Chapter 7 Chapter 7 An agreement was reached with Nanyan Temple to taste tea, but…
"Donor," the novice monk bowed to her and smiled strangely, "There is a dense forest behind this temple. In it there is a pond full of lotus flowers. It is very beautiful and makes people forget the secular world. It is a place for monks to cool off. Would you like to escape the summer heat together?
Duan Zhiwei felt that this monk was indescribably strange, so she shook her head and said, "I have other things to do, so I won't go."
She took two steps back and tried to walk away, but her legs stopped involuntarily.
The monk said "Amitabha" and stared at Duan Zhiwei with his dark eyes and said, "I see that you are almost dying of heat. If you don't go with me to escape the heat, you may regret it."
As if he could see into people's hearts, he said, "There are also free sweet rice cakes in the back pond for donors to enjoy."
"It's not hot enough to kill me, is it?" Duan Zhiwei thought so, but followed him unconsciously as if possessed. Nanyan Temple was not as big as Dayalan and was very small. They should have reached the back pond in a short while, but Duan Zhiwei seemed to have followed this novice monk for a long way and walked into a lush forest.
There was a thick fog among the dense green shade. Duan Zhiwei followed in a daze, but the bright summer scenery before him became darker and darker, and the fog became thicker and thicker. The novice monk suddenly picked up a lotus lantern that was taller than a person.
Finally, they arrived at the Xuanyin Pond that the novice monk had mentioned. Sure enough, the pond was full of lotus flowers. Countless monks were sitting by the pond, some sleeping soundly on the rocks, some chanting in the water.
The monk who brought Duan Zhiwei said, "Thanks for the favor, female donor. We are willing to sing Sanskrit for you." Then the group of monks actually sang Sanskrit loudly together in the water.
Duan Zhiwei suddenly felt something was wrong. Those monks, the ones in the pool, on the rocks, and even those standing next to him, all had exactly the same face.
She was so scared that she turned around and tried to run, but was grabbed by the monk next to her. The monk's head slowly deformed and turned into a giant frog's head, and the hands holding the lotus lantern turned into green webbed feet. His head was flat, with a pair of protruding, round eyes, and wasp-shaped pupils. "We invite the humans who are about to die of heat to cool down in the pool to accumulate merit. Please go in quickly, lady donor."
Duan Zhiwei was caught by it and couldn't move. She had to resort to a makeshift plan. She opened her diamond-patterned messenger bag, where there were a few lotus cakes left. She had prepared them for lunch. She handed the cakes to the frog and said, "These lotus cakes are for you. I really have something urgent to do."
As expected, the frogs were attracted by this and started to eat the lotus cakes with relish. Duan Zhiwei suddenly remembered what Aunt Duan had said about encountering Jiang Chan in the river. He had no choice but to try his luck and started to sing loudly.
A flash of knife light cut through the thick mist, and Duan Zhiwei came to his senses. The mist had completely dissipated. There was no frog-headed monster or monk in front of him, only a pond of beautifully blooming lotus flowers. Under the lotus leaves, there were groups of frogs croaking noisily.
Yuan Shenji was patrolling nearby when he suddenly heard singing. The voice was unpleasant but very familiar, so he rushed over immediately, only to see Duan Zhiwei crossing the iron chain protecting the pool and stepping into the green mud beside the pool.
Yuan Shenji broke through the barrier built by the frog monks, strode into the green mud of the pond, and looked at Duan Zhiwei with a frown.
Duan Zhiwei did not touch the water, but his pair of linen shoes were covered with mud.
He stepped into the water nonchalantly, bowed to Duan Zhiwei and said "I'm sorry", then stretched out an arm to hug Duan Zhiwei's waist and pulled her out of the Xuanyin Pool.
"What's going on?" He looked angry and worried, and raised his voice.
Duan Zhiwei took a breath and said, "I know how those people fell down." She gestured with her hands and feet, and told the whole story of the frog transforming into a frog monk and a little demon.
Yuan Shenji stepped into the water with a knife in hand and was grabbed by Duan Zhiwei.
Obviously he was planning to challenge the frog demon in a duel, but the frog was kind-hearted. It was afraid that people would get sick from the heat, so it tricked people into going into the pond to cool off. If he killed it rashly, wouldn't it be a loss of virtue... But what could she say? How could she eat the frog when it was so cute? Learn about Chang'an's famous dish Snow Baby.
After thinking for a while, she could only say, "Today is Buddha's Bathing Festival. The maids and gentlemen are all releasing animals. This lotus pond is also in the backyard of Nanyan Temple. How can the captain hold a weapon and start killing people?"
The late queen was kind and a devout believer in Buddhism. If she killed the frog demon in the temple, she would be blamed by the saint. Thinking of this, Yuan Shen put away his unsheathed sword.
When Yuan Shenji drew his sword, he exuded a murderous aura. Not only was Duan Zhiwei frightened, but even the frogs hiding under the lotus leaves that were making loud noises shrank back.
Yuan Shenji felt that he had frightened her, and he couldn't help but feel a little regretful and blamed himself for being reckless. After thinking it over, he bowed to her solemnly to express his gratitude, "Thank you, Madam Duan, for reminding me."
"You're welcome," Duan Zhiwei said, and the two fell into an awkward silence. In order to ease the atmosphere, Duan Zhiwei took out a handkerchief from his arms, which contained the last lotus cake he was going to bring to Aunt Duan.
"Try it, Captain," she said with a smile, "This is the last one for today."
Seeing the pink lotus cake, a frog in the pond jumped up and tried to snatch it. Yuan Shenji was quick to grab Duan Zhiwei and held her in his arms. The frog bumped into his back and failed, so it had to flee back to the pond in a hurry.
It was a pity that the lotus cake fell to the ground. After all, milk was added to the cake, and the cost was there. Duan Zhiwei wanted to pick it up with a distressed heart, but Yuan Shenji got there first and squatted down to pick it up.
Duan Zhiwei quickly said, "Captain, the lotus cake is dirty, so let's not use it."
But Yuan Shenji gently brushed off the dust on the cake and said, "It's okay. I've been in the army for a long time and have eaten all kinds of food and grass."
He took a bite of the lotus cake and felt that it was soft and fragrant, and the green lotus leaf underneath had a strong tea aroma, which made him feel very happy.
Yuan Shenji smiled for the first time in the past few days, and his sharp features softened a lot. "It's delicious. Thank you, Madam Duan."
At first, Duan Zhiwei felt that Yuan Shenji was like a piece of frozen hard buttermilk, but now it was suddenly melted by a layer of boiling hot sugarcane juice and turned into a buttery mountain with numerous rocks. She suddenly felt uncomfortable and less cheerful.
"Thank you for your help today, Captain." Duan Zhiwei bowed to him and said, "I will make some summer cakes for you someday."
Seeing that the armored and sword-wielding Jinwu guards had surrounded the entire backyard, Duan Zhiwei tactfully retreated. Yuan Shenji wanted to call her, but was blocked by his subordinates. He could only look at her deeply and turn around to deal with this thorny frog monk case.
But what Duan Zhiwei did not expect was that as the final victim of the Lotus Pond Incident, many neighbors came to listen to the story.
Duan Zhiwei stood by the stove, baking Hu pancakes while vividly describing his experience with the frog monk in Nanyan Temple. People who came to listen would occasionally feel thirsty and buy a cup of refreshing purple basil drink or snow-soaked spleen-reducing drink.
After hearing the whole story, they would buy some meat pies or fried pork and take them away contentedly, and business suddenly became much better.
Some writers even wrote this story into a variation of the text, and the story of the frog monk suddenly became well-known throughout Chang'an. Although the backyard of Nanyan Temple was still closed, it could not resist the enthusiasm of the ladies and gentlemen of Chang'an, and they flocked to Nanyan Temple to worship Buddha.
Duan Zhiwei took the opportunity to hire a donkey cart and go to the gate of Nanyan Temple to sell the same lotus cake as the Xuanyin Pond. The pink, delicate and lovely lotus cake was spread flat on the large lotus leaves, attracting many Chang'an ladies to buy it, and it was sold out in one hour every day.
That day, Duan Zhiwei dragged a large box of lotus cakes to Nanyan Temple as usual. Before he could even unload the things from the donkey cart, he was surrounded by two gray-robed monks.
Duan Zhiwei almost thought it was another monster that appeared from nowhere, and quickly opened his arms to protect his old donkey, who slowly ate a mouthful of grass.
The gray-robed monk said "Amitabha" very politely and explained his purpose, which turned out to be an invitation from the abbot of Nanyan Temple.
Duan Zhiwei had no choice but to hand his old donkey to one of the monks, and under the guidance of another monk, he entered Nanyan Temple.
The abbot is the monk who is in charge of the daily work of the temple, including finance, personnel, etc. He has a high status in the temple, second only to the hall master. Duan Zhiwei doesn't understand why such a person wants to see him.
The abbot was a thin middle-aged monk. He held a rosary in his hand, greeted Duan Zhiwei politely, and poured her a pot of tea.
In this dynasty, common people mostly drank cheese or rice wine, only some places in the south drank tea, and the rest were in temples. It was said that tea could refresh the mind.
Aunt Duan usually drinks yogurt, while Duan Zhiwei drinks boiled well water directly. It was rare to see tea with a dark green soup color at this time, and she was really thirsty, so she happily drank the tea in one gulp.
Then his face turned as green as the soup. There is no other reason. It is probably to keep the monks clear-headed so that they can recite more sutras. The tea is so bitter that it makes the tip of your tongue tremble. If there is anything worse, coarse salt, jujubes, and osmanthus are added to the tea. I think it is to reflect the grandeur of the temple, and pepper, which is more valuable than gold, is also added.
The taste of numbness, sweetness, bitterness, astringency and spiciness was mixed together. Duan Zhiwei could neither swallow it nor spit it out. After struggling for a long time, he finally swallowed the strange tea.
Seeing that she looked unhappy, the dean seemed to understand something and ordered someone to bring her another serving of ordinary yogurt. He then drank the tea calmly, exuding a peaceful and tranquil aura.
Duan Zhiwei looked at him with great admiration. No wonder he was able to become the dean and drink such tea without changing his expression.
After drinking his tea, the abbot finally got to the point. "A few days ago, there was an incident with a frog monk in a Japanese temple. Was the female donor injured?"
Duan Zhiwei knew that the abbot wanted to ask her something, so she started a conversation and said directly, "Thank you for your concern, abbot. I am unharmed. It's just that I have been selling lotus cakes at the temple gate these days. I wonder if it has affected the reputation of Nanyan Temple?"
The abbot knew that he had met a smart person, and nodded in approval, saying, "That's fine. The other day, Captain Yuan came over, and I had a chat with him. I learned that the female donor is actually a great cook." The abbot paused and said, "I wonder if the female donor can sell the recipe of lotus cake to our temple."
Originally, there were many monasteries in Chang'an, and Nanyan Temple was relatively small and not very popular. A few days ago, there were more pilgrims because of the frog monk and the little demon, but the good times didn't last long. Seeing Duan Zhiwei selling the same lotus cake as Xuanyin Pond at the temple gate, the abbot thought of ordering the vegetarian hall to sell this lotus cake as well.
Duan Zhiwei agreed without thinking too much. Firstly, this lotus cake was sold under the reputation of Nanyan Temple. If we just talk about the taste, it is just so-so and not very delicious. Secondly, lotus cake is easy to make. As long as you pay a little attention, I believe others can make it too.
So Duan Zhiwei happily reached an agreement on the lotus cake recipe with Nanyan Temple.
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