3500 remittance telegram
The next day, someone from the village brought some eggs, saying they were for Zhou Huaiyue to replenish his body. Zhou's father made a bowl of noodles with poached egg soup, which was so delicious that he ate it all up in big gulps, and there was not a drop of soup left at the bottom of the bowl.
After eating the noodles, practice your calligraphy.
Zhou Huaiyue went up the mountain to the Taoist temple, and he was thinking about the nameless grass.
The Taoist temple was in the mountains opposite, and the only way up the mountain was to go around the village's sun-drying field. When Zhou Huaiyue passed through the village, he met many villagers along the way who greeted him. Although he didn't know them, he responded politely one by one.
The mountain is not high. When you reach the middle of the mountain, the road ahead suddenly narrows. There are bamboo forests on both sides. Listening carefully, you can hear the sound of flowing water. You walk towards the sound. Under a mossy rock, there is a spring. The gurgling spring water gushes out and gathers into an irregular pool with a depth of more than one meter. The clear pool is full of emerald green cold water grass.
The sunlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves, creating tiny spots of light on the water surface. When the breeze blew past, the water sparkled like silver.
To make it easier for villagers to get water, a flat water platform was built with stones on the side of the path, and a large long-handled bamboo scoop was placed next to it.
Zhou Huaiyue bent down and scooped up some spring water with both hands. It was cool and a little sweet. As the water flowed through his fingers and fell back into the pool, creating ripples, he heard the voice of the nun behind him, "You're here!"
"Yeah." Zhou Huaiyue wiped his wet hands on the sides of his trousers, turned around and saw Lingxi holding a bucket in her hands, her eyes full of anticipation.
He took the bucket, raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Come and see your master."
The little nun stood aside and watched Zhou Huaiyue push the bucket into the pond. When bubbles rose from it, she was unhappy and said in a sad tone, "Grand Master is in a bad mood. If he scolds you, you must endure it."
!
After the bucket was filled, Zhou Huaiyue looked up at Lingxi and said jokingly, "How about I come back when she's in a good mood?"
Lingxi did not respond, because she did not dare to say: Grand Master asked her to fetch water just to take Zhou Huaiyue back and be scolded.
......
After filling the bucket with water, Lingxi led the way in front, and Zhou Huaiyue followed behind with the bucket in hand.
After walking for about ten minutes, at the end of the bamboo forest, we saw a gravel wall covered with dead vines. On the stone plaque at the gate were carved three powerful characters "Yuji Temple". Below, the bluestone lintel was engraved with a pattern of the Eight Immortals, full of ancient charm.
The paint on the vermilion gate has peeled off. On the right side of the gate there is a stone pillar with the upper half broken off, engraved with the following words: Why does the man with dragon beard need to go down to the Yun Temple? The three smiles on the tripod feet talk about ghosts and gods.
Walking into the gate, there are only three simple tiled houses side by side, with black tiles and white walls. The walls are mottled, and the wall skin has fallen off in one place, revealing the yellow adobe blocks inside. The eaves of the main hall in the middle are slightly higher than the two rooms beside it, and they are slightly raised, showing a bit of ancient beauty in the dilapidated state.
There is a Tai Chi pattern carved in stone above the door, and a wooden plaque "Ancestor Hall" is hung below, enshrining the statue of Zhang Daoling, the founder of Taoism. There are two rooms on the side. The right one is the Medicine King Hall, enshrining the statue of Sun Simiao, and the left one is a living room.
"Grand Master, Master." Lingxi called out and stepped into the temple.
Hearing the sound, a female Taoist priest in a grey Taoist robe, with her hair tied up high and a wooden hairpin, walked out of the house. Her sleeves were rolled up. When she saw Zhou Huaiyue carrying a bucket of water behind him, she hurried over to take over: "Put it down, I'll do it."
"You must be Master Jingxuan, thank you for treating me." Zhou Huaiyue did not put down the bucket and continued to walk inside, "Lingxi, where is the water?"
"Here." The little nun pointed to the large black water tank at the base of the left wall.
After pouring the water into the jar, Jingxuan took the empty bucket and said to Zhou Huaiyue, "Go in quickly, we're waiting for you." She pointed to the house behind her, and a hoarse and dull cough like a broken bellows came from inside, followed by a stern question, "What are you still hesitating about?"
"I'm coming." Lingxi called back to the house, and then pulled Zhou Huaiyue's sleeve and whispered in his ear, "Bear with it."
What?
Will you really be scolded for not being a disciple?
Following Lingxi into the house, there is a stove on the left, an octagonal dining table in the middle, portraits of leaders on the walls, and a bedroom to the right, with a curtain made of various scraps of cloth in the shape of the Bagua pattern.
"Grand Master!" Lingxi pulled aside the curtain. On the kang near the window, lying at the innermost side was an old man with full silver hair. He looked vigorous and his eyes were bright. He was staring straight at Zhou Huaiyue.
? Why does she look like she owes me a lot of money?
"Why don't you bring my apprentice here?" the old man asked bluntly.
?
Zhou Huaiyue was confused by the question. He pushed Lingxi forward a little and said, "She's here."
"I'm talking about the third brother, the third brother." The old man's voice was higher and full of complaints.
? ?
Lingxi and Zhou Huaiyue looked at each other, forming two question marks.
"Master, is he really not the third brother? He knows a lot about medicinal herbs." The little nun asked back in disbelief.
"No, no! My third child doesn't know about medicinal herbs. Why hasn't she come yet? Does she want me to die with regrets?" The old man suddenly became emotional and cried out in sorrow, pointing at Zhou Huaiyue and blaming him, "Why are you standing there like an idiot? Go, go and bring my apprentice here."
?
Zhou Huaiyue waved his hands to the little nun, speechless.
?
Lingxi was even more confused: Didn't he always say that he would pass on his medical skills to the third brother? How could he pass on his medical skills if he didn't know about medicinal materials?
At the critical moment, Master Jingxuan opened the door curtain, walked into the house, sat next to the old woman, patted her on the back, and comforted her: "Why are you angry at him? He doesn't know. Take a break, scold everyone you see and make yourself angry. When the fate is right, the third child will come naturally. Eat well and drink well, and worry less."
"Jingxuan, I don't have much time left." Seeing the old man wiping his tears again, Lingxi took Zhou Huaiyue and quickly left.
"I told you, it's absolutely impossible." Zhou Huaiyue said this to Lingxi as soon as he went out, so that she would completely give up the idea of becoming a senior sister.
Lingxi was furious and turned her face away, not wanting to pay any attention to him. But Jingxuan, who came out from behind, said to Zhou Huaiyue apologetically, "Don't mind it. She is old and will ask a few questions when she sees a stranger."
"Why?" Zhou Huaiyue was very puzzled.
The story begins with the "Four Olds" campaign in 1977. This was originally a Taoist temple from the late Qing Dynasty. Although small, it was quaint. However, it was smashed and burned by a group of people who wanted to get rid of old culture and customs. Only two stone plaques and half a stone pillar were left at the door.
Ciyun was forced to take off her Taoist robes and leave the Taoist temple, wandering around for several years. Relying on her two legs, she has been to Linhai, Yunnan, and Tibet, curing illnesses and saving lives while walking, saving money to rebuild the Taoist temple. On the way, she met a Taoist master who said that she would take in three disciples in her lifetime, especially the last one, who would carry forward her medical skills.
Jingxuan was her first disciple. Later, she picked up an abandoned baby and named him Lingxi, who became her second disciple. Five years ago, the three of them returned to the village and rebuilt the Taoist temple with the help of the villagers.
As she got older, Ciyun still hadn't accepted her third disciple. She became anxious and angry, especially after she fell and became bedridden last year. Her temper became even more strange, and she was always thinking about accepting disciples. Whenever someone came to the Taoist temple, she would say, "Why don't you bring my disciple here?"
Ciyun was afraid that she would not be able to wait for her last apprentice, and her medical skills would not be able to flourish...
"Oh, so that's how it is. It seems that I have disappointed her. I deserve a few words of scolding."
Zhou Huaiyue couldn't help but think of his grandma and grandpa. They forced him to identify medicinal herbs when he was little. His toys were also various medicinal herbs. If he answered correctly, he would be rewarded with Cuban candy, and if he answered incorrectly, he would be slapped on the palm. This continued until Zhou Huaiyue was in junior high school, when the old couple fell ill and passed away.
Most of the medicinal herb dictionary in his mind was planted at that time.
"I heard from Lingxi that you know a lot about medicinal herbs? You are also particularly interested in that grass." When Jingxuan asked Zhou Huaiyue, he pulled Lingxi, who was sulking beside him, and patted her gently on the back of her hand, coaxing her like a child.
"Yes, I want to write this down. It will be convenient for me to find relevant information when I look up materials in the future." As there were no relevant medical books to consult, Zhou Huaiyue planned to sort it out first, and then check for omissions and fill in the gaps after returning to the capital during the New Year.
"Then how can I help you?" Lingxi, whose emotions had been calmed down, was very eager to cooperate with him.
"I want to take a look at the growth environment of the nameless grass, and then bring back two samples, if possible." Zhou Huaiyue was afraid that they would be embarrassed, so he added this sentence.
"Master and I will take you to see it." Lingxi pulled Jingxuan's sleeve and walked forward.
It was only then that Zhou Huaiyue noticed the red scar on Jingxuan's right wrist. The scar was as big as a baby's fist, dark red in color, and slightly raised due to hyperplasia.
"Oh, it was caused by a charcoal burn several decades ago." Jingxuan mentioned it casually when he saw his eyes fall on his scar.
"Hurry up, it's just ahead." Lingxi pulled Master Jingxuan and walked towards the mountain behind the Taoist temple. Because they walked very fast, they had no chance to chat anymore.
Sure enough, there was a small patch of nameless grass growing in a pile of rocks behind the Taoist temple. It was so green that it was dazzling.
Jingxuan plucked a branch from a grass and pointed to the pile of rocks and said, "It will only grow if you sow the seeds here. It won't grow on good flat ground. There must be water flowing from the mountains, and the cracks in the rocks must be moistened all year round. I've tried many places, but only here will a small patch grow."
She handed the grass to Zhou Huaiyue and said, "If it is not kept moist, it will soon wilt and lose water, and it will be useless for medicinal use. You can eat it by pinching a branch from it each time. Unfortunately, this grass cannot survive the winter and must sow seeds and grow again in the spring of next year."
Jingxuan spoke very seriously and Zhou Huaiyue memorized all of it. After coming down the mountain and returning home, he immediately sorted it out, from the introduction to the illustrations, to the efficacy and medicinal uses, as well as to the planting and picking, trying to be as detailed as possible.
As for the name: temporarily use nameless grass instead.
…
Time flies, a few days have passed, and it is almost Wednesday again. Last time I promised my mother that I would take my father to make a phone call, but I thought that the ten-hour round trip drive was too tiring.
Zhou Huaiyue decided that he and his father would stay in the county town for one night on Tuesday, queue up early on Wednesday to make a phone call, and then return to the village after that.
So on Tuesday morning, the two were not in a hurry. After having breakfast and packing their things, they planned to take the 11 o'clock bus to the county town.
Unexpectedly, while they were eating, a postman in a green uniform, pushing a 28-inch heavy green bicycle with mail bags on both sides, came to Zhou's door.
"Zhou Huaiyue, who is Zhou Huaiyue, your urgent remittance telegram."
"Remittance? Telegram?" Zhou Huaiyue put down his chopsticks and thought of Shen Roujiao almost immediately.
The postman took his only household registration booklet and checked it over and over again seven or eight times before handing Zhou Huaiyue the envelope with the word "telegram" written on it.
Opening the envelope, there was a simple receipt inside: "Zhou Huaiyue, the remittance has been made, the amount is 3,500 yuan, I will tell you the details in the letter, I am well, don't worry. Shen Roujiao."