked as if it had been ten years.
Suddenly, one day, a friend from the Mr.Hu from Jia Village came over and said that he could find a person for the Mr.Hu and maybe help him.
The person they were looking for was a Taoist, it was said that he had the ability to exorcise ghosts. Coincidentally, when he was passing by Jia Village, he was met by a friend from the Mr.Hu.
Mr.Hu's friends had always been thinking about the Mr.Hu, and they knew that Mr.Hu was tired of being disturbed by the hungry ghost, so this was a good chance to subdue the hungry ghost.
When the Mr.Hu heard this, he thought that his idea was not bad, so he sent a red packet to his friend, asking him to send it to the Daoist Priest.
The Mr.Hu recounted the entire situation in the shop to the Daoist Priest, especially the matter of the two Yin Ghosts leading the hungry ghosts to eat. In the end, the Daoist Priest didn't wait for the Mr.Hu to finish and pointed to the beam, telling him with certainty that there was indeed a hungry ghost left behind on that day.
The Daoist Priest asked Mr.Hu if he should chase the hungry ghost away or subdue him.
Mr.Hu thought, although this hungry ghost had affected his restaurant's business, but in the end, he had only eaten some leftovers, he had never hurt anyone, he did not need to kill them all.
The next day, he sent a painting to the Mr.Hu. The painting was of the Three Purities Portrait, shining with a golden light, making it look very special.
He told Mr.Hu that this hungry ghost didn't have much ability. As long as he hung the portrait on the wall in the middle of the store, within three days, the hungry ghost would definitely be unable to endure it and would leave.
Mr.Hu did as he was told.
That night, he heard a great deal of noise from the suspended beam and guessed that the hungry ghost was probably struggling at the very end.
When dawn arrived, a few more sighs came from the hanging beams, and then nothing could be heard anymore.
Mr.Hu thought that the portrait should have had its effect, the hungry ghost had already left. Then he planned to clean up the hotel and resume business. The first thing to do was to clean it up. After all, that place had the most foul air.
When Mr.Hu brought the ladder over and climbed up the hanging beam, he saw that there was a thick layer of dust on top of the suspended beam.
Seeing these words, Mr.Hu was filled with emotion. He thought that the hungry ghost was about to tell him that he had suffered the same fate as the hungry ghost, for his entire life.
At the same time, there was another sigh.
Only now did Mr.Hu know that the hungry ghost had not left.
He thought about how he had lived most of his life, and how he had spent most of his life. Not to mention his family, there wasn't even anyone who could talk to him, yet he had accompanied this hungry ghost for so many years.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
Then, without a word, he went down the ladder and tore up the picture.
Later on, passersby would often see a white-haired old man sitting in front of the restaurant's entrance, Xiao Bei Pu Zi. He held a pot of tea in his hands as he chattered with someone.
Unfortunately, in just a few years, Mr.Hu had passed away, and Xiao Bei Pu Zi had also closed down.
When Mr.Hu had just passed away, people would still occasionally hear some sounds coming from this haunted restaurant, but very quickly, nothing happened.
Oh no!
