"The young Taoist priest went down the mountain to transform the house, and the old Taoist priest gave instructions.
The woman at the foot of the mountain is a tiger. If you encounter one, you must avoid it. "
The clear children's voice echoed in the mountains and fields, and a porcelain doll-like boy jumped out of the dense forest. The boy was dressed in blue coarse cloth, holding a wooden bucket in one hand, and stuffing wild fruits from the mountains into his mouth with the other. inside.
"Hahaha, little junior brother! You're lazy again. I'm going to tell the master and let him spank you hard with a ruler."
Looking in the direction of the sound, a shirtless man with a height of seven feet was standing in the stream. His strong and muscular muscles were slightly bulging. His wet old Taoist robe was twisted, and trickling stream water dripped out.
"No, it's porridge day again tomorrow. Master asked me to get some water to prepare."
The boy threw the bucket into the creek, climbed up the big rock next to the man on his hands and knees, took out a fruit from his pocket, rubbed it with his clothes, and stuffed it into the man's mouth.
"Second Senior Brother, eat some fruit, you just picked it."
"You touched your third senior brother's peach tree again. No wonder he sits under the tree and watches all day long."
"Senior Brother Duzhu is so boring. He looks like a piece of wood. Apart from planting trees and reciting sutras, it's still fun for me."
"That peach tree has been with him since childhood, but it is his lifeblood. Oh! Why is it so sour!" The man grinned and turned back, watching the boy covering his mouth and snickering blatantly.
"Okay, let me teach you a lesson!"
The man put down the peach in his hand, scooped up a basin of water and poured it on the boy.
The laughter floats into the distance accompanied by the gurgling water.
——————
"It seems... not that sour."
When they were tired of playing, the big one and the small one lay side by side on the stone. The big one took the peach that he had put down earlier and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Third senior brother said it's not yet cooked."
"It's almost time." The man ate the peach with big mouthfuls, making a crunching sound like eating a radish.
"This morning, Master Hongyuan from Ciliang Temple came. Ciliang Temple is closed, and the same goes for Fayuan Temple. We, Tianqingguan, are the only ones left to give porridge this time." The boy put his right leg on his left leg .
"Are you lazy in your morning class again!?"
"Senior sister's cooking is so delicious." The boy said in a soft voice, "You won't complain to the master, right? Senior brother Jiyuan is the best."
Jiyuan is the Taoist name of a man.
"...Recently...it seems that more and more people are coming to drink porridge." Jiyuan's voice was a little deep.
"Yeah, tomorrow... we may not have enough porridge to share with them. We have to boil more hot water. At least... it would be nice if we could join several other temples like before." The boy crossed his hands and leaned on In the back of his head: "Brother, why did they close the mountain?"
"Because troubled times have arrived."
"Then why don't we seal it?"
"Because troubled times have arrived."
"Oh." The boy was still young and couldn't quite understand, so he just scratched his head.
"Jingting, you have to practice hard and study hard. Remember to make a bowl of porridge tomorrow and send it to Grandpa Liu's house at the bottom of Tianmen Village at the foot of the mountain. He has inconvenient legs and feet and cannot come to get the porridge."
Jiyuan stretched out his hand upwards, and the afterglow of the setting sun fell on the man's face through his fingers.
"You will give porridge tomorrow, senior brother, won't you go?"
"I have received permission from my master to go down the mountain and set off tomorrow."
"Where are you going, senior brother?"
"Who knows, I want to go to the nearest Tianmen Pass to see the Wu Kingdom first, then go to the Anguo to see the Nine Kingdoms of the Central Plains, and finally go to Beipan to see the scenery beyond the Great Wall."
"Master said that there are many temptations at the foot of the mountain. Will the second senior brother not come back like the first senior brother?" The boy held the man's arm tightly.
"Haha, how is that possible? Junior brother, remember, when you go to give out porridge but no one comes to take it, I will be back."
"Then if no one eats porridge, I can have two more bowls of rice at night."
"Okay, okay, we'll be together then."
"When senior brother comes back, remember to bring some meat. Meat is my favorite. Guanli is not very popular. I haven't eaten meat for a long time."
"It's a deal."
"It's a deal!"
Snapped!
Two palms, one big and one small, are printed together.
"Junior brother, your bucket seems to be floating down."
"Senior brother, can you help me pick it up, otherwise I will be blamed by the master again." The boy's big dark eyes rolled around.
"You...hey...ok."
The man rushed down the stream, leaving the boy with a broad back.
“Back then, Senior Brother said that when I carried the bucket up the mountain and it felt like walking on flat ground, he would come back…
fraud! "
——————
Autumn turns to winter, and there are two severe winters in a row.
When the biting spring wind was still blowing through the ice and snow in Tianqingguan, two figures, one big and one small, stood in front of the gate.
"Senior Brother Duzhu, are you going down the mountain too?"
"Yes, Xiaowuzi, senior brother is going down the mountain too." Duzhu touched Jingchen's head: "While you are on the mountain, you should help your senior sister take care of the Taoist temple. The master is old, so remember that the room should never be too cold. "
"When are you coming back?"
"Senior Brother is just going down the mountain to take a look. When the peach trees bear fruit and the fruits are ripe and fall to the ground, Senior Brother will come back. Pick up the peaches and don't eat them all secretly."
——————
The little Taoist priest sat under the peach tree and waited. When spring passed and autumn came, the peaches fell to the ground. When the peaches in the basket were completely rotten, no man came.
The third senior brother who never lied also became a liar.
When the last leaf fell from the peach tree, only a letter came back.
Fourth senior sister cried.
It was the first time Jingting saw her senior sister cry. The woman who grabbed Jingting's ears and told him not to go to the kitchen to steal food cried like a tearful person.
The next day, there was no smell of rice coming from Tianqingguan's kitchen.
Under the slightly cold porridge was a note: Junior Brother! Senior sister is coming down the mountain. From now on, I will leave the cooking to my junior brother! Don't be sad, after you learn a hundred dishes, senior sister will come back with your three senior brothers!
Jingting brought the note to the master. The old Taoist priest had no expression on his furrowed face. He just waved his hand to indicate that he understood. Under the peach tree, the old Taoist priest's beard became a few grayer.
So... only Jingting was left in the porridge team, but more and more people came to drink porridge. The refugees always brought the latest news. War broke out among the nine countries, and Beipan approached the Central Plains several times.
"Those barbarians in Beipan were beaten back again. We beat them back several times a year, but as winter approaches, they don't know the pain." In the soup kitchen shack, a man who was missing a leg was holding his hand. With a bowl of porridge.
It didn't matter that it was gruel. He was so clear that he could even count the grains of rice. Maybe three, maybe five, but there was still a long queue in front of the soup kitchen.
"Won?" Jingting joined the conversation after emptying the last sip of hot water from the bucket.
"Of course, I heard that General Xiao personally led the cavalry to pursue him for more than ten miles."
"Winning...what?"
"I won, but...my family...is gone..."
Patting the man on the shoulder, Jingting loaded the empty porridge bucket onto the cart. The peaches in the view were ripe again, sweet and delicious, but this time no one competed with him.
——————
The turbulent times have been turbulent, and the years have been glorious.
Many people cannot survive the hardships of each year, such as Grandpa Liu in Tianmen Village at the foot of the mountain, the man with a missing leg in the soup kitchen, and the peach tree in the center of the dilapidated old Taoist temple.
After the last peach fell, it finally came to the end of its life.
The little Taoist priest who ate peaches finally grew into a young man who bloomed like peach blossoms.
Jingting hesitated for a long time before pushing down the peach tree, taking out the core of the last peach, and planting it on the spot with his own hands. When he was doing this, the old Taoist priest came out of the room and looked at him quietly.
"master."
The old man didn't speak, just squeezed his shoulder, sighed, turned and walked towards the room.
After sending the old man back, the little Taoist priest sat down along the dilapidated peach tree.
"Senior brother... I can lift many buckets, but more and more people are eating porridge... I have learned to cook, but there are only a few dishes back and forth. The master said that I did a pretty good job, and... …The peaches are ripe again.”
————
May you always bless one year of spring.
Peach trees sprouted from the ground, and Tianqing Temple welcomed its first pilgrim.
The woman is dressed in red and looks stunningly beautiful.
