"Eldest Brother's health is not serious. It will take a few days to recover. However, the ruler given by Master was damaged. Eldest Brother is very heartbroken. He has not been able to eat for the past two days. I comforted him for a while."
The second senior brother returned from the neighboring town of Canghe in the afternoon and had tea with the temple owner in the west hall.
He liked the tea brewed by the temple owner with boiling water very much. It had a unique fragrance, refreshing taste and long aftertaste.
"Old man Gu went to apologize in the morning and sent a basket of fresh meat, a fresh fish, and a live chicken. Senior brother heard that the evil ghost was killed by you. He was very happy. He only said that the master has unique vision and it is a pity that you followed him. Master has been cultivating the Tao for the shortest time. If he had been longer, he would have learned all of Master’s skills. I didn’t tell him about your breakthrough."
The second senior brother briefly explained the matter, and the room fell into a brief silence.
Zhang Wenfeng put down the white porcelain tea cup and said: "While you are not busy during this period, you can slowly select the apprentice seedlings in a few villages. You can be more strict at the checkpoints. It is better to have fewer than too many. When the new courtyard below is completed, mid-winter is the right time for apprentices." Check in.”
Not short of money, he was willing to support his apprentices during the winter.
It just tests the apprentice's will. Practicing Sanjiu in the cold winter is no joke.
"Well, tomorrow morning I will plant the vegetable field first and sow the radish (radish) and Chinese cabbage seeds. In the afternoon, I will go to Jieqiao Village and chat with the village leader. I should be able to recruit them in two days. Get a few seedlings.”
After talking about the arrangement, the second senior brother hesitated for a moment and looked at the spectator who nodded in agreement.
"What, do you have something to say?"
"There is one thing. I met my fourth junior sister Yue Anyan at my senior brother's house today... When she sent me out, she said that she wanted to go up the mountain to practice. I wonder if the temple master can accept it?"
"Oh, Fourth Senior Sister, what is she doing? I haven't seen her for several years."
"A few years ago, she went down to the Huichun Medicine Hall in the county town and worked as a doctor, specializing in treating female customers. After her brother and sister-in-law had a few troubles and disrupted her livelihood, she went out to travel. At the beginning of this year When she returned to Xiling County, she went to a doctor's office in Cuizhu Town, thirty miles away from here, and she finally settled down. Seeing that she was too old to get married, her brother and sister-in-law didn't go there to make any more trouble, so they broke off all contact with her."
After the second senior brother finished speaking, he clasped his hands under the tea table and pursed his lips.
Zhang Wenfeng picked up the steaming tea cup, slowly tasted the tea brewed by Lingquan, and fell into thought.
The fourth senior sister had a calm temperament and was born a poor child. It seems that when she was seven or eight years old, she was sent to the mountains by her brother and sister-in-law in order to save one person's food rations. At first, she only had a nickname, Yue Xiaoya, "An The word "yan" was chosen by Master.
"Good harmony without quarrel means peace." I hope she can practice in peace and quiet.
Later, when the fourth senior sister reached the age of sixteen and became a tall girl, the brother and sister-in-law who had sent her up the mountain took the initiative and betrothed her to a butcher from a neighboring village. They were greedy for the huge bride price given by the butcher's family and completely ignored the objections of the fourth senior sister.
After waiting for more than half a year, seeing that the fourth senior sister never came home to visit, not even to celebrate the New Year, her brothers and sister-in-law, together with more than ten cousins of the same race, went to the mountains before the fifteenth day of the first month. She must be taken back to the groom's house to worship her and get married.
Zhang Wenfeng had only been on the mountain for more than two months and had just had a full stomach. He was very impressed.
The master did not allow other senior brothers to come forward, and only said to the angry Yue Anyan, "You have been practicing Taoism for eight years. Make up your own mind to take the road behind, and don't disturb the purity of the mountain gate."
Taoists practice Wuwei, but they do not allow others to bully useless people.
Yue Anyan understood what his master meant. After practicing Taoism for eight years and still not having his own opinion, why should he practice Taoism?
Wearing a thin green-gray Taoist robe, she followed the noisy crowd of ten people down the mountain.
The cold wind is howling, the trees are sluggish, and the green silk clothes are fluttering.
The scene that day fell into the eyes of Xiao Zhang Wenfeng, who was frightened by the lack of experience. It was indescribably poignant.
After arriving at Aishan, Yue Anyan had a few quarrels with her four brothers and sisters-in-law, and then kicked all the dozen people who were trying to tie her up and kicked them into the ditch. She severely scolded, "Whoever dares to come up the mountain again, I will cut off his legs." ".
He drew out his sword and chopped off a rough tree with a bowl-shaped mouth. With a determined expression, he frightened and sent away all the cowardly people.
For more than a month, Zhang Wenfeng always walked around the gentle-looking Fourth Senior Sister. He even took the snacks that the Fourth Senior Sister gave him in his hands and did not dare to eat them in front of her face.
"We are both from the end of the world. She wants to go back to the mountain to practice. Please tell her to come back!"
Seeing that the master of the temple thought for a long time and finally agreed, the second senior brother was overjoyed. He stood up and bowed, turned around and walked outside.
He couldn't wait to tell the good news to his fourth junior sister who was still in town waiting for the letter.
He felt distressed when he heard that the fourth junior sister was wandering outside with no fixed place to live.
So today, Junior Sister talked hesitantly with him and promised to make an exception for Junior Sister to deliver the message.
Zhang Wenfeng didn't expect that the second senior brother, who had always been calm-tempered, couldn't wait even one night. Was he in such a hurry?
Then he added: "Everyone else is well and don't go back to the mountain."
The second senior brother ran out early, and I don’t know if he heard him.
Zhang Wenfeng finished his tea and went back to the backyard. He changed into a pair of old clothes and went to the kitchen. The old cripple was chopping chicken, so he tied up his sleeves to help and said: "Uncle Lame, I'll cook the fish and chicken. I'll grab a handful later." When the rice is in the pot, guests are coming."
"Oh, how many are there? One more handful of rice won't be enough to eat, right?"
"One, female guest."
Zhang Wenfeng didn't say anything. Looking at the eagerness of the second senior brother, the fourth senior sister might just be waiting in the town?
He would not let the eldest brother and the third brother return to the mountain. Those two were good at worldly business and both had families. Taoism did not prohibit marriage, but those who went to the mountain to practice asceticism did not marry ordinary people. He did not want to disturb the purity of the mountain.
The old lame man didn't ask any more questions. He put the chopped chicken pieces into the basket, smiled and said, "Brother Feng, I heard that the food you cooked is delicious. I want to try your cooking later."
"It's not that serious. The only thing that makes the food delicious is adding more oil, not less salt, and not adding oil until it is cooked without water. I followed the cooking method of the chefs in the city. We couldn't afford it before, but now, we don't need to do that. save."
"Then I will study hard later. Some of the dishes cooked by the chefs in the city are delicious, and some are not."
After the old lame man put the brown rice into the pot, he started a fire and said: "Brother Feng, I want to sue for what happened last night. I shouldn't have taken the trouble. I almost didn't step over and hurt our father." Three."
"Let it go after the matter is over. You are very loyal. Next time you meet an acquaintance, consider the size of the matter and agree after discussion."
"We are old and merciless. How can there be a next time? From now on, I will only take care of the kitchen and vegetable garden and not care about other people's business."
After a few words, the two settled the matter without any estrangement.
Zhang Wenfeng asked him to heat up the iron pot on the other stove. He added salt and sauce to marinate the chicken. After waiting, he poured a spoonful of clear oil into the pot, then added a small spoonful of grated salt, and removed the internal organs. Cut the gills, dry the water, and put down the whole fish with a few cuts.
With a sound of "chila", the aroma of oil overflowed.
After he had browned both sides of the whole fish, put in water to cover the fish, put in the sauce and minced ginger, covered the wooden pot and was cooking, he heard a soft call from outside: "Guanzhu!"
Looking back, a beautiful young woman wearing a gray robe and a sword at her waist was smiling.
We haven't seen each other for more than two years. Yue Anyan is a little more calm. It can still be seen that his indifferent eyes are a little more cold and can see through the warmth and coldness of human feelings.
"Senior Sister is back. Let's go to the West Hall with Second Senior Brother to sit down and have dinner later."
"Yeah, it's the fourth girl who's back. Brother Feng only said that a guest was coming and asked him to grab more rice, but he didn't say which one it was? That's true." The old lame man raised his head and squinted his eyes, smiling happily.
"Uncle Cripple, you're holding on! I'll light the fire, and you can rest your hands."
"How about that? Don't get your clothes dirty."
…
