Chapter 28: Bamboo Mountain Observatory
For the time being, Shimawan Village has temporarily returned to calmness, and nothing strange has happened. As for this, it is not known whether the symbol of Zhushan Old Dao had an effect or because Liu Renqing's family was not in Shimawan Village.
On July 10th, Zhu Shan Lao Dao came to my home as scheduled and took me to his Zhu Shan Guan.
Zhushan Temple is located on Zhushan Mountain, a small mountain named after the various bamboo trees that grow there. The temple is west of Shimawan Village and about 10 miles away from it.
Bamboo Mountain I've been to, but the Bamboo Mountain Temple at the top of Bamboo Mountain I haven't been to once. That Bamboo Mountain Temple is the territory of Old Daoist Bamboo Mountain, although Old Daoist Bamboo Mountain won't stop idle people from entering the temple, however, unless it's to find Old Daoist Bamboo Mountain for a Buddhist ceremony, otherwise no one would be bored enough to go to that Bamboo Mountain Temple.
Zhushan Temple was built during the Daoguang period and has a history of over 100 years, so it looks a bit old. However, although it's old, it's still very clean after being swept.
The temple has a total of seven rooms, all made of green bricks and black tiles. In the middle of the main hall, there are two carvings, which are carved out of stone. The old Taoist priest told me that the two carvings were one of the emperor and one of Laozi. They are the founders of Taoism.
Apart from the large hall in the middle, there are three small rooms on either side of the hall. Compared to the main hall, these small rooms seem much smaller, with an area of no more than half that of the main hall.
In the first room on the left, there were seven large jars, each about one meter high, and longer than ordinary kimchi jars. I estimated that it would take two kids like me to hug them tightly.
But after seeing that jar, my first reaction was that it must be filled with food.
"What's inside?" I asked Zhushan Old Dao with some curiosity. When it comes to delicious food, my curiosity is often heavier.
"Wine." said Bamboo Mountain Taoist.
"Is it all wine?" I continued to ask.
"Uh-huh."
How can such a large seven-mouthed jar be filled with wine, and when will it be drunk? "Can I take a look?" I was somewhat skeptical of Bamboo Mountain Taoist's answer, so I asked to see.
This little brat's small mind, of course, can't escape the fiery eyes of Zhu Shan Lao Dao.
"There's nothing edible in the jar, don't believe me? Take a look." With that, Bamboo Mountain Taoist lifted the lid of one of the jars.
As soon as the lid was lifted, a strong smell of medicinal wine wafted out.
"What's this medicinal liquor soaked in?" I asked as I leaned in closer.
I placed my hands on the edge of the vat and then stuck my head inside. Inside the vat, there was more than half a vat of shallow red medicinal wine. In the wine, I didn't see any medicinal herbs, but there was a very beautiful golden small snake swimming around in it.
Just as I was absorbed in watching it, the little snake suddenly raised its head and opened its mouth, ready to pounce on me.
"Be careful." The old Taoist of Bamboo Mountain shouted, then pulled me away with one hand.
"Plop!" The little golden snake flew out of the basket and fell to the ground. After falling to the ground, the little golden snake immediately became quiet and remained motionless.
"Was it smashed to death?" I pointed at the little golden snake and asked Lao Dao of Bamboo Mountain.
"As soon as it leaves the medicinal wine, it will faint." said Zhangshan Laodao, and then he picked up a small stick and poked the little golden snake back into the jar.
As expected, once back in the vat, the little golden snake came back to life and continued swimming around in the wine.
"What is this medicinal wine used for?" I was quite curious about the use of this medicinal wine. Judging from the small golden snake in the wine, I can be sure that this medicinal wine has great uses.
"It can be used as a medicine guide, to treat snake bites," said Lao Dao of Zhushan.
"What snake wound can be cured by the bite of a five-step snake?" I asked persistently.
"It's not just the medicinal wine that will do." Zhushan Old Dao patted my head and said, "Don't worry, you're still young, I'll gradually teach you these things later. Each of these jars contains medicinal wine, with a small snake in each one, the only difference being the color of the snakes, which also affects the efficacy of the medicinal wine. The method of using these medicinal wines is somewhat complicated, and even if I tell you now, you won't remember, so let's go somewhere else first."
After walking out of the first room, Master Zhushan led me into the second room. The second room was filled with medicinal herbs. I wasn't particularly interested in these herbs. As a result, I stayed in the second room for no more than twenty or thirty seconds before pulling Master Zhushan out.
After coming out, the next stop is the third compartment on the left. There's nothing good to see in this compartment either, with some Taoist robes, compasses, wooden swords and other tools used by Zhang Shan Lao Dao for performing rituals.
After finishing the wing room on the left, there's nothing to see in the wing room on the right. The three rooms on the right are actually three bedrooms, the first one is where Lao Dao lives, the second one is empty, and I'll be staying here for a few days.
In the third room lived an old woman.
This old lady's surname is Zhang, and everyone calls her Old Lady Zhang. Old Lady Zhang's husband died ten years ago, but fortunately, she still has a son to take care of her.
Two years ago, Zhang's son Qian Hai was bitten by a venomous snake while picking herbs on the mountain and fell off a cliff to his death.
After her husband's death, Zhang's only relative was his son. Now that his son has also died an untimely death, she has become destitute and without support.
Her husband died, and her only son also died. This old woman was really a miserable person. However, the ruthless heaven did not show mercy to Zhang's wife. In July last year, a hailstorm destroyed the thatched hut where Zhang's wife lived, leaving her homeless.
After learning about this matter, Zhangshan Laodao thought of the empty house in Zhangshan Temple and brought Grandma Zhang to his Zhangshan Temple.
In the past, when living in a thatched hut, Mrs. Zhang would often think of her husband and son, and her body would weaken day by day. After moving to Zhushan Temple, Old Daoist Zhushan would chat with her whenever he had time, and even helped her open up a small vegetable garden behind the temple. As a result, Mrs. Zhang's mood improved significantly, and her physical condition also became more robust than before.
At this time, Zhang's wife was not in the wing room, but in the vegetable field behind the Taoist temple, where she was taking care of her small vegetables. Earlier, Zhu Shan Lao Dao had told Zhang's wife that I would come, and now that I have arrived, I should go and greet her first.
After visiting the room of Zhushan Guan, Old Master Zhushan took me to Zhang Popo's vegetable garden. Seeing Zhang Popo weeding in the field, I ran over.
"I'm coming to help you, Mrs. Zhang." I yelled as I ran over.
"Good boy, come on! Aunt Zhang will pick a fresh cucumber for you to eat." Aunt Zhang said, and then went to the bamboo rack to pick the biggest cucumber for me.
At that time, we didn't have many snacks to eat, so being able to eat a big cucumber was already very satisfying for me.
I was about to stuff the cucumber into my mouth when Old Lady Zhang lightly tapped on my hand.
"Go wash it, it's dirty." Then, Old Lady Zhang went to the nearby well and drew half a bucket of clear water for me. After drawing the water, she took the cucumber from my hand, washed it clean, and then returned it to me.
It's clear that my arrival made Zhang's wife very happy. The elderly are always fond of children, and I'm such an adorable one at that.
Since Old Lady Zhang was so good to me, I felt a bit closer to her. Kids are like that, whoever treats them well, they'll naturally want to get close to them. So, I took the cucumber that Old Lady Zhang handed over and split it into two halves, then handed one half back to her.
"Grandma Zhang is also eating," I said.
"Grandma Zhang won't eat it, you eat it yourself." Grandma Zhang isn't a little kid, she's not as greedy as me, so she didn't take the cucumber I handed her.
I saw Zhang's wife didn't want it, so I handed half of the cucumber to Zhu Shan Lao Dao. "Master, have a half," I said.
Zhushan Old Ancestor knew that I was giving him the cucumber out of politeness, and he wasn't interested in it himself. "You eat it yourself, Master doesn't want it," Zhushan Old Ancestor said.
