Chapter 195 Faith
When they returned to the windy courtyard, the sun had already set and the last trace of red had disappeared from the horizon.

Da Mai cooked her signature rice noodles, and everyone sat down to eat and chat. It was only then that Nana and Da Mai learned what had happened.

“I heard a bang and then saw a bunch of people gathered around. I was really shocked. Fortunately, it was only my hand that fell. If it was my head…”

When Chen Nanxing recalled it, he still felt a lingering fear.

Hearing this, Nana was also saddened and said, “Fortunately, the person was not seriously injured. Otherwise, paying for the damage would be one thing, but if something bad happened, not only would the B&B be affected, but we would also feel bad about it.”

Xu Hongdou nodded and smiled to console herself: “Let’s just think of it as a way to ward off disaster. Starting a business always has its ups and downs.”

As they were talking, the three of them started discussing the topic of how the B&B would need to take more safety precautions in the future, not only during the current construction period, but also after it officially opens for business.

Obviously, this accident caused the three entrepreneurial partners to start self-examination and reflect on and improve some shortcomings.

Chen Mo did not join in the conversation, but just slurped noodles beside them.

He can help solve problems if they arise, but they still have to experience and hone their entrepreneurial skills on their own.

After finishing the last mouthful of soup, Chen Mo put down the bowl with satisfaction and praised: “Da Mai, your cooking skills have not deteriorated.”

After coming back from a day of smelling disinfectant in the hospital, Chen Mo felt warm and comfortable after drinking a simple bowl of rice noodle soup.

Barley laughed and said, “There are only two steps in total. There is no step to retreat.”

Her rice noodles are simple to make. The soup is made with lard, soy sauce, vinegar, MSG and salt. Then rice noodles, luncheon meat, tomatoes, spinach and other ingredients are added in order and cooked.

There are really only two steps.

Although the method is simple, the taste is really good. It contains vegetables and meat, and the nutritional combination is also balanced.

A bowl of hot rice noodles is often used by Barley to comfort his tired body and mind after staying up late to write.

Everyone was halfway through their meal when Aunt Agui hurried in with a stack of red and yellow paper in her hand.

“Aunt Agui, have you eaten?” Chen Mo greeted her with a smile, “If not, we have rice noodles here. Can I serve you a bowl?”

“I’ve eaten.” Aunt Agui waved her hand and asked in a hurry, “I came here because I heard that a decorator fell down at the Hongdou B&B construction site today?”

Xu Hongdou nodded and smiled, “Aunt Agui, you are very smart. The man injured his hand and was sent to the hospital.”

Aunt Agui inquired, “Is it serious?”

“It’s not too serious, just a fracture. I need a plate to fix it.”

Seeing that Aunt Agui knew everything, Xu Hongdou was worried that the news would spread in the village, so she hurried to explain it clearly.

Explaining it to Aunt Agui alone is equivalent to announcing it to the entire village.

“I know about steel plates. My son Dayang also broke his bones when he went skiing a few years ago. He had a steel plate installed then. It cost several thousand dollars to remove the steel plate a year later.”

Chen Mo smiled and said, “Aunt Agui, the steel plates nowadays are all made of titanium alloy, so they don’t need to be removed.”

Aunt Agui opened her eyes wide, “How can I not take it? Then my family’s money would be wasted, wouldn’t it?”

Chen Mo patiently explained: “The previous steel plates were made of aluminum alloy, so they had to be removed; the current steel plates are made of titanium alloy, which is not rejected by the body, so they can be removed or not.”

“For middle-aged and elderly people who are over a certain age, doctors generally recommend not to remove the bones. Leaving it in the body will have no effect, but removing it may cause a secondary fracture. For younger people, if they can remove it, they should remove it. After all, they still have a long life ahead of them. It would not be pleasant to leave something in the body, right?”

Aunt Agui nodded repeatedly, “That’s right, my brother Dayang is young, and he doesn’t need this little money.”

Chen Mo smiled and said, “Aunt Gui, did you come here just to ask about this?”

“Oh, no, I’m here to give you this.”

Aunt Agui handed over the stack of red and yellow paper with black patterns printed on it.

“Is this. Jia Ma?” Chen Mo recognized it.

Having lived here for so long, Chen Mo has some understanding of Dali’s local folk culture.

Jiama, also known as “paper horse” or “sacred paper”, is a kind of woodcut print used by the people of Yunnan to pray for blessings, eliminate disasters, and worship ghosts and gods. It is used to burn sacrifices to gods, or to be pasted on doors, windows, beams, and stoves of houses to pray for peace in the home.

There are many types of Jiama, with more than 600 traditional patterns, including gods and ghosts, birds and beasts, natural mountains and rivers, etc. Different Jiama have different purposes for worship and blessing, such as praying for peace, wealth and fortune, seeking children and education, weddings and funerals, or exorcising ghosts and evil spirits. Among them, the Jiama of the Bai people in Dali is the most distinctive.

The Bai people’s armor horses are divided into three categories: the first is the totem of the Bai ancestors, such as “the dragon of wealth” and “the god of blue dragon”; the second is the “benzhu” unique to the Bai people, such as “the king of pindian” and “the benzhu of qing palace”; the third is various gods worshipped by the folks, such as “the god of joy” and “the god of family”.

The production method of Jiama is not complicated. First, the text and pattern are written on the pear wood board with a reverse pen, then carefully carved, and finally various homemade pigments are brushed on the carved text and pattern, and then the painted text and pattern are overprinted on the “earth paper” made of tree bark.

Auntie Gui nodded and said, “Didn’t the previous owner of the B&B have an accident at home when it was halfway through building? You all got poisoned by mushrooms a while ago, and now this has happened again. It’s not a good year for you, so I thought of getting some magic paper to get rid of your bad luck.”

Xu Hongdou was stunned when she heard this, obviously not expecting such a statement.

Chen Nanxing and Nana looked at each other, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Barley blinked, finding it somewhat novel.

Only Chen Mo reacted quickly and rushed forward to take it, “Thank you so much, Aunt Agui.”

“I was thinking of asking you tomorrow if there are any such customs here and if we need to go somewhere to worship.”

Upon hearing this, Aunt Agui immediately began to explain enthusiastically: “Here we put up Jiama at home, which means inviting gods into the home. For example, this one is the ‘house god’, which can be posted on the beam; this one is the ‘land god’, which can be posted on…”

Aunt Agui introduced them one by one. Chen Mo listened carefully and took notes, and did not forget to ask:

“Where did you get these? We can get some ourselves next time.”

“This is the Wang family’s shop in town. His family has been doing this for generations, and the shop has been open for many years.”

Aunt Agui looked relieved and said, “I was worried that you young people don’t believe this.”

Chen Mo smiled and said, “No, you haven’t been to the Temple of the God of Wealth. The people who worship most devoutly and kowtow the loudest are the young people.”

Although this is the case, in fact, in Chen Mo’s opinion, Chinese people do not have the kind of devout religious beliefs that Westerners have.

The Chinese have only one principle in their belief in ghosts and gods, and that is “practicality.”

Looking through the history of Chinese civilization, it is not difficult to see that the Chinese basically believe in whatever is useful, and overthrow whatever is useless. If they find that it is still useful later, they will revive it and worship it.

Like modern people, they worship Confucius when taking the college entrance examination, worship Guanyin Bodhisattva when giving birth, worship Mazu when going out to sea, worship Buddha for safety, and worship Guan Gong for getting rich. It seems that they believe in everything, but in fact they believe in nothing.

So, to sum up, the purpose of Chinese people’s religious belief is just one:
Screw it, staying alive is the most important thing.

Whichever can keep people alive and make people live better, we can build temples and sculpt golden statues for it, and kowtow before the statue.

But if you find that it doesn’t work. Haha.

Then pat your knees, stand up, and talk to God again about “my destiny is in my own hands, not in the hands of God.”

After seeing off Aunt Agui, Chen Nanxing picked up the stack of armor and asked, “Do we really need to put this up in our B&B?”

Chen Mo chuckled and said, “I think it’s good. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. We are from other places, so it’s normal for us to worship the local gods and recognize the temple gates.”

Xu Hongdou asked curiously, “Why do you seem to be able to accept this?”

Chen Mo shrugged. “My hometown is in the southern Fujian region, where there are many of these. Every year during festivals, there will be various parades and sacrificial activities.”

“The main thing about doing business is a good omen. If bad rumors spread before the opening, making people panic, how can you run your B&B?”

Xu Hongdou understood, “It doesn’t matter whether we believe it or not, the main thing is to make others feel at ease.”

Chen Mo smiled and nodded, “Just believe it. In the film and television industry, most crews have a ceremony of burning incense and offering sacrifices before filming begins.”

“It doesn’t matter if you want peace of mind or a good omen, it’s a good thing anyway.”

Chen Nanxing looked at Xu Hongdou, “Then we should post it?”

Xu Hongdou thought about it and nodded, “After the renovation is finished, we can put some up during the period when the B&B is vacant. After the official opening, we can keep some inconspicuous places on the beams to post them, so as not to affect the atmosphere of the B&B.”

Xu Hongdou also agreed with Chen Mo’s last sentence – it’s beneficial without cost.

(End of this chapter)