The town is neither big nor small, with more than 600 households. Chen Ping'an recognizes most of the portals of the poor families in the town. As for the rich families with good financial resources, the threshold is high, and a boy with mud-legged legs cannot get in. There are some big families. Chen Ping'an has never even set foot in the crowded alleys. The streets there are mostly paved with large bluestones. On rainy days, you will never step on them and splash mud. Those bluestone slabs with excellent texture have been rubbed smooth as a mirror after thousands of years of trampling by people, horses and vehicles.
The four surnames of Lu, Li, Zhao, and Song are common in the town. These families finance the rural schools, and most of them own two or three Dalong kilns outside the city. The official residence of the successive kiln supervisors was on the same street as these families.
Unfortunately, almost all of the ten letters that Chen Pingan will send today are from well-known wealthy households in the town. This is also very reasonable. Dragons give birth to dragons and phoenixes, and mice give birth to burrows. The people who travel far away who send letters home must have a good family background, otherwise they would not have the confidence to travel far away. Among the nine letters, Chen Pingan actually went to two places, Fulu Street and Taoye Lane. When he stepped on the bluestone as big as a bed for the first time, the young man was a little nervous and slowed down, feeling a little ashamed of himself. , couldn’t help but feel that my straw sandals were dirty on the street.
The first letter Chen Pingan sent was to the Lu family whose ancestors had received a Ruyi jade gift from the emperor. When the young man stood at the door, he became more and more embarrassed.
Rich people are very particular about things. Not only is the Lu family’s house large, there are also two stone lions placed at the door, which look tall and imposing. Song Jixin said that this thing can ward off evil and suppress evil. Chen Ping'an didn't know what evil meant. He was just curious about how the lion's mouth, which was as tall as a man, seemed to have a round stone ball in it. How was it carved? of? Chen Pingan resisted the urge to touch the stone ball, walked up the steps, and clicked the bronze lion door. Soon a young man opened the door and walked out. When he heard that he was here to deliver a letter, the man had no expression on his face and raised his hands with both hands. He twisted the corner of the envelope with his fingers, took the letter from home, turned around and walked quickly into the house, slamming the door with the painted statue of the God of Wealth on it.
The process of delivering the letter to the young man after that was also so ordinary. There was a house of unknown reputation on the corner of Taoye Lane. The person who opened the door was a kind-hearted little old man. After putting away the letter, he said with a smile : "Young man, thank you for your hard work. Do you want to come in and have a rest and have a drink of hot water?"
The young man smiled shyly, shook his head, and ran away.
The old man gently put the letter from home into his sleeve, and did not rush back to the house. He raised his head and looked into the distance, his vision blurred.
The last sight, from high to low, from far to near, was staring at the peach trees on both sides of the street. He looked like an old man who was decrepit and faint, and then he squeezed out a smile.
The old man turned and left.
Not long after, a cute little oriole landed on the top of a peach branch, pecked at the tender beak, and neighed softly.
The last letter that Chen Pingan needed to send to the teacher in the rural school. During this period, he passed by a fortune-telling stall. He was a young Taoist priest wearing an old Taoist robe, with his back straight.Sitting behind the desk, he wore a high crown on his head, like a blooming lotus.
When the young Taoist saw the young man running quickly, he quickly said hello: "Young man, don't miss it when you pass by. Come and draw a lot. I will help you calculate the fortune. I can help you." You predict good and bad times."
Chen Pingan did not stop, but turned his head and waved his hand.
The Taoist is still immortal
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Xin, leaning forward, raised his voice, "Young man, in the past, I was a poor Taoist substitute. It costs ten cents to unravel the lottery, but today we will make an exception and only charge you three cents! Of course, if you draw a lottery ticket, you might as well add an extra cent as a bonus. If you are lucky and it is a lottery ticket, then The poor Taoist only charges you five cents, how about it?"
The footsteps of Chen Ping'an in the distance obviously paused, and the young Taoist stood up quickly, striking while the iron was hot, and said loudly: "It's early in the morning, young man. You are the first guest, Pindao, just let him do it to the end. As long as you sit down and draw lots, to be honest, Pindao will write some yellow paper runes, which can help you pray for your ancestors, accumulate moral virtue, and use Pindao's Ability, I can’t say that it will definitely make a person rich and wealthy, but if you want to say that there will be one or two more blessings, I will give it a try after all.”
Chen Ping’an was stunned and doubtful. Turn around and go back, sitting on the bench in front of the stall.
A simple Taoist priest, a shabby young man, and two paupers, big and small, sat opposite each other.
The Taoist smiled and stretched out his hand, indicating to the young man to pick up the lottery tube.
Chen Pingan hesitated and suddenly said: "I won't draw lots, can you just write a yellow paper rune for me?"
In Chen Pingan's memory , it seems that this young Taoist who has been wandering here has been in the town for at least five or six years, and his appearance has not changed much. He is kind to everyone. He usually helps people by touching their bones, fortune telling, and drawing lots, and occasionally What’s interesting about being able to write family letters is that there are one hundred and eight bamboo sticks clustered in the box on the table. Over the years, men and women in the town have drawn lots, and no one has ever drawn a lot, and no one has picked it from the box. A lower lot was shaken out, as if there were a hundred and eight lots, and there was no bad lot in the middle or top of the lot.
So if it is a festival, just to get a good fortune, the people in the small town can accept it if they spend ten cents, but if they really encounter trouble, no one will be willing to come here to be taken advantage of. To say that this Taoist priest was a complete liar would be an injustice. The town is so big, and if he really only knew how to trick people and deceive others, he would have been kicked out long ago. Therefore, this young Taoist's skill is definitely not in physiognomy and fortune telling. However, for some minor illnesses and disasters, many people drank a bowl of Taoist talisman water and recovered quickly, which was quite effective.
The young Taoist shook his head and said: "You are a poor Taoist, and you are not deceived by children. I promised you to sign the signature and write the talisman together, and charge you five cents."
Chen Ping'an whispered. He retorted: "It's three cents."
The Taoist laughed and said: "If it is drawn and signed, it will be five cents."
Chen Pingan made up his mind, reached for the lottery tube, suddenly raised his head and asked, "How did the Taoist master know that I happened to have five cents on me?"
The Taoist sat upright, "The poor Taoist looks at people's blessings and wealth. "It's always accurate."
Chen Pingan thought for a while and picked up the lottery tube.
The Taoist smiled and said: "Young man, don't be nervous. There are times in your life that must come to you, and there are no times in your life. Don't force it. Treating impermanent things with a normal mind is the first-class and perfect method."
p>Chen Pingan put the lottery tube back on the table again, with a solemn expression, and asked: "Taoist Priest, I will give you all the five cents, and I will not draw lots. I just ask the Taoist Priest to give you the runes on the yellow paper." , can you write better than usual?"
The Taoist smiled as usual, thought about it for a moment, and nodded: "Yes."
On the table, there is pen, ink, and inkstone. It has been prepared a long time ago. The Taoist asked Chen Ping carefully
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An’s parents’ names, birthplaces, birthdates, and pulled out a piece of yellow talisman paper. I finished it quickly and finished it in one go.
As for what he wrote, Chen Ping'an didn't know.
Putting down the pen and picking up the talisman paper, the young Taoist blew on the ink and said, "After taking it home, stand inside the threshold and burn the yellow paper outside the threshold."
The young man took the talisman seriously and carefully treasured it. He did not forget to put the five copper coins on the table and bowed to express his thanks.
The young Taoist waved his hand, indicating that the young man should go about his own business.
Chen Pingan ran away to deliver the last letter.
The Taoist lazily leaned on his chair, glanced at the coins, bent down and reached out to hold them in front of him.
At this moment, a small and exquisite oriole flew from high altitude to the table, pecked a certain copper coin, and soon lost interest and fluttered its wings away.
"The oriole is about to hold the flowers, but the peach blossoms planted in your family have not yet bloomed."
After the Taoist finished reading this poem leisurely, he waved his sleeves gently, pretending to be cool, He sighed and said, "In your life, you have eight feet, don't ask for one."
As soon as he waved his sleeves, two bamboo sticks slipped from his sleeves and fell to the ground. The Taoist let out an ouch and quickly picked them up. He got up, then looked around furtively, and found that no one was paying attention. He was relieved and hid the two bamboo sticks in his loose cuffs again.
The young Taoist coughed, straightened his face, and continued to wait for the next guest.
He felt a little emotional. It was indeed easier to make money from women.
In fact, the two bamboo sticks hidden in the sleeves of the young Taoist priest, one is the top pick and the other is the bottom pick, are both used to make big money.
It is not enough for outsiders.
Of course the young man didn't know these mysteries. He walked lightly all the way to the outside of the country school building. The nearby bamboo forest was lush and green.
Chen Pingan slowed down, and a middle-aged man's mellow voice sounded in the room, "The sunrise is bright, and the fur is as wet as a lamb."
Afterwards, there was a clear and clear sound.A crisp and tender voice sounded, "The sunrise has rays, and the lamb's fur is wet."
Chen Ping'an looked up and saw the rising sun, brilliant and bright.
The young man was stunned.
When he came back to his senses, the boy who was studying at the Meng School was shaking his head. According to the teacher's request, he skillfully recited a passage: "At the time of the Waking of Insects, the heaven and earth sprout, and all things begin to flourish. Sleeping at night and walking early, walking widely in the courtyard, a gentleman Walk slowly so that you can develop your ambition..."
Chen Ping'an stood at the door of the school, hesitant to speak.
The middle-aged Confucian scholar with slightly frosty temples turned his head to look and walked out of the room gently.
Chen Pingan handed the letter out with both hands and said respectfully: "This is a letter from Mr."
After receiving the envelope, a tall man in a green shirt said warmly: " You can come here to listen when you have nothing to do in the future."
Chen Ping'an was a little embarrassed. After all, he might not really have time to come here to listen to this gentleman's teachings, and the young man didn't want to deceive him.
The man smiled and said considerately: "It doesn't matter, the truth is all in the book, but being a human being is outside the book. Go and do your work."
Chen Pingan breathed a sigh of relief. , said goodbye and left.
After the young man ran far away, he turned around and looked back.
The gentleman was always standing at the door, his figure bathed in the sunshine. Looking from a distance, he looked like a god.
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