There is a scholar in his thirties who has not yet found a wife, not for any other reason, but because his requirements for the woman are too strict: beautiful appearance, no dowry, and only three grains of rice per meal.
Suddenly one day, a scholar was hit on the head by a pie falling from the sky. This kind of wife was really “delivered to the door”. She was beautiful, simply “stunning”, and didn’t need any dowry from the man, nor did she have to eat. She even saved the “three grains of rice” for each meal.
After being married to this woman for about ten days, the scholar became suspicious. It turned out that every night, his wife had to go out for a while, and when he asked her, she would always say she had left. The scholar’s mind was filled with “murmurs”: without eating or drinking, do they still need to defecate and pee? So he decided to investigate further.
That night, the scholar got up and quietly followed his wife out, only to find that she had not gone to any households in the village, but was walking towards the wilderness. The scholar walked behind and continued to follow along. After a while, he saw his wife stop by a new grave, changing her gentle and graceful appearance. She inserted her slender hands into the grave and dug out the newly buried dead person, swallowing it in large gulps. The scholar was so shocked that he shouted loudly and fainted to the ground
The next morning, the scholar’s ghost wife told her neighbor that the man had gone on a long trip and bought a dog to take care of the house. In fact, the ghost wife turned her husband into a dog in order not to expose her face. From then on, the poor scholar spoke like a dog barking, his eyes widened into “dog eyes looking at people”, he ate leftovers and spoiled food every day, and had to watch his ghost wife and various men fooling around. Although he knew this woman was a ghost, after all, they were a couple, which made him extremely painful.
One morning, in broad daylight, the ghost wife was actually fooling around with her adulterer in the haystack in the courtyard. The scholar dog was really anxious. He suddenly remembered a folk saying: “If you can’t see, your heart won’t be bothered.” So he resolutely abandoned the family property accumulated by generations of frugal living and ran away from home, allowing himself to gain freedom.
Although freedom is a good thing, it cannot be eaten as a meal, and the scholar dog does not know how to find food to fill its stomach. After three days of freedom, the scholar dog was gasping for breath and fainted from hunger in front of a small stall selling meat buns. The old man who set up the stall was moved by compassion. He took out a meat bun from the steamer and hit the dog on its body. The scholar dog woke up with a “stir” and swallowed the life-saving thing in one gulp, bowing to the old man. The old man was greatly surprised and had a thought, deciding to keep this human like dog.
So, the next day when the old man went out to sell meat buns, he had an extra helper and asked the kind-hearted dog to help collect the money. At that time, the situation was extremely lively. Many people didn’t want to eat meat buns, but wanted to try whether this dog really knew money. Some people bought a bun for one or two silver coins, while others used a copper coin to deceive others. However, none of them were able to turn a scholar into a dog. The change was found perfectly, which amazed the customers: “Look, even dogs can do business!” The old man’s kindness was rewarded, and the meat bun business became increasingly prosperous. Three years later, the magnificent bun shop was finally completed and about to open. Earlier, the old man lost his wife and left behind an only daughter. This daughter had always been fond of the side of the road and was trying to find her in laws. However, this little girl left without saying goodbye and went to learn some magic, wandering around for a long time. This time, I heard that my father’s business was doing well and that Roubaozi was making a fortune by fighting dogs. I secretly marveled and came home to see this dog that can recognize money.
As soon as the daughter entered the house, the father praised how the dog understood human nature. The daughter pinched her fingers and said, “He was already a human!” The father was shocked when he saw the daughter cover the dog with a sheet and mutter, “Change!” As soon as the words fell, the scholar immediately regained his human form and knelt in front of the old man’s daughter wrapped in the sheet, unwilling to get up. The old man handed the clothes to the scholar and said, ‘Don’t be embarrassed!’ But the scholar refused to get up. The old man said again, “Even though I’ve been a dog before, I’m still afraid of looking bad.” The scholar still refused to get up, so the old man asked strangely, “Why don’t you get up?” The scholar replied, “I want revenge
The old man’s daughter looked puzzled and said, “I know the female ghost who is your wife, and her skills are very powerful. So it’s not that I don’t want to help you, it’s just that my abilities are not as good as hers!” The scholar felt very disappointed and asked, “What should I do then?” The old man’s daughter helplessly said, “It seems that we have to turn you back, otherwise our father and daughter’s lives will be in danger.” The scholar was shocked when he heard this, and his head was bruised with blood, begging desperately. The old man’s daughter saw that he was pitiful and decided to help him eliminate the harm for the people. So she said, “It’s not completely impossible, it’s just that the risk is too great
The scholar was forced into a desperate situation and could no longer choose to be a human or a dog, so he had to give it his all. He firmly said, “If you can seek revenge, I will die without hesitation!” So, the old man’s daughter drew a talisman, burned it to ashes, and poured realgar wine into a bowl. She repeatedly reminded the scholar, “As long as this bowl of wine can be poured on your wife’s face, she will become whatever you want her to become, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable!” After the scholar left with the wine, the daughter and father packed their gold and silver and prepared to escape at any time.
Continuing this story can be said to be unnecessary, because everyone knows that open guns are easy to avoid, but hidden arrows are difficult to defend against. No matter how cunning or powerful the ghost wife is, she is always unable to defend herself. In this way, the scholar poured the wine on her face, turning her into a pile of dog poop, and then regained the family property. After this incident, the scholar was no longer as stingy as before, and he even married a wife who had a big appetite. The old man’s baozi shop also opened as scheduled, and business has been booming to this day, becoming a century old shop famous all over the world.
