Ghost Stories & Paranormal Encounters

10 years ago, there lived in our village a butcher, surnamed Wu, in my next house. Generally speaking, he is a kind man. And he would have been a truly good-hearted guy if, without his cruel taste for enjoy eating tongues of animals, domestic or wild. And to satisfy his appetite, Wu spent much effort exploring cooking methods for animal tongue and end up making all kinds of delicate treats, of course all based on animal tongues.

One secret behind of these treats, on which he pride himself, is that: cutting animal’s tongue while animal is still alive. It is said a tongue taken in such a way can keep its original, unmatched flavor after being cooked. Believe it or not, for decades, butcher Wu had tasted tongues from animals he have opportunity to access, even ferocious animal like tiger, wolf, massive animals like elephant, shark, tiny animals such as squirrel, all once contributed their organ to Wu’s greedy stomach. And with time passed by, Wu earned a great reputation as a tongue-cooking mater, his fame even spread to remote capital. And all too often, travelers from all parts of our country would visit Wu’s house to enjoy tongue-made delicacies.So amid miserable roars from animal being cut off their tongue alive, Wu’s purse got overnight swelled.

Butcher Wu’s remarkable success made him idol of many people. Inspired by his huge success, local people started their businesses making and selling tongue-made food, and everyone vied with each other in offering most delicate tongue-made food, many of them earned money to their satisfaction. It is impossible to exaggerate that butcher Wu led people in creating brand new food fashion as well as getting rich. And of course Wu became a influential man, at least in our county. Considering Wu actually changed our once-poor county into a prosperous one. No wonder some old people held secretly that Wu is greater than our great ruling party, which once successively bankrupted many wealthy family, but now had difficulty in making them got rich back again, but butcher Wu accomplished their task, easily and effortlessly and subconsciously.

Furthermore, in some place temps were erected in Butcher Wu’s honor. To tell the truth, Butcher Wu upstaged government, which made our county’s party chief feel much uneasy, although Wu himself remained unaware. The chief even issued an order demanding his subjects to stop personal cult, of course targeting Butcher Wu, and just then Wu died.

It was a late afternoon when Wu treated a dozen friends from provincial capital Xi’an, and as always tongue-made food remained staple treats. On the kitchen table, Wu boasted his extensive knowledge about his cooking methods for animal’s tongues, and one guest, then half drunk, said jokingly to him “maybe it’s true , but as I know at least one animal, whose tongue is completely new to you.” “what animal?” Wu asked unbelievingly “ your own tongue” his friend answered with a big smile. And this was the very words that got Wu mad, rushing to the kitchen counter, he pick up a kitchen knife and slashed wildly at his tongue. All this happened within a second and before anybody knew it Wu had held his own tongue, blood squirting out of his mouth. Wu died miserably on his way to hospital.

Later many people said maybe the heaven made a vicious fun of him, he tortured so many animals and ended up cutting his own tongue. After Wu’s death, many people dropped out of this booming, yet bleeding food industry, feared suffering the same fate as Wu.

Sent in by Yumao Wu, Copyright 2011