The Chinese Taoist culture has a long history of over a thousand years, with numerous prominent figures emerging one after another. In the vast expanse of time, how many records or remnants about Taoism have been lost in the dust of history or scattered among the folk customs? Many once glorious Taoist temples have now become tourist attractions...

  There was a Taoist priest, whose life was legendary, also tortuous, and more helpless. He had saved many lives, including mine and my aunts; Many people from my hometown asked about the life of this Taoist priest.

  The last Taoist: Cha Wenbins life, from a small story to a person

  Zha is a rare surname, the Hundred Family Surnames records it as follows: Zha (surname) is one of the Chinese surnames, ranking 397th in the Hundred Family Surnames. First, it originated from Jiangshi, descendants of Emperor Yan. During the Spring and Autumn period, the son of Qi Jingong, the king of Qi, was enfeoffed in "Zha", and later generations used the name of the fiefdom as their surname, becoming the "Zha" surname. Later, they removed the "wood" radical from the character, becoming the "Zha" surname. Second, it originated from the surname Mi. During the Spring and Autumn period, a high-ranking official of the Chu state was enfeoffed in Zha County, and later generations used the name of the county as their surname.

  Chapter One

  In the mountainous area of Zhejiang, there was a village called Hongcun. In this village, there lived a family with the surname Xu. The head of the household was a skilled carpenter named Xu Luban, who specialized in making coffins for other families. He inherited this profession from his ancestors and continued to work as a coffin maker. Despite his exceptional craftsmanship, he found it difficult to find a wife due to the nature of his work. After several failed attempts, he finally married a woman from a neighboring village through a matchmaker. In those days, birth control was not well developed, so they had five children - three daughters and two sons - within ten years. As their family grew larger, their expenses increased, and after discussing it with each other, the couple decided to have the wife undergo a tubal ligation.

  Xu Luban is who? Hes my maternal grandfather.

  Another ten years passed, and unexpectedly, my paternal grandmother became pregnant again. My grandfather was unsure whether to be happy or worried, as his wife had clearly undergone tubal ligation, so how could she still become pregnant? Her belly grew bigger day by day, and after a full-term pregnancy, the baby was born. It turned out that at the age of 40, my grandfather had another daughter. He named this youngest daughter "Xiu", who is my younger aunt. That year was 1977.

  The old man was overjoyed at the arrival of his granddaughter, and on the day of her full moon celebration, he held a grand banquet. The villagers and neighbors all came to congratulate him. Amidst the joyful celebrations, a Taoist priest wearing tattered robes and carrying an eight-trigram bag happened to pass by in front of the Xu familys house. Someone with good intentions stopped the priest and suggested that he calculate the babys fortune, as the master of the house had just welcomed a precious daughter. The priest agreed readily and took a glance at the infant in her swaddling clothes. After calculating with his fingers, he suddenly looked shocked and asked to speak with Master Xu Rupan in private. In a low voice, he said: "Master Xu, you are overjoyed at the arrival of your precious daughter, which is indeed a cause for celebration. However, I have something to say that Im not sure if I should mention today."

  Although the old man was a carpenter, he was also very understanding and reasonable. He smiled and said: "You Taoist priest, just say what you want to say, dont worry about whether its good or bad. Well be having dinner soon, please have a cup of wine with us!"

  The Taoist priest took a glance at Xu Luban and said: "This little girl of yours may look pretty, but Im afraid she wont be easy to raise in the future."

  Grandfather was furious as soon as he heard it, having just gotten a daughter, this Taoist priest who came from nowhere was spouting nonsense here, and he pushed him: "You Taoist priest are too ungrateful, how can you speak so recklessly?"

  The Taoist was originally wearing tattered clothes, and with a push from Xu Luban, his clothes were torn apart, and a copper pellet fell out of his sleeve and rolled onto the ground.

  Inside, the commotion startled Grandma who was entertaining guests in the room. She came over to take a look and saw that a shabbily dressed Taoist priest was arguing with her own husband. She stepped forward to separate the two men. According to my mom, she really was a character - first, she scolded Xu Luban for his rudeness without asking what had happened, then apologized to the Taoist priest and offered him compensation. She even took out needle and thread to mend his tattered clothes, insisting that he stay for dinner. The Taoist priest couldnt refuse, so he joined everyone at the table. After a few cups of wine, his face turned red and he began boasting about being the leader of Maoshan, skilled in Taoist magic. But instead, this only made the guests burst out laughing...

  I dont know if the Taoist had drunk too much or what, but at the banquet, when people asked again about the babys fate, he said once more: "This little girl is a short-lived child, not easy to raise, and may have difficulties in the future." Upon hearing this, the crowd thought that the Taoist was unkind and dared to speak wildly. Especially the grandfather, who had just suppressed his anger, suddenly flared up again, ran into the house, grabbed an axe, and wanted to chop him down. Fortunately, he was stopped by the crowd, and scolded loudly in front of everyone.

  The old lady this time really heard it clearly, and her face couldnt hold up either. She shouted at the Taoist priest: "Where did you come from, you wild Taoist? I treated you with kindness, but you cursed my daughter! Get out quickly!"

  He didnt want the Taoist to be insulted, but he wasnt angry either. He touched his chest, looked up at the sky, and scanned the crowd before saying: "Dont get angry, master. Im just telling the truth. This little girl wont live past nine years old. If something happens, you can find me in An County, five miles away." After finishing speaking, he bowed to the crowd and turned to leave... leaving behind a group of people looking at each other in dismay, and his familys anger simmering just below the surface. Although everyone advised them not to take it seriously, it still left a shadow in his somewhat superstitious grandmothers heart.

  In the blink of an eye, nine years have passed. Little Aunt not only grew up healthy and intelligent but also very beautiful, especially a pair of big bright eyes that delighted adults. Gradually, the people in Grandmas house forgot what the Taoist priest said nine years ago.

  In rural areas, there are many places where funerals are held on a large scale, also known as "happy funerals". The whole village will go to help with the funeral, and everyone will drink a lot of wine and eat a lot of meat. However, there is one dish that every household must have, which is a plate of plain tofu. Therefore, happy events are also called "eating tofu rice".

  In the summer of 1986, on the day I was born, an old man died in Hong Village. In that era when material goods were relatively scarce, a funeral was a chance to have a good meal, so my grandparents took my little aunt to eat tofu rice.

  At the dinner table, my aunt also ate a lot of greasy food. After the banquet was over, our family of three took advantage of the starry sky to hurry home. The distance between that house and my grandmothers house is about two miles. On the way, there is a reservoir, which is about 300 meters long. When I was young, I often sneaked into the reservoir to swim, but every time I was caught by my grandmother and beaten up without explanation.

  That section of the road had no houses. The two-mile distance would take about 10 minutes to walk, and this road was also frequently walked during normal times. That nights moon and starlight were particularly bright, illuminating the small road in a bleak white light, making it completely unnecessary to use a flashlight for illumination.

  In the summer countryside, there is one thing that always attracts little kids, and thats fireflies. Little auntie was chasing after a firefly in front of her, laughing as she ran; the insect flashed its light on and off as it flew forward, and the child followed close behind. Grandpa and grandma were not far behind either, smiling warmly as they watched the children.

  My grandfather puffed on his dry tobacco and said to my grandmother, "Who said our daughter is not well-raised? This child has never been sick since birth, I think that Taoist priest is just a swindler!"

  Grandma reminded Little Auntie to run slower, and before long, they arrived home.

  Little aunt originally slept with her grandparents when she was a child, and as she grew older, she was arranged to sleep with her third sister. Her grandfather had four daughters and two sons. Eldest aunt, eldest uncle, and my mother were all married, leaving only third aunt, little aunt, and a younger uncle at home.

  Before going to bed, Little Aunt was telling Third Aunt about the delicious food they had eaten at dinner, making Third Aunt very envious. Ever since this little sister arrived, Grandfathers house has been a bit better off, and everything good is always kept for Little Aunt. Take corn on the cob, for example - Little Aunt always gets the best part, closest to the head, while Third Aunt always gets the inferior half near the tail. However, Little Aunt really is likable, and after Third Aunt washed her feet and put her to bed, she fell asleep quickly under Third Aunts care. It wasnt until a loud cry pierced the night air that the Xu familys peaceful life of nine years was shattered.

  Under the accompaniment of San Yi, Xiao Yi soon fell asleep, until a scream in the second half of the night broke through the peaceful life of the Xu family for nine years.

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