Chapter 2, demolishing the village temple, cutting down the locust tree
In the past, during the time of the bandits, incidents occurred before those bandits even approached the village temple. However, now, with the walls torn down, nothing has happened at all. Some people even murmur whether the incidents back then were merely coincidences, or if they were simply tales concocted by the village elders to scare the children.
Among the six lumberjacks, Li Erwa is the most daring, nicknamed Li Daring, and is said to have the courage to sleep in an old grave circle at midnight. He spat twice onto his palm, rubbed it, and swung his large axe towards the big locust tree to chop it down
In that year and month, the villagers had food to eat, but they were not well-off. Li Aiguo indeed won the hearts of many villagers with his money
I once witnessed my grandfather nearly succumb to poisoning while trying to save Xiao Wei's father, Lin Godan, from snake venom. In order to extract the venom from Xiao Wei's father, my grandfather almost poisoned himself. Had it not been for my grandmother's timely provision of the antidote for snake venom, my grandfather might have truly lost his life
Grandfather stood to the side, unable to bear watching any longer. Due to his nervousness, it took him quite a while to fill his pipe, and he began to smoke vigorously.
After finishing, the old Taoist said: "The celestial being on this old locust tree has already been invited away by this poor Taoist. Everyone can rest assured to cut down the tree; there is nothing to worry about"
Li Erwa, who took the lead in chopping down trees, said: "Uncle Changsheng, you are already of this age and cannot chop down trees yourself, so do not hinder us, the younger generation, from making our fortune!"
At this moment, my grandfather could no longer stand
I ran to my grandfather's side, and he picked me up and held me in his arms
Some villagers also said that after all these decades have passed, there is still a Taoist priest. Either the evil spirit in the village temple has been subdued by that old Taoist priest, or the evil spirit found the village temple too dilapidated and the village too poor and left long ago. After the village temple was demolished, there is no need to live in fear anymore
In the two or three days following Li Aiguo's departure from my home, several elders from the village came to my house one after another to act as intermediaries. It was evident that these individuals had already been persuaded or bribed by Li Aiguo
Do not speak nonsense
As soon as Li Aiguo finished speaking, a thud was heard from the direction of the tree stump, where a person had collapsed to the ground next to it
In fact, as my grandfather held my hand, I could feel that his palm was sweating
However, the villagers do not pay attention to these matters
At that time, my grandfather took me to watch from a distance
Even so, when it comes time to cut down the trees, no one moves. Everyone thinks, why should I be the one to cut the trees? After all, cutting trees is cutting trees; what if something goes wrong?
Those old ladies immediately hid behind my grandfather, and seeing their envious and jealous gazes directed at me, it seemed they would have loved to burrow into my grandfather's embrace as well
In an instant, dust rose in clouds, and a continuous rumble echoed. The village temple's courtyard walls were already weak, and before long, the entire perimeter wall and three dilapidated houses were reduced to rubble.
This matter is quite strange, as the tree bleeds, which is a very ominous sign. The villagers all understand this; some of the more timid ones ran away in fright, but many others were curious, wondering how a tree could bleed
At this moment, a sense of unease arose in my heart, and I looked up to ask, "Grandfather, will something happen?"
A large axe, a steel saw measuring one zhang and one (approximately 3.33 meters) in length, and a hemp rope as thick as a child's wrist were quickly prepared
Li Aiguo finished speaking and deliberately glanced at my grandfather, his eyes filled with pride and provocation
Li Aiguo summoned the Taoist priest who had performed the ritual before, and immediately drew a talisman to affix it to the old locust tree. Then, he burned incense and recited incantations, carrying out each step with great formality.
Everything seemed to be under Li Aiguo's control, and he handled it very precisely. He stated: "For those who cut down trees, an additional subsidy of 100 yuan per person!"
Saying one is not afraid is a deception; the villagers have also prepared realgar powder specifically to deal with snakes
Several elderly women are watching my grandfather here, probably afraid that he will cause trouble again, while the others continue to chop down trees
I understand what my grandfather is worried about, but given the current situation, what can he do
Li Erwa also had a bad temper. When his grandfather threw an old shoe at him, he became furious and threatened to chop his grandfather with an axe. Fortunately, the villagers came over to stop him at that moment. His grandfather was so angry that he nearly fainted. I was young at that time and was so scared that I cried.
Upon hearing these words, the villagers were greatly motivated, each one filled with enthusiasm and determination
Li Aiguo, witnessing this scene, was beaming with joy and shouted to the villagers: "Fellow villagers, look, there is nothing to worry about! We are in a new society now, where are the ghosts and monsters? Everyone, let's get moving, tear down the village temple and build a school. The children can go to school, isn't that wonderful!"
The sound was rumbling, akin to distant thunder, startling the villagers present, and causing several onlookers to flee in fright
I do not know if others have noticed this detail, but I certainly have. However, when I looked closely again, I only found a hole in the middle of the tree stump
The villagers were all discussing, with everyone expressing various opinions, most of which were superstitious beliefs. For instance, they said that cutting down a tree and causing it to bleed is a bad omen, and that the person who cuts the tree is likely to face the revenge of the spirit residing in the old tree
When grandfather spoke these words, the villagers were momentarily taken aback, for he was once the living deity of the village, and his words carried weight
Grandfather was almost stunned by Li Erwa's words, his face changed color, and he took off his shoes and threw them at Li Erwa.
I did not expect that Li Aiguo was already prepared; he even spent money to invite a Taoist priest from another region.
Li Aiguo invited that old Taoist who appeared to be shiny and well-fed. He walked around the village temple a few times, then began to ponder while pinching his fingertips.
Upon hearing this number, someone immediately signed up. Li Aiguo selected six individuals from those who registered. One hundred yuan was promptly handed to the lumberjack, and holding the money, they were extremely excited.
Li Aiguo shouted at the group cutting down trees: "Zhang Shenxian has urgent matters and will leave first. He has already briefed me on this side, and there is nothing to worry about. The trees are old, and the sap is thick; that is definitely not blood!"
Li Aiguo shouted at the villagers: "Everyone listen, this old locust tree is very ancient, and it is normal for it to ooze thick sap when cut. Do not spread rumors! During the time of the Four Olds, other villages cut down so many large trees without any issues, what could happen to our village? That is all feudal superstition, remnants of the past! We are now in the new century, and we must not engage in feudal superstition, nor should we scare ourselves!"
Grandfather is still standing there. I secretly glanced at his expression; he did not appear to feel any relief from the fact that nothing had happened just now. On the contrary, his expression became even more serious.
This matter made those tree cutters hesitate as well. Seeing this, Li Aiguo directly took out several one-hundred-yuan bills from his pocket and stuffed them into their pockets. However, one must have a life to earn money, and one must also have a life to spend it; they still did not dare to act.
The village temple, which had stood for hundreds of years, collapsed with a thunderous crash under the blow of Li Aiguo's hammer
After sitting down, Grandpa shouted loudly: "If you want to cut down the trees, go ahead, I won't care anymore. However, those who do not wish to die should retreat to a distance of at least 9 zhang!"
After the village temple was demolished, the villagers worked with great enthusiasm. It was as if by tearing down the temple, they had also dismantled the fears that had weighed on their hearts for many years, and one by one, they felt a sense of relief.
Moments later, all those who had gathered to watch the commotion stepped back in unison to a distance of over ten zhang. At this time, my grandfather quietly said to me, "Fan, come over here to Grandpa!"
In the eyes of the villagers, my grandfather was once able to summon souls and inspect graves, which made him seem like a living immortal. Now, the Taoist priests who come to the village can exorcise demons and capture ghosts, making them appear as true immortals.
Grandfather was supported by several people and walked a long way before finding a piece of bluestone to sit down on
This statement served as a reassurance for the villagers, and the six individuals began to chop down trees
The elderly are in a state of desperation, and Li Aiguo is completely unable to take action
At last, the old tree was felled, but the stump and the surrounding ground were stained a deep crimson, and even the water in the nearby pond had changed color
At this moment, the old Taoist priest stepped forward again. He took a talisman out of his pocket and affixed it to the gap created by Li Erwa's chop, saying: "It's fine now, continue chopping!"
What is even stranger is that it seems something moved slightly within that tree stump
After the talisman was affixed, those few individuals who usually loved to revolve around Li Aiguo appeared somewhat hesitant; they did not dare to take action. Everyone was aware of the strange occurrences that had taken place in the village temple in the past. It is better to be safe than sorry, and they all feared that something might go wrong
While everyone was waiting for him to continue, Li Erwa stood frozen in place, only to hear a few people nearby shouting: "Blood... blood is flowing, blood is flowing..."
After a while, he stroked his sparse beard and, with a pretentious demeanor, said to the villagers: "This dilapidated temple has already been inspected by this humble priest. There is nothing wrong with it; it is just a broken temple. Once I draw a few talismans and affix them, the evil spirits will be dispelled, and the village temple can be treated like a rundown house and casually demolished"
With this axe strike, a palm-sized notch was cut into the large locust tree that three or four people could embrace.
They kept chopping until the afternoon, and the timid onlookers ran away; the scene was too frightening, with blood flowing from the trees. Were the spirits residing in the trees harmed?
After the incident, grandfather was punished by grandmother several times with the soles of her shoes and was made to kneel on the washboard. Grandmother scolded grandfather for being reckless, saying that if he wanted to die, he might as well just bang his head against the south wall to make it easier
Everyone is not a fool; anyone can see that the old Taoist has fled for his life. However, people are somewhat skeptical about the saying that there are immortals in this tree and that cutting it down will lead to trouble. Li Erwa, who is indeed known as Li Daring, trembles in his hands but still leads a few people, shouting slogans while chopping down the tree
However, after the old Taoist finished pasting the talisman, he hurriedly left, using the excuse that he had urgent matters to attend to
Li Aiguo saw that everyone was motionless; he did not get angry but simply snatched the large hammer from one person's hand. Immediately afterward, he swung the hammer and struck it against the wall of the village temple with a loud bang
It must be said that Li Aiguo is truly skilled at inciting the masses
With these ideas as their backing, the villagers began to grow bolder, and many even responded to the call by joining the ranks of those demolishing the village temple
However, three days later, when Li Aiguo brought a group of people to demolish the temple, there were still some elderly individuals blocking the way, and of course, my grandfather was among them
Grandfather glared at me
At that moment, Grandfather looked at me in such a way that I understood how important the villagers of Yangjiazhuang were to him
However, after half an hour had passed, nothing had happened at all; there were no signs of a snake swarm attacking, nor was there anyone possessed.
After the village temple's wall was knocked down by Li Aiguo, everyone stood in place, stunned, waiting for half an hour
At this moment, Li Aiguo said: "Fellow villagers, our village is building a school, and there is plenty of wood available. This old locust tree is a great resource; one tree can be equivalent to more than ten trees, which can save our village a considerable amount of money! The higher authorities have allocated a significant amount of funds, and the money we save will be evenly distributed among us based on our household registrations. What do you think?"
As those people were about to take action, my grandfather rushed over and blocked them, shouting loudly: "You bunch of fools, the temple has already been demolished, and now you still want to cut down trees. Are you tired of living?"