The next day.
morning.
Standing under the eaves of the coffin shop, Jin An stretched out his palm to test whether the rain had stopped. Seeing that the rain had stopped, he put the cart rope around the goat's neck and prepared to deliver it to his door as scheduled last night.
The cart is covered with gray cloth.
It was the coffin that the old woman ordered for him last night.
It's also a shame for Silly Sheep. He was a good sheep. Since he followed Jin'an, he has been treated as a cow messenger and has completely lost the dignity of being a sheep.
After all, I have only heard of ox carts, horse-drawn carriages, donkey carts, and mule carts. Have you ever seen any family use a sheep cart?
There were only Jin An and the goat at the door of the coffin shop. The strange thing was that the old Taoist priest was not there. Jin An waited at the door of the coffin shop for a while, but could not wait for the old Taoist priest to come back, so he closed the door and went to deliver the goods first to avoid missing the delivery.
Door-to-door time...
The time agreed between Jin An and the buyer is to deliver it before noon.
Being late was never his style.
Just as a man and a sheep walked out of the street where the coffin shop was located, a Taoist priest's figure came running towards him outside Yongle Square. Passers-by avoided him and looked curiously at the Taoist priest who was running so eagerly early in the morning. Jin An took a closer look and was happy.
It was the old Taoist priest who finally came back.
He held his hands in front of his chest, holding several packages of steaming buns and fried dough sticks wrapped in lotus leaves, with two bamboo sticks, one long and one short, tied behind his back.
The long bamboo stick is about three or four feet long.
The short bamboo stick is about as high as a child's waist.
"Hot! Hot! Hot!"
The old Taoist priest ran out of breath and screamed. As soon as he got closer to Jin'an, he stuffed all the steaming steam in his arms into Jin'an's arms.
This is typical of treating Jin An as someone with thick skin who is not afraid of boiling water.
Jin An: "..."
"Little brother, you haven't eaten breakfast yet. Lao Tao has already bought breakfast for us. By the way, we spent eight cents to buy buns and fried dough sticks. Little brother, can we reimburse this money from the profit earned in the store? You also know Lao Dao
I can't hide money." The old Taoist priest said shamelessly.
Jin An: "..."
An old man and a young man walked on the road while eating. Jin An asked the old Taoist priest where he had been. The old Taoist priest hurriedly finished the buns and fried dough sticks in his hands, wiped his oily hands on the lotus leaves, and then took off the bamboo stick on his back:
"Didn't the donor last night say that he would order a dog-beating stick for the owner of the coffin? I went to the Earth Temple outside the city early in the morning and asked the Beggar Gang disciples who stayed there to exchange a few steamed buns for the dog-beating stick in their hands.
Great."
Once the old Taoist opened his mouth, he couldn't stop. The more he talked, the more excited he said: "Little brother, don't underestimate this dog-beating stick. I specifically asked the old Taoist, this dog-beating stick has killed chasing and biting people."
A mad dog is a dog-fighting stick that has seen the blood of dogs to ward off evil spirits."
Dog beating sticks have seen dog blood, and dog meat naturally entered the five internal organs temples of those Beggar Clan disciples.
The old Taoist priest held the dog-beating stick and looked at Jin An pitifully: "Little brother, can the dog-beating stick be reimbursed from the profits of the store? You don't have to pay the old Taoist for the errand fees, hard work fees, etc. I will exchange the buns for the dog-beating.
The stick also cost eight cents."
Jin An didn't know whether to laugh or cry and said, OK, I'll record it all in the store's account book and reimburse it to you, the old man.
This is called settling accounts between brothers. The old Taoist priest has seen sophistication and sophistication in people, which is far beyond what ordinary people can imagine. Everything he does is based on seeing through human nature. In the year they spent together, he taught Jinan a lot
The principle of life is to be tactful when you should be tactful, shrewd when you should be shrewd, and calculate clearly when you should be clear.
If you smooth out the relationships between people, you will be able to see through human nature. This is why the old Taoist priest can still survive to this day while traveling around the world.
Then Jin An continued to laugh and cry and said: "Old Taoist, you have forgotten what kind of shop we open. We are a coffin shop and we also sell good fortune and longevity. In fact, for the dog-beating sticks, I have already asked a paper maker to make two of them for me.
, it is placed in the coffin on the cart."
There is an account book in the coffin shop, which records the purchase channel and purchase price. Jin An took the order last night and asked the paper maker to tie two dog beating sticks for him this morning.
The old Taoist priest slapped his forehead, embarrassed and said he was too busy.
Jin An said with a smile: "It's okay. I've seen that the bloody dog-beating stick is more spiritual. After all, this is also the first business of our coffin shop. We must do it perfectly and seek good luck."
The old Taoist priest extended his thumb and praised Jin An: "As expected, we are indeed little brothers. We have thought about it again. Since we have to do something, we must do our best. We can't live in a daze for the rest of our lives."
…
…
The address for their door-to-door delivery was not in Yonglefang, but in the city next door to a family named Tian.
When I pulled the coffin to the location, I found that the house of this family was made of blue bricks, had a tile roof, and had a large yard. It seemed that the family was somewhat wealthy.
This family is having a funeral today.
White silk cloth and white lanterns with the word "Die" were hung on the door and walls. Some people wearing linen clothes came in and out, and there were a few mourning sounds in the yard.
"Two Taoist priests, are you okay?" A few people wearing sackcloth and standing at the entrance of the courtyard came over when they saw a cart pulling a cart suddenly stopping at the entrance, blocking the way in and out of the courtyard.
These people should be relatives of the deceased and came to help.
Seeing that the two of them were wearing Taoist robes, their manner of speaking was quite polite.
Jin An: "We are from Wu Zang Taoist Temple. Last night someone ordered two coffins, one large and one small, for us to deliver here. Is this Tian Mangui's home?"
"This is indeed Tian Mangui's home, and Tian Mangui is my uncle, but we have already ordered coffins from other coffin shops. I have never heard my father and several uncles mention that we ordered coffins from Taoist temples." One of the people who answered looked like a cow.
As a strong young man, he and several of his peers around him looked at Jin An and the old Taoist priest suspiciously, as if they were wondering whether they were liars.
"Two Taoist priests, wait a minute, I'll go in and find someone to ask..."
Although the young man who spoke had some doubts about the identity of Jin An and the old Taoist priest, he did not dare to neglect the Taoist priest and turned around and walked into the yard to find someone to confirm.
Jin An nodded: "Okay, I'm done."
Not long after the young man entered the courtyard, several middle-aged men suddenly shouted loudly from the mourning hall in the courtyard: "Nonsense!"
"How could you find a Taoist temple to order the coffin?"
“I’ve never heard of the Five Zang Taoist Temple!”
As soon as I finished speaking, I saw a group of people coming out. There were middle-aged men and old men and women. The facial features of these people were somewhat similar. They should be relatives of the same family.
"I am Tian Mangui. The two Taoist priests are looking for me? We did not go to the Taoist temple to order the coffin. Did the two Taoist priests find the wrong person? Is there anyone with the same name as me in Jiangzhou Prefecture?" The speaker was
A big man with a strong body.
Jin An didn't say anything. At this time, it was the old Taoist priest who dealt with people, because only the old Taoist priests who are older and have the spirit of immortality are more suitable for this kind of scene once they become serious. It is easier to gain people's trust. The old Taoist priest twisted his beard.
He said: "This donor, who is Zhang Ai'e to you?"
Tian Mangui frowned: "It's my mother."
The old Taoist priest nodded: "That's right. Ling Ci personally ordered the coffins for us last night. He ordered two coffins, one large and one small, and asked us to deliver them today."
"If Tian Mangui has the same name, it's impossible that Lingci also has the same name, right? And the delivery address is written here, and we have written evidence to prove it."
Unexpectedly, as soon as the old Taoist priest said this, Tian Mangui and his relatives all changed their expressions and collectively exclaimed: "This is absolutely impossible!"
"Where did you come from, wild Taoist priests? You tricked people into coming here. We have been born in Jiangzhou Prefecture for generations and have never heard of the Five Zang Taoist Temple!"
"If you are still entangled in the situation and still refuse to leave by forcefully buying and selling the coffin, we will immediately report you to the authorities and arrest you!"
Everyone denounced Jin An and the others as liars. Everyone looked angry and regarded Jin An and the old Taoist priests as fake Taoist priests who bought and sold by force.
Even Tian Mangui suppressed his anger and said in a cold voice: "These days are the first seven days for my mother and my youngest son. I don't want to argue with others and disturb the rest of my mother and youngest son. Please leave without sending me away!"
It turns out that the person lying in the mourning hall is Zhang Ai'e, the old woman who came to the coffin to lay out the red coffin last night! She ordered a red coffin for herself and had it delivered to her door today!
To normal people, this is really ridiculous, because it is so unbelievable. It is not only ridiculous but also scary for people to order their own coffins after death. No wonder these family members cannot accept it. This is blasphemy to the deceased.
However, Jin An and the old Taoist priest did not find it absurd. Jin An turned around and looked at the mourning hall in the yard. There were two beds made of long wooden stools, and two corpses, one large and one small, were lying on the bed boards.
, were all covered with white cloth at this time.
Incense candles were lit in front of the bed.
Paper money and yellow paper were burning in the copper basin.
There are two mourning portraits hanging on the wall, one of which depicts the old woman from last night. The old woman was amiable and had a motherly smile.
The old Taoist priest also noticed the portrait on the mourning hall. He frowned and quickly figured out the matter: "Donor Tian, ​​can I ask a question, what color coffin did you order for Ling Ci?"
To be continued...