The sun grew hotter, the rocks absorbed heat, and the summer heat rose. The dragon boat race was over, and everyone packed up their things contentedly and returned to the city.
Fu Zi and his fellow apprentices still had to go collect mugwort, so they parted ways with Xu Jiang and the others and went to another farm.
On the way back, Manager Wang led everyone around the silkworm village and walked back to the official road. When they passed by the orphanage, he went to the door to ask for a few sugar-coated rice dumplings as a symbol of good luck and health.
"Here, one for each of you, they're still warm." He distributed the rice dumplings he had begged for to everyone. After he was done, he opened the one in his hand and let Mai Mai bite off the tip, muttering to himself, "Maimai, stay safe and sound."
Mai Mai mimicked, "All is well."
Shopkeeper Wang's son also offered Mai Mai a tip of his own rice dumpling and said, "Maimai, may you live in longevity and prosperity."
Mai Mai nodded, "Changle Yongkang."
Qin peeled the rice dumpling in her hand and handed it to Shopkeeper Wang, who took a bite happily and said, "Thank you, ma'am."
Mai Mai also said, "Thank you, my lady."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Xu Jiang couldn't help pinching her face, and when she turned around, she saw Lou Yunchun had already peeled the rice dumplings and handed them to her.
She was slightly stunned, then peeled her own rice dumpling and took turns eating it with Lou Yunchun.
May you and I be blessed with good health.
After eating the rice dumplings, everyone set off again.
The monk sent away the donor who came to his door to ask for rice dumplings, and was about to return to his room to check on the refugees who were under house arrest, but he heard the sound of something being thrown in the adjacent meditation room.
He walked forward and pushed open the door. Seeing two people fighting on the ground, he quickly shouted towards the yard.
"Someone come quickly, the fight has started!"
Upon hearing this, several nearby monks rushed over to check the situation. Seeing the two men rolling on the ground like snakes, they quickly stepped forward and dragged them away.
After dragging them away, the monks were so intoxicated by the sour smell on the two men that they kept shouting "Amitabha". Later, they simply carried the two men to the bathroom and poured a bucket of cold water on each of them.
Only then did it calm down.
The two were taken to the Buddhist hall, and after a while, Xu Wu and Xu Twelve were also brought in.
The abbot saw that it was Xu Si who had caused the trouble again, so he asked, "Why do you break the rules so many times?"
Xu Si slumped to the ground, and said in a desperate tone, "What do you mean by breaking the precepts? I'm not a monk. Who told you to lock me up and not give me food?"
"You are stubborn and recalcitrant," the host said without arguing. "Since you don't want to stay here, let the officials take you back."
After saying this, he asked two disciples to go to the government office to invite someone.
When they heard that they were going to invite government officials, Xu Si and Feng Miao became panicked.
Feng Miao hurriedly said, "Master, this matter doesn't have to get to the point of alerting the authorities. There was just a misunderstanding between me and this brother."
Xu Si looked at him in surprise and echoed his words, "That's right, it's just a little friction. There's no need to alert the authorities. Just let us go."
"You are people brought here by the patrol guard himself, so your decision of whether to stay or go will naturally be reported to the government office." Then he ignored the two's objections and told his disciples to leave.
Hearing this, Xu Si breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he wasn't going to the government office for a lawsuit, he didn't care.
But Feng Miao was afraid. He was now wanted. If he asked the officials to come here, wouldn't that be walking into a trap?
He decided to avoid the host for a while, so he bowed and said to the host, "I have caused trouble to the host and the masters here. I don't have the face to bother you again in the future. I will leave now."
"Wait a minute," the host stopped him. "The orphanage was ordered by the imperial court to take in refugees. Everyone coming and going must be included in the register, and anyone who wants to leave must fill out the paperwork first."
Xu Si complained, "This is really troublesome."
"The rules of the capital are very strict." Xu Wu said in a soothing voice, "Just obey for now. As long as we can find Xu Jiang, everything will be fine in the future."
Xu Twelve remained silent. The temple was so nice. There was food, drink and shelter. Although he had to work, it was better than being a slave outside. It was a pity that his bond was still with Xu Si, and he had no control over himself.
Feng Miao was not afraid of filling out the list. As long as he did not enter the city, he could just fill in a fake name. Even if the officials came to check, he would have left long ago.
However, he was a little surprised when he vaguely heard Xu Wu mention Xu Jiang's name just now. Could it be that he heard it wrong?
A monk brought pen, ink, paper and inkstone to fill in the names of several people.
Feng Miao originally wanted to fill in the box first and leave, but was pushed aside by Xu Si. Thinking that they were all leaving soon and there was no need for further conflict, he gave in.
"Name."
"Xu Hao."
"Place of origin."
"I'm from Guizhou."
"age."
"Twenty-nine, the fourth in the family."
The monk noted his physical features and temperament one by one, then waved his hand to signal the next one.
"Name."
"Xu Dang, also from Qianzhong, is twenty-six years old this year and the fifth child in the family."
In the end, only Xu Twelve was left.
Feng Miao secretly looked at the three people. They all had the surname Xu. Could they really be Xu Jiang's clan members? His heart was in turmoil, but his face was calm.
"Name."
"Wang Muzhi." This is his pseudonym.
After registering, several people were taken away from the Buddhist hall. The abbot gave instructions to the disciple beside him, asking him to report everything Xu Hao had done to the officials one by one, and to supervise and educate him well to prevent him from entering the capital and causing trouble.
The disciple agreed and followed him out.
There was still some time before the officials arrived. Feng Miao secretly looked at the three people and guessed that Xu Twelve was easy to talk to, so he pulled him aside and asked about their whereabouts and purpose of going to the capital.
"I just heard that you were going to look for Xu Jiang, but is she the female owner of Zhanchun Bookstore?"
"That's right." Xu Shier asked curiously, "Do you know her?" Then he added cautiously, "Are you going to inform on her?"
Snitch? Feng Miao's eyes flashed with a strange color, and then he shook his head and said, "How can I snitch if I don't enter the city?"
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