Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

The older woman in the Taoist robe in the courtyard said in an angry voice, "Granny Ji, when you begged me to grant you a grandson, I used my magic to preach several times, and how did you agree? When I gave you the divine water, how did you agree? Now, your daughter-in-law gave birth to a baby girl during the solar eclipse. This is because you were not devout and offended the gods, so the gods changed the grandson that should have belonged to your family into a girl. Yesterday's earthquake was punishment for people like you who were not devout enough!"

Upon hearing this, Yang immediately knelt down, her voice trembling with tears: "Please, Taoist nun and fairy, be wise! This old woman is absolutely devout. Look at me, I eat vegetarian food every day, I'm practically begging for a statue of Guanyin. But you see, we farmers are so poor, we don't even have enough to eat, so we haven't been able to come up with that much to offer, which is why I haven't been able to go and burn incense for so long."

“Today we must exorcise the evil spirit from this woman and take this baby girl away to atone for her sins, only then can we ensure the safety of your family. Otherwise, your Niu Family Village will surely suffer a great calamity,” the woman in the long Taoist robe continued.

Without saying a word, the two young women in Taoist robes tried to grab Jia Ronghua, but Hu Xirong hurriedly stepped in front of Jia Ronghua and began to struggle with the two women.

A pockmarked woman outside the courtyard looked into the yard and clicked her tongue, saying, "We have to exorcise the evil spirits, otherwise it will bring disaster to our village."

Another woman with a square face chimed in, "Just exorcise the evil spirits, it's not that difficult. Didn't Niu Lao Er's wife have her evil spirits exorcised before? She's still doing well, and her family is even more prosperous than before."

The pockmarked woman continued, "According to you, my family will have to invite Granny Huang to come and exorcise evil spirits sometime soon."

Ji Yongling knew that in the past, some backward rural areas would use methods such as slapping, choking, and pulling hair to "exorcise evil spirits," which was extremely ignorant and sometimes even resulted in death.

Only after the people outside the courtyard started talking amongst themselves did Ji Yongling learn the whole story.

It turned out that Jia Ronghua had been unable to give birth to a son for a long time. Ji Manchuan's cousin, Ji Yinqiao, told her that a woman named Huang Daopo had come to a dilapidated temple dozens of miles away and could give people divine water to cure all diseases.

It is said that Huang Daopo had a golden dragon head in her sleeve, and this divine dragon would spew out divine water from its mouth. Those who were fortunate enough to be given this water would immediately feel better after drinking a sip. There were even a few people who were so sick that they could not get up, but after drinking Huang Daopo's divine water, they were able to stand up immediately. It was very effective in curing diseases.

Moreover, Huang Daopo was also known as the reincarnation of Guanyin. Many people in the surrounding villages witnessed her kneeling in front of the Guanyin Temple, practicing her faith. Later, she moved Guanyin, and every time she knelt in front of the Guanyin Temple, many crows would fly over. Everyone said that the crows were moved by Huang Daopo's sincerity.

Therefore, Yang and Jia Ronghua went to ask for the divine water, praying to have a boy.

As a result, Jia Rong gave birth to a daughter. When Ji Yinqiao found out, she invited Huang Daopo to her door.

Just as the two women were about to tear at Jia Ronghua, Ji Manchuan jumped out. He shoved the two women in Taoist robes aside and shouted, "Let's see who dares to touch my wife!"

When Jia Ronghua saw her husband return, her disheveled hair looked like a bird's nest, and her trembling body finally stopped shaking so much.

Hu Xirong straightened the torn patches on her clothes, cursing, "Whose old hag is acting like a shrew? Look at how she tore my perfectly good clothes!"

Ji Manchuan glared fiercely at the old woman Huang and angrily rebuked her, "I think you're up to no good and want to kill someone!"

“You foolish and ignorant man, do you know who my master is? How dare you insult me ​​like this? Be careful of divine retribution!” One of the young women in Taoist robes stood in front of Huang Daopo and said.

Ji Yongling knew that in this era, some people would take advantage of others' ignorance to charlatan. She didn't know the specific tricks of Huang Daopo, but she could guess a thing or two about the so-called dragon head spitting out divine water.

It's nothing more than a faucet in the sleeve connected to a tube that looks like an animal's intestines, and the tube is connected to a bladder-like sac that holds something like sugar water. It's hidden to the side, and when needed, you squeeze the sac under your armpit and the water comes out.

In those times of scarcity, those who were too hungry to get out of bed would immediately feel better after drinking a sip of sugar water. Add to that some propaganda and exaggerated performances, and this old woman was worshipped as a goddess.

Ji Yongling straightened up and walked towards the old woman, saying as she went, "Old woman, everyone in the village says your dragon-spitting-water technique is very effective. However, I survived yesterday's earthquake. The gods in heaven believe I have a strong destiny and can ward off those who pretend to be gods and ghosts, and those who cheat and swindle. Coincidentally, I also have a dragon head that can spout water, and it's a dragon head with two dragons playing with a pearl. The divine water inside can save people, but it can also kill them. I wonder what you think?"

She can make dragon heads too, she can just sculpt one, and I guarantee it will look even more realistic than Huang Daopo's.

During her graduate studies, she was her supervisor's daughter's free babysitter. She once won first prize in the city for sculpting clay for her supervisor's daughter, so sculpting a clay figure of nine dragons playing with a pearl is a piece of cake for her.

Add some sheep intestines and pig bladders, and some Chinese herbal medicine water; that would be much more reliable than this old woman Huang Daopo.

After hearing Ji Yongling's words, Huang Daopo thought he was talking nonsense, but she was also afraid that he was a fellow believer. If her tricks were exposed to his face, she would lose her source of income. So she thought it was better to make a quick decision, grab some benefits, and leave.

Then, Granny Huang raised her eyebrows and looked sternly at Ji Yongling: "Ignorant girl, I will not argue with you. Today's matter must be explained to the gods, otherwise, if we offend the gods and affect other innocent people, can you bear the responsibility!"

Ji Yongling approached Huang Daopo step by step, staring straight into her eyes: "If you are a deity, shouldn't you be compassionate and save all living beings? How could you implicate other innocent people for no reason! What kind of deity is that? You might as well be called a fool!"

"We must not blaspheme the gods!" Ji Manchuan and Yang said in unison.

Ignoring Ji Manchuan and Yang's rebukes, Ji Yongling continued firmly, "If there truly are gods in this world, they should punish evil and promote good, and save all living beings, not stand by and watch people die, wasting human lives!"

Seeing the girl's thin frame but unusually resolute eyes, Huang Daopo felt a little intimidated by her gaze. She then said to Yang, who was kneeling on the ground, "I won't argue with the little girl. I'm only speaking to you, old woman. After all, you were the one who knelt before me begging for medicine. I only bestowed talismans and holy water upon you several times because I appreciated your sincere desire for a grandson. Now, this courtyard is filled with an inexplicable aura, and even your daughter-in-law's evil spirit cannot be completely exorcised. We can do it another time! I won't take this girl with me; you'd better give her away. Otherwise, you'll regret it later!"

Upon hearing that there was no need for exorcism and that the baby would not be taken away, Yang and Jia Ronghua quickly kowtowed in gratitude.

“But the offerings this year are still indispensable!” After saying that, Huang Daopo turned and gave a look to one of her disciples.

“My master has already forgiven you. He used a lot of magical power to perform the ritual to give you medicine. Quickly bring some food to offer as an offering so that you can atone for your sins before the gods.” One of Huang Daopo’s disciples stepped forward and said to Yang Shi.

Yang quickly kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, fairy, thank you, fairy. I'll go get the offerings right away." After saying that, she got up and ran to the kitchen.

"Mother..." Ji Manchuan called out to her mother, but received no response.

A short while later, Yang came out carrying a small half-bag of grain and respectfully handed it over with both hands. She said to the old woman's apprentice, "Please don't mind, fairy. Although it's not much, it's really what my family of ten or so people saved up." After saying that, she pulled Jia Ronghua and her fourth daughter-in-law Hu Xirong down to kneel down.

"Mother" Ji Manchuan wanted to take back the grain in dissatisfaction, but was stopped by a look from Yang.

Ji Yongling also wanted to step forward, but stopped after taking one step.

She knew that in ancient times, with underdeveloped transportation, technology, and information, people's knowledge and perspectives limited their thinking. They believed in and upheld these feudal superstitions, such as the divine right of kings, without any rational basis.

If a child with no connections were to stand up and loudly proclaim, "Please believe in science, not superstition!" she would likely be the first to be expelled from the sacrifice.

You have to eat one bite at a time, walk one step at a time, and take things slowly.