Chapter 35: Ruining the Temple to Solve the Problem

This time, the convoy did not stop until dawn.

Now they were not far from their destination and were no longer worried about being kidnapped by the government, so the leading general ordered them to bury the stove and cook, and rest for two hours before continuing.

After traveling for more than ten hours without food or water, everyone was exhausted and didn't even have the strength to walk. Some people even collapsed on the ground as soon as they got off the bus.

There was a small temple not far from the official road. Song Liyun and the other three did not stop to eat during the journey. Apart from the sore waist and legs from sitting, they were in good spirits.

They didn't want to sit down and rest like everyone else, so when they saw a temple nearby, they decided to go over and take a look and stretch their muscles.

The small temple has only one main hall, and it seems that it was prosperous in the past. The altar and the pillars in the hall are all exquisitely crafted.

But now the roof has collapsed, the statues are destroyed, and there is no incense left.

Song Liyun looked at the half-remaining clay sculpture on the altar and listened to Song Dekui telling the story of the statue in an eloquent manner.

"Look at the bulging cloth bag at the feet of the Bodhisattva. Hey! This is the deity who is in charge of our farming."

"Which god is in charge of farming? Isn't that the job of the God of Land?" After hearing Song Dekui's story, other people who were resting outside the temple were also attracted.

Seeing that others were also interested, Song Dekui said with even greater pride, "The Earth God is just a small official. This immortal is a true god who can ascend to heaven. His name is 'Buddha Bag Monk'!"

"Tsk, I thought he was something great, but he's just a monk!" Someone showed disdain.

The emperor of the Dawu Dynasty was a believer in religion, and his elder sister, the eldest princess, even practiced Buddhism in the palace.

In order to cater to the wishes of the superiors, there are at least 800 large temples in various places, and there are countless wild temples like this.

There are many temples and many gods, each with its own origin.

Even their functions are different. They are in charge of heaven and earth, life and death, marriage and childbirth. Each of them has its own responsibilities, and it is very lively.

Song Dekui was immediately annoyed when he saw that his blog post was widely despised.

He knew that it was a bit rustic to say that a god was in charge of the land, and everyone liked wealth.

So he said loudly: "What do you know? This cloth bag of the monk is a magic tool, a blessing bag. You can put anything in it, even a thousand gold coins. Just touch it and wealth will come naturally."

Sure enough, the mention of fortune immediately attracted several people's curious questions.

Song Dekui then told the story of "Budai Monk".

Budai Monk is one of the millions of incarnations of Maitreya Buddha in legend. He usually travels around with a staff and a cloth bag on his shoulders, enlightening people with Zen.

He is kind and generous, possesses special skills, fights violence and protects the good, and helps all living beings to escape suffering and attain happiness.

Budai Monk was born in a farming family, and transplanting rice was his specialty. He even wrote a poem:

Holding green seedlings in your hands, you will sow blessings. Looking down, you will see the sky in the water. Only when your six senses are pure can rice grow. Going back actually means going forward.

Therefore, not only merchants pray for wealth, but even people on farms in the wilderness build temples to pray for good weather and a good harvest.

Song Dekui had been hanging out with people in the town for many years and had great eloquence. By the time he finished telling the story in a rhythmic manner, dozens of people had gathered in the dilapidated temple, and even the escorting officers and soldiers leaned over to listen.

Song Zhenping and Xiao An listened attentively, looking at the dilapidated clay statue with awe.

Song Liyun was also looking at the clay statue, her eyes sparkling: Could this monk also be a space-capable person? Then there was a way to solve her secret.

After two days in Wu Dynasty, she had already seen that there were no mutated plants or animals here, and that the people did not have special abilities.

One's own storage space is not special in the apocalyptic wasteland.

If you move here, you will definitely be an outlier and there will definitely be no good results.

It would be best to have a reasonable cover-up.

Now this clay statue gave her a chance.

After hearing that "Budai Monk" had such great abilities, especially that he had a treasure bag that could hold gold and silver, everyone began to kneel down devoutly and make wishes.

Dozens of people crowded into the small, dilapidated temple.

Some pray for wealth, some pray for a good harvest, some pray for good children and marriage, some pray for good health, there are all kinds of wishes.

The sounds of prayers rose one after another, and the dilapidated temple suddenly became a bustling temple fair.

Song Liyun squeezed through the chaotic crowd to the side of the clay statue, walked around the altar in front of everyone, and then returned to the Song Zhenping brothers.

Her movements were strange, and the two brothers kept looking at her, and now they were all staring at her hands.

They saw that Song Liyun "seemed" to have picked up something under the altar. It was bright white and looked very beautiful.

Song Liyun turned away, blocking everyone's sight, winked at the two of them, shook her head to signal them not to speak, and then revealed a corner of the silver-white nano protective suit fabric in her hand.

Song Zhenping touched it and asked hesitantly: "What is this?"

Song Liyun quickly stuffed the palm-sized piece of cloth into her sleeve and said in confusion, "I don't know! Such smooth cloth, have you seen it before? Although this piece of cloth is a little small, it can be used to mend clothes in the future."

Song Zhenping shook his head: His world only includes Xiaoshi Village, and the only fabric he has ever seen is the silk worn by Shuirong, which is far from as smooth as this one. It would be a waste to pick it up to mend clothes.

Xiao An didn't say anything, his eyes only moved between Song Liyun's cuffs and the clay statue of "Budai Monk", with a thoughtful expression.

Before Song Zhenping could ask again, the fireman was already outside, banging on the edge of the pot and shouting, "Eat, eat!"

As soon as the words fell, the dilapidated temple became quiet in an instant. Those who had just been kowtowing like crazy seemed to be nailed to the ground. In the blink of an eye, they no longer cared about the gods and rushed straight to the stove outside.

Song Zhenping hugged Xiao An tightly and stood at the foot of the wall, so he didn't get stepped on.

Song Dekui spat out a mouthful of dust and cursed, "Starving ghost reincarnated."

He cursed so happily that he didn't even realize that he had been eating energy bars along the way, and others had gone hungry for several meals.

Song Liyun was in a very good mood at this time.

She brushed the dust off her body, looked at the scattered straw sandals in front of her, and couldn't help but smile: The world is big, but eating is the most important thing.

It is better to rely on yourself than to rely on God.

No matter how devoutly you worship Buddha, it is not as practical as grabbing food with your own hands.

After everyone had taken their bowls to drink porridge, Song Dekui took a small bowl of porridge from the head cook and said to the three siblings, "There's only half a bowl left. Who wants some porridge?"

When they were fighting for the food just now, they all stood far away. By the time everyone had eaten, only this small half bowl of porridge was left in the pot.

Song Liyun and Song Zhenping both looked at Xiao An. He was the youngest here and it was his turn to eat.

Xiao An touched his stomach, looked at the half bowl of porridge and shook his head unprecedentedly: He was not hungry.

When the laborers, having filled their stomachs, set out again, and stood in front of a boundary marker with the words "Suijin Town" written on it half a day later, all their fatigue turned into fear.

Some people screamed and turned to run, while others retreated far away with fear on their faces, as if the stone tablet was some kind of ominous thing.

Although the laborers along the way complained about having to work far away from home in the middle of winter, they generally accepted it because they could earn money.

But here, they were truly resisting, with some women even crying loudly without caring about their dignity.

"We agreed to build the border wall, so why are we in Suijin Town? How can we be here?" Song Dekui murmured in a low voice, his voice trembling.

(End of this chapter)