On the dry loess road, two figures, one old and one young, gradually became clearer.
On the side not far from them, a small sparrow held a piece of straw in its rather unusual mouth, standing on the top of a pole and swaying in the wind.
The short one walking in front was a little child. He was holding a pergola with his hands and squinting at the village. He wiped the sweat on his neck, turned around and whispered to the old man behind him:
"Master, the village in front looks quite big and has a tile-roofed house. Do you need to change your clothes?"
If Cheng Yu hadn't been on the left side of the boy, he would never have heard his question.
This child looks to be about seven or eight years old. His hair is tied up in a bun and let down at the back of his head.
The slightly tired eyebrows are quite delicate, and the dirty little face looks like a cute baby.
"Yes."
The old man at the back looked towards the direction of the village, then slowly opened his mouth and uttered only one word. I don't know if he always spoke like this, or he was a little weak from exhaustion.
The old man looks about sixty years old. He is thin and withered, with ravines all over his face. The color of the wind is reflected in the sun. His beard and hair are gray. He wears his hair in a high bun with half a thin bamboo pole tied into it. He is leaning on a
A dead branch can be used as a walking stick.
"Here!"
The boy understood immediately, quickly took off his patched shirt, and reached out to touch the bundle.
The old man tapped the child's head with the crutch in his hand, shook his head and said, "Young boy is stupid."
Seeing the child covering his head and looking up at him in bewilderment, the old man curled his lips slightly and said dissatisfied: "I'm thirsty, here's some water!"
"Oh..."
The child made a long sound, stuck out his tongue and rubbed the top of his head, and took off a water bag made of leather from behind. The old man took the Gudu and drank a few sips, moistened his chapped lips, handed the water bag back to the child and said: "The rest is
Yours."
The child raised his head and drank the water in the bag, smacked his mouth, wiped his chin and asked the old man: "Do you want to change clothes?"
Seeing the old man combing his messy bun again and nodding, the child hurriedly went to the bag again, took out two slightly new gray robes, gave the old man a slightly larger one to put on, and put on the smaller one himself.
.
Although it is slightly smaller, it is still too big for his body, and it is a bit funny to wear it dangling on his body.
Cheng Yu finally saw familiar patterns on their clothes. There were eight diagrams embroidered on the cuffs, and a big yin-yang fish on the back.
Two Taoist priests...
After putting on the cassock, the old Taoist seemed to be a different person. He first bent down and dusted himself off, then straightened up and took out a jade hairpin from his arms. He raised his hand and threw away the bamboo hairpin on his head, and rearranged his hair into a bun.
Then he threw away the withered cane in his hand, took out an old whisk from the baggage behind him, and put it on his arm with a flick of his wrist.
"Let's go."
After saying that, he walked forward with his head held high.
"Hey!"
The little old Taoist agreed, swinging his sleeves and followed closely.
Cheng Yu stared at the two people's backs and casually asked Heitan Tou:
"Jijijiji?"
"Chirp chirp chirp."
Cheng Yu nodded silently. Heitan Tou, a peasant who grew up in the village, didn't know what a Taoist priest was, so these two must not be practicing nearby, but wandering here by chance.
Cheng Yu looked at the backs of the two men and let out a low voice. He surpassed them in a few ups and downs, and landed on the big tree at the entrance of the village first, overlooking every move of the old and the young from a god's perspective.
After entering the village, his master and his apprentice walked around the village leisurely, as if they were taking a walk after eating and sightseeing.
There are very few strangers in this village, let alone two Taoist priests who came in.
The reaction of the farmers was just as Cheng Yu expected. They all put down their farm work and looked outside, then chased outside the yard, automatically forming a team with their neighbors, pointing and talking in low voices.
The little kids followed the master and the apprentice without any inhibitions. When they were halfway through the village, the tails behind the master and the apprentice were already quite spectacular.
The little Taoist boy looked back at the tails behind him from time to time. He seemed to be a little tempted by the teasing of his peers behind him, and he called out "Master" in a low voice.
The old Taoist did not look back, he just flicked the fly whisk, and the little Taoist boy stopped talking, flicked his sleeves a few times and followed behind the old Taoist.
The reaction of the bankers is like this. It can be imagined that the sparrows are more like seeing a Western scene, falling on the branches, or squatting on the roof. Any safe place is where they gather to discuss.
Only Cheng Yu flew alone in front of Lao Dao. Seeing Lao Dao walking all the way in the village, his face became increasingly gloomy.
Finally, the master and the apprentice stopped in front of the stele pavilion. The old Taoist walked into the pavilion and walked around the stele. He frowned and stared at the poem on the back of the stele. After reciting it silently several times, he murmured to himself.
Said: "It's actually a royal monument in front of the imperial court...".
"Woo~ woof woof woof!"
Next to the stele pavilion is the courtyard wall of the Zhuangtou family. For some reason, the big black dog in the courtyard ran into the front yard today and barked at the master and apprentice under the gate.
The little old Taoist was so frightened that he quickly hid behind him, causing the tails behind him to burst into laughter.
The big local dog seems to be used to running amok in the village. When he saw that the little old Taoist was afraid to dodge, he actually tried to charge forward.
But the old Taoist didn't move, he flicked the whisk in his hand to pull out a white flower, then pressed his wrist, and with a "swish" sound, the white flower actually rotated, like a big white lotus blooming in full bloom. His technique was skillful and his movements were fast.
It's so watchable that the laughter behind you stops instantly.
Even the big local dog was stunned and stood there with his head tilted and staring at the old man.
Behind the two masters and apprentices came the low voices of small groups of people talking.
"Go!"
Zhuangtou walked out of the courtyard, scolded the local dog, dropped his work, wiped his hands casually behind his back, looked up and was stunned when he saw many people standing at the door.
I saw two strangers in gray robes at the front, an old one and a young one. After looking carefully, I saw the yin and yang fish on the sleeves. I hurriedly took a few steps, kicked the dog on the crotch, walked out of the door, clasped my fists at the old Taoist and saluted: "
Taoist Master, thank you for your hard work."
The dealer should be around forty years old, and his impression on Cheng Yu was that he was literate, strong, and quick with his hands and feet. He was rude to the dealers and would often call them a bastard.
The old Taoist turned around and saw the village head bowing in salute, and quickly glanced at the villagers behind him. He held the fly whisk in his arms, held his left hand with his right hand in a yin and yang sign and saluted back: "The village master is merciful."
Zhuangtou was stunned and asked:
"How does the Taoist master know that I am the owner of the village? I think it was the villagers who guided you to this place?"
The old Taoist smiled slightly, shook his head and replied:
"No, Pindao has never talked to anyone in the village during his whole journey."
"Oh, Taoist Master, you are really good at knowing things. Please come in, please come in... Go! Go! Are you looking at your mother's ass? Go away, stay away from the Monument of the Holy Master, and go back to your homes!"
”
The next few sentences are to drive away the little tails behind the master and apprentice.
Cheng Yu jumped over the low gate tower and flew to the eaves of the main house in the front yard, overlooking the front yard of Zhuangtou like a monitor.
I saw the old Taoist walking slowly and squarely, with his head held high and his chest held high, his feet on the green brick floor in the courtyard, his eyes not squinting, and his face calm and composed.
The mother-in-law of Zhuangtou's family came out after hearing the sound and followed Zhuangtou. The couple led the master and apprentice into the main room in the front yard.
"Taoist Master, please sit down. Zhu'er, mother, go and offer water...tea to the two Taoist priests in person."
After Zhuangtou ordered his mother-in-law to go out, Cheng Yu heard a metal collision at the door of the side room. Zhuangtou's wife opened the locked wooden door of the side room with a set of keys and ducked in.
There are several large buckets of water locked in his water room to supply his family with food, drink, and toiletries.
The Zhuangtou family are decent people in the village, and they still need to cleanse themselves occasionally.
After a while, she came out with a small bucket of water, locked the wooden door first, and then lifted the water into the kitchen. When she saw Xiang Lian standing behind the window and peeking out, she scolded:
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and hide in the backyard of the girl's family. Keep your steps gentle so that the guests don't see you."
Xiang Lian agreed in a low voice and slipped along the wall to the backyard.
Cheng Yu couldn't see what was going on in the main room, nor could he hear the conversations inside, but at this time more and more sparrows gathered on the roof to watch the rare sparrows, chirping, and it was very lively.
He murmured a few times to the Heitan head next to him. Hei Tantou didn't ask why, and jumped straight up to the roof, blowing his hair and screaming a few times, while flapping his wings to drive away the idle birds.
The birds couldn't be offended one after another, so they had to fly elsewhere in small groups to continue chirping.
At this time, in the main house, the head of the village kept urging his wife, and finally ran into the kitchen to help add firewood and boil water. There were only two masters and apprentices left in the house.
"Master, I didn't expect that this village looks big, but the villagers are in such poverty. They are all in ragged clothes. They are no more frightened than you and me. Fortunately, the owner of the village looks like he can still live."
Cheng Yu heard the little Taoist boy muttering in a low voice, and then he heard the old Taoist sigh softly, and then there was no more sound.
"By the way, Master, how can you be sure that he is the owner of the village?"
The little Taoist boy asked again in a low voice.
"This is the only tile-roofed house in the village, and it is built near the imperial stele pavilion. This man came out of this brick-paved courtyard. He also knows some etiquette, and his conversational temperament is very different from those rough villagers..."<
/p>
"Oh, I have to teach you without words."
Then the room fell into silence again, until Zhuangtou came into the room again carrying two stoneware tea bowls and said:
"My village is poor and there is nothing to entertain. The Taoist priests should first drink a bowl of wild mountain tea."
"The owner of the village is busy."
"Thank you, uncle owner."
"Dare I ask what the chief is called?"
"The poor Taoist Huo Yazi."
The old Taoist paused after announcing his home, then he thought he was pointing at the little Taoist boy and said:
"This is a poor Taoist boy, non-verbal."
"Oh, you're polite."
"Return gift. Could you please tell me, owner of the village?"
"Hey, there is no hierarchy among villagers. My surname is Qian, this is Qingluo Village, and seven to eight out of ten households in the village are from my Qian clan."
"It turns out that he is the owner of the bank. I am disrespectful and disrespectful. My master and apprentice are people who travel down the mountain. They pass by the precious land and see the beautiful mountains and outstanding people here, so they rashly disturbed..."
"Pfft..."
Before the old Taoist finished speaking, the Taoist boy next to him burst into laughter and couldn't hold it back. Fortunately, the old Taoist ignored him.
The head of the bank didn't care at all, he smiled and asked: "May I ask where the Changxian Mountain is?"
"Qianxia Mountain."
After the old Taoist gave a brief answer, he did not allow Zhuangtou to ask further questions, and instead asked about the imperial monument outside the courtyard.
"The Taoist Master is asking about the Holy Monument. It was erected when Emperor Longtai of the previous dynasty came to Qingluo Mountain for a tour. It was originally built to guard the Imperial Monument in our Zhuangzi. I am going to the Great Patriarch to ascend the world.
Later, I gave this place to my ancestors."
The old Taoist twirled his beard and said:
"In this way, Emperor Longtai has been visiting this place for more than three hundred years, and he still protects the relics of the previous dynasty such as the Imperial Monument, which is respectable and respectable."
Qianzhuang bowed his head and returned the courtesy:
"No, no, it's because the previous Emperor Longtai treated my Qian family ancestors well when he was in power. Therefore, our ancestors once taught me that the descendants of my Qian family must repair and maintain the imperial stele pavilion properly. We, the descendants of the descendants, dare not go against our ancestors' instructions.
A legacy."
"The poor Taoist looks at the poems on the stele and seems to mention gods. It seems that Guibao is full of spiritual energy."
"Well, our village only has about a hundred people in total. When it comes to aura, everyone is counting on Qingluo Mountain behind the village. Speaking of Qingluo Mountain, it stretches for hundreds of miles, and its scenery and products are the best.
Our Zhuangzi section is rich in Qiwei.
People often say: Green radish has three treasures, green plums, fruit wine, and black-faced husbands running all over the place. Among them, fruit wine and black-faced husbands are the unique specialties of Zhuangzi. I think Emperor Longtai fell here drunk.
, that the Holy Monument was erected."
"Oh? The black-faced man... but he can point to wild hogs?"
"Yes, it's a wild boar. Every year before and after the winter solstice, our village goes up to the mountains to hunt wild boars."
After the old Taoist heard the words and praised the banker's greetings, the old Taoist suddenly coughed softly in the room, one long and two short.
"Cough...cough cough."
The little Taoist boy Feiyan hurriedly gave the old Taoist a pat on the back, and suddenly interrupted as if by accident: "Uncle owner, we were busy on the road and missed the time. I would like to use your fire to bake the Guokui pancakes that I brought with me. However, the pancakes are dry and difficult to swallow. Can you please
Please boil some more hot soup for us. Thank you, uncle owner."
"No words! Be careful what you say."
Huo Yazi's shout of silence followed.
"It doesn't matter, how difficult is it? Although it's past noon, how difficult is it to start cooking rice? I'll make arrangements right away."
"The owner of the farm is working hard, and it's all because of the poor discipline..."
Zhuangtou waved his hands and said it was okay, and was about to walk towards the kitchen, but was stopped again by Feiyan behind him:
"By the way, uncle, I was just rushing on my way, and my face was covered with dust. It was really indecent, so I bothered you to boil two big buckets of water for us so we could take a bath."
"Ah? This..."
Zhuangtou froze at the door of the house, seeming a little embarrassed.
