The first day of the tenth lunar month is the first day after the cold winter. In ancient times, there were customs such as giving clothes, sacrificial sacrifices, and opening the furnace, reminding people to pay attention to the cold winter coming. On this day, women had to take out cotton coats and give them to their relatives who were guarding the border and performing labor service in the distance. While sending cold clothes to their relatives, they gradually developed into deceased ancestors and also sent cold clothes for winter. Therefore, the first day of October is also called " Cold Clothes Festival ".
There are roughly the following statements among the people: one is the legend of Zhu Yuanzhang "gifting clothes"; the other is Meng Jiangnu to send cold clothes to her husband thousands of miles away; the other is Cai Lun papermaking and Cai Mo burn paper. But no matter which legend, it is inseparable from people's longing for their ancestors and their care for their relatives.
Today we will tell a story about "sending cold clothes".
点1点1点1日1日1日1日1日2日2016 During the Jiajing period, there was a small village called Mengjiazhuang in the southeast of Lin County, Fenzhou Prefecture, Shanxi Province. There was a woman named Meng Shu'e in the village. She was clever and smart, and her parents loved her like treasures.
When he was eighteen years old, Meng Shu'e married a man named Gao Qiusheng in the neighboring village. After the newlyweds, the couple respected each other as lovingly as a guest, and lived a happy life. Meng Shue has excellent character, likes to be helpful, gets along well with her fellow villagers, and is a rare good wife in the village.
Chenjiazhuang is located in a mountainous area, a remote area, with a drought for nine years. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the Gao family to live a few acres of thin fields. In order to prevent parents, wife and children from starving and cold, Gao Qiusheng came to Datong City, more than 600 miles away from home to work as a grain store.
After her husband left, Meng Shu'e respected her parents-in-law and helped her children, and took care of her family in an orderly manner. Her parents-in-law saw it and was happy in her heart.
In a blink of an eye, my husband has been away from home for eight or nine months, and the weather has become cold before he knows it. Datong is located in the northern part of the country and is extremely cold. My husband is still wearing single clothes before leaving. Winter is coming soon. Does he have cotton clothes to wear? Thinking of this, Meng Shu'e couldn't help but worry about her husband.
In fact, there is another thing that makes Meng Shu'e worry about. Before leaving, Meng Shu'e had an agreement with her husband that no matter whether there was anything to do with him or not, she had to write a letter to report her safety every two months. But more than a month has passed since the agreed date, Meng Shu'e had not received her husband's letter of peace, so she became anxious in her heart.
In order to be afraid that her parents-in-law would worry, Meng Shu'e did not tell them what she had not received the letter, but instead lied to them that her husband was fine, but she was already extremely anxious.
After careful consideration, Meng Shu'e decided to go to Datong alone to check it out. After making the decision, she made a cotton coat for her husband to keep warm overnight. The next day she said goodbye to her parents-in-law and headed towards Datong alone.
She finally arrived in Datong City on the way through mountains and rivers, sleeping in the wind and drinking in the open. According to the address her husband once told her, Meng Shu'e found the "Zhouji Grain Store" located in the north of the city.
With excitement, Meng Shu'e walked into the grain store. It was Si (09:00 to 11:00 Beijing time), and there were many villagers coming to buy grain, and the guys in the grain store were busy.
Meng Shu'e stood on tiptoe and looked inside, trying to find her husband's figure in the crowd, but she couldn't find it after watching for a long time. At this moment, a guy walked towards her: "Sister-in-law, do you buy food?"
Meng Shu'e shook her head and said, "Little brother, I'll ask for someone."
The guy asked, "Who?"
Meng Shu'e said, "Is there a guy named Gao Qiusheng here?"
After hearing Meng Shu'e's question, the guy was stunned for a moment, and then, the originally enthusiastic face became cold in an instant. Seeing the guy's expression, Meng Shu'e's heart couldn't help but tighten.
The guy asked calmly, "Who are you?"
Meng Shu'e hurriedly said, "I am his wife, I came from my hometown."
The guy was about to answer, but someone said to him, "Xiao Liu, haven't you seen people busy here? What are you talking nonsense?" After hearing this, the guy named Xiao Liu threw Meng Shu'e aside and went to work quickly.
From the attitude of the guy just now, Meng Shu'e noticed something strange, so she asked the others again. But I don’t know what happened, and the other guys were also in a cold attitude like Xiaoliu.
Seeing this, Meng Shu'e couldn't help but get anxious, so she sat at the door of the grain store and cried. Soon, a large group of people watching the fun came around at the door of the grain store.
"Hey, it's so pitiful. A woman ran over from such a distance but couldn't see her husband. How could she not be anxious?"
"Who can you blame him? Who told him to do something that was unreasonable?" Everyone was talking.
Hearing this, Meng Shu'e stood up and walked towards the man who was just talking: "Brother, what did you say just now? What's wrong with my husband?"
The man wanted to speak but stopped. The more the man refused to speak, the more anxious Meng Shu'e was in her heart.
At this moment, an old man in his sixties came over and asked Meng Shu'e: "Are you Gao Qiusheng's wife?"
Meng Shu'e nodded quickly, and the old man said: "Wife, don't worry, listen to me tell you slowly." The old man said while taking Meng Shu'e to a pancake stall not far away.
After sitting down, the old man brought a sesame cake to Meng Shu'e and said, "You are very tired after running so far. Let's eat something first and put it in a cushion."
Meng Shu'e is not in the mood to eat now. She cried and said to the old man, "Uncle, what's wrong with my husband? Please tell me quickly."
The old man sighed and said, "Wife, don't worry first, the matter has already happened, and you are anxious to death now. It's okay if you are anxious to death now. No help. Let me tell you the truth, something happened to Qiu Sheng. "
When I heard this, Meng Shu'e suddenly became anxious: "What's wrong? What happened to him?"
The old man said: "A month ago, the shopkeeper Zhou of the grain store sent your husband and another guy named Li Linquan out to ask for the account. Who knew that in the afternoon, only Li Linquan came back alone. He was injured all over. After he came back, he told the shopkeeper Zhou that your husband knocked him down on the ground and ran away with the account he wanted. Since then, your husband has disappeared. "
listened The old man said, Meng Shue was like a thunderbolt. After a while, she cried and said, "Impossible. My husband is honest. How could he do such a thing?"
The old man sighed and said, "Don't talk about you anymore. Even if he was here, he often helped my old couple do this and that. How could he do such a kind-hearted person?"
Meng Shue gritted her teeth and said, "Impossible. Even if everyone in the world thinks that my husband is such a person, I won't believe it. Uncle, that Is Li Linquan still in the grain store? I want to ask him for a clear answer! "
The old man said, "I heard from the guy in the grain store that he is not here these days. What if you find him? Wife, listen to my advice. Since the matter has already happened, you don't have to worry too much. Why don't you stay here first and then make plans? "
Meng Shu'e shook her head and said, "Uncle, I appreciate your kindness, I won't bother you. Do you know where my husband is in trouble? I want to go and see, no matter whether he is dead or alive, I will find him."
Seeing that Meng Shu'e insisted on doing this, the old man told Meng Shue about the place where Gao Qiusheng injured Li Linquan and robbed the silver. Then, Meng Shue went to that place.
Is Gao Qiusheng dead or alive? Is he really the fugitive who robbed and injured people in Li Linquan's mouth?
Meng Shue sent cold clothes thousands of miles away. What greeted her was not her husband's enthusiastic smile. Can she find her husband?
Please continue reading.
About two left After a long time, Meng Shu'e came to the place that the old man said. It was very remote. There was no people around for several miles. There was only a winding path. On one side of the mountain road was a bottomless ravine.
Seeing this, Meng Shu'e's heart couldn't help but feel cold. However, when she walked here, she had already made plans. Nearly two months had passed, so how could she find clues? In fact, his main purpose was to be at ease.
Hanlu has passed, and the weather has become colder. It was even colder in the empty wilderness. It didn't take long. , the sun sinks westward.
Meng Shu'e looked around and saw a broken house not far away, so she walked over and planned to spend only one night here and wait for tomorrow.
Although the house was broken, it could at least block the sharp northwest wind. After entering the room, Meng Shu'e squatted down in the corner.
As soon as she closed her eyes, her husband's familiar smile appeared in her mind. As she thought about it, Meng Shu'e couldn't help but burst into tears.
The miserable crying drifted over the empty wilderness, and it was both terrifying and sad in her ears.
cried and cried. Meng Shu'e fell asleep holding the cotton coat made for her husband.
Not long after she fell asleep, a burst of rapid footsteps woke her up: It's still midnight in the wilderness. Why are there anyone else? Thinking of this, Meng Shu'e quickly picked up a wooden stick from the ground and held it tightly in her hand.
Footsteps are getting closer and closer, and Meng Shu'e's heart is getting more and more nervous.
A moment later, a black shadow stumbled from outside and ran in. Meng Shu'e hurriedly asked, "Who? Who is it? ”
After hearing the sound, the black shadow stopped at the door: “Big, big girl, don’t be afraid. I just met a bad guy, and in a hurry, I ran here. Since you are inside, I won’t go in and I will just lean against the wall outside to avoid the wind. "After saying that, the black shadow squatted down against the wall outside the house.
After hearing the man's words, Meng Shu'e's heart couldn't help but relax. She slowly stood up and looked out from the window.
Under the corner of the wall, a man was squatting there trembling. With the moonlight, Meng Shu'e saw clearly that the man was only wearing a single piece of clothing. It seemed that even the clothes were snatched away.
Seeing this, Meng Shu'e said, "Brother, it's cold outside, so why don't you come into the house. ”
After hearing Meng Shu'e's words, the man slowly stood up and said, "It's in this wilderness, you and I have so many inconveniences, so I'll be outside." ”
Meng Shu'e said, “Hey, when you go out, there are no so many things to pay attention to. Besides, I see that you are wearing thin clothes. If you are frozen outside for a night, how can you stand it? "
Hearing Meng Shu'e say this, the man stopped insisting, and then walked into the house and squatted down against the wall beside the door.
Meng Shu'e then handed the cold clothes she made for her husband to the man: "Brother, I see that you are wearing thin clothes, I guess the clothes were stolen by the villain. I have a piece of clothing here, so you can put it on to protect the cold first. ”
Maybe it was too cold, the man was not humble and took the clothes and put them on him.
After a while, the man asked, "Big girl, why are you here alone?"
Perhaps it caused a sad thing, and Meng Shue started crying again. From Meng Shue's intermittent narrative, the man knew the whole story of the matter.
"Big girl, it's too difficult for you. Since you are a kind-hearted person, I see that your husband will definitely not be too bad. I just believe in you for your actions just now."
paused for a while, and the man said again, "Big girl, since the matter has happened, you don't have to be too anxious. My name is Zhang Wenyuan, and I open an inn more than ten miles away from here. Tomorrow you will follow me to go back to the inn and settle down. What do you think?"
Meng Shu'e smiled bitterly and said, "Thank you for your kindness. It's just that I'm worried about my husband's safety. Only when I find him can I feel at ease. No matter whether he is alive or dead, I will see him."
After hearing Meng Shu'e's words, Zhang Wenyuan couldn't help but give Meng Shu'e a thumbs up: "Since that's the case, I won't say anything more. You just have to be careful. Whenever you encounter difficulties in the future, go to the inn to find me."
After a conversation, before he knew it, it was already dawn, and Zhang Wenyuan said goodbye to Meng Shu'e and went home.
After Zhang Wen left, Meng Shu'e asked around about Gao Qiusheng's whereabouts, but did not get any valuable clues.
On this day, on the road, Meng Shu'e met a man in her thirties. In the past few days, Meng Shu'e has been like crazy. She will come forward to inquire whenever she meets someone. After seeing the man, Meng Shue walked up and asked, "Brother, I'll ask you to find out."
Hearing Meng Shue's voice, the man stopped, "Who?"
Meng Shue asked, "Brother, do you recognize a man named Gao Qiusheng. He was originally a job at Zhouji Grain Store, but later he disappeared."
After hearing Meng Shue's question, the man was stunned for a moment, and then asked, "Gao Qiusheng? Who are you? What's the matter with him?"
Meng Shue said, "I It was his wife. A few days ago, I came to find him from my hometown, but the people in the grain store said that something happened to him. I didn't believe it, so I wanted to look for the place where he had an accident."
The man looked up and down Meng Shu'e, and then said mysteriously: "Big girl, you have found the right person. Come and follow me."
After hearing the man's words, Meng Shu'e was overjoyed: "Brother, is it really? Do you really know where Qiu Sheng is?"
The man whispered: "Girl, this is not a place to talk, come with me." After that, the man walked up a small path, and Meng Shu'e hurriedly followed.
walked for about a quarter of an hour, and the man stopped. Meng Shu'e hurriedly asked, "Brother, where is Qiu Sheng?"
The moment the man turned around, Meng Shu'e felt a strange look in his eyes, and then she became secretly alert.
The man's face was no longer as kind as before, and instead he looked fierce. He sneered and said, "You will see her later." Before he finished speaking, the man picked up a stick and beat Meng Shu'e.
Fortunately, Meng Shu'e was prepared, so she quickly avoided and asked sternly, "You, who are you? Why do you harm me?"
The man did not answer, but called Meng Shue again. Meng Shue was a woman after all, and after resisting it, she was knocked to the ground by the man. In desperation, Meng Shue picked up the cotton coat in her hand and covered the man's face.
Hearing a "ah yell", the man let go of his hand and covered his eyes and screamed. Looking again, blood actually emerged from the man's eyes.
Taking advantage of this skill, Meng Shu'e quickly got up and ran out on the road.
The man was furious when he saw Meng Shu'e running away. He endured the pain and chased after him. Seeing that he was less than ten feet away from Meng Shu'e, the man picked up a stone and smashed it at Meng Shu'e. The stone was right on the back of Meng Shu'e's head.
Meng Shu'e staggered forward and ran a few more steps, then fell into a deep ditch next to the road and stopped moving.
The man came to the ditch and looked down. He saw Meng Shu'e not moving. Seeing that she was in danger of her life, he quickly left.
Meng Shu'e is also considered to be very lucky. After falling from a deep ditch two or three feet high, she did not die. I don't know how long it took, but she woke up.
What happened just now? Why did the man's eyes suddenly burst into bleeding? Meng Shu'e was very confused, so she picked up the cold clothes she made for her husband and started to look at them.
On the cold clothes, a shining thing caught his attention. When she saw the thing clearly, she understood it.
It turned out that when Meng Shu'e left home to look for her husband, she was so anxious that she forgot even the needle used to sew cold clothes in her clothes. After the clothes were made, the needle was hidden in the clothes. Even Zhang Wenyuan did not reveal the needle when he was wearing this clothes, otherwise he would have discovered it.
It was such a coincidence that when Meng Shu'e picked up the cold clothes and covered the man's face, the needle about two inches long suddenly appeared and pierced into the man's eyes.
Who is the man? Why hurt him? Such a thing happened to
, Meng Shu'e didn't dare to be careless, and she planned to ask Zhang Wenyuan for help.
dragged his injured body and Meng Shu'e came to Zhang Wenyuan's inn. Zhang Wenyuan was also very surprised when he learned that someone was going to harm Meng Shu'e. For safety reasons, Zhang Wenyuan kept Meng Shu'e and let her stay in the inn.
In the evening, a man hurriedly walked into the inn. The man's face was pale, and his right eye was covered with a piece of cloth as if he was injured. After seeing the man's appearance, Zhang Wenyuan couldn't help but be stunned.
When Meng Shu'e came to her, she had already told him everything about the man she met. After seeing this man, Zhang Wenyuan suddenly remembered that Meng Shue had once said that stabbed the man in the eye, so she became alert.
After settling the man in a calm expression, Zhang Wenyuan found Meng Shue: "Girl, there was someone living in the store just now. It looked like the person who wanted to harm you during the day. You have to be careful."
Meng Shue said: "I saw it quietly just now, that's right! It's him! Since he came to the door, I'll just have a trick. Maybe I can really know my husband's whereabouts from him."
Zhang Wenyuan asked: "What are you planning to do?" Meng Shue thought for a while, then whispered to Zhang Wenyuan.
After hearing Meng Shu'e's words, Zhang Wenyuan couldn't help but smile, then turned around and left the room.
After dark, Zhang Wenyuan came to the door of the man's room and knocked on the door.
At this time, the man was lying on the kang. After hearing the knock on the door, the man asked angrily: "Who?"
Zhang Wenyuan said: "Customer, I am the shopkeeper. I have something to tell you."
The man asked: "What's the matter? Can't you talk about it tomorrow?"
Zhang Wenyuan said: "This matter cannot be delayed tomorrow. . "
After a while, the man opened the door reluctantly. After entering the room, the man asked, "What's the matter?"
Zhang Wenyuan sighed and said helplessly: "Customer, I'm so embarrassed. This afternoon, a seriously injured woman fell at the door of my inn. I saw that she was seriously injured and rescued her. Who knew that just before you moved in, she died. I was still thinking about waiting to report to the official tomorrow.When you moved in, I was in a panic and forgot to tell you. Let’s do this. If you are taboo about these things, just find an inn again. If you don’t care, that’s fine. Anyway, I won’t ask you for the money for staying in the hotel. What do you think? Alas, I'm so sorry! ”
After hearing Zhang Wenyuan's words, the man hurriedly asked, "Woman? What woman? ”
Zhang Wenyuan said: “I am about 20 years old and covered in wounds, just like I ran out of the soil. Alas, if I had known that she would die, I wouldn't care about this no matter what I said. Did you say that I was idle and I was uncomfortable for myself? "
The man asked again: "Is she really dead? "
Zhang Wenyuan said: "Look at what you said, if she is not dead, why would I say this to you? Guest, what are you planning to do? Should I live or leave? "
The man said, "Isn't it just a dead person? What are you afraid of? But you can't ask me how much I want to stay in a hotel. ”
Zhang Wenyuan laughed and said, “Don’t worry, what you said. Since that's the case, I won't disturb you from resting. "After saying that, Zhang Wenyuan walked out of the house.
After Zhang Wenyuan left, the man said to himself: "Aren't you looking for your husband? You couple will meet in the underworld. snort! "
At midnight, the man in his sleep was awakened by a miserable cry: "Give me back my life! Return my life! "
After hearing this sound, the man was instantly scared and sweated, and then he quickly sat up from the bed.
A "creak" sound was heard, as if the door next door was opened.
A dead person was placed next door? How could the door open? The man thought.
At this moment, a miserable voice sounded again: "Give me my life back! Return my life! "Just as the man was stunned, the door was knocked open with a "push" sound.
Immediately afterwards, a woman covered in dirt and covered in blood jumped in. Seeing this, the man was so scared that he screamed: "Ghost! It's a ghost! "While saying that, the man rushed out of the house and ran out of the inn.
"Female ghost" did not stop, but chased the man tightly, while chasing him, shouting: "Give me back my life, come back my life! "
The man ran and looked back. The "female ghost" was still chasing him. After running for about three miles, the man came to a dilapidated temple on the hillside. The lights were on in a house in the temple. Seeing this, the man quickly ran into the house. Under the dim oil lamp in the room, a monk was meditating there. Seeing the man panicked, the monk asked, "Donor, what are you trying to break into here in the middle of the night? ”
The man said in panic: “Master, I encountered a ghost! There was always a female ghost following me! Please save my life by the master! "
Monk said: "Where does the ghost come from this world? Only those who have ghosts in their hearts can see ghosts! "
At this moment, there was a sound of footsteps outside the house. When he heard this, the man said in shock: "Master, the female ghost is here! "Before he finished speaking, the "female ghost" had already rushed in and said to the man: "Give me back my life! Return my life! "After saying that, the "female ghost" raised his hands and gestured to pinch the man's neck.
At this time, the man had already been frightened to the point of looking earth. He saw him kneeling and climbing to the monk's side and incoherently said, "Master, save me quickly! "
The monk smiled and said, "Li Linquan, take a closer look, who am I? ”
Just now, he was just jogging for his life, and he was panicked and did not carefully see what the monk looked like. When he heard the monk call out his name, Li Linquan was very confused and looked at the monk carefully.
After Li Linquan saw the man's appearance clearly, he was scared and paralyzed!
The monk in front of you is Gao Qiusheng who has disappeared for a long time!
, what's going on?
It turned out that at the beginning, the shopkeeper Zhou of the grain store arranged for Gao Qiusheng and Li Linquan to go out together to ask for the account. After taking back the account, Li Linquan had the idea of taking it for himself at the white money.
So in a secluded place, he injured Gao Qiusheng and pushed him into a deep ditch, and then injured himself. After returning to the grain store, he lied to Manager Zhou that Gao Qiusheng had the intention to hurt him when he saw the money and ran away with the silver.
Because Li Linquan was seriously injured, Manager Zhou did not arouse suspicion and blamed all the blame on Gao Qiusheng.
I didn't expect that Gao Qiu should not have died. After falling from a deep ditch that was more than three feet high, he did not die and was rescued by a passing monk.
A few days later, Gao Qiusheng woke up. After waking up, Gao Qiusheng quietly went to the grain store to ask Li Linquan for an explanation. Before he entered the city, he heard the news that he had been pursued. To be on the safe side, Gao Qiusheng did not act rashly, but returned to the temple.
From Gao Qiusheng's mouth, the monk learned about his experience. Seeing that Gao Qiusheng didn't look like a villain, the monk asked him to stay in the temple for the time being. In order to avoid people's eyes, he even shaved his head and became a fake monk.
That day, when Meng Shu'e came to the grain store, Li Linquan happened to have something to go out. On the way home, he met Meng Shu'e. After hearing Meng Shu'e ask him about Gao Qiusheng, she became alert. When he found out that Meng Shue was Gao Qiusheng's wife, in order to avoid the incident being exposed, he pushed Meng Shue to the bottom of the ditch.
After finishing this matter, Li Linquan thought about it more and more, so he planned to escape back to his hometown. Unexpectedly, I met Meng Shu'e who was rescued by Zhang Wenyuan in the inn.
Someone may ask, did Li Linquan not find out that the female ghost was dressed by Meng Shu'e? In the temple, didn’t he recognize that the monk was Gao Qiusheng?
Perhaps this sentence can give you the answer: the ghost is not elsewhere, it is in Li Linquan's heart!
After the truth was revealed, Li Linquan received the punishment he deserved; Gao Qiusheng returned to the grain store; while Meng Shue returned to her hometown. After the New Year, Gao Qiusheng brought the whole family to Datong City and lived there safely.
(end of the story)
October 1, burn cold clothes. Every year, the first day of the 10th lunar month is the traditional sacrificial festival in our country - the Cold Clothes Festival! People will choose to pay homage to their relatives on this day, which is called giving cold clothes.
Editor reminds: You must not forget the festival, but you must sacrifice in a civilized way!
