"Herbal medicine, Xiaoliang, these are herbal medicines. Where did you get them? Did you not go home last night to pick these herbs for me? But how do you know these medicines?" I said to my brother with a smile. , "Brother, you don't need to worry about these. In short, these are very magical herbs. If you take these herbs, you will not only cure your waist injury, but also become more powerful than before. I was hiding from the rain yesterday afternoon In the process, I met an enlightened master, and I got my own herbal medicine by chance. He also taught me the exercises to strengthen my body. I will tell you these things slowly when the opportunity comes. Don’t tell mom and dad yet.”
Just as my brother and I were muttering and biting our ears, my mother walked into the kitchen holding firewood.
"What are you two brothers talking about? Xiao Liang, if you don't go and wash it quickly, look at what your shoes are like. Go and change them quickly. Then lie down on the kang for a while and have a rest. Mom will make noodles for you. .”
Then my mother lit a fire in front of the stove and got busy cooking. I quickly came to the yard, kicked off my muddy cloth shoes, and put on the Jiefang rubber shoes I wore when I went to school. Then he poured out a basin of water from the water tank, took off his shirt, and washed it beautifully again. After washing, I returned to the kitchen and helped my mother light the fire on the stove. My mother took out the few white flour at home and poured it into the basin to make noodles. It was also rare that she did not mix cornmeal into the white flour. This is me Never seen before. In the past, living conditions were not good, and every household was given a small amount of wheat by the team in the fall. They were reluctant to eat it, and even if they wanted to eat it, they would add more than half of cornmeal into it. The reason why I can eat pure white noodles today is because I didn't go home all night and my mother felt sorry for me.
While cooking, my mother asked me casually.
"Xiao Liang, it rained so heavily last night. Where did you spend the whole night? And what was that you were carrying in your hand just now? There were so many people on the way back, and my mother didn't ask you. There are no outsiders now. , just say it!"
I really wanted to tell my mother the truth and what happened, but when I said it, I remembered what Hu Haishan told me, so I frowned and tried to cover it up:
"Mom, I just dug a bunch of blue hogweed when I went out yesterday afternoon. The weather changed and it started raining heavily. I packed up and ran home quickly, but the sunspot disappeared. I don't know where he went. I was worried. I looked for it in the ditch. But the rain was too heavy, so I walked along the ditch and reached a place I had never been before. At that time, there was a flood. I even fell and fell into a ditch. I couldn't climb out of the puddle. Just when I was calling out in fear, an old Taoist priest heard my cry for help and rescued me from the puddle. Then I followed him to a cave. That cave It was very big, and there was food and water inside. Later, the old Taoist told me that he was from Qingfengguan, and he usually collected herbs in the mountains. If it rained heavily, he would take shelter in the big cave. The rain stopped, so the cave usually had food and water. I washed my clothes and ate some food in the cave. Later, it stopped raining, but it was already dark. Originally, I wanted to go home. But it was impossible to walk in the ravine where there was a flood. Later, the old Taoist priest advised me to stay in the cave for one night and go home the next day. I had no choice but to stay in the cave with the old Taoist priest for one night. . Later we also lit a fire in the cave, and I dried my soaked clothes. The old Taoist priest was very kind, looked kind-hearted, and a Taoist master with an immortal style. He said that he was Qingfengguan has been here for thirty years, and people call him Taoist Wuxin. (I heard adults in the village say that there was indeed such a person in Qingfengguan before, but he later traveled around the world and no one saw him again.) Later, Priest Wu Xin also asked me, what is my name, which village do I come from, and why did it rain so heavily in the big ravine? I told Priest Wu Xin, my name is Li Xiaoliang, I am from Lijiazhuang, I am sixteen years old this year , I came out to dig hogweed for the pigs at home. I came to the big ravine because I was looking for the lost big black dog. Later, Master Wuxin asked me who else in the family was there, and why did I have to go out to dig hogweed? I told Taoist Wu Xin that I have a father, a mother, and an older brother at home. I also told him that when my brother was delivering fertilizer to the team this spring, the horse was frightened and fell under its belly and broke his waist. I was injured, and I am still in bed at home recuperating from my injury. For this, I was fined a year's work points by the production team. Our family is really unlucky this year. I am not in good health, and I usually don't have to go out to dig pigweed. This is also because There was something going on at home this year, and I had no choice but to go home after school every day to do some work and share some of the burden. Master Wuxin listened to me talk about the situation at home and told me that it was my fate to meet him. He prepared some herbs for my brother and taught me a way to strengthen my body. Then I rested in the cave for the whole night. It was not until the sky got slightly brighter this morning that Master Wuxin sent me out of the big ravine. That’s how I came back.”
My mother was surprised and said to me after hearing what I said to him!
"Ah, Xiaoliang, you had such a wonderful experience one night. Our ancestors' good deeds allowed you to meet a great benefactor like Taoist Wu Xin. Not only did he save you, but he also gave you some medicinal herbs and also saved your brother. Two days later God sent your father to find this great benefactor, and we must thank him in person."
I felt funny in my heart (I had never seen Taoist Wuxin before, let alone what he looked like, I just made it up to cope with it.) But I couldn’t say it clearly, so I had to continue talking.
"Mom, an expert is something you can only meet but not seek. Moreover, Master Wuxin told me not to look for him. I won't be able to find him even if I look for him. If we are destined, we will meet again."
