The ultimate master in the city

Women are better off not asking. Once they do, they ask the old woman (let's call her the third aunt, it sounds strange to ask the old woman). Not only do they feel tired and cold, but their stomachs even cramp up.

There was no surplus food at home. She only earned 15 yuan a day delivering dried bean curd sheets and dried tofu to the canteen. After deducting the cost of soybeans for the next day and her parents' medicine, there was very little left. When she bought food, she had to prioritize her younger siblings and parents. She drank some leftover porridge and her stomach was almost empty after a trip to the outhouse.

The woman seemed to understand what the third aunt was thinking, and said kindly, "Oh! Look how pitiful this little girl is, why don't you come with me to get something to eat?"

The woman's appearance did inspire trust, and since Auntie was also extremely hungry at the time, she nodded, picked up her basket, and followed the woman.

They hadn't gone far when they came to a grove of trees. The woman picked up a paper package from a rock, opened it, and inside were three meat buns. She handed them over with a smile, as if she had prepared them in advance.

As soon as Auntie saw it, she snatched it and wolfed it down.

After eating, she felt much warmer and had more energy. But Auntie wasn't stupid; she knew there was no such thing as a favor without a reason. So she said to the woman, "Sister, do you want me to do something? I'll do it for you right now."

To everyone's surprise, the woman shook her head and smiled, saying, "Oh dear! What could I possibly do for you? Are you full? Go home now."

He disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Auntie was taken aback for a moment, but didn't think much of it, assuming she had just met a good person. She didn't tell her parents when she got home.

The next day, when he went to the county town to deliver dried bean curd and tofu sheets, he ran into the woman again. The woman smiled and said, "Little sister, what a coincidence! We've met again. Where are you going?"

Upon hearing this, the woman said, "With your small frame, it must be so tiring for you to carry such two big baskets. Let me help you!"

Without saying another word, he took the load and left.

Auntie San was filled with doubt and followed after her, asking, "Sister, why are you helping me? Do you want me to do something?"

As the woman walked away, she handed over three more meat buns, saying, "I just like you because I feel sorry for you, so I'm helping you."

Upon hearing this, Auntie San took the steamed bun, overwhelmed with gratitude, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Three or four days passed like this. My aunt's father remained bedridden. My aunt delivered goods every day and encountered this woman every day. The woman would help my aunt carry the load and give her three meat buns.

On the fifth day, the two women rested halfway through their journey while carrying their loads. The woman's eyes were red, and she said, "Little sister, I really do need your help with something."

These past few days, my third aunt has been treating the woman like her own sister. Upon hearing this, she complained, "Sister, really! If there's anything you need, I'll definitely help you. Don't keep it to yourself, just tell me."

The woman nodded, took out seven strips of cloth from her bosom. These strips were strange, multicolored, and each had a button on it. She handed them to her aunt and said, "Help me throw these away. Throw one away each day. Don't ask me why, I don't want to say."

Third Aunt took the strip of cloth, looked at it, and said, "Sister, I won't ask. I'll go throw one away in a bit."

The woman then said, "You can't just throw this away. Come with me."

As he spoke, he led his third aunt to the end of the nearby woods, where there was a hillside. It was dark below, and they could vaguely hear people talking.

The woman pointed down and said, "Just throw it here. I have something to do, so I can't be with you tomorrow. Remember! Don't throw it anywhere!"

The woman did not reappear the next day. Remembering her words, Aunt San would go into the woods after delivering the goods each day and throw a strip of cloth down the hillside. She did this for seven days in a row.

Seven days passed, and the woman didn't show up even once. Auntie was starting to get anxious.

On the eighth day, her third aunt's father recovered, so she no longer needed to deliver goods.

That evening, my third aunt's husband returned from the county town after delivering goods. He looked very unwell. My third aunt's wife asked him what was wrong. My third aunt's husband sighed and said, "My cousin hanged himself. Let's go and see him off on his final journey."

My aunt was terrified. She couldn't understand why a perfectly healthy person would hang themselves. When she arrived at her cousin's house with her parents, she was completely stunned.

My uncle was dead, his tongue lolling out and his eyes wide open. The key thing was... the hanging cloth looked very familiar, colorful, and had a button on it.

The third aunt's father asked his cousin's wife what was wrong with his cousin, why he was so upset?

My aunt cried and sobbed, saying that something strange had happened. My husband and six coworkers were going to demolish the "Chen San Guniang Temple," but all seven of them hanged themselves. "You can imagine how unlucky he was," she said. "No one has dared to demolish that temple for so many years. What was he thinking?"

Third Aunt followed her parents home in a daze. She couldn't understand why the strip of cloth that Sister in the red cloak had told her to throw away had been taken by her uncle and his family to hang themselves.

The next day she fell seriously ill and almost didn't survive.

Hearing this, Monk Yuanzhi couldn't help but interject, "We're asking how you learned the 'asking the spirits' technique. How did Miss Chen teach you? Why are you digressing like this?"

Auntie San sighed deeply, "Don't rush me, let me explain slowly..."

Three or four years have passed, and my aunt has almost forgotten about it.

People married young back then. Girls were usually betrothed to their husbands when they were eighteen or nineteen. My third aunt was nineteen, which was the age for her to get married. A matchmaker came to her door, but she was not satisfied with either the man or the woman. Either the man's family was too poor, or he was too ugly.

Later, a matchmaker came to the door and said that your family would definitely be willing to marry him, since the other party's mother had died early, but his father was Mr. Shen.

Mr. Shen was very famous in the neighborhood at the time. He could do feng shui for houses and burial sites, tell fortunes, and also perform rituals to ward off bad luck. In addition, his ancestors were all high-ranking officials or scholars, so everyone had to treat him with respect.

When the third aunt's father heard this, he was very satisfied. Not only would this marriage bring him prestige, but more importantly, the other family was wealthy. They could easily provide for the family for a year by doing something for them.

So the two sides hit it off immediately, and not long after, the third aunt got married to the third uncle next to her.

My aunt's married life was peaceful and happy. If there was anything she was dissatisfied with, it was that her father-in-law, Mr. Shen, was too strict. He was always serious and would scold my uncle when he was in a bad mood.

That day, my father-in-law suddenly pulled my third uncle aside and whispered something to him. My third aunt was curious and hid to listen, but she couldn't hear clearly. She vaguely heard that they were talking about dead people, disasters, and sleeping.

That night, after Mr. Shen, the father-in-law, went to sleep, he didn't wake up all day the next day. The third aunt was a little worried, but the third uncle didn't take it seriously, saying that's just how Dad is, we don't need to worry about it.

The son didn't care, and the aunt didn't care either. The father-in-law just slept in his room.

On the morning of the third day, there was an emergency at the factory where my third uncle worked, and he had to go on a business trip to another city. Before leaving, my third uncle specifically told my third aunt: Dad needs to sleep for seven days. After I leave, don't touch him or worry about him. Remember that.

Third Aunt nodded in agreement, but she was completely confused.

Everyone has a sense of curiosity. After her husband left, Auntie San leaned close to the window of her father-in-law Mr. Shen's room and looked inside. What she saw startled her.

I like the novel "The Strongest Master in the City".