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墨書 Inktalez
After six months, I met my grandfather again and felt that he had aged significantly. I couldn't help but feel emotional. My grandfather, with a kind face, held my hand and kept saying "good." Then he took my classmate's hand and said, "Good children, good children, always help each other and be united in love."
This sounded a bit like the Young Pioneer pledge, which made me feel awkward, so I quickly ushered him into the car. On the way, my grandfather looked through the local specialties I had bought for him. Although they were just some inexpensive items like rice cakes, spring pancakes, sweet dumplings, and braised chicken, he was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes, leaving me flustered.
Before we reached home, several classmates clamored to go out and play. My grandfather asked the servant to drive us around. With the old man not around, we felt much freer and spoke without much restraint. Among us were three roommates from our trip to Thailand, and we arranged ourselves by age according to current trends.
The eldest was Zhang Qichao from Changsha, Hunan. He was tall and strong, a backup center on the university basketball team.
The third brother was Liang Xi from Dezhou, Shandong. He had dark skin and came from a family of farmers; it took them two hundred years to produce such a university student. The braised chicken I bought for my grandfather was recommended by him.
The fourth brother was Hu Xiaoyi from Heze, Shandong. He looked delicate like a girl and was the object of teasing in the entire building. However, his name suited him well; he was talented in calligraphy and playing the guqin, well-known throughout the university and popular among the senior sisters.
As for the second brother, only a fool wouldn't know who that was.
Why emphasize introducing these roommates? Because among them, one ultimately did not return to the mainland alive.
This incident is a lifelong pain for me; perhaps I will never be able to let it go until death.
That day we were in the servant's car, wandering around while enjoying the scenery and chatting casually. Everyone remarked that my grandfather seemed quite amiable; they were surprised he sold such strange items as amulets.
I laughed and said, "Amiable? That's because he's old. When he was young, he mingled with gangsters here; he made his name by taking down one person with one shot or a group with two shots."
"Come on," Zhang Qichao said skeptically. "Two shots for a group? That must have been with a rocket launcher; I could take down a group too."
We all laughed heartily. The Thai servant glanced at us through the rearview mirror with a big smile. I remembered something my second uncle had said about this servant, so I leaned over to ask him, "Uncle Gai, I heard from my second uncle that you once dreamed about our family?"
Gai was the name of this servant who had been with my grandfather for ten years and could be considered an elder by now. Upon hearing how I addressed him, he trembled slightly and almost drove into a telephone pole. He quickly said to me, "Young master, please don't call me that; just call me Gai."
His Chinese is very fluent, likely cultivated by his grandfather, but in terms of concepts, he still maintains local characteristics. At that time, the class consciousness in Thailand was still very strong compared to the domestic situation. Many servants had to bow and kneel in front of their masters as a sign of respect.
This is not merely a remnant of a feudal system; it is also influenced by their religious beliefs. Thai people believe that if you are poor, it is because you committed many sins in your previous life. Those who hold power and wealth in this life have accumulated merit from their past lives. Therefore, those with sins must obey those with merit.
Before meeting my grandfather, he was driving a tuk-tuk, and there was no way the two could have intersected. But one day, he suddenly walked into the villa where my grandfather lived and said he wanted to apply for a servant position.
To secure this job, he stood at the door and detailed everything about the house to my grandfather. He described the arrangement of the rooms, their functions, and even where the dishes were placed. My grandfather was quite surprised and asked him how he knew all this—had he been there before?
My Second Uncle, who was about my age at the time, directly regarded him as a thief. After all, if he wasn't a thief, how could he know what color the pillows in the bedroom were while still standing at the door?
He claimed he was not a thief but had a dream the night before. In his dream, his wife, who had died from illness, took his hand and brought him to this house, telling him that this would be their new home. He walked through the entire house in his dream, which is why he could describe it so clearly.
When this story was told, few would likely believe it because it sounded too miraculous. However, in Thailand, such occurrences are not uncommon. My grandfather was already someone who sold amulets and understood that many things in this world cannot be explained by common logic.
If it was indeed his deceased wife who led him here, it indicated that it was fate. Thus, my grandfather accepted him and allowed him to become a servant. This lasted for ten years. During those ten years, he worked diligently and conscientiously, earning the satisfaction of my grandfather and two uncles.
When I heard Second Uncle recounting Gai's story, I felt both amazed and horrified. A dream visitation? Doesn't that mean a ghost brought him there? It's really frightening; didn't my grandfather worry about having an additional female ghost in the house?
This matter was confirmed by Gai himself; he smiled and said, "It was my wife who told me where good fortune lies; she guided me on where to live and asked the gods to bless us."
Several classmates listened with wide eyes; they quickly thought of our family's business. The eldest, Zhang Qichao, loved to play and was the one who first suggested coming to Thailand. After hearing Gai's story, he immediately asked me, "Second Brother, didn't you say you know Black-Clad Achan? Take us to meet him!"
I didn't know any Black-Clad Achan; the last time I met Ajan Dong was when Second Uncle took me there. The guards there were stricter than those at Zheng Xuezhang's casino; I couldn't just barge in casually. Zhang Qichao thought I was making excuses and said, "Isn't he just someone who makes amulets? We can just ask him to make one for us and then we'll meet him."
Seeing his serious expression that clearly indicated he wasn't joking, I replied, "Black-Clad Achan deals with dark talismans and spirits; there are many taboos involved. You don't really need anything like that; why buy it for no reason? If you want to meet him, let's wait until after the New Year when Second Uncle comes back."
However, everyone was unwilling to accept that suggestion. I had no choice but to say, "We can only try; if Ajan Master doesn't want to meet us, that's not my responsibility."
Then, I asked Gai to help us and take us to Ajan Dong's home.
In fact, Ajan was not as frightening as imagined. To some extent, they were also monks who had converted to Buddhism; if you did not provoke them, they would not harm you for no reason. It was just that compared to ordinary monks or Black-Clad Achans, their material needs were higher.
Soon, Gai brought us to the entrance of a dark alley. Zhang Qichao and the others looked inside and seemed a bit skeptical, saying, "Is this really Ajan Master's home? It looks so shabby!"
I was startled and quickly waved my hand at them, saying, "Don't talk nonsense. Ajan Master is a low-key person. After all, making small ghost talismans is not a good thing. If he lived in a bustling area and people found out, it would definitely cause trouble!"
Zhang Qichao and the others responded with an "oh" and nodded in agreement, falling silent. We walked down the dark alley, and before long, we saw Ajan Dong's house. However, the door was closed. Zhang Qichao wanted to knock on the door, thinking that perhaps someone was inside.
I shook my head and stopped him, saying, "If Ajan is performing rituals inside, there must be disciples guarding the entrance. Since there’s no one here now, it means he might have already left."
"Left?" The others seemed a bit disappointed.
I thought there was nothing wrong with that; they knew nothing about this world. If they met him and said something inappropriate or violated taboos, it would definitely cause trouble. Seeing that the three of them were somewhat unhappy, I suggested taking them out for drinks at night to see some ladyboys and visit Sister Thai! Besides Thai magic, these were also very appealing things, especially for us young people.
Their spirits were lifted again. However, just as we were about to turn back down the alley, a person approached us.
It was a young and agile chubby man. He carefully avoided the dirty water on the ground and bent over to run up to us with a big smile, asking if we were from China and if we came to buy Amulets.
Then he introduced himself: "I am Banrada, a Closed Door Disciple of Long Por Kun. I also have a quarter of Chinese blood in me. Ajan Dong has been invited to Northern Thailand and should not be back for a while. Before he left, he instructed me to help look after any familiar customers who came by. If you want to buy Amulets, just find me; the prices are fair and honest."
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