After wandering for most of the day, Xiao Chen was still empty-handed.
Seeing that the sun was rising and he could not find any way to get any meat, he had no choice but to return to the ruined temple.
Before reaching the door, a scent of aroma rushed out from the ruined temple.
"Could it be that the old man still has some hidden meat?" Thinking of this, Xiao Chen quickly walked into the ruined temple.
Something was cooking in the pot, just like the scene when the two came back yesterday. The old man was lying on the pile of straw, sleeping soundly.
Perhaps because he was sleeping soundly, the clothes covering his body were thrown aside at some point.
He picked up the clothes that had fallen to the ground and covered the old man. Xiao Chen walked to the broken pot, picked up the tree branch next to it, and started to stir it in the pot.
In the straw pile, the old man was still snoring. His closed eyes suddenly opened and he was observing Xiao Chen's every move.
Xiao Chen didn't know this, but he still kept turning the meat in the pot. He didn't know whether it was because he was hot or tired, but his thin face was covered with beads of sweat.
I don't know how long it took, but I guessed that the meat in the pot should be cooked, so I picked out a piece with a tree branch and stretched out my hand to grab it.
"Oh, why is it so hot?" Xiao Chen yelled because it was hot, and hurriedly retracted his hand. He put it to his mouth and blew a few times, then reached out to grab it again.
After repeating it several times, I finally took the piece of meat into my mouth.
After confirming that it was cooked, he raised his right hand and waved it fiercely at the flames under the pot.
The flame swayed slightly and continued to burn.
He waved his left hand more than ten times in a row, and the flame continued to burn brightly.
Xiao Chen seemed a little annoyed. He picked up the small earthen pot filled with water in the corner and poured it under the pot.
"Stop." The old man shouted and sat up. "It's so far away. How easy is it for me to carry that water back? You're just going to waste it on me."
Hearing the sound, Xiao Chen felt embarrassed. He picked up the earthen pot and put it back where it was.
"I didn't buy any meat today." Xiao Chen lowered his head and said softly.
"Didn't buy any meat? Where did the meat in the pot come from?" the old man asked with his eyes dim and his nose sniffing hard.
"I don't know. When I came back, the meat was already cooked in the pot."
"You really didn't buy it? Then where did this meat come from?" The old man stood up, pinched a piece of it skillfully in the pot, and quickly stuffed it into his mouth.
"Not bad, not bad, it's cooked."
"Didn't you really buy this meat?" Xiao Chen asked seriously. He didn't have enough ability to distinguish whether the old man's words were true or false.
Seeing Xiao Chen's serious expression, the old man reached out and hit him on the head again.
Pointing at the headless Clay Bodhisattva: "I didn't buy it, so you still expect it to give you a pot full of meat?"
Xiao Chen smiled awkwardly.
This clay Bodhisattva, which has been abandoned by others, only wears the cloak of saving all sentient beings, but has never done anything practical to save all sentient beings.
Although the old man would steal something and call it "buying", and in the eyes of those who he "bought" things away, the old man would definitely not have a good reputation, but he had provided himself with a lot of benefits.
It is a nutritious and delicious piece of meat.
"I walked around for a long time and saw those poor villagers. I couldn't 'buy' their things." Xiao Chen lowered his head, not daring to look into the old man's eyes.
"I told you to go farther away, but who told you to wander around? There are poor people around here. Only in the towns and counties further away are there rich people who can 'buy' things. No matter how hungry you are,
Don't touch the things belonging to the poor villagers." The old man scolded loudly.
Listening to the old man's scolding, Xiao Chen did not dare to raise his head.
"Okay, come and eat some meat." As he said that, the old man picked up two pieces of meat and sat on the stone pier at the entrance of the temple.
After Xiao Chen sat down on the other stone bed, the old man threw the meat over.
"Today, arranging for you to go out to 'buy' meat is actually a test for you." The old man took a bite of meat and said.
"Ah?" Xiao Chen asked hurriedly, "Then, have I passed the test?"
"I don't know, this test has made me confused?" the old man snorted.
"How could this happen? You've confused yourself during the test, so what's the point of the test?"
"Because, back then, my master tested me in this way."
"Your master also tests you by stealing things?" Xiao Chen asked.
"It's 'buying', not stealing."
"Okay, I remember it. Did you pass it then?" Xiao Chen was really curious.
"Of course you passed. If you don't pass, can you call me Master? You look stupid." The old man looked at Xiao Chen with disdain and continued to chew the meat.
"But, like you, I came back empty-handed." The old man added.
"It turns out that coming back empty-handed means you have passed the test."
"Master's words at that time were very profound. He said that if you bring something back by any means, what passes the test is your ability; if you don't bring something back, what passes the test is kindness."
"What does this mean? I don't understand it a bit." Xiao Chen said doubtfully.
There was a trace of embarrassment on the old man's face: "Master said that kind people without means cannot achieve great things. People with means are destined to become the overlord because they only care about themselves. And I am what Master calls the kind of person who is successful.
Not a big deal."
"Then am I also the kind of person who can't become a great person?" Xiao Chen asked.
"Of course, you didn't bring any meat back, how could you become so powerful?" As if he had gained some balance in his heart, the old man chuckled.
"You can achieve great things by any means necessary? If that's the case, it doesn't matter whether you can achieve great things or not." Xiao Chen raised his eyebrows.
In the village, I have eaten almost every meal.
Sometimes, seeing the family sharing a small pot of porridge, Xiao Chen would refuse their charity and go to the roadside to pick up vegetables.
If in order to pass the test, he would do whatever it takes to infringe on the interests of these villagers, I would rather not become such a great weapon.
"Here, let's have a drink?" The old man took out a wine bottle from his waist.
It has an oblate shape and a long neck, which seems to be made of animal skin and is shiny.
"Does it taste good?" Xiao Chen asked.
"You'll know after you take one sip, remember, drink big." As he said that, he threw the wine bottle over.
After catching it, Xiao Chen put his nose up.
A refreshing smell hits your nostrils.
Without being polite, Xiao Chen raised his head and took a big sip.
"Cough cough cough", Xiao Chen kept coughing.
A spicy taste filled the entire mouth. The thing that had been swallowed was like a red-hot iron rod being stabbed down the throat.
