I Took Revenge On A Young Girl Who Slandered Me In My Previous Life

After my grandmother passed away, I inherited her paper money store. My family's paper money would be used during the Halloween Festival or when any family had a funeral.

When it was time to settle the bill, the daughter of the neighbour, who had just graduated and was unemployed at home, was jealous of me. She seemed to really dislike what I was doing right now.

“Paper money used to send condolences, right? Other people sell it for two dollars a pack. But why do you sell it for thirty dollars a pack? You're really black-hearted!”

I took a deep breath for a while. Then I explained to them that the ancient paper money requires a specific straw paper, boiled and ground pulp and fumigating incense. These processes need to cost, otherwise, people couldn’t use them in the underworld.

However, under the urging of the neighbour's daughter, those who ordered paper money have asked me to refund the difference in price. Under no circumstances, in order to keep the cost down, I could only change the paper material and reduce the incense fumigation process.

But I didn't expect to be rumoured to make black money and reported for using toxic materials. This incident was even broadcast live on the Internet. Everyone angrily accused me of disrespecting the dead.

The impact of this situation made my husband lose his job. On the other hand, my daughter dropped out of school because she was teased there.

All of this made me feel even more frustrated and scared. With the overwhelming online violence coming at me, I chose to drink the pesticide in my hand.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw that the people, who were offering sacrifices to their ancestors were instigated by the neighbour's daughter to buy cheap paper money.  It was true that these paper money were cheap, but they were all made of recycled paper used in public restrooms. For me, burning them to the ancestors would bring retribution.

——

“Carmen Celeste, you are also too heartless. These days you have made so much black hearted money!”

“Making money from the deceased, aren't you afraid of retribution?”

Looking at the village secretary in front of me and this group of righteous indignation of a few young faces, I couldn't help but be stunned. I then realized that I was reborn.

In my previous life, after my grandmother passed away, I inherited her paper money store. My grandmother was an inheritor of the ancient method of making paper money. With her ingenuity, she opened this paper-making shop.

The people of the old generation said that after making offerings with the paper money made by my grandmother, the ancestors of the family would be blessed. The future generations also would have smooth sailing.

Since I was a child, I followed my grandmother to learn how to make paper money in the old-fashioned way. Later, after I gave birth to a child, I inherited this craft from my grandmother.

A pack of paper money costs thirty dollars. The price had been the same for several years. Even in recent years, the general environment was not good and the cost of raw materials has increased, but also did not say to increase the price.

Until the day before the Halloween Festival, Xaviera Willowbrook, the youngest daughter of my neighbour who had just graduated and was unemployed at home, came to me. She brought a group of young people to my door. They accused me of earning the old people's black money.

Xaviera said, “Auntie Carmen, this paper money is nothing, but the worst quality of straw paper. Not even comparable to the paper used for wiping one's ass.”

One of Xaviera's gang also said, “A pack of this quality of paper is only two dollars. But you're selling it for thirty dollars, Auntie Carmen? Do you really think we're dumb and idiot?”

Looking at them with an incomprehensible look, I patiently explained, “This is the ancient method of paper money. It is made of special grass, ground into pulp, dried by hand and then offered with incense and stamped. These kinds of paper rituals are burned, in order to send over to the deceased relatives.”

They all remained silent in shock. I still stared at them gently at this moment.

“Not to mention that this is not counting my labour costs. Each bundle of paper money has to be smoked with incense in front of the divine phase. And when the village holds funerals, I will also send some incense and candles. You have to know that paper money without incense offerings can't be used in the underworld at all.”

As soon as I finished speaking, I was pushed by Xaviera.

Xaviera asked, “What era is it now? Why are you still engaging in such feudal superstitions? To be honest, we are all from the same village. Nowadays we are talking about materialism, okay? To put it bluntly, these sacrifices are just the spiritual support of the living.”

They all listened to Xaviera's words carefully. It made Xaviera even more confident.

“You make black money from the elderly, Auntie Carmen. Then now you have to make up lies to amuse the dead. Are you cheap? The cost price of this is only a few cents. If you still have some conscience, you should return the difference right now.”