This series includes Clay Dolls， The Living Puppet in the Mountain， Carving Time， and Tea Fragrance Across a Thousand Li. The stories about traditional cultures with local features will help young readers feel the charm of excellent Chinese traditional culture and learn wisdom for healthy growth.

Siyuan Village had several ancient ancestral temples and hundreds of old houses. The lanes crisscrossed， each leading to the big river in front of the village. Jiangyuan and his friends just needed to pass a bridge over the river， and they would reach the mountain.

In the early years， Siyuan Village developed rural tourism and attracted tourists nationwide. Many people came here to spend summer vacations. The former central street on the official road was not a commercial street. On both sides of the street were many stores selling handcrafts and snacks. Xiaoyi’s grandma set up a stall selling syrup and sweet green rice balls on the central street. Just now， Xiaoyi’s grandma returned home to get sweet green rice balls and asked Xiaoyi to do homework at home. Xiaoyi was naughty and came outside. His grandma was so angry that she ran after Xiaoyi， scolding him. Now Xiaoyi’s grandma should have been outside. If she saw Xiaoyi on the street， she would scold him. The three friends thought they’d better take a secluded old alley.

Several old houses in this old alley needed to be repaired and were not open to tourists. Both Jiangyuan and Tianzhu liked to walk here. The alley was quiet and cool. Since few people walked here at ordinary times， weeds grew from the cracks of the bluestone pavement. Siyuan Village was famous for its carvings. Wood， brick and stone carvings could be seen everywhere on the ancient buildings in the village. Jiangyuan and Tianzhu didn’t notice these. In their childhood， they used to play around in these old alleys. The carvings were not surprising in their eyes. They were nearly the same as the old trees and rivers in the village. Sometimes， they heard tourists exclaim how amazing the carvings were， and they would sneer at it.

When he grew older， Jiangyuan returned to live in the city. Whenever he came to the village， he would bring food and toys to Tianzhu and Xiaoyi. They admired Jiangyuan greatly and they were eager to live and attend school in the city， just like Jiangyuan. The city had rows of buildings， various stores， and streams of vehicles. It was completely different from the quiet Siyuan Village.

Suddenly， there were running steps behind Jiangyuan and his friends. Xiaohua cried： “Xiaoqiu， stop！”

A small figure jumped by Jiangyuan’s feet.

“Catch Xiaoqiu quickly！” Xiaohua stopped aside Jiangyuan out of breath. She patted her chest， “Whoosh... Xiaoqiu...ran away！”

Xiaoqiu ran into an old house like a streak of smoke.

Xiaoyi scolded Xiaohua： “I asked you to watch it. You couldn’t manage a puppy.”

Xiaohua said in shame： “Xiaoqiu is always good. I didn’t expect it to jump out of my arms and run away.”

Jiangyuan and Tianzhu ran to the old house. They saw the wooden door half-hidden. The shabby gate tower stood upright. The brick carving patterns were somewhat broken but still vivid， which showed the exquisite carving skills of the ancestors. Xiaoqiu wagged its tail at Jiangyuan in the shadow in front of the patio and ran away after a while.

Jiangyuan was about to go inside when Xiaoyi ran over and drew him back. “This was a county magistrate’s mansion in the Qing Dynasty. Nobody goes in at ordinary times. Recently， someone said that he woke up at midnight and went to the toilet， when he vaguely saw a blaze inside from the window. Don’t you think it is a little weird that Xiaoqiu ran here for no reason？”

“I also heard that，” said Tianzhu.

Xiaohua covered her eyes， “Do you think there are ghosts inside？”

“So the blaze...” Xiaoyi touched his forehead， “What’s that？”

“Well， the blaze...” Jiangyuan thought for a while， “Perhaps it was someone’s illusion. He might’ve been in a daze at midnight， and mistook it.”

Tianzhu didn’t want to be regarded as a coward， so he pretended to be calm and said： “Jiangyuan is right. There can’t be ghosts.”

Xiaoyi pushed Tianzhu， “Do you dare to go inside？ You don’t.”

It was true that Tianzhu didn’t dare to go inside. He said shamefacedly： “Why should I go inside？”

“You don’t dare to go inside. I do. I will seek out Xiaoqiu.” Jiangyuan pushed open the half-hidden wooden door.

Creak.

It seemed as if he had pushed open a time gate.

A cool wind came to his face， and the air was mixed with some dust and a slightly musty smell. This was the smell of the old days. Jiangyuan walked inside， followed by Tianzhu. Xiaoyi followed Tianzhu， and Xiaohua dragged along holding" the corner of" Xiaoyi’s clothes， walking at the end.

It was cooler and quieter inside， as if time had stopped at once.

Sunlight fell from the patio and lit up the hall.

Near the patio， there was a big water tank with a big hole. There was some water at the bottom of the tank， with moss growing inside. All the children in Siyuan Village knew that the water tank was used for generating fortune and preventing fire.

Above the hall hung a plaque with the words “The Hall of Filial Piety.” The name was given by the county magistrate to his hall. The beams， doors， and windows of the two wings were decorated with exquisite wood carvings but covered by dust. A beam slipped out of the hole in the wall. It was tied with a thick rope and covered with cobwebs. This old house seemed to have been far asleep for a long time.

Several pals had been to many old houses， which were repaired and equipped with lighting facilities. Every day， people came and went， bringing some vitality to them. However， many old houses like “The Hall of Filial Piety”were not repaired. Usually， the gates were locked， and nobody was allowed to step in at will.

“Xiaoqiu， Xiaoqiu， where are you？” Jiangyuan cried， but he couldn’t see Xiaoqiu.

“Was Xiaoqiu taken away by something？” Xiaoyi said nervously.

Jiangyuan and Tianzhu knew that by “something” Xiaoyi meant a “ghost.”

Xiaohua clung to the corner of Xiaoyi’s clothes， staring at the floor， and didn’t dare to look elsewhere.

Suddenly， there was a noise from the back of the hall.

“The ghost！” Xiaohua let out a cry and held Xiaoyi in her arms. Xiaoyi lost his footing and knocked into Tianzhu. Tianzhu stumbled and almost bumped into a chair in the hall. Luckily， Jiangyuan grabbed him.

“Xiaohua， you naughty girl. Where is the ghost？ Is that you？” A man came out from the back of the hall.

The children were surprised and delighted， “Grandpa Long， it’s you！”

Wu Jian

Wu Jian， a member of China Writers Association， has published more than 60 children’s books. He has won the Bingxin Children’s Literature New Works Award， Guiguan Children’s Book Award， etc.

Guo Haihong

Guo Haihong， a member of China Writers Association， has published novels， proses， and poems in many journals. He has won the Shenzhen Youth Literature Award， the Youwei Literature Award of Guangdong Province， etc.