Sun Chengchao looked around and saw no one around. He took out a dead rat from his pocket, then wrapped a layer of white cloth around the dead rat and buried it quietly under the corner of Zhu Qingniang's house. After Zhang Cheng finished it, when he stood up to leave, he didn't know when an old beggar stood behind him.
Sun Cheng forced himself to calm down and said: "What are you looking at! You stinking beggar!"
The old beggar was not angry either; He said calmly: "Young man, you must be generous and be merciful to others." Sun Cheng became furious and kicked the old beggar to the ground. En said harshly: "I have grown so big. Is it your turn to teach me, a beggar? "Get out of here." After that, Sun Cheng walked away.
After a short time, Zhu Qingniang came out of the courtyard and was going to the river to do laundry. She saw the old beggar lying on the ground and hurriedly came over to help her. She asked with concern: "Old man, are you okay?"
The old beggar patted the dirt on his body and said, "It's okay. I just fell down. Thank you for your concern, little lady."
Zhu Qingniang saw that the old beggar had a yellow face and thin skin. At that time, she felt pity. She helped the old beggar to her home and said: "Old man, I happened to make some dumplings for lunch. I can't finish them all by myself. It's cold outside now, so you can eat some." Keep out the cold.”
After that, Zhu Qingniang went to the kitchen to boil the dumplings under water. After a while, she brought out a bowl of hot dumplings. After seeing it, the old beggar couldn't help but burst into tears. He didn't know how long it had been since he had such a good meal.
Zhu Qingniang said from the side: "Don't worry, if there is not enough food, I will cook more for you. As the saying goes, life is rare in seventy years. It is not easy for you to come out to make a living at such an old age. My abilities are limited and I can only do what I can. Let me help you a little.”
Wait for the old beggar to eat. After the meal, Zhu Qingniang found some more clothes, handed them to the old beggar and said, "My husband passed away from illness two years ago. These clothes are all brand new and he has never worn them. They are of no use at home now. Why don't I give them to you?" "Take it and wear it, it will keep you warm from the cold."
The old beggar was even more moved, tears welled up in his eyes, and he was speechless for a long time.
After a while, the old beggar asked: "Who is the man who just left your house?"
Zhu Qingniang thought for a moment and then said: "He is a local There was a carpenter named Sun. My house was newly built, and he did all the carpentry work for me. "
The old beggar then said, "Did you offend him in any way?"
When Zhu Qingniang heard this, she couldn't help but get a little angry and said: "At that time, many people said that Carpenter Sun was very skilled, so I invited him over. There was delicious food and good service, but one time I was cooking in the kitchen. When I was there, he actually plotted against me. Fortunately, other craftsmen came over to serve the meal, so he walked out angrily. For the next few days, I avoided being alone with him."
Zhu Qingniang paused, and the old beggar paused. Then he asked: "What happened next?"
Zhu Qingniang said: "Just now he came over to ask for wages. I handed him the money, but he refused to take it and said that he wanted me to stay with her for one night, and all the wages were offset. i will He scolded him, gave him his wages, and then turned around and left. Before he left, he warned me that he would be rewarded by me. I was thinking, in this world, could he still act so brazenly?
Only then did the old beggar understand what had happened. He sighed and said, "When I passed by just now, I saw him doing something under the corner of your house. I guessed that the landlord must have offended him for something, so he did such a cruel thing." , I also advised him at that time to be generous and to treat others with kindness. He was kicked to the ground. "
Zhu Qingniang became nervous when she heard that Sun Cheng had done something to her. Finally, under the guidance of the old beggar, Zhu Qingniang discovered the dead rat wrapped in white cloth.
The old beggar said: "Carpenters know the Luban technique , which can cast a curse to harm people. This curse is called rat resentment. This technique is extremely cruel. He first put several mice in a box and let them kill each other. Last alive The rat was drowned in the water. As long as the rat is buried under the corner of the house, the homeowner will be killed within three days."
After hearing this, Zhu Qingniang shuddered. Unexpectedly, Carpenter Sun looked like a man of five people. It's so sinister and terrifying deep inside.
Zhu Qingniang said: "Since it is a curse, there must be a way to break the curse. I hope I can teach you."
The old beggar sighed and said: "The kindness of one meal should be repaid forever. Although you and I meet by chance, you can see You are a completely good person. To be honest, I was also a carpenter before, just because I used magic. He harmed people, suffered the backlash of the spell, and finally ended up like this. Now I can only do good deeds to repay the debts I incurred in the first half of my life. Since Carpenter Sun is a scum, why not do it for the people?"
said, The old beggar chanted a spell and threw the dead rat and the white cloth into the brazier. The dead rat and the white cloth were quickly burned to ashes.
When the old beggar saw that the spell was broken, he said goodbye to Zhu Qingniang and turned around to leave.
The next day, Zhu Qingniang learned that there was an inexplicable fire in the home of carpenter Sun Cheng, and Sun Cheng was burned to coke. Only then did Zhu Qingniang understand that good and evil will be rewarded, and it was absolutely true. From then on, Zhu Qingniang became more and more virtuous and did good deeds, and later remarried a poor local scholar named Fan Jin. Shortly after the marriage, Fan Jin passed the imperial examination, and the couple fell in love with each other and grew old together.
[Solemn statement]
This story is a folk tale, purely a literary creation. The plot and characters are fictitious. It is intended to enrich readers' spare time. Please do not contradict feudal superstition.
