The master and his disciples stayed in the city for two days and then hurried back to Zaoshu Village.
Also traveling with them were Mrs. Zhang and her three daughters, as well as the families of Feng Sima and Qian Sihu from the prefecture.
Because this month is September, even though the ninth day of the ninth lunar month has passed, there are still people going around looking for chrysanthemums and climbing mountains.
Just then, several officials in the city learned that there was a cave in the countryside dozens of miles away, and that there were two peonies in full bloom in the cave, so they immediately wanted to go and take a look.
After Feng Sima's wife and Qian Sihu's wife discussed it, they told Madam Zhang that they should go together to see the miracle.
Mrs. Zhang was of course happy about it. She was worried that it would be unsafe for her family to leave the city. It would be a blessing to have Sima and Sihu's families go with her.
When they set out, it was a huge group of people, with more than 200 servants and guards, and each family had several carriages. The scene was comparable to sending troops to war.
Yingbao, Xuehua and the other two sisters rode in the same carriage, and along the way he told them the story of the Stone Spring Cave.
She exaggerated the story and frightened the three little girls.
Chun Hua blinked and asked, "Is it really that magical? Is that spring water really made of the tears of the Queen Mother of the Nine Heavens?"
Ying Bao said ambiguously: "I also heard about it from the elders in the village. I'm not sure if it's true or not."
"Are there really peonies in that cave?" Xia Shi was also very curious.
Yingbao nodded: "Yes, when you arrive, you can go in and see for yourself."
Xia Shi clenched her palms, unable to hide her excitement.
This was the first time in her life that she had gone out of the city to play. Even though there were no caves or peonies, she was very happy.
Oh, it would be great if my aunt could come along.
Xia Shi glanced secretly at her elder sister.
This time, I was able to come out with Shunga thanks to my eldest sister who mentioned it in front of our mother.
The convoy was moving at a fairly fast pace. It set out in the morning and arrived at the Wuchang Taoist Temple on Shiquan Mountain by noon.
The servants began to rebel, and several old women also entered the kitchen of the Taoist temple and started cooking for their masters.
They all brought rice, vegetables, meat, soy sauce, salt, vinegar, sugar, and even bowls, chopsticks and plates.
The maids brought by the ladies began to clean up the Taoist temple, dusting it, and placing the bedding boxes they brought on the kang in the room.
At the request of several young ladies from official families, Yingbao also took them to Shiquan Cave.
A group of people came to the front of the cave and saw several villagers laying stones in the spring to make it easier for people to walk into the cave and view the scenery.
The three sisters Xuehua, the two young ladies from the Sima family, the two sisters from the Sihu family, and Yingbao, a total of eight girls, gathered around the spring and marveled at the water.
Xia Shi and Chun Hua even squatted down, scooped up some water with their hands to taste it, and said with a grin, "It really is the magic water, it's actually sweet."
Seeing this, the other young ladies also drank a sip of water.
Xuehua was older than them all, and more stable. She turned to Yingbao and asked, "Can we go into the cave and take a look?"
Yingbao shook her head: "Not today, maybe tomorrow."
She pointed at the busy villagers and said, "Wait until they finish laying the stones, then we can go inside to check and clear out all the snakes and rats before we go in."
I also want to see what the stalagmites inside look like, and it would be best if I could create a miracle inside.
Xuehua: "Okay, let's go take a look around first."
They came out for an autumn outing, so naturally they wanted to walk around.
So Yingbao took them for a stroll again.
But this place is too barren, and it is late autumn now, so there is really nothing to see.
On the other side, Zhang Min took several young masters from official families to catch birds.
There is nothing else on the mountain except for a lot of sparrows. As long as you scatter a little rice on the ground, a large flock of them will fly over.
Several young teenagers were shooting birds with slingshots, and they laughed out loud every time they shot one.
Zhou Wuchang was not at the Taoist temple. He went to the village and told the villagers to prepare some local food and take it to the Taoist temple to sell.
Village chief Wu Yi came back yesterday and sold more than ten buckets of water. Even the two peonies were bought for two strings of cash.
He tasted the joy of making money for the first time, and when he came back he told the villagers about it. He also asked everyone to take turns to guard the Taoist temple. Those who didn't go would not have a share of the money earned in the future.
The village chief's words were very effective. Everyone actively participated. Not only did they stand guard at the Taoist temple, they also volunteered to patrol the Shiquan Cave, scaring away the wild beasts that came to drink water.
Before long, people from the other two villages also found out and immediately found Wu Yi, asking to join the patrol team.
Wu Yi had no choice but to agree, because Zhou Wuchang also agreed that the three villages should jointly maintain the cave.
There is strength in numbers. Even if the rich and powerful have some evil ideas, as long as the people of the three villages work together, those people will have to consider the importance of the plan.
Besides, the mountain already has an owner, so even if those powerful people have great means, they dare not compete with the governor of Jingzhou Prefecture.
In a flash, a day passed. Yingbao was the first to get up. She went to the kitchen to fetch water, washed up, and then ran outside.
The courtyard of the Taoist temple was filled with various tents, and the servants living in the tents also got up one after another. Some fetched water, some cooked, and some picked up brooms to sweep the yard.
After hearing that the stone spring here was a magical spring, the servants became particularly fond of drinking water. They went to the stone cave in groups of three or four to fill up the water bags they brought.
The villagers guarding the cave felt very sad, but they couldn't stop them because these people were brought back by Master Zhou.
Xiao Douzi even murmured to his friends: "I never thought spring water was so rare before, why can't I bear to see others come here to draw water now?"
The friend scratched his head, not knowing how to answer.
He had urinated in this water before, but he didn't dare to talk about it now.
After breakfast, a group of people came to the cave in a mighty manner. Led by two villagers, they stepped on the newly laid stones and entered the cave.
As soon as I entered the cave, I saw two peonies as tall as an adult standing in front of me.
The trees were covered with flowers, which looked extremely eerie in the dark cave.
A group of little girls screamed and gathered around, sticking their heads out to smell the fragrance of the flowers.
The three ladies were also amazed and went over to check it out.
It is indeed a peony. The flowers are as big as a bucket, red and white, and the petals are silky and exude a faint fragrance.
A young lady was quick and picked one immediately, which made the villagers feel very distressed.
The villagers were angry and anxious. They didn't care about their status and immediately stepped forward and said, "Please don't pick the flowers. They are given by the gods. You can't pick them."
The young lady was embarrassed by what he said and scolded: "What's wrong with picking one? At most I'll give you money."
The villagers did not give in, and said angrily: "This is not about money. If everyone picks one, what if the gods blame us?"
Apart from anything else, they will have to rely on the two peonies in the cave to sell water in the future. If the flowers are gone, there is no point in making any profit.
"What's wrong with my sister picking a flower? What are you complaining about, you lowly person?" The young lady's brother saw his sister being humiliated and pointed at the villagers and cursed: "Do you believe that I will pull out your flower tree?"
Yingbao and the second senior brother saw the two sides arguing and hurried over to mediate.
But the young lady and her brother were so angry that they were about to start fighting.
The young lady's mother just watched coldly and had no intention of intervening.