Chapter 3 Chapter 3 The child is born

The rooster outside crowed for the first time, and it was no more than four or five o'clock when the horse butcher knocked on Grandpa's door again. Grandpa is still snoring loudly.I opened the door with misty eyes. Before I could see who it was, the horse butcher asked out of breath, "Where's your grandpa? Has your grandpa gotten up yet?" I think the horse butcher is in a hurry and confused, even if he didn't delay his sleep last night, no one got up so early. I said, "Grandpa hasn't gotten up yet." As soon as the horse butcher entered the door, he brought in the morning chill, which made me hug my arms and dare not approach.The horse butcher was only about 30 years old. Because of his work, he was rich in nutrition, and his short hair was black and greasy, as if he had been smeared with lard.It was late autumn at that time, and the fog outside was very thick. The horse butcher's head was covered with a thick layer of fog and came into the house. At first glance, it seemed that his blue hair had turned into white hair overnight, which shocked me.

The horse butcher smiled apologetically, and asked nervously, "Where's your grandfather? Get him up quickly, I have something urgent to call on him." Grandpa heard the voice of the horse butcher in the back room, and said loudly: "What's the matter, horse butcher?" "Something has happened. Brother Yue Yun, something has happened." The horse butcher seemed very cold, his teeth chattering. "What's the matter?" Grandpa was very calm.The two of them just talked through a door panel, as if a high-ranking official summoned ordinary people in ancient times.

"It's so strange!" The horse butcher spat on the ground, wiped it off with the sole of his shoe, and said, "My daughter-in-law has given birth!" "It's a good thing to be born." "But don't you think it's strange? It doesn't happen sooner or later, but it happens at this time. It must be the ghost of Ruoji again. Brother Yue Yun, don't you think so?" The horse butcher stomped his feet. The inner room did not speak for a while. "Brother Yue Yun, you should say something." The butcher horse said anxiously. The door of the back room opened, and the grandfather came out with his clothes on, and asked in disbelief, "Your wife is born at this time?"

"Brother Yue Yun, can I lie to you about this?" Butcher Ma grabbed Grandpa's hand.At that time, Grandpa's hand hadn't withered into pine bark, but it was full of calluses, which could hurt you when holding your hand.It was originally a pair of typical thick peasant labor hands, but they can pinch and count, which is better than ordinary fortune-telling Taoist priests.As long as the time of the child's birth is reported correctly, his hands can calculate the child's next life and present life, and even whether the child comes out head first or feet first, whether it comes out upside down or down.

On the day I was born, my father went to my grandpa's house to set off firecrackers. Grandpa asked for my birth time, calculated it with his fingers, and said, go back and see if the child has turned his left hand sideways.My father said that he was so happy for a while that he didn't have time to watch it.Grandpa pushed my father out of the door and said, go back quickly and see if the child's hand is not born smoothly. If it is, I will give him a talisman to protect him.Dad came home and saw that my hands were turned sideways, and my palms were turned upside down and I couldn't touch my chest.Later, my grandfather healed my hand with a very strange method, and I will talk about this later.

The butcher said: "I went back from you last night. Before I reached the door, Lan Lan came out of the house. When she saw me, she blamed me and said, your daughter-in-law gave birth and still haven't seen your ghost. I was asked to find two diapers to pick up the baby. I thought Lan Lan was lying to me, but I ran into the house and saw that she had already given birth. Several women in the neighborhood were helping, and it was a mess. I was stupid at the time. How can there be such a coincidence!" "No!" said Grandpa. "Brother Yue Yun, give me an idea. I'm going to die of anxiety. If it's not resolved within seven days, I'm afraid my son will still be lost." The horse butcher's legs softened and he knelt down.

Grandpa quickly helped him up, and said in a hoarse voice: "It seems that we have to hate it. It is trying to force you to do nothing, and you can only repay it in the most vicious way." The horse butcher asked in a weeping tone: "Don't look down on ordinary cows. If a tiger touches its cowboy, it will fight the tiger with its horns. If it really wants my son's life, I will do anything figured it out." Grandpa nodded, explaining to him so and so, so and so.The horse butcher took notes carefully. It just so happened that grandma was not at home for a few days (that is, "grandmother"), so she went to live with her aunt and grandma.And the two uncles live in the school, and my grandfather and I are usually at home.I heard my grandpa said that I would go out to catch ghosts at night, so I clamored to go with him.Grandpa disagrees.I have always said that I am more afraid when I am alone at home. If I encounter a ghost and have no one to protect me, I might as well follow my grandpa. Even if the ghost wants to harm me, I will still be protected by my grandpa. With my grandpa around, I will not be afraid.Grandpa laughed at my flattery, so he nodded in agreement.Grandpa comforted me in turn: "There are a few young and strong men going with me, so don't be afraid."

Towards the end of the day, the horse butcher brought seven or eight brave men from the same village, each with a blood-red thick cloth tied on their hands.Grandpa tied one himself, and another for me.Everyone prepared dinner together, and there was wine and meat on the table, all brought by the horse butcher.I was also around, with a big appetite, but there were no chopsticks on the table, so I volunteered: "I'll get the chopsticks." Grandpa said: "Don't use chopsticks, everyone washes your hands and eats with your hands." I was confused: "Why don't you use chopsticks?"

The horse butcher explained to me: "Your grandfather is right. We can't use things used by souls, otherwise we will get into trouble when dealing with Ruoji ghosts." When I thought about it, the chopsticks were indeed used by the soul.According to the custom of our side, every year when we eat during the Chinese New Year, there are always a few more pairs of chopsticks on the table. My mother said that they are reserved for the dead elders, and they are used to worship the ancestors.The situation is like a monk in a temple offering a bowl of braised pork or a bowl of white rice to the Bodhisattva.This caused me to be inattentive during Chinese New Year meals. I secretly glanced at the place where the empty chopsticks were placed, and always felt that there were invisible people sitting and eating with me to pick up vegetables.Sometimes I have to be careful when stretching out my chopsticks to pick up vegetables, for fear of robbing them of what they want to eat.

Those brawny men were also not polite, rolled up their sleeves, grabbed the meat from the bowl and chewed it in their mouths, as if they were dying.Immediately, I was infected by the atmosphere, and felt that going to catch ghosts was a very heroic thing, like a revolutionary martyr who would rather die than surrender before the enemy's guillotine.I boasted that I was so brave at such a young age, it was amazing, my blood was boiling, and I was gearing up to join them in arresting the murderous ghost.Excitedly, I rolled up my sleeves and put my hands into the big greasy bowl, thinking that it's a pity that I don't know how to drink, or I would drink something to strengthen my courage.

After the meal was finished, the horse butcher distributed a brand new hoe to each of them. The handle of the hoe was also tied with a blood-red strip of coarse cloth, the same as the one in his hand, but I didn't have one. "You can just take a look at it." The horse butcher said, "It's good for a child to exercise his courage. A dignified man is not afraid of anything, and he will have a bright future in the future." I know he is flattering grandpa, but I do not mind. Grandpa tore a square piece of yellow paper, and wrote crooked symbols on it with a brush, like a deformed spring.I don't understand.Grandpa stuck the leftover wine with his hands and sprinkled it on the yellow paper, and said, "Everything is ready, let's go together." The moonlight outside is still cold and solemn, and occasionally I hear the hooting of owls in the distant trees.