He didn't know how he died, when he died, or even who Wu Laoliu was, but Jiang Yan was very happy, or it could be said that he was happy as long as someone died.
Jiang Yan pressed the bamboo strips in his hand on his knees with his slender fingers to form the curvature he wanted, and then tied it with other bamboo strips with thin threads to fix it firmly.
Because when I'm in a good mood, I can't help but hum a little tune. The work I do is very skillful, concise and practical without any unnecessary movements. After the frame is formed, I paste red and white paper on it and then draw facial features and eyes on the paper.
A vivid paper man appeared in front of him.
That's right, he is a color tying craftsman.
It's not that he wanted to engage in such a business as eating dead people at such a young age. When he traveled through time and space to this young man named Jiang Yan, he only knew how to make paper.
People, no matter how proud they are, they still need to eat.
Wu Laoliu's family has already sent a deposit of two taels of silver for each of the six pairs of boys and girls. This price is the most expensive among all the color tie makers in the town, but it is expensive in its own right.
After tying, I cut the remaining paper, and soon a paper figure appeared in my hand.
After Jiang Gu used a brush to mark the hands, feet and eyes on the paper, he stood the paper figure on the table. Not only did the paper figure not fall down, but it started to move on its own.
The paper arms and legs jumped up and down on the table, turning somersaults from time to time, looking very naive.
The paper man's thin body was swaying in the wind as the breeze blew over him. He held the table firmly with both hands to prevent it from being blown away.
Jiang Yan was still very curious at first, but later he learned from his grandfather that this world was called Yuling Continent, and as long as he could become 'enlightened', he could give spirituality to the things he created.
A painter can create a fairy in a painting, a scholar can make dragons and phoenixes fly together in a painting, and a Confucian scholar can express the law in an article.
Of course, this is what Grandpa Jiang Gu said accidentally when he was bragging. He has never seen whether it is like this. In short, spiritual practice is no longer the privilege of a certain type of people. Once enlightenment is achieved in all industries, even barbers can shave their heads.
A land fairy appears.
Generations of the Jiang family have been craftsmen, and Jiang Yan had already realized very early that making such a jumping little paper man was just the most superficial means.
Jiang Yan concentrated on the work he was doing, letting the little paper man climb up his pants and up to his head. The playful little paper man lost his balance and fell down. Jiang Yan caught it with his hands and stabilized it and placed it on the ground.
Someone opened the courtyard door and ran in with a face full of joy. The young man's name was Li Youlang. He had white teeth and beautiful eyes. He was dressed in plain white and had a white belt tied around his waist. Others wore white to look pretty, but this man wore white.
Just to pay tribute to others.
"Jiang Zhi, good news, Wu Laoliu is dead."
"I know that his family members have already been here."
"Then I won't change my clothes. Business is booming these days."
Li Youlang couldn't hide his happiness. He and Jiang Yan, the paper maker, both ate from this bowl of rice. The difference was that Jiang Yan did the paper maker's craft, while he sang elegy.
This has also been a custom in Nanping Town for many years. When a person dies and is buried, a handsome young man will be selected in the town to sing an elegy to the deceased on the side of the hearse. Li Youlang will be the funeral man.
"Watch your step"
Li Youlang lowered his head and saw that the palm-sized paper figure had been stepped on by him at some point. Now he was struggling and waving his light hands to beat his feet feebly.
Li Youlang had long been accustomed to Jiang Gu's magical methods. He moved his feet and picked up the little paper man and put it on his shoulders. The little paper man was still a little annoyed and raised his legs towards Li Youlang.
My head was kicked several times, but it didn't hurt or itch.
"Don't be too happy too early. I heard that Wu Laoliu seemed to have been hit by something bad. I have been uneasy these past few nights and don't know what will happen tomorrow." Jiang Yan shook his head and felt worried.
"You were killed by a collision? No wonder you gave me three taels of silver."
The entire Nanping Town had not seen one in three or two years. Li Youlang felt a chill down his spine when he thought of the evil scene at the funeral of the last person who had hit him.
"Do you have any idea?" Li Youlang asked.
"Who knows, I'll go deliver the instrument later and you can help me. Let's see what's going on first."
Jiang Yan was not sure, it was also his first time to do it himself.
"After your grandfather dies, you will be the only one in the whole town who understands these mysterious things. You have to protect me when the time comes."
Li Youlang was an orphan in Nanping Town. Jiang Yan's parents died early, and his grandfather also passed away a few years ago, leaving him alone. The two of them often went back and forth to do random things for people in the town, so they became acquaintances.
Li Youlang didn't care about good luck or bad luck. He lifted up a boy with one hand, and his appearance and body shape were very lifelike.
"I have to say, your craftsmanship is really amazing." Li Youlang marveled.
“It’s important to do serious things”
The two of them walked towards Wu Laoliu's house with a few in each hand. If such useless things were met with bad luck, they would choose to deliver the funeral supplies to the deceased's home at night.
The Wu family was not a wealthy family. The two of them entered through the back door and walked around the courtyard to the main hall.
There is a white coffin placed in the mourning hall. If the person is dying, a red coffin is usually used. Only people who die in vain or in an accident will use a white coffin.
The condolences of relatives and friends had already left, and only the Wu family was left, an old woman with tears on her face, standing guard in front of the funeral.
"Mrs. Wu, everything you asked for has been delivered to you."
Having worked as a color tie maker for so long, Jiang Yan has no distinction between the living and the dead. In his eyes, everyone is a customer and future customer, so he naturally has a good attitude towards his customers.
"Thank you for your hard work." The old woman thanked her listlessly.
Jiang Yan placed the tied boys and girls on the left and right, and then slipped a cut-out paper figure into the gap in the coffin while the old woman was not paying attention.
After delivering the paper bundles, Jiang Yan and Li Youlang were supposed to leave, but they did not leave after leaving the courtyard gate. Instead, they lay on the wall and stared at the courtyard to see if there was anything strange.
The moon was dark and the wind was high, and the two of them felt sleepy after squatting there for half a night.
quack.
Suddenly, the hoarse cry of an old crow made the two of them sober up. At some point, a tree full of crows fell on the bare tree not far away.
"My grandpa said that it is difficult for humans to detect the invisible evil spirit. Only crows are the most sensitive. It seems that there is really a problem here." Jiang Yan looked at these old crows and became more and more convinced that Wu Laoliu had hit the evil spirit.
It was originally the season of spring, but a slight chill gradually began to appear in the courtyard. Jiang Yan looked at the hairs on his arms standing straight.
The moon was at its peak, and the cold moonlight shone slantly on the white coffin in the mourning hall. The old woman who was keeping vigil lay motionless in front of the mourning hall and seemed to have fallen asleep.
"There's something going on"
Li Youlang punched Jiang Gu with his arm, and when the moonlight shone on the coffin, a trace of gray air rose up.
"Sure enough, it was a hit."
The crows on the trees became more and more active, and their hoarse and noisy cries made people a little upset.
The little paper man put in the coffin felt the aura and crawled out from the gap in the coffin, then jumped to the ground and fled in the direction of the two people, leaving the mourning hall.
Seeing the ash on the white coffin getting thicker and thicker, Jiang Yan ignored his fear and climbed over the wall into the yard, carrying the little paper man into his arms.
This little paper man had a kind of cool power pouring into Jiang Yan's body. He was already a little sluggish after staying up for most of the night, but after absorbing this mysterious aura, his spirit suddenly shook.
The dead and some dying people will carry a strange power with them, and Jiang Yan, an enlightened painter, accidentally discovered that he could absorb this power from the human body through the artificial medium of paper to strengthen himself. Although it was weak, it was
better than nothing.
Li Youlang ran to the old woman's side. At this moment, the old woman's face was ashen and she had fainted.
"How is this going"
"Yin evil spirits will be attracted to strangers. If we leave, I can sell another set of things." There was a bit of pity in Jiang Yan's words.
"This is why people like you have no friends. The first thing you think about when you see someone is when they will die."
Jiang Yan looked at Li Youlang strangely. He was just a fox on the mountain. How could he be so righteous?
"Don't act like you are so noble. If no one dies, we will both starve to death."
When the gray gas filled the mourning hall, the boys and girls placed on both sides of the coffin also made some movements. One of the boys first rolled his eyes a few times, and then raised his arms with a squeaking sound and then swayed.
He shook his head and his movements became stiff.
In no time, all the boys and girls tied up with paper started to move, and their movements became more and more flexible, just like real children chasing the gray energy in the mourning hall.
With his immature hands, he pulled out a piece of gray air and stuffed it into his mouth. This piece of paper was swallowing the evil spirit that could hurt people. Fortunately, no one saw this scene, otherwise they might be frightened by the scene in front of them.
After they finished devouring, the boys and girls ran towards Jiang Yan, and one of them hugged Li Youlang's head.
"Okay, stop making trouble and come over here."
Jiang Yan clapped his hands, and all the boys and girls returned to their original positions.
Originally, some old crows had landed on the roof of the mourning hall, but after the evil spirit disappeared, these old crows circled around for several times before reluctantly leaving.
"The craftsmanship is really amazing," Li Youlang praised repeatedly.
"That's a must. This is a century-old store, and we have no bad reviews from our customers."
However, Li Youlang feels that the reason why there are no bad reviews is probably because the service people are unable to open their mouths.
"Have you learned all your grandfather's tricks?"
"I have learned a lot about the craft, but my level of enlightenment is still too low. These boys and girls can only use it for two days at most."
"What about in two days?" Li Youlang asked.
"It's best to send it smoothly tomorrow, otherwise there will be endless troubles. And the biggest trouble is not Wu Laoliu, but the place where Wu Laoliu hit the evil!"
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