Li Gui walked outside the door and smelled a sweet smell, spreading through the crack in the door.
I looked at other houses, both far and near, and there was a similar smell coming from them.
This smell is soft, glutinous and sweet. It is a mixture of various grains and beans stewed until soft. You can tell by kissing the taste how sweet it is in your mouth.
"Laba porridge, it turns out it's Laba Festival already."
After the Laba Festival, it is the New Year, and as the New Year is approaching, every household collects various grains and beans and cooks a pot of Laba porridge.
"At the end of the year, I can finally take a break."
Li Gui opened the door and went home, only to see his family waiting for him to come back for dinner.
My mother and several younger sisters were doing needlework around them. There were thick red letters placed on the corner of the kang, and the black letters on it could be vaguely seen.
"Come and have some hot porridge to warm yourself up."
It was a cold day during the Laba Festival, so my father invited Li Gui to come over and have some porridge. The other brothers and sisters stood nearby, obviously waiting for him.
Because after Li Guifu's death, Yue Yue's assessment was excellent, and his family was rated as a superior household, so the family respected her and him very much.
In particular, the monk official said personally that Li Gui would have a bright future as a monk official in the future.
"I'm full. Let's go to bed first."
Li Gui noticed the restraint of his family, drank a few mouthfuls of Laba porridge, stood up and left.
He noticed that only the porridge in his bowl had sugar and red dates added to it. All the porridge that his parents and brothers drank was the original multi-grain porridge. At night, there were little orange fires flickering outside the window, which was the burning fire in the fields.
Grass dragon.
After the Laba Festival, the work in the fields gradually decreased, and every household was preparing for the New Year.
During the Chinese New Year, Spring Festival couplets and blessing characters must be pasted. The house must be tidy, and even the shabby utensils must be wiped clean. This year, other brothers and sisters have no new clothes, only Li Guiyou, but he does not.
Happy.
From a young age, Li Gui became suspicious after he became wise.
Why in this world, monks who practice Buddhism and recite sutras are so high-ranking, but ordinary people like theirs have to be supported by the whole family, and all the income earned throughout the year is dedicated to the temple, so that the monks and officials can be fat.
When his intelligence first appeared, he was always at the top in every assessment, surpassing his peers in the village, and the gap became more apparent.
The family benefited from his superior assessment. Although life was still very difficult, it was already much better than other families in the village.
There is still no meat on the table, because the monks and officials said that eating meat will lead to hell, and being vegetarian can accumulate merit.
Most of the benefits still fall on Li Gui, such as adding sugar and red dates to Laba porridge for the first time.
Born to the same mother, because his Buddhist connections are different from those of ordinary people, his brothers and sisters are in awe in front of him. Even my husband and mother are polite and treat him like a monk or an official.
"Spring, summer, autumn and winter, the four seasons of the year, end here."
"The first month, February, March..., and December are a cycle."
"There are still twenty-four solar terms."
Li Gui thought silently in his heart that this was the basis of his growth. Every household was born and raised by farming, working according to the seasonal calendar, and all agricultural work was carried out according to the solar terms.
However, there is no such thing in Buddhist scriptures. There is only suffering in this life and happiness in the next life.
There is also a distant Buddhist country with twenty-four heavens where everyone can be free from hunger, cold, illness, and bathe in the protection of Buddha's light.
Everything is so beautiful, just like what the monk has repeated countless times, even if it is false, it has come true.
"I do not believe."
Li Gui cooed a few times and fell asleep. Sleeping every day was a rare relaxation for him.
Only in his sleep could he avoid those eyes that penetrated all holes, eyes that others could not detect.
"Master, Master, the Chinese New Year is coming soon, we can meet again."
There is a master in his dream, who is Li Gui's biggest secret. He meets him once a year, always near the New Year's Eve.
This secret was only known to her, and she had hidden it for more than ten years.
Li Gui knew in his heart that if the monks and officials of Senguan knew about the existence of his master, it would definitely cause a big disaster and affect the whole family and the village.
He closed his eyes and fell asleep. After a while, Li Gui appeared in a space, and the master slowly turned around and walked over.
"coming."
"Well, today is the Laba Festival, and every household is cooking porridge. Also, my family has prepared red letters with the word "Fu" and can put them up before the year."
Li Gui talked for a while, then remembered that Li Ximan asked him to read his storybook, and spoke out.
"Master, something happened today..."
After a moment, the master nodded, "You handled it well. Bald Dog has bad intentions and is testing you."
Li Gui felt panicked in his heart, and then sadness arose. Would even his best friend who had grown up want to scheme like this?
He was not only smart, but also precocious. He noticed that Li Ximan's behavior was wrong and did not show any signs of failure.
Of course it was because he was cautious by nature, but also to avoid causing trouble to the village, so he told the other party to destroy the script as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, Li Ximan was not innocent. He was sent by a monk to test him.
"Master, I am a young man from the countryside, and the monks and officials are so superior to me. Why do I do this?"
"You are too arrogant to belittle yourself."
The master sighed, "With your qualifications, you are definitely a seed player that Buddhism focuses on cultivating. It is not surprising that you will be subject to inspection."
"These bald dogs are becoming more and more unscrupulous in their actions."
When the master mentioned this, he sighed and said, "Do you know that if you say anything wrong just now, your whole family will not be able to drink Laba porridge." Li Gui broke out in a cold sweat.
"Master, I will be more careful in the future."
He knew that his master was a legendary extinct immortal cultivator, and so was he.
I heard from Master that unlike Buddhism, they all worship a supreme being called the Lord of the Nine Heavens.
This Lord of the Nine Heavens can compete with the Lord of Buddhism and the supreme Master of the Twenty-four Heavens.
Immortal cultivators did not disappear, but moved to Jiutian and developed rapidly.
One day, the immortal cultivators will return to this world under the leadership of the Lord of Nine Heavens.
And he, Li Gui, is the seed of a cultivator.
"Master, I have a question, why do we always meet during the Chinese New Year?"
We only meet once a year, which is too rare. Li Gui thinks this is his biggest regret.
"Only when the beginning of the year and the end of the year meet, can the power of the Lord of the Nine Heavens use the media to shield the all-pervasive surveillance of Buddhism." Master said, "The blessing characters posted in every house of yours are the source of the power of the Lord of the Nine Heavens."
"I see."
Li Gui seemed to understand. Why is a simple piece of red paper the source of power for the Lord of Nine Heavens?
But he didn't like Buddhism and chose the path of cultivating immortality. He will inevitably take a more difficult and dangerous path in the future.
I couldn't help but feel sad when I thought that my good friend Li Ximan had become a lackey of the monk officials.
"Today, I will teach you the exercises and secret techniques again. Remember, you can only practice them in your dreams."
The master said, "The void space in the dreamland is a space that cannot be reached by the power of the Lord of Buddhism, and it is also the territory of the Lord of Nine Heavens."