Li Zhen left the Buddha Altar and went to the stone wall of his house, every time he came to Mogao Grottoes, he would come to take a look, and then calculate in his heart when he would be able to fulfill his grandfather's last wish.

The stone wall of Li Zhen's house is located in the north area of Mogao Grottoes, the location is relatively partial, it belongs to the lot that ordinary people can't look down on, there are no Buddha caves in this area, wild grasses are overgrown under the cliffs, there are often swimming snakes, and few people will come here.

But today is different from usual, Li Zhen saw a group of people standing under the stone wall of his house from a distance, in the middle was a thin old man, surrounded by everyone like the stars holding the moon, he was holding a painting scroll in his hand, looking at something against the stone wall of his home.

Li Zhen felt strange in his heart, and walked up slowly, listening carefully a few steps away from them.

"Old master, among the three stone walls, only this stone wall is the most suitable, first it is in the north area, the statue here, in line with the tradition of the emperor facing north and facing south in the last requirement, and secondly, the hardness of the rock is better than the other two, several old craftsmen have carefully identified, if the statue of this stone wall can at least be carved out of the stone tire first, and then the statue on the basis of the stone tire, so that it can be maintained for thousands of years without damage, and it also meets the requirements of the last time. ”

The old man nodded, he also knew that because the cliff where the Mogao Grottoes were located was sandstone, it was impossible to make stone statues, and they were generally clay statues, even if they could carve stone tires, it would be a very terrible thing.

"Are you sure you can carve a stone tire here?"

"Back to the old master, several old craftsmen are sure. ”

The old man pointed to the stone wall and said to the people next to him: "There are small Buddha caves around, but this one is very complete, you go and inquire, which temple is the stone wall, I want to buy it." ”

"Old master, we have already asked in advance, this is not the stone wall of the temple, it seems to be the stone wall of the Li family. ”

"The Li family?"

The old man was stunned for a moment, and then nodded slowly, "I know, it's not early, let's go back!"

Everyone surrounded the old man and walked south from another road, and Li Zhen dodged out from behind a rock.

He was very surprised in his heart, this old man actually took a fancy to the stone wall of his house, as if he wanted to carve some kind of statue, and he wanted to buy it, and he was behind him, didn't he come to ask himself?

At this moment, someone next to him laughed and said, "Ah Zhen, why are you here?"

As soon as Li Zhen turned around, he saw three craftsmen standing next to him, and the person who called him was Xiao Xi's father, Xiao Xi's father was named Yao Hong, the most famous carver in Mogao Grottoes, he was about forty years old, his skin was rough, his face was weathered, but his smile was very kind, and he had always liked Li Zhen very much.

Li Zhen hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, "Uncle Hong, Second Uncle Wang, Third Uncle Wang, aren't you in the Southern District?"

Li Zhen has been learning art in Dayun Temple since he was a child, and several craftsmen know him, Yao Hong said with a smile: "We were originally working in the southern district, and we were very busy in the past two days, and we saw that the Buddha cave was about to be delivered, but today a big man came and called us all to accompany us." ”

"Is that the old man just now?" asked Li Zhen, pointing to the backs of a group of people who were about to disappear.

"It's him, it seems to be the eldest master of the Suo family!"

Li Zhen was stunned, 'the eldest master of the Suo family', could it be that the old man just now was Suo Qing?

Li Zhen knew that the head of the Suo family was Suo Qing, but he had never seen him, what did Suo Qing do when he came to see the stone wall of his house?

"Uncle Hong, what kind of statue are they going to carve here?" Li Zhen asked again.

Another craftsman next to him smiled: "We only heard a little rumor, it seems that we are going to carve a Maitreya statue for the female emperor in the capital, the master of the Suo family has been here three times, and a few days ago there was a big man from the capital, and Li Tingshi also came with him." ”

Li Zhen was a little stunned, he immediately thought of Gao Yanfu, the big man from the capital must be Gao Yanfu.

But what he thinks of at the moment is not this, but the Dunhuang North Statue left by later generations, that is, the Maitreya statue sculpted with Wu Zetian's appearance.

"Uncle Hong, has the head of the Suo family decided to make a statue on this stone wall?"

Yao Hong said with a smile: "It's not that he decides, but they have to make a statue here, the people from the capital said very clearly, they are not allowed to make clay statues, and they are not allowed to use the huge stone statues outside before moving in, they can only carve statues on the rock wall, which is the request of the female emperor of the capital."

We were there at the time, and we all knew in our hearts that the only way to meet these requirements was to have a statue here, and not a few other stone walls. ”

"Aren't there still a few empty stone walls over there?" Li Zhen asked, pointing to a few stone walls in the distance.

Yao Hong shook his head, "The entire northern cliff is very severely eroded by the wind and sand, and it can't support the big Buddha, and it is only suitable for building a small Buddha cave over there. ”

Li Zhen has completely understood that the stone wall left by his grandfather turned out to be the location of the northern statue of the Mogao Grottoes in later generations, and the Suo family took a fancy to this stone wall, did the Suo family want to come to their own house to discuss buying it?

The next morning, in the inner hall of Suofu, Suo Qing, the old master who had just returned from the Mogao Grottoes, paced back and forth with his hands behind his back with some restlessness.

On the table next to it, there is a picture scroll, which is a copy of the Maitreya statue brought by Gao Yanfu from the capital, which is also the true face of the saint, and the saint wants to sculpt the Maitreya statue in Dunhuang, which has already disturbed Suo Qing's mind.

This opportunity must be seized by the Suo family, for which he has persuaded the other three major families to withdraw, and he also went to the Mogao Grottoes three times to investigate on the spot, the Suo family also has a stone wall in the Mogao Grottoes, in order to be foolproof, he also bought a stone wall next to it.

He was very well prepared, and he was bound to get this Maitreya statue, but Gao Yanfu made a jaw-dropping request after inspecting the Mogao Grottoes.

The statue must face north and face south, must use a stone statue, and is not allowed to use a clay statue, to ensure the Buddha's spirit, must be carved on the stone wall, can not be carved with the outside stone and moved in.

This series of requirements undoubtedly negated the two stone walls that the Suo family had worked so hard to prepare, and yesterday he finally found a stone wall that met the requirements in the northern area of the Mogao Grottoes, but the stone wall actually belonged to the Li family.

This made him feel difficult, did Li Jinken give him this stone wall Suoqing?

Especially in the last Wuju Township Test, the Li family did not get Wang Xiaojie's letter of recommendation, and Li Jin was dissatisfied with himself, in this case, will the Li family take the opportunity to take this matter away?

It is very possible! He Suo Qing knew the importance of this matter, how could Li Jin not know it?

At this moment, there was a rush of footsteps in the courtyard, "Father, there is news!" This is Suo Mao's voice, and the tone has changed a little.

Suo Qing perked up and hurriedly greeted him, "How is it?" he asked eagerly.

Suo Mao entered the lobby and gasped: "The child has already inquired, that stone wall does not belong to the Li family now, as early as twenty years ago, that stone wall was given to the Li clan. ”

Suo Qing's heart just swelled up with a burst of ecstasy, but he was hit into the abyss by the last sentence, and his face sank, "Isn't this the same thing? ”

"Father, that's not the case, that Li clan has long since passed away, and now Shibi is in the hands of his grandson, it is Li Zhen who got a letter of recommendation from Wang Xiaojie last time, and he is very good at riding and shooting. ”

"Wait!"

Suo Qing's chaotic heart seemed to shoot into a ray of sunshine, he seemed to see a glimmer of hope, he took a few steps with his hands in his hands, and sorted out his messy thoughts.

He remembered that the last time Li Jin pressured the boy to withdraw from the Wuju Township Test, but he was strongly resisted by the boy, and Li Jin couldn't help but come to seek home, so he made concessions, if it was that boy

"Are you saying that this stone wall originally belonged to the Li family, and the Li family gave it to Li Danping twenty years ago, and after Li Danping died, he passed the stone wall to his grandson, that Li Zhen, is that the case?"

"That's right, the deed of Shibi is now in the hands of the young man, and the child also inquired that Li Jin is not in Dunhuang now, he has gone to Longxi, and he will come back in a few days. ”

Suo Qing nodded, Li Jin was not in Dunhuang, it was the best, and then said to his son: "You go to the young man's house immediately now, let them make an offer, no matter what price is offered, you can agree, and you must get the deed of Shibi in your hands." ”

"Got it!"

Suo Mao turned around to leave, but Suo Qing stopped him again, "Time is very urgent, although Li Jin is not in Dunhuang, but the elders of the Li family can also call the shots, the news has spread, they will not stand idly by, so be sure to get the deed of Shibi within two days today and tomorrow." ”

"Father, don't worry, the child will go now!"

Suo Mao hurried away, Suo Qing looked at the sky and said to himself, "God bless the Suo family!"

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