The eerie charm that pervaded the deserted village has disappeared without a trace.
Su Wu turned over and climbed up from the haystack,
Go out of the cowshed and check the bowl of rice under the archway.
The handful of incense sticks stuck in the grains of rice had been burnt out, and the ashes were nowhere to be found.
Anyway, the uncooked rice in the bowl was not stained by any ash.
He picked up the bowl of rice,
I looked at the rice grains and found that there was no change in appearance compared to last night.
But when Su Wu weighed it, he found that the bowl of rice was lighter.
Did that ghost eat the uncooked rice?
Is uncooked rice something similar to an offering from the Secret Realm?
How is this kind of uncooked rice that looks like ice particles in your hand grown?
Thoughts are running through my mind,
Su Wu put the bowl of uncooked rice under the archway again.
——The fat old man only asked him to check whether there was any change in the uncooked rice, but did not ask him to take the bowl of rice back.
Carrying a bowl of uncooked rice that was supposed to be given to Sneaky on the stage, Su Wu returned along the original route.
On the way back,
The stage is missing,
Mantou Mountain is missing,
The early morning sun shines on the dirt road,
There are many roads crisscrossing the roadside, and the wheat sown in early spring has already given birth to tender green and weak seedlings in this particularly cold weather.
…
It’s still the same bamboo forest.
The bamboo forest hides a newly built temple,
In the clearing in front of the forest,
The fat old man pulled up a stool,
Sitting on a bench,
The four legs of the bench sank deeply into the soft soil.
He lit the pipe pot,
‘Bata, Bata’ took a few puffs,
His dark, fat face was full of unconcealable fatigue.
The fire in the three-burner wood stove is still burning,
The iron pot on the stove is filled with smoking water for cleaning.
Obviously, these three iron pots worked together last night and entertained many 'passers-by'.
The fat old man took two puffs of cigarette,
Then he raised his head and took a look at the road to the east.
The road to the east is brightly illuminated by the sun, and you can see at a glance that there is not a single person at the end of the road.
Before seeing anyone, the fat old man frowned, with worry hidden in his eyes.
"It's already this hour,
According to common sense, it’s time to come back...
Hey..." He sighed lowly,
Put out the cigarette pot,
Get up and clean all three pots.
Then he turned to the bamboo forest,
Not long after,
He picked up a skinned dog and marinated the meat with salt until it turned dark red, and walked out of the bamboo forest.
At this moment,
There was a hunchbacked old man who already had two children aged seven or eight.
Walk here from the small village outside the bamboo forest.
He and his children stood respectfully in front of the open space. The corner of his eyes kept turning to several loads of rice and vegetables under the table in the open space, with a look of longing in his eyes.
The fat old man came back with the dog meat and saw the old man with two children.
He looked at the children brought over by the hunchbacked old man,
The hunchbacked old man looked past the fat old man,
He looked at the bamboo forest behind the fat old man.
I didn’t see the half-grown boy from yesterday walking out of the bamboo forest...
His heart is slightly calm,
He bowed his hands to the fat old man and said with a smile on his face: "Master Stove Lord..."
"Harmful!"
Hearing this title, the fat old man raised his eyebrows and changed his color on the spot: "The Chief is trying to shorten my life - Stove Lord, is that a title I can afford?!"
Take it back quickly,
Take it back quickly!"
"ah,
The old man took it back,
Hehe, take it back..." The hunchbacked old man wanted to say something nice and compliment the fat old man.
The Cult of Kitchen God has followers all over the country.
The momentum is not far behind that of Taoism, the Ming Dynasty’s manifest religion.
The hunchback leader also knew about this sect,
If you know the most outstanding stove master in their sect, you will be called the "Stove Lord".
So I wanted to use this title to please the fat old man,
Unexpectedly, the flattering photo was taken in the wrong place and hit the horse's leg.
The chief was not embarrassed, and still smiled. He pushed the two seven or eight-year-old boys in front of him towards the fat old man and said: "Master in charge, the boy you sent out last night,
You haven't come back yet, have you?
The old man felt that he would probably never come back.
So this morning I brought two more helpless children and brought them to your door.
At least I can survive for a few days and have enough to eat."
The fat old man heard the chief say that the kid last night would probably never come back.
There was an unhappy look on his face,
But he also knows,
It’s already this hour,
The boy has not been seen yet,
The chance of coming back is actually very small.
The young man last night was actually quite courageous.
When doing this kind of thing yourself, the most important thing is to be bold and careful.
Young people probably only have the word "bold".
It would be better if I were more careful...
The fat old man felt sorry in his heart,
An Ran again,
He glanced at the two boys sent by the mayor,
They are two children, a boy and a girl.
He drooped his eyelids and said: "Actually, the old man has always felt that if your village could send one or two older men to help me, this matter should have been done long ago.
maybe,
By now your Earth Temple has been repaired,
The earth god inside has all the internal organs,
I can protect you and stay in Wangcun a long time ago."
"Hehe, hehe..." Li Chang grinned,
But he didn't respond to the fat old man's suggestion.
The fat old man looked at the two children again,
Take another look at the head of Liuwang Village, whose back is getting more and more curved.
I suddenly felt a little irritable inside.
This is the first time he has "started the stove" since he became the "stove master".
But before I followed my master and traveled all over the country, I also experienced the situation of starting a stove several times.
Among the many villages and market towns that invite "stove masters" to come and start stoves, Liuwang Village can be considered a pretty good village. Those who can contribute money will contribute, and those who can contribute will contribute.
This village has done very well.
The fat old man asked them to send one or two strong men to deliver rice.
It's really making things difficult for them.
after all,
Every mature man is the pillar of the family. Once the pillar collapses, the family will also collapse.
But these children who grew up eating hundreds of meals,
One more person means more mouths to open,
Without them, what does it matter to the village?
this is the truth.
"Master in charge of the stove,
I heard a lot of noise from your side last night,
But the five elements that immobilize the spirit?" The leader asked the fat old man cautiously.
mentioning this,
The fat old man's expression softened a little,
He nodded and said, "The two passing spooks were a bit greedy, but I luckily seized the opportunity and kept them.
In a night or two,
You should be able to collect all the five elements and five internal organs."
"very nice,
It's great..." The smile on Li Chang's face became more sincere, "When we open the temple here, everyone will be able to live a stable life and be diligent in farming, and the harvest in the fields will be much better.
…”
"Sooner or later this day will come." The fat old man echoed a few words,
The director also knew that he still had many things to do and prepare for.
I don't dare to disturb him too much,
After chatting for a few words, they left.
The fat old man looked at the two boys who were sent over by the mayor, sighed, and put the dog meat in his hand on the chopping board.
took a sharp knife,
While preparing to remove a dog leg,
At the same time, he said to the two children: "No need to be restrained, can you each find a place to sit?"
Have you had breakfast?"
"No...no..." The boy looked at the dog meat on the pallet, swallowed, and answered cautiously.
The virgin opened her mouth,
No words were spoken.
"And you,
Have you had breakfast?" the fat old man asked the girl.
The woman shook her head and remained silent.
The fat old man put down the sharp knife and frowned slightly.
The little boy on the side was very clever. When he saw this, he quickly said: "Grandpa Zhangzao, she has been mute since she was a child and cannot speak."
"Why!
Pitiful……"
The fat old man looked at the little girl with lively eyes and occasional wisdom, but couldn't speak, and his heart became heavier and heavier.
He shook his head,
Cut off a hind leg,
He said to the two children: "Since you haven't had breakfast, I'll stew dog legs."
The rice is soaked in dog meat soup and eaten with the dog leg meat.
how?"
"Okay, okay!" The little boy nodded hurriedly.
The little girl's eyes were also slightly bright, and she nodded vigorously.
"I can always give you a few good meals here." There was no smile on the fat old man's face. He put the dog's legs on the chopping board and carried most of the remaining dogs to hang in the bamboo forest.
However,
He just turned around,
Subconsciously I glanced towards the east road,
Suddenly, I saw a figure with a food basket collapsed, holding a lantern that had been extinguished long ago, and striding towards him!
"This boar!"
Seeing the skinny young man running towards me in a hurry,
The fat old man was stunned for a moment.
Then he cursed with a dark face,
Turn back to the chopping board,
Cut off another dog leg,
But he couldn't help but laugh.
"master,
I'm back!"
'Young man' Su Wu walked into the open space, put down the food basket, glanced at the two boys who were sitting on the bench, carefully looking at him, then looked back and greeted the fat old man who had his back turned to him
road.
"Why come back?
I thought you died outside!" The fat old man raised his head and glanced at him, his face suddenly turned darker, "You are really too courageous, kid?
Where did you take a shower?
Did you wash it in the river?
Fortunately, you were lucky and didn't encounter any river floats.
If you encounter a river drifter, don’t even think about your dog’s life!”
The fat old man could tell at just one glance,
Su Wu’s face is much fairer,
The skin leaking from the holes in the clothes is also fair and pure.
It was natural to understand that the other party must have found a place to take a shower on the way, and only rushed back at this moment!
Su Wu was scolded by the fat old man with his head covered and his face covered.
Not worried.
He smiled and said: "There were too many lice on my body, so I found a small ditch to wash myself off and didn't dare to go into the river?
master,
What is a river float?
Is it also a kind of trick?
When I went to Tanjia Village last night, I passed by Mantou Mountain - Mantou Mountain is full of houses, and people live in the houses. Fortunately, I remembered the master's instructions and reacted immediately,
Throwing rice and running at the same time,
Only then did he run out of Mantou Mountain.
I didn't encounter anything strange at the stage.
When we arrived at Tanjia Village..."
Su Wu told the truth about his experience,
Like this kind of sect inheritance,
Mostly because the disciples are illiterate,
Much knowledge and secrets can only be passed down by word of mouth.
If there is a break in the middle, those inheritances will be cut off.
Su Wu now told the fat old man about his experience, hoping to enrich the other person's knowledge and enable him to preserve this information and pass it on to future generations.
