The Paper Mache Craftsman

Before my grandfather passed away, he pressed an old tobacco pipe into my hand and said, "There are some old items under the shop; don't dig them up until after I'm gone!" Three months later, he was gone. I opened the cellar—a paper figure in the corner spoke: "Brother, the paper work is done wrong." I'm not crazy. My grandfather, Chen Fuhai, was the 'master craftsman' of funeral services in Wangdu Town, the most famous in the area thirty years ago. What he left behind wasn't precious inheritance, but a craft—the skill to create 'spirit-connecting' paper effigies. Scissors, carving knife, brush, copper pipe, and a handwritten book—five items, five doors. I took over 'Fuhai Paper Crafts.' In this part of southern Hebei, funeral services aren't just about paper shops: Zhao Yinyang from North Street, Liu the Cripple's spirit hall from West End, the sunken wood of the old Yellow River course, and 'them'... every funeral is not simple. I must use this craft to properly handle the affairs of the deceased, and also find out what really happened thirty years ago. That smile before my grandfather left... I need to get to the bottom of it. — Description from novelcodex.org