Sword of Coming

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 wealthy families with a good family background, the threshold is high, and a boy with mud-legged legs cannot step in. Some large families are crowded together in spacious areas. Chen Ping'an has never even set foot in the alleys. The streets there are mostly paved with large bluestones. On a rainy day, 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 popular in this small town. These families pay for 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, mice give birth to burrows in the ground, and wanderers from far away can send letters home. , the family background must not be bad, otherwise I wouldn’t 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 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 boy's letter-delivery process was also as ordinary as that. There was a house of unknown reputation on the corner of Taoye Lane. The person who opened the door was a short old man with a kind face. After putting away the letter, he said with a smile: "Young man, thank you for your hard work. Do you want to come in, take a break and drink some hot water?"

The young man smiled shyly, shook his head, and ran away.

The old man put the letter from home gently into his sleeve, and did not rush back to the house. He raised his head and looked into the distance, his vision blurred.

Finally, his gaze moved from high to low, from far to near, staring at the peach trees on both sides of the street. He looked like an old man who was decrepit and dim, 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. He was sitting behind the table with his back straight and a fortune-telling stall on his head. The crown is high, 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. The Taoist will help you calculate the fortune, which can help you predict good and bad luck."

Chen Pingan did not stop, but turned his head and waved his hand.

The Taoist did not give up, he leaned forward and raised his voice, "Young man, in the past, a poor Taoist would charge ten cents for interpreting someone's signature. Today, we will make an exception and only charge you three cents! Of course, if you draw one, If you sign the lottery, you might as well add an extra penny as a wedding gift. If you are lucky and it is a lucky draw, then I will only charge you five cents, how about that?"

Chen Ping'an's footsteps in the distance obviously paused. The young Taoist had already stood up quickly, struck while the iron was hot, and said loudly: "It's so early in the morning, young man, you are the first guest. I'll just be a good person and do it to the end. As long as you sit down and draw lots." , to be honest, Pindao can write some yellow paper runes, which can help you pray for your ancestors and accumulate moral virtue. With Pindao's ability, I can't say that it will definitely make people become rich and wealthy, but I can say If you get one or two more blessings, you should give it a try after all.”

Chen Ping'an was stunned for a moment, then turned back doubtfully and sat 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, you just write a yellow paper rune for me, okay?"

In Chen Pingan's memory, it seems that this young Taoist priest who has traveled here has been in the town for at least five or six years. His appearance has not changed much, and he is kind to everyone. He usually helps people touch their bones and read their faces. , fortune-telling, and occasionally writing family letters. Interestingly, 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, but no one has ever drawn a lucky draw. , and no one shook out a lower lot from the lot tube, as if there were a hundred and eight lots, and there was no bad lot in the lot.

So if it's a festival, just to get good luck, the people in the small town will 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, there were 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: "A poor Taoist acts like a child, and I promised you that I would charge you five cents for the signature and the talisman."

Chen Pingan retorted in a low voice: "It's three cents."

The Taoist laughed and said: "If I draw it and sign it, it will be only 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 and said, "The poor Taoist is always very accurate in judging people's blessings and wealth."

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."

Chen Pingan put the lottery tube back on the table, and asked with a solemn expression: "Taoist Priest, I will give you five cents, and I won't draw lots anymore. I just ask the Taoist Priest to write the runes on the yellow paper more clearly than usual." Better, okay?”

The Taoist smiled as usual, thought for a moment, nodded and said, "Yes."

On the desk, pens, inks, and inkstones had been prepared. The Taoist carefully asked Chen Ping'an's parents about their names, birthplaces, birthplaces, and pulled out a piece of yellow talisman paper. He quickly finished writing 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 solemnly 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 leaned lazily 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 pick up the flowers, but the peach blossoms planted in your family have not yet bloomed."

After the Taoist finished reciting this poem leisurely, he waved his sleeves gently and pretended to be cool, and sighed: "There are eight feet in your life, 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 uttered an ouch and quickly picked them up. Then he looked around furtively and found that no one was paying attention. He was relieved and picked them up again. The two bamboo sticks were hidden in the loose cuffs.

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 young Taoist's sleeves, one is the top pick and the other is the bottom pick, are both used to make a lot of money.

It's not enough for outsiders.

Naturally, the young man did not 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 Ping'an slowed down, and a middle-aged man's mellow voice sounded in the room, "The sunrise is bright, and the lamb's fur is as wet as a lamb's fur."

Then there was a neat and clear voice of young people, "The sunrise has rays, and the lamb's fur is like wet."

Chen Ping'an looked up and saw the rising sun rising in the east, brilliant and bright.

The young man was stunned.

When he came back to his senses, he found the boy who was studying in Meng 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 walks slowly in order to develop his 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 sir's letter."

After taking the envelope, a tall man in a green shirt said warmly: "When you have nothing to do in the future, you can come here more often to listen."

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. 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.

I saw that gentleman standing at the door all the time, his figure bathed in the sunlight, looking from a distance, he looked like a god.