"Sir, you are really a master!"
"My eyes have been opened today!"
"What a magical method!"
All the way, people surrounded Song You, who were horrified and admired him, as if he was an expert in the world.
A large group of people walked towards the old man's home.
It is the largest family in the village.
Without saying anything else, just standing outside the courtyard, looking at the corners of the white wall eaves and the bamboo plum blossoms in the courtyard, I knew that this must be a sophisticated family living here. After passing the stone lions and entering the vermilion gate, the scenery inside is by no means what ordinary wealthy households in mountain villages can see. Sure enough, when the old man went in to report and explain the situation, someone told Song You that this family was originally an official, and after returning to his hometown at an old age, he lived here for his retirement. The fertile fields he had seen on the road before were mostly those of Mr. Liu. The property of officials.
In two days it will be Mr. Liu's 70th birthday.
He was seventy years old, and Mr. Liu had been back in his hometown for a long time. Although he didn't plan to have a big party and didn't invite any guests, his family's nephews still wanted to come, and they also invited a theater troupe to make it fun.
It happened that this evil tiger came to the village a few days ago.
At first, I thought it would leave when it was full, and I killed pigs and sheep for it and said good things to it, but it actually stayed here.
Mr. Liu became a little anxious.
If it were an ordinary tiger, some young men would be organized to drive it away. However, this tiger was cunning and fought wits and courage with them. After several days, they still had nothing to do, so they decided to go to the county to invite people.
The tiger drive went smoothly and the birthday party could be held. But when the tiger drive failed, he sent someone to tell the nephew in the county not to come.
Now Song You easily drove away the evil tiger, which not only helped a lot, but also showed extraordinary skills. Mr. Liu was very polite and quickly arranged the best room for them and invited them to stay. I went to the backyard to serve him well, and sent someone to ask Song You about his preferences and taboos in food, clothing, housing, and transportation. He also told them to take the clothes to wash by Huanyi at home, which was very considerate.
But after all, Song You only persuaded the tiger to go away, not got rid of the tiger, so everyone in the village still couldn't let go.
In the evening, the old official Liu arranged a sumptuous dinner. The table was full of big fish and meat. The poor old official could hardly walk steadily, and he even poured wine for Song You himself.
"Sir, you are truly an expert."
"It's just a Qing mountain cultivator, you can't be worthy of it."
"I wonder where Sir practices?"
"Yizhou Lingquan County, Yinyang Mountain Fulong Temple."
"I guess it is also a famous mansion in the immortal mountain." Old official Liu said, "I have been yearning for the immortal way for many years, but I don't know what magic method you used to drive away the tiger?"
"It's a small skill, not worth mentioning."
Mr. Liu and the people around him looked at each other for a few times, showing a look of embarrassment, and then complimented him: "Sir, you can persuade the evil tiger to leave the mountain with just a few words. It is really a magical method, but the evil tiger has returned to the forest, waiting for you, sir." I’m afraid we’ll be on tenterhooks again when we leave in a few days.”
As he said this, the old official immediately burst into laughter:
"It's not that I doubt Mr. Xian's methods, it's just that this beast is a beast after all, and his nature is hard to get rid of..."
"Please don't worry, Mr. Liu. I have made it clear to it that it will not come back again."
Song You also knew that this was probably the reason why they tried so hard to keep him. It was just that the tiger hurt people, but it only ate some poultry and livestock. However, it was clean and there was no black smell on its body. There are no ghosts accompanying me, and I have never harmed anyone. In addition, I have gained some wisdom, and I am not far away from enlightening my spiritual wisdom. God has the virtue of good life, and he is willing to be generous.
All things are animistic, and animals are stupid and do not follow rules and trust. In fact, they need "smartness" to support them. Therefore, animals behave more carefully than people. Once you have a rule in your mind and know that something can or cannot be done, you will rarely break it.
In addition, this method of regulating birds and gathering beasts has its own secret. Now that he has made an agreement with the tiger in the mountain, Song You will never look for it again and hurt it, and it will never go down the mountain again in violation of its oath.
It is both an agreement and a Taoist law.
It is both the nature of the mind and the mystery.
The combination of the two made Song You dare to assure everyone that it would never go down the mountain again.
Seeing that Song You was so sure, Mr. Liu looked at the people around him a few times and couldn't say anything more, so he had to believe it.
"Thank you very much sir."
"Easy to do."
"Eat vegetables, eat vegetables..."
When I returned to my room at night, Mr. Liu sent someone to bring some candles.
The light of candles is brighter than that of oil lamps.
Song You was still a little emotional when he lit the lamp.
To be honest, this is the first time he has taken the initiative to light candles in his life. They are occasionally lit in Taoist temples, but they are only lit by pilgrims who come to offer incense and worship the gods. Both the Taoist master and the apprentice do not sincerely worship the gods, so they would not buy candles to light them in order to worship the gods.
Candles are too expensive.
The last time Song You bought lamp oil in Yidu, it cost less than a hundred yuan per kilogram. But if it were replaced by candles, it would cost three to four hundred yuan. If he burned it all night, he would need two or three candles at least.
This old official Liu is really generous.
After Song You washed up and lay down on the bed, he covered himself with a quilt and took a casual glance. He saw the calico cat lying by the window again, leaning close to the window and looking at the night outside.
How can one guess a cat's thoughts?
After a while, she turned around, stared at Song You on the bed, and asked crisply:
"Are all tigers that big?"
"Miss Sanhua is thinking about the tiger during the day."
"Yes."
"Is this the first time Sanhua Empress has seen a tiger?"
"Yes."
"Tiger just grows big."
"Are they all that big?"
"There are big and small."
"Is that the big one today?"
"Not the biggest."
"It's not even the biggest..."
"Are you feeling inferior again?"
The cat by the window didn't answer, but continued to ask: "Can a cat grow that big?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Where's the sperm cat?"
"I'm afraid that won't work either."
"oh……"
"Actually speaking, Sanhua Empress is more powerful than it."
"Why?"
"Sanhua Empress can talk, breathe fire, and transform into human form, and the mountain tiger is so powerful, but it's just an innate advantage." Song You looked at the cat, "Sanhua Empress is still better."
"I am very smart."
"Exactly."
The cat jumped back from the window, no longer thinking about this, and still lay down symbolically in the corner at the end of the bed.
If nothing else happens, she will appear in bed tomorrow morning.
"Go to sleep."
Song You waved his hand and extinguished the candle.
Early the next morning, Mr. Liu sent someone to invite him again, invited him to have breakfast, and invited him to take a walk outside the house. He chatted with him respectfully. It was just that he was old. Seeing that he had the ability, he rushed to see a doctor for his illness. , I want to ask for some elixirs or ways to prolong life, but Song You can't help.
In another day, it will be Mr. Liu's birthday.
The Liu family invited all the farmers in the village, as well as some nephews and nephews who were away from home, and also invited a singing and dancing troupe of wind and drums, making it very lively.
Originally, there was an evil tiger in the village a few days ago. Even though Mr. Liu stressed in every possible way, people were still a little uneasy. But when there were more people gathered together, they had nothing to fear.
Song You was invited to sit at the main table.
Surrounded by some respectable old people.
On the table were large fish and meat that were rarely eaten, including delicacies from the mountains and wild game. The chef is also very particular. Every dish has its own rules, at least it looks like a dish. Not to mention, in this era when iron pots have just become popular, it is rare for a village banquet to have such a variety of dishes.
Soon Song You discovered that eating here was very interesting.
Everyone is too enthusiastic, so when eating, you have to protect your bowl carefully. There is a person behind you walking around with a rice bowl. If you are not careful, a big spoonful of rice will be covered in your bowl. Sometimes there will even be two such people flanking you, making you think about the left and not the right.
Song You found it interesting and watched carefully.
He soon figured out that this was actually a symbol of the host's generosity and enthusiasm, because these days, white rice is a luxury for most people. It can be enough for you, and it can even fill you up. It shows that the host is not stingy at all, and it also shows the host's strength.
This drama of forcibly adding food softened the show of the host, covered up the embarrassment of the guests, and added a lot of fun to it, making the atmosphere at the dinner very good.
Look at the people eating.
Even though these people have just started to eat their first bowl and have enough food for two or three bowls, they cover their rice bowls tightly from the beginning, fighting with the cook who is adding rice in a tacit understanding, and wait until an "inadvertent mistake" Then he added a bowl of fragrant white rice to the bowl, which sparked laughter.
It seems to be cooperation, it seems to be playful.
It also seems to be an implicit culture.
Song You gradually fell into deep thought.
And just as he was thinking, the cook accidentally sneaked up behind him. In panic, he just imitated the people around him and avoided from right to left while holding the bowl. Unexpectedly, there was a cook on the left and he reacted. The half-eaten rice bowl has sprouted its tip again and turned into a tip.
"Ha ha ha ha……"
The table suddenly burst into laughter.
Song You looked at them one by one. Except for himself and the curious cat standing on his lap, everyone was laughing. The beard was trembling with grease, the faces were dark and full of grooves, and the mouths were open. The yellow, unhealthy, and missing teeth were exposed. Strangely, not only was there no resentment or resistance in my heart, but I only felt full of simplicity and brilliance.
It’s pure heart and pure joy.
Inexplicably, he also smiled.
This is the fun of this age.
It is the wanton joy of this era.
Immediately, the old official Liu beside him nodded, and happily wanted to teach him the secret of protecting the bowl. He was clear-minded, so he just bowed his head and listened attentively.
The only one left puzzled was the calico cat.
…
In the evening, the troupe takes the stage.
The stage was the altar of an ancestral hall, with lanterns hanging all around. It was more lively than during the day. The opera troupe sang all night, and the audience also listened all night. Children are running all over the ground, screaming and pursuing the simplest happiness in this night without neon lights.
Song You also sat down and listened all night.
Why is it more lively than during the day?
Because during the day, the birthday banquet only entertained the farmers in the village, but at night, when the opera was held, people from all over the country came.
Many of them received letters before the tiger entered the village, saying that someone would set up a stage to perform an opera here today, so they counted the days in advance, not knowing that a tiger had arrived here a few days ago. Some of them were close, and they had heard that tigers had descended from the mountain recently, but thinking that there were so many people, there was nothing to be afraid of, so they came over before dark just to listen to the show.
Many people came here on a ten-mile mountain road.
Some people even brought straw mats, and when they heard they were sleepy, they slept anywhere.
This is undoubtedly an era with very little fun, and it is very rare to find fun. Perhaps because of this, some things have become so precious that they need to be cherished and not taken lightly.
