The Taoist was cleaning the elm coins in the kitchen.
He was very patient and had plenty of time, so he had to wash each piece thoroughly. After washing, he spread it out in the dustpan.
The cat was outside playing with her new toy.
She would use her paw to pluck the ball of cloth. It seemed like it was just a slight flick, but the ball of cloth immediately flew out, and she quickly chased it, or stopped it halfway with her other paw. Playing extremely seriously, you are also addicted to this simple happiness and cannot extricate yourself.
The Taoist would occasionally look at her.
The small building is not big, and the kitchen room and the main room are next to each other. When washing vegetables, you can see her through the door of the kitchen room and lean back a little.
Song You seemed to have seen his own childhood——
In the first few years when I first arrived at the Taoist temple, I was still very young, and my master often messed around in the kitchen, running around in a hurry, and would look at me from time to time, fearing that he would feed this child who had only been picked up a few years ago to death, but I often Grab a small bench and sit on the threshold outside, watching the wind blowing through the mountains outside in trance.
Of course this scene didn't last long.
When Song You grew up, he really couldn't stand the old Taoist's ability to live, so he slowly took over the power of life in the Taoist temple and became the younger one to take care of the elderly.
Ordinary life often makes people addicted.
Often I don't feel anything at all at the time, I just think it's an extremely ordinary day. After I leave, I think about it all the time inexplicably, even like it's fermented. The longer I'm away, the more I miss it.
When he came back to his senses, it was still the playing cat.
It is truly a place of peace of mind.
Song You smiled and continued cleaning.
After a while, he reminded the Sanhua Cat: "Don't be tired, Sanhua Empress. You have to catch mice in the evening."
"Miss Sanhua, you are not tired."
"Today is the last one. After catching, we will have a day off tomorrow. Can we go to Tianhai Temple the day after tomorrow?"
"Is this the last one?"
Hearing this, the calico cat stopped what he was doing and turned his head to stare in the direction of the kitchen house.
"yes."
Song You thought for a while before continuing: "Empress Sanhua has been catching rats for almost two months, and the houses on the street where rats are infested have been almost cleaned up by Empress Sanhua... Anyway, it was the last one who took care of them before. Before the capture was over, someone from the next family came over and made an appointment, but this family has finished catching it today, and no one from the next family has come over yet."
"Isn't anyone looking for Empress Sanhua to catch mice?"
When the sound rang, Song You realized that the calico cat had arrived at the door of the kitchen house, squatting upright and staring up at him, with the cloth ball placed next to her.
Don't know what she is thinking.
"It's just that all the rats on the street in Dongcheng have been caught. There must be others who come to Sanhua Empress for help." Song You thought for a while before saying, paused, and then added, "Not to mention everyone in this city. They all need Sanhua Empress to help them catch mice, but some are in a hurry and some are not so urgent. Some people don’t have money, so they can’t come to Sanhua Empress with money.”
"Don't have any money?"
"Yes, they are poor."
“Very poor~”
"There is just no money." Song You paused for a moment, "So if someone comes to ask Sanhua Empress to help catch mice in the future, the money may not be that much. Or there are still some people who really want to ask Sanhua Empress. Empress Sanhua’s skills are very much needed to help catch mice, but if she doesn’t have money, she won’t come and will have to endure the torture of the mice.”
"Then do we make enough money to spend?"
"It's enough."
"Then Sanhua Empress can do it for free."
"Then they will definitely be very grateful to Sanhua Empress."
"!"
When the calico cat heard this, he immediately became very happy again.
"So after today's capture, regardless of whether anyone comes to see us again, Sanhua Empress will have a day off tomorrow. Can we go to Tianhai Temple the day after tomorrow?" Song You asked again.
"Tianhai Temple~"
"A temple is someone else's temple."
"What are you doing there?"
"Go for a walk."
"Sanhua Empress will follow you."
"Miss Sanhua, let's go play."
"You haven't cooked it yet?"
"Soon."
"oh!"
The calico cat picked up the cloth ball next to it, turned around and ran out again, as fast as lightning.
Song You smiled and continued what he was doing.
Wash the elm money, put one part in a basin and eat it raw, wrap one part in flour and steam it, make one part into elm money dumplings, and mix the other part into batter and fry it into pancakes. Spend a little more leisurely so that you can have more life. taste.
Then he asked the cat to go next door and invite the neighbors.
…
Tianhai Temple was built in the previous dynasty. It was originally built on the edge of the city. However, during this dynasty, the capital was expanded once and the edge of the city was also expanded further. The location of Tianhai Temple was from the edge of Changjing. We arrived at a lively and prosperous place. Many trees were planted in the temple at that time, and now they are hundreds of years old, making the whole temple lush and full of vitality.
The Taoist came side by side with the cat.
Before reaching the entrance of the temple, you can already see countless pilgrims coming and going, and countless vendors have sensed the business opportunities and set up stalls on the street outside the temple gate to sell goods. These goods have attracted more people to Tianhai Temple or Wandering on this street attracts more vendors and circulates back and forth, just like a temple fair, forming an extremely lively street.
The sense of purity that the lush vegetation had finally created was gone.
When you step into the gate of the temple, you will see a stone tower and a big tree, which cast a whole patch of shade. Many people are sitting on the ground, leaning against the stone tower to avoid the sun.
In addition to the efficacious incense and the large number of people who have attained Taoism, Tianhai Temple is most famous for its pagoda.
Although this pagoda is located in Tianhai Temple and was built with funds from Tianhai Temple, it is not actually a pagoda used for burning incense or offering sacrifices, but a pagoda for cherishing words, used for burning paper with written words.
People believe that words are sacred and noble. As long as words are written on a piece of paper, it cannot be desecrated at will. Therefore, after the paper is no longer needed, it cannot be thrown away casually. It must be burned. The imperial court even built many hollows. Tower, used to burn paper. Tianhai Temple was originally a place of Qing Dynasty. The monks in the temple often needed to copy scriptures, so they also built a pagoda in the temple for burning paper.
But at this time it is no longer used to burn paper.
Because I don’t know what year or month, the seeds of a tree fell on the top of the tower, and then took root and sprouted. It took root on the top of the tower several feet above the ground, and gradually grew and prospered. Now it has become entrenched on the top of the tower. of a lush tree. People marveled at this scene and the tenacity of the tree, so they did not light a fire on the tower so that it could grow safely. Occasionally, some people even offered incense and prayed to it, and many literati came here to visit and write poems for it.
Tianhai Temple said that this was because the Buddha had a good life and the pagoda was protected by the Buddha in the temple, so the tree was able to thrive.
I don’t know if it’s true or not.
In short, when Song You stopped in front of it and looked up, he was also surprised.
This tower is by no means a small tower. It is at least as high as three stories. This tree is by no means a small tree. Instead, it has lush branches and leaves. The tree took root right on the top of the tower, straight and straight, not crooked at all, and not a single tree root could be seen on the entire bluestone tower. It was as if this big tree was growing in the air several feet above the ground, making it difficult for people to see. You will inevitably wonder how it survived and how it grew to such a big size.
"What a miracle..."
Song You couldn't help but sigh.
What a blessing it was to meet him.
Then he lowered his head and glanced at the cat next to him.
The cat also looked up at him.
Compared with when she visited Tai'an Temple with her in Yidu more than two years ago, she was much more calm at this time. Although she still looked around habitually and was full of vigilance, she was no longer timid.
The incense was burning brightly in the furnace, and the smoke was like clouds. She only glanced at it, but turned to look at the big tree growing on the top of the tower and the bird's nest in the tree.
"Let's go."
Song You took a step forward, and Mao'er quickly followed.
Wandering along the way, I offered some sticks of incense to the Buddha, not only looking at the door couplets, but also the people who came to worship the Buddha.
Just like Yidu Tai'an Temple, some people come to relieve their sorrows, some come to seek fame and fortune, some come to predict good and bad luck, some come to atone for their sins, and some come just to express their concerns to the Buddha.
All thoughts are contained in a few wisps of cigarettes.
The Taoist walked slowly and looked around. After visiting, he did not forget to have a vegetarian meal in the temple.
When a Taoist priest comes to visit a Buddhist temple, people will inevitably find it strange. Even the monks in the temple can't help but look at him twice. However, the Taoist has always ignored these glances. Occasionally, when someone talks to him, the Taoist only responds with a few words. , and continued to wander around the temple.
After wasting half a day, he had gained a lot and was satisfied. When Song You was about to leave, he walked to the tower and the tree in the courtyard and suddenly noticed something.
I couldn’t help but turn my head and look——
A wall separates the inner courtyard from the outer courtyard. The wooden door is closed tightly. There is an earthen trough open on the side of the courtyard wall. It is bare, but a layer of bamboo leaves has fallen. It seems that the bamboo was originally planted.
A middle-aged Taoist priest was standing outside the door of the inner courtyard, looking like he had just come out of the inner courtyard. The middle-aged Taoist was followed by two monks. They were both very old and seemed to be sent to him. When they saw him stop, one looked at him and the other followed his gaze and looked at Song You. Then they asked him in a low voice, but they met an acquaintance. .
The middle-aged Taoist smiled and waved his hand, saying that he didn't know him, but he kept looking at Song You.
Young Taoist, bay red horse, calico cat.
Although there are no bay horses, there are calico cats.
The middle-aged Taoist bowed to Song You from afar.
Song You also bowed to him, looking thoughtfully.
Then he saw a middle-aged Taoist walking towards him. He was a lame man and walked with a limp. Two old monks followed him, respectfully and politely. The three of them soon came to him.
"Luming Mountain Fengtian Temple, Chang Yuanzi." The middle-aged Taoist gave another salute, "Fellow Taoist who has met Fulong Temple."
"It turns out to be the Imperial Master." Song You also returned the greeting. He had already made some guesses and was not surprised that the other party recognized him. "Yinyang Mountain Fulong Temple, Song You, has met the Taoist Master and two masters."
Although the two monks didn't know who Song You was, they quickly saluted.
"I have a destiny with fellow Taoist." The Imperial Master saluted again and spoke very calmly, "Some time ago, I thought that fellow Taoist might have arrived in Changjing. I also wanted to figure out where my fellow Taoist lived, but unexpectedly I was unable to do so. I was struggling with what to do. I will look for the Taoist friend's residence and pay a visit in a few days. I still don't disturb the Taoist friend on his spiritual journey, but unexpectedly I came to Tianhai Temple to have tea with the abbot today. Just as I was about to go back, I ran into the Taoist friend."
"That's really fate."
"This is pure fate." The Imperial Master smiled and paused, "I wonder why you came to Tianhai Temple?"
"I heard that the efficacious incense produced at Tianhai Temple is one of the best in Changjing. I came here to offer two sticks of incense and pay a visit."
"Do fellow Taoists still need spiritual manifestations?"
“Always come and see.”
"Now that I have met fellow Taoist, if you don't mind me, why don't we go for a while?"
"How dare you dislike it?"
"Two masters, there is no need to send more gifts." The Imperial Master said to the two monks, and then he looked at Song You, facing the temple door, and stretched out his hand, "Please."
"please."
The two Taoists walked out of the temple together, with the calico cat following behind, leaving the two old monks looking at each other.
Many pilgrims seemed to find it strange and interesting that not only did Taoists come to the Buddhist temple to burn incense, but there were also two of them, and they were also accompanied by eminent monks from the temple. Some people who were serving as officials in Changjing were even more surprised when they vaguely recognized that this was the current imperial master from the limping figure of the middle-aged Taoist and the respectful attitude of the eminent monks in the temple.
(End of chapter)
