Chapter 819: Each Family
Perhaps because he was worried that they would be unhappy knowing his past, County Magistrate Tang kept sitting on the stone and talking to them incessantly until he was so hungry that he could no longer bear it. He patted his clothes and stood up, saying, "Let's go downstairs and eat something. The sun is almost setting, and I have to disguise myself and go to your house soon."
Manbao led Magistrate Tang downstairs. As they passed the vegetable garden, they ran into Daohe, carrying a basket and picking vegetables. Seeing them, he stopped and calmly saluted Magistrate Tang before looking at Manbao and Baishan. "Daoxu said you were here, but I never saw you go to the front hall to worship the gods. I guessed you were running around. Why are you here?"
Manbao said: "We are talking in private."
County Magistrate Tang looked at Manbao.
Daohe didn't ask what the whisper was about, but changed the subject and asked, "Do you want to ask for an amulet?"
Manbao shook his head, "My mother must have invited me."
Daohe was not disappointed. He took out two amulets from his pocket, gave one to her and one to Bai Shan, and said, "These two are for you. I also gave one to Bai Er. Why don't you play together today?"
Bai Shan said: "He came earlier than us, so we staggered."
Daohe nodded, stepped aside and said, "He's playing with others on the big lawn in front right now. Go find him."
Manbao and Baishan nodded, and one of them said, "I copied a medical book for you, but unfortunately I had to rush out today and forgot to bring it with me. I'll have someone bring it to you tomorrow."
Bai Shan also said, "Last time you were looking for the Chongxu Sutra, Manbao and I found it in the library of the prefectural school, but we only copied a small part for you. I brought it back with me, and will have someone send it to you tomorrow. I guess I won't be able to bring you the rest until I go home next time, or when my brother Zhou Si comes home."
Daohe's eyes lit up and he nodded, "Thank you very much."
Manbao and Baishan smiled back and said goodbye. County Magistrate Tang followed Manbao and Baishan out. After walking quite a distance, he looked back at Daohe and asked them, "At his age, he's already reading the Chongxu Sutra. Does he understand it?"
"Whether you understand it or not, just read it first," Manbao said. "Our teacher said that if you read more books, you will naturally understand the meaning."
"Has he finished reading the Tao Te Ching?"
"Of course, I'm not a Taoist priest, I've finished reading it all." Manbao pointed at Bai Shan and said, "He's finished reading it too."
County Magistrate Tang asked with a smile, "Do you understand it?"
Manbao shook his head. "I can't even say I understand five points. I only understand one or two points. The teacher said that he has read Laozi and Zhuangzi all his life, but now he has only grasped five or six points of their meaning."
County Magistrate Tang sighed and said, "To be able to comprehend even 50% of this is quite remarkable. If everyone in this world could understand even a little bit, there wouldn't be so much chaos."
Bai Shan turned around and asked County Magistrate Tang curiously, "Sir Tang, don't you believe in Taoism? Why is he reading Laozi and Zhuangzi?"
"Just because I don't believe in the Fa doesn't mean I can't read?" County Magistrate Tang glanced down at him and said, "I'm not a Confucian either. I read the books of military strategists and physicians, don't I?"
Man Baole said, "Then you must be a Fa family."
County Magistrate Tang smiled and said, "Yes, and not really, but my father is a Legalist. Are you considered a doctor?"
Man Bao shook his head. "Not really. I like medicine, and I think a lot of what Laozi and Zhuangzi said makes sense. I especially like Master Tianzun, but Confucius also has some truth in what he said. I learn everything that's right. If they can't convince each other, I'll think about it and find my own answer. But my answer may lean towards law, Confucianism, or even military affairs. And after a while, my answer will change. So which family do you think I belong to?"
Bai Shan: "You are a jack of all trades, and a jack of all trades with a very unstable will."
County Magistrate Tang burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Manbao said, "Master, you haven't even designated yourself as one of the three families, so why should I be the head of the family?"
"You are a great talent, praised by the whole world. You want to be one, but you are not qualified yet," Bai Shan said, "how talented are you? You should read more books."
"I'm reading as many books as you are now."
Bai Shan: "That's not necessarily true. Do you want to compete?"
Man Bao: "Let's compete, who's afraid of who? When we get back to Yizhou City, we'll compete. We won't ask the teacher to give us a topic, we'll just compete in writing to see who can come up with an essay that the other can't follow."
"Okay, it's not a one-shot victory. Let Bai Er be the referee and write down every single thing. Whoever has the most at the end will lose."
The two of them walked to the front hall of the Taoist temple while arguing with each other. It was still very popular there, with people constantly coming in and out to worship the gods.
Manbao looked at County Magistrate Tang and asked, "Would you like to pay your respects?"
County Magistrate Tang put his fan behind his waist and said, "Now that you are here, you should pay your respects. You will have to meet the Taoist priest in the temple later."
When you go to see someone else's temple, how can you not worship their god first?
Manbao and his friends have gotten used to it. Every time they come to the temple, they pay their respects to every deity.
Of course, Manbao was still a little girl with short legs at that time, and her mind was free of distractions. However, Qian, who brought her here, had many requests, so in order to feel at ease, she visited every god.
Manbao followed his mother to pay her respects.
Later, Bai Shan also liked to come to the temple to worship the gods, so he followed Manbao to worship them one by one. All he asked for were wishes like hoping that homework would be easier, that the teacher would have more holidays, that they could go to the county town to play, and so on.
Later on, as I got older, I made more and more wishes. The bigger ones started with the health of my family and friends, and my academic success...
Even though they know that the gods cannot bless so many people and fulfill so many people's wishes, they still habitually pay their respects to them one by one.
County Magistrate Tang was accustomed to worshipping only the main god.
This Taoist temple was Laozi's home turf, so he only bowed to Laozi and then watched the two of them bow one by one.
He smiled and shook his head, then followed behind. In the end, he finally met the Taoist priest in the temple.
Two Taoist priests were sitting on either side, interpreting fortunes for people. County Magistrate Tang watched for a while and realized that they were interpreting fortunes for free. Some people paid, some didn't, and some even took out two eggs from their pockets and gave them to the Taoist priests...
County Magistrate Tang: ...
No matter what the believers gave, the two Taoist priests accepted it all. They put the money in a box beside them, and the eggs and other things in a basket at their feet.
Regardless of whether they give or not, they all respond with a smile and nothing changes.
County Magistrate Tang stroked his chin, turned around and asked Manbao, "Are the Taoist priests in this temple always like this?"
"Yes." Manbao stood on tiptoe to take a look and said, "This year's market is much better than last year."
A whisk ten feet long came waving over. Manbao turned around and saw Shoucai standing behind him. He glared at Manbao with a smile in his eyes and asked, "Why don't you come to see the abbot? The abbot has been sitting here for a while, waiting for you to come and draw lots."
Manbao chuckled and said, "I won't be drawing lots this year. There are so many people interpreting their fortunes."
Shoucai shook his head and said, "Let's just shake one. We shake one every year at the temple fair, so why should we make an exception this year? Shake it and give it to my senior brother to interpret the fortune."
Then he looked at Bai Shan and said with a smile: "Young Master Bai, please also shake a lot."
Bai Shan nodded, "Okay."
The next update will be at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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