(2)
Decorated with magnificent palaces, Taiping Taoist Temple is as beautiful as a Jiangnan garden. The specially carved granite seems to have been moved directly from the water town, and every outline seems to have gone through thousands of precise forgings. , cutting.
The ink-colored door leaf is dotted with several green bamboos in the middle. The stone-carved Go board is looming behind it. Walking along the pond, most of the semi-open lotus pond is a withered color. The entrance is inside the wall, and the one in the middle of the lake is The chess pavilion is more conspicuous. To enter the walls, one must first pass through the only gate.
The heavy wooden door was slowly opened.
"Taipingdao." The young carver looked up at the plaque and couldn't help but be startled.
The Taoist boy guarding the door greeted: "Sir, would you please come in?"
"Yes." He trembled and thought to himself: "That adult gave me a chance to turn around. I can't make any mistakes again."
"Is there actually a Taoist temple built in the palace?" The sculptor said, "I have only been to the palace once. I was still young at that time, and my father brought me in. It seemed that some noble person was holding a ceremony at that time. Birthday banquet.”
The little boy chuckled and looked at the other party with disdain.
The engraver felt a little offended, but he endured it.
The two walked in silence for a while, and other Taiping Taoists kept passing by. They all looked at the carver in a different way. If they calmed down, they might even hear their impolite whispers.
"This person was begging on the street yesterday. Why did he come to the ashram today?"
"With the blood of the lowly in his body, he will remain a lowly person for the rest of his life."
"Master Uncle Yu Quan doesn't know why he thinks of him. It's really unlucky."
These gossips are like cutting open the heart with a knife. The method is rough and cannot make the sculptor lose his self-esteem immediately. However, the process lasts for a long time. In the long period of suppression, no matter how arrogant the genius is, he will at some moment Start doubting yourself.
"Can I...can I handle this?"
But after a moment, the person responsible for the renovation of the Taoist statue appeared in front of him.
Taoist Yuquan, with half-white beard and hair, stands on the steps and looks from a distance. Behind him is the place where the Taiping Tao gods are served.
"Is he Wanshi's nephew?"
"Who are you?" the sculptor asked, "Wan Qian, have you not asked me your surname?"
"Have you forgotten Pindao?" Taoist Yu Quan held a whisk in his hand and said calmly: "Pindao had an encounter with your father when he was still in the mortal world. At that time, your new official took office, and hundreds of officials gathered to celebrate him. Congratulations, Pindao is one of them."
"That...that happened a long time ago, I don't remember much."
"Yes." Taoist Yu Quan waved and led Wan Qian into the house: "The Yuan and Wei Dynasties were still in power at that time, and you were also a veritable noble."
"Ashamed." Wan Qian lowered her head, with tears of humiliation in her eyes.
Taoist Yuquan put his hand on Wan Qian's shoulder and told him solemnly: "You have not embarrassed your father. You have proved that even if you do not rely on the fame and wealth of your father's generation, you can succeed in the world with your own genius alone." Jinyang is on a firm footing today. Mr. Lu has praised his nephew more than once in front of Pindao."
"Lift your head and look around."
Wan Qian promised.
But I saw three huge stone sculptures located in the east, west and north.
On the east and west sides are lifelike feathered flying fairy statues, half human tall, with horns on their heads and wings on their backs. They are half-naked, shaped like a boy, in a soaring posture, both facing north.
On the north side is naturally the main god "Tai Shang Laojun" served by Taiping Dao. Wearing a Taoist robe and a Taoist hat, holding a talisman and a wooden sword, it seems ordinary, but the appearance of this statue is very ancient, and many details have been smoothed over by time.
"Pindao would like to ask Wanshi Nephew to rebuild these three statues using gold and copper as materials. The time limit is one month. If Wanshi Nephew needs any manpower, tools, or materials, just ask, as long as they are completed on time." Taoist Yu Quan After explaining everything, Wan Qian immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Just rebuild it once?" The sculptor looked around the three statues, feeling secretly happy in his heart: "If you have any special requests, Taoist Priest, just put them forward."
Taoist Yuquan said: "During this period, you only need to work with peace of mind. Your daily life will be taken care of by Taiping Taoists. All materials and tools will be provided by dedicated personnel. However, you are not allowed to leave the Taoist temple at will. Does Wanshi Nephew have any objections?" "
"Thank you, Taoist Master!" Wan Qian raised her hands and said in respect: "Taoist Master has arranged it so well, how dare I have any objections, Taoist Master? Please wait and see, Taoist Master, Wan Qian will definitely live up to his trust."
After speaking, Wan Qian was immediately taken to the designated place to rest by other servants, and everything arranged by Taoist Yu Quan was quickly prepared.
The engraver never imagined that this seemingly important job would start so smoothly!
He built a temporary pouring platform in Taiping Road, drew drawings and customized tools himself, and soon became immersed in the world of sculpture.
However, the regular life was disrupted after only three days.
During an accidental pouring process, Wan Qian discovered that the quality of the materials delivered that day was uneven, resulting in insufficient toughness of the finished product, making it impossible to proceed with the next step of polishing and shaping.
He was very angry about this. If the delay in construction would harm his reputation, he did not dare to directly confront Taoist Yu Quan. His personal freedom was now restricted by Taiping Tao, so he could only bypass the "broker" directly. , starting from asking the Taiping Taoists responsible for transporting the materials, they have been tracing to the source of this batch of "defective products".
"It turns out to be the young master of Huang Liang Yimeng, Hu Jie'er!"
Only in the dead of night did he dare to get angry at the air.
"What should I do? If this goes on for a month, I won't even be able to make a statue."
He couldn't sleep every night, always thinking that this was a sinister plot.
"But there is no way that Lord can harm me! He has given me so many opportunities, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is my new benefactor."
"Who is it? Who is it?!"
"Is it the Taiping Road? These bastards are using this to line their own pockets. Do you think they can make me back down?"
Using cheap materials and a down-and-out sculptor to complete this matter, even if Taoist Yuquan fails, there is still a lot of room for improvement.
"The old thief calls me my nephew, but he makes things difficult at every turn. He doesn't even prepare decent materials for the statue. It's really abominable! Who knows, once the one-month period is over, he will put all the blame on me. On the head."
Wan Qian stopped working for a long time on the pretext of revising the design drawings. He explained to the public that instead of making a pile of useless garbage, it was better to concentrate on revising the drawings. For this reason, he almost never left the door. He was full of resentment but had nowhere to release it, and became increasingly decadent.
He is waiting for an opportunity.
Half a month later, Dali Temple suddenly appeared in front of the Taiping Taoist helmsman, holding an arrest warrant and ordered to arrest the criminal Taoist Yuquan. Yuchizhen explained to the Taiping Taoists who wanted to resist: "We found stolen goods in Taoist Yuquan's private residence. Although there is only one head left on the Buddhist statue, it is enough to convict."
Wan Qian had been waiting for the turnaround for many days to come soon. He frantically broke away from the surveillance and house arrest of the Taiping Taoists, rushed to Yuchi Zhen, and confided his recent experiences and state of mind with the utmost sincerity.
Yuchi really smiled and accepted the gift.
