Chapter 102
Extra three
He Tong said at the Silver Dragon award ceremony that he wanted to go to worship Yue Lao, but after receiving the award, he had no time to rest and was busy until the filming of "Dream Travel 2" was completed.
Lingling had already inquired about the location of the Yue Lao Temple, which happened to be not far from the filming studio. He Tong decided to drive directly there, pay homage to Yue Lao, and then return to Yancheng.
He Tong had heard that the Yue Lao Temple was quite famous in the area, and initially he was worried about the crowds and the inconvenience. However, before going, Ling Ling asked the fan about it carefully, and surprisingly, except for holidays, there were almost no people there on weekdays. After all, there weren't many tourist attractions in the area, and even though the Yue Lao Temple was somewhat famous, few people would make a special trip there on weekdays. Most people would only visit during holidays or on weekends when visiting nearby farmhouses to burn incense.
This made things easier for He Tong and Ye Yuze. Simply donning a hat and glasses for a simple disguise, they led their equally interested team members straight there. The location was a bit remote, but thankfully the fan had thoughtfully shared the location, allowing the two vans to follow the navigation to find the spot without any problems.
The car stopped by the roadside in front of the gate. A group of ten people got out of the car and surrounded Ye He and the other person as they entered the temple gate in a lively manner.
This Yue Lao Temple isn't huge, but it's not small either. The courtyard in front of the main hall is quite spacious, and looking northwest over the rooftop, you can even see the crowns of the trees planted in the backyard. While the building itself is somewhat old, it's not run-down and appears well-maintained.
Everyone walked through the courtyard and into the main hall. When they looked up, they saw the kind-looking statue of Yue Lao enshrined above.
He Tong glanced around the hall and found that there was indeed no one else except a young Taoist priest, so he took off his and Ye Yuze's woolen hats and stuffed them into his pockets.
The young Taoist priest probably didn't expect so many people to come on a non-holiday. He was stunned for a moment before he came forward to bow and greet them. He hesitantly asked, "Everyone...are you here to worship Yue Lao?"
He Tong also bowed and said with a smile, "We have heard that the Yue Lao here is very effective, so we came here because of it. Please, Taoist priest, teach us the etiquette of worshipping Yue Lao."
The young Taoist priest tilted his body and replied, "Our temple has three free incense sticks, so you can burn them directly. We also have some small items for sale, which you can offer to Yue Lao when you burn incense to ask for his protection."
At this point, he looked at the group of men and women and asked uncertainly, "Are you single and looking for marriage, or are you a couple seeking blessings?"
He Tong took Ye Yuze's hand and waved it, asking, "How do couples pray?"
The young Taoist priest looked at the two of them, smiled shyly, and half-turned to point to a compartment on an antique display case against the wall. Inside the compartment was a small double-heart-shaped brass lock. A small red rope was looped through the lock beam, tied in a beautiful heart-shaped knot in the middle. At each end were small heart-shaped wooden plaques.
"Couples can buy a love lock and write their names and birthdays on two small wooden plaques. After offering them, you can take them home or lock them under the Yue Lao tree in the temple's backyard."
He Tong nodded: "Okay, let's buy one."
In addition, there are some exquisite small objects hanging on the antique shelf, such as bracelets, necklaces, mobile phone chains and other small gadgets woven with red ropes.
Seeing He Tong walk over to take a closer look, the young Taoist priest continued to introduce, "These red ropes are all tied with heart knots. If you like, you can buy a pair and use them after offering them. You can also offer the red ropes directly and make them yourself. Our temple also provides red ropes of various lengths. The heart knot is actually quite easy to tie."
He Tong touched his chin and looked around, then said, "Then let's get another batch of red string for a cell phone chain."
The young Taoist priest directly opened the door under the antique display cabinet, took out two small boxes from it, and handed them to He Tong.
"Just open the lid and place it directly on the table in front of Yue Lao, then burn incense to him. There are markers on the table against the opposite wall for writing. Incense and matches are also on the table for you to help yourself to. There is a brazier and paper under the table for lighting incense."
He Tong took it, opened it, and looked at it. He asked curiously, "Is there only one red string?"
The young Taoist priest explained: "The red ropes are two pieces intertwined together. They can be untied after offering."
He Tong nodded, took out his mobile phone to scan the code to pay, and then happily pulled Ye Yuze to write his name.
The table against the opposite wall was quite clean, but He Tong still took out a tissue and wiped the table first, then took out a small heart-shaped wooden sign tied with a red rope from the box and placed it on the table.
Each wooden tile was only slightly larger than a mahjong tile. He picked up his pen and gestured on it several times before he wrote the words "He Tong" neatly on one of them, and then wrote his date of birth at the bottom.
After He Tong finished writing, Ye Yuze took the pen and wooden plaque and bent down to write on it.
The weather outside was bright, but the hall seemed a little dim. He Tong stepped back two steps to let in the light, smiling as he watched Ye Yuze write.
Looking from his direction, he could see Ye Yuze's long eyelashes trembling with each blink, like a soft little brush brushing against his heart again and again, making He Tong feel itchy.
As soon as Ye Yuze put down his pen, he felt the darkness in front of his eyes, and he stood up and fell into a familiar embrace. He turned his head in confusion, but felt a warm touch on his forehead.
The two somewhat dry lips moved down his forehead, kissed his eyebrows, eyes, nose bridge, and finally pressed against his lips.
The two looked at each other for a moment at a very close distance.
It was Ye Yuze who ended the light kiss by tilting their heads back, and then gently pushed He Tong's chest: "With so many people here..."
He Tong chuckled softly, his chest rising and falling slightly. "It's okay. We have Yue Lao between us. They can't see. Only Yue Lao is watching... We have to let Yue Lao see clearly and tie the red thread tightly for us."
As he said that, he leaned over and kissed Ye Yuze on the lips before letting her go.
The two put the small sign back into the love lock, and each took three incense sticks and lit them in the brazier.
He Tong did as the young Taoist priest had said and placed the two boxes containing the love locks and red ropes in front of Yue Lao. Then he and Ye Yuze raised the incense and bowed three times, and then inserted the incense into the incense burner.
"Little Taoist Priest, is this all right?"
He Tong called out to the young Taoist priest who was surrounded by three ladies asking questions.
The young Taoist priest quickly apologized to the others, rushed over and recited a few words, then said to He Tong, "You can take your things back. I wish you two a long and happy marriage."
He Tong smiled and thanked them. Seeing that the young Taoist priest was being pulled over by Lingling and the others again, he put away the two boxes and said to Ye Yuze, "Shall we go to the backyard to see the Yue Lao tree?"
Of course Ye Yuze followed him.
The two of them first added money to the donation box and then went out to the backyard. Looking up, they saw the large tree planted in the northwest corner, slightly taller than the main hall roof. Beneath the tree stood a small circle of cement stakes, connected by iron chains. Countless love locks were locked to these chains, and the occasional breeze would make the small wooden plaques tied to the locks with red ropes rattle.
He Tong walked over and circled the tree, scratching his face: "Can I still find a place to lock it..."
He turned around to look at Ye Yuze, but saw that Ye Yuze was staring at the locks seriously, as if he was thinking about something important.
"Brother, what are you thinking about?"
"I visually estimated the number of locks, and it felt like the locks here..."
Ye Yuze turned his gaze to He Tong and said seriously, "It should be cleaned up regularly."
He Tong couldn't help laughing: "Then let's take the lock home and keep it."
Ye Yuze nodded.
After everyone finished paying their respects to Yue Lao, He Tong and Ye Yuze did not stay long. They led the team back to Yancheng that night, leaving only two drivers to drive the nanny car back slowly.
The first thing He Tong did when he returned to the villa was to put the love lock into a constant temperature and humidity display cabinet, and placed it side by side with the felt snowman, the little black cat, the little wolf and the dog, and the commemorative wedding ring.
After a good sleep and a rich breakfast, He Tong took out the two red ropes and began to study them.
The box containing the red ropes had a diagram of how to tie a heart knot. He first picked up a rope at random and tried to tie it according to the diagram, but he couldn't do it after an hour.
He Tong was not convinced and searched for videos to learn how to tie the knot, but after half a morning, he only managed to come up with a knot that looked wrong no matter how he looked at it.
Finally, he could only droop his head and rub against Ye Yuze who was sitting on the sofa, saying aggrievedly: "Brother, this rope is bullying me..."
Ye Yuze put down the report in his hand, rubbed his head, picked up the schematic diagram and looked at it for a while, then took the rope from He Tong's hand and fiddled with it, and soon tied a beautiful heart-shaped knot.
He Tong stared at the picture and the knot with wide eyes, his face full of disbelief: "This is unscientific..."
Ye Yuze smiled softly, took out the two intertwined red ropes from the box, separated them, and placed one of them in He Tong's hand: "Take it."
Then, he picked up another one and put his hand next to He Tong's: "Follow me."
More than ten minutes later, the red rope on Ye Yuze's hand turned into a beautiful heart-shaped knot, and the red rope on He Tong's hand also turned into a heart-shaped knot that was not beautiful but at least neat.
He Tong happily took out his cell phone and wanted to hang it on the phone case.
Ye Yuze pulled out the heart knot from his hand and stuffed the one he had tied into his hand over to him: "You hang this one."
As he spoke, he quickly hung the heart knot that He Tong had tied on his phone case.
He Tong smiled foolishly, and after hanging it up, he moved closer to his relatives.
As they kissed, they fell on the sofa together...
At this moment, Ye Yuze's cell phone suddenly rang.
Ye Yuze, who was kissed tightly, had no choice but to reach out and push He Tong away. He Tong raised his head slightly, mumbled "Don't worry about it", and lowered his head to continue.
Ye Yuze turned his head away and said breathlessly, "...It's my cousin's ringtone..."
Fang Qi’s call meant something must be going on.
He Tong sighed, feeling somewhat regretful as he sat up. He picked up the ringing phone, pressed the hands-free button, and took the initiative to call out, "Brother."
Fang Qi's voice rang out: "It's Xiaotong. Is Xiaoze here?"
"It's next to me. I'm on speakerphone."
"Okay, I'm just letting you know. It's about Ye Zexu and the cleaner who were sent to South Africa a few years ago..."
Hearing these two people, He Tong frowned reflexively and clenched his hands into fists involuntarily.
Ye Yuze, who was standing by, reached out his hand and covered his fist, patting it gently.
He Tong turned his head and saw Ye Yuze leaning over and whispering in his ear, "I'm here."
With just two words, He Tong's inner irritability seemed to be swept away, and his heart miraculously regained its calm. He curled his lips into a smile, tilted his head and pecked Ye Yuze on the cheek.
Fang Qi's voice continued to emanate from the phone. "...I just received a report from over there. They went into a village to steal something yesterday and were beaten by the villagers. They're both in the hospital now. Both of them have broken legs, and the doctors there say their chances of ever being able to stand up again are very slim."
He Tong raised his eyebrows when he heard this: "What will happen to them in the future?"
"The medical and nursing expenses are paid for by the group, and they will be given clerical jobs in the future. In short, they have to work until they pay back the group's debt."
I don’t know if I can ever pay it off in this lifetime.
"Nothing else, I'm hanging up. Remember to come over for dinner when you have time. My parents miss you."
"Okay, goodbye, big brother." He Tong answered obediently.
Although their intimacy was interrupted, he was still very happy to hear the news.
The fact that both of them ended up with broken legs was probably God's will.
He Tong looked at the two cell phones on the table with heart knots on them, jumped up and said, "I'll get the camera to take a picture!"
Soon after, all Tongze fans received a reminder that He Tong had posted on Weibo.
@贺同v: Let me show you the cell phone chains we made ourselves.
The accompanying picture is naturally two mobile phones with heart knots hanging on them.
What a mouthful of dog food! I'll finish it first. [Single dog cries]]
[Bah, don't think we can't see that the main point of your showing off is clearly that pair of love knots!] [However, it feels obvious that you can tell which one was made by Master Ze and which one was made by Tongtong. [Chuckling] [Tongzai is not good at anything else except cooking, which is quite amazing. [Laughing]] [I looked through their old street photos to find their phones, and then found that the one hanging on Tongzai's phone was made by Zezai, and the one hanging on Zezai's phone was made by Tongzai.] [Tongtong's display of affection is so high-profile or low-profile that I don't know whether to say it's high-profile or low-profile...] [Why do I feel that this style of phone chain looks so familiar... Tongtong, did you go to the Yue Lao Temple that I visited? ! [Surprise]] He Tong was in a good mood and clicked this sentence to reply.
[Blogger replied: I went to a Yue Lao temple that is said to be quite effective.] Fans: ...Please give me the address, we want to go too!
Later, the Yue Lao Temple became a popular check-in destination for internet celebrities and even boosted the business of some farm stays in the surrounding area.
The author has something to say: Next chapter: Opening the Tomb
(The extra chapters are all independent chapters, you can buy them according to your interests)
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