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.