Sister-in-law is pregnant again, but she's even thinner.

To provide her with nutrition, my mom actually slaughtered the pig we were going to sell.

Thanks to my sister-in-law, I had half a bowl of fatty meat, the parts she didn't want.

But for me, this is something I can only have during the New Year.

This time, my sister-in-law's belly is protruding high, with a pointed navel. She's sitting in the chair like a pregnant mummy unearthed from the TV.

My mom, however, is laughing non-stop with a wide grin on her face. "This time it must be a baby boy, a chubby one! The Chen family will have an heir!"

Two months later, my sister-in-law gave birth.

My mom was busy running around the house, her laughter never stopping.

"Indeed, it's a baby boy. That method really worked!"

"This baby boy looks so fair and clean. It wasn't in vain that I raised a pig; it's all for my grandson to eat!"

My older brother gave me money and asked me to buy a few bottles of liquor and a pack of cigarettes from the village. He said we should celebrate and have a good drink today!

I took the money and wanted to peek at the baby boy my sister-in-law gave birth to. But suddenly, as I looked at her lying in bed, her belly sank, her eyes widened, her belly disappeared, and she looked even more like a mummy from the TV.

As for the baby boy they were talking about, he lay quietly in my mom's arms.

Chubby and fair, with two red circles on his pale face.

He didn't cry or make a sound, not even a move.

Just like the paper dolls I saw a couple of days ago in the coffin shop.

Paper dolls are popular here. They are usually baby boys, and when someone dies, they burn several paper dolls, believing they will have sons in the afterlife.

I didn't dare to look closely; I just felt a tingling sensation on my scalp and hurriedly walked toward the small shop at the village entrance.

Suddenly, I bumped into someone, and I quickly raised my head to apologize.

It turned out to be the paper craftsman from the coffin shop.

"Craftsman?"

The paper craftsman doesn't talk much. He often makes paper dolls alone, and I help him watch the shop.

He treats me fairly well.

At this moment, he furrowed his brows tightly and stared at me.

I had a faint feeling that something was wrong. The craftsman had never been like this before, not even when I knocked on his door in the middle of the night to make a paper doll.

After looking at me for a while, he spoke, "Making paper dolls for the living, adding the finishing touches to paper dolls, that's a big taboo!"

I was stunned for a moment, and an image of my sister-in-law adding finishing touches to a paper doll came to mind.

I felt a chill running down my spine.

I mumbled, "Craftsman, what happens if you commit a big taboo?"

I had only heard the craftsman mention that it would bring retribution, but I didn't know what kind of retribution it was.

The craftsman slowly spoke, "People will die!"

"The paper dolls will come back to kill!"