Records of Strange People and Strange Events in the Old Mansion

Chapter 177 Fun

The iron fan in Zhu Huan's hand faced the fan above the main door of the old house, which not only shocked Uncle Liu and Lu Bo, but also shocked all the onlookers at the scene.

Zhu Huan opened the main door of the old house, and all the staff of the old house museum and the neighbors who originally lived in the old house came over.

"Everyone, before entering the old house in the future, you must first silently recite these four words on the door plaque in your mind." Zhu Hu said solemnly and seriously.

Dan'er looked up at the door plaque that Zhu Hu had fanned out with his iron fan, and read aloud the four characters on it: "You have great tolerance and virtue!"

"Everyone, 'Don't be angry with the stubborn. Don't expect one person to be perfect. If you have patience, you will be able to help. If you are tolerant, your virtue will be great.' Only with a mind that tolerates everything can one have noble character. Water can accommodate the height of the mountain, and the mountain is high and the water is far; the sky can accommodate the thickness of the earth, and the earth is long and lasting. The old house can accommodate everyone, and everyone should also have a broad and tolerant heart. I hope that everyone can get along with each other with tolerance and unite to make progress in the future. This is my inaugural speech." After Zhu Hu finished speaking, he bowed to the plaque on the door of the old house, and then bowed to everyone.

There was thunderous applause and a warm atmosphere. The senior leader who came to attend the opening ceremony of the Old House Museum gave Zhu Hu a thumbs up, pulled her aside and asked her, "Do you have any other requests or wishes?"

"No." Zhu Hu answered simply.

The big boss asked again: "Really?"

"Really not." Zhu Hu still answered straightforwardly.

The senior leader sighed: "You are really magnanimous. Not only did you donate the old house and all the treasures in it, but you also put aside past grudges and considered the original residents of the old house by arranging for them to work in the tourism industry."

"They are always part of the old house. No matter what they did in the past, it's good as long as they can live and work in peace and contentment in the future. I am just taking advantage of the situation. After the old house museum opens, there will be many people coming to visit and have fun, and we will also need people to work in this area." Zhu Hu accompanied the leader to inspect the old house museum and returned to the big camphor tree.

The area under the big camphor tree now looks brand new. The bamboo sheds built when the old house was renovated have all been demolished, and replaced by a series of scattered wooden houses. These wooden houses are antique and unique in shape, complementing the old house. The old house is like a big moon, and the wooden houses are like small stars.

In addition to accommodation for staff and tourists, the cabin also has shops. These shops are run by the original residents of the old house and sell special products of Donkeys Do Not Catch Village. This Zhu Hao has clear regulations.

Seeing Zhu Huan accompanying the leader, Duibi Luo and Qiaojiao Lao came forward happily and insisted that Zhu Huan take the leader to visit their cabin first.

The cabins of One-armed Luo and the Man with Crossed Legs are connected together. Although the area is not large, only more than 20 square meters, they are well organized. One-armed Luo runs a roasted sweet potato shop, and the Man with Crossed Legs runs a sugar-roasted chestnut shop. With the matchmaking of Zhu Huan, the two men married two women from the town who came to set up stalls in front of the old house. Both women were widowed, and they usually made a little money by setting up stalls in local markets. Zhu Huan did not allow anyone to set up stalls in front of the old house, but seeing that their lives were not easy, he matched them with One-armed Luo and the Man with Crossed Legs to open a formal snack shop. As a result, they hit it off and got a certificate to become a family. The two women are now pregnant with the children of One-armed Luo and the Man with Crossed Legs, and they are so happy that One-armed Luo and the Man with Crossed Legs keep calling Zhu Huan "Director Director" when they see him.

When the flat-mouthed woman saw Zhu Hu accompanying the leader out of the roasted sweet potato and sugar-roasted chestnut shops owned by Luo Yi and Qiao Jiao Lao, she hurried forward and said, "Director, Director Zhu, please accompany the leader to our rice dumpling shop."

"Okay, okay, the rice dumplings from our Donkey Don't Get Village are also a specialty. Not only are the leaves of the rice dumplings particularly fragrant, but the glutinous rice is also particularly sticky. Our old fairy is very good at wrapping rice dumplings. She can wrap more than 30 kinds of rice dumplings with different patterns and fillings." Zhu Huan introduced to the big leader, and the flat-mouthed woman smiled happily. She no longer chanted spells and opened a rice dumpling shop in the cabin. The butcher brought back a Northwestern woman from the provincial capital, and the two formed a new family. He usually went to work in the town's slaughterhouse early in the morning and came back to help his mother and daughter-in-law open the rice dumpling shop. The business was so good that he bought a motorcycle.

"Director, Director Zhu, is it our turn now?" Daylily came over to pull Zhu Hu, who smiled and said to Daylily, "It's still early, your family will be the last."

"Ah? Our family is the last? Why should we be the last?" Huang Huacai raised her eyebrows and glared, ready to get angry. Zhu Huan explained to her slowly: "Sister Huacai, other people's shops are small food shops, and yours is a big restaurant, so naturally we have to be the last. Where is Zhenbao, understand?"

"I know, I know, Zhenbao, my Zhenbao, my Zhenbao." Daylily smiled happily again.

Zhu Huan accompanied the leader to the Tian Family Bamboo Workshop, where he saw Tian Laizi and his wife, Tian Dalai, Tian Erlai, and Tian Xiaolai standing at the door of the workshop in neatly dressed clothes to greet him. He introduced bamboo to the leader: "Bamboo is a specialty of our Donkey Budao Village. The Tian family has an ancestral bamboo weaving technique. The bamboo products they made have won gold medals in national competitions and have been exhibited at the World Expo."

"Director Zhu, according to your requirements, my two brothers and I have obtained professional certificates, and my father has just been named an arts and crafts artist." Tian Xiaolai handed several red books in his hand to Zhu Huan.

Zhu Huan took the red book, flipped through it and said to Tian Xiaolai, "Keep up your efforts and strive to become an arts and crafts artist like your father, or even a senior arts and crafts artist or arts and crafts master. If you do that, I will collect your bamboo weavings and exhibit them in the Old House Museum."

"Yes, Ok, we must keep up the good work and strive to have our works exhibited in the Old House Museum as soon as possible." Tian Xiaolai stood at attention and saluted Zhu Huan, causing the big boss to laugh, and everyone at the scene laughed heartily.

Amidst laughter, the senior leader said to Zhu Huan, "I never thought that the former ruffians and hooligans could be transformed into famous craftsmen by you. The bamboo weaving products they make are full of rural flavor and are great souvenirs for tourists visiting the old house."

"Thank you for the affirmation, the key lies with them. If they don't want to correct themselves, outsiders can't do anything about it. As for tourist souvenirs, we need further planning and development and learn from the Prince Gong Mansion Museum." Zhu Hu said modestly.

The leader asked Zhu Hu: "Do you want to visit the Prince Gong Mansion Museum for a study tour?"

"I dream about it." Zhu Huan made no secret of his longing for Prince Gong's Mansion.

The leader immediately called his secretary to his side and said, "Contact the Prince Gong Mansion Museum and arrange for Director Zhu to go there."

"Leader, can I go with you?" Dan'er's little head popped out from behind Zhu Huan.

Just as the leader was about to answer, Lu Huan ran over, grabbed the leader's hand and shook it non-stop: "Hello, leader, hello, my name is Lu Huan, you can call me Huan Huan, which means Huan Huan who celebrates the New Year happily. I graduated with a degree in Cultural Relics Protection and Restoration, and now I am the deputy director of the Old House Museum. I would like to ask the leader to arrange for me to study at the Prince Gong Mansion Museum."

"Huanhuan, you are so famous, so well-known, you fought with Liu Lanyu, the commander of the Liumen, and made sure that all the treasures in the old house were intact. Of course, you have to go to the Prince Gong Mansion Museum to study hard." The big leader responded with a smile.

Dan'er came over and pushed Lu Huan away, asking, "Leader, what about me? What about me?"

"You are Dan'er, right? You are small but powerful. You traveled all the way south to bring back treasures. You should be arranged to study at the Prince Gong Mansion Museum." The big leader stretched out his big hand and stroked Dan'er's little head affectionately.

Daner cried out, "Daner must study hard and live up to the expectations of the leaders, the director, and the deputy director."

"Okay, give a thumbs up to Dan'er." The leader gave Dan'er a thumbs up.

Huang Huacai rushed to the big leader, took his hand and walked towards his cabin, saying as he walked: "Leader, you should go and give a thumbs up to our game restaurant."

"Game restaurant? I'm afraid that won't work." The big leader frowned and looked back at Zhu Huan.

Just as Zhu Hu was about to answer, Huang Huacai hurriedly explained, "Leader, my game restaurant doesn't cook game from the mountains, but game from the mountains. How can I explain this to you?"

"Leader, Sister Huacai's restaurant does not cook wild animals from the mountains, but local dishes with the characteristics of our Donkey Budao Village. The ingredients are mainly various wild vegetables from the mountains, keeping the original flavor. Hey, Sister Huacai, why haven't you changed the sign yet?" Zhu Hu explained to the leader while going over to take down the small wooden sign that read "Laozhai Game Restaurant".

"Coming, coming, changing it right away, changing it right away." Fatty Zhu hurried out of the cabin with a small wooden sign in his hand.

"Lao Zhai Tu Cai Restaurant, this is great." When the leader saw Fatty Zhu put up the small wooden sign "Lao Zhai Tu Cai Restaurant", he smiled again. Zhu Hao invited the leader to go into "Lao Zhai Tu Cai Restaurant", while Huang Huacai and Fatty Zhu stood at the door but felt a little helpless.

"What are you two still standing there for? Go to the stove, we will eat lunch here with you. Remember, it has to be local dishes from our village, local dishes from the old house." Zhu Huan reminded Huang Huacai and Zhu Pangzi.

Fatty Zhu and Huang Huacai reacted and agreed in unison: "Okay, okay!"

"Okay, let's try the local dishes of Donkey Budong Village and the old house. But let me make it clear in advance that the meal fee must be paid as usual." The big leader found a seat and sat down casually.

Huang Huacai and Fatty Zhu hurriedly shook their heads and hands, saying repeatedly: "No, no, no, no, no..."

"Nothing? As long as you cook the dishes well and make authentic old-house dishes, I will give you red envelopes." Zhu Huan tried to ease the atmosphere.

Huang Huacai and Fatty Zhu then smiled and walked briskly into the kitchen to get busy. Soon, five local dishes from the old house were served, namely "Scrambled Eggs with Toona Sinensis Sprouts", "Amaranth with Dried Tofu", "Stir-fried Shredded Pork with Water Celery", "Braised Pork with Bracken", and "Mint Tofu".

"Delicious, delicious!" The leader ate an extra bowl of fragrant rice and praised the "Laozhai Brand" fragrant rice from Lubudaocun for its deliciousness.

It smells so good, so good. It has been a long time since Zhu Hao had such a sweet nap or such a sweet dream.

After seeing off the big leader, Zhu Huan went back to his cabin to take a nap. He was dreamless at first, but later Zhu Yuanzhang and Chou Yuxi ran over with smiles on their faces, and rushed to express their gratitude to Zhu Huan.

"Fairy, thank you. I finally got out of the Netherworld. I got out of the Netherworld." "Fairy, I also got out of the Netherworld. I got out of the Netherworld. Thank you, thank you."

"You really want to thank me?"

"With all my heart!" "With all my heart!"

"Well, then, each of you do one thing for me, and that will be your way of thanking me."

"Ten pieces are fine." "A hundred pieces are fine."

"Just one thing, Zhu Yuanzhang, don't call yourself 'I' or 'I' anymore, everyone in the world is equal. Ugly Yu, don't call yourself 'maid' anymore, there is no distinction between noble and humble people."

"Yes, yes, yes, I must." "Okay, okay, that's great."

"Hey, why is the dragon gone?" Zhu Hu was extremely surprised when he saw that the red dragon robe Zhu Yuanzhang was wearing had turned into an ordinary red robe, and the dragon on it was nowhere to be seen.

Zhu Yuanzhang lowered his head to look, and Chou Yu leaned over to take a closer look. He was also surprised to see that the dragon on the red robe was gone.

Just as Zhu Huan, Zhu Yuanzhang and Chou Yu were surprised, a loud roar came from the east, which shook the earth. Then heavy rain poured down, and the water in Taiping Pond soon overflowed.

"Could it be that the dragon has resurrected and returned to the East China Sea, and is now here to seek revenge on us?" Chou Yu was so scared that his face turned pale.

Zhu Yuanzhang remained calm at first, but when he saw the mountain torrent burst, mud and sand were swept down, and only the canopy of the camphor tree was exposed, the surging flood submerged the steps of the old house, and did not reach the threshold of the old house's main door. He was more panicked than Ugly Jade, and stammered to Zhu Huan: "Fairy, fairy, shouldn't you go down to the camphor tree and light nine, nine incense sticks?"

"Why are you panicking? If it is really the dragon that has resurrected, it will not come to seek revenge on us. Even if it holds a grudge against me and comes to seek revenge, I should bear the consequences myself." Zhu Hao was calm.

The sky was covered by heavy dark clouds, and the whole Donkey Village was instantly immersed in darkness. Zhu Hu came to the main entrance of the old house in the rainstorm regardless of everything, and stood on the threshold facing the east.

The dark clouds pressed lower, and the skyline was blurred, so that Zhu Hao could not distinguish the boundary between the sky and the ground. But he could hear the camphor tree on the west mountain crackling in the strong wind, mixed with the shrill cat calls, as if countless ghosts were passing through his ears. The muddy flood carried all kinds of debris and attacked the old house like countless beasts, as if it would not stop until the old house was destroyed.

"Tuanlong, don't be so arrogant. If you want to destroy the old house, destroy me first." Zhu Hu shouted towards the east.

A louder roar came from the east, which was enough to shatter the eardrums of all ordinary creatures on the earth. The red badger's ears were so painful that they felt like being pricked by needles.

"Tuanlong, since you attached yourself to Zhu Yuanzhang's dragon robe back then, that means you are a sinful dragon. My blood splashed on your body, which should be to return your yang. Now that Zhu Yuanzhang and Chou Yu have escaped from the Nine Netherworld, you have been reborn. Why are you still seeking revenge on me? It's okay for you to seek revenge on me, but you can't implicate the creatures of the village and the old house." Zhu Huan continued to shout towards the east regardless of the pain.

After a moment of silence, Dongfang erupted with a roar like a landslide, shaking off the door plaque of the old house above Zhu Huan's head.

Zhu Hao stretched out his hands and firmly caught the door plaque, without fear, and shouted: "Tuanlong, no matter what, the old house is always 'tolerant and virtuous'. If you dare to wreak havoc again, I will call out the spirits of the old house, and they will make you completely shattered and destroyed forever."

Dongfang was silent for half an hour, but finally she let out a devastating roar, which made Zhu Hao deaf, but she still shouted with the last bit of strength in her body: "You are so virtuous, where is the old house spirit?"

"One dragon, two phoenixes, three lions, seahorses, Pegasus, six fish, Suanni, Xiezhi, nine bulls, and the last one looks like a monkey. The elves of the old house are coming!" As the cheerful jingle sounded over the old house, eight greyhounds and eight badgers led all the five spines and six beasts of the old house to rush towards the east.

After a while, the sky brightened, the heavy rain stopped, and Taiping Pond sparkled under the bright sunshine. The red badger jumped up and put the gate plaque back in its original place.

A voice sounded beside my ear: "Thank you for your kindness, fairy, and thank you for the old house elf's mercy. I am willing to turn into a guardian beast at the main gate of the old house and protect the door plaque of the old house forever."

Zhu Huan looked up and saw a dragon head on the plaque in the middle of the main door of the old house. Despite the erosion of time, it was still majestic and solemn, as if it had just awakened from a deep sleep and soared into the sky.

The horns of the dragon's head are curved and sharp, like a sharp sword, which seems to be able to cut through the clouds at any time. Its eyes are as deep as a deep pool, shining with wisdom, staring at everything in the world, as if it can see through people's hearts.

The dragon's whiskers are long and slender, brushing across the dragon's forehead and swaying gently in the wind, like light jade belts, adding a touch of elegance and mystery to the dragon head.

The dragon's neck is thick and powerful, and its scales are densely covered. Each scale looks as if it was cut by a knife or an axe, revealing a cold beauty.

The teeth of the dragon head are sharp and arranged in an orderly manner, as if they can bite through hard rocks. The mouth is slightly open, as if telling a thousand-year-old legend and story. The lines of the dragon's lips are smooth, with a bit of gentleness and kindness.

The dragon's tail is agile and powerful, and every swing can stir up the wind and clouds, causing gusts of wind and waves. The dragon scales covering the tail are like layers of castle walls, solid and layered.

"How lucky I am to have you in my old house and on the door plaque!" Zhu Hu sighed sincerely, her heart as happy as a young girl.