The autumn wind is blowing, the sun is setting, and in the afternoon, in a classical garden in Bozhou, Huaixi, there is an interweaving of light and shadow, and the air is refreshing and warm.
However, because it was a weekday afternoon, not many people could appreciate the beauty of the place. In fact, there was only one backpacker who bought a ticket to enter this Taoist garden, and he was sitting on a bench with his head tilted back, covering his face with a book and dozing off.
“Swish… snap!”
Suddenly, as the autumn wind blew hard, a thin book, "The Gains and Losses of Chinese Politics Throughout the Dynasties", slipped directly from the face of the young male tourist to the ground, and was swept away by the wind several steps away. The man woke up immediately, but instinctively looked at his backpack on the bench, and waited until he was sure that the things were not lost before looking for his book.
But at this moment, an old Taoist priest dragging a big broom appeared out of nowhere, bent down to help pick up the book on the ground, and sat on the bench dragging the broom, and then casually flipped through the book... The autumn wind, the blue clothes and wooden bun, the gray face and hair, startled the young man who had just woken up.
However, when the young man took a closer look and caught a glimpse of the XL logo on the collar of the Taoist robe below the bun, he felt relieved. Then he laughed secretly in his heart, mocking himself for being too suspicious.
It turns out that this place is Woyang, Bozhou, known as the hometown of Laozi. The garden here was built next to the Laozi Temple, so it is common to encounter Taoists here.
"It's rare to see young people who read books seriously these days." After flipping through a few pages, the old Taoist priest quickly handed the book back to him through his backpack, perhaps because he couldn't see it clearly or simply didn't understand it. "In fact, politics has been the same since ancient times. It's enough to understand the general idea. The details are useless. You read the right book."
"Thank you... um... Taoist priest." The young man took the book back, but was momentarily stumped by the question of address. "It's just for show on the train, I don't think much of it."
"Very modest." The old Taoist priest became more interested in talking after hearing the answer. "Where are you from, young man? How old are you? Why are you interested in coming to our Laozi Temple?"
"Local, 21." The young man said casually, his Mandarin gradually taking on a Huaixi local accent. "I just graduated from college and started working, so I came home to do some work. My train leaves in the evening, and I know it's quiet here, so I just came here to spend some time."
"Twenty-one is great!" the old Taoist priest sighed. "Young! You don't know, our Woyang is the hometown of Laozi, and the Laozi Temple has a long history. Unfortunately, few locals come here, and even fewer young people come here. It's rare that you..."
Before he finished speaking, the young man couldn't help laughing: "Master, I'm a local. You are just fooling outsiders with this. Why are you fooling me? Everyone knows that my hometown is Luyi next door. Is ours fake?"
The old Taoist priest became even more embarrassed upon hearing this, and his face even turned red, but he just waved his hands and said nothing.
The young man was probably bored, and did not let the other party go. Instead, he asked: "What do you mean, Taoist priest? Ours is real, and the one in Luyi is fake? The Laozi Temple over there dates from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty and then to the Song Dynasty. There are layers upon layers, and cultural relics and historical sites emerge one after another. The iron pillars in front of the door have a history of a thousand years..."
"I didn't say Luyi was fake." The old Taoist priest replied awkwardly while holding a big broom. "But our Woyang may not be fake... The two places are so close. In ancient times, Luyi has always belonged to Bozhou, and Woyang is a newly built county that has only been around for a hundred years. Why should we distinguish them so clearly?"
The young man suddenly realized and smiled again: "That makes sense. We are all next to the Wo River. Maybe we were a family when I was alive."
"That's right!" The old Taoist finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Things like true and false are meaningless in history. When we say Laozi's hometown, we mean the birthplace of Li Er. Luyi can be a place of worship for generations. They are both true, so why say one is false?"
The young man nodded perfunctorily, but he was disdainful in his heart... To put it bluntly, no one cares where I was born, and the dispute over Laozi's hometown is clearly a dispute over tourism resources and local cultural confidence. Even if the old Taoist priest's argument is somewhat reasonable, the two local governments will definitely not recognize it! The Luyi government, which holds a large number of genuine cultural relics and historical sites, will not recognize it even more!
Moreover, this Taoist priest is not a proper Taoist priest. He is probably just a cosplay cleaner, and a lazy cleaner at that... What else? A Taoist priest who always calls himself "Laozi" and "Li Er" without any respect? And then he is carrying a broom in the garden on a windy day, pretending to be serious. Who is he trying to fool?
However, the old Taoist priest seemed to have seen through the young man's perfunctory attitude, and he continued to chatter: "Young man, don't disbelieve me... We in Woyang also have real cultural relics and historical sites. The Nine Dragon Well in Meteor Garden is an ancient artifact from the Spring and Autumn Period verified by experts. There is only one well. If you don't believe me, go and take a look."
The young man shook his head repeatedly, and simply stood up and picked up his backpack to leave... As a local, what does he know? The so-called Nine Dragon Well, there is also one in Luyi, but to be honest, let alone the one in Woyang, even if it is the one in Luyi, who knows if it has any connection with Daozu?
"Young man, wait a moment!" Seeing this, the old Taoist became even more anxious, and simply stood up and told the truth while leaning on the broom. "A dog fell into the Jiulong Well over there, and its legs were injured. We can't reach it with a broom. The well is supposed to be wide, only one person deep, but we are too old to get out after going in, so we need to trouble the young man for help."
The young man was speechless for a moment: "Master, why didn't you say so earlier?"
"Isn't it because I'm afraid you won't agree?" The old Taoist priest also felt embarrassed, but he just held the broom and led the way. "Young people are not easy to talk to nowadays. Besides, I don't want to take care of this dog, but its family is familiar with us and often invites us to dinner. Now that his family is not here, I feel embarrassed to leave their dog at the bottom of the well and do nothing about it..."
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