Jinxiu Creek, located in the southwest of Wuwei County, Anhui Province, covers an area of 4.55 hectares with a water surface of 30 acres. It is a quiet and tranquil environment, and it is the main place for local people to relax and have fun. Historically, Jinxiu Creek was quite large, and it was given the nickname “Watch for the Earthquake” due to an old legend.
Once upon a time, there was a temple in the southern corner of Wuwei County, and there were 18 wealthy families living nearby. One year, there was a severe drought, the farmland was in decline, and people were starving everywhere. These 18 families had plenty of grain in their barns, but they were not willing to open them to provide relief. The local people were very angry about this and scolded them for their lack of kindness.
One day, a blind old woman appeared in front of the 18 wealthy families. She begged from house to house, but none of the previous 17 households were willing to give her a bite of food.
When the old lady walked to the door of the 18th household, she had no more strength and only knocked twice on the door before collapsing to the ground. This family was headed by a widow named Su, a solitary and elderly woman known locally as Mother Zhi. Upon hearing the noise, Mother Zhi opened the door, helped the old woman into the house, and took good care of her. The old woman stayed for three days, eating but not talking.
On the evening of the third day, the old lady spoke up: “After the long drought it is bound to rain, and when that happens, an earthquake will sink the eighteen households that have refused to help the starving people. I see that your conscience is still alive, so I will let you live and only protect your family.”
The old lady also said that in three days’ time, when the three characters on the archway of the temple across the street lost their gold color, the earth would sink, and their family must stay at home and not go out. After speaking, the old lady’s eyes suddenly opened and she left with a smile.
It turned out that the old woman was a celestial being who had come specifically to save people. Mother Zhi understood from this that good deeds would be rewarded and bad deeds punished, and so she opened her granary to help the people.
After three days, there was a sudden change in the sky and the gold letters of the archway changed color. Seeing the sign, Mother Zhi advised the 17 families to leave their homes and seek shelter. Unfortunately, they did not believe her and insisted on staying behind closed doors. As their houses were swallowed up by the earthquake, they were washed away by a rushing stream and eventually ended up as food for the fish.
As for the ground where Mother Zhi’s house was, it was raised up, becoming a mountain, and the whole family survived the disaster safely. From then on, the location of Mother Zhi’s house was revered as Zhi Mountain, and the sunken water was Jinxiu Creek, also known by the nickname “Watch for the Earthquake.”
Of course, some people doubt that this legend is true, but the “Wuwei County Annals” record: “When the stream dried up, the residents dug a pit for water more than three meters deep and found many wooden pillars, as if they were the columns of a house from that year.” This shows that the beautiful Jinxiu Creek did indeed sink and become a lake due to an earthquake.
It is worth noting that ancient legends may be the true history. Additionally, if we look at today, the wealthy households in the above legend suffered disaster because of their lack of benevolence. What do you expect is in store for the brutally and viciously oppressive Chinese Communist regime, which surpasses any tyrant in history? Its future tragic end can already be imagined.
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