touchnovel Chapter 48 Bottleneck of Town-Suppressing Objects, Events in Gourd Village
Chapter 48 Bottleneck of Town-Suppressing Objects, Events in Gourd Village
The "Gourd That Swallows Demons" talisman has taken shape, and the folk notebook opens automatically, revealing red characters that gleam with golden light.
Jiang Jun did not go over to check immediately, but instead used the large, waisted gourd to make a "gourd that swallows monsters".
"This time, will we really need a hundred million artifact clones?" He walked to the desk and looked at the fourth page, which contained the "Gourd of Devouring Ghosts".
Good news: The progress bar in the folk notebook did not pop up, so he didn't have to complete the dissemination of one hundred million talisman clones as he had guessed.
Bad news: The prompt about unlocking page five also did not appear.
In other words, he has reached a bottleneck in compiling information on talismans and there is no possibility of further improvement for the time being.
"There are two possibilities," he thought to himself.
Alternatively, you need the initial four items to suppress the evil spirits, and the promotion of these items must reach an astonishing limit.
Alternatively, four protective objects are needed to shield enough people and accumulate a massive amount of merit and golden light.
Jiang Jun shook his head: "Since things have come to this, let's make up a story first."
He turned on his computer, easily found various eerie forums, and skillfully wrote short stories about talismans.
#It's impossible to hide it any longer! The "swallowing the ghost gourd" that the old folks in the countryside talk about really can absorb evil spirits.
At 3 a.m., I heard a "thump-thump" sound coming from inside the gourd, but I didn't dare to open it.
#Don't just hang up "Forbidden Ghosts" charms; the real home-protecting artifact is the "Gourd That Swallows Ghosts".
As he continued compiling, he simply let himself go, even starting to criticize and belittle his own three other treasures.
Because of official tacit approval and the testimonies of "lucky ones" like Cai Liang, folk town objects have become widely known among the people.
The accounts that Jiang Jun posted on were also marked as being followed by everyone.
The information about the new town's "Swallowing Gourd" immediately attracted a huge number of upvotes and replies.
*
Fulu Village, Cangyun District, Qingjiang City.
Due to suitable conditions, gourds are the main crop grown in the area, and Fulu Village got its name from the homonym "Gourd Village".
The gourds here are either mainly for eating or for making utensils, and they are quite well-known in the surrounding cities.
Grandpa Zhao Yuan was a well-known gourd grower in Fulu Village. In the early days of reform and opening up, he became a prominent household with an income of over ten thousand yuan.
Unfortunately, he was unlucky. His wife passed away early, and his two sons and daughter also died in accidents one after another, leaving no bloodline.
With the child gone, Zhao Yuan's spirits waned, and his family business ultimately failed to grow and instead gradually declined.
A few years ago, as he got older, he began to think about how to care for his parents in their old age and how to provide for them in their final days. He originally planned to adopt his brother's nephew and even prepared to have him registered in the family genealogy.
But one day eight years ago, he suddenly picked up a little beggar and insisted that he was his grandson, never mentioning the adoption again.
As a result, his brothers and nephews all cut off contact with him.
Zhao Yuan had a bad temper, so he simply stayed home with his grandson, and the two of them depended on each other for survival.
Last winter, he fell seriously ill, and his family's savings were exhausted, leaving him with only a pile of gourds. Due to market fluctuations, it seemed he wouldn't be able to sell them and they would become unsellable.
Zhao Jing, the grandson, was originally in junior high school, but after learning about the situation, he dropped out of school and took these gourds to the antique street to sell.
Unfortunately, the market is oversupplied. The market for collectible gourds and craft gourds has been somewhat sluggish in recent years, with very few sold.
"Sigh, poor Jing," Zhao Yuan said, lying in bed looking out the window. "I wonder how business went today?"
Suddenly, the sound of a tricycle bell came from outside the courtyard.
"Grandpa, I'm back!" Zhao Jing's booming voice rang out. "We sold another golden chrysanthemum today!"
Zhao Yuan got up, leaned on his cane, and went out. Looking at the barely moved gourd in the tricycle, he said, "Why are you closing up shop so early today? Didn't I tell you to eat before you came back?"
Zhao Jing pulled him to sit under the eaves to bask in the sun, and then told him about what had happened that day.
"Isn't that amazing? Uncle Zhou and I chatted with him for quite a while, but we couldn't even remember what he looked like. I figured he must be an extraordinary person, and what he said must have profound meaning, so we packed up and went home."
Zhao Yuan's expression changed slightly: "Was that person speaking politely? He wasn't some eccentric character, was he?"
Zhao Jing thought for a moment: "That older brother is quite nice; he praised me for being honest!"
Zhao Yuan was silent for a moment, but still confided in him: "You used to want to go to the antique street, but I wouldn't let you. Do you know why?"
Zhao Jing shook his head.
Zhao Yuan said, "You should have heard of the legends of the Ghost Tamers. The antique street is actually one of their gathering points."
Zhao Jing looked shocked: "You mean, that older brother... is a Ghost Tamer?"
Just as Zhao Yuan was about to nod, his cell phone rang in his pocket.
He took it out and saw that it was a call from his nephew, whom he hadn't contacted in a long time.
"Second Uncle, I heard your gourds aren't selling very well?" The other person's voice was warm and enthusiastic.
"We have a guest who's willing to buy all our gourds at a low price. My dad said you're having some financial difficulties lately and wanted to help you out."
"How about this, if you lower the price a bit more, I'll ask him to take it all at once, which will help you out of your immediate predicament."
He said he would help out, but his tone betrayed an eagerness, as if he was afraid someone would beat him to it if he was a step too late.
Zhao Jing, standing nearby, frowned and whispered in his grandfather's ear, "A weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken, it's up to no good."
Zhao Yuan remained expressionless and coldly refused, saying, "My gourds sell well, so there's no need for your concern."
After saying that, he hung up the phone and gave Zhao Jing a push: "My dear grandson, go ask around in the village if the price of gourds has changed."
Before Zhao Jing could even set off, the phone rang again.
This time, it was a village-based cadre from the city, specifically there to help impoverished villagers escape poverty and achieve prosperity. He was a great help to Zhao Yuan with his medical treatment.
An urgent voice came from the other end of the phone: "Grandpa Zhao, do you still have those gourds? Please don't sell them at a low price! If anyone comes to buy them, please be careful."
"I still need to make phone calls to other people. You can have your child search for 'talisman' online, and they'll understand everything."
The phone call ended abruptly as soon as he finished speaking.
Zhao Jing had already run into the room, turned on the computer, and skillfully entered the forum.
He naturally knew about talismans. There was still a "Guardian of Evil" hanging in the house and a "Divine Rooster Talisman" pasted on the door.
And today, a new talisman has emerged.
Zhao Jing found the latest post, skipped the story written by Jiang Jun, and started to check the production process.
"Drill a hole in the gourd, hollow out its belly, stuff it with red beans and salt, and seal it with red paper..." he muttered as he wrote it down in his notebook.
Suddenly, the picture at the end of the post caught his attention.
It was a gourd with an exceptionally regular shape, so much so that it could even be featured in children's storybooks, teaching children to recognize objects from pictures and instantly tell them what a gourd should look like.
At the bottom of the gourd, there is an inconspicuous light gray stain.
Zhao Jing had a rich imagination since childhood, and he thought the mark looked like a little bat, so he remembered it very well.
He clearly remembered: "This gourd... is it the one I gave to that older brother?"