Volume 1: Winds Rising From the Mountains and Lakes Chapter 3: Taiping Town
Thirty miles south of Taiping Mountain, there is a market town called Taiping Town.
The town is not small, with hundreds of households. Two streets cross through Taiping Town, and the center of the town is Cross Street. Northeast of Cross Street is Qianqiufu Winery, a century-old shop, and the old wine Qianqiufu is famous far and wide.
Today, the granddaughter of the shopkeeper Wu is full-month old, and many people in the town came to celebrate. The street-side facades of Qianqiufu Winery are all covered with red silk, and people come and go in front of the door, and the whole Cross Street is filled with joy.
Qianqiufu Winery is a shop in front and a residence in the back. There are eight facades in front and three courtyards in the back. The large courtyard at the first entrance is filled with square tables, chairs and stools, and they are covered with red and colorful decorations just like the front of the gate. The waiters of the winery and the cooks of the Taiping Restaurant next door are busy preparing the banquet.
A short and fat middle-aged man stood in front of the wine shop. His face was ruddy, and he had a short beard on his lips. He was about 40 or 50 years old. He was wrapped in a brown brocade robe. As he walked, it seemed that all the fat on his body was shaking. This was the owner of the wine shop, Wu Degui, the shopkeeper.
Shopkeeper Wu stood in front of the wine shop, constantly cupping his hands, smiling, and welcoming the guests who came, but his smile was a little stiff.
Near noon, two Taoist priests, one old and one young, staggered on the street in the north of Tianping Town. The old Taoist priest in front held his head high, his hands behind his back, and three long beards under his chin fluttered in the wind. The young Taoist priest behind followed closely, carrying a long sword on his shoulder, his hands hanging down, and his wide sleeves swaying back and forth.
These two people were Taoist Qingyun and Xiaoyi.
Thirty miles was not far or near, and the master and apprentice walked slowly and leisurely for nearly two hours.
In the late spring, the sun was getting hot near noon. The master and his apprentice set out on their journey early in the morning, and had not eaten anything. The master was fine, still walking briskly and calmly, looking calm and unperturbed. But Xiaoyi was sweating profusely, and his stomach had been growling for a long time.
"Finally we're here!"
Xiaoyi followed closely, wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, and said to himself.
He had been to Taiping Town countless times, and Xiaoyi was indifferent to the street scenes on both sides, his mind was full of sweet fruits and big fish and meat.
The master ignored him. From childhood to now, Xiaoyi and the master had been walking long distances like this, passing through the streets and alleys. In this way, Xiaoyi was used to it, but because of his young age, he was never shy with the master. When he was thirsty or hungry, he would call out casually, and the master was not surprised, and he trained Xiaoyi's muscles intentionally or unintentionally.
The North Street was not long, and in a blink of an eye, the two arrived in front of Qianqiu Fu Wine Shop. When Shopkeeper Wu saw him, he hurriedly stepped forward and took two quick steps. His stiff smile relaxed. With a smile on his face, he bowed and said, "Oh! The Taoist priest is here. I am sorry for not welcoming you."
Taoist priest Qingyun also showed a reserved smile on his old face and bowed in return. "Shopkeeper Wu, you don't have to be polite. I promised that I would definitely come to drink this glass of wine."
"Thank you, Taoist priest! Come on, come in! Haha! The little Taoist priest is much taller. Come on! Come in too!" Shopkeeper Wu hurriedly stepped aside and nodded to Xiaoyi with a smile on his face, and extended his hand to invite him into the courtyard.
Xiaoyi smiled and clasped his fists to Shopkeeper Wu, "Great joy to the old shopkeeper!" Then he followed his master into the courtyard.
The twenty or thirty square tables in the courtyard were full of people, and people were greeting each other. The whole courtyard was very lively. Shopkeeper Wu led the master and apprentice to the guest seat on the left hand side of the main table, arranged for them to sit down, and then he was busy greeting the guests in front.
There was no one else at the table where Xiaoyi and his master sat. Tea cups and fruit snacks were already arranged on the table. Xiaoyi drank a cup of tea with his master, and then he couldn't wait to grab the fruit and cakes on the table and stuffed them into his mouth.
After a while, after a plate of fruit and two cups of tea, Xiaoyi felt that the hunger in his stomach was no longer growling, and his stomach felt much better. Only then did he take a look at his master who was sitting upright beside him, and then stared at him with a pair of black eyes with a smile, curiously looking at the courtyard.
The people sitting in the courtyard were all relatives, friends and neighbors of Shopkeeper Wu, who were drinking water and chatting and waiting for the arrival of the auspicious time.
Xiaoyi looked around and saw Shopkeeper Wu leading two people from the front. A woman in red, about seventeen or eighteen years old, tall, with willow eyebrows and phoenix eyes, very pretty, but there was a hint of worry between her eyebrows. Behind him was a young man, in his early twenties, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a resolute expression, a tall and mighty figure, and a narrow-sleeved and waisted dress. These two should be people with martial arts skills.
"Please come this way!"
Shopkeeper Wu led the two to the table of Xiaoyi and his apprentice, and bowed to Taoist Qingyun and Xiaoyi, saying: "Taoist, these two are Miss Yuan and Che Biaotou of Taiping Escort Agency in this town." He turned around and introduced the two young people: "This is Taoist Qingyun and Taoist Xiaoyi of Xuanyuan Temple."
Hearing the introduction of Shopkeeper Wu, the two young people hurriedly bowed and said in unison: "Yuan Fengming of Taiping Escort Agency, Che Hai greets the two Taoists."
Qingyunzi sat still, stroked his beard, looked at Miss Yuan, nodded, and said: "Taiping Escort Agency... Um! Is she Yuan Wanzhang's daughter? She has grown up so big, okay, sit down!"
Yuan Fengming frowned and glanced at Che Hai next to him, and the two exchanged glances. There are few people in Taiping Town who don't know the name of Taoist Qingyun of Xuanyuan Temple, and it is not surprising that the other party has seen him when he was young and knows the chief escort of Taiping Escort Agency.
Seeing his master taking advantage of his age, Xiao Yi quickly stood up and said, "Xuanyuan Temple Lin Yi greets brother and sister. Brother and sister, please take a seat."
Only then did Yuan Fengming notice the little Taoist priest next to Taoist Priest Qingyun. Seeing that he was just a child, he acted like a serious adult. She couldn't help but smile, nodded and said, "Thank you, Priest Qingyun." Then she sat down with Taoist Priest Qingyun. On the side, Che Hai sat carelessly next to Xiao Yi and slapped him with his palm.
"Thank you little brother!"
"Ouch, big brother's hands are so heavy!" Xiao Yi felt as if his shoulder had been hit by an iron scale, and he couldn't help but tilt his shoulders and scream.
"Senior brother! Don't hold your hands lightly or heavy." Yuan Fengming next to him warned.
"Haha! Haha! I'm sorry little brother, I didn't mean it."
Che Hai grinned innocently, raised his hand and dropped it to Xiao Yi's shoulder. Suddenly he thought of something and pulled back again.
Looking at Che Hai's honest and straightforward appearance, Xiao Yi felt close to him and joked: "Brother Che must be very good at martial arts! Your hands are like discus, no one dares to fight with you. Hehe!"
Unexpectedly, Che Haigang was about to pat his chest and boast, he raised his head and glanced at his junior sister Yuan Fengming, his expression dimmed, his voice suddenly became much lower, and he said softly: "Looking at the appearance of my little brother, he should also know martial arts. With my little effort, It’s far from the best in the world!”
When Yuan Fengming saw that his senior brother had changed from his usual careless habits, he might have had something on his mind and couldn't help but sigh.
Seeing that the master was silent, Yuan Fengming and Che Hai lowered their heads and sighed. They were suspicious but could not ask questions. They also changed their urination into a stuffy gourd, and their eyes wandered around.
Also wearing a brown robe, he is in his twenties, not tall, and looks smart and capable. The person who is greeting the guests is shopkeeper Wu's son, Wu Heng.
The one who took a few waiters to arrange the dishes should be Old Mei, the accountant of Taiping Restaurant.
Dressed in white, holding a folding fan and shaking his head, it was Mei Zhongwen, the young owner of Taiping Restaurant.
At the table with Mr. Mei were several shopkeepers from money shops and tea shops in Taiping Town.
Several people were talking around Mr. Mei. There was a lot of noise in the courtyard. I don't know what they were talking about. From time to time, they turned and secretly looked at Xiao Yi's table. Xiao Yi realized that they were not looking at him and his master, but instead focused on Yuan Fengming and Che Hai. The two of them just sat there in silence, paying no attention to what was going on around them.
The auspicious time has arrived, the wedding whip explodes outside the gate, and the banquet begins. For a time, the courtyard became lively with people drinking and drinking.
Xiao Yi also opened his cheeks and started to eat, while Taoist priest Qingyun poured himself a drink, eating one mouthful of wine and one mouthful of vegetables. Although Taoist Master Qingyun is not a vegetarian, he can only eat whatever he can. Nowadays, it is rare to have delicious food, so the master and apprentice took the opportunity to satisfy their greed and eat whatever they could find.
Che Hai just drank with his head down, while Yuan Fengming held the wine glass and sipped. The two of them were meditating on something unknown. There were four people at the table, only Taoist Master Qingyun and his apprentice were there, eating and drinking happily as if no one else was around.
Xiao Yi, who was holding a pig knuckle with his head lowered, heard a sound of congratulations and quickly raised his head.
I saw a middle-aged woman walking into the courtyard with a swaddling baby in her arms. Everyone stood up and gathered around, scrambling to take a look. Xiao Yi turned to look at his master and saw that he had returned to his previous posture of sitting upright. Although Master is a good drinker, he doesn't eat much. He should be full after drinking and eating. Yuan Fengming and Che Hai also put down their glasses and faced the celebrating crowd.
A group of people, led by Shopkeeper Wu, walked towards Xiao Yi's table.
"Taoist Priest Qingyun, this is my full moon granddaughter. Please take a look at her."
After Shopkeeper Wu bowed his hands and saluted, he hurriedly led his wife towards Taoist Priest Qingyun with the baby in her arms. Yuan Fengming and Che Hai also stood up and moved out of the way. When Xiao Yi saw the opportunity, he jumped up and stood behind his master.
"Don't worry, Shopkeeper Wu! Let the old man come and take a look."
Taoist Master Qingyun stood up slowly, leaned over and stared at the baby carefully for a while, then raised his brows and said to Shopkeeper Wu with a smile: "Haha! It's okay! Shopkeeper Wu asked the Taoist when he passed by Taiping Town earlier. Your granddaughter is less than a month old and is very weak. The old Taoist said that if she comes when the full moon comes, she will give Shopkeeper Wu a way to protect her life and extend her life. At this time, the old Taoist has already arrived and asks Shopkeeper Wu and all the relatives and neighbors to be calm. "
"Shopkeeper Wu, please take care of me with pen and ink. Also, prepare the best cinnabar and yellow paper." Taoist Priest Qingyun gently stroked his beard and said proudly.
Xiao Yi also craned his neck to take a look at the swaddled baby, and saw a tiny person with fine red wrinkles on his face and his eyes tightly closed. I couldn't help but think to myself, this kid is really ugly.
Shopkeeper Wu hurriedly asked his servants to prepare. In a blink of an eye, a square table, pen, ink, cinnabar and other items were delivered to him. Taoist Priest Qingyun gently rolled up the sleeves of his robe with one hand, and twisted the brush with three fingers on the other hand. He concentrated and calmed down, dipped the brush in cinnabar, and muttered something silently, and drew three talismans on the yellow paper with flying dragons and phoenixes. Then he picked up another pen, meditated for a while, wrote a prescription, handed the talisman and the prescription to Shopkeeper Wu and said: "The three talismans are: the wind-dispelling talisman, which can avoid wind and eliminate evil; the three yang talismans can bring peace and prosperity." The three talismans are worn by infants with yin nature and must be used to dispel yin and support yang; the peace talisman has the effect of attracting good luck and praying for blessings. There is also a bathing soup made of 20 herbs and boiling water for bathing with the child every day. , has the effect of replenishing qi and blood and strengthening the body.”
Shopkeeper Wu was overjoyed when he heard this, and he kept bowing and thanking him. Shopkeeper Wu's wife and Wu Heng also looked happy. The people onlookers tutted and praised, whispering to each other and praising the old god's merits. Xiao Yi also looked arrogant, but Taoist Master Qingyun himself looked calm.
"Thank you, Taoist Priest! Thank you, Taoist Priest! It's a blessing for the Wu family to have a Taoist Priest diagnose and treat my granddaughter. Hurry! Wu Heng! Give the Taoist Priest a gift."
"Haha! No need! Shopkeeper Wu is so polite! It's just a small effort." Taoist Master Qingyun shook his head slightly and said.
"How can this work?" Shopkeeper Wu asked anxiously.
"Okay! Shopkeeper Wu, there is no need to be polite. Just send two jars of wine and the remaining cinnabar yellow paper to the old Taoist priest. My master and disciple have had enough wine and food, so they will go back to the mountain." Taoist Master Qingyun said without any doubt.
"That's all! Listen to the Taoist Master, Wu. Quickly move two jars of old wine and take them away with the Taoist Master. The carriages and horses will be waiting for you!"
Shopkeeper Wu quickly called on his men to get busy.
Xiao Yi and his master walked out of the wine shop and saw a carriage parked at the door.
The master and apprentice said goodbye to shopkeeper Wu and his son who were seeing off their guests. The younger one helped the master to get into the carriage, while he jumped on the front of the carriage and sat side by side with the driver. He was secretly happy that instead of walking when he went back, he could still sit in the carriage and enjoy the scenery.
The driver was an honest and honest middle-aged man, driving an old horse. Seeing the lively and lively little Taoist priest sitting next to him with a smile, he grinned, said hello, and set off on his way.
The wheels of the carriage turned slowly, and Xiao Yi burped comfortably, leaning against the wall of the carriage and looking to both sides.
Before the car left the intersection of Cross Street North Street, a sweet shout came from behind the car: "Taoist Master, go slow..."
www.piaotia.com