The entrance that the middle-aged driver led everyone to was neither the main entrance nor the back door of the ancestral hall, but the so-called employee entrance and exit. It was a very remote small iron door with a hidden lock. The lock was covered by an iron sheet and could not be opened from the outside. Everyone
As soon as I arrived, I saw an honest-looking uncle coming out. He took a look outside and quickly opened the door.
Everyone filed in, and soon the door was locked again. The middle-aged driver did not follow him in, but called outside the door: "Remember where you were waiting in two hours."
The honest old man inside who opened the door also followed suit: "Remember you have never seen me before. Just follow this path and you will find the lobby." After saying that, the old man ran away like a thief.
Zhang Heng was stunned. If this is okay? This is obviously fare evasion.
Perhaps seeing his expression, cousin Guo Chunyan explained: "This is the case in every scenic spot. Just like Pagoda Mountain in the east, if you buy a flower and bird ticket, you can watch the lantern show for free, but if you buy two tickets separately, it will cost twice as much.
The money is similar; the entrance fee for Qingcheng Mountain, a large scenic spot outside, is also about 60. If you are willing to stay and eat at a farmhouse on the mountain, the owner can take you on a small road up the mountain for free; it is also the same road as a car, and there is no ticket for the train.
Now, as long as you find a ticket seller, they can get you on the bus for as little as 20 yuan, or you can run to the ticket refund office at the back door and shout a few times, and you might be able to buy a cheaper ticket; the bus is out of tickets.
You sneak inside and wait at the check-in area. There will always be a time when a certain train is short of passengers. As soon as the conductor calls, you just go on it. Nothing is absolutely impossible in the society outside, and the rules are strict.
. Driven by favors and interests, but still alive.”
After speaking, Guo Chunyan stepped up and patted his shoulder, giving him an emotional look, as if to say: "Young man, you are still too young!"
This made Zhang Heng even more stunned. Fortunately, everyone was noisily rushing outside and in. They also heard that everyone said that Wuhou Temple is connected with Jinli Ancient Street, and Jinli does not require tickets. Wait for everyone
After visiting Wuhou Temple, you can go directly to the ancient street next door, but you cannot go here from the ancient street.
This is because of this. Tickets are required and tickets are not required, and at the same time, it can satisfy customers of all consumption levels. There is also a collection street outside, making this place full of tourists all year round.
In just a few steps, everyone arrived at a hall, which contained statues of Shu figures from the Three Kingdoms period. It was said to be an ancestral hall, but in fact it was equivalent to a temple.
What surprised Zhang Heng was that there were actually many tourists here. Of course, they couldn't all have come in by evading fares. That means these people all paid 60 yuan for admission. He had to sigh, there is money in the city.
There were so many people. Before paying the 60 yuan ticket, he would never have been able to come in and see Zhuge Liang.
"Brother, it's so beautiful here. It's bigger than the temple on the mountain in our old village." My sister shouted happily.
Zhang Heng nodded, took his sister and looked around, intending to buy some snacks for her. But for the time being, he only saw the one selling happy balloons. I guess my sister wouldn't like this.
Now that he is here, he simply plans to buy some incense to worship. Although he does not believe in superstition, it does not affect the process of completing the superstition. However, after asking, he learned that a large amount of incense is what the boss calls high incense.
It actually costs a hundred yuan, why don’t you grab it? There are old farmers in the village who make incense and sell it. The raw material used is a kind of dark red grass that is everywhere in the mountains and forests, and a small incense can be purchased in the village grocery store.
It only costs five cents to sell them. Children often buy some firecrackers to play with. How many times the difference is.
"Brother, this fragrance is so expensive." His sister pulled him aside and whispered. The two brothers looked at each other and smiled. It was true that they were not the same family.
Zhang Heng smiled and said: "Forget it, I won't burn the incense. Wait until you see the merit box in front of you and just throw some change into it. It will be a good deed. It will be better than wasting money on burning incense."
"That's right, these are not Bodhisattvas, so why are they burning incense?" my sister pouted and muttered.
Zhang Heng was filled with pain and love. He held his sister's hand and caught up with the squad leader and his group. They went up a few steps and entered a lobby. They were all similar statues. After seeing them, they no longer felt new.
However, the environment here is indeed quite good, antique, and everything is full of ancient style. Pictures such as pavilions, lakes, and railings that can only be seen on TV can be found here, and it makes him feel that it is worthwhile.
OK.
As for the calligraphy and painting, he couldn't appreciate it, but seeing that the class monitor was looking at it with great interest, he had to accompany him patiently, while his sister was led by her cousin to kneel on the futon.
"Isn't this just a lesson plan?" the squad leader asked, pointing to the ancient characters on the wall. Well, he didn't know these characters at all. He could only find some simple characters with traces of modern characters, but he couldn't understand them at all.
"Maybe." Zhang Heng replied honestly.
Fortunately, the squad leader knew his level of Chinese proficiency, so he smiled and said, "My cousin said that there is nothing interesting in the ancestral hall here, and there are few young people, so Jinli next door is more lively."
"Well, let's go to the front and kneel down." Zhang Heng pointed to the sculpture over there. Many people were kneeling down, but it was not Zhuge Liang, but the famous second brother Wusheng Guan Yunchang and third master Zhang Fei.
There were many people, but the incense was much inferior to the emperor Liu Bei. As for Zhuge Liang, who was holding a feather fan on one side, the incense was very strong, and even foreigners came to pay their respects.
"Okay, cousin, they are over there too." Xiao Yin shouted with her little face raised, not to mention how cute she is.
Temples in Buddhist villages usually place a merit box in front of the Bodhisattva statue. When you put in money, even just fifty cents, the bellkeeper will ring the bell for you, three times in total, in conjunction with your three kneelings, accompanied by
The sound of the bell is a complete kneeling ceremony.
But in this lobby, although there is a yellow bell with a wooden handle wrapped in red cloth hanging on it, no one rings the bell. It seems that ordinary people are not qualified. Zhang Heng did not see the merit incense.
Maybe this is not a private temple. The management inside has no profit and is not so active. Instead, they focus on evading fares to make extra money.
It's not that he thinks these monks and Taoists are too philistine, it's just that the situation in the village is like this, and it's easy to do things in the temple if you have money.
For example, my grandma usually saves money, but she is willing to spend money in temples and other places. She puts five or ten yuan into the merit box every time, but she is reluctant to spend one yuan on the car on the way back and forth. This is why most people in the village are superstitious.
The behavior of the elderly.
Perhaps it is precisely because so many elderly people have been deceived by superstition that superstition has gradually become a derogatory connotation. In fact, Zhang Heng feels that the process of superstition is worth learning, because it continues the old tradition and it would be a pity to throw it away, just like the primitive tribes.
Generally speaking, a sudden evolution will cause a huge loss to civilization.
"What are you thinking about? The space is free. Let's kneel down and worship. There are people behind us." Xiao Yin patted Zhang Heng's back. She found that she kind of liked this action. It felt very good when patting.
Zhang Heng straightened his back and took a step forward to kneel on the futon. There was gold under the man's knees, but he was kneeling to worship the ancient sages, and there was no psychological burden. The monitor also knelt down happily beside him. His sister and others were looking at other statues, or
He was waiting for the two of them to kneel down and bow before continuing to walk inside.
Zhang Heng put his hands together and planned to bow down. In fact, this is a Buddhist posture of kneeling, but it has become a unified movement of kneeling and has become common.
But before he could bow down, a hurried cry suddenly came from behind: "Brother, please wait a moment and let me ring the bell for you."
Zhang Heng was stunned and turned around to see who had such a big reputation. Just now so many people knelt down and no one rang the bell, why could they suddenly ring the bell again...
ps: The third update is here, continue to code the next chapter!