The next family that the bronze carriage went to was a family that Mr. Tang was also very curious about. It clearly had the jade plaque of the Wuling Sect, but it was neither an official in the court nor a businessman in the world. This family could have enjoyed prosperity and wealth in the world, but they settled in the mountains and made a living by farming and hunting. Elder Tang was hosting the first round of the competition this time. He had been to countless houses, but this one made him very curious.
The carriage drove along the mountain road, completely ignoring the ruggedness and bumps of the mountain road. It came all the way. The mountains on both sides were dense and dense, and the terrain gradually became more dangerous. Just when Mr. Tang realized that he was almost there, an old man in coarse cloth who looked about the same age as him stood on a lying cow stone by the roadside and was saluting his carriage, so the carriage drew near.
"May I ask," the old man in coarse cloth asked with a respectful salute, "are you the immortal master who came to preside over the election for my Lu family?"
"Oh?" Old Man Tang asked, "How did you learn about my identity?"
"Ah! He is indeed the Immortal Master!" The old man in rough clothes bowed his head and bowed as soon as he heard it, and said, "The junior Lu Heiling, the owner of Lujiazhuang, has met the Immortal Master. Since the day of the first election is approaching, the junior has come here to wait for you every day. The Immortal Master arrived, and I welcomed him as expected. I also asked the Immortal Master to come with me. Everyone in Zhuangzi was waiting for the Immortal Master."
After speaking, he raised a jade plaque high and presented it to Mr. Tang.
Old Man Tang inspected the jade sign, nodded and said, "You are determined, yes, lead the way."
On the way, Mr. Tang saw that although Zhuang Lu was not young, he still walked lightly and vigorously, not inferior to the young people, so he expressed his doubts: "Zhuang Lu, I have something unclear, and I want to know more. Ask Master Lu for advice."
"I don't dare to ask for advice, please ask the immortal master for help."
"Since your Lu family has my sect's jade medal, why do you want to live in seclusion in the mountains? I came all the way here. Those who hold the jade medal are either rich or noble. They may dominate the government or be as rich as the enemy. Only Why do you, the Lu family, hide from the world?" Old Man Tang asked.
"Oh, this question, the Immortal Master doesn't know. I, the Lu family, are not living in seclusion. We are just living a stable life here. It is also the ancestors of our Lu family who have found a treasured Feng Shui land for us descendants to thrive. I miss my family. My ancestor was also a high-ranking official in the court, but he felt that being an official was too tiring, and there were too many ways of thinking and harming people in the officialdom. My ancestors of the Lu family did not like that, and besides, the descendants of the Lu family always produced some mediocre and incompetent people. For ordinary people, it is not good for the court or the Lu family to have such a high-ranking official in the Lu family. Sooner or later, they will cause trouble, and even if nothing happens, they will leave an infamy for their descendants. So the ancestors of the Lu family resigned from the official position and took the whole family with them. At this point, the Lu family has been engaged in farming, mulberry harvesting, fishing and hunting. Although they are poor and have a slightly harder life, they are happy and comfortable. Immortal Master, let alone the Lu family, they have failed to live up to this jade card. Thanks to this jade medal, our Lu family has always been prosperous and prosperous, and thanks to this jade medal, our Lu family has always had good weather and no worries about food and clothing!"
"That's it, that's it!" Old Man Tang exclaimed in admiration, "That ancestor of your family is really an expert!"
After making a few more turns on the mountain road, the carriage and the owner of the village came to a valley, where Zhuangzi was located on the flat part of the valley.
"Master Immortal, how about we have some food and wine first when we get to the village?" Master Lu asked respectfully.
"That's not necessary. I still have a lot of places to go. I can't stay here for long. Now that I'm here, let's get down to business first!"
"Okay, let's do as the Immortal Master said." After saying that, Master Lu called a few young people waiting outside the village and said, "Go, let everyone in the village go to the ancestral hall. Said the Immortal Master has arrived." The young men took the order and ran away.
As Mr. Tang walked, he looked at this village. The houses were all built with blue bricks, and the courtyard walls were made of blue stones. The roads in the village were also paved with stones. It seemed that they had been carefully swept by someone, which looked unusual. tidy.
You can hear the crowing of cocks through the wall in the yard, a lazy black dog lying in front of the door, and a sneaky civet cat trying to catch birds on the roof. The fruit trees in a yard are full of fruits, hanging outside the wall. A seven or eight-year-old child is beating the fruits with a stick. Two other children are picking up the fallen fruits from the ground and carrying them into their arms while shouting. Lu Zhuang When the master saw it, he laughed and scolded: "Hurry up and go to the ancestral hall. If you go late, your father will spank you!" Several children immediately threw the sticks and ran away laughing.
What a paradise! Old Man Tang sighed.
In the middle of Zhuangzi is the ancestral hall of the Lu family. The place is already full of people. As the people say "Come on, come on", a road is opened for the bronze carriage to pass through the crowd and arrive in front of the ancestral hall. The place is ready. Desk case.
After Old Man Tang got off the bus, Master Lu brought the whole village to pay tribute to Old Man Tang. Then it was a routine matter. Old Man Tang took out the book, dipped the jade plaque of Master Lu into the ink pad, printed it on one page of the book, and then returned it to Master Lu.
"The jade plaque has been inspected and found to be correct. Master Lu, please let your descendants of the Lu family who are under the age of sixteen come out and let me take a look." Elder Tang said.
"Okay, okay, Master Immortal, please wait a moment." After saying this, Master Lu gave a few instructions to the person next to him. The man took a few people to work, and soon there were more than fifty children standing in a pile in front of the ancestral hall. After seeing it, old man Tang thought to himself, there are quite a few. Sure enough, the descendants will be prosperous. Sure enough, if there is a loss, there is a gain. have to. He was going to call the child closest to him to test the child's qualifications.
But before he could speak, he heard the owner of the village, Mr. Lu, yelling hurriedly but angrily: "Where's the fourth child? Where's the fourth child!" Elder Tang stopped to see what was going on.
Then I saw a burly man in his forties walking quickly from the crowd to Master Lu. He was probably the fourth son of Master Lu. Their facial features were quite similar. When Mr. Lu saw his fourth son approaching, he slapped him on the back of the head without waiting for him to speak, and cursed: "Where is your sixth son?"
The beaten fourth child touched his head and looked at the pile of children. He nodded with his fingers to find the sixth child who couldn't find him for a long time. When he was about to click again, he was slapped on the back of the head. Just listen to Zhuangzhu Lu scolding: "What are you still doing? Why don't you go find it quickly! When is it?"
"Yeah!" Lao Si, who had been slapped twice, was about to leave.
"Fourth uncle, I know where sixth brother has gone." A small kid in the crowd said to the fourth brother.
"Where did that bastard go?" Villa Master Lu asked before the fourth child could speak.
"He went to the mountain to see the trap he had set. I saw him going up the mountain this morning without a bow or fork, so he must have gone to see the trap he had set." said the little kid.
"Hurry up and get it back!" Villa Master Lu spat and scolded the fourth child. When he saw the fourth child turning around and running up the mountain, Master Lu's face was already filled with a submissive smile when he turned around and said to Mr. Tang. Said: "Master Immortal, the sixth child of my fourth child's family is not here, and that child is naughty. How about we wait until he comes to start?"
Elder Tang looked at Master Lu and nodded. For some reason, he felt that Master Lu was a little unreliable.
When the fourth child was about to leave, suddenly someone among the children shouted, "Brother Six is back!"
Immediately, everyone present turned their heads to look, and sure enough, they saw a strong and powerful young man entering the village carrying a large black long baggage. Seeing so many people looking at him, the child was obviously Slowing down, hesitating a little.
I don't know which child gloated and shouted, "Ha! Brother Six is going to be beaten again!" Suddenly several children started laughing.
The fourth child also saw his son, and immediately became very angry. He scolded his son who was still lingering by the side of the village: "Come here quickly, I'll see how I deal with you later!"
As soon as he finished scolding, he heard Zhuang Zhuang also scolding: "What are you scolding him for? He usually doesn't discipline him, but now he is showing off his power. Let him change his clothes quickly and come over later to kowtow to the immortal master."
Being beaten and scolded again, the fourth child felt very humiliated, so he ran over and grabbed his son who was about to turn around and run away. He twisted his ears and trotted through the crowd amidst people's laughter.
When the child walked by, Mr. Tang noticed that there was some black burden on the child's back. It turned out to be a large black-maned wild boar that had expired.
What a young man! Elder Tang praised, and then said to Village Master Lu: "Since the child is already here, let's start here first, and then come over when the child is ready."
"Yes, yes, it's all according to the Immortal Master's orders." Villa Master Lu said repeatedly.
"Come, kid." Elder Tang pointed at the little boy closest to him and said, "Come to me."
The child was hesitant and didn't dare to come over. Old Man Tang was about to give a few more words of encouragement when he heard Master Lu say from the side: "Come here quickly. Come and kowtow to the immortal master. It will be beneficial." you!"
These words made Mr. Tang feel a little unhappy. He thought, I am hosting the election for your family, so why should I bring my own gifts to make your children happy? Just as he was thinking about it, he saw that the child walked up to Mr. Tang and knelt down without knowing whether he wanted benefits or was bold.
When Old Man Tang took a look, he saw a little boy with a tiger-like head looking at him with a pair of big curious eyes, which made people feel good. He stopped caring about it, stretched out his right hand, and a jade Ruyi appeared out of nowhere in his hand, and handed it to the child. , said warmly: "Take it."
The child was at a loss again, so he turned to look at Master Lu.
After all, Zhuangzhuang Master Lu had seen some things in the world and didn't care about how the Ruyi jade appeared in the hands of the immortal master. He only looked at the Ruyi jade and saw that the Ruyi jade was warm, smooth, soft and white. What he held was a flawless piece of beautiful jade; look at the carving, every stroke of the knife was exquisite, it was truly a priceless treasure. Just as he was lamenting the generosity of the Immortal Master, he suddenly saw his grandson looking at a loss. Master Lu suddenly became a little angry and said hurriedly: "Hurry up and take it!"
When the child heard this, he immediately understood. He was so happy that he stretched out his hand to take the jade Ruyi. He bowed to the old man Tang again, got up and ran back. As he ran, he held up the Ruyi jade and kept calling to a woman. Said: "Mom, the immortal master gave it to me, look at it, look at it!"
He actually took the jade Ruyi as a benefit given to him by the immortal master and showed it to his mother.
Immediately, Old Man Tang was stunned. Before he could understand, he saw the remaining group of children swarming up, hugging their legs, kowtowing, and each one stretched out their little hands towards Old Man Tang and couldn't help shouting "Xian" Master, I want it too, I want it too!"
The owner of the village, Lu, saw the naughty child running away with the precious jade Ruyi. When he was in a hurry, he saw a group of children surrounding the immortal master, and he felt a little embarrassed. How could he ask for something from the immortal master like this? So decent! Then he came over and drove the children back with slaps and kicks. He coaxed and threatened them before they quieted down. He turned around and said respectfully to Mr. Tang: "Master Immortal, you are too polite. This gift is too precious. Don't spoil the children!"
Hearing this, even if his Taoist heart was calm, Old Man Tang, who had no waves in the ancient well, wanted to spurt a mouthful of old blood on the ground. Who are the people in this family?
She had no choice but to shamelessly explain to the owner of the Lu village that the jade Ruyi was not a gift, but a magic weapon used to test the qualifications of the Lu family's children and grandchildren in this election.
Why do you say shameless? Because Mr. Tang found that the more he explained, the more people looked at him like a stingy person. Yes, what a fairy! He had to take back what he had given away, and the more he explained, the more guilty he became. A monk with great mastery of the golden elixir, who was almost omnipotent in heaven and on earth, a figure whom the emperor would bow to when he saw him, was now being treated like this by a group of rough men. He was rolling his eyes and pointing, it was really his first time, no matter what, if anyone tries to trick me into taking the first-class election sixty years later, I will fall out with him!
A stout woman walked up to Old Man Tang with an unhappy look on her face, and placed the Ruyi jade in her hand on Old Man Tang's desk angrily. When she returned, she saw the child crying, so the woman raised her hand and placed it on the child's desk. After a few slaps on the buttocks, the child stopped talking.
Old Man Tang sat there in disgrace, wondering in his mind that spanking the child was not a slap on the child's butt. It was clearly a slap on the old man's face!
Seeing the embarrassment on the Immortal Master's face, Master Lu Zhuang came to the rescue and said, "Immortal Master, a people from the mountains and plains, has never seen the world and doesn't understand these things. Please don't blame the Immortal Master."
Old Man Tang could only nodded.
When the remaining children saw that the beautiful Ruyi was not given to them but only for them to hold, they lost their enthusiasm and stood there listlessly waiting to touch the Ruyi.
In this way, these children held Ruyi one by one, and none of them could make the jade Ruyi change. In a blink of an eye, all the children standing in the field ran away. When the old man Tang sighed and finally ended, only Lu Lu could see the Ruyi. The owner of the village was stunned for a moment, then became furious again. At such an old age, he almost ran up to the fourth child, slapped him on the back of the head, and cursed: "Where is your sixth child? Could it be that he went up the mountain again? "
The fourth child was also beaten stupidly. He was stunned for a moment, then stamped his feet and rushed into the crowd. With bursts of screams, the fourth child twisted the ears of his sixth child and took him out of the crowd.
"What have you done?" Villa Master Lu asked angrily.
"I went up the mountain without eating in the morning, and now I'm hungry!" The child named Lao Liu was still chewing something in his mouth.
"Eat! Eat! You just know how to eat! Just like your father!" Master Lu scolded again.
Hearing this, the fourth child became depressed and put more force on his hand, causing his son to scream incessantly.
"Go and let him kowtow to the Immortal Master, alas!" Master Lu was so angry that he kicked the father and son in the buttocks.
"Kowtow to the Immortal Master." The child finally knelt in front of Mr. Tang and said reluctantly.
This child is really tall. When he is kneeling, he is actually a head taller than the old man Tang who is sitting on the chair. Old Man Tang was sitting on a chair, filling his tobacco bag with tobacco, ready to take a puff of cigarettes to relieve the worries in his chest. He looked at this child and thought that he was the last one anyway. After it was over, I hurriedly left the place where the trouble was. Then he pointed at the jade Ruyi on the case with his pipe and motioned to the child to pick it up. At this moment, the old man Tang didn't even bother to say anything.
The child lazily stretched out a hand to grab the jade Ruyi.
As soon as I held the jade Ruyi in my hand, something suddenly changed!
The jade Ruyi suddenly shined like a star!
The entire Lujiazhuang was shrouded in a thick yellow light. Not only Lujiazhuang, but also half of the valley where Lujiazhuang was located was reflected in the yellow light.
In the light, everyone was stunned.
Villa Master Lu was so close that he could hardly open his eyes under the yellow light.
Elder Tang murmured to himself, "It turns out to be the best choice, it turns out to be the best choice!"
