My grandfather was a paper maker, and he used to tell me that if you eat this bowl of rice, you have to follow the rules.

Paper people and paper horses are for the dead, and the rules of the dead are naturally followed.

However, the rules for making paper are very simple, and the ownerless paper people do not draw facial features.

When I was a child, I was very skinny, and once my grandfather went out, and there happened to be a freshly made paper figure at home, and I saw chicken blood ink next to it, so I was bored and drew its facial features.

I was tired of playing at noon, and I fell asleep on the bed when I went home, and I heard footsteps in the room in a daze, and when I woke up, the room was pitch black, and the footsteps stopped.

I thought it was grandpa, rubbed my eyes and shouted, and reached out to turn on the light, but the moment the light came on, what I saw was not grandpa, but the paper figure I had painted its facial features during the day.

It seemed to be alive, and it stood in front of the bed in a daze, staring at me with its eyes.

I just remember screaming, crying and running out barefoot, and just in time to meet my grandfather at the door.

The next day, my grandfather set fire to the paper figurines in the house, and within a few days, he opened a paper shop in the town, where he worked as paper figurines on weekdays.

In the years that followed, I was puzzled as to why the paper figure downstairs would run into my room, and the footsteps I heard, could it be that it came by itself?

Unfortunately, another incident happened later, and my grandfather sent me to the city, away from the paper men and paper horses that accompanied me in my childhood.

My house is a two-story red brick house, there are three rooms upstairs, the room I live in is on the east side, and the utility room is on the left, and there is a rusty iron lock hanging from the door, which has never been opened by my grandfather.

On the Midyear Festival that year, the business in the store was very busy, I couldn't wait for my grandfather to go to bed first, and I heard a creaking sound in the corridor at night, I woke up and got up to check, and found that the iron lock in the utility room was off, and the door was covered with a crack, and it was dark inside, and the sound came out of the darkness.

I thought it was a thief, sneaked past, and only turned on the flashlight to shine in at the door, and who was the shout.

However, the flashlight illuminated a white paper coffin, and when the lid of the coffin was halfway opened, a strange sound came from inside, as if something was about to crawl out.

Fortunately, my roar alarmed my grandfather, who had come back a long time ago, and he rushed out of the room and saw me standing at the door of the utility room, his face changed suddenly, and he hurriedly went in to close the paper coffin, and when he came out, his face was pale, but he didn't say a word.

The next day, my grandfather said that my life was light and I couldn't stay in the pile of paper figures, so he asked someone to contact the school in the city and asked me to study outside and not come back if I had nothing to do.

It's been six years, half a month before the Midyear Festival this year, he suddenly called me back to help, I was very happy, but when I got home, I realized why he asked me to come back.

I grew up, and my grandfather was old, gray-haired, and faltering. I cried when I stood at the door, saying that I would never leave again, and that I would stay with him.

I didn't expect my grandfather to agree and let me give up my studies and stay in the store to help.

The next day, I rushed back to the provincial capital to go through the withdrawal procedures. When I came back, my grandfather asked me if I regretted it, and I didn't even think about it and said I didn't regret it.

I had a lot of dreams, big ones, but there was plenty of time to accomplish them, but my grandfather couldn't wait for that.

If you don't accompany me now, that's the most regrettable thing.

Grandpa smiled and said, "The craftsmanship of the An family cannot be lost, and you will have to support this façade in the future." ”

In the next few days, I helped make paper figurines in the store, and I heard about it since I was a child, and I got started quickly. Grandpa took the initiative to talk about the paper coffin, saying that it was something that was kept for others. As for what's inside, he keeps his mouth shut.

I was afraid of making him angry, so I didn't dare to ask questions.

In a few days, it was the Midyear Festival, and the deserted store began to get busy, and almost a year's stock of goods would be sold in these days.

On the fourteenth day, there were constant guests, so I asked my grandfather to go back first. Before leaving, he told me to open the ghost door of fifteen and let me go home early.

I answered, but I forgot about it in a hurry, and saw off the last guest, and it was getting dark. I took the money from the counter and was about to close the door, when I almost collided with the person who came in at the door.

It took me half a step back before I went to look at the people.

He was in his thirties, dressed in thick clothes, and his body was very bloated, judging by the exposed collar, there were seven or eight pieces.

The middle-aged man stood at the door and asked, "Is there a paper coffin for sale?" ”

When he opened his mouth, he was greeted by a rancid stench. I frowned, and hurriedly said no, I just wanted to send him away quickly.

"Oh, then I'm here at night!" His eyes were cloudy, his expression was wooden, and he turned around and left after saying this.

I wanted to remind him that it was closed, but it was already far away.

After a busy day, I didn't bother to care, and was about to push the bicycle at the door to go home, but when I unlocked it, I caught a white shadow, and looked up to see a girl in a white dress standing under the plane tree opposite, holding a red umbrella in her hand, as if looking at me.

I remembered that my grandfather said that it doesn't rain in the sky, and there is an umbrella at night, and nine times out of ten it is not a clean thing, so I hurriedly jumped in the car and rushed home without looking back.

There are some things in this world that those who can't afford to provoke can only hide.

When I got home, I was sweating profusely and grabbed the glass on the coffee table and drank it dry.

Grandpa hadn't slept yet, when he heard the movement, he came out of the house, held a bunch of old clothes, and put them on the sofa for me to help him choose.

I calmed down, didn't plan to tell him about tonight, and said casually: "Grandpa, it's all old clothes, just throw it away." ”

"Silly boy, after a hundred years, I will have to wear old clothes to walk comfortably. When people die, they are also particular about dressing, with double orders and orders, and the average person wears eight pieces of clothes and seven pairs of pants. ”

Grandpa was teaching me how to take care of his funeral, but my whole body shook violently, and I hurriedly asked, "Grandpa, only the deceased wear so many clothes?" ”

"Hmm!" Grandpa straightened out his old clothes and said with a smile: "A living person wears so many clothes, he can't die of burning?" ”

When I heard this, it was like falling into an ice cave in July, and my hands couldn't help shaking, so I hurriedly sat down next to my grandfather and told him about the middle-aged man I met in the store.

After I finished fidgeting, my grandfather got up after a while and said, "It's time to come or come." Don't be afraid, there's grandpa here! He said as he walked towards the room, muttering to himself on the way: "It's been ten years, and the owner of the paper coffin should also come, it's time to come!" ”

Grandpa was a little distraught, and I was about to follow, but he closed the door. It took me a few seconds to push the door in, and when I saw him sitting on the bed wiping my tears, I felt sad for a while, and half-knelt in front of him and asked with tears in my eyes: "Grandpa, what's wrong with you, am I in trouble again?" ”

"In the early years, they didn't dare to bully them, but now grandpa is old. What are you going to do after I'm gone. ”

I didn't understand what Grandpa said, but I had heard a lot of things from him since I was a child, and I knew that the mysterious man said that coming back at night was going to be bad for me, and he was probably not a living person, so I gritted my teeth and said, "Grandpa, if he dares to come, I will fight with him." ”

"Don't be afraid, grandpa is here, he can't hurt you." As he spoke, Grandpa bent down and pulled out a bamboo box from under the bed, and when he opened it, there was a lifelike paper figure inside.

He took out the paper figure and told me to take off my clothes and put it on the paper figure, then broke my middle finger and took a drop of blood and dotted it on the paper figure's eyebrows.

Seeing that he had done this, I couldn't help but ask, "Grandpa, why don't you teach me these things?" ”

Grandpa turned around and touched my head and said, "I promised your father that you only learn art, not yin and yang!" ”

The secret of the family is not only the paper coffin upstairs, but also my parents, who will never mention it.

I was a little annoyed and said, "You don't teach anything, how can I inherit your craft?" ”

"You, as long as you know how to tie paper people, beg for food!" Grandpa went out with the paper figure in his arms, and I knew that I couldn't get the result, so I had to follow behind. He put the paper figure on the couch and asked me to start in front of the paper figure and drop a drop of blood every step of the way.

I know if I run into something unclean, and I am angry and angry, or do as he says. When I was done, my grandfather lit a candle in front of the paper figure and dragged me back to his room.

Knowing that he wouldn't say anything, I didn't ask, so the two of them leaned into the crack in the door and looked out.

As time passed, my whole body ached, but I didn't feel sleepy, but became more and more nervous. Before I knew it, the candle was halfway burned, and it was almost midnight. I'm afraid that my grandfather won't be able to bear it, so I want him to go back to bed.

However, before he could speak, he whispered, "Here we are!" ”

Before Grandpa's words fell, the flame of the candle began to weaken, and as it was about to be extinguished, the candlelight suddenly turned a miserable green, and the flames burst up, illuminating the living room gloomily.

Squeak!

With a sour voice, the old hall door was pushed open.

Grandpa whispered, "You stay in the house later, and don't go out no matter what happens." ”

I swallowed nervously, and as soon as I nodded, I saw a dark shadow flash outside the door of the hall, and the middle-aged man who had been to the store at dusk was on his feet like an animal, sniffing the blood on the ground and crawling towards the sofa.

He walked in front of the paper man, looked up and laughed twice, and reached out violently to tear the paper man to pieces.

But when the paper figure was broken, the bamboo strips inside bounced out and clamped him tightly like a spring. Only then did I notice that the bamboo strips were red, and several of the main bones were still engraved with dense tadpole inscriptions.

The moment he was restrained, the middle-aged man was fine, but there was a scream from upstairs.

When my grandfather heard the shouting, he immediately rushed out of the door, and I wanted to go out with him, but he turned around and shouted, "Close the door, don't come out." ”

I was so shaken by his yelling that I didn't dare to go out.

The moment the grandfather rushed upstairs, the screams upstairs stopped abruptly, and the bamboo strip that trapped the middle-aged man suddenly broke at this time, and then I saw the grandfather rolling down the stairs and falling heavily to the ground.

"An Hailong, you are old. Hand over the paper coffin, and I'll give you a good time. A hoarse voice came from the entrance of the building, and as she walked out of the old woman in sackcloth.

The middle-aged man who had broken free from the bamboo strip was crawling towards me with his body twisted.