After leaving Wang's house, Dao Chi did not rush out of the city, but went to Guanqian Street. Yesterday when he followed Wang Qinghong to Mr. Ji's house, he passed by here. This street is very prosperous, with shops on both sides of the road.
When the Taoists came over, most of the businesses had just opened their doors and hung up their guise, and there were not many customers on the street.[]
He remembered clearly that there were two bookstores here.
Xishan Temple has a lot of books, most of which are Buddhist, but the Confucian books are limited. The Taoist idiot came here specifically, just to buy a few volumes of Fourth Uncle's Annotations, as well as selected eight-part essays and other books.
His outfit was quite an eyesore. Although the clerk didn't stop him from flipping through the book, he still glanced at it from time to time, then walked to the cashier's room and muttered.
The Taoist idiot was focused on the books and did not hear what they were saying. Because there were probably few books before he came here, he already knew that. However, there are many versions of the Four Books and Five Classics, and he wanted to find a suitable one.
You have to look through it carefully. Otherwise, if you just look at everything, you might be led astray.
At this time, I heard someone say: "Little... little master..."
The Taoist idiot turned his head and saw a young boy in the bookstore. He was holding a book in his hand and handed it over and said: "This Buddhist scripture was printed by a layman in the city when the Buddha was born. If the young master is looking for a Buddhist scripture, he can just take it."
Go." At this point, I didn't forget to add: "No money..."
Seeing that there seemed to be respect in his expression, Dao Chi thought for a moment and said, "Is the little donor from Wangjiayao in the west of the city?"
After hearing this, the young boy nodded quickly and said, "The little man is from Wangjiayao. He went home for vacation ten days ago and listened to the young master chanting sutras at the door of the village chief's house."
No wonder the boy was so polite. The Taoist Chi remembered that the village chief once said that most of the children from Wangjiayao village who came to the city worked as servants for the Wang family or as waiters in the Wang family's shops, so he asked: "Is this the Wang family's shop? Who is the owner?"
house?"
When Dao Chi asked this, the young man puffed up his chest and looked a bit proud: "Ours is the largest bookstore in the city, and it is a property under the name of the Wang family clan."
Dao Chi accepted the gift from the boy, took out the books he had just read from the bookshelf, and asked the boy to check out.
Since the boy was in the bookstore, of course he knew how to read. When he saw that the titles of these books were the most commonly bought by scholars in the city, he couldn't help but be surprised.
However, despite being surprised, he still took the book and went to the accounting room to settle the bill.
"Chenghui one, two, seven, and three cents of silver." Following the sound of the abacus, the accounting clerk reported a number.
Dao Chi took out two broken pieces of silver from his waist and paid the bill. The boy looked around Dao Chi, hesitated and said: "If you don't mind, little master, I happen to have a piece of furoshiki here. It's from the front store."
I brought something here for you, little master, please take it with me first."
Dao Chi originally wanted to decline the little boy's kindness, but then he thought that he would come to the bookstore after reading these books, so he nodded and said: "In that case, I'll bother the little benefactor. I'll give it to you when I go down the mountain next time."
return.."
The boy waved his hand and said: "No trouble, no trouble... These books are very thick and weigh a lot together. It is easier to wrap them in a bag than to carry them in your hands. Xishan leaves the city.
It’s not a long journey.”
While he was talking, he did not stop working on his hands. He took out a blue cloth bag from under the counter, packed the books, and then handed it to Dao Chi.
Dao Chi took the package, thanked him again, and left the bookstore.
The accountant then raised his head and said, "Is this the young monk from Xishan Temple?"
The boy nodded and said, "It's him. Even though he is young, he recites sutras well and delivers them well. Everyone in our village who has heard them praises him."
The accountant touched his goatee and said, "It's strange that the monks started buying Confucian books. Could it be that there are scholars living in Xishan Temple..."
The third store from the east of the bookstore was a snack shop. Thinking that after going up the mountain, he might not go down again for ten and a half months, the Taoist idiot decided to buy two packs of candies for Hutou; there was also an old monk who loved to eat bingsu.
Victory.
The business of this shop is indeed booming, and there is a long queue to buy snacks.
Dao Chi was carrying his baggage and standing nearby, hesitating a little. Should he join the queue at the end or find another dim sum shop?
He was wearing a monk's robe that was not old, and the blue baggage on his back was still decorated with two patches. To others, he looked like a passing young monk looking pitifully at the snack shop and coveting the snacks inside.
Not far away, there were two Taoist priests, one large and one young. The older one was in his forties and looked a little rich; the younger one was about the same age as the Taoist priest, and looked at the Taoist priest with a bit of curiosity.
The Taoist idiot seemed to be aware of it and looked back, just in time to see these two Taoist priests.
He couldn't help but take a second look. This is Guanqian Street. The "Guan" refers to the Xuanmiao Temple, the largest Taoist temple in Anlu. It's not uncommon for Taoist priests to appear. What's strange is that there are several people standing around these two Taoist priests, looking at
It seemed irrelevant, but naturally the two Taoist priests surrounded him.
Before the younger one could speak, the middle-aged Taoist priest looked at the Taoist idiot with soft eyes and turned around to give a few instructions.
A man appeared behind him, entered the pastry shop, and in less than half a cup of tea, he brought out a bunch of pastry bags.
At this moment, Dao Chi had already decided not to queue up, but to try another dim sum shop.
Unexpectedly, after taking a few steps, he was stopped by someone. It was the middle-aged Taoist who stopped him.
The Taoist idiot raised his head and said in confusion: "I wonder what the real person is trying to do by stopping me?"
The middle-aged Taoist priest smiled without answering, took the snacks from the guard, and delivered them to the Taoist idiot: "We are destined to meet each other. I have nothing else to give you, so I will give you this bag of snacks. I hope you don't dislike it, little master.
.”
The Taoist idiot did not refuse, but solemnly thanked the middle-aged Taoist priest with a namaste.
Thank you for this kindness. Dao Chi still remains neither humble nor arrogant, and has a calm demeanor.
Because he knew that the two Taoist priests in front of him were not Xuanyang officials at all. If his guess was correct, these two were probably Prince Xing and the Crown Prince.
Under the reluctant gaze of the young Taoist priest, the Taoist idiot said goodbye to the middle-aged Taoist priest and turned to leave.
I have books and cakes, and all that is left is to find a carriage.
Although he looked a little poorer, because he had money, the horse and cart dealer did not make things difficult for him...
By the time the carriage arrived at Xishan, it was already afternoon.
Seeing the Taoist idiot coming back, Hutou was only happy, but the old monk couldn't help but frown.
The Taoist idiot did not exaggerate, nor did he speak calmly about Mrs. Wang Cui's bed this morning.
If other people had heard this, they might have reprimanded the Taoist idiot. After all, "filial piety" to the elders is what you should do. No matter how the old lady treats the Taoist idiot, there is no room for the Taoist idiot to speak.
"Master, I want to move out." Dao Chi's voice was very firm:.
The old monk frowned: "How old are you? How can you live alone?"
In fact, this time, the Taoist idiot also felt guilty.
When he was at the Wang family, he seemed to be very stubborn and didn't care about the cheap price of 12 rooms. But in fact, when he thought about it later, he realized that he had lied.
If he doesn’t spend Wang Qinghong’s money, he only spends Xishan Temple’s money. He really has nothing else to offer...