Chapter 16 Step by step

Seeing that the unitary hour was about to pass, the sun on the western horizon, which was mostly covered by clouds, was about to sink into the Rudai Mountains, and most of the gates of Jinling City were slowly closed from this moment.

The shopkeeper, who was about twenty years old, hurriedly entered the Zhang Ji ready-to-wear shop that began to close, and the second shopkeeper in the hall strode up without waiting for the sweaty little two to speak: "The owner can't wait to see you, and he didn't return to the house half an hour ago, really, you go to the Dongjia Mansion to report now, and then I will clean you up slowly!" ”

The shopkeeper didn't have time to say goodbye to his own uncle and second shopkeeper, turned around and flew out of the door, as if rushing across the street and turning into Sanshan Street, sweeping half a mile long street at the intersection and turning north, non-stop to the east of the bridge.

Finally arrived at the gate of the courtyard where the lantern was hung, the tired and half-dead shopkeeper stopped to gasp and wipe his sweat, waved his hand to the concerned old man at the door, breathed a little easier, trotted into the courtyard gate again, passed through the vestibule, and followed the old butler waiting on the pavilion corridor to the owner's study.

"Here, take a breath before you speak, Xiaojuan, pour a cup of tea for Zhicai."

The shopkeeper Ying, who was dressed in moon-white cotton casual clothes, looked at the panting shopkeeper with a kind smile, put down the account book in his hand and picked up the teacup.

The shopkeeper named Zhicai took the warm tea handed by the maid and drank it in one gulp, wiped his mouth and took two steps forward to start reporting:

"The little one obeyed the instructions of the owner, and followed Zhu Daochang and the two from afar for most of the day, until the moment before the Jinchuan Gate closed, Zhu Daochang and the two of them converged with the Ziyang Guan Xuanqing Dao Chief, and got into a carriage and led five big carriages full of furniture and various goods out of the city, and the little one ran back quickly."

"Buying so much furniture? It seems that the Ziyang Temple under the Shogunate Mountain has indeed increased a lot of manpower, and the reconstruction of the dilapidated Taoist temple may start soon. "The chief treasurer should make a reasonable judgment.

Xiao Er nodded again and again, and said in detail under the instructions of the owner, starting from Zhu Daolin and the two of them boarding the Taifeng Restaurant, until Zhu Daolin sold the "Buddha's Heart Crystal Ball" and walked out of Cuiweizhai with a wooden box containing two pieces of blue and white porcelain before being interrupted by the owner: "You can see it clearly?" ”

"I didn't see the 'Buddha Heart Crystal Ball' clearly, and I was worried that Zhu Daochang would recognize it, so I didn't dare to approach, there were at least fifteen customers in the store at that time, most of them were the female dependents of the official eunuchs, two of whom I recognized as the wife of Lord Pei and the third lady of the Pei family in Jiangning County, and these people surrounded the 'Buddha Heart Crystal Ball' for a long time."

"The small one quietly hid behind and secretly watched, and it was not real, but when Zhu Daochang exchanged the crystal ball for two Yongle Dynasty blue and white porcelain vases, two hundred taels of silver tickets and one hundred taels of silver, the guests inside kept watching, and the small one could see it clearly." Xiao Er is very honest and not perfunctory.

The shopkeeper nodded thoughtfully: "So, Daoist Zhu didn't sell his string of sapphire prayer beads to Cui Weizhai?" ”

Xiao Er replied very affirmatively: "Definitely not, I followed the instructions of the owner to stick don't pay attention to the string of prayer beads, when I was in Cuiwei Zhai, the blue and black diamond circle on Zhu Daochang's left wrist was still there, and the string of gem prayer beads on his right wrist was gone, it is estimated that he put it away after he got out of our shop and boarded the carriage." ”

The shopkeeper finally put his mind at ease: "Very good, go on." ”

Xiao Er habitually responded: "After Daochang Zhu left Cuiweizhai, he walked directly to the big willow tree by the river in the west, and the wooden box containing the blue and white porcelain vase was held by the Taoist priest of Yuhu, but he didn't go to the mouth of Zhoujia Alley fifty steps away, Mrs. Pei's maid chased after him, I didn't dare to approach twenty steps behind, but from the maid's gesture and faintly heard the words, guessed that she was asking Daochang Zhu if there was a crystal ball?" ”

Sure enough, Zhu Daochang hesitated for a moment, Mrs. Pei and the third lady also passed after a while, I immediately approached quietly along the riverside stone fence, and heard Mrs. Pei explain to Zhu Daochang that her mother-in-law's seventieth birthday was approaching, hoping to buy a novel gift, this time Zhu Daochang didn't think much about it, and took out a five-inch square exquisite wooden box from the small backpack hanging on the chest of the Jade Tiger Taoist, Mrs. Pei and the third miss opened it, and immediately shouted happily, the third miss said loudly I didn't expect it to be the crystal Guanyin, great! Finally ......"

"Stop! Do you see what this crystal Guanyin looks like? The shopkeeper Ying seemed surprised.

"This time I quietly stood on the stone pier behind Zhu Daochang's side, close, the sun was good, I saw clearly, the crystal ball in the box that was bigger than a goose egg was round and clear, and there was a statue of Guanyin about an inch high like white jade in the middle, which was very dazzling in the sun, but unfortunately I couldn't see it closely." Xiao Er's face was full of nostalgia.

The shopkeeper Ying was quite surprised: "I didn't expect Daochang Zhu to bring so many treasures, it was my negligence, I just stared at the string of jewel prayer beads, alas...... Go ahead. ”

Xiao Er swallowed hard: "The third lady was too happy, laughing and jumping, a few scholars who walked by the side quickly surrounded her, Mrs. Pei hurriedly closed the box, counted out ten hundred taels of silver tickets and stuffed them into Zhu Daochang's hand, holding the box and the third lady happily got into the sedan chair that followed behind, Zhu Daochang shook his head while laughing, and finally just glanced at the pile of silver tickets in his hand, and put them in his arms without counting, and soon walked to the big willow tree in the river bay, and took the carriage to Lingyingguan. ”

"But when passing through the northeast corner of Chaotian Palace, the carriage suddenly stopped in front of the porridge shed opened by Liu Dashan's family, Zhu Daochang and Yuhu Taoist got off one after another, bypassed the hundred and ten homeless people waiting for soup porridge, walked into the shed and talked to several people sent by the Liu family to give soup for a while, I hurriedly leaned up among the homeless people, and saw Zhu Daochang turn around, and took out five ingots and ten taels of silver from the burden that the Jade Tiger Taoist priest hung in front of him, and asked the descendants of the Liu family to buy food on behalf of the victims of the disaster, and turned around and left after entrusting him."

"The people of the Liu family stood stupidly in the shed with fifty taels of silver and didn't know what to do, and they forgot to say even a word of thanks, and the dozens of victims who were close to understood it, and they all knelt down against Zhu Daochang and Yuhu, who boarded the carriage, I was also quite surprised at the time, I didn't expect Zhu Daochang to be so kind-hearted."

Ying Da's shopkeeper's expression became serious: "In the past six months, more and more people have fled from Huaibei, there are no less than 3,000 people in and out of the city, and the Chaotian Palace and Qingliang Temple, the holy land of Buddhism, which carry the royal glory and are very rich, have not done a good deed of disaster relief so far, all rely on Ying Tianfu and the parents and officials of the two counties to persuade the rich gentry in the city to raise funds for relief, alas! From this point of view, this Zhu Daochang's mind is extraordinary! ”

Xiao Er didn't speak in amusement, and he couldn't understand the complex meaning of the owner's words, only that Zhu Daochang's righteous deeds were worthy of respect.

"Next, Daoist Zhu went to Lingying Temple, right?" The treasurer should then ask.

Xiao Er shook his head: "No, Zhu Daochang first took the car to Taipingqiao, bought five jars of Yanghe Daqu, and bought a few large bags of pine cakes and two large cans of sugar, and then took the car to turn around and go to Lingyingguan, Zhu Daochang and the two went in when they were cold and no one greeted them, and after waiting for a while, I saw two old Taoists leading four little Taoists out to greet them, after the ceremony, a few little Taoists moved the wine and gifts in the carriage in, and the two old Taoists politely invited Zhu Daochang in, and sent them out politely after half an hour, In the end, Zhu Daochang got into the carriage and rushed directly to the carriage shop inside the Jinchuan Gate to join the others, and I watched them go out of the city before rushing back. ”

The shopkeeper Ying was very satisfied with Xiao Er's performance, and immediately promised to end his apprenticeship in three months and be promoted to the first level, Xiao Er was so happy that he immediately knelt down and kowtowed to thank him.

Sending away the clever and diligent shopkeeper, the shopkeeper paced back and forth in the study, thinking about it repeatedly, until late at night, when the beautiful maid who was ready to warm her bed called the old housekeeper to discuss together, and finally made an important decision under the advice of the old housekeeper.

When the chief shopkeeper and the old housekeeper were discussing, Zhu Daolin also sat cross-legged under the oil lamp with his uncle Xuanqing Daochang, and Yuhu and the other four sat on the new sleeping couch placed under the wall on the other side and practiced in meditation.

"Since you are satisfied, then buy it, not only can you fulfill your good deeds of opening a charity school in the city to help the poor, but also have a place for me and your disciples to go to the city to do business in the future. It's just that the 100 zhang ground in the backyard of Lingyingguan close to Wulong Lake was blistered and collapsed, and it was necessary to build an embankment of about 200 steps, and it cost a lot of silver. "Daoist Xuan Qing is very supportive of Zhu Daolin's home purchase plan.

Zhu Daolin smiled gratefully: "Then Uncle Shi, what name should you change to after buying it?" Lingying Guan A few Taoist friends themselves were not angry, and they were disgraced by the group of monks on the mountain who seized the opportunity, and the original name of the temple must not be used anymore. ”

Xuanqing Daoist thought for a long time: "At the foot of the mountain to the west of Lingyingguan and outside the courtyard wall to the south, there are two dense purple bamboo forests that have grown for a hundred years, so let's simply call it Zizhu Garden, this name is elegant, and it is not easy to attract envy." ”

"Zizhuyuan? This is not like the name of the Taoist temple! Zhu Daolin was not very satisfied.

Xuan Qingdao, who thought about Zhu Daolin very thoughtfully, explained carefully: "Since you have decided to buy it, it is your private property, isn't it more convenient for you to start a school in that place and take care of business at the same time?" Why do you still think of that place as a Taoist temple? ”

Zhu Daolin was surprised: "Can a Taoist priest have his own industry?" ”

Daoist Xuan Qing rolled his eyes: "Do you really not understand or do you not understand?" ”

"What do I understand?" Zhu Daolin was puzzled.

Xuanqing Daoist saw that Zhu Daolin was not pretending, but really didn't understand, so he had to knock on the table and explain: "Our Taoist priests are completely different from those bald donkeys who have lost their children and grandchildren, and my Taoism pursues Taoism and nature, so it's okay for you to marry ten wives, let alone have your own industry?" ”

"And my Taoism is the state religion of the Ming Dynasty, and the property of all Taoist sects in the world and the land and property in the name of the Taoist priest do not need to pay taxes, understand?"

Zhu Daolin never dreamed that being a Taoist priest would be so majestic: "I really can't imagine it...... In this case, I listen to your old man, let's call it Zizhuyuan! ”

"Don't be too happy, let me ask you, how are you going to raise the eight thousand taels of silver that you are going to buy Lingyingguan? Are you planning to sell all the strange things in your box these days? Or sell those ten Western mirrors? Daoist Xuan Qing had no expression on his face, but he was worried in his heart.

Zhu Daolin, who was thoughtful, hurriedly explained: "Uncle don't worry, just sell the string of sapphire prayer beads on my wrist, if it's not enough, at most sell another set of crystal wine utensils, and I won't touch all the remaining items, including Western mirrors, and hand them over to your old man from now on, so that you can rest assured, right?" ”

Xuanqing Daoist finally let go of most of his heart: "It's better to be careful, don't be in a hurry, you can't ask for money from me, anyway, you have to rebuild Ziyang Guan step by step, you won't spend hundreds of thousands at once, it's always good to do things safely." ”

Zhu Daolin nodded: "Thank you, uncle!" I don't have anything to spend a lot of money on other than buying Lingying Concept, and I guess after a while, I will have to go out for ten days and a half months, you old ......"

"Wait!"

Daoist Xuanqing was a little anxious: "Where are you going?" ”

Zhu Daolin was embarrassed: "Didn't you promise not to ask again, uncle?" ”

Xuanqing Dao Chang sighed faintly: "Dao Ancestral Court will come soon, if my guess is right, the Ancestral Court Sect will not only classify you as a disciple, but also take this opportunity to give you the Dharma name and golden seal, once the Ziyang Temple is rebuilt, a ceremony will be held, and then you and I will not only be the abbots of the Ziyang Temple, but also the power and qualification of the Ancestral Court to open the sect, alas! I really don't want you to leave, with you by my side, I feel steady, I feel ten years younger! ”

"Uncle Shi......"

"Don't say it, I promise you that it is, alas! It's late at night, go to sleep, you'll have to be busy tomorrow. ”

There was nothing to say all night, and the next morning, Zhu Daolin and Xuanqing Dao Chang made a purchase plan and walked out of the door, and before they went to the base, they were surprised to see a convoy of at least 20 or so carriages coming in a steady stream, and a pennant with the general number of the Ying family fluttered high on the head of the carriage, and the one sitting in the driver's seat under the banner turned out to be the Ying Da shopkeeper that Zhu Daolin was familiar with.

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PS: Recommend your old book "Thief"!