Nanhua County Maoer Temple...
Sanhua Empress...
Just treat it like a human being...
Master Kong savored the meaning carefully.
People often say that no one can live a long life without seeing ghosts, and this is true. Some people say that when a craftsman reaches the extreme, he can achieve spiritual enlightenment, and there is nothing wrong with that. For a person like Master Kong, who has rich life experience and extreme craftsmanship skills, the stories about ghosts, gods and demons may be just stories to others, but to him, even more outrageous things have happened.
Master Kong understood immediately——
This customer is different from the ordinary dignitaries and celebrities who come to him to buy wood carvings and seek out strange people to satisfy their curiosity and increase their knowledge.
This guest is very unusual.
Master Kong was not only polite but also a little respectful.
"Sir, I went into the mountains in the morning and returned in the evening. The mountain road is difficult to travel. I wonder if there was anything to eat in between?"
"I met a golden monkey in the mountains in the middle. I asked it to lead the way, and I picked some wild fruits to eat. They tasted pretty good." Song You also answered respectfully and politely, but today he was not out of touch. The red tape that is popular in this world is a sign of respect for superiors.
As soon as he entered the house, he looked around.
I saw a room full of finished and semi-finished wood carvings. Each finished product was lifelike. What's more, even without the eyes carved on it, it was already extremely vivid, as if it would start running on its own if you weren't careful. It's really hard to imagine what it would be like to be there. What would it look like if the eyes were engraved on it?
"Dongyang."
"Master."
"Go kill the chicken."
"good."
Tong'er turned around and left obediently.
Master Kong then said to Song You and the calico cat: "It's getting late, and the two guests can't go back to the city. Let's have a simple meal here. I'm lucky today. I picked up some mushrooms on the mountain and stewed them for an old lady. The tongue of the chicken can be eaten fresh, and after eating, the guest will sleep here."
"Thank you Master Kong for the hospitality."
"The master is too old to be worthy of his duties."
"Thank you Kong Daizhao."
"This is all as it should be."
The cries and flapping of the old hens could be heard outside, and they soon stopped again.
When the chicken soup was simmering, the lamp was already on.
The delicacies of this era are naturally not as good as those of previous generations, but it doesn't matter. The cooking methods of some dishes will remain almost unchanged for thousands of years, and some dishes may not be as good as now after thousands of years.
Just like this pot of chicken soup, it is nothing more than ginger slices, chicken and mushrooms. You only need to add a pinch of salt and no other seasonings. This was the way it was made thousands of years ago, and it will be the same way a thousand years later.
Wild mushrooms have a unique taste, and each kind of mushroom is different. They are difficult to replace by later generations of industrial flavor agents. Song You also often went to the mountains to collect mushrooms to eat when he was at the Taoist temple. At this time, the things that could be recognized in the pot were bamboo fungus, matsutake, young old man's head, chicken fat, etc. When the chicken soup was cooked, it became golden and thick, with two kinds of umami flavors. Mix it together and take just one sip, it will be really fresh on your tongue.
This is an irreplaceable mountain delicacy, indescribably delicious, and the highest level of hospitality in the mountains.
Song You couldn't remember how many bowls of soup he drank. He only knew that his stomach was full of water, and the bottom of a large pot full of chicken soup was gone. He also ate more mushrooms and less chicken.
Sanhua Niang Niang eats a lot of meat.
It doesn't understand why these humans only drink water and don't eat meat, but it doesn't dare to ask for fear of explaining them.
There are stars tonight and the oil lamps are flickering.
The guests were satisfied with their meal, and Master Kong felt comfortable. When he saw Tong'er clearing the table, he asked Song You:
"Sir, are you from Lingquan County?"
"Come from Yidu."
"Why are you coming from Yidu?"
"I don't know anything about the imperial edict. I come from Fulong Temple in Yinyang Mountain, Lingquan County. There is a tradition in the temple that every generation of disciples needs to go down to the mountain to travel, which can be as short as three to five years or as long as decades." Song You replied, "And because I am I grew up practicing in the mountains since I was a child, and my understanding of worldly affairs was limited, so my master ordered me to travel down the mountain for twenty years to see the world. Now I have just arrived in Yidu."
"That's it..."
Mr. Kong nodded, his eyes thoughtful.
Now I am afraid that I will meet a real hidden master.
Fulong Temple...
I seem to have heard it, but I seem to have forgotten it.
"I just don't know why sir came all the way to visit me. Do you want to buy a wood carving? If so, sir, feel free to choose, and I will give it to you."
"I once heard someone say that the wood carving skills of Kong Daizhao were at their peak. There was a wood carving that came to life in the early years. I was curious and admired this, so I came here from Yidu to visit, hoping to see this wood carving come to life. The art of divine communication.”
"Ha ha……"
Master Kong raised his head and smiled: "That's just a misinformation from the world. There is no reason why wood carvings can come alive."
"Appreciate further details."
"I have been born for so long that I only vaguely remember that at the invitation of Chen Daguan in the city, I carved a goshawk. It was so lifelike that the onlookers were frightened. Then the wind blew outside the house, and the eagle rose from the stool. It fell and frightened many people. Everyone thought it came back to life, but in fact it did not." Master Kong said, shaking his head with a smile, "People in the world love to hear such stories, and they gradually spread the story to become their favorite story. The way it sounds.”
"That's it."
"It's a waste of time, sir."
"As for me, just a trip to the mountains, a night talk with me, or this pot of fresh soup, even if it's just one thing, it's not wasted time."
Song You smiled, then paused, then looked around at the wood carvings in the room, and asked: "There are many wood carvings in the waiting room, but none of them have eyes carved yet. Why?"
"Sir, you don't know. Once this dead thing looks too lifelike, you will be very frightened if you look closely."
"I see."
Song You nodded thoughtfully.
He couldn't help but look back at the stove room. The boy was scooping water from the vat to wash the pot. He opened his mouth to speak, but had no choice but to stop.
"Sir, please rest early."
"Sorry for the trouble."
"No trouble, no trouble."
"Please rest early if you are waiting for the imperial edict."
"It's okay, I'm getting older and my energy is not as good as before, so I just said that I don't have enough hospitality."
Master Kong glanced at the calico cat, hesitated to speak, and finally stood up, bowed hands with Song You, and walked into the room step by step.
Song You also entered the guest room.
There was no other activity at night. Once the oil lamp was extinguished, only the starry sky was left. Song You sat cross-legged on the bed, leaving the window open, letting the autumn breeze enter the room, looking at the stars and mountains outside, waiting for sleepiness to come.
Suddenly he felt itchy on his legs. When he looked down, he saw the calico cat crawling on top of him. Its round little feet stepped on his thighs, and he could feel the plum blossom-like flesh pads.
Gently, crispy and itchy.
Song You looked calm on the surface, but he was very happy inside.
This is the first time that Sanhua Empress has been so cordial with him.
"Is there something wrong with Empress Sanhua?"
"The old man always looks at me."
The calico cat stood on his coiled legs, raised its head and stretched its neck to look at him, its eyes facing each other, its two faces very close to each other.
Song You thought for a while and organized his words:
"I once heard that people who are good at painting can't help but stop and draw pictures when they see the wonders of mountains and rivers. I think the same goes for people who are good at wood carving. Empress Sanhua is beautiful and spiritual, and her holes It seems that I wanted to carve a wooden sculpture in the image of Empress Sanhua, but due to various reasons, I was unable to speak."
"Why?"
"why why?"
"Why didn't you speak?"
"That's up to him."
"Miss Sanhua, go and ask now."
The calico cat turned around and left without hesitation.
"Hey!"
Song You quickly stopped it.
Not surprisingly, a bunch of whys followed.
Fortunately, he was patient.
The night is long, but I can sleep well.
When I lived in Tianshui Lane, there would be a watchman at midnight, someone would shout and gather tuberoses in the early morning, and there would be early-rising vendors selling vegetables. It might not disturb people's sleep, but it was noisy after all. In this mountain village, there is really no sound at all from night to morning. The occasional barking of dogs at night makes it impossible to fall asleep. The quality of sleep is excellent.
After Song You woke up, he looked for Sanhua Empress on the bed and found that she was no longer in the room.
He didn't care, put on his shoes and pushed the window open.
It was just daybreak outside, and the morning mist shrouded the village. It was autumn, the mountains were bright and the water was clear, and frost came at night. Several trees turned from deep red to light yellow. I was already full of energy. Seeing this autumn scenery, I suddenly woke up.
I pushed the door open to get some morning dew, but as soon as I walked out of the guest room, I saw someone carving in the main room.
A carving knife passed down from generation to generation, the wooden handle has been rubbed smooth and shiny by the palm of the hand, and the blade cuts wood like paper. A piece of fine boxwood, the sawdust fell off like pieces of paper under the carving knife, making people wonder why the wood is so soft and brittle.
This carving knife is in Master Kong's hand.
Master Kong had his back to Song You, and on the bench in front of him, a calico cat sat upright. When Song You arrived, it glanced at him quickly, but otherwise it didn't look sideways.
is a good model.
The master was so focused that he didn't realize someone was coming behind him.
Song You also held his breath and did not dare to make a sound to disturb.
Just listening to the rustling sound is very healing.
Master Kong switched to different carving knives and polished them carefully. The wood chips fell like snow. The piece of wood gradually took shape and charm.
It was the calico cat sitting in front of me.
The body is well-proportioned and the expression is agile.
When Master Kong put down the carving knife, the wood carving in front of him still had no eyes, but it seemed to have come to life. It was almost indistinguishable from the calico cat sitting upright behind him.
Not only Song You was amazed, but Master Kong, who carved it with his own hands, was also shocked when he looked at it carefully.
Until he found Song You behind him.
"How did you sleep, sir?"
"Great, thanks for the treat."
Song You answered respectfully and looked at the wood carving again. Just when he was about to praise it, Empress Sanhua also jumped down from the bench, got closer and looked at the wood carving for a few times, then gradually opened her eyes, and then looked at Master Kong.
Just listen to the calico cat speaking human words, with a clear voice and a doubtful tone, tilting its head and asking the old man:
"How did you know it was in there?"
Song You was stunned when he heard this, and then smiled.
This sentence is better than most praises in the world.
