Zhou Wucong, a strange man in the oral history society of Wu Zhou.

We often call people with outstanding ability or striking attention a wonder. Zhou Wucong, a native of Wuzhou, Shejing Township, quannan county, is a wonder.

Listening to his mother describe his image, he is not tall, thin, with a long white beard, and his temperament is over 80 years old, showing the demeanor of a sage like a saint.

You should call me great-grandfather according to your seniority. It is said that when I was young, he liked me very much and gave me a name. Since ancient times, the beard has been a symbol of status, and others are not allowed to touch it rudely. I'm the only one who always plays with a beard. He always leaves me alone and never gets angry. He is a heavy smoker and has a long Ji Xiaolan-style cigarette rod. I wonder if anyone called him "Zhou Da Smoke Bag" at that time. Every polder day, I pick up cigarette butts all over the street and collect tobacco for him.

He and his wife Huang Shipo gave birth to six men and six women, and none of the twelve children survived. They all gave birth to a second child, and the first child died. Legend has it that he died because he knew witchcraft. After the death of the ninth child, he used magic to write the words "Jiu Lian, daughter of Zhou Wucong" on his back. The next year, he realized that he was born in Shangjiangkou Village, so he prepared gifts such as chicken and eggs to visit. As soon as he arrived at that house, the child was born. He said he wanted to see his daughter, and his family was puzzled. Looking at the back of the newborn, he really wrote a few words with magic. Regrettably, after a while, the child died.

About his witchcraft, after he died in his nineties, I slowly remembered it and learned it from the stories of the old population in the village. Among them, I listen to grandma the most. One year, the Huangtian River was flooded, and the simple wooden bridge crossed the river. He cut a bamboo, cast a spell, and stood on a single bamboo to cross the river. Although I have never seen it with my own eyes, I have always believed it from my kind grandmother. Every time I recall this story, I always think of the scene where Dharma crossed the river with reeds.

A bowl of clear water with a bamboo rope tied on it can help the villagers find the lost cattle; Pointing at the wound of the villagers, I said something, and then I sprayed a mouthful of water to stop the bleeding ... When I was a child, I heard a story about him that was almost mythical. He was like a mystery and always existed in my heart with a grain of salt.

Zhou Wucong's magic is more reflected in observing the sky and measuring the weather. There was no weather forecast before. At the beginning of harvesting or when farmers need fine weather, they will definitely ask him to help them look at the weather in recent days. Observing the sky and measuring the weather is very accurate, such as meteorological satellite detection. The villagers often adjust their plans and arrange their work according to what he said.

Zhou Wucong knows everything in our village. Every detail in the village will ask him for help. Weddings, funerals and weddings should be named as customs, serving the villagers as teachers and gifts. There was no entertainment at that time. Whenever there is a low season or night, the ancestral temple is always crowded with people. Everyone sat around and listened to his folk stories. Villagers are often told by his ups and downs and gripping stories, scaring the timid people into going home. It is said that a villager is his fan and often uses good tea and fried peanuts and soybeans. Please come to his house to tell a story. Once, in order to listen to his story, I fired the only soybean seed in my family for entertainment.

Zhou Wucong studied in a private school and worked as a village representative. He can write a good hand and is good at drawing. Everyone says that he has unique skills and paintings between the lines. I was too young to remember. Now that I think about it, it should be like paper cutting, adding some flowers, birds, insects and fish to the text. I can stand hard life. According to my father, one month in 1976, after Zhou Wucong fell ill, he drove him to the hospital and died at the age of 90.