The first thing after coming down the mountain, the Taoist boy scampered to the city gate closest to Feilai Peak. He carefully calculated how much food he could buy for himself with the money in the package, and what he had stolen last time. When I was walking down the mountain, I smelled the smell of glutinous rice cakes in a shop in the west of the city. I could hardly move my legs. Thinking about the icing hanging on the soft glutinous rice cakes, I sprinkled a few drops of rice vinegar on it, held the porcelain plate in my hand, and mixed it. After mixing, no matter what Tao Tong thought, it seemed that there was no delicious snack in the world that could match such a fragrant, waxy and mellow taste.
Although the Taoist boy has not grown since he became a disciple, every time he was measured, the old Taoist would always stare at the old traces of the old pine tree outside the door, hoping that his apprentice would grow taller in the past six months. But every time he was disappointed. He looked at the knife mark that had never touched the ground, and then patted Daotong's head. For some reason, his eyebrows drooped, as if he felt very depressed. The Taoist boy didn't know what this old Niu Bibi, who had a good and bad temper, was thinking about, but when he was measuring his height this year, he was a little more thoughtful and deliberately raised his feet on tiptoes, which made the Taoist's face light up with joy. , carefully carrying the hatchet, he made another deep scratch on the original mark where he and the Taoist boy climbed up, and for the first time, he allowed himself to go down the mountain, and had fun for a few days.
But in fact, whether he has grown taller or not, the Taoist boy himself has a clear conscience, so he clearly knows that if he acts like this, the fire will be exposed next year. Wearing Taoist robes and laughing happily in the mountains, I felt a little uncomfortable for some reason. So when I went down the mountain to eat and eat, I felt that the food was a bit lacking in flavor.
The city outside the mountain is not big, but no matter the wind, rain, or changes in the sky, it has never fallen into this city. It is a pretty good place, surrounded by mountains, and because there is only one pass left, it is very wintery. It's warm in summer and cool in summer, and it doesn't need to be hot and humid in other places. According to the old Taoist, the Feng Shui here is the most nourishing. I don't know whether it is the Feng Shui here that nourishes people, or because of the frequent trips down the mountain in the past two years, which makes the Taoist eat well. He was fair and fat, and the first two shallow pits on his face now looked particularly deep.
The road is familiar with the car, and you go down the mountain to find a pavement.
Many shopkeepers who have lived here for a long time have already known that a little Taoist boy will often sneak up from the Taoist temple not far outside the city. Although he is a monk, his dealings are generous, and ordinary people will tremble when they see him. The Taoist boy handed over the delicacies and pastries without any explanation. He also knew how to bargain and compare prices. Therefore, even if someone initially planned to kill a stranger, the Taoist boy was still very slippery and never fell into the trap of being deceived. , on the contrary, with his full eyesight, he tricked many shopkeepers with bad intentions and got a lot of advantages for nothing. There was a noodle soup restaurant in the city earlier. Although it was a clear soup, the heat was very good. Twenty or thirty chopped green onions fell on the soup, which tasted wonderful. Many people came here just for this soup. When the Taoist boy came to visit, he was already full of food. It was so stuffed that I couldn't swallow even two ounces of noodles, so I planned to ask the kid for a bowl of soup. The waiter wanted to trick the little Taoist boy, saying that a bowl of noodles would cost ten taels, but the soup would cost 20 taels. He took two bowls, one with noodles and one with soup. After forcing himself to eat the noodles, he placed the soup in front of the waiter and asked for ten copper coins.
It is precisely because of this that all the people in the shops in the city have learned that although their childhood is young, they are definitely not easy to fool. If they are really found out, they will lose a lot of money, so they have to behave according to the rules. In business, the worst thing is to get the money that should be earned, so every time this Taoist boy comes to visit, he is always trying to attract money.
There is no waiter in the glutinous rice cake shop, only a couple maintains the shop all year round. Every day, before the chickens wake up, they are already busy. Although the glutinous rice cakes cannot be sold for much, the business is always booming. Make sure that the lotus leaves are picked and washed and wrapped up in a good-looking dish. The fragrance of lotus and glutinous rice will attract many people in the city to come without shouting. The youngest son of the family heard that he had gone to Xia Song Capital in recent years. Because of his profound knowledge, he became the tutor of a high-ranking official in the court. He was even expected to become an official in the court due to his humble status, which attracted the envy of many people. It was with the help of glutinous rice cakes that he became a Qingfeng official, and he was truly a proud ancestor.
But this honest couple never went to Xia Song Capital. Instead, they always worked in the shop from dawn to dusk. According to the words of these two shy people, they were already used to the smoke and fire. They moved their families to the capital. If you don't have time to get sick, it's better to continue doing this business here.
When the Taoist boy jumped to the front of the shop, no one was outside. The man with white hair in a bun was bending over to pound rice, while the woman sat in front of the door and picked off the lotus leaves with her jade-like onion-like fingertips. There are stains and rotten leaves, but even at this age, it can still be seen that the foundation is excellent. After many years of hard work, the fingers of the palm still look like newly opened white jade.
"Shopkeeper, two pieces of glutinous rice cake, one with vinegar and one without."
The man raised his head, but did not see anyone. When he came back to his senses and leaned forward to look under the high cabinet, he smiled apologetically, "The Taoist Master has not been here for a long time, but he has forgotten this tacit understanding. We will see you in a moment." The lotus pond at the back of the courtyard is probably only a month old, so you might as well take a look at it now. If you want to see it again, you'll have to wait until next year."
The couple never see each other outside, and they are very kind to the Taoist boy in particular. They probably feel that this Taoist boy is well-dressed, but he is obviously a bit old-fashioned at a young age. They think of their son who is really famous for his studies. When the children were young, every time the Taoist boy came down the mountain, he would be invited to the house to have a chat or give him some rare things.
But this time, Tao Tong always felt that the two of them were worried about something. Even the middle-aged woman had a slightly lowered eyebrow and was often absent-minded when picking lotus leaves.
Dao Tongzhen sat by the lotus pond behind the shop, climbed up the stone pier with great difficulty and sat down, then looked into the lotus pond.
In the months that are about to enter autumn, the lotus leaves are actually not supposed to be fragrant. Within half a month, these green lotus leaves will probably gradually wither and turn from green to yellow. They will no longer have the brilliant color in midsummer, leaving only a sporadic fragrance. Not a few points left.
Not long after, the man brought over two plates of glutinous rice cakes. He also sat on the stone pier, wiped the sweat from his forehead, raised the gourd of wine and took two sips. Suddenly he was very curious and asked the Taoist boy, "We have met several times. But I have never seen the little Taoist Master. According to Taoism, you can also try the food in the market, why don't you see the Master coming down the mountain?"
"My master has never had much interest. After all, he is watching the master, and he cannot go down the mountain at will." But the Taoist hesitated for a moment, and then added, "Besides, he is probably not worried about me waiting alone in the mountain. Listen, People say that my master was very famous outside the mountains when he was young, but he has disappeared in recent years, otherwise he could still come out and brag a few words based on his previous majesty."
The man never said he was going to go down. He drank three or five sips of wine before sighing.
Not long ago, my daughter-in-law finally found a white hair on her temples. It was very lush. She pulled three or five white hairs in succession, but she couldn't pull them clean. Then she looked at the roots of her temples, and it turned out that 20% of them were already white. Bai, these days he talks less and less, and his mood is not as happy and leisurely as before. He has mentioned several times that he wants to go to the capital to see his son, but in the end he doesn't know what to do when he goes there. After all, his son also has his own son. I was busy with my affairs. I got married a few years ago and expected to have children in two years. I wanted to help, but I was afraid of causing a lot of trouble.
He said that he had been doing hard work pounding glutinous rice for half his life, so he should be physically strong, but this year he had to bend his waist more often than in previous years. As a result, the words he originally wanted to use to persuade his wife were choked in his throat. , I still don’t know how to talk about it. I took out the few hundred words I knew all my life and wrote a letter to the family. But every time I walked to the post house, my legs felt like they were filled with lead. shame.
It is said that just a few hundred steps away from the shop, a family has been sick one after another. Only a six or seven-year-old child is willing to help. However, in recent years, there is really no family left, and the son is in the capital, so he always has to prepare some money. He kept it for emergencies, but he could often come to his house half-invited and half-carried to have a meal, and take advantage of the cheap cloth season in the east of the city to help the child wear clothes.
All kinds of things are mixed together, and I feel uncomfortable no matter what.
The Taoist boy didn't listen very carefully from beginning to end. He narrowed his eyes and looked into the lotus pond. After a long time, he frowned and said, "Since I wrote a letter, why didn't you send it? Some of the words can still be heard by the children." Only then did I know what my parents were thinking, so why did I bother myself? Master often scolded me, but over the years, except not letting me go down the mountain at will, I never complained."
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"Perhaps, the director of this bookstore can help me take a look to see if there are any typos in it."
The man pushed the letter in front of the Taoist boy and smiled innocently.
The wind stirs the lotus pond.
The Taoist boy suddenly remembered the cheap master in the mountains whom he called an old man. He seemed to look at him like a man looking at the letter.
He said that there is no way in the world, there is no god within three feet, but there is the great road within three feet.
From Feilai Peak to Xia Song Capital, it only takes a short jump.
In front of the children squatting on the street corner outside the glutinous rice cake shop, there was a Taoist boy of about the same age. He was holding the money that his master had given him for several years. After putting down the money, he felt something was wrong and took out another cloth bag. He came, without any explanation, pricked the child's finger and dripped two drops of blood, dripped it on the cloth bag, stuffed the money into it in front of the child, and then disappeared into thin air.
At the same time, a Taoist boy appeared outside the capital city gate, holding the family letter without changing a word.
This time the Taoist boy who came down the mountain only ate half a piece of glutinous rice cake, but he still felt that the rice cake with icing sugar and vinegar was more delicious.
