When did that old lady go inside?
Didn't she take the soybean paste?
I took two steps back and looked at the wooden door next to me; it was closed.
Did they come in through the back door?
As far as I know, although the houses in Northeast China are all similar to courtyard houses, there are actually many rules to follow when building a house, whether it is a rich family or the poorest family.
From a feng shui perspective, houses in the northeast are mostly oriented north-south.
This is because winters in the north are cold and the north winds are fierce, and a north-facing orientation allows the house to receive as much sunlight as possible.
This layout also aligns with the Feng Shui concept of "gathering and storing Qi," which is believed to bring smooth family fortune and accumulate blessings.
Furthermore, "gathering and storing energy" emphasizes a state of energy balance and harmony.
Each direction of a house has its own specific feng shui meaning and energy attributes. The front door is usually regarded as an auspicious position, responsible for bringing in auspicious energy.
Setting up a backdoor could disrupt this energy balance, causing energies from different directions to clash or become disordered.
Moreover, without a back door, the house's walls are more structurally sound, making it better able to withstand the harsh winters and strong winds of Northeast China.
Therefore, considering all these factors, traditional dwellings in Northeast China generally do not have back doors.
This explains why it's unlikely the old lady entered the house through the back door.
Perhaps this old lady's family is an exception.
With a creak, the old lady came out of the open door.
"The food is ready, come in!"
Although the old lady had a smile on her face, her tone was dry and lifeless, a stark contrast to her previous warmth.
Like ice crystals, lifeless.
I had some doubts, but I still responded and followed her into the house.
As soon as I entered the house, I was drawn to the things inside.
The house has a simple structure, with white walls and ceilings.
But after looking around, I didn't find a backdoor!
You can't exactly install a back door in the room, can you?
The walls were covered with all sorts of paper-cut window decorations, bright red and green, which looked quite festive.
There was also a pile of paper figures in the corner.
These paper figures look much more exquisite than those displayed on the windowsill.
I noticed the paper figures on the windowsill before; many of them had legs of different lengths or shoulders that were uneven.
Although you might not notice it unless you look closely, there are still some flaws.
I was a little puzzled. Why would such an exquisite paper figure be thrown here as trash?
Logically speaking, shouldn't the things that are faulty on the windowsill be thrown away?
I couldn't hold back any longer, so I asked the old lady the question that had been bothering me.
"Grandma, why did you leave such beautiful paper figures here? And why did you keep those defective ones on the windowsill?"
The old woman didn't even lift her eyelids: "These paper figures have no spirit."
"No spirit? How can a paper figure have a spirit?"
The old lady explained to me a lot, waving her hand as if to tell me not to ask unnecessarily.
Then he pointed to the table, gesturing for me to sit down.
Then she turned around and went out to get the food.
I sat there and began to look around the room.
There are four rooms in this house.
On the doors of the three rooms, a blood-red paper figure was neatly pasted.
Who puts stickers of people on their door in a normal household?
Don't people usually put up the character "福" (fortune) or patterns representing the year?
It looks festive and wards off evil spirits.
There was another room with a bare door, nothing was pasted on it.
But for some reason, it seemed even more eerie compared to the three rooms next to it.
Is this room any different from the other three?
I was just about to go over and check when I heard the old lady's hoarse voice behind me: "Child, dinner is ready, come and eat quickly!"
When I saw the dish, I was stunned again.
Wasn't it supposed to be braised goose in an iron pot?
A stew of pickled cabbage and pork belly from Northeast China, a plate of braised pork, a vegetable pie, two scallions, and a bowl of soybean paste.
It's not that I necessarily want to eat that goose, it just feels really strange.
From the moment I stepped into this room, I felt that everything about it was strange.
First, they encountered two twins dressed exactly alike.
Next was the old lady, whose attitude changed so quickly that it was hard to understand. She was warm and enthusiastic one moment and cold and aloof the next.
And those paper figures, exquisitely crafted yet discarded as trash, are displayed on windowsills, flawed ones carefully protected—it all defies logic.
For no apparent reason, a chill ran from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my head.
This coldness didn't originate from the wind, but rather grew from the depths of one's heart, chilling one's very soul.
I really didn't want to stay any longer, so I took out five hundred yuan and put it on the table, then asked bluntly, "Grandma, can you tell me where Lingmei is?"
The old woman's eyes widened, and she asked in surprise, "I am Lingmei! What do you want with me?"
Well……
I said I knew, I was referring to another Lingmei in the village.
"No, that's all. I'm the only one named Lingmei in our village!"
Wait, why does this conversation sound so familiar?
A strong sense of unease welled up inside me.
This place is really weird; we can't stay here any longer.
Just as I was about to say goodbye, the old lady suddenly picked up her bowl, put some food in it, and said, "You eat first, I'll bring food to my mother."
This old lady looks quite old, yet her mother is still alive?
Wouldn't he be over a hundred years old?
Under my watchful eye, the old lady carried the food to the door of the room without the stickers and knocked.
A few seconds later, the door slowly opened, and the old lady went inside.
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