First Chapter 13: A Wealthy Family
I didn't make any money from this house, it was just like a few meals. Although I could fill my stomach for a while, the road to wealth still depends on my own hands, no, it was Qin Yiheng's hands that made it. But it was also a coincidence, probably my fortune turned around, less than a week later, Yuan Zhen contacted us and said that a family wanted to sell an old house. It was said that several generations of the family lived together in this house. Unfortunately, the location is not good, it is quite remote, equivalent to the current urban-rural integration. I thought to myself that if this house was under the imperial city, I would be rich if I took it down, but it's better to have it than not, I have to go and see it anyway.
This time the journey was really long. There was no air traffic in that place, so we had to take the train and then various buses to get there. I regretted it a little when I arrived. I didn't expect it to be so remote. I checked the electronic map and found that the house was on the edge of the city. I saw the house not far after getting off the bus. It was indeed antique and looked quite grand. It must be quite old. While calculating how much the house cost, I asked Qin Yiheng if the house was too old.
Qin Yiheng did not answer. He tilted his head and took a look, and said that the layout of their house would definitely ensure that their family would be prosperous. Even if they were not rich, at least they would be safe and happy. Why would they sell it for no reason?
After entering the courtyard, I realized that Qin Yiheng was right. The whole family was so peaceful and happy. I was envious. The person who greeted us introduced himself as the eldest son of the family. I thought he must be about 60 years old. The old man was in good spirits and took us around the house for a long time. I thought that if I let Qin Yiheng take a look, it would take some time, so I had to find a way to hold the old man back. But then I thought, there is a whole family over there, and we are all under their eyes, so I asked Qin Yiheng in a low voice, what should I do?
Qin Yiheng said: "What are you looking at? Such a big family, having such a happy time, what do you think could be going on here? Saying that there are gods protecting Thaksin, saying there are ghosts? That's really ridiculous."
I quite agree with what he said. But Yuan Zhen clearly told me that their place is haunted, so how come it turned out to be a blessed place when I got there?
I asked the old man, "Is there any trouble in your family?"
Who would have thought that the old man would actually say with a smile, "Indeed, there is." Then he pointed to a side room and said that that room was haunted, and it had been haunted since he could remember, and it was still haunted now.
I looked in the direction the old man pointed, and there was indeed a side room with closed doors and windows, but it looked nothing special at first glance. If the old man hadn't pointed it out to us, it would have been a side room that would have been completely ignored. Qin Yiheng was also quite surprised to see this house, and from his expression it looked like he didn't see anything.
So I asked the old man, "How is this house haunted?"
The old man chuckled and said he would take us to have a look. When we pushed open the door of the room, the sun shone in, and we could see that a lot of dust had been raised in the room. This side room was very small. There was a wooden bed on the left hand side of the door, and a lot of things were piled on the right. It was estimated that this room had been converted into a warehouse by their family a long time ago. The old man took us in, pointed to the wooden bed and said that this bed was left by their ancestors for several generations. At that time, the ancestor was an official in the court. When he retired and returned to his hometown, the emperor granted this piece of land to their family. Until the founding of New China, half of the county's land basically belonged to their family. Later, due to the land reform and the fight against landlords, the family fell into decline. Fortunately, a member of the family who was relatively successful in business bought back the old house, and in this way, their whole family moved back.
The old man said that when he was just beginning to remember things, he always heard his family say that there was an old ancestor living in the side room. At that time, he thought that the old ancestor was someone older than his grandfather, so he was very curious and wanted to meet this elder who never showed up.
But his family locked the house, so he had to stand on tiptoe to the window and peek in. Unfortunately, he was too young and short, so he could only move a stool to peek in quietly. As a result, he saw a man in Qing Dynasty clothes practicing calligraphy at a desk. He turned around and saw him peeking out the window, so he smiled at him.
After that, the old man often went to peek, and most of the time he would see the man practicing calligraphy, but sometimes the man was not in the house. Later, the old man told his parents about this matter. His parents were very surprised, but they hesitated to talk or kept silent. They just disciplined him strictly and never let him get close to the side room again. When the old man grew up a little and had the opportunity to peek in the side room, he never saw the man again. After the land reform, this big house was basically distributed to the local poor. The first family to live in this side room was a family of three. The man worked in the fields every day, leaving a woman at home to take care of the children. However, after living in it for a few days, the child had some problems and would speak some ancient Chinese poems for no reason. The family was very scared, so they asked the local shaman to see it. The shaman saw it and said that the child was possessed. He tried many methods, but there was no effect. Later, he could only suggest that the family move out. However, after the family moved away, the child returned to normal, but became extremely dull after going to school. Fortunately, studying was not very important in that era, and the family did not encounter any strange things again. But the rumor that this place was haunted spread, and no one dared to live here anymore.
Later, a gangster who grew up did not believe in evil. He moved in anyway because he had no place to live. Then strange things happened to him. Every day when he woke up, he would find words written on the ground with tree branches. He could not understand what was written, but it was not a threat to his life, so he was not afraid. Over time, this gangster was able to write a few good characters without a teacher. Later, he became a famous calligrapher after the founding of New China.
When the old man mentioned the name of the gangster, I had actually heard of it. Although his fame was not to the level of a national treasure, one of his calligraphy pieces could still be sold for ten or twenty thousand yuan. I just never thought that there was such a bizarre story behind it.
The old man went on to say that later, when they bought the house, the first thing he did was to sleep in this side room for a night. That night, he really dreamed of a person in Qing Dynasty clothes crying against the wall, and crying very miserably. The old man thought that there must be some reason for this, so he burned some paper money and horses for worship the next day. The next day, he slept the same thing again. After living there for a few days, the old man began to cough and felt very unwell, so he had to move out.
However, the old man believed that although there were things in it, they were harmless to humans. On the contrary, they should bless his descendants. As his family became more and more prosperous, he believed more and more that it was the ancestors who were protecting him. Therefore, this house was simply uninhabited, and some things were often moved in and out on a normal day.
The old man talked for a long time, and I listened with great interest. Looking at Qin Yiheng, he also nodded frequently, and I didn't know what he agreed with the old man's words.
I asked the old man why he wanted to sell the house when he was living there happily?
The old man was still very cheerful and said, it was actually very simple. The clan members wanted to immigrate abroad with their families, so there was no point in keeping this house. Besides, immigration would require a lot of money.
The old man seemed quite honest. It was rare to see a homeowner take the initiative to explain the causes and consequences of the disturbance in the house so clearly.
Now there is something in this house. I have to discuss it with Qin Yiheng to see if it can be solved. Moreover, such a large house, although in the suburbs, is probably expensive. I also have to plan whether I can swallow this house, so I told the old man that I would consider it with my friends. The old man agreed very readily and insisted on letting us stay. I saw that this place was in the middle of nowhere and we were unfamiliar with it, so I agreed.
The old man settled us both down and prepared a table of food for us, which made us feel very embarrassed.
After dinner, I returned to the guest room arranged by the family and asked Qin Yiheng what he thought of the house.
Qin Yiheng said that basically there was no problem. Judging from the Feng Shui layout, this house was built by someone who knew the business. However, according to what the old man said, the things in the side room were also very old. If they were still there, there must be some mystery in it. At least we have to figure out what that thing is like.
When he said this, I basically understood what he was going to do. Needless to say, he wanted to sneak over to take another look at it at night. After all, the Yang energy is too strong during the day, and many dark things cannot be seen too clearly. I really don't want to go, but I remember what the old man said during the day, that thing should not harm anyone, and Qin Yiheng is by my side, so it should be okay for me to help him.
So, we decided to go over there at night. I thought Qin Yiheng would at least make some simple preparations, but when the time came, he dragged me to the side room. When we got there, he covered the window with his hands and leaned his head in to look.
I really didn't expect him to have such an opinion. Anyway, it was enough for him to watch, so I just stood beside him and smoked.
Qin Yiheng looked for a long time before turning around and calling me. He said he didn't see anything, but he felt that there was something in the house, but it didn't look like an evil thing. After that, he turned around and walked towards the guest room. I could only follow him, not knowing what he was planning.
After entering the house, Qin Yiheng rummaged through his bag and took out a pack of biscuits, borrowed a plate led me back. When we reached the side room, he pushed open the door, went in, respectfully placed the biscuits on the plate, and carefully placed the plate on the wooden bed, and then led me out.
After leaving the house, Qin Yiheng told me that we would know tomorrow morning whether the things in this house were evil or not.
After all this trouble, I still have to wait! I was helpless and wanted to ask him about it, but he played it mysterious and told me that I would know when the time came.
There was no conversation that night. The next morning, Qin Yiheng pulled me up and hurried to the side room. He opened the door, looked around the room, and called me in. I didn't know what was going on, so I could only follow him stupidly. As soon as I stood still, Qin Yiheng pointed and told me to eat the plate of biscuits on the bed.
I was stunned. What kind of unreasonable request was this? But my friend didn't look like he was joking. I thought he must be going to have a fierce battle soon and wanted me to replenish my energy first. Although this reason was far-fetched, it was the only way to comfort myself.
I had no choice but to eat the biscuits one bite at a time. The biscuits had been sitting there overnight and were a little damp. They should have been crispy but they tasted soft. As I ate them, I thought, these biscuits have been sitting in this room overnight. Who knows how many rats and cockroaches have come to eat them. Will they make me sick? Sure enough, I had a stomachache . I had to run to the toilet several times before the pain subsided.
