"Half a hundred years of life, fallen leaves return to the roots. "I, an old man over 50 years old, with a deep attachment to my homeland and half of my life savings, decided to return to that familiar land, build a house of my own, and spend my old age in peace. However, an unexpected neighborhood dispute casts a shadow over this beautiful vision.
My hometown is located in a corner of the Jiangnan Water Town, which is a quiet place surrounded by green bamboos and gurgling streams. The homestead I chose is right next to my ancestral farmland, which offers a wide view of the sunrise and sunset. However, his neighbor Zhang Laohan disagreed, and his reason was not an ordinary land dispute, but a feng shui theory.
The ancestral grave of Mr. Zhang's family is located on a hillside behind my homestead, and according to him, this is a "treasure land of dragon veins" where the ancestors rested and blessed their family with prosperity for generations. And if I build a house here, it will block the flow of feng shui and affect the fortune of his family. For this reason, he came to dissuade him more than once, and even released cruel words: "If you dare to build, I will dare to demolish!"
The first time I encountered Zhang Laohan's obstruction was on the day I invited the construction team to prepare to break ground. In the early morning, the sun shines through the mist on the fields, and the workers and I stand on the empty homestead with great anticipation, waiting for the order to start a new life. Suddenly, an old, eager voice broke the silence.
"Wait, you can't move the ground!" Zhang Laohan walked quickly from the field path, waving an old pu fan in his hand, and the wrinkles on his face were crumbled together with excitement. He pointed to my homestead and said in a fierce voice: "This piece of land blocks the feng shui of my ancestral tomb, if you build a house, our Zhang family's luck will be completely ruined!"
I tried to explain that modern architecture does not destroy the so-called "feng shui" and that I have legally obtained the right to use the homestead and have the right to build a house there. But Zhang Laohan couldn't listen to it, his eyes widened, and he almost roared: "I don't care what laws are not laws, what feng shui do you people in the city know? This is a rule handed down by the ancestors, and it can't be broken!"
In the face of Zhang Laohan's insistence, I was speechless for a while, so I could only temporarily stop work and seek a solution. I approached the village chief and hoped that he would mediate. The village chief is a reasonable person, and he promised to help, but at the same time reminded me that the concept of feng shui in the countryside is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and is not easy to deal with.
In the days that followed, I started a tug-of-war with Zhang Laohan. I brought in Mr. Feng Shui to try to interpret Feng Shui from a scientific perspective and prove that building a house was okay, while Mr. Zhang brought in the elders of the clan, who were holding compasses and chanting words, insisting that the new house would destroy the feng shui pattern. The two sides insisted on their own words and argued endlessly.
One day, Zhang Laohan and I met again under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village. As the sun sets, the golden afterglow shines on his gray hair, adding a bit of vicissitudes. I looked at him with mixed feelings and decided to take the initiative to break the deadlock.
"Brother, I know you care about the fortune of the family, this is human nature. I walked slowly up to him and spoke softly, "But I'm also a native of the village, and I have the same deep affection for my hometown." I promise that building a house will never have any real impact on your family, and if there is a real feng shui problem, I am willing to make adjustments. ”
When Zhang Laohan heard this, the pu fan in his hand stopped, and a trace of hesitation flashed in his eyes. I struck while the iron was hot and continued: "You see if this will work, I asked a professional designer to re-plan the layout of the house to ensure that it does not affect the feng shui of your cemetery, but also meets the needs of my residence." In addition, I will also plant a row of green bamboos between the house and the cemetery, which will serve as a barrier and symbolize vitality, how about you?"
Zhang Laohan lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and finally nodded: "Okay, you kid is quite sincere." But before the ugly words, if it really affects my family's feng shui, I still have to demolish it!"
In this way, after some twists and turns, I was finally able to build a house smoothly. The designers cleverly adjusted the orientation and structure of the house to keep it at a suitable distance from the cemetery, and planted green bamboo between the two. On the day of the completion of the new house, Zhang Laohan also came to watch the ceremony, looking at the row of green bamboos swaying in the wind, he nodded slightly, which was regarded as approving my arrangement.