Chapter 6 Satisfaction
Meng Chun suppressed his excitement and left the Du family with great joy.
After disembarking in the city, he didn't even go home, but went straight to Ruiguang Temple, only to bump into Du Min and his classmate coming out of the temple at the foot of the mountain.
"Brother Du, Scholar Gu, why aren't you two studying at the academy today? I've seen you twice this month already." Meng Chun wondered, what kind of studies are you having, always running off to play?
“Master Yikong is giving a sermon today, and we have come with him to debate the scriptures,” Du Min said.
With one hand behind his back, Gu Wuxia glanced at Meng Chun and said with a smile, "Young man, only those who attend elementary school have to sit in a private school every day to read and recite. Those who can enter Chongwen Academy already have the articles in their minds. The key is to understand the articles and have your own insights. We need to go out and travel more to broaden our horizons."
Meng Chun understood what he was saying, but he didn't get it. He only knew that he lived in the academy but was often out and about. Wasn't the tuition he paid to the academy and the teacher a waste? How much money was being wasted!
"Brother Meng, where did you come from?" Du Min asked.
“I stayed at your house for seventeen days, helping your father and brothers plow the fields and plant rice seedlings,” Meng Chun said, deliberately staring at him.
Du Min's face flushed, and he stammered, "I...I..."
"It's getting late, let's hurry back to the city and talk again another time," Gu Wuxia interrupted.
Du Min was so embarrassed he wanted to disappear into the ground. He hurriedly said he would visit his home another day and fled.
Meng Chun was secretly pleased. Since they had delayed him, he was no longer in a hurry to go to Ruiguang Temple and strolled over to the paper horse shop instead.
Outside the Meng family's paper horse shop stood a conspicuous wreath. The flowers on the wreath were sewn from pale yellowish-gray linen, and the large character "奠" (meaning "offering sacrifice") in the center was also embroidered, so it wouldn't be damaged by the sun. On both sides of the paper horse shop were shops selling funerary items, which were the temple's private property. However, these shops didn't make paper offerings; instead, they sold terracotta figurines and various pottery for burial. These shops catered to wealthy and noble people and were very profitable.
When Meng Chun's mother saw him while she was tending the shop, she asked in surprise, "Why are you back? I thought you would wait until after the full moon of the Wangzhou festival before returning."
"Something's happened, something important. Where's my dad? Did he go home for dinner?" Meng Chun asked.
"Hmm, you haven't eaten yet, have you?"
"No, no, Mother, close the shop and we'll talk when we get back," Meng Chun said mysteriously.
The Meng family's paper horse shop was two or three miles away from Jiayufang. On the way back, Meng Chun couldn't wait any longer and told Meng Qing what he had been told.
"Mother, you won't stop my sister, will you?" he asked cautiously.
"Why would I object to asking a monk to pray for my grandson?" Mother Meng was overjoyed and said readily, "I'll have your father go to the temple with you. With him there, your uncle will be more accommodating. I'll inform your uncles. We'll pay for their gifts; they just need to go. Everyone, young and old, should go."
The mother and son reached an agreement that after arriving home, the mother would inform the father.
Meng Tianshui, who was not afraid of trouble, immediately agreed.
At the end of the Wei hour, Meng's father and Meng Chun entered Ruiguang Temple. The young novice monks who were sweeping recognized them and came up to ask, "Benefactor Meng, are you here to see Master Konghui?"
"Yes, is he free right now?" Meng's father asked.
"We just saw off a pilgrim, so we probably won't be busy right now. I'll take you two over."
The three arrived at the meditation room behind the temple. After the young novice monk reported to the monks, the Meng father and son went in one after the other.
Incense was burning in the meditation room. A fat, well-off monk with a large head and ears sat cross-legged on a futon, meditating with his eyes closed. He had a pair of Buddha ears, and it was because of these Buddha ears that a passing monk took him into the monastic community when he was young.
Meng's father and Meng Chun did not make a sound to disturb them. They each found a prayer mat, knelt down, and waited quietly.
As the incense stick burned out, Kong Hui opened his eyes. He looked at Meng's father and addressed him in layman's terms: "Second brother, is there something you need from me?"
"I've come to tell you some good news. Qingniang gave birth to a baby boy at noon on the first day of the third month. He'll be a month old in a few days," Meng's father said with a smile. "You're now a great-uncle."
"Have you named the child?" Kong Hui thought he had come to ask for a name.
"His name is Wangzhou, given to him by his uncle."
Kong Hui nodded.
Meng Chun rubbed his hands on his lap, glanced at his father, and leaned forward to say ingratiatingly, "Uncle, we want to ask you for a favor. On the day of Wangzhou's full moon celebration, could you take some young monks to recite the Diamond Sutra a few times to pray for blessings? It would also make my sister look good. You don't know how infuriating the Du family is. They look down on us Meng family members, despise us for being merchants, and they even look down on my sister's child."
After a moment of contemplation, Kong Hui said, "I will arrange for one disciple to go there, but it's fine if he takes the young novice monks with him. Too many people will incur significant travel and banquet expenses."
"The goal is to make the Du family spend more money. They took the dowry money from our Meng family, used our money, and yet look down on us. There's no such thing as a free lunch. We're going to throw a big full-moon banquet for Wangzhou and make them suffer," said Meng's father.
Kong Hui shook her head helplessly, "You, you still have the same temper."
He didn't want to get too involved in mundane family matters, and had no intention of offering much advice. He simply asked clearly, "Have you thought it through? You're not going to change your mind?"
"No change," Meng's father replied firmly.
“Alright, I’ll have Huiming take some young novices with you. I won’t go; there’s a Dharma assembly at the temple on the first day of the lunar month, and I can’t get away,” Konghui said.
"Alright." Meng's father knew when to stop. The highest-ranking monk in Ruiguang Temple was named Yi, followed by Kong. Kong Hui was a senior monk in the temple, and his senior status was not something ordinary people could meet. Those who could invite him were either from aristocratic families or noble clans. Even his own younger brother didn't have that kind of influence.
Although they were brothers, they didn't have much affection for each other. When Konghui became a monk, Meng Tianshui wasn't even born yet. Twenty-five years ago, Konghui managed to seize a piece of land from Ruiguang Temple's private property for him to build a house and set up a shop to sell paper money and incense for a living, which shows that his Buddhist heart hadn't yet begun to develop.
Meng Chun secretly clicked his tongue in amazement. He thought to himself that it was fortunate that Du Min and Gu Wuxia had tripped him up at the foot of the mountain. If he had really come up alone, he would probably have been humiliated by his uncle.
After chatting with Kong Hui for a few more minutes, Meng's father couldn't sit still any longer.
"It's getting late, you should go down the mountain," Kong Hui said.
Meng's father immediately stood up, saying, "You're busy, we won't bother you any longer."
The father and son walked out of the temple and stood in front of the mountain gate, letting out a deep breath.
“My uncle truly lives up to his reputation as a high-ranking monk; I don’t even dare to speak loudly in front of him,” Meng Chun muttered.
Meng's father didn't respond, but said, "Let's go, let's go back for dinner."
*
Five days later, Meng Chun took a boat to Dujiawan. As he approached the ferry, he discovered that Du Min was also returning by boat. The two met at the ferry, and he deliberately asked, "Third Brother Du, back to help with the chores at home?"
Du Min sensed his sarcasm and was slightly annoyed, but he didn't argue with him. He said generously, "Brother Meng, I forgot to thank you last time we met. Thank you for coming to my house to help me."
He thanked him formally, but Meng Chun found it boring and uninteresting, so he stopped mentioning it.
The two went to the Du family's house together, just in time for lunch. When Du's mother saw her youngest son return, she was all smiles and busied herself serving water and food, leaving Meng Chun, the proper guest, aside.
There was no more rice in the pot, so Du Li scooped half of the rice from his bowl and gave it to Meng Chun. He asked in surprise, "Why are you here again? Haven't you done enough work?"
Meng Chun held his bowl without eating. He smiled at Mr. and Mrs. Du and said, "I've come to deliver good news. My eldest uncle is Master Konghui of Ruiguang Temple, as you all know. He adores my sister. Upon learning of her birth, he plans to send his disciple, Master Huiming, with some young monks to celebrate Wangzhou's one-month birthday. This will also bring honor to your Du family in Dujiawan. Uncle, Aunt, please prepare six or seven more tables of food and drink."
Mr. and Mrs. Du were stunned.
Du Li chewed the rice in his mouth, his gaze fixed on Meng Chun. He immediately understood what the kid had gone back to the city for. But Meng Qing hadn't told him. Was she afraid he would stop her?
"This, this...good thing, it's a good thing...but we need to prepare six or seven more tables? How many monks are coming?" Father Du's mouth twitched with anger.
"There are about twenty or thirty people. My uncle and his family are coming too, so there will be forty or fifty people in total. Uncle, don't complain about having too many guests. It's just that they are ordinary people who have never seen monks praying for a baby's full moon celebration before. They want to learn something new." Meng Chun said with an expression of pride, exaggeratingly, "Uncle, this kind of good thing is a once-in-a-century event. You will be very well-known in the surrounding area from now on."
Mr. Du was at a loss for words. It wasn't a birthday celebration for him; what did he need this kind of face for? Besides, monks don't give gifts; arranging a feast for them would be like throwing good money after bad—it would cost a fortune!
"Father, Mother, this is good news. Please treat our teachers well. Oh, and remember to prepare an extra table of food. I'll bring a few classmates back with me. I attended their literary gathering before, but I haven't had a chance to reciprocate." Du Min looked around and spoke carefully.
Mr. Du forced a smile, "Fine, bring it back..."
Mrs. Du remained silent with a dark expression.
Du Ming looked unhappy. This full moon banquet would cost seven or eight strings of cash, which would consume the entire season's worth of early rice.
Li Hongguo felt a pang of sadness, but she wasn't concerned about the money. It wasn't her money that was being spent; even if it wasn't spent on Wang Zhou, it would have been spent on Du Min, not hers. She was just heartbroken that her son had never had such a grand display of status.
The lunch ended in silence, tasteless and unappetizing.
Du Min came back to collect the money. After he finished eating and got the money, he ran away, and Meng Chun slipped away with him.
That evening, a quarrel broke out in the Du family. The elderly couple argued loudly in the west wing, while Li Hongguo and Du Ming argued quietly in the north room.
Only the south room remained silent. Meng Qing and Du Li lay quietly on the bed listening, while Wang Zhou also obediently kept quiet.
“The second wife’s child cost seven or eight strings of cash when he was only a month old, and your son didn’t cost that much even when he was eight. That’s not fair. Go tell your parents that Jinshu wants to go to school, and we’ll send him to elementary school this year.” Li Hongguo said softly while sitting on the bed. She was very unhappy and felt more and more upset. She couldn’t help but complain, “You’re so focused on supporting your brother, have you ever thought about your son?”
“Every time my third brother comes back, he teaches him and Qiaomei to read. Besides, Jinshu’s mind isn’t on studying,” Du Ming muttered.
"How long does your third brother stay each time he comes back? Can you teach him a few words?" Li Hongguo kicked him.
Du Ming suddenly stood up and angrily shouted, "Enough! How much money do you have? You're the one scheming, and so are you. How did our Du family end up marrying two spendthrift women like you?"
Li Hongguo was so angry that she cried. She didn't sleep all night, and the next morning she packed her clothes, took her children, and went back to her parents' home.
The yard was full of chicken droppings and no one swept it, no one cut the grass for the chickens, no one cooked the meals, no one fetched the water, no one washed the clothes, and no one fed the silkworms... Looking at the mess in her home, Du's mother was so angry that she sat down and cried.
Mr. Du kicked Du Ming with a dark expression, "What are you two fighting about now? Can't you live together anymore?"
"She's going to take Jinshu to elementary school," Du Ming said in a muffled voice, still holding a broom.
Upon hearing this, Du's mother scrambled to her feet and rushed towards the south room, but Du Li stopped her, saying, "What are you doing? Do you want to break up my wife and children?"
"Get out of my way! Meng Qing, come out here!" Du's mother shouted.
Meng Qing, dressed neatly, opened the door. She stood inside, looking quite well, and asked calmly, "Mother, what are you doing?"
"What did I do? Are you satisfied? Are you satisfied with the mess you've made of the house?" Mother Du shouted hoarsely.
"Satisfied." Meng Qing readily admitted that she had done it on purpose. She looked at her father and said, "Dad, whether you want to live a good life depends on you. You know how you treat my family."
Old Du stared at her menacingly; she actually dared to admit it, which was more courageous than he had imagined.
Meng Qing stared back without blinking.
"Alright, stop making a scene." Old Du lowered his eyes first. He could tell that Meng Qing was a tough nut to crack, a troublemaker, and not someone to be trifled with. He said to Du's mother, "Go get the money. Second son, go hire a cook and buy food and drinks. Since we've already invited the guests, let's have a grand celebration. Second son's wife, once you've vented your anger, this is the end of it. Don't bring it up again. Okay?"
"OK."
"Boss, come in with me." Old Du turned and went into the house.
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