In 1998, I participated in a tunnel project somewhere in the Taihang Mountains. On this day, as is customary, we loaded the belly of the mountain with explosives, made all the preparations, and began blasting and excavating.
After a loud "bang", something strange happened - the smoke from the blasting did not gush out of the tunnel mouth as usual, but only a few wisps of light smoke.
"What's going on? Is the tunnel roofing? Someone next to him said worriedly.
Just as we were looking at each other, several workers who were observing from a distance suddenly shouted loudly and pointed in one direction to the top of the mountain.
"Isn't this smoke coming out of the tunnel? The tunnel is really topping! The engineer and project manager changed their faces and immediately ordered everyone to evacuate the tunnel and report the danger to the command.
This sudden incident has attracted great attention. In the next two and a half months, the relevant departments launched a comprehensive investigation, but unexpectedly, a secret that had been sealed for four or five hundred years was uncovered.
It turned out that in the Taihang Mountain Range, there was a strange mountain called Nanyuan Mountain, which was surrounded by steep cliffs, but at the top it was a flat and open plateau, with an area of three or five miles long and one mile wide.
I don't know which dynasty it started, some mountain people who fled the war discovered this paradise, so they took their families and children along the rope ladder to the top of the mountain to settle.
By the time of the Ming Dynasty, a village of more than 300 people had formed on the top of the mountain, called "Nanyuan Village", and was included in the administration of the government.
For many years, Nanyuan Village has been isolated from the outside world and has become a mysterious hideaway. The abnormal explosion of the tunnel unexpectedly discovered this independent mountain village and revealed a long-standing secret.
Nanyuan Village, or Peach Blossom Village as we now call it, lived peacefully in centuries of isolation.
The entire Taihang Mountains entered a three-month drought. The fields of Peach Blossom Village turned to scorched earth, and the only source of water in the village, the dripping rock, dried up for most of it.
"The rain ceremony has been held several times, but it has no effect." Village chief Wang Laoxian said worriedly to Langzhong Zhao Zhihao in the village.
"Why don't you try to invite Xing Xiantao?" Zhao Zhihao suggested, "Although his medical skills are average, he may be able to practice the method of asking for rain."
The villagers were not optimistic about the idea at first, because Xing Xiantao often came to the village to walk around, and the treatment was not effective.
The next day, Xing Xiantao came to Peach Blossom Village. He traveled around the village alone and finally concluded that there was a demon aura on a new grave.
Xing Xiantao did not panic and poured Bruce Lee on grease and burned it.
The air was instantly filled with pungent smoke. Xing Xiantao successfully got rid of the "drought ray", and the villagers rejoiced.
The smoke from the burning of the corpse when Xing Xiantao expelled the demon plunged Peach Blossom Village into the shadow of the plague. In just one day and one night, nearly half of the villagers fell ill and died, and many cases died.
"This is undoubtedly already a plague!" Zhao Zhihao in the township diagnosed. He and the village chief, Wang Laoxian, realized the seriousness of the situation and immediately took emergency measures, relocating the patients and distributing medicines.
"I must atone for everyone's sins!" Xing Xiantao, who was guilty, took the initiative to ask for help and wanted to take the sick into a cave deep in the mountains and old forests to isolate.
That night, Xing Xiantao led twenty or thirty patients up the rope ladder and entered the cave. Inside, through the gaps in the boulders, it is faintly visible that they have built simple wooden houses.
"We can't infect more people." Before leaving, Xing Xiantao said to Zhao Zhihao.
He knows that there is little hope for this isolation treatment, but he must do everything in his power to save it.
Day after day, the villagers outside the cave waited anxiously, but there was no more news. It wasn't until the fifth day that everything finally fell silent. In grief, the villagers accepted the harsh reality that their loved ones remained forever in the depths of that gloomy and dark cave.
The plague claimed many lives in Peach Blossom Village, but the surviving villagers also needed the help of Zhao Zhihao and Wang Laoxian.
Zhao Zhihao barely closed his eyes, flipping through ancient medical books day and night, trying to find a cure for the after-effects of the plague.
"These herbal formulas may work!" Zhao Zhihao's eyes were red, and he handed over the ancient formula to Wang Laoxian.
With the assistance of Wang Laoxian, Zhao Zhihao quickly prepared several batches of potions. They come in a variety of flavors, from extremely bitter to fresh.
"Thank you so much! You are a lifesaver. A young man who was able to walk on the ground knelt down to receive the prescription, tears welling up in his eyes.
Seeing more and more patients recovering, Zhao Zhihao and Wang Laoxian were relieved. Through their tireless efforts, most of the villagers have recovered their health.
"We will always remember the prescription of our ancestors and pass on this great love of saving people." Wang Laoxian said to Zhao Zhihao gratefully.
Hundreds of years have passed, Nanyuan Village has long become history, and we can verify the deeds of our ancestors through modern archaeological means.
Through the identification of cultural relics, these are the true testimonies of the incredible story of Nanyuan Village. Archaeologists surveyed the cliffs, and it is clear that there was once a remote mountain village.
"The ancestors of Nanyuan Village traded their lives for the survival of their descendants, and their dedication is worthy of admiration.
Time has passed, and Nanyuan Village has become a cloud of history. However, the deeds of our ancestors who sacrificed their lives for righteousness and overcame the plague will live on in people's hearts, inspiring us not to forget the blood of our ancestors and inherit the national spirit.
I was living a happy life, until a sudden accident destroyed my complete home.
My father and I had a disagreement, which was originally a trivial matter, but he listened to the provocation of outsiders and thought that I was unfilial.
This sudden change made me realize that a small gap between father and son can also cause a rift that cannot be bridged.
Soon after, there was also a rift in my relationship with my wife. We all had our own opinions, and we didn't give in to each other, and it turned into a quarrel.
I was in pain and went astray. My brothers and sisters fought over their inheritance, brothers fought against each other, and even fought each other.
The family members who have gone astray step by step can no longer go back to the past. I am acutely aware that once a shallow family friendship appears, it is difficult to repair.