Thanks for the invitation: In ancient times, people shared children

Pei Xiaohai told Pei Zhu that he could see ghosts and asked her not to tell anyone else.

But she turned around and told Liu Renben.

Not only did the two of them not believe it, they also said that it was a trick taught to her by the old nuns and told her not to say it again.

Pei Xiaohai thought they really thought so, and after being scolded a few times, he became dispirited and quietly slipped down from the stool and went to the yard.

Changsui and Baifu also came out. They had heard a lot of weird things and were scared. When they saw Pei, the kid who claimed to be able to see ghosts, they not only didn't dare to move forward, but also took a few steps back and ran out of the door hand in hand.

Pei Xiaoxiao was the only one left in the yard. Aunt Yu came out with a bowl in her hand and saw her standing there in a daze. She approached her with hesitation and said,

"My dear, the master said that all the dragon meat in the house belongs to you and Shuanzi. If you want to eat anything, just tell me. It needs to be stewed in advance, otherwise it won't be tender.

Or I can make you some meat jerky, which can be a nice snack when you have nothing to do.

But in my opinion..."

Aunt Yu glanced around, put her hand on her shoulder, and continued in a low voice, "No matter what, don't eat at the table. If you eat behind people's backs, no one will like it, and it will make people lose their appetite.

Stop talking about gods and ghosts.

I'm telling you all this out of good intentions. If you don't like to hear it, forget it. But I see that you're a thoughtful child. You've never mentioned any of this nonsense before when you came to my house. Regardless of whether it's true or not, you've been holding it in. Why are you saying it now?

Your family doesn't expect you to make money from this, and it won't sound good if it gets out. No matter what you were like before, you are now a young lady and a person of status. You are different from those gossipy women who walk around the streets. It's time for you to calm down and stop thinking about going out. Help your wife more and do more things to please others.

After all, you are not my biological child, and you are not the only one in the family. It’s okay if I don’t understand, but you are already so old. If you don’t learn to be more sensible and well-behaved, won’t you be outdone?

What will you do if the master and the mistress really get tired of you?"

Aunt Yu kept on talking, her straightforward and cheerful voice lowered to a very low level, with an unusual gentleness. Just by listening to her voice, you could tell that she said all this with good intentions, but it just sounded awkward.

Pei Xiaohai: "What are those gossipy women walking around the streets?"

Pei Xiaohai felt that Aunt Yu seemed particularly disdainful when she talked about gossips.

"What else could it be? You know the nuns, Taoist nuns, fortune-tellers, matchmakers, midwives, fortune-tellers, medicine women, pious women, and matchmakers. These people are the best at spreading rumors.

I thought your master and the others were honest people, but I didn't expect that they also taught you to talk about these weird things in private.

Miss, you are smart. Listen to me and forget all that. We are a respectable family."

Aunt Yu spoke earnestly, patted her shoulder and left.

Pei Xiaohai was left standing there in a daze.

Gossipy women, spreading rumors?

In Pei Xiaohai's mind, the old nun and Ma Yaopo were people she had known since childhood. They were very nice and respected.

Wang Ganniang, who is fierce and thin, is a midwife. She is not common, but she heard that many families would look for her when they give birth, so she must be a very powerful person.

But in Aunt Yu's mouth, they all seemed to be unworthy of mention, and the master and the others could only be called honest...

What does it mean?

There are also matters of ghosts and gods, how can that be unserious?

Why don’t they say such things when they worship the river god?

When that heavy rain came, didn't she also burn incense to the river god and pray for the rain to stop?

If someone died in their family, wouldn’t they invite a nun to chant sutras?

Pei Xiaohai saw her pick up the bowl to eat, and put it down to curse her mother.

Besides, her master and the others never taught her these things!

Pei Xiaohai sorted out his thoughts and went to find Aunt Yu to argue in a rage, but she went into the old man and the old lady's room at the back and started arguing with Liu Lianhua all day long, and did not come out for a long time.

Pei Xiaohai had just been scolded by her godmother, so she didn't dare to go up to him and could only leave in shame.

In the past, the old nuns said that one should not tell others about seeing ghosts. Little Pei was still a little confused, but this was the only thing she finally understood.

Some things are best left unsaid.

Her godfather and godmother said they didn't believe her, but a few days later they made her a bright red dress and tied two dog teeth to her collar to ward off evil spirits.

Things like gourds, peach wood, red ropes, ox horns, and pig bones also appeared in the house. Talismans were pasted on the door frames and an eight-diagram mirror was hung.

Liu Renben was hanging a mirror on a ladder and accidentally sprained his ankle when he came down.

The bones cracked with a very crisp sound.

He threw himself into Pei Zhu's arms in pain, crying loudly, and when he was touched, he let out the wailing of the dying New Year pig.

Pei Zhu told him to be strong because the children were watching.

Liu Renben's face was ashen. "Your husband is already like this, and you still have the heart to take care of the children? They didn't sprain their ankles!"

Pei Zhu: "Is this about your feet? I mean, don't cry so loudly. You are a grown man, isn't it embarrassing enough?"

"You still think I'm embarrassing? Fine, fine," Liu Renben wiped his tears, took his head out of her arms, slammed it on the bed, turned his head away, waved his hands at the doctor and said angrily, "Don't look at me anymore. People think I'm embarrassing, why should I look at me? Even if I die of pain, I won't say a word! Ah! Oh!"

Liu Renben did a sit-up in pain, with his two paws stretched out straight, looking at his feet like a zombie.

The doctor had already applied the paste and asked in confusion, "Why are you shouting? Didn't you keep silent?"

Liu Renben tried very hard not to say anything, but it was obvious that he couldn't control himself.

"I'm not not giving you money, why are you doing this? Don't you act pretentiously with your wife at home?"

The doctor said coldly: "I have no wife, my parents are both dead, I am in debt, and I still have to see patients on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month."

Liu Renben didn't dare to say a word for a moment.

This poor doctor, I don’t know if the medicine he prescribed is effective.

Before he came, my skin was blue and purple. After he left, the pain went away, but the purple turned black.

Liu Renben asked Shuanzi where he hired the person from.

Shuanzi: "Baojitang."

"The Baojitang in town? That shouldn't be the case. Why haven't I seen him there?" Liu Renben stroked his unshaven chin and couldn't figure it out after thinking for a long time.

Shuanzi put his hands in his sleeves and spoke in the same muffled, half-dead tone: "I haven't seen him either. Doctor Ershijiu went home for the holidays. He was sitting at the door of Baojitang with his medicine box on his back, so I invited him in."

That's it!

Haha!

That feeling makes sense!

Everyone in the room was silent for a long while before Liu Renben said, "Shuanzi, from now on, please ask the doctor inside the room to sit. Don't sit on the steps."

Shuanzi: "Okay, Master."

Old Madam Liu Lianhua felt dizzy just watching from the side: "What did I say? There really is going to be trouble at home.

Let's put it this way. From today on, my family will not kill any animals, and will only eat vegetarian food. Then we'll go worship the river god and pray for peace."

Just eat it, everything tastes the same to them now anyway.

Aunt Yu glanced at Pei Xiaohai and picked up the dragon meat.

Liu Lianhua said impatiently: "Don't ask, just make it for her if she wants to eat."

She was referring to Pei Xiaohai, of course.

Pei Xiaohai was of course happy that she didn't have to become a nun on New Year's Eve, but Liu Lianhua's tone was not so happy.

She also felt annoyed by Aunt Yu, who insisted on saying something extra to make herself look different.

So Pei Xiaohai took back what he said -

If there is no river god and no Yinggu.

Let them worship however they want, and no one can ask her to remind them of anything!

She knew that meddling in other people's affairs would bring bad luck!