Oh man, are you in for a treat. You’re also in for a very lengthy read, because this might be the longest post I’ve ever published on CRP. It’s also one of the coolest. This, my friends, is the first chapter of the famous tomb raiding series “Ghost Blows Out the Light“, or Gui Chui Deng (鬼吹灯).
Gui Chui Deng was Written by Zhang Muye, originally as a serialized web novel, but it went viral and became a modern fantasy classic, and now there are several movies, TV shows, and spinoffs based on the original story. The book is about a team of tomb raiders that break into old tombs to find treasure, but they have to try to avoid disturbing the spirits of the dead while they do it, kind of like a mix between Indiana Jones, Buffy, and ancient Chinese ghost stories. The novel is full of action, as the team battles monsters, solves mysteries, and tries to dispel an ancient family curse.
The first chapter, which I’ve translated here, isn’t a tomb raiding scene, and it doesn’t include the book’s main characters. Rather, it sets up the rest of the book by telling the backstory of Hu Guohua, an ancestor to the novel’s tomb raiding protagonist, Hu Bayi. The first chapter reads like a late Qing Dynasty fable. Hu Guohua was a useless rich kid that fell on hard times after gambling and whoring his fortune away. Just as he starts to turn his life around, his hopes for a better future are dashed. It’s a fun chapter – enjoy.
Later in the story, after this chapter, Hu Guohua will learn the secrets of tomb raiding, and those secrets will get passed down to Hu Bayi. If you want to keep reading after you finish the first chapter, all of the chapters have been posted online for free here.
Neat vocab
家道中落 – jiā dào zhōng luò – family fortune declining
败家子 – bài jiā zǐ – prodigal son; spendthrift
五毒俱全 – wǔ dú jù quán – addicted to all five vices (drinking, gambling, opium, etc.)
身无分文 – shēn wú fēn wén – penniless; without a cent
惟妙惟肖 – wéi miào wéi xiào – lifelike; vivid
人鬼殊途 – rén guǐ shū tú – humans and ghosts walk different paths
山穷水尽 – shān qióng shuǐ jìn – at the end of one’s rope; desperate
惺惺相惜 – xīng xīng xiāng xī – kindred spirits appreciate each other
莫逆之交 – mò nì zhī jiāo – the closest of friends; bosom friends
感恩戴德 – gǎn ēn dài dé – deeply grateful; eternally thankful
《鬼吹灯》第一章
我的祖父叫胡国华，胡家祖上是十里八乡有名的大地主，最辉煌的时期在城里买了三条胡同相连的四十多间宅子，其间也曾出过一些当官的和经商的，捐过前清的粮台、槽运的帮办。
民谚有云：“富不过三代。”这话是非常有道理的，家里纵然有金山银山，也架不住败家子孙的挥霍。
到了民国年间，传到我祖父这一代就开始家道中落了，先是分了家，胡国华也分到了不少家产，足够衣食无忧的过一辈子，可是他偏偏不肯学好，当然这也和当时的社会环境有关，先是沉迷赌博，后来又抽上了福寿膏（大烟），把万贯家财败了个精光。
胡国华年轻的时候吃喝嫖赌抽五毒俱全，到最后穷得身上连一个大子儿都没有了。人要是犯了烟瘾，就抓心挠肝的无法忍受，但是没钱谁让你抽啊？昔日里有钱的时候，烟馆里的老板伙计见了他都是胡爷长，胡爷短的，招呼得殷勤周到，可是一但你身无分文了，他们就拿你当臭要饭的，连哄带赶，驱之不及。
人要穷疯了，廉耻道德这些观念就不重要了，胡国华想了个办法，去找舅舅骗点钱。胡国华的舅舅知道他是败家子大烟鬼，平时一文钱都不肯给他，但是这次胡国华骗舅舅说要娶媳妇，让舅舅给凑点钱。
舅舅一听感动得老泪纵横，这个不肖的外甥总算是办件正事，要是娶个贤惠的媳妇好好管管他，收收他的心，说不定日后就能学好了。
于是给他拿了二十块大洋，嘱咐他娶个媳妇好好过日子，千万别再沾染那些福寿膏了，过几天得空，还要亲自去胡国华家看看外甥媳妇。
胡国华鬼主意最多，为了应付舅舅，他回家之后到村里找了个扎纸人纸马的匠人，就是烧给死人的那种。这个扎纸师傅手艺很高明，只要手你说得出来的东西，他都能做的惟妙惟肖。
他按要求给胡国华扎了个白纸糊裱的纸女人，又用水彩给纸人画上了眉眼鼻子、衣服头发，在远处一看，嘿，真就跟个活人似的。
胡国华把纸人扛到家里，放在里屋的炕上，用被子把纸人盖了，心里想的挺好，等过几天舅舅来了，就推说我媳妇病了，躺在床上不能见客，让他远远的看一眼就行了。想到得意处，忍不住哼起了小曲，溜哒进城抽大烟去了。
没过几天，舅舅就上门了，买了一些花布点心之类的来看外甥媳妇，胡国华就按照预先想好的说词推脱，说媳妇身体不适，不能见客，让舅舅在们口揭开门帘看了一眼就把门帘放下来了。
舅舅不愿意了，噢，你小子就这么应付你亲娘舅啊？不行，今天必须得见见新媳妇，生病了我掏钱给新媳妇请郎中瞧病。
胡国华就死活拦着不让见，他越拦越显得有问题，舅舅更家疑心，两下里争执起来。正在此时，里屋门帘撩开了，出来一个女子，长得白白净净的，大脸盘子、大屁股小脚，胡国华心里咯噔一下，哎呦，这不就是我找人糊的纸人吗？它怎么活了？
女人对舅舅施了一礼说近日身体不好，刚才没出来迎接舅舅，失礼之处还请恕罪，现在突然又觉得身子大好了，今天就留舅舅在家吃顿便饭，说完就转身进去做饭。
胡国华的舅舅一看乐坏了，这外甥媳妇多贤惠，又生得旺夫的好相貌，我那死去的妹子泉下有知，看见他儿子娶了这么好的媳妇也得高兴啊。舅舅一高兴又给了胡国华十块大洋。
胡国华呆在当场，心里慌乱，也不知是该庆幸还是该害怕，时间过的很快，一转眼就到了晚上，白纸人做了一桌饭菜，舅舅乐得嘴都合不上了，但是胡国华却无心吃喝，他看着坐在自己对面的那个女人，就觉得心里跟吃了只苍蝇似的恶心。她的脸很白，一点血色没有，脸上的红润都是用胭脂抹上的。
舅舅老眼昏花，也没觉得那女人有什么不对头，七八杯老酒下肚就喝得伶仃大醉，胡国华借了辆驴车，把他送回家中。
回去的路上，越想越觉得害怕，干脆也不回家了，去城里的花柳巷中过了一夜，连抽带嫖把舅舅刚给的十个大洋都使光了。
最后又因为没钱付帐被赶了出来，无处可去，只能硬着头皮回家。到家一看屋里黑着灯，那个白纸人一动不动的躺在自己的床上，蒙着被子，之前的好象一切根本就没发生过。
胡国华一想留着她晚上再变成活人怎么办，不如我一把火烧了它干净。把白纸人抗到院子里，取出火摺子，就想动手烧了纸人，这时纸人忽然开口说话：“你个死没良心的，我好心好意帮你，却想烧了我！”
胡国华吓了一跳，深更半夜中只听那白纸糊的女人继续说：“我是看你可怜，你虽然吃喝嫖赌，但是心地还不算坏，我想嫁给你，你愿意吗？”
胡国华拼命的摇头，问那纸人你到底是妖还是鬼？白纸人说我当然是鬼，只是暂时附在这纸人身上，不过你个穷棒子还别嫌弃我，我生前很富有，陪葬的金银首饰够你抽十辈子大烟的，你岂不闻富死鬼强似穷命人百倍？
一提到钱胡国华就有些心动，因为最近实在太穷了，就连衣服都给当光了，不过他可不想有命取财无命花钱，他曾经听老人们讲起过女鬼勾汉子的事，一来二去就把男人的阳气吸光了，那些被鬼缠上的男人，最后都只剩下一副干皮包着的骨头架子。于是他对纸人说：“就算是你真心对我好，我也不能娶你，毕竟咱们是人鬼殊途，阴阳阻隔，这样做有违天道。”
白纸人说你既然如此铁石心肠，我也不勉强你，不过将来早晚有你后悔的那一天。你记住了，如果你的日子真到了穷得过不下去的时候，你就到十三里铺的荒坟来找我，在那片坟地的最中间有座没有墓碑的孤坟，里面的棺材就是我尸身所在，棺中有得是金银珠宝，只要你敢来，那些财物就尽管随意拿去花用。
说完，白纸人就一动不动了，胡国华壮着胆子，点了把火将白纸人烧成了灰烬。
后来有几次穷得实在没办法了，就想去十三里铺挖坟，但是到最后还是忍住了，东借西凑的把日子混了下来。两年以后他山穷水尽走投无路终于去了那片坟地，不过那是后话，咱们暂且不表。
这年的春节发生了很多事，胡国华扎个纸人骗他舅舅钱的事情终于败露了，舅舅生气上火，一病不起，没出三天就撒手归西了。
胡家的亲戚朋友都象防贼似的防着他，别说借给他钱了，就连剩饭都不让他蹭一口。胡国华把家中最后的一对檀木箱子卖了两块银洋，这箱子是他母亲的嫁妆，一直想留个念想，没舍得典当。但是烟瘾发做，也管不了那许多了，用这两块钱买了一小块福寿膏，赶回家中就迫不及待的点上烟泡倒在床上，猛吸了两口，身体轻飘飘的如在云端。
此刻他感觉自己快活似神仙，平日里那些被人瞧不起，辱骂，欺负的遭遇都不重要了。又吸了两口，忽然发现自己的破床上还趴着个黑呼呼的东西，定睛一看，原来床角上趴着一只大老鼠，这老鼠的岁数一定小不了，胡子都变白了，体型跟猫差不多大，它正在旁边吸着胡国华烟枪里冒出的烟雾，好象它也晓得这福寿膏的好处，嗅着鼻子贪婪的享受。
胡国华觉得有趣，对大老鼠说：“你这家伙也有烟瘾？看来跟我是同道中人。”说完自己抽了一口，用嘴向那老鼠喷云吐雾，老鼠好象知道他没有恶意，也不惧怕他，抬起头来接纳喷向它的烟雾。过了半晌，似乎是过足了瘾，缓缓的爬着离开。
如此数日，这只大老鼠每天都来同胡国华一起吸烟，胡国华到处被人轻贱，周围没有半个朋友，对这只老鼠惺惺相惜颇有好感，有时候老鼠来得晚一点，胡国华就忍着烟瘾等它。
但是好景不长，胡国华家里就剩下一张床和四面墙了，再也没有钱去买烟土，他愁闷无策，叹息的对老鼠说：“老鼠啊老鼠，今天我囊謦粮绝，可再没钱买福寿膏了，恐不能与你常吸此味。”言毕唏嘘不已。
老鼠听了他说话，双目炯炯闪烁，若有所思，反身离去。天黑的时候，老鼠叼回来一枚银元放在胡国华枕边，胡国华惊喜交加，连夜就进城买了一块福寿膏，回来后就灯下点烧了，大肆吞吐，和老鼠一起痛快淋漓的吸了个饱。
第二天老鼠又叼来三枚银元，胡国华乐得简直都不知道说什么好了，想起来以前念私塾时学的一个典故，就对老鼠说：“知管仲者，鲍书牙是也，君知我贫寒而厚施于我，真是我的知己啊，如不嫌弃，咱们就结为金兰兄弟。”从此与这只老鼠称兄道弟，呼其为”鼠兄”，饮食与共，一起抽大烟，还在床上给它用棉絮摆了个窝，让老鼠也睡在床上。
人鼠相安，不亚于莫逆之交，老鼠每天都出去叼回来银元，少则一二枚，多则三五枚，从此胡国华衣食无忧。多年以后我的祖父回忆起来，总说这段日子是他一生中最快乐的时光。
就这么过了多半年，胡国华渐渐富裕了起来，但是不是有那么句话吗？发财遇好友，倒霉碰小人，也该着胡国华是穷命，他就被一个小人给盯上了。
村里有个无赖叫王二杠子，他和胡国华不一样，胡国华至少曾经富裕过，怎么说也当过二十多年的”胡大少爷”。
王二杠子就没那么好的命了，从他家祖上八辈到他这代，都没穿过一条不露腚的裤子，他看胡国华家业败了，幸灾乐祸，有事没事的就对胡国华打骂侮辱，欺负欺负当年的胡大少爷，给自己心里找点平衡。
最近他觉得很奇怪，胡国华这穷小子也没做什么营生，家里能典当的都典当了，他家亲戚也死的差不多了，怎么天天在家抽大烟？他这买烟土的钱都是从哪来的？说不定这小子做了贼，我不如悄悄地盯着他，等他偷东西的时候抓了他扭送到官府，换几块大洋的赏钱也好。
可是盯了一段时间发现胡国华除了偶尔进城买些粮食和烟土之外，基本上是足不出户，也从不跟任何人来往。越是不知道他的钱是怎么来的，王二杠子就越是心痒。
有天胡国华出去买吃的东西，王二杠子趁机翻墙头进了他家，翻箱倒柜的想找找胡国华究竟有什么秘密。突然发现床上有只大老鼠正在睡觉，王二杠子顺手把老鼠抓起来扔到炉子上正在烧的一壶水里，然后把壶盖压上，心想等胡国华回家喝水，我在旁边看个乐子。
还没等王二杠子出去，胡国华就回来了，正好把他堵到屋里，胡国华一看壶里的大老鼠，已经给活活烫死了，顿时红了眼睛，抄起菜刀就砍，王二杠子被砍了十几刀，好在胡国华是个大烟鬼，手上无力，王二杠子虽然中了不少刀，却没受致命伤，他全身是血的逃到保安队求救，保安队的队长是当地一个军阀的亲戚，当时正在请这个军阀喝酒，队长一看这还了得？光天化日之下就持刀行凶，没有王法了吗？赶紧命几个手下把胡国华五花大绑的捆了来。
胡国华被押到堂前，保安队长厉声喝问，为何持刀行凶要杀王二杠子？
胡国华泪流满面，抽泣着述说了事情的始末，最后哀叹着说：“想我当初困苦欲死，没有这只老鼠我就活不到今日，不料我一时疏忽竟令鼠兄丧命，它虽非我所杀，却因我而死。九泉之下负此良友，情何以堪，我一人做事一人当，既然砍伤了王二杠子，该杀该罚都听凭发落，只求长官容我回家安葬了我的鼠兄，就是死也瞑目了。”
还没等保安队长发话，旁边那个军阀就感叹不已的对胡国华说道：“他奶奶的，不忘恩是仁，不负心是义，对老鼠尚且如此，何况对人呢？我念你仁义，又看你无依无靠，日后就随我从军做个副官吧。”
枪杆子就是政权，乱世之中，带兵的人说的话就是王法，军阀头子吩咐手下，把那个王二杠子用鞭子抽一顿给胡国华出气，又放了胡国华回家安葬老鼠，胡国华用木盒盛殓了老鼠的尸体，挖个坑埋了，哭了半日，就去投奔了那个军阀头子。
常言说得好：饿时吃糠甜如蜜，饱时吃蜜都不甜。人到了穷苦僚倒之时，别人就是给他一碗粥、一块饼也会感恩戴德，何况老鼠赠送给胡国华那么多的钱财，当然老鼠的钱也都是偷来的。圣人说渴死不饮盗泉之水，不过那是至圣至贤之人的品德标准，古人尚且难以做到，何况胡国华这样的庸人呢？以前听说在房中吸烟，时间久了屋内的苍蝇老鼠也会上瘾，此言非虚。
My grandfather was named Hu Guohua. The Hu family ancestors were famous wealthy landowners throughout the region. At their peak, they owned over forty connected rooms across three alleyways in the city. The family had also produced some officials and merchants, having donated for positions as grain commissioners and canal transport assistants during the late Qing dynasty.
There’s a folk saying: ‘Wealth doesn’t last three generations.’ This is absolutely true – even if a family had mountains of gold and silver, it couldn’t withstand the squandering of prodigal descendants.
By the Republic era, when it passed down to my grandfather’s generation, the family fortune began to decline. First came the division of property, and Hu Guohua received quite a substantial share – enough to live comfortably for a lifetime. But he simply refused to behave properly. Of course, this was also related to the social environment of the time. First he became addicted to gambling, then he took up ‘longevity paste’ (opium), squandering away the entire family fortune.
In his youth, Hu Guohua indulged in all five vices – drinking, whoring, gambling, smoking, and more. In the end, he was so poor he didn’t have a single coin to his name. When opium cravings hit, the unbearable itching in one’s heart and liver was impossible to endure. But without money, who would let you smoke? In the old days when he had money, the opium den owners and workers would greet him as ‘Master Hu this’ and ‘Master Hu that,’ serving him with great attentiveness. But once you were penniless, they treated you like a stinking beggar, shooing and chasing you away.
When a man becomes desperately poor, concepts like shame and morality become unimportant. Hu Guohua came up with a plan – to go trick his uncle out of some money. Hu Guohua’s uncle knew he was a prodigal opium addict and normally wouldn’t give him a single cent. But this time, Hu Guohua lied to his uncle, saying he wanted to take a wife and asked his uncle to help gather some money.
His uncle was so moved he wept with joy. This worthless nephew was finally doing something proper! If he married a virtuous wife who could manage him and settle his heart, perhaps he might turn over a new leaf someday.
So he gave him twenty silver dollars, instructing him to marry a wife and live a good life, and to never touch that ‘longevity paste’ again. In a few days when he had time, he would personally visit Hu Guohua’s home to see his nephew’s wife.
Hu Guohua was full of crafty ideas. To deal with his uncle, he went back home and found a craftsman in the village who made paper effigies – the kind burned for the dead. This paper craftsman was highly skilled; whatever you could describe, he could make it lifelike.
Following instructions, he made Hu Guohua a paper woman pasted with white paper, then used watercolors to paint on eyebrows, eyes, nose, clothes, and hair. From a distance – hey – it really looked like a living person.
Hu Guohua carried the paper figure home and placed it on the kang bed in the inner room, covering it with a blanket. He thought his plan was quite clever – when his uncle came in a few days, he would just say his wife was sick and bedridden and couldn’t receive guests, letting him take a quick look from afar. Pleased with himself, he couldn’t help but hum a little tune as he strolled into the city to smoke opium.
A few days later, his uncle came to visit, bringing some floral fabric and pastries to see his nephew’s wife. Hu Guohua made excuses as he had planned, saying his wife was unwell and couldn’t receive guests, letting his uncle lift the door curtain at the entrance for just a glance before dropping it again.
His uncle wasn’t having it. ‘Oh, so this is how you treat your own uncle? No way – today I must meet the new bride. If she’s sick, I’ll pay for a doctor to examine her.’
Hu Guohua desperately blocked him from entering. The more he blocked, the more suspicious it seemed, making his uncle even more doubtful. The two began arguing. Just then, the inner room’s curtain was lifted, and out came a woman – fair and clean-looking, with a big round face, ample hips, and small bound feet. Hu Guohua’s heart skipped a beat – ‘Oh no, isn’t this the paper figure I had made? How did it come alive?’
The woman curtsied to the uncle and said she had been feeling unwell lately and hadn’t come out to greet him earlier, begging forgiveness for her rudeness. But now she suddenly felt much better, and today she would keep uncle for a simple home-cooked meal. Then she turned and went inside to cook.
Hu Guohua’s uncle was overjoyed – what a virtuous nephew’s wife! And with such a prosperous appearance! My late sister would be so happy in the afterlife knowing her son married such a fine wife. In his delight, the uncle gave Hu Guohua another ten silver dollars.
Hu Guohua stood there stunned, his heart in chaos, not knowing whether to feel lucky or afraid. Time passed quickly, and soon it was evening. The white paper woman had prepared a whole table of dishes. The uncle was so happy he couldn’t stop grinning, but Hu Guohua had no appetite. Looking at the woman sitting across from him made him feel as disgusted as if he’d swallowed a fly. Her face was so white, without a trace of color – all the rosy flush was just rouge painted on.
The uncle’s old eyes were dim, and he didn’t notice anything wrong with the woman. After seven or eight cups of old wine, he was completely drunk. Hu Guohua borrowed a donkey cart and sent him home.
On the way back, the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. He simply decided not to go home and spent the night in the pleasure quarters in the city. Between smoking and visiting prostitutes, he spent all ten silver dollars his uncle had just given him.
Finally, having no money to pay the bill, he was thrown out. With nowhere else to go, he could only steel himself and go home. When he arrived, the house was dark. The white paper figure lay motionless on his bed, covered with a blanket, as if everything before had never happened.
Hu Guohua thought, ‘What if she comes alive again at night? Better to just burn her.’ He carried the paper figure to the courtyard, took out a fire starter, and was about to burn it when the paper figure suddenly spoke: ‘You heartless wretch! I kindly helped you, and you want to burn me!’
Hu Guohua was startled. In the dead of night, he heard the white paper woman continue: ‘I took pity on you. Though you drink, whore, and gamble, your heart isn’t truly bad. I want to marry you – are you willing?’
Hu Guohua shook his head vigorously and asked the paper figure whether she was a demon or a ghost. The paper woman said, ‘I’m a ghost, of course, just temporarily possessing this paper body. But don’t look down on me, you poor stick. In my life I was very wealthy – the gold and silver jewelry buried with me is enough for you to smoke opium for ten lifetimes. Haven’t you heard that a rich ghost is a hundred times better than a poor living man?’
At the mention of money, Hu Guohua was somewhat tempted, as he had been truly destitute lately – even his clothes had all been pawned. But he didn’t want to take money he couldn’t live to spend. He had heard old people tell of female ghosts seducing men, gradually draining their yang energy until those men possessed by ghosts were left as nothing but dried skin over bones. So he said to the paper figure: ‘Even if you truly mean well, I cannot marry you. After all, humans and ghosts walk different paths, separated by yin and yang – this would go against the natural order.’
The white paper woman said, ‘Since you’re so hard-hearted, I won’t force you. But someday you’ll regret it. Remember this – if your life ever becomes so poor you can’t go on, come find me at the desolate graves at Thirteen Mile Village. In the center of that graveyard is a solitary grave without a headstone – the coffin inside contains my body. The coffin is full of gold, silver, and jewels. If you dare come, take as much as you want.’
After saying this, the white paper woman became motionless. Hu Guohua gathered his courage, lit a fire, and burned the paper figure to ashes.
Later, there were several times when he was so desperate he thought about digging up the grave at Thirteen Mile Village, but he always held back, scraping by through borrowing here and there. Two years later, when he was truly at the end of his rope with nowhere to turn, he finally went to that graveyard – but that’s a story for another time.
Many things happened that Spring Festival. The truth about Hu Guohua making a paper figure to trick his uncle out of money was finally exposed. His uncle was so angry and upset that he fell ill and couldn’t recover, passing away within three days.
The Hu family’s relatives and friends all guarded against him like a thief. Forget about lending him money – they wouldn’t even let him have their leftover food. Hu Guohua sold the last pair of sandalwood boxes in his home for two silver dollars. These boxes were his mother’s dowry, which he had always wanted to keep as a memento and couldn’t bear to pawn. But when his opium craving hit, he couldn’t care about such things anymore. He used the two dollars to buy a small piece of ‘longevity paste,’ rushed home, and couldn’t wait to light up the opium and lie on the bed. After a couple of deep inhales, his body felt light as if floating on clouds.
At that moment, he felt as happy as an immortal. All those experiences of being looked down upon, cursed, and bullied didn’t matter anymore. After two more puffs, he suddenly noticed something dark crouching on his broken bed. Looking closely, he saw a big rat crouching at the corner of the bed. This rat must have been quite old – its whiskers had turned white, and it was about the size of a cat. It was beside him, inhaling the smoke rising from Hu Guohua’s opium pipe, as if it too knew the pleasures of ‘longevity paste,’ sniffing and greedily enjoying it.
Hu Guohua found this amusing and said to the big rat: ‘So you have an opium addiction too? Looks like we’re kindred spirits.’ Then he took a puff himself and blew the smoke toward the rat. The rat seemed to sense he meant no harm and wasn’t afraid of him, raising its head to receive the smoke blown its way. After a while, apparently having had its fill, it slowly crawled away.
This went on for several days. The big rat came every day to smoke with Hu Guohua. Hu Guohua was despised everywhere and had not a single friend. He felt a sympathetic kinship with this rat and quite liked it. Sometimes when the rat came late, Hu Guohua would endure his cravings and wait for it.
But good times don’t last. Hu Guohua’s home was left with just a bed and four walls – he had no more money to buy opium. Troubled and at a loss, he sighed to the rat: ‘Oh rat, rat, today my pockets are empty and my provisions exhausted. I can no longer afford ‘longevity paste,’ and I fear I cannot share this pleasure with you anymore.’ He lamented endlessly.
The rat listened to him speak, its eyes gleaming and thoughtful, then turned and left. When night fell, the rat returned with a silver dollar in its mouth, placing it by Hu Guohua’s pillow. Hu Guohua was overjoyed and surprised. That very night he went into the city and bought a piece of ‘longevity paste.’ When he returned, he lit it under the lamp, inhaling deeply, and together with the rat, they smoked to their hearts’ content.
The next day, the rat brought back three silver dollars. Hu Guohua was so happy he didn’t know what to say. Remembering a story from his private school days, he said to the rat: ‘He who understood Guan Zhong was Bao Shuya. You know my poverty yet give generously to me – you are truly my soulmate. If you don’t mind, let us become sworn brothers.’ From then on, he called the rat ‘Rat Brother,’ sharing meals and smoking opium together. He even made a little nest of cotton wadding on the bed for the rat to sleep on.
Man and rat lived in harmony, no less than the closest of friends. Every day the rat went out and brought back silver dollars – sometimes one or two, sometimes three to five. From then on, Hu Guohua wanted for nothing. Many years later, when my grandfather recalled this, he always said this period was the happiest time of his life.
After more than half a year of this, Hu Guohua gradually became prosperous again. But isn’t there a saying? ‘When you get rich, you meet good friends; when luck turns bad, you meet scoundrels.’ It was fated that Hu Guohua would remain poor – he was targeted by a scoundrel.
There was a rogue in the village named Wang Ergangzi. He was different from Hu Guohua – at least Hu Guohua had once been wealthy; he had, after all, been ‘Young Master Hu’ for over twenty years.
Wang Ergangzi wasn’t so fortunate. For eight generations, his family had never worn pants that didn’t show their backsides. When he saw Hu Guohua’s family fortune ruined, he gloated. Whether there was reason or not, he would beat, curse, and humiliate Hu Guohua, bullying the former Young Master Hu to make himself feel better.
Recently, he found it very strange. This poor boy Hu Guohua wasn’t doing any business, had pawned everything pawnable in his home, and most of his relatives were dead. How was he smoking opium every day at home? Where was he getting the money for opium? Maybe the boy had become a thief. ‘I should secretly watch him, and when I catch him stealing, I’ll turn him over to the authorities and get a few silver dollars as reward.’
But after watching for a while, he found that except for occasional trips to the city to buy food and opium, Hu Guohua basically never left home and never interacted with anyone. The less he understood where the money came from, the more Wang Ergangzi itched to know.
One day when Hu Guohua went out to buy food, Wang Ergangzi climbed over the wall into his home and searched through everything, trying to find out Hu Guohua’s secret. Suddenly he discovered a big rat sleeping on the bed. Wang Ergangzi casually grabbed the rat and threw it into the pot of water boiling on the stove, then pressed down the lid, thinking, ‘When Hu Guohua comes home and drinks the water, I’ll watch and have a good laugh.’
Before Wang Ergangzi could leave, Hu Guohua returned and caught him red-handed inside the room. When Hu Guohua saw the big rat in the pot, already scalded to death, his eyes turned red with rage. He grabbed a kitchen knife and started slashing. Wang Ergangzi was cut over a dozen times, but fortunately Hu Guohua was an opium addict with no strength in his arms. Though Wang Ergangzi received many cuts, none were fatal. Covered in blood, he escaped to the security force for help. The security captain was a relative of a local warlord and was hosting the warlord for drinks at that moment. Seeing this, the captain thought, ‘How outrageous! Attacking someone with a knife in broad daylight – is there no law?’ He immediately ordered his men to tie up Hu Guohua and bring him in.
Hu Guohua was brought before the hall, and the security captain sternly demanded to know why he had attacked Wang Ergangzi with a knife.
Hu Guohua’s face was streaming with tears. Sobbing, he recounted the whole story, finally lamenting: ‘When I was suffering and near death, without this rat I wouldn’t have lived until today. I never expected that through my carelessness, Rat Brother would lose his life. Though I didn’t kill him, he died because of me. How can I face my dear friend in the underworld? I did this deed and will accept whatever punishment comes. I only ask that the officer allow me to go home and bury my Rat Brother, then I can die with my eyes closed.’
Before the security captain could speak, the warlord beside him sighed with emotion and said to Hu Guohua: ‘Damn it all! Not forgetting kindness is benevolence, not betraying trust is righteousness. If you treat a rat this way, how much more so would you treat people? I admire your righteousness, and seeing you have no one to rely on, why don’t you join my army as an adjutant from now on.’
Guns were power. In chaotic times, the words of those who commanded soldiers were law. The warlord chief ordered his men to whip Wang Ergangzi to vent Hu Guohua’s anger, then released Hu Guohua to go home and bury the rat. Hu Guohua placed the rat’s body in a wooden box, dug a pit and buried it, cried for half a day, then went to join the warlord chief.
As the old saying goes: ‘When hungry, chaff tastes sweet as honey; when full, even honey isn’t sweet.’ When a person is in desperate poverty, even if someone gives them a bowl of porridge or a piece of bread, they’ll be eternally grateful. How much more so when the rat gave Hu Guohua so much money – though of course, the rat’s money was all stolen. The sage said one would rather die of thirst than drink from a stolen spring – but that’s the moral standard of the most virtuous and wise. Even the ancients found it hard to achieve, let alone an ordinary person like Hu Guohua. I’ve heard that if you smoke opium indoors long enough, even the flies and rats in the room become addicted. This is no lie.
