The legendary prose of the hotel

In Lixian County, Hunan Province, starting from the county seat, turn west along Pingyang Village, a little more than five kilometers north of the old 207 national highway. There is a place called "Hotel", which is small and smaller than the village. Before War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the population here was prosperous, and residents made a living by farming or small businesses. For local people in Fiona Fang, this is a small market a few miles from Fiona Fang. 1942, the Japanese army occupied Li county and implemented the cruel "three lights" policy in the "hotel", which made this small market town a ruin and never saw its former prosperity again. But fairy tales about the origin of this strange place name are still widely circulated among local people.

It is said that a long time ago, there were few residents here, only a dozen families. Families live in harmony, and none is better than the other. Among them, there is a middle-aged plowman named Zhang Cicai. Although he is honest and happy, his family is poor. He didn't get married until he was in his thirties. His wife, Zhang Hu, originally came from other places to beg. After the arrangement of the local people, she and Zhang Cicai formed a family. Although the husband and wife have no children, they respect each other as guests and work hard. Only two years later, they built a new house near a big pond. This house is small and single-family. The couple planted many fruit trees near the house and pond. When the harvest season comes, they always give all the fruits to their neighbors. Therefore, the couple have always had a good reputation in the local area and lived a happy life.

One winter, the weather was extremely cold, and several days of heavy snow sealed the whole land of northern Hunan. On this day, Zhang Cicai went out to collect firewood, and only Zhang Hushi was knitting a sweater at home. Just then, there was a faint cough at the door. Even if her husband came back, Zhang Hu quickly got up and went out to meet him, only to find a white-haired old man lying at the door, dressed in rags and dirty, smelling sour. Zhang Hu trotted forward and reached out to help the old man into the house. Make a fire to keep the white-haired old man warm. When the old man's face improved slightly, he called hot water to wash his face, wipe his hands and take care of his dinner. In this way, Zhang Hu was busy around such a dirty and smelly old man all afternoon. When her husband came back from collecting firewood, she explained it a little and quickly asked her husband to bathe and change clothes for the old man. When it was time to eat, the couple had time to ask the old man in detail, but no matter how they asked, the old man just said nothing and wolfed down. Zhang Hu looked at the poor old man with tears in his eyes and said softly, "Don't worry, old man, don't choke." Since you are homeless, stay in our house! The old man in our family died early, and we didn't do our filial piety. If you don't mind, be our father! "The old man looked up at them, but he was busy eating.

When winter went and spring came, the old man lived in Zhang Cicai's house for three years. Zhang Cicai and his wife take the old man as their own and take good care of him. As a result, the old man became full of energy. He walks around the village every day, listening to the neighbors' praise for Zhang Cicai's family. The old man nodded and smiled while listening, looking very satisfied. It's autumn again, when the fruit is harvested. In the past few years since the old man came, the fruit trees have produced more fruits. As in previous years, Mr. and Mrs. Zhang Cifu distributed all the fruits to their neighbors without receiving any money. The night after the fruit was divided, the old man miraculously spoke. He took the couple and asked them to dig a well in the garden behind the house without telling them the specific purpose. The couple were very surprised that the old man could talk and didn't ask much. The next day, they began to dig wells under the guidance of the old man. The location of this well is very strange. It only rained for about one or two meters before a big stone appeared. The couple wanted to change places, but the old man wouldn't let them, so they had to chisel the stone hard. Five days have passed, and ten days have passed, and the stone has not been broken, but the couple are not discouraged at all and still insist on digging wells under the guidance of the old man. The troubled couple finally finished the task in 7749 days. That night, the old man called the couple and said to them, "I am a fairy on the white Venus in the sky. I have been ordered by the Jade Emperor to visit the good and evil on earth. In my opinion, you and your wife are both good people. Now, I'm going back to heaven. I will throw the elixir into the well you dug and turn it into wine in return for your support for three years. " After that, the divine light appeared on the old man's head. He led them lightly to the well and removed the manhole cover. Suddenly, a golden light flew into the well and the old man disappeared.

Well water turned into wine. Zhang Cicai put a little in the bucket and tasted it with his mouth. Suddenly, he was refreshed and refreshed. Faced with such good wine, the couple discussed it and decided to open a restaurant at home, named Yuan Xian Hotel. As soon as the store opened, because the wine was beautiful and cheap, the business was booming and there was an endless stream of wine buyers. Within a few years, his family became the richest man in this area. Because he sells more wine every day, it becomes more and more lively and becomes a market town where local people go to the market. Traditional brewing must have distiller's grains, which are good feed for pigs. At first, the neighbors wanted to buy some distiller's grains to feed the pigs at home, but they refused for various reasons. After a long time, various ugly sayings began to spread among the villagers, which made Zhang Cicai and his wife very embarrassed. Well water turned into wine. Thanks to the help of the gods, there is no distiller's grains to sell. It can be said that there is nothing hard to sell, who can believe it? Anxious couples burn incense and pray for immortality every night. On the evening of 998 1, Tai Bai Venus Daxian really came and asked about the situation, so the couple answered. Finally, they prayed to Daxian to let them get distiller's grains when they took the wine. Unexpectedly, Daxian waved and said, "What a world! Rich people are greedy, and wine is even worse. Very popular! That's all! " Then he disappeared. The next day, the wine in the well changed back to water with bitter taste. Since then, the hotel has been closed, but business is still booming.

Later, in order to commemorate this place, people called this place "hotel", and the name "hotel" has been passed down to this day.