Chapter 25 Overnight in the Temple
Before I knew it, the sky had grown darker, and dusk had enveloped us. It was so pitch black that I could no longer see the hilltop opposite.
"Looks like we have to spend the night here! Brothers, find some firewood and start the fire." Zhaonan, the follower who spoke the most, spoke.
They seemed to be very familiar with this kind of thing of sleeping outdoors in the wilderness, and someone immediately went to the back to search for something that could be used as firewood. Unexpectedly, they found a pile of messy firewood lying in a mess under the porch at the back, and they carried it all over.
Zhao Bei was delighted: "We are lucky! I thought the doors, windows and tables were going to be smashed!"
Zhao Liya couldn't help but say, "Many places in Lingnan have this custom. When people come across a mountain god temple or a land god temple in the mountains, they stop by to rest and pick up some firewood from nearby. Firstly, it's a way to show respect to the mountain and land gods by offering them wealth; secondly, it's also a way for passersby to warm themselves by the fire, which is a good deed. Places like this, especially in winter, are a rare treat for tired travelers to rest and have a fire to warm themselves.
Zhao Bei and the others suddenly understood and said with a smile, "So that's how it is. The people of Lingnan are really simple and honest. Not bad, not bad!"
Zhaonan said, "Let's pick up some firewood and throw it back when we leave tomorrow."
Everyone: "Okay! This is fine!"
Zhou Hansheng looked up at Zhao Liya and then lowered his eyes, with some ambiguous meaning in his eyes.
The brother and sister's accent was not that of Lingnan, but more like that of Beijing - but maybe he had heard it wrong, it was hard to say, after all, he had not been back to Beijing for ten years, and those under him were not from Beijing, so he could not quite remember what the Beijing accent was like.
This girl seemed very different from the girls in Beijing that he had in mind. Perhaps he really had remembered her wrongly?
The fire started burning quickly. The purpose of a fire on a summer night is to provide lighting rather than keep warm, so it doesn't need to burn very brightly, as long as there is a little light.
The rain continued to fall heavily, and the sky had already fallen completely dark. Looking out, it was pitch black. My hearing was amplified, the rustling of rain beside my ears, the flickering orange flames before my eyes. In this pitch-black mountain temple, the unfamiliar fear faded, and I inexplicably felt a strange warmth.
Zhou Hansheng and his group hadn't brought any food with them. How could they have imagined such bad luck, with the weather in Lingnan being so strange? For no apparent reason, they were stopped at the mountain temple.
There were quite a few snacks in Zhao Liya and Hu Ling's bags, which Zhao Liya had specially bought to take back for her family to taste. There were water chestnut cakes, white sugar cakes, taro corners, chicken biscuits, sesame rolls, almond cakes, steamed buns, radish cakes and several other kinds. She contributed them all at this time and invited everyone to taste them together to fill their stomachs.
Zhaonan and others were already hungry, and they became even hungrier when they saw so many delicious foods!
Everyone couldn't help but look at the young master eagerly.
Zhou Hansheng's lips twitched imperceptibly. Speechless, these things are so worthless! When did they become so precious? What's wrong with skipping a meal?
Zhao Liya smiled slightly upon seeing this, and said sympathetically, "This young master helped me out before, and I'm just returning the favor. Please don't despise me!"
Zhou Hansheng looked at her and nodded slightly: "You are too polite, young lady."
He glanced at her and said, "Eat."
Zhaonan and others thanked him in a flurry and personally gave a portion to Zhou Hansheng, and then everyone took it.
Zhao Liya and Hu Ling also ate something, and then waited for the long night to pass.
The advantages of having a large number of people and being reliable are immediately apparent. There is no problem with the sense of security, and the other party has eaten their snacks and does not want them to keep watch no matter what.
Zhao Liya and Hu Ling just need to spend the night peacefully.
In mid-June, the weather is already very hot during the day. If you are at home at night, covering yourself with a thin blanket when sleeping is enough.
However, it is raining suddenly now and we are in the mountains, so you can imagine how hot it will be.
Even when sitting next to the fire, when the mountain breeze carrying moisture swept in, Zhao Liya still couldn't help shivering, covering her face and sneezing several times in a row, "A-choo! A-choo!"
Hu Ling got anxious when he saw it, "How are you? This——"
He didn't know what to do in this desolate wilderness. Unfortunately, his clothes were thin in summer, and he couldn't take off any clothes to share with Zhao Liya.
Zhao Liya sniffed and smiled: "It's okay, I'm not that weak! I'll just warm myself by the fire."
Tomorrow when I leave here and get to the village, I will ask for a bowl of hot ginger soup and buy a set of clean clothes to change into.
To be honest, Zhao Liya was a little nervous. Being sick is a big problem, and she absolutely cannot afford to be sick.
"Miss Zhao," Zhao Nan came over at some point and handed her a bamboo green cloak with dark patterns. He said with a smile, "This is our young master's. It's clean. If you don't mind, you can put it on."
Zhao Liya was stunned and subconsciously looked up at Mr. Zhou.
Zhou Hansheng met her gaze and nodded slightly, a little stiffly. He felt a little embarrassed. After all, he had never done anything like this before. He wasn't someone who liked to meddle in other people's business, nor was he a soft-hearted person. He just felt that with so many people eating so many snacks, he couldn't just watch them get cold.
Zhao Liya had no idea of his inner thoughts. Seeing this, she was secretly delighted and smiled at him, "Thank you, Mr. Zhou!"
After saying that, he took the cloak, spread it out and put it on.
Warmth descended, enveloping my entire body. My tense pores instantly relaxed, making me feel much more comfortable.
Amitabha, I’m lucky to have met Master Zhou and the others, otherwise I would have really caught a cold.
These days, this is no small matter.
Hu Ling subconsciously frowned slightly, feeling a little wary and concerned. He felt that this was not a good idea. How could his own sister use the cloak of a strange young man?
But this special time can't be without
Hu Ling had no choice but to pretend that everything was normal and said nothing. He secretly decided in his heart that no matter what season it was in the future, he would remind the girl to bring an extra piece of clothing.
The rain was rustling and dripping almost all night long, and the next morning, the sky finally cleared up.
Everyone was cheered up and couldn't wait to leave this shabby place!
I thought we would go our separate ways here, but unexpectedly everyone was heading in the same direction. When I asked tentatively, I found out they were all going to Gaolian County.
This is a little bit embarrassing.
It seems that both parties are a little reluctant to tell each other their destination, so even when they were chatting in a good atmosphere last night, both parties tacitly did not ask each other where they were going?
Everyone thinks so, and then goes their separate ways, leaving behind some beautiful memories, and never sees each other again - the perfect state of a chance encounter!
Unexpectedly.
(End of this chapter)
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