"It's a long journey, so be careful!"
"I will."
"Master Hou, take care!"
"Take care of yourself!"
Watching Zheng He board the treasure ship, Yang Xuan only looked back when the fleet was gone.
He wanted Zheng He to bring back Western glaze making technology, which was actually glass making technology.
He knew that the cost of this thing was very low, after all, it could be seen everywhere in future generations.
He consulted the classics and found that during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, glass products flowed into China from the west. Many people regarded this thing as rare colored glaze and spent a lot of money to buy and collect it.
Yang Xuan only remembered glass because Zhu Di rewarded him with a few glass balls.
He compared glass with Chinese colored glaze and learned about the making process of colored glaze. He found that the process was complicated and could only be made by hand.
Therefore, after hundreds of years of development, colored glaze could only be used as a luxury product.
(The earliest written record of colored glaze production is in Duyi Zhi written by Li Kang in the Tang Dynasty)
There are pictures to prove it
Glass has many uses, whether it is used as a telescope, a window, or a mirror.
And with glass, more wealth can be created for the national treasury.
In short, Ming Dynasty needed glass production technology.
It's a pity that Yang Xuan doesn't know how to do it, otherwise there wouldn't be such a big deal of trouble.
…
Set off back to the capital.
Yang Xuan is also going to find his junior sister.
Before departure, he went to visit Lan Yu again.
He also told Dr. Chen to take good care of Lan Yu.
Afterwards, he went to ask Zhu Di for a long vacation.
He didn't tell Zhu Di what he was going to do, but just told him that he would understand when he came back.
Outside the capital, Anqing brought Xiuhe to see off Yang Xuan.
She helped Yang Xuan tidy up his clothes, and finally said, "Remember to come back early."
"Okay." Yang Xuan nodded and agreed to her.
The last person got on his horse, and not long after, one person and one horse disappeared from Anqing's sight.
"Princess, let's go back!" Xiuhe said.
It is now mid-May, and the weather in Beijing is already very hot.
"Yeah." An Qing hummed softly, and then he and An Qing got into the carriage.
"drive!"
Lao Hu drove the carriage and several people returned.
…
After traveling more than a thousand miles, Yang Xuan rode hard all the way after leaving the capital. Except for leaving time for the horses to rest, he spent the rest of the time on the road.
It took less than half a month to finally arrive at the county where the junior sister is located.
After having a big meal in the county town, I cleaned myself up again.
Yang Xuan then followed the address given to him by Lao Hu.
Because the place is remote and Yang Xuan is not familiar with it, he can only ask around while walking.
And his actions also attracted the attention of interested people.
He was well dressed, riding a good horse, and more importantly, he was alone.
Will this not attract the attention of the robbers?
One night, when Yang Xuan was resting in the wild, he encountered bandits.
There is nothing to say about the process. The final result is that this group of bandits has completely disappeared.
I found that I couldn't find my destination for a while while searching like this, but it even attracted the attention of the robbers.
In desperation, Yang Xuan could only find the secret guard here.
In this way, a few days later, Yang Xuan climbed the mountain and crossed the river, and finally saw a dilapidated nunnery halfway up the mountain.
"Is my junior sister here?" Yang Xuan looked at the nunnery in front of him and asked the secret guard beside him.
"We have verified many times and can confirm that Miss Xu is here."
"And she has never left over the years." The secret guard replied.
"good."
Yang Xuan nodded, and just as he took out his legs, he remembered something again.
He stopped and looked at the secret guard beside him again.
"How do I look now?"
"Incomparably majestic!" the secret guard replied affirmatively.
Hearing this, Yang Xuan calmed down the excitement in his heart.
"Just wait outside." He ordered.
"yes."
After being mentally prepared, Yang Xuan took out his legs again and walked towards the nunnery ahead.
The door was not closed, Yang Xuan walked in directly.
There was an old nun in the yard sweeping the floor with an old broom.
When he saw someone coming in, he stepped forward, clasped his hands together, chanted the Buddha's name, and asked:
"Amitabha!"
"May I ask why the donor came here?"
Yang Xuan stopped to observe, returned the courtesy and explained: "I was playing nearby and heard that there is a nunnery here, so I came here specifically to worship the Buddha."
"We don't enshrine any Buddha in this nunnery, only Guanshiyin Bodhisattva," the nun said.
"Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is also a Buddhist. I bow to the Buddha, and I won't stop worshiping just because he is a Bodhisattva." Yang Xuan said with a slight smile.
"So, then please ask the donor to come with the poor nun!"
"Then I'll bother the mage."
Yang Xuan followed behind him.
Arriving at the main hall, Yang Xuan saluted the clay sculpture of Guanyin Bodhisattva enshrined here, and then burned three sticks of incense.
Seeing that Yang Xuan was very pious, the nun became less vigilant.
After all, their place is too remote. Except for the occasional person from the village at the foot of the mountain who comes up the mountain to worship the Bodhisattva and ask for a child, no one else comes.
Although Yang Xuan said that he came to worship Buddha, his temperament showed that he was not an ordinary person.
The nun did not refuse his request to worship Buddha, but she did not dare to let down her guard against him.
After worshiping the Bodhisattva, Yang Xuan took out another five hundred taels of silver notes from his arms and handed them to the nun beside him.
"I think your place is very shabby, and life here is very difficult."
"This little money for sesame oil is my respect."
To Yang Xuan's surprise, the other party did not charge money.
"Donor, we are here just for the sake of cleansing."
"For better living conditions, wouldn't it be better to go to a large nunnery in the capital?"
"You'd better take this money back!"
"I have been to many Buddhist temples and nunneries, and I have never seen one that didn't charge for scented oil."
"I wonder, Master, what do you usually do for a living?"
Yang Xuan was a little curious.
"We have reclaimed a few acres of land on this mountain and grown some food, which is enough for food."
"Normally when the people at the foot of the mountain go up the mountain to worship the Bodhisattva and ask for a child, they will also bring some food."
"We will also go down the mountain to exchange some salt and other things with the people."
"I didn't expect that there is such an expert in this deep mountain. I admire you." Yang Xuan said seriously.
"Almsgiver, I am just a pure cultivator from outside the country. I don't have so many desires."
No matter what, Yang Xuan still admires these people.
After such a conversation, the nun's impression of Yang Xuan became much better.
So Yang Xuan asked the other party about the situation of the nunnery.
Of course, it's certainly not that straightforward.
Through conversation, we learned that there were only sixteen people in this nunnery.
There are also several minors among them, who were brought up by the people at the foot of the mountain who could not feed them.
Finally I heard the other party talking about Master Zhiguang.
Yang Xuan couldn't help but ask: "I wonder if Master can recommend Master Zhiguang?"
…
