Liu Huan found this amusing. What did he mean by "what to do with the pork"? It wasn't like she told him to kill it; why was he forcing her to buy it?
She patiently said, "It's hot today, Uncle, why don't you take it to the county to sell?"
The butcher looked impatient. "Going to the county is too much trouble, and you have to pay the deed tax. Why don't you just buy it directly?"
How come I never noticed these oddballs before? How come I took it so seriously to ask her to buy them?
"I'm sorry, my family hasn't been eating meat for the past few days, so I won't buy this meat. Uncle, you'd better go somewhere else."
The butcher nodded fiercely, "Fine, fine, you don't want to buy it, huh? You can forget about buying a single pound of pork from my house again."
Liu Huan was really afraid that the pork shop in the county would go out of business, and her family wouldn't be able to afford meat anymore.
"Uncle, if there's nothing else, I'll close the door."
After seeing one off, another came in. They were all villagers who used to sell vegetables to her family. "Most of us are now in the county, and we really can't eat all these vegetables."
The woman was annoyed, "What am I going to do with all these vegetables I grow?"
Liu Huan was even angrier than her. Did she think she was a charity and that she had to accept everything that came her way? What kind of robber logic was that?
After sending the people away, she told the others to tidy up the things in the house, since they probably wouldn't be staying there for long. Fortunately, they had a house in the county, so they weren't too sad.
On the day of the incense fair, the family got up early, dressed and got ready, and people came to call them from outside.
It was Qian, the eldest daughter-in-law of the village chief. I had never seen her smile so happily before, but she had wrinkles on her face from smiling so much when she saw the Liu family's courtyard a few days ago.
"That's why I say you have to know how to manage a household. Look how well this yard is organized."
Liu Huan no longer possessed the enthusiasm she once had. She called out to the others, "Sister-in-law, we're leaving. Do you have anything else to do?"
Changning Temple is located in Changning Town, which is next to Heshui Town. It takes two hours to get there from here.
The rest of the villagers had already left, but Qian stayed because she wanted to see the courtyard that was about to become hers and hitch a ride on the Liu family's carriage.
“I was also planning to go, but everyone else in the village has already left, so I was thinking of taking your horse-drawn carriage. What do you think?”
Liu Huan didn't think much of it. Her family's carriage couldn't carry many people. Even with just her family, it was already a bit overloaded. How could she possibly bring along a plump woman like Qian and her daughter?
"Sister-in-law, I'm so sorry, our horse is only big enough for our whole family. If we encounter an uphill section, we have to get off and walk."
Madam Qian didn't believe it. How could such a big carriage only seat so few people? She lifted the curtain and saw that it was fully equipped with everything she had ever seen. It was very different from the carriages she had seen in other people's homes. No wonder there wasn't enough room.
She quickly thought of a solution. "How about this? Your two maids and servants don't need to go. That way, it'll be perfect for us."
Liu Huan frowned in disbelief. She had never thought there were so many mentally challenged people in Heshui Village before, so why were they everywhere now?
“We promised to go with those two children long ago. If we don’t go, the Bodhisattva will be angry. I’m really sorry, sister-in-law. You can come by oxcart yourself.”
Before Qian could react, he led the group onto the carriage.
Qian's daughter watched the departing carriage with longing, "Mother, I want to ride in a carriage too."
Madam Qian said, "Don't worry, we'll have your grandfather get that carriage back and see how arrogant she can be."
The little girl hesitated, "But how do we get there now?"
The villagers had already left, so Qian had no choice but to walk to the county to take an oxcart with her child.
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the county government office, Changbai had already prepared a carriage and was waiting for Su Yi to depart.
"Master, let's go."
The two went off in a large group, without hiding anything.
The county magistrate and registrar in the yamen mocked, "They've been demoted here and still want to turn things around? They're dreaming."
Changning Temple is located halfway up the mountain, and there are vendors selling things along the way, with incense being the most common item.
Some vendors were selling sachets and red ropes; there were people everywhere.
Once the horse-drawn carriage reaches the foot of the mountain, it cannot go any further. If you want a shortcut, you can only take a sedan chair, a kind of bamboo palanquin. This is a rule of the temple.
The carriages were parked in a nearby yard, where there were several other fancy-looking carriages in addition to oxcarts, so there was no fear of them being stolen.
After all, even if you have the desire to steal, you don't have the guts to do so at the feet of Buddha.
Looking at the towering steps, Liu Huan decided to take a sedan chair instead of tiring herself out. Since she was already doing this, she figured Buddha would forgive her.
Just as they sat down, Su Yi and the others arrived.
When storing the carriage, Changbai glanced at the carriage next to him. Why did that carriage seem so familiar to him?
Although puzzled, I didn't think too much about it, since such carriages, though rare, do exist.
"My lord, why don't you ride in the sedan chair and I'll walk to see if there's anything different on the road?"
Su Yi didn't look at the sedan chair bearers and took the lead on the steps, saying, "No need, sincerity is enough."
All of this was being secretly monitored, and the news had already reached deep into the mountains and forests.
The burly man at the head of the group laughed loudly, "How much ability can a corrupt official who wants to regain his throne through divine intervention possibly have? Everyone, put in the effort, and in less than two years, we will definitely make this Li Kingdom change hands."
"Then do we still need to keep an eye on that person?"
"No need. Just keep an eye on any suspicious people coming up the mountain. If you think there's something wrong with them, just kill them."
Along the way, Su Yi looked around and found that the temples here were really different from those in other places.
Those neatly arranged trees that never see the sun must have quite a history.
It might take others a long time to climb the mountain, but Su Yi and Chang Bai were skilled in martial arts, so climbing up was effortless for them.
The incense on the mountain was indeed as prosperous as others had said, with a constant stream of people coming and going.
There was absolutely no flaw in it. Of course, if the flaw could be seen at first glance, it wouldn't have been able to hide for so long.
Su Yi led Changbai to offer incense to several Bodhisattvas. When he turned around, he saw An Ran and An Zhi, along with Er Mo beside them.
Ermo was completely distraught. Was it too late to hide the child now?
It was clearly too late; Su Yi was already walking towards them.
Changbai asked, "Ermo, what a coincidence! You also brought your child to offer incense?"
Ermo said sheepishly, "Yes, it's a temple fair today, and I was thinking of bringing the kids out for a walk."
Su Yi carefully examined the two children and asked An Ran, "Do you remember me?"
An Ran thought for a moment, "Uncle, is that you?"
She excitedly introduced him to Anzhi: "Brother, this is the uncle who saved me that year, the one I told you was very handsome."
An Zhi remained indifferent, saying, "Thank you, sir, for saving my sister."
Su Yi suddenly became interested, "Only a verbal thank you, nothing else?"
An Ran quickly replied, "Yes, yes, my mom cooks really well. Uncle, come to my house for dinner."
Ermo was afraid that Su Yi would agree, so he quickly grabbed the two of them and said, "Next time I will definitely ask my brother to prepare a small gift to thank you. Anzhi, your father is still waiting for us, let's go first."
She quickly pulled the child away, but was worried that Liu Huan might run into someone and needed to hurry and meet up with her.
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