The middle-aged man immediately retracted his hand to take out the money from his bag, shook his hand and said, "I won't buy it."
Seeing the middle-aged man turn around and walk away, Kuang Guangbu was so suffocated that he whispered: The business I negotiated will be ruined if someone interferes with it. He glared at Wu Daode who was returning to the drugstore, and had no choice but to put the water tank on his shoulder and leave slowly.
Wu Daode looked at Kuang Guangbu's retreating back and smiled proudly.
At this time, the shadow of the oak tree slowly faded and then disappeared under the weak and slanting sunlight.
This morning, under the sunshine, the Fu family's old house on West Street seemed to be painted with a touch of warm color.
Qian Wagguan had cooked a pot of porridge in the kitchen, added a bowl, and brought a steamed bun to the Eight Immortals table in the main room. Fu's mother, who was sitting next to her, had her gray hair hanging down from her forehead, covering her face. She didn't notice Qian Waguan coming over and just combed her hair with a comb.
Old man, please have breakfast. Qian Wanguan, who had arrived at Fu's mother's side, politely reminded him.
Fu's mother turned her head to look at him and nodded.
Qian Wagguan returned to the kitchen house and had a breakfast that also consisted of porridge and steamed buns. Then he came to the main room and saw that Fu's mother had also eaten and was raising her hand to touch the fist-like bun on her head.
At this time, Fu's mother saw Qian Wanguan putting away the dishes and chopsticks she had eaten for breakfast and was about to wash them. She suddenly made a gesture to signal Qian Wanguan to stop. Then he asked, "Wan Guan, do you think the bun on my head is well tied up?"
When Qian Wanguan saw that the bun on Fu's mother's head was still neatly pulled back, he praised her, "You are very good, old man." He also smiled and asked, old man, where are you going to get your hair so beautiful?
Fu's mother said "hmm" but did not answer specifically.
Qian Wagguan said, old man, just tell me where to go. I will take you there after I have washed the dishes.
There was a kind smile on Fu's mother's face. She said, you don’t need to take me with me, I will go by myself. Just as he was about to leave, Qian Wagguan said, "How can that be done?" You are so old.
Fu's mother said, "Don't worry, I'll go to the woodshed."
Qian Wagguan couldn't figure it out, so he watched Fu's mother go to the woodshed to do what she was doing.
Fu's mother walked out of the main room slowly and went straight into the woodshed. I saw her bowing several times to a Buddha statue on the niche on the west wall and chanting Amitabha! …
Qian Wankuan lowered his voice and sighed, Oh! The old lady combed her hair smoothly today and tied it into a beautiful bun. It turned out that she wanted to worship the Buddha! good!
At this moment, he quickly went to the kitchen house to wash the dishes, and then came to the woodshed to worship and chant Buddha's name with Fu's mother.
One morning four years later, after washing up, Fu's mother, who was getting stronger and stronger, suddenly said to Qian Wankuan, "I'm leaving. Amitabha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva appeared in my dream last night and told me that I will leave at noon today." Then you can pass away.
Qian Waguan raised his hands and praised, "That's great." He also put his palms together and recited: Amitabha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, disciple Qian Wankuan has practiced with the elderly for many years, and finally got his wish. I would like to dedicate all the merits of memorizing the Three Saints of the West to the old man. I wish the old man happy to reach the holy shore, escape from the sea of suffering, be reborn in the pure land, and see the Buddha in full bloom!
That day, Qian Waguan hurried to the door of the West Street grocery store and took a closer look. There was a young man with long braids that he did not recognize at the counter, making a deal with a customer standing outside the counter. Qian Wanguan waited and saw the young man cracking the abacus a few times, and then said the price of the goods: 4 qian.
As soon as the customer picked up the goods and left, Qian Wagguan reached out and tapped the counter lightly, making a "dede" sound to attract the young man's attention.
The young man who had noticed looked at him and asked enthusiastically, what do you want to buy?
Qian Waguan browsed the dazzling array of shelves, his eyes resting on a pile of shelves filled with sandalwood.
The young man asked again, do you want to buy sandalwood? How much?
Qian Wanguan said: Take a bundle and bring it down.
The young man took a bundle of sandalwood from the shelf and put it on the counter. He did not pick up the abacus, but only raised his hand and flicked it on the abacus bridge. The number that appeared on the abacus was 15.
Qian Wanguan asked, does this grocery store still belong to Fu Chunlan's family?
The young man smiled slightly and replied, of course, he is my wife.
Qian Wagguan said, Oh! So, you are his husband?
The young man nodded slightly, grabbed the braid hanging down to his chest and threw it behind his back. He moved his eyes and repeated, "Do you want to buy this bundle of sandalwood?" 15 coins.
Qian Wanguan said, put the sandalwood here. I want to meet your wife first and I have something to tell her.
The young man said that she was raising her fetus in the room and it was not convenient for her to come out. If anything happened, she told me the same thing.
Qian Wanguan said that regarding her grandmother, it was best to let her come out.
The young man said "Oh", then walked to the threshold of the grocery store and shouted inside, "Fu Chunlan, come out for a moment, someone is looking for you."
After a moment, a woman with a big belly walked out. Although she seemed to have gained weight and was out of shape, Qian Waguan recognized her as Fu Chunlan at a glance.
Fu Chunlan also saw him and said politely, Uncle Qian, thank you for taking care of my elderly grandma every day. What wind brings you here?
Qian Wanguan replied auspiciously, "It was the favorable wind that brought me here." Okay! If nothing else, let’s talk about your grandma today.
Fu Chunlan asked sensitively, what happened to my grandma?
Qian Wankuan glanced at the young man and hesitated to speak.
Fu Chunlan said, Uncle Qian, it's okay to say whatever you want. He also pointed at the young man and said, "He is my husband Hu Guiyuan. Including you, we are all a family."
Qian Wanguan said, then I will speak out. In the past few years, your grandma has chanted Buddha's name with me and practiced devoutly, which has moved the Three Saints of the West. Because your grandma is coming to the end of her life, the Three Saints of the West entrusted her with a dream last night. Today at noon, they will step on the lotus clouds to welcome her to the Western Paradise. That is extremely special!
Fu Chunlan said, Uncle Qian means that my grandma is leaving at noon today?
Qian Wanguan nodded and looked at Fu Chunlan's swollen belly and asked, is it convenient for you to go?
Fu Chunlan said, according to reports, I can't go in this state, but I don't care about that much anymore. No matter what the situation is, I have to go and give my grandma a ride.
Qian Wagguan said that if you went to help your grandma recite the Buddha's name, it would not only be of great benefit to your grandma, but also of great benefit to yourself and your unborn baby.
Fu Chunlan said, I will definitely go. She looked at her husband again and said, "Hu Youyuan, you go too, and help my grandmother who is about to pass away recite the Buddha's name."
Hu Youyuan said, then I will just lock the door of the shop and go with you.
Qian Wankuan glanced at Fu Chunlan and took the sandalwood on the counter with him.
Fu Chunlan glanced at Hu Youyuan and asked, taking the sandalwood on the counter with her.
Hu Youyuan looked at Qian Waguan and smiled, picked up a bundle of sandalwood on the counter, walked out of the shop, closed the door, locked it, and set off together with Fu Chunlan, who was pregnant.
That evening, Kuang Guangbu's house was deserted.
Kuang Guangbu's wife, Mai Yuan, saw that her three children did not have rice for breakfast or lunch, and she was very hungry. She made soup dumplings from the Guanyin soil she dug a few days ago to satisfy her hunger temporarily. However, since the three children had eaten it before and it was difficult to swallow, they were unwilling to eat it, so they simply stopped eating it.
The eldest, second and third eldest children were all children, the youngest was 4 years old and the eldest was 8 years old. It can be said that they were all ignorant, so they all gathered around the mother and clamored for rice.
Mai Yuan's eyes were full of expectation. She said, don't make any noise, don't make any noise. Your father carried a big water jar to Zhonghuopu Street today and sold it for money. Later, he will use the money from selling the water jar to buy rice at the grain store and go home. Then he will have dry food to eat tonight.
Kuang Hong jumped up and shouted, "Wow!"
Dimples appear on Kuang Shan’s face when he smiles. He said, Mom, there is dry rice tonight, I want to eat a big bowl.
Kuang Hua took Mai Yuan's hand, tilted her head, and said innocently, Mom, I want to drink a bowl of rice soup. Rice is cooked with rice soup.
Mai Yuan said, as long as your father brings rice back tonight, all your requirements can be met.
But the sun was setting, and Kuang Guangbu hadn't come back yet. The children craned their necks to look outside from time to time, but there was still no sign of Kuang Guangbu.
