Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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In the front yard, Old Mrs. Sun complained to Old Mrs. Wang as usual: “If you have twenty yuan, you might as well buy a plate of mosquito repellent incense, which is much more reliable!”
In the past, Mrs. Wang engaged in these superstitions, and she said this countless times. Just burn incense and seek peace of mind. What was the use of the Talisman of Taihe Temple, which cost a few hundred dollars a piece?
Although Mrs. Sun’s son still opened a shop here, and she had a good impression of Xiao Xie, she had to say that the young Taoist priest he hired was selling mosquito repellent charms, which sounded quite unreliable!
Mrs. Wang was very unconvinced, “Then why do you think they didn’t have mosquitoes there?”
“Uh…” Mrs. Sun was at a loss for words.
….
Mrs. Wang’s house was an old residential building. On the first floor, the doors and windows were not tightly sealed, and mosquitoes had been eliminated batch after batch.
Her son bought an electric mosquito swatter, and every night Mrs. Wang and her husband swatted mosquitoes at home when they had nothing to do. The sound of stinging mosquitoes being electrocuted to death was endless. Even so, it was still easy to get bitten if you were not careful at night.
Moreover, the entire Queshan Province was mountainous, and mosquitoes could be poisonous. A small bite would swell up soon after. If you scratched it without applying any medicine, it would leave a light brown mark after the redness and swelling subside, which would not fade for several months. If it went away, scars would still remain in more serious cases.
Today was the weekend. When Mrs. Wang went back, her son and daughter-in-law came back for dinner. They had moved out after getting married two years ago.
Mrs. Wang did not dare to say that she had bought a talisman. Her son and daughter-in-law did not like her beliefs very much and repeatedly warned her that it was okay to ask for talismans, but she must go to the hospital when she was sick. It was not just about burning incense and worshiping gods.
Following Zhang Daoting’s instructions, Mrs. Wang chose to stick the mosquito repellent charm on the back of her bedroom door to avoid letting it be seen by her son.
When it was time to eat, Wang Yongyi, the son of Mrs. Wang, took out a small jar of ointment and said, “Mom, my colleague made this by himself. After a mosquito bite, rub a little immediately and the bites will be cured soon.”
This was his colleague’s secret recipe made from Chinese herbal medicine, and the quantity made each year was limited. He finally got a jar, which was only as big as the palm of his hand.
Mrs. Wang took the jar, opened the lid and took a look. Inside was light cyan ointment, exuding a light herbal aroma, “Okay, let me use it and see.”
Wang Yongyi asked again: “By the way, Mom, is there still water from that well from last time? I’ll bring a pot back tomorrow. It’s pretty good for making tea.”
Mrs. Wang told him before that the water from the well was delicious, so he brought some back. He didn’t have much hope at first, but who knew the quality of the water was really good? It was very good. He used it when making tea with several tea friends. The tea friends even asked about it, which made him feel a little proud of finding a treasure.
“Yes, yes, as I said, the water is very good. There are people who come by car to fetch water every day.” Mrs. Wang felt an inexplicable sense of pride.
Wang Yongyi usually just drank tea. He chuckled and said, “Really? This is strange. We have lived here for so long, and we didn’t know that the water from Baoyang Temple was so good before.”
“That’s because they didn’t love being famous before. Besides, who went to fetch water in the past? It’s much more convenient to boil water at home.” Speaking of this, Mrs. Wang still had something to say, “Don’t talk about the well, I didn’t go to the temple before. Even though it’s fragrant, it’s too small.”
“It’s too small there.” Wang Yongyi thought the same thing, he would also not go there if he was a religious person.
Wang Yongyi and his wife were going to sleep here for the night. Mrs. Wang went to the room in advance to kill mosquitoes for them, but after entering, Mrs. Wang found that there were no mosquitoes in the room at all.
She circled around several times with the electric mosquito swatter and only killed two mosquitoes. This was completely different from the previous situation.
Could it be that the mosquito repellent charm was working? Mrs. Wang was happy, but a little unsure. She closed the door and said, “Hey, do you think there are fewer mosquitoes?”
Wang Yongyi was confused, “It seems that the mosquito coils I bought this time are particularly good. Did you use it?”
There was indeed a plate of mosquito-repellent incense in the living room, but Mrs. Wang was certain that it was not because of the mosquito-repellent incense. This was not the first day she had lit the mosquito-repellent incense. To be honest, it was of limited use!
Mrs. Wang thought about it and said nothing. She decided to take another look at the situation.
Old man Wang on the side looked at his wife. His son didn’t know, but he saw a new talisman posted on the back of the door. He also knew that the mosquito coils had not been changed, but he never thought of the relationship between mosquitoes and talismans.
….
At night, Wang Yongyi and his wife entered the room. Wang Yongyi’s wife also said, “There are indeed fewer mosquitoes today. I don’t know how it will last the whole night. When I used to sleep here, and I would inevitably get one or two bites a day. Mosquitoes can be said to be hard to guard against. I have tried all kinds of mosquito repellent methods, but nothing is perfect.”
The two of them only discussed a few words and then fell asleep.
But Mrs. Wang in the other room held an electric mosquito swatter and observed for a long time to make sure that there was not a single mosquito in the room. She didn’t swat any mosquitoes. There were two of them in her son’s room before, but not even a single wing could be seen in her room.
“Hey, have you changed the mosquito coils? Why is this one so effective?” Old Man Wang asked.
Old Mrs. Wang hummed and said: “Of course I haven’t changed it. There are no mosquitoes because I asked for a talisman at the Taoist temple today.”
Old Mr. Wang frowned and said: “What god, do you care about this?” He muttered, maybe it was the mosquito coils. The quality varied, some were particularly good and some were particularly poor? Thinking about it, Old Man Wang was going to order another plate.
“Wait, don’t light it.” Old Mrs. Wang said, “There are no mosquitoes here. Don’t light it. Let’s see how it goes tonight. I think that’s what this talisman is for.”
Old Mrs. Wang said: “…” He was very speechless.
The two had spent most of their lives together, and Old Man Wang also knew how Old Mrs. Wang was, so he had no choice but to cover his head and sleep.
….
One night passed, and the family of four slept peacefully until dawn.
When he got up in the morning, Wang Yongyi ate breakfast and asked Mrs. Wang: “Mom, what brand is your mosquito coil? It’s quite useful.”
Mrs. Wang ran to the room, took off the mosquito repellent talisman, folded it and gave it to Wang Yongyi: “The mosquito repellent is the mosquito repellent I bought yesterday at Baoyang Temple. Look, it’s very useful. There were no mosquitoes all night. Take it and stick it in your bedroom at home.”
Although Wang Yongyi’s home had high floors and fewer mosquitoes, the old lady felt that fewer mosquitoes did not mean there were no mosquitoes, so it was better to let her son take it back, and she could buy another one herself.
But Wang Yongyi was confused and found it funny, “What the hell, mosquito repellent charm?”
At this time, Old Man Wang came out of the toilet and said with his hands behind his back: “Oh, I took a look and there really isn’t one. There are only toilet and kitchen ones. And then also only one or two, maybe they are too far away!”
The old man got up early and discovered that the mosquitoes had not come out all night. Old man Wang even went outside and observed every room, and he was sure that out of 100, eighty-nine was the function of the mosquito repellent charm.
Wang Yongyi was stunned. He had known that his mother was superstitious for a long time, but his father had also fallen into the trap, why did he say that this would be useful?
Wait, but if it was like they said, it had nothing to do with mosquito coils, it was because the talisman was affixed so there were no mosquitoes. How to explain this? Could it be… “F**k, are you so awesome?” Wang Yongyi held the talisman with a look of shock on his face.
He didn’t expect that Baoyang Temple, a small Taoist temple, besides having a good well, could have such abilities?
He had watched his mother burn incense and seek talismans since he was a child, but the effects were all based on her own feelings. This was the first time he had seen such an immediate talisman. It was amazing! What kind of metaphysics was this!
At this time, Wang Yongyi’s wife also came out. After hearing what they said, she was also quite surprised: “This…could this be because there is some secret recipe? Just like the ointment from your colleague’s house, the talisman paper is soaked in medicine.”
Wang Yongyi said hesitantly: “But there doesn’t seem to be any smell on it.” He smelled it again and found that there was only a faint smell of yellow paper and cinnabar.
“This has no smell, how can it be medicine.” Mrs. Wang opened her eyes and said, “Besides, if they have this formula, why not just make it into mosquito repellent and sell it? That would make a lot of money!”
It seemed to make sense, but Wang Yongyi’s wife still felt that even though she couldn’t smell it, she would rather believe that it was some magical formula.
“It’s not expensive, but I don’t know how long it will last. Mom, go buy two more.” Wang Yongyi didn’t care, it didn’t matter what the reason was, as long as it worked!
T/N: I want this talisman so much rn!!!!
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