Runtu was stunned: "What the madam means is..."
Zheng Quchi thought for a moment and said, "Let's talk about this later. Let's go find Fu Rong first. I feel like my fake face is almost gone."
"Okay, I'll go ask someone first."
Runtu found a centurion he knew, and he also went up the mountain to dig wild vegetables. King Runtu asked him about Fu Rong's location. He recalled that Fu Rong seemed to have gone to the grotto.
After Runtu thanked him, he quickly rushed over with Zheng Quchi.
The distance between the grotto and the centurion was not too far, probably only about one kilometer, and Ruintu arrived quickly.
It is said that the monks in the past deliberately chose to dig such a grotto in this secluded place in the mountains for the purpose of spiritual practice.
Zheng Quchi loved traveling in the past and had seen a lot of scenery and folk customs. This grotto was built in the shape of a monastery. The outer cave is a colonnade, and inside is a large square hall surrounded by pillars. There are several square rooms for cultivation on the three walls. Buddhist temple.
"Fu Rong, are you in there?"
Due to the extended eaves of the cave, there was not much light inside, and only part of the outline of the square hall could be seen. Zheng Quchi was wary of the unfamiliar and dark place, and did not choose to rush in. Instead, he called people in from outside the colonnade.
After a while, a familiar figure ran out.
"lady?"
When Fu Rong saw Zheng Quchi, he was indeed surprised.
"It's really hard to find you, Fu Rong, hurry up and look at my face."
When she saw Fu Rong, she immediately put aside her scruples and walked over quickly.
She raised her chin, pointed at her face, and asked Fu Rong to take a quick look.
When Fu Rong looked at it, his eyes twitched: "Madam, your face is really a disaster. Didn't I tell you that you shouldn't touch water in this disguise?"
Zheng Quchi was helpless: "If sweat can also be called water, then I did touch it."
Fu Rong suddenly said: "Oh, I forgot to tell my wife, be careful not to sweat profusely, but it's cold in winter, where are you sweating so much?"
This two-faced man wanted to see if Yu Wensheng dared to tease him like this in front of him.
Zheng Quchi didn't bother to care about his thoughts: "Forget it after the fact. Now make up for it quickly. I still have a lot of carpentry work to do."
Fu Rong subconsciously restrained his expression and glanced behind him: "Then Madam... just follow me in."
Why is his expression hesitant?
By the way, what did he want to do in this cave instead of digging wild vegetables with everyone when he went up the mountain?
Zheng Quchi did not move: "Are you hiding something inside that cannot be seen by others? If so, then I won't go in, and the same goes for doing it outside."
"No..." Fu Rong shook his head. He glanced at Runtu, who was like a shadow next to Zheng Quchi, thought about it, and said, "Go in."
After the three of them entered, Zheng Quchi saw a vertical clay Buddha statue in a tall niche, but...
She pointed at the Buddha statue: "Fu Rong, did you carve this?"
Fu Rong laughed: "Of course not, I don't have such skills. These are all things left by the monks in the past. It's just that this Buddha statue was destroyed. Now the Buddha statue has lost its facial features, and I can't get it back no matter how much I repair it." Original.”
Fu Rong was good at disguise, so he was also very good at grasping the facial features, but with this Buddha statue, he could never get the feeling he wanted.
So he ruined the remodeling again and again, and in the end the face of the Buddha statue was basically the same as Zheng Quchi's face.
In fact, it is understandable that Fu Rong could not complete the shaping of the face of the Buddha statue.
First, he did not understand the Buddhist heritage and the pattern of the Five Directions and Five Buddhas, which required work on the structural proportions of the Buddha statues.
In addition, for the Buddha's head, lowered eyebrows and lowered eyes, or closed eyes to meditate, it is necessary to pay attention to the fineness of the expression. The symmetry of the five senses, and even some stone carvings, pay attention to the symmetry of the entire Buddha statue.
People who have not consulted many Buddhist materials will find it difficult to grasp this degree and these expressions.
"Why do you have to repair it?" Zheng Quchi asked puzzledly.
Could it be that he believes in Buddhism and wants to take this Buddha statue as his own?
"I wonder, madam, have you ever heard of the story of offering sacrifices to Buddha to pray for rain?" Fu Rong asked.
When Runtu heard the words, he was thoughtful.
Zheng Quchi, who was not a native, shook his head directly.
Fu Rong saw that she really didn't understand, so he explained.
"In the southern part of our country, Ye, there was a period of drought. At that time, monks were passing by to preach Buddhism, and the people got inspired and suddenly had an idea and begged the monks to make a clay statue of Buddha so that they could have faith and pray. "
"This Buddha statue has a compassionate face and compassion. As soon as the people saw it, they felt that it represented God. As long as they prayed sincerely, one day they would be able to move God to send rain. They placed it outside and knelt down to worship it every day, and soon The next day, it turned out to be a strange phenomenon, and it started pouring rain."
"Everyone was ecstatic and cheered in the rain, but the clay Buddha statue was washed away by the heavy rain and was eventually destroyed. The Buddha statue completed its mission, sacrificed itself, and ushered in this life-saving heavy rain. Later, People in the world spread the word about this incident and called it to worship Buddha to pray for rain."
After listening to Fu Rong's words, Zheng Quchi didn't know what to say on this matter.
Should we say that superstition is not allowed and that drought and rain are just coincidence?
Or maybe it was raining, but these people were just enjoying the carnival and forgot to cover the Buddha statue of the "hero" praying for rain?
But it's meaningless to say this. Zheng Quchi only focused on Fu Rong's reasons for doing this.
"Oh, you don't want to imitate them, right?"
Fu Rong was stunned by her question. He felt shy for a while and then said feebly: "Madam should have seen the current situation when she came over. I can't do anything else. I happened to see this Buddha statue in the grotto that day. I thought of it." I wanted to offer sacrifices to the Buddha to pray for rain, so I thought about restoring it and giving it a try. What if it works? Then wouldn’t I have solved the drought-stricken problem in Fu County?"
This idea is quite unique.
"Then why do you act like you don't want anyone to know?"
Although she felt this was unreliable, from Fu Rong's point of view, it was a deliberate act. Why was he so sneaky?
Fu Rong told her directly: "Madam, you know that the general doesn't like these things that are talked about by gods and gods. He thinks that praying to gods and worshiping Buddha is a stupid behavior. It's better to rely on yourself. I'm not worried that the general will blame him if he finds out. , you won’t betray me, will you?”
To be honest, she really didn't have the time to betray him.
She even said: "Don't worry, you are doing a good thing. Not only will I not betray you, but I will also help you."
"Do you believe this?" Fu Rong stared at her strangely.
But Zheng Quchi said bluntly: "I don't believe it."
"..."
She didn't believe it, so why did she want to help him?
Runtu stood there, just like another clay statue, silent, only staring at them calmly, listening to the "conspiracy conversation" between the two.
"Although I don't believe it, I know there are many people who believe it. Although worshiping Buddha to pray for rain may not necessarily succeed, since such a thing has been passed down, it means that it represents a kind of hope that can make everyone's The soul is temporarily comforted, so that everyone can persevere and not lose confidence so quickly. In the end, there is no guarantee that even if it doesn't rain, your wish will be fulfilled."
After hearing this, Fu Rong looked at her blankly.
Her words were what he had in mind when he planned to restore the Buddha statue.
Unexpectedly, with her background and age, she could understand what was on his mind.
"What does Madam's last sentence mean? If even this act of praying to God cannot be fulfilled, how can we make it rain?" Fu Rong asked.
"In fact, it rains every day, but the rain does not reach our Fu County, so we can borrow water to solve the problem."
Fu Rong quickly asked: "Borrow water? How?"
"This matter needs long-term planning, and I probably can't do it alone. When your general comes back, I will discuss it with him."
When Fu Rong heard what she said, it seemed as if he already had some idea in mind. He asked suspiciously, "Is it possible that Madam also knows about water conservancy?"
Zheng Quchi didn't answer, but urged: "Hurry up and help me recover. There is one more important thing now. If we don't have money for the project, talking about it will be in vain."
Fu Rong went to get the tool box and said tentatively: "Madam seems to be very busy lately."
Fu Rong didn't rest his hands, helping her face while talking to her.
"Aren't you busy making money?"
"Making money? You, Mu Gaoyi and the others gathered together those craftsmen and hid behind the curtain together just to make money?"
Aren't they working hard for the Jichun Craftsmen Association's entries?
It seemed that these people knew exactly what she was doing.
Knowing what he was thinking, she replied: "It's all the same. As long as you are favored by the Jichun Craftsmen Guild, you will get money. If you fail, you won't get any money."
Having said that, this is indeed a way to make money, but...
"Ma'am, are you confident?"
Zheng Quchi thought seriously for a while: "If I say it's not a big problem, will you think I'm not very humble?"
Fu Rong was stunned for a moment, then laughed.
"Madam can even build city walls, I don't think you need to be too modest."
Who is humble?
Isn’t this because I want to boast that I am invincible, but at the same time I am worried that others will complain and question me?
Zheng Quchi felt that the conversation could end here: "Fu Rong, come on, come on, stop chatting, they are still waiting for me."
"Okay, I'm quick with my hands and feet. I can fix it in less than a quarter of an hour."
Runtu had always been like an invisible person, with little sense of presence, but he could see the two of them's conversation from beginning to end.
He couldn't help but look at the general's wife in a new light.
Regardless of whether she succeeds or not, she does have the potential to be a general's wife.
Her thoughts and speech are different from those women in the market who are narrow-minded and only pay attention to the selfish thoughts of some little girls. She has a big picture.
Moreover, her previous views on the general were really surprising.
He could see that his wife was distant and cold towards the general, without the admiration and attachment seen by those people in the past.
But she was able to look at the general's affairs from a different perspective than others. Perhaps they were husband and wife. Regardless of whether they were in love or not, she and the general had a private connection and dependence that neither of them had.
——
"Is it done? Is it the same face as before?"
Zheng Quchi stood up, tilted his face from left to right, and asked Fu Rong to look carefully.
"Don't worry, I will remember what the face I did looks like, and I will definitely not mislead you." Fu Rong promised.
"Okay, I'll go first. I'll paint the face of your Buddha statue for you."
Fu Rong was surprised and said: "You draw for me?"
"Yes, I have done this before. I know several kinds of Buddha statues. I will draw them all for you. You can pinch which one suits you."
Fu Rong didn't know what to say: "Madam, do you really understand this? This is not the facial features of ordinary people, but a Buddha statue. Although I don't understand it very well, it seems to have to pay attention to something..."
"Don't worry, I definitely know more than you. Besides, I'm so busy and I still find time to make a statue for you. You should trust me for once, right?" Zheng Quchi said with a sincere face.
Fu Rong also knew how busy she was recently. Seeing how confident she was, he couldn't say no if he wanted to refuse: "If it weren't for the fact that there were no monks and Buddhist monks near Fu County, we wouldn't be in such trouble."
Zheng Quchi knew what he meant, so she said, "Okay, I'll leave first. You can send someone to pick up the statue tomorrow morning."
——
When going down the mountain, Zheng Quchi's face had straightened up and he no longer looked like a monster, so he didn't bother Runtu to continue being a human bearer, so he walked quickly down the mountain with him.
On the way, Runtu asked aloud: "Madam, why do you need to help him? He doesn't believe you at all."
Runtu usually wouldn't take the initiative to speak. This was the rare time he took the initiative, but it was strange that he was gossiping about Fu Rong behind his back.
"It seems that you have a problem with him, but I'm not helping him."
When Runtu heard her teasing him, he shut his mouth and did not continue to ask.
Zheng Quchi knew his boring gourd temperament, so he took the initiative to speak: "His original intention was to calm people's hearts. Everyone in Ye State must know about offering sacrifices to Buddha to pray for rain. He can come up with this method to temporarily stabilize the situation. This It is not his private matter, and since it benefits from the public, we can help if we can."
"Madam, are those farm girls your age so concerned about the situation?"
Zheng Quchi's eyes widened.
What does he mean? Do you look down on them as country people, or do you think they only gossip about the wives of Zhang San and Li Si?
She said cheerfully: "We don't care. We only care about peace in the world, everyone living and working in peace and contentment, and every family being prosperous and well-fed."
"..."
Runtu knew that what he had just said had offended someone, so he remained silent along the way.
After Runtu sent her back to the camp, before leaving, Zheng Quchi reminded him with a straight face: "If you don't say some things, no one will blame you, but if you talk too much, I will definitely blame you."
Runtu wanted to laugh, but he did not laugh: "Madam, don't worry, Runtu promised you and he will not break his promise."
"Yes." Zheng Quchi nodded, walked a few steps, turned around again, and said with a flourish: "Runqidu, I will definitely treat you to dinner in the future."
Runtu was stunned.
Invite him... to dinner?
Seeing that she was eager to return to the craftsmen's group, Runtu stood there for a while, then turned around and went to the water prison.
"come out."
He gave the order, and immediately around the water prison, more than a dozen soldiers carrying bows and arrows jumped out from the dark exit and half-knelt down to salute.
"I've met Commander Run!"
"My wife's visit today was an unintentional intrusion. You don't need to report the matter to the superiors. I will handle it personally."
When they heard this, they were all surprised, not because of the content of Cavalry Governor Run's words, but because of Cavalry Governor Run's return and return, making a special trip to cover up for his wife.
(End of chapter)
