Chapter three hundred and eighty fifth serving tea
With the surprise from the last time, Brother Qiang and the elder agreed immediately, saying that they would secretly mobilize everyone to calculate the numbers. Hearing that He Qizhou was going to go down the mountain to stay in the carriage for the night, he suggested that they live in the Sanyuan Palace at the foot of the mountain.
The Taoist priests there are kind-hearted and will definitely accept them.
He Qizhou thought that he really had to stay for a few days, and it was not convenient to live in a carriage every day, so he decided to stay at the Sanyuan Palace at the foot of the mountain for a few days, and then he would be given enough money.
Brother Qiang was quite enthusiastic and said that he recognized the old Taoist in Guanzhong and insisted on accompanying them down the mountain. He Qizhou was not polite. He had someone to guide him and he was not afraid of getting lost in the mountain at night. Jiang Damin did not need He Qizhou to say anything this time and took the initiative to carry him down the mountain.
Brother Qiang was quite surprised when he saw this. Jiang Damin spoke quickly and said that the "master" on his back was injured. Because he cared about the people here and had already gone to the Niangzi Gate, he decided to come back to help them ask for money.
Brother Qiang was so excited that he almost knelt down. He Qizhou hurriedly explained that he was an official from the Ministry of Punishment and was mainly here to deal with corrupt officials secretly, so that Brother Qiang didn't have to be polite.
Going down the mountain was much smoother than going up. It didn't take long for the group to return to the foot of the mountain, get on the carriage and drive along the mountain path to the Quanzhen Taoist Temple Sanyuan Palace that Brother Qiang mentioned. Sanyuan Palace is actually in the valley behind the hill.
In the middle, the mountain road of less than three miles is relatively smooth. There are a few ancient horse-tethering posts on the edge of the dry mountain stream. The tops of the posts are carved with sitting lions. It is unknown which relics were left by which dynasty and which generation. How many people are there per tree?
The old elm tree that can embrace each other grows alone by the stream, and its old branches stretch into the wall of Sanyuan Palace.
Seeing the low and mottled palace walls in front of him and several dilapidated tile-roofed houses inside, He Qizhou thought that Brother Qiang had led him the wrong way. Perhaps when he heard a horse neighing, a teenage Taoist priest opened the palace fan that was leaking everywhere.
When he opened the door, he saw Brother Qiang walking in front and said happily: "Uncle, why are you here?"
Brother Qiang asked: "Why are you still up so late? Where is the old immortal?"
The little Taoist shook his wet hands and said: "Xiao Qi pulled up his pants again. When I was about to help him wash his pants, I heard the sound of a carriage. The master was reading a book, and the master——"
"It's so late, who are you?" An old Taoist priest who seemed to be in his sixties poked his head out from behind the young Taoist priest. He thought he had heard the noise and had already walked out.
"Chang Immortal, it's me, Aqiang."
"Ah Qiang, why are you here to send money and food again? Remember to be early next time. Hey, who are these people?" The old Taoist priest wore a torn Taoist robe that had been mended over and over again. His eyes were obviously not very good. He just discovered Brother Qiang.
There were several people standing behind him.
"They are the great good people and immortals I mentioned last time. Can you let them stay in your temple temporarily for a few days?" Brother Qiang asked.
"Please come quickly, please come quickly. The small temple is simple and simple. Please don't dislike the few donors." The old Taoist opened the door and welcomed everyone in.
He Qizhou followed Brother Qiang into the courtyard. Only the lights were on in the big house to the north. There was a well in the corner of the small courtyard, and clothes were soaked in the buckets beside the well. There were a row of wing rooms on both sides. In the two wing rooms at the east end, there were wooden
The cover of the window was slightly raised, and there were a few heads looking into the courtyard through the cracks in the window.
"Close the window! Aren't you afraid of the cold? Who can't sleep and come to me to endorse me!" the old Taoist priest shouted to the east chamber.
"Squeak, squeak!" A group of heads quickly shrank back, and the two wooden windows were closed one after another.
"Xiao Guan is poor. At night, he will light an oil lamp in the main hall. The donor will go into the hall to talk." The old Taoist priest took the lead through the small courtyard, turned back to the little Taoist priest who opened the door and said: "Xiao Wu, don't wash it yet, pour five
Bring in a glass of water."
"oh."
This is the smallest "main hall" that He Qizhou has ever seen. To the north of the hall are three standing statues of the Three Pure Ones. They are life-size. It can be seen that each standing statue is carved from a single piece of wood. Although the gold paint has faded and is old, the carving skills are outstanding.
Excellent, with lifelike face and fairy-like appearance.
When He Qizhou's eyes were resting on the statue, his eyes suddenly lit up. He saw the old Taoist priest holding the only bronze oil lamp on the case and approaching him. His old face with sparse beard and dry face also came closer.
come over……
"Taoist Priest, what are you doing?" He Qizhou was frightened by the old face that was also shining in front of him and took a step back.
"You, you are the chief disciple of the Immortal Master?" the old Taoist shouted excitedly.
"Yes, it's me." He Qizhou replied tremblingly.
The old Taoist hurriedly put down the oil lamp in his hand, clasped his fingers and clasped his palms, and bowed respectfully to He Qizhou: "Tianheng pays homage to the great uncle."
"Taoist master, you don't need to be polite, I'm just a lay disciple. Did you go to Zhongnan Mountain last time?" He Qizhou guessed.
"I'm gone, I'm gone. Look at the scar on your forehead. It was just to get a closer look at your appearance. It was scratched by a sharp object flying from nowhere." Zhang Dao said excitedly.
"You don't know martial arts?" He Qizhou knew that Shiping was full of sword energy and someone was indeed injured.
"No." The old Taoist shook his head in embarrassment, pointed to a few dilapidated futons on the ground and said: "Sit down quickly, have a drink of water, and the old Taoist will take you to the guest room in the backyard later."
"No wonder, the title of this book doesn't look like a martial arts manual to me." Jiang Damin casually picked up an "ancient book" stacked on top of the confession. On the cover, which was about to be torn apart, the title of the book vaguely read "A Hundred Flowers Struggle"
"Beautiful".
The old Taoist hurriedly grabbed the book "A Hundred Flowers in Bloom" that Jiang Damin was about to read, and said: "The old Taoist usually likes to plant flowers and grass, but it's just a casual book about planting seedlings. It's nothing interesting."
"Exploring the Brothel..." Jiang Damin squinted at the second book originally written under "A Hundred Flowers in Bloom".
The old Taoist had quick eyes and quick hands and snatched this book into his arms: "This is about house repair. Little brother, you can read the following book."
"Tao Te Ching? Taoist Master Tian Heng, I'd better learn to plant flowers and build a house. You can lend me a look tomorrow when you have nothing to do." Jiang Damin said with a smile.
"Stop talking about this, come on, drink a glass of water, drink a glass of water." Seeing the young Taoist priest come in with water, the old Taoist hurriedly stuffed the two books into the dark place under the case.
"Master, let me pour you a cup and put the tea leaves in it." The little Taoist priest was very smart. Seeing that he was an honored guest, he also knew that he had to use tea.
"Don't tell me, I'm really thirsty." Jiang Damin took a cup from the tray and drank it all in one gulp. The cup looked like a porcelain cup used to worship statues of gods. The rim of the cup was mostly chipped.
"Bah, bah, bah... how do you make tea?" Jiang Damin took a sip of tea and felt his mouth was full of tea powder. He turned around quickly and spit out the hard tea that stung his mouth.
The young Taoist priest looked at the old Taoist priest innocently and said, "It's just soaked in water from the kettle on the stove, and it's still warm."
Xu Mu looked at the broken black stems floating on the top of the tea cup and said to the little Taoist priest: "Pour the water first, then put the tea leaves?"
"Well, I put in all the remaining tea leaves." The little Taoist priest said with a blushing face.
"It's okay, thank you. Next time, remember to put the tea leaves first, and then use hot water to brew. Warm water won't brew." Xu Mu blew open the tea leaves that he couldn't tell what they were, took a sip and said gently.
"Okay." The little Taoist priest said happily.
"Wait a minute, Xiao Wu, why does it smell like that?" The old Taoist priest took a cup of tea, took a sip, and found a strange smell.
"Maybe the tea has been left out for a long time. Don't blame the child." Xu Mu continued to help the little Taoist priest.
"Have you washed your hands? Did you grab the tea leaves with your hands?" The old Taoist priest guessed where the smell came from.
"The pants haven't been washed yet... Didn't you ask me to make tea first?" the little Taoist priest said aggrievedly.
"How many times have I told you, help Xiaoqi urinate before going to bed..." The old Taoist priest was a little angry.
"Forget it, don't blame him, he is still young after all..." Although Xu Mu felt a little uncomfortable, he still wanted to help the poor little Taoist priest.
"I tried it, but this time my pants were too big. As soon as I soaked my pants in the bucket, someone came outside..."
"Ugh..." He Qizhou put down the tea cup in his hand and made a vomiting gesture towards Xu Mu. Then he was chased by Xu Mu, forcing him to drink all the tea in his hand...
Brother Qiang didn't stay for a long time and immediately returned to the camp on the mountain. Since there was only one green lantern, the four of them had nothing to do so they chatted with the old Taoist for a while.
The old Taoist said that Sanyuan Palace is an ancient temple. Because it is located in a remote location and is not very popular, it mainly relies on nearby villagers for support. Some families who have no food and clothing will also foster their children. Over the years, they have taken in more and more, and the older ones have grown up.
They all left one after another, and now there are seven people left in Xiaoguan.
The guy who opened the door and made tea, Xiao Wu, was Brother Qiang's cousin. He was originally a Taoist priest in the Taoist temple in the county. Because he had never learned martial arts and was an honest man, he couldn't compete with several junior disciples, so he was sent here to be the temple master.
With a clear Taoist heart, he stayed there for more than twenty years. Due to poverty in the mountains, although he was only in his early fifties, he looked close to his sixties.
The year before last year, Master Yuanbao lived in this small temple for more than a month, which was the most worthy thing for the old Taoist to show off. At the beginning of last year, he was invited to Zhongnan Mountain to watch the ceremony, but no one was invited to the grand temple in the county, which made him stay with several people nearby.
He became very famous in Chu Tao Temple. It was just that he did not overestimate his ability and walked too close during the ceremony, so he was injured by a sharp weapon (he did not know it was sword energy).
It took more than a month before someone was sent to send him back. Today I saw the great uncle visiting me again, and I was overjoyed beyond words.
It was approaching Haishi, and seeing that the night was getting dark, He Qizhou reminded Taoist Tianheng, who was having a deep conversation, that it was already late. The old Taoist understood, put the green lantern into a lantern, and led the four people into the backyard with the lantern.
“The backyard was originally a Buddhist Scripture Pavilion, but due to disrepair and leaks due to rain, the scriptures had long been moved to the grand temple in the county and provincial capitals.”
"Fortunately, I still have a few books on gardening and house repair that you can read." Jiang Damin said seriously.
"Ahem, cough." The old Taoist just pretended that he didn't understand, and added: "The backyard is very small, with a total of four huts, a woodshed, one to store some sundries, and two more for people to live in. But, just...
…”
He Qizhou followed the Taoist priest into the backyard from the back door of the main hall. It was indeed a very small courtyard with low walls on the east and west and four huts side by side on the north. However, it didn't look as unbearable as the old Taoist said. "Just what?" Seeing the old Taoist hesitate, He Qizhou asked