The poor people, the poor monks
After the snow, the sun shone on the snowy ground, reflecting a dazzling white light. The whole world was illuminated, not just the sunny spots, but even the dark corners of the heart felt a glimmer of light. Yun Yan felt like he had some kind of mental illness, when others laughed, he laughed too, when others cried, he looked at the situation and cried, always feeling like he could only react after seeing how others reacted, just like a fool. Xiao Lian climbed onto his back and wouldn't get down, no big deal, he just carried him on his back, Xiao Lian's head wasn't heavy anyway, but it annoyed the other little ones, who all pouted, and as a result, they got slapped by Old Lady and became obedient, quietly getting into the carriage.
Yun Ye's exclusive horse-drawn carriage, which was made at a low cost by the craftsmen of the Gong family in Longyou, was returned to the mansion last night and became a masterpiece among the household's carpenters. The axle of the carriage is made of high-quality steel that has been tempered hundreds of times, with four thin steel strips attached to it, which are flexible and can move freely. A copper bracket holds the axle in place, allowing it to rotate smoothly. The wheels of the carriage are woven from ancient rattan, making them both light and reducing bumps. Inside the carriage, there is a layer of unknown material that is soft and comfortable. According to the military officer who delivered the carriage, Master Hou rode this very carriage all the way back from Longyou to Chang'an, covering over 2,000 miles without any major issues. While there are many more luxurious carriages in Chang'an than this one, few can match its comfort. After obtaining Yun Ye's consent, the housekeeper's aunt designated this carriage as the exclusive vehicle for the master of the Yun household and assigned a highly skilled coachman to take care of it.
The old lady held the little girl and got into this double-horse carriage, as Hou's family rules stipulated that the master must ride in a double-horse carriage. Yun Ye rode on his own horse and followed beside the carriage, Liu Jinbao and Zhuang San led the way in front, four men held flags, four maids carried incense burners, eight guards escorted them, and they marched towards Ci'en Temple in grand style.
In fact, the Great Ci'en Temple is not far away, just in the south of Chang'an City, passing through Zhuque Avenue and circling five li (a unit of distance) to reach Ci'en Temple. At that time, Ci'en Temple was far from being as grand and magnificent as legend had it, it wasn't until the 22nd year of the Zhenguan era that Emperor Taizong of Tang ordered its expansion, and then renovated by Emperor Gaozong of Tang, plus the construction of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda by Master Xuanzang, which made it one of the four major Buddhist scripture translation sites, and the Yogācāra school of Buddhism was born here.
The area around Ci'en Temple is a slum, the old walls are weathered and worn out, with yellow earth exposed outside, all of which are empty holes dug by sparrows. At this time, behind the small holes on the wall, pairs of eyes were looking at Yun's luxurious car team in surprise, commenting in a low voice about which big family came to this dirty place.
The newly appointed official opened the gate of the ward early in the morning, and the dust on the inner street was swept away. Several elderly people stood respectfully on one side.
The old lady could no longer sit still, and pulled Da Ya and Xiao Ya down from the carriage. Those few elderly people saw the old lady and hurried forward a few steps, but retreated under the scolding of the official. It was clear that the old lady had been familiar with these elderly people when she was poor, but now that she was rich and noble, the official thought it would be beneath the dignity of the Yun family to chat with these poor old men as before.
"Brother Liu, Brother He, Dquan, Renzhu, why don't you recognize your little sister anymore?" The old lady didn't care about anything and still used the old nickname, her face full of smiles, stretching out her hand to grab a white-haired old man: "If it wasn't for you, Brother Liu, who carried Dabao on his back at night to climb over the wall of the pharmacy to ask for medicine, this little girl would have been gone long ago. Why are you being distant now?" Dabao and Xiaobao had already hugged the old man's leg, calling out "Grandpa, Grandpa" nonstop. Liu Han patted his hand on his leg a few times, carefully picking up the two little girls, his eyes red, stuttering and unable to speak. Dabao took out a package of beef jerky and picked one up, putting it in front of the old man's mouth: "This is what Brother brought from Lanzhou, it's really delicious, I've been saving it for Grandpa, does it taste good?"
The old man's tears flowed down immediately, and he chewed hard on the dry beef jerky with his toothless mouth, nodding repeatedly.
Yun Ye had seen this scene before and knew that once the floodgates of emotions were opened, the distance between identities would be completely gone. Sure enough, the women hiding in the house came out one after another, surrounding Old Lady Zhang and chattering non-stop. Old Lady Zhang was beaming with joy, constantly pulling Yun Ye back and forth, showing off a few words here and there, flaunting her wealth and status under the admiring and fearful gazes of the neighbors, fully satisfying her vanity.
Yun Yan stood up straight, brushed off his sleeves and bowed deeply to the crowd, saying: "A humble person's friendship shows true feelings. When my family was in trouble, all the women and children were helped by our kind neighbors. I, Yun Yan, will never forget this kindness for the rest of my life. Today, I have prepared a small gift as a token of gratitude, but it is far from enough to repay your kindness. Please accept it with a smile."
Behind them, the servants pulled several large carts of gifts. The old lady knew what poor families needed because she had experienced poverty herself. Several large rolls of hemp cloth, one hundred bags of grain, six fat pigs, and even charcoal, salt, and wine that were rarely used by poor families. Yun Heng gave the official a few silver coins, as he was too lazy to fill his pockets with copper coins. The delighted official couldn't see straight. Since it was a reward for their kindness, they had to get rid of the officials, including the half-official ones like the official. They handed over the goods to the elderly leaders to distribute. Several young maids were surrounded by children, who were excitedly receiving pastries despite their tattered clothes. The older maids were distributing snacks to the kids. Watching them offer the snacks to their parents for a taste, Yun Heng felt a pang of sadness in his heart.
Reluctantly bidding farewell to the neighbors, they continued on their way to Ci'en Temple. After all, the Yun family is no longer suitable for mixing with the poor people. It's not that the Yun family is self-aggrandizing, but rather that their social class is different, and the strict rules of etiquette are not something that Yun Yan, a newcomer, can break through.
Ci'en Temple is just ahead, a dilapidated temple with impoverished monks standing outside the gate in the cold weather. The old lady tells the coachman to hurry up, fearing that several masters will freeze to death.
The monk generally calls himself a poor monk, you see this master is so poor, wearing a gray monk's robe on his body, the cold weather makes his bald head turn green, followed by several high-ranking monks, really thin and tall, with patches all over their clothes, hands clasped together in respect for the Three Treasures. After Yunhe helped the old lady get off the carriage, he came forward to pay his respects, but couldn't even say a complete sentence of "Amitabha Buddha". After the old woman and the elder finished paying their respects, they were led by the elder into the Ci'en Temple with great fanfare.
The Da Xiong Bao Dian is not very large, only about two zhang high, and the humble Buddha can only bow his head against the roof, with golden paint on his body that seems to be suffering from skin disease. This dilapidated temple has only five monks, one hall, three Buddhas, and occupies only ten mu of land. No matter what, Yun Heng cannot associate it with the future Daci'en Temple. Xuanzang's trip to India indeed brought huge returns. Not to mention the future Xi'an landmark Big Wild Goose Pagoda, even the remaining buildings that have survived wars and disasters are not comparable to this Cien Temple.
The old lady presented the offerings, and Yun Ye seemed to see the monks drooling, faintly hearing the rumbling of their stomachs. Oh heavens, does this kind of temple make the old lady revere it like a god? You scammers should at least put in some effort, haven't you seen that in later generations' temples, whether the Buddha is spiritual or not is beside the point, when entering, one must first pay the "toll" or else they won't be able to see the Buddha. Those so-called monks treat the Buddha like a monkey in a zoo, selling tickets for people to visit, making it impossible for people to have even a shred of respect. The ones who are most disrespectful to the Buddha are precisely those so-called monks.
It's good that these monks are still professional, insisting on completing the entire ritual. The old lady is kneeling devoutly on the cushion, muttering to herself, afraid of being disrespectful and incurring the wrath of Buddha. It's not just the old lady, but also the relatives who have committed sins, they are extremely devout, taking baths, changing clothes, dressing up, each with a big peach on their head, I asked and found out that this is the most popular hairstyle among the Hu people this year. They try to dress themselves up to make Buddha look at them favorably, hoping to bring down some good fortune. Eight children of all sizes are imitating the adults, closing their eyes and reciting "Amitabha", their devout appearance evokes great sympathy.
It doesn't matter, Yun Ye let out a long sigh and knelt down in front of the Buddha statue to thank the ancestors for giving him such relatives. The lost heavens have given themselves back, and he has not been treated unfairly by himself. This bow is not a bow to these clay sculptures, but a kneeling worship of the magic of fate, the warmth of family.
As expected, from ancient times to the present, there is an unchanging process, that is, giving money, a whole box of copper coins, ten pieces of hemp cloth, twenty pairs of monk shoes, twenty sets of monk clothes, fifty stones of grain, and countless incense sticks and vegetable oil. The old monk's calm face showed an excited color, guessing he was cheering, this winter will be well spent.
The old lady has relieved a worry, with her grandchildren surrounding her, smiling like Maitreya Buddha, and being spirited and refreshed to an amazing degree. At this rate, living for another 20 years is no problem.
The horses were handed over to the servants, and the old lady was taken care of by the maids. The elders did not like to show their faces on the main street, but the younger generation did not have such concerns. Da Ya quickly occupied the position on Yun Yan's neck and happily made funny faces at her sisters. Zhuang San stopped, Liu Jinbao led a group of chattering women of all sizes, and they set off towards Xishi.
Yun Ye had seen wide roads before, but not as wide as this one, which was over 150 meters wide and ten miles long. If there were a World Cup, why bother with different venues? Just hold the whole thing on Zhuque Avenue and it would be perfect. At first, Yun Ye thought that his majestic procession of people and horses would be enough to draw attention, but then he saw a woman get out of a carriage, surrounded by a cluster of vehicles, her clothes fragrant and her beauty dazzling. She smiled at Yun Ye, who was so taken aback that he almost fell over. The woman saw Yun Ye's foolish expression and covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Da Fei covered his brother's eyes to prevent him from being bewitched by the "fox spirit", and bared his teeth at the woman, who laughed even harder.
What a pity! Zhang Yimou was wrong. There were no palace ladies with half-exposed Ru rooms, only stout women wrapped up like pandas.
Yun Yan sincerely hopes that these women in the summer will not be wrapped up like in winter, damn it, I finally arrived in the Tang Dynasty, you should at least give me some benefits!
