The story took place during the Tang Dynasty period, when there was a carpenter named Zhou De in Xiangyi County. Zhou De's father died early, and later he was all thanks to his mother Ding to pull him into adulthood. Just when Zhou De was twenty years old, Ding became ill due to overwork and died in the last life, leaving Zhou De alone.
An old carpenter named Fang in the same village saw Zhou De being pitiful, so he accepted him as his apprentice and taught him the carpenter's skills. After Zhou De finished his studies, he worked everywhere for others, which was so he could barely support himself. One winter, Zhou Dezhi went to the streets when he was free and accidentally ran into Zhang Ergou, who was old and saw Zhang Ergou looking very generous in gold.
Before, Zhou De looked down on Zhang Ergou the most. I don’t know where he has made money in recent years. After seeing Zhou De, Zhang Ergou took the initiative to come forward and greet him, "Isn’t this Brother Zhou? Don’t be fine recently." Zhou De said with a forced smile and said, "I have to thank you for your blessing. Life is good. Where has Brother Zhang made money recently?"
Zhang Ergou grinned and said, "I have made some money recently. If Brother Zhou appreciates his face, what if Brother Zhou asks Brother Zhou to have a drink?" Zhou De nodded immediately agreed when he saw Zhang Ergou saying this. After talking, Zhou De learned that the reason why Zhang Ergou was able to become prosperous was because he won by cheating in the gambling house.
Zhou De was very moved when he heard this. He followed Zhang Ergou to the gambling shop for a few games. As expected, he would win every gambling. Since then, Zhou De has become addicted to drugs and has been out of control since then. He has turned down all of them when others ask him out to work. At first, Zhou De did win some money, but later the casino shopkeeper found out that he changed the dice in question. After that, Zhou De began to lose more than he won.
At this time, Zhou De was completely immersed in his dream of getting rich overnight. He no longer had the intention to go out to work. In fact, what he didn't know was that all this was a scam set up by Zhang Ergou and the shopkeeper of the gambling shop. The purpose was to lure those who were eager to get rich and became addicted to gambling. Soon, Zhou De lost all his only property, but he was still unwilling to give up and started stealing.
One night, Zhou De went to steal from Old Man Li's house outside the city and stole a lot of money. When he was about to get home, he found a woman following him. Zhou De was shocked and thought that his behavior was exposed and was about to get rid of the woman. But when he looked back, he saw that the woman was very beautiful, with tears in her eyes, looking pitiful.
Zhou De scolded sternly, "Who are you and why are you following me?" The woman cried and said, "The little girl's name is Ahua. She originally followed her father here to join relatives, but she didn't expect that her father died of illness unexpectedly. I was homeless and wandered on the streets. I was afraid on the streets alone. I just saw the young master passing by, wanting to come forward to chat with him, but I was afraid that the young master would dislike him, so I followed him all the time."
Zhou De couldn't help but be happy when he heard this. He was worried that he had no money to marry a wife. Unexpectedly, God actually sent him a wife. Zhou De showed a humble and gentleman look and took the woman named Ahua home. The two of them did a good thing that night. The next day, Zhou De threatened to the public that Ah Hua was her distant cousin, and the two had a engagement since childhood, and now they have officially become husband and wife.
Ahua is very keen on sex and has to do that with Zhou De as soon as the night comes. Usually, Ahua rarely goes out during the day. Whenever she needs to go out, she always has to hold an umbrella. Zhou De asked her why, Ahua explained that she was afraid of being tanned by the sun. After more than ten days like this, Ah Hua's skin became whiter and fairer, Zhou De began to turn black, and his body began to get worse and worse.
One night, Zhou De dreamed of his mother Ding, and Ding cried and said, "Son, the one whom I am most worried about is you. I raised you with great difficulty. I didn't expect that you would do such a despicable behavior in the end. It seems that the old Zhou family will be the last one." Zhou De was the most respectful and filial to his mother. He said, "Mom, now I have married Ahua, and the old Zhou family will have a last one soon."
Ding said in tears: "Your wife Ah Hua is not a human being! That night you went to the home of the old man Li, a craftsman, , , to steal. His finger accidentally cut and dripped blood on the paper man. The romantic ghost wandering on the paper man was attached to the paper man, and finally turned into a woman to find you to find your soul. Tomorrow, July 15th, is also the day with the heaviest yin energy. If you get along with her tomorrow, your life will be over! "
Zhou De wanted to ask again, but as soon as he stepped down from the bed, he realized that it was a dream. At this time, Zhou De touched Ah Hua who was lying beside him, and saw that she was cold and had no breath. Then he realized that what his mother said was true. But Zhou De did not dare to do anything to her, for fear of being hurt by female ghosts.
Zhou De recalled his experiences along the way, and Zhang Ergou was all addicted to gambling. If he was not addicted to gambling, he would not go to Old Man Li’s house to steal, and would not provoke female ghosts. Zhou De suddenly thought of a way to kill two birds with one stone. On July 15th, Zhou De invited Zhang Ergou to his house to drink, and at night, he asked Zhang Ergou to stay. At home.
Zhou De pretended to be drunk and went to the side room to sleep. Zhang Ergou saw Ahua's beautiful appearance and sneaked into Ahua's room at night. Soon, Zhang Ergou's heavy breathing sound came from the house. At dawn the next day, Zhou De went to No. 5 Middle School to inspect and saw Zhang Ergou die on the bed holding a paper man. Zhou De was worried that the female ghost would be entangled again, so he burned the house with a fire, and then went away with the carpenter's tools. From then on, he lived a steadily life. The second half of his life was considered stable and happy.
[Soul statement]
This story is a folk story, purely literary creation, and the plot and characters are all fictional, aiming to enrich readers' spare time. Please do not match the feudal superstition.
