In our Gada, there is a carpenter named Lao Zhang, whose craftsmanship is top-notch, and his heart is also warm. At the time of Qingming, Lao Zhang took incense, candles, paper money, and went to the ancestral tomb to worship. On this day, the sun is just right, and the spring breeze is not bad, but Lao Zhang's heart is heavy. As he walked, he pondered that if this year's harvest was not good, it would be a question of whether the family could have a good year.
When he arrived at the cemetery, Lao Zhang first kowtowed to his ancestors, lit incense and candles, and burned paper money. I was busy when I suddenly smelled strange, different from the usual smell of incense, sweet and greasy, and a little unspeakably evil. Lao Zhang frowned, looked around, and saw nothing. I muttered in my heart: "Why does this big graveyard smell come out like this?" He shook his head and continued his prayers.
But the smell was getting stronger and stronger, and Lao Zhang couldn't help but sneeze, and his nose was itchy and uncomfortable. He muttered to himself and decided to find the source of the smell. Put down the work in your hand and follow the fragrance. After walking for a while, I found that it was floating out of a new grave. The tomb is very well-built, and it looks like a rich family. Lao Zhang thought to himself: "This family is strange enough, and the tomb is so fragrant during the Qingming Festival." ”
Take a closer look, the tombstone is engraved with "Tomb of the Li Family". Lao Zhang said in his heart: "Who belongs to this Li family, seeing that this tomb is so magnificent, it is definitely not an ordinary person." "When I went around the tomb, I found a small hole in the head of the tomb, from which the fragrance wafted out. Lao Zhang became curious, squatted down, and picked up the soil. This chop actually pulled out a jar, and it was filled with that strange smell.
Lao Zhang was happy in his heart: "This can't be a baby, right?" "Carefully digging out the jar and opening it, there was a jar of honey inside. Lao Zhang was even happier now, and thought: "This Li family is really generous, and there is honey buried in the grave." But why does this honey smell so weird? I couldn't help but taste it, it was so sweet, but I felt that something was wrong. I muttered in my heart: "Why is this honey so weird?" ”
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew Lao Zhang's hat away. He hurried to chase after his hat, and one accidentally fell, and the jar in his hand also shattered. As soon as the jar shattered, the honey flowed all over the ground, and the fragrance suddenly filled the entire cemetery. Lao Zhang got up and saw that the honey slowly seeped into the soil, and then disappeared. He wondered in his heart, "Why is this honey gone?" ”
Just then, he heard a strange noise, as if someone was whispering. Looking around, I didn't see anything. Suddenly, he felt a chill behind him, as if something was approaching him. Lao Zhang turned his head and snorted, and saw a girl in white standing behind him. The girl's face was as white as paper, and her eyes were hooked, and she was mad when she looked at it. Lao Zhang was so frightened that he ran away. The girl didn't seem to intend to let him go, and kept following him. Lao Zhang ran out of breath, but he couldn't get rid of the girl. At this moment, Lao Zhang saw a village in front of him, so he rushed in desperately. As soon as he entered the village, Lao Zhang found an acquaintance and told him everything about what happened just now. When the acquaintance heard this, his face turned green, and he said, "Lao Zhang, you are in a big trouble!" The person buried in the grave is not an ordinary person, it is the famous lady of the Li family here. She loved honey when she was alive, and when she died, her family buried her favorite honey in the grave. If you dig this way, won't you bring out her soul! When Lao Zhang heard this, his soul was about to fly. He hurriedly asked his acquaintance what he could do. The acquaintance said: "Now there is a trick that can save you, hurry up and find a Taoist priest to do it and send this soul away." When Lao Zhang heard this, how dare he delay, and immediately went to find a Taoist priest. But the girl in white was still wandering around the entrance of the village, as if she was waiting for something.
This is the adventure of the carpenter Lao Zhang's grave. Do you say Lao Zhang is unlucky? It's good to put it on the grave, why is it on the stall? But then again, there are some things in this world that are really inexplicable, and we can only listen to the story and have fun. When Lao Zhang heard this, his heart was half cold, what kind of joy is this, this is a big deal! He hurriedly asked his acquaintance: "How can there be a Taoist priest around here who can be invited?" The acquaintance shook his head and said, "The Taoist priest is not easy to find, it depends on your luck." When Lao Zhang heard this, he was so anxious that he stomped his feet, thinking to himself, what can I do now? At this moment, an old man in the village came over, heard the conversation between the two, and asked, "Lao Zhang, what's wrong with you?" Why are you in such a hurry? Lao Zhang told the old man everything about it. After hearing this, the old man touched the beard on his chin, pondered for a moment, and then said, "I have heard about this eldest lady of the Li family, she was indeed a kind girl when she was alive, and she should not harm anyone." However, since you have dug up her grave, you still have to find a way to appease her resentment. When Lao Zhang heard that there was a play, he hurriedly asked: "Old man, do you have any way?" The old man nodded and said, "Go and buy some paper money, incense, candles, and offerings, and then go to the grave to pay respects, and sincerely apologize, and perhaps calm her resentment." When Lao Zhang heard this, he hurriedly thanked him, and then hurriedly went to prepare things.
Lao Zhang bought paper money, incense candles and offerings, and found a few strong young men from the village and went to the cemetery together. When he arrived at the grave, Lao Zhang first kowtowed three times respectfully, then lit incense and candles, burned paper money, and kept chattering: "Li family girl, my Lao Zhang really didn't mean it, I just dug your grave out of curiosity, now I know it's wrong, you have a lot, just spare me!" After speaking, Lao Zhang placed the offerings in front of the grave one by one, and then took a few young men to kowtow together to apologize. At this moment, the woman dressed in white reappeared. She stood quietly in front of the tomb, her eyes watching Lao Zhang and his companions kowtow reverently and apologize, the expression on her face seemed to reveal a hint of softness. Seeing this scene, Lao Zhang couldn't help but feel a little relieved in his heart, and he realized that his sincerity may have touched the other party. He did not stop, and continued to apologize by kowtowing until all the paper money was reduced to ashes and the incense candles were burned.
Suddenly, the woman in white spoke, her voice clear and gentle: "Carpenter Zhang, since you have realized your mistake, I will forgive you this time. But remember, you should be reverent and never repeat such mistakes. Hearing this, Lao Zhang hurriedly kowtowed again, and responded gratefully: "Thanks to the girl's magnanimity and tolerance, I, Zhang, will definitely remember the teachings, and will be cautious in my words and deeds in the future, and will never make such mistakes again." ”
The woman in white bowed slightly, then turned lightly and disappeared into the air like a wisp of smoke. Lao Zhang saw her leave, and the burden in his heart was finally lifted. He slowly stood up, gently patted the dust off his body, and said to the young people around him, "Let's go, it is not appropriate to stay here for a long time." The young men also quickly stood up, followed in the footsteps of Lao Zhang, and left the cemetery together.
Back in the village, Lao Zhang told the villagers about this experience in detail, and everyone felt that the incident was quite strange. Some praised the magnanimity of Li's daughter, who could forgive Lao Zhang's mistakes even after her death; Some think that Lao Zhang is really lucky to meet such a benevolent soul; Others cautioned that they must be more careful when going to the grave in the future to avoid making the same mistake again. Lao Zhang himself felt very lucky, and he secretly vowed that in the future, he must respect his ancestors and gods more and never make similar mistakes again.
Soon after, Lao Zhang met a Taoist priest. After hearing about Lao Zhang's experience, the Taoist priest told him: "You can escape this catastrophe thanks to your sincere apology and worship." However, the resentment of the daughter of the Li family has not completely dissipated, and you need to do more good deeds and accumulate virtue in the future in order to resolve her resentment. Since then, he has not only improved his carpentry skills, but also often extended a helping hand to help the elderly and disadvantaged groups in the village, making up for his past mistakes with practical actions, and accumulating many blessings for himself and his family.
Time flies, a few years have passed in a blink of an eye, Lao Zhang is not only more exquisite, but also his character is more and more kind. The villagers all lamented the changes in Lao Zhang, believing that he knew how to respect and be grateful more than before. And the tomb of the daughter of the Li family has not appeared any abnormalities since then, as if everything has returned to tranquility. After the news spread, the elders of the village often gathered together to tell the story of Lao Zhang's grave, so as to educate the younger generation to respect their ancestors and gods, to have a sense of reverence, and not to take offense lightly.
Lao Zhang's story has also become a good story in the village with the passage of time, and he himself is regarded as a legendary figure, and his deeds have been praised from generation to generation. Through his own personal experience, Lao Zhang conveyed to us a profound truth: respecting ancestors and gods is not only the traditional virtue of the Chinese nation, but also the basic principle of our conduct in the world. No matter how the years change, we should remember it and act on it. Lao Zhang's story spread in the village, not only becoming a topic of conversation in people's leisure time, but also a model for educating future generations. Lao Zhang himself seems to have undergone a transformation, no longer as casual as before, but has become more calm, and has invested more care and efforts in the personnel of the village.
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, Lao Zhang's children have also grown up. They witnessed the change in their father, and they naturally understood the reason in their hearts. So, they decided to hold a birthday banquet for their father, both to celebrate his health and longevity, and to thank him for his help and dedication to the villagers over the years. On the day of the birthday feast, the men, women and children of the village gathered together, and the atmosphere was very lively. Lao Zhang looked at the house full of villagers, and his heart was extremely happy. He raised his glass and expressed his gratitude to the crowd: "Thank you, thank you for coming. I can have today thanks to everyone's support and help. Here, I solemnly promise that I will continue to contribute to the village in the future and live up to everyone's expectations. ”
As soon as the words fell, there was a sudden commotion outside the door. Lao Zhang looked at the door with a puzzled gaze, only to see a man dressed in Taoist clothes walk in. The Taoist priest held a dust whisk in his hand, with a warm smile on his face, and as soon as he entered the door, he sent a congratulatory message to Lao Zhang: "Congratulations to Lord Zhang, blessed longevity and good health." Poor Road is here to congratulate you on your birthday today, and I wish you to be as blessed as the East China Sea, and live longer than Nanshan. When Lao Zhang saw the Taoist priest, he was a little surprised, and hurriedly got up to return the salute: "The presence of the Taoist chief really makes the humble house shine." Please sit down, please sit down. ”
After the Taoist priest sat down, he had a pleasant conversation with Lao Zhang. He asked Lao Zhang about his adventures when he went to the grave, and Lao Zhang told the whole process without reservation. After hearing this, the Taoist priest nodded and praised: "Master Zhang is really a lucky star." You were safe and sound back then, all because of your sincere apology and worship. It's admirable that you're doing good deeds and helping others now. Lao Zhang humbly waved his hand and responded: "Wherever and wherever it is, it is the love of the villagers." Daoist, you are the real master. ”
The Taoist priest smiled slightly, and then said, "Master Zhang is too famous. Poor Dao came today, in addition to congratulating you on your birthday, there is also a matter of asking for something. Lao Zhang hurriedly asked, "What is the request of the Dao Chief?" As long as it is within my Zhang's ability, I will never refuse. The Taoist priest said: "Poor Dao has recently been cultivating in the mountains and found a place with excellent feng shui, which is very suitable for building a Taoist temple. But there is a fierce beast guarding it, and it is difficult to approach. I would like to ask Zhang Shizhu to help drive the beast away so that I can build a Taoist temple there. After hearing this, Lao Zhang felt that this matter was quite tricky, but when he saw the sincere eyes of the Taoist priest, he nodded and agreed: "Okay, I promise you." But the beast is so ferocious, how can I keep it away? The Taoist priest replied, "Master Zhang only needs to bring incense and offerings, go to that feng shui treasure place, and worship heaven and earth with sincerity, and he will naturally be able to drive away the fierce beast." As soon as Lao Zhang heard the Taoist priest's words, he immediately prepared the incense and offerings according to the instructions of others, and went straight to the feng shui treasure. When he got there, he looked, good fellow, a fierce beast was crouching there and guarding. The fierce beast was frighteningly big, and its appearance was so hideous that it made people's hearts tremble. But Lao Zhang he, he was not afraid at all, he worshiped heaven and earth sincerely according to what the Taoist priest said, and then shouted at the top of his voice: "Heaven and earth have spirits, ghosts and gods learn together!" My old Zhang is here to worship today, and I ask the gods to help me drive this beast away! Before the words could be steady, a golden light suddenly flashed from the sky, striking the fierce beast. The beast screamed and fell to the ground. When Lao Zhang saw it, he was overjoyed, and hurriedly ran over to see that the fierce beast was out of breath.
Lao Zhang hurriedly placed the incense and offerings in front of the corpse of the fierce beast and worshiped again. After this worship, another golden light descended from the sky, wrapped the body of the beast, and then slowly disappeared into the air. Lao Zhang saw it and knew that it was done, so he turned around and left. He returned to the village and told the Taoist priest everything about it. When the Taoist priest heard this, he was very grateful, and thanked him repeatedly: "Master Zhang, you are really righteous and awe-inspiring, brave and fearless!" I can't thank you enough! Lao Zhang waved his hand and said, "Dao Chief, you're welcome, this is what I should do." Now that the beast has been driven away, you can build a Taoist temple on that site with confidence. The Taoist priest said, "Thank you for your help, I will definitely build the Taoist temple magnificently to repay your kindness." ”
In this way, Lao Zhang helped the Taoist priest drive away the fierce beast and did a great deed to the people in the village. His story spread in the village again, and became an example for future generations to follow. Lao Zhang himself continues to live his peaceful and happy life, enjoying the love and respect of his family and fellow villagers.