The boat sailed into the Fengzu River port. When the farmers on the bank saw that it was a foreign boat, they kept whispering to each other. Yue Guanchao and the others stood by the railing, looking at the beautiful scenery of the Jiangnan countryside in the distance, and shouted back: "Master Jin, Huangtian Town has arrived." After saying this, Taoist Master Jin took Monk Hua and slowly stood up from the cabin. Standing by the railing, when he saw the rural houses in the distance, his empty eyes focused slightly and he took a long breath: "I haven't seen you for many years. , the village has changed quite a lot." The country people never neglect the Taoist monks. Seeing the Taoist priests and monks coming, a boy with pigtails ran to the side of the boat and said: "Taoist priest, master, where are you looking for? Huh? This is Huangtian Town."
"Little good believer, have you ever heard of Miss Hu Yuxiang?" As soon as Taoist Master Jin asked, he realized that decades had passed and quickly changed his words: "According to her age, she is probably sixty or seventy years old now."
"Hu Yuxiang... Oh, you are referring to Mrs. Hu. She is our ancestor here. I will take you to their house." Since the chief child said so, they tied the boat at the port, and the group followed Behind the child, we crossed the arched stone road and dense residential houses and arrived at the house at the foot of Gaogang Mountain.
Viewed from here, the Hu family's house is built on a hillock dozens of meters high. In the distance are the remaining wild mountains of Dupan Ridge. It can be seen that the hillock is slowly falling. There are more than a dozen clan houses scattered around, all of which are hidden in the dense forest. In the woods, only the eaves of gray tiles can be seen occasionally peeking out from the bushes.
Looking further to the left and right, wild mountains like the backs of cows rise up. There are hillside roads here and there dividing the houses upwards, and further down is the Pingchuan river beach.
In front of Gangzi Mountain Road, a stone archway stands at the mountain gate. The carved railings and brackets have long faded, and there are many laminated paint marks after being painted several times.
The four words "Huang Tian Feifang" are clearly visible, with slight cracks due to wind and sun, which have existed for at least thousands of years.
When he came to the post, the boy said: "My name is Hu Jindou, and Mrs. Hu is my great-grandmother. The house on this post is the main house of the Hu family. The surrounding houses are side houses of the small clan. The ones further away near the river beach are mostly occupied by outsiders. Or maybe it's a clan that has been separated for a long time. You all look like young people. How do you know my great-grandmother?" Although this little boy is not as tall as Yue Guanchao's knees, his round eyes are extremely clever, and he has already begun to inquire about their information. .
"This Taoist Master Jin is an old friend of your great-grandmother. Your great-grandmother once saved his life when she was young. He came back to visit her." After hearing this, Hu Jindou looked back at Taoist Master Jin and led them I quickened my pace again, and when I stepped onto the post, I could see that there was a courtyard with four or five entrances facing east on the flat-topped post, with white walls and gray tiles outlining a regular mansion.
As soon as they entered the door, the servants around saw that Hu Jindou had returned. They stepped forward and patted the dirt on his clothes. Seeing that there were mostly middle-aged people around and there were Taoist priests and monks among them, their eyes immediately became wary: "Brother, who did you treat again?" The leader of the family is here, and your father knew that he still asked you to kneel in the ancestral hall." Hu Jindou shouted: "This is not an outsider, this is to repay the kindness of my grandmother. I heard that the old Taoist priest and my grandmother knew each other." These words made the old man dress up. The servant became cautious, walked to them, clasped his hands and said, "Taoist priest, master, today is the old lady's birthday. It's hard to come all the way. If you are an old friend, please give me a name card so that I can reply to the old lady. Prepare your seat." The old servant spoke very thoughtfully. He was not sure about the identity of these people, nor what the old lady meant. He just heard that they were old friends of the old lady, and he couldn't even confirm the authenticity, so he just said You can first ask for the name card and hand it to the old lady. If the old lady knows you, you are an old friend. If you don't, then find a reason to send it away.
Upon hearing this, Taoist Master Jin took out the name card and handed it over. The old servant took Jin Dou back to the manor. Yue Guanchao took this opportunity to look at the Hu family's house. The front yard was not too small among the deep house courtyards, and was comparable to that of the Chao family. On the right side of the entrance were the concierge and servants' quarters, and on the left were the living room, study room, and guest room. A square hanging flower door separates the front yard, marked with
The gold-lacquered plaque with the inscription "Virtue Garden" and the lights and colorful decorations everywhere show that it is indeed a birthday celebration. In the courtyard, there are often servants sweeping the house. When the guests arrive, they hand over their name cards and are led through the hanging flower gate and into the central courtyard. They are all busy and come and go in an orderly manner. There are never any unruly servants. Huan Nu, just now, even if he was an ordinary servant, he didn't mean to be disrespectful to a lowly person, which shows that the government is being run with rigor.
After about a stick of incense, the old servant came out with a face full of joy and quickly said: "My old lady said that she is looking forward to the arrival of the old god. She has prepared seats for all distinguished guests. Please come in." As he spoke, the old servant had already led Yue Guanchao and the others into Deyuan. There were four or five courtyards in Deyuan.
"Qi" shapes are distributed around, each courtyard is independent, and there is a road seven or eight meters wide in the middle. They walked along the main road of the Chuihua Gate to the middle courtyard, and they could already see the noise and excitement inside, with opera singing and singing.
"Old lady, I brought you someone."
"Okay, what are you doing standing outside the door? Quickly invite the old immortal in." The old servant led them into the courtyard and walked around a screen wall. In the middle, there was a four- to five-meter-high Cailou stage, and a Kunqu opera was being performed. Famous actors and actresses were babbling birthday wishes on it, surrounded by large round tables like stars and moons. Delicious food, drinks, tea, fruits and pastries were spread all over the table. Men, women, old and young, and close and distant guests were all beaming with joy. They were sitting around in the courtyard, surrounded by Under the eaves of an awning in the main hall, there is a long table of Eight Immortals, piled with various refreshments, fruits, and a high-back longevity chair. There are also lower-level tables and chairs around it, which are full of people. The head of the Hu family, Shaojun, and his sister-in-law, dressed in rich and noble clothes.
Sitting on the birthday chair was Mrs. Hu, who was surrounded by her filial sons and grandsons. This old lady is in her seventies or eighties, with slightly fair skin and wrinkles all over her face. Her hair is already completely white. Her hair is oily and shiny, and her hair is combed into a bun. There are several gold hairpins stuck behind the bun, and she wears an autumn peony flower scarf on her forehead. Well, the clothes on her body are mainly sapphire green, with rust and pearls on the fabric, making her look calm and gorgeous.
Although her hands are full of stripes, they are not thin. She is white and fat, wearing a water jade bracelet. She also has a set of emerald jade hairpieces worn on her bun, ears, and fingers. She looks graceful and luxurious. Although her eyebrows have shrunk, they can still be seen. It can be concluded that when she was young, she was definitely a beauty.
Taoist Master Jin walked to the nearby place and saluted and said: "Old Taoist wishes Mrs. Hu good luck and longevity in the East China Sea. I came here in a hurry today and didn't bring any generous gifts. Only the old Taoist wore a string of agate beads and chanted sutras and blessed her day and night. I am willing to dedicate it to the old lady." After saying that, he took out a string of Dao beads from his waist. There were about one hundred and eight beads in this string. The top bead was red agate, and the remaining beads were obsidian or crystal jade. He rubbed the plate for many years. When you pull it, a shiny and moist patina has formed on the outside, which emits an oily golden light under the bright sun.
Everyone who came was a guest. These filial sons and grandsons of the Hu family, seeing that he was an old Taoist priest and an old acquaintance of the old lady, immediately began to flatter him: "Oh, old lady, the old god has come today. I have had these beads for many years." The inspiration came to me, this is a big treasure.”
"Taoist Master Jin, you are well. I thought I would never see you again in this life, but I didn't expect that God has treated me well. I have met you again after decades. Come and take a seat. "Taoist Master Jin took Yue Guanchao and the others to the newly vacated round table under the awning. The old lady said kindly: "Back then, I was still a young girl with shiny black hair. Now I have gray hair and no teeth. , you were older than me at that time. Judging from your broad cheeks and muscular body, your body is strong, and even your hair is only a little white. I think you have mastered Laojun's way." Taoist Master Jin lowered his head slightly and said: "It's just a little bit. Maintain your health and cherish your body, stay away from the world of mortals as a monk, and be alone whether you have attained enlightenment or not, how can it be compared to an old lady with children and grandchildren around her, and a family with eternal happiness."
"Hey, they are all incompetent descendants. When I grow old, I don't know how far this family will be ruined. You should be free and just meditate and recite sutras every day. I also heard a businessman from my clan say that when I go to Yueyang "There is a local Taoist Master Jin who is quite honest, philanthropic, and has great supernatural powers. It's just that he is old and I dare not recognize him." After saying this, she looked at Taoist Jin carefully, her eyes particularly curious.
"What the old lady is talking about is the poor Taoist. It's just a superficial name and not worth mentioning." Since the arrival of Taoist priest Jin, Mrs. Hu seems to have lost interest in Kunqu Opera and drama. Before, she was indeed happy when her children and grandchildren gathered together, but it was only because of the joy of the whole family, rather than true happiness.
The four great joys of life are to meet a close friend in a foreign land, to meet an old friend after a long absence. When the gold medal is named, during the night of flowers and candles in the wedding room, Taoist Master Jin and Mrs. Hu can be regarded as meeting old friends after a long absence. At old age, one day will not survive tomorrow, and even the person next to his pillow will be lost. It is the most gratifying and joyful thing to be able to meet old friends from my youth.
Mrs. Hu's happiness at this moment must of course appear extremely vivid, as if the mascot suddenly came to life again.
"Taoist Master Jin, when I was celebrating my birthday, I didn't even have your name on it. Today, I am happy to have so many descendants here with me, but I am also confused as to why you came. If there is any difficulty, I will risk my life to help. ." Taoist Master Jin nodded slightly: "There is indeed something, please ask Mrs. Hu for help." After speaking, she looked at Song Siyuan. She took out the photo of the mysterious book and asked the servant to hand it to her. The old lady wondered if it was perfunctory. He immediately asked someone to take out his glasses and put them on. He looked at the photo carefully and saw the details clearly. A trace of doubt flashed in his eyes: "Yes, yes, this is my Hu family's mysterious book burial certificate. How can you have it?" These things?" Of course, it was impossible to say that these things were obtained by stealing the treasure ship. They only made up the theory that they were bought from an antique shop. Curious about the runes on them, they brought them over to ask for her help.
