Chapter 12 The porcelain monkey in the Treasure Hall of Holly City

Boom ~ Boom ~ Boom, a few long rooster cries pierced the morning fog and cleared the sleeping Rocking Boat Village in the mist. There was still a tulle of moonlight on the horizon, waiting for the sunrise that would shine on the earthly world.

When the rooster crows, the moon sets and the sun rises, the golden dawn tears open a crack in the mist, and the golden light pours down from the crack, sprinkled on the mist-filled mountain houses, and the top of the village houses is covered with a layer of golden floating veil, as if there are immortals breaking through the sky and spreading blessings.

There were bursts of voices in the village, and several families were already lighting a fire to make a morning meal. Wisps of cooking smoke rose from the chimney, like white jade ribbons dancing lightly in the mist, making this small mountain village more and more soothing fireworks for the world.

On the roll shed stove house of Mrs. Lu's house, the canopy grass poured by the morning sun is more and more green under the nourishment of the mist and soda dew, and it is rumored that the canopy grass only falls on the home of Fuyuan, looking at the canopy grass on the roof of Lu's house, if it is according to the rumors, the blessing of Mrs. Lu's family must be as thick as a rock, and this life will be able to live in peace and stability. It's just that rumors are the beautiful vision of the world after all, and they can't be the truth of the world.

In the side room of the bamboo and wood row house under the canopy grass, everyone is still asleep, in the stove house, Zhang Kai and Mrs. Lu are already busy in front of the stove, Mrs. Lu is kneading the white and fine snow, silver dough on the square table, Bihe is holding a wooden basin on the side, taking a wooden spoon and stirring the filling. Aunt Lu took a look at the filling, and saw that it had become sticky and glutinous, and it did not disperse, so she said softly to Bihe:

"Bihe, the stuffing is almost over, let's start wrapping it, wrap a few more sugar date fillings, and give them to the little doll to eat on the way. ”

Bihe nodded, then went to the side to get the steamer, Zhang Kai, who was burning the fire in front of the stove, saw this, hurriedly rolled up his sleeves, got up first and went to the bamboo frame next to him, lifted the steamer and put it on the square table, and smiled at Bihe honestly:

"I'll come here, you go and see if Ping'er is awake, if she doesn't wake up, you can sit there and guard her, and you can rest for a while." ”

Bihe lowered her head, a smile flashed under a pair of Xingyue eyebrows, and she turned sideways to Aunt Lu and said slightly:

"Mother, then I'll go first. ”

Aunt Lu was very relieved to see that this son and daughter-in-law were harmonious and respectful to each other, and she couldn't help but smile on her face and said:

"Okay, okay, go ahead, slow down. ”

Bihe smiled and nodded in response, and then walked out of the stove house with small steps, and went to the wing room to the east. Aunt Lu looked at her back and muttered:

"The old woman is content in this life!"

Zhang Kai carried the wooden bucket and scooped water into the cauldron, and said with a smile:

"Mother, don't be content, this great-grandson hasn't been hugged yet, and it's still far away. ”

Aunt Lu's eyes smiled into a slit, and with a relieved expression, she put the kneaded dough on the opposite side of the square table, nodded and said:

"Yes, yes, the days are still long, and our family is having a good life. ”

After Zhang Kai finished scooping up the water and covered the pot, he moved to the square table opposite Aunt Lu, grabbed a handful of flour in the noodle jar on the table and shook it on the square table, tore open the dough and threw it on the square table, kneaded the two ends of the long dough with both hands and said:

"That's it, the days are still long. Today, I'm going to buy some beef and come back, it's the Double Ninth Festival soon, and there are more people rushing back and forth. Tomorrow, I will make more beef stuffing and sell it in the tea shed, and he will come back later these days. ”

After that, Han Han laughed twice, took a dough cutter and cut the dough into neat small squares. Aunt Lu reached out to take the cut dough on the opposite side, rolled it into a thick and well-proportioned round dough with a rolling pin, and said while rolling:

"Don't work too hard for the two of you, there is no shortage of silver at home. Later, when the buns are steamed, send some to Aunt Li next door, and ask her to help embroider a banner. ”

Zhang Kai finished cutting the dough, clapped his hands and raised the flour on his hands, then took a clean rag and wiped his hands, and looked at Aunt Lu and said:

"Mother.."

Aunt Lu looked up at the honest Zhang Kaidao in front of her:

"Well, Bihe told me, although I have instructed the Acropolis Minister last night, I still have to be careful, I have been restless these days. ”

Zhang Kai moved over from the opposite side of the square table, stood next to Aunt Lu, took a rolled dough and pasted it in the palm of his hand, scooped a spoonful of the filling in the middle of the dough, pressed the filling with the thumb of his left hand, and pinched the dough with the index finger of his right hand and quickly pinched out eighteen pleats in circles. After Zhang Kai pinched the closing, he held the folded bun like Qiu Ju in the palm of his hand and looked at it carefully, and said with a satisfied expression:

"Mother, don't worry, with me and my brother here, it's not in the way! Later, I'll go to Aunt Li's house to handle the flags." You don't have to worry about snacks, just stay at home with Ping'er and Charcoal Pimple and rest assured!"

Aunt Lu smiled and nodded, and the mother and son continued to work.

On the village road, men and women are carrying sickles and hoes, and they are leisurely going to their respective vegetable fields and rice fields to farm. There was a hint of coldness in the air, and the man carrying the hoe shook his shoulders, and made a heroic "ho" twice, driving away the chill on his body. The faces of the Han women were covered with thin cloths, presumably for fear of inhaling the morning humidity and infecting the wind and cold, so they all paid careful attention.

On the bamboo stream at the entrance of the village, there are already early fishermen who are casting nets to fish, the mist on the stream is shrouded, a gust of morning wind blows, the layers of mist float around on the stream like a fairy, the boat on the stream surface, like a cloud driving the fog, like a fairyland. The fishermen on this stream are also people who are indifferent to the world and like to be quiet.

"Fishermen sit on boats and watch the sea, and they are idle in fishing.

The fog hides the boat for 800 miles, and the net is full of pearls and greens in exchange for wine money. ”

The morning sun is born, the horizon of the boat village is 100 miles away, under the golden wheel that slowly floats in the sky, a round city stands in the backlight, the moldy blue exterior wall is simple and vicissitudes, the view of the wall pushes the history, this city seems to have been a thousand years old.

The main building of the city is about ten zhang high, the dark green glazed tiles on the roof of the building shine with a quiet and peaceful luster, the two ends of the roof ridge are neatly arranged with seven exquisite carving ridge beasts, the immortals ride the phoenix first, and the dragon and phoenix lions and horses lead the beasts. The eaves of the main building are also ingenious, the dragon is frightened by the bird bell, and the phoenix spits out the lantern, which is full of elegance.

Deep in the city, a noisy crowd could be heard from a distance on a cross street, and a breakfast shop on the side of the street was full, and men with birdcages, bamboo fans, and jade robes and jade belts of various colors were sitting at the square table and talking with each other.

The shopkeeper was panting and moving the square table outside, and he couldn't sit down in the store, and there were a few people outside the store who were not giving up and were tiptoeing around. When the shopkeeper saw this battle, he shouted out from behind the counter:

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's Ding 10 today, don't line up, let's wait, please call back to the house outside the door." ”

When the people standing outside the door heard the shopkeeper's words, they dispersed in groups of deflated people. He also muttered that he would come over and wait for the next third watch. I don't know what these people are waiting for, they come to this breakfast shop and don't eat breakfast, which is really suspicious.

After everyone dispersed, the door of a shop with the name "Zhenbao Porcelain" in the oblique corner of the breakfast shop "creaked" open. A man with a white and long face and a face as thin as a monkey grabbed a porcelain ruler in his hand and pointed at the people opposite and scolded himself:

"Don't you sleep with all this stinky shit?"

When the people sitting in the breakfast shop saw the door open, they rushed to the front of the store like a tide. The white-faced man saw that everyone was crazy and surrounded him, so he stretched forward with a porcelain ruler, raised his chin, and motioned for everyone to stand back. The shopkeeper of the breakfast shop saw that the breakfast shop was empty in an instant, and he couldn't help but smile happily:

"Well, let's just change this Shunqi Zhai to a sell-out fast. ”

The shopkeeper, who was full of joy written on his face, was holding an abacus and dialing it slightly, and said with a smile while dialing:

"Shopkeeper, this silver is easy to earn, five hundred wen a seat, and this morning I got twenty taels for nothing. ”

The shopkeeper sighed and said with a faint expression:

"Hey, this kind of silver is not available every day, and it is not a good earning. ”

The shopkeeper scratched his head, and couldn't figure out why this white silver was not steady, didn't it all really go into the money bag? After thinking about it, he didn't figure it out, and saw that the shopkeeper was looking at the opposite scene with great interest, and it was inconvenient to ask more, so he went to the store to clean up the tables and chairs outside the store.

At the door of the treasure porcelain here, the white-faced man held the porcelain ruler and pointed at everyone and scolded loudly:

"Is this your father? So many people are waiting here early in the morning, rushing to mourn! Who is A-1? ”

Everyone made way back together, and the man who had just received A No. 1 in the breakfast shop walked out with a bamboo fan, walked to the white-faced man, put away the bamboo fan and slapped it in the palm of his hand, took out a wooden sign with A Yi written on it from his waist with a smile on his face, held it in both hands and handed it to the white-faced man in front of him:

"Monkey, that's what I said. Don't you know that you went to fish for goods and came back? are all waiting here, who in this holly city doesn't know the porcelain monkey, the third uncle of the painting, the old wine skewer, the jade grasshopper, the goods of your few are all top-notch. ”

Everyone nodded in unison, and the monkey said impatiently:

"Go, go, don't fuck here, don't look at the goods today, come back tomorrow. When your grandfather comes back from a long journey, he won't let him sleep peacefully. When the fuck is just in its prime, the chickens are up, and here comes you stinky shit. I took good goods from me, and I went to pit the wronged boss who didn't understand the fart, I still can't see through your fancy intestines?"

The man who shook the fan saw that the monkey's words were sharp and he didn't give an inch, so he looked at the people around him, and saw that everyone was looking at him expectantly, and he was also very intoxicated with the sense of leadership of the stars and moons, so he said hard:

"Don't, it's all mixed food in this city, don't you, see who has the ability to find a buyer, and besides, when we give you a monkey at a lower price, isn't it as much as your master will report." ”

Everyone nodded in unison, and the monkey wrapped his hands around it, put the porcelain ruler against his chin and nodded:

"Yes, it's not nonsense, although I came early in the morning to send silver to the master, the master will also invite you to go back to the house today! Come back tomorrow, you need to deal with some personal matters today, this goods have not been sorted out, and you will come back tomorrow after cleaning up tonight." ”

The man who shook the fan straightened up, raised his head and said:

"Okay, since you have something to do, I won't bother. It's just that you have to leave a few pieces for us with this good product, don't all enter the Acropolis Minister's Yaci Pavilion again. ”

The monkey turned around, turned his back to everyone and waved the porcelain ruler in his hand:

"Don't worry, the Acropolis is out of the city, you stinky shit can grab it, don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

So he closed the shop and went with them. When the man saw the monkey closing the door of the shop, he turned to the crowd and said:

"Come back tomorrow, everyone!"

After everyone dispersed, the monkey walked into the back room, carefully took out a patent leather painting tube from the bottom of a pear box, took a soft cotton silk cloth and rolled it up finely, stuffed it into his arms and went out. After going out for about a few hundred zhang, I walked to the door of the store with the name "Treasure Painting", gently buckled the door buckle of the Rui Beast on the door, looked left and right, and said quietly but thickly against the crack of the door:

"Third uncle, there is something important. ”

The door creaked open, and a man with round cheeks, kind eyes, and full of spirit pulled the monkey into the room and whispered:

"Come in and say. ”

I entered the store, but I saw that the silk jars in the store were all over, and the walls were full of landscapes, fish and insects, calligraphy and paintings of flowers, plants, birds and beasts, ink and blue, painted embroidery, bamboo, linen, cotton silk, everything. The third uncle led the monkey to a side room far away from calligraphy and painting, built a bowl of cold tea and handed it to him and asked:

"What's the baby?"

The monkey took the bowl of cold tea and put it on the small square table on high legs beside him, took out the patent leather painting tube from his arms, looked at the third uncle with an unfathomable expression, and said:

"Third uncle, this is very expensive than the treasure gold, this is a heavenly opportunity, and it is an object that the master in the city instructed to find. ”

The third uncle took a big step forward excitedly, and whispered in the monkey's ear:

"Is this a Tuotian map?"

The monkey nodded in response:

"Well, it is indeed the authentic work of the old man Bu Tian, come to the third uncle to confirm it. ”

The third uncle shook his robe, spread his hands and made a lifting gesture and said:

"My mother, take a look!"

The monkey took the cotton silk cloth outside the painting tube and handed it to him, the third uncle carefully held the painting tube, gently unscrewed the lid of the painting tube, took out the painting called Tuotiantu from the tube, spread it on the square table to take a closer look, frowned and said:

"Look at this Heaven Diagram, isn't this black-shirted man the same person as the man on the fragment of the Heaven Destroying Map last time?"

The monkey stepped forward to take a closer look, and said with a solemn expression:

"Really, could it be fake?"

The third uncle looked puzzled, but still stared at the painting a few times, took a pair of light plates, and pressed both sides of the painting and said:

"It's indeed genuine, I'm afraid that only his old man can fake the secret scroll of Guan Tian left by the old man, so call the old man and the grasshopper, and go to the master to take a look." ”

The monkey walked up to the small square table with high legs, picked up the bowl of cold tea, poured a big sip, and said:

"Well, I'll call you, and you'll take a closer look. ”

With that, he cautiously walked out of the treasure painting, and went to the street in the direction of the city wall. After the third uncle waited for him to leave, he put down the door bolt again, went back to the back room, and then carefully pondered the painting.

Five miles out of the northwest of the city, a thatched hut grass hut stands under a low hill, in front of the door a sheep intestine path paved with fine gravel leads straight to the door of the grass hut, on both sides bloom half a lotus, zinnia, calendula, grass jasmine, a piece of competition and colorful. Approaching the grass house, bursts of cardamom, jataman, lemongrass medicinal fragrance came to the nose, smelling the heart and concentrating, awakening and depressed.

In front of the grass hut, a banner supported by a bamboo pole is hung, and the five big characters of "no hundred taels are not entered" are rewritten in thick ink. There was a long line under the banner, all looking into the window. A slightly hunchbacked old man with a seven or eight-year-old child on the side of the road stood at the entrance of the path, pointed to the crowd that was arching in front of the door of the grass hut and asked the child next to him:

"Grandson, what's written on that banner?"

The boy looked at the banner on his left, touched the little wooden turtle in his hand, and bowed his head and replied:

"There is no one hundred taels to enter. ”

The hunchbacked old man looked surprised, smacked his lips and said:

"Tut-tut, my good girl! Five hundred taels to see a doctor, I'm afraid they all have death sickness. Grandson, look at those people, in gorgeous robes and brocade clothes, feeding big fish and meat all day long, abalone wings and ginseng, not sick and sick, or we are flat-headed people, hoeing the ground, picking water, eating some miscellaneous grains and wild vegetables, wheat cakes and mustards, and the body is very good. cough~cough~cough~ Grandson, let's go quickly, go to the valley in front of us and find a wild man to take a look. ”

The old man covered his chest, his face turned red, his body trembled slightly, and the boy saw that his grandfather was coughing uncomfortably, and said with wide eyes:

"Grandpa, aren't you in good health? It's not five hundred taels on that banner, it's one hundred taels. ”

The old man looked at the banner, shook his head, and walked forward:

"I look down on a hundred taels, your grandfather has never seen a hundred taels of silver in his life, let's go." ”

The boy answered with an "oh" behind him, and obediently pulled the old man's clothes in the direction of the valley. The grandfather and grandson walked about five zhang away, and saw a handsome young man in Tsing Yi sitting on the side of the road, carrying a bamboo basket on his back, looking at the two with a smile, and the young man touched a stone beside him and threw it in front of the old man and said:

"This old man stays, you are infected with typhoid fever, the cold is in the lungs, these days you don't have to go out in the morning and return late to farming, the morning fog at this time is very humid! Your body is not as good as a young man, and you can't stand the toss. ”

After that, he touched the bag of medicinal herbs from the bamboo basket with his backhand and walked to the old man, bowed slightly, handed it to him with both hands, and said:

"This packet of medicinal herbs will be given to your old man, go back and add some ginger slices to boil and take it, and just cover the corners of the quilt and sleep overnight tonight." Don't eat raw and cold these days, don't smell the smoke, in case of recurrence!"

The old man took the packet of medicinal herbs in disbelief and said:

"You, a kid in Tsing Yi, are you squatting here on the platform of demolishing the Chinese divine doctor?

The young man in Tsing Yi crossed his waist and laughed:

"Haha, how dare I dismantle the master's table, it was the master who ordered me to see a doctor here, the master said that you are infected with a minor disease, and the one in line is infected with a heart disease, which is difficult to treat, so the consultation fee is more expensive. ”

The old man's doubts were suddenly solved, and he nodded excitedly and said:

"Okay, good, hanging pot to help the world. Good guy. ”

When the young man in Tsing Yi heard the old man praise his master, he said with a full face:

"Eh, don't button the hat of a good person, the master said, if the hat of a good person is buttoned, he will be willing to be bullied for the rest of his life. You two hurry up, don't be seen by the queue. ”

A few people looked towards the door of the hut not far away, and saw a bloated man in a silk brocade robe, followed by a smiling servant from the path to the side of the road. The servant bent down and helped the bloated man with a flattering face, and said:

"Master, is it just ordinary food?"

The man shook his hand impatiently and said:

"Where's the prescription?"

The servant replied:

"There is no prescription, the old madman said that the prescription is only read once, and the little ones are memorized for you. ，

The bloated man gritted his teeth angrily and said:

"I haven't even bought a piece of paper for a hundred or two, if it weren't for his famous name, I would have come to him for medical treatment? ”

The servant nodded in agreement, looking like he was going to devour his life alive, and said in an angry tone:

"That's it, what an old madman who can't die well, maybe I'll go to the Yellow Spring tomorrow, and said that I don't want to curse, otherwise I'll spit blood. Hahaha, I'd like to see... cough ~ cough ~ cough, poof!"

The servant coughed violently a few times, suddenly felt a sweetness in his throat, spit out a mouthful of blood in his mouth, and hurriedly covered the poisonous mouth with his hand and wiped it, feeling that the palm was slightly hot and humid, so he spread out his palm and saw that there was blood in his palm. The servant was suddenly frightened and flustered, and hurriedly left his old man and staggered towards the grass house, howling like a wolf as he ran:

"Doctor Hua, help! Doctor Hua! Doctor Hua! cough!cough!"

The bloated old man looked at his virtue and felt very embarrassed, so he shook off his robe, snorted coldly, didn't bother to pay attention to him, and left on his own.

The child who was holding the little wooden turtle saw the servant's embarrassed appearance, pointed at him, and said:

"Grandpa, look at him, he looks like a dog!"

The old man sighed, and said with a blank expression:

A few days ago, I saw him kick over Xiao Zhangwa's vegetable basket, and he suffered retribution today. Grandson, people should accumulate more virtue and do more good deeds!

The young man in Tsing Yi straightened the rattan that was pressing his shoulders and said on the side:

"Okay, you two don't talk about the rights and wrongs of idlers, this dog is also quite innocent, and the name of this wicked person in the world has been carried by it. The master said that this dog has eaten too much conscience, and he values love and righteousness more than people, and it is better to save the evil dog than to save the wicked. ”

When the old man heard his shocking remarks, he couldn't help but nod his head with wide eyes and exclaimed:

"The master is so reasonable, and the apprentice has a good memory. Thank you!"

The young man in Tsing Yi laughed twice and said:

"No thanks, the master said, this word thank you is the world's vulgar etiquette, with a mouth, I think I am comforting others, but I am actually comforting myself, which is not interesting!"

The old man looked at the young man in Tsing Yi in front of him with a harmless look on his face, and he always said that what the master said was on his lips, and he couldn't help but ask curiously:

"What else did your master say?"

The young man in Tsing Yi spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders and said:

"That depends on what your old man says. ”

The old man saw that he was bored with himself, and squeezed out a sentence with a remorseful expression:

“ .... Then I'll not say anything. ”

After that, he took his grandson by the head and walked quickly to the house without looking back.

The young man in Tsing Yi chased after him and shouted:

"Don't, old man, the master said that this mouth should be used more, and tapping your teeth every day can prolong your life and wake up your mind! ”

Looking at the grandfather and grandson who walked away, the young man in Tsing Yi pursed his lips and smiled, and when he saw the child holding the little wooden turtle and turning around and waving to him, he also smiled and waved in response to him. After the child and the old man walked away, the young man in Tsing Yi muttered to himself:

"Hey, it's a lot of trouble for the master to ask me to play this appearance. ”

After that, "click, click, click," he knocked his teeth a few times, and then went to the roadside to squat and sit and wait for the next destined person.