Xiaodouzi agreed and ran down the mountain quickly.
The villagers stretched their heads out to take a look at Yingbao, and greeted him with a smile: "Young Master, you are starting work so early."
Yingbao nodded to them and went back to the Taoist temple.
Nowadays, the village is becoming more prosperous and people are becoming more energetic.
Even Cuilan and Xiaodouzi, brother and sister, have gained weight.
People from the military settlement ten miles away also came a few times, but they didn't come to cause trouble. Every time they came to discuss things with the master in the house.
Originally Yingbao wanted to go and listen to what they were talking about, but was stopped by the eldest senior brother, who forbade her to go near the master's room.
So Yingbao had some guesses, and as long as she saw them coming, she would avoid them and go somewhere else.
The second senior brother was not allowed to get close to her, just like her, so every time at this time he would take the younger junior sister to explore the cave.
In the evening, Xiaodouzi and his grandfather brought several large ceramic basins to Yingbao, each of which could be used for bathing.
These ceramic basins are not expensive, only twenty or thirty cents each.
Yingbao paid the money and ignored Second Brother's questioning. She cleaned them all and said she would use them to store things.
The next day, while the master and two brothers were away, Yingbao quickly filled them with water and placed them in a secluded place in the yard, and then waited for them to freeze.
What's more, in just half a day, all the water in those large basins froze.
But the trouble came, she couldn't get the ice out of the basin.
After thinking for a long time, I finally came up with an idea.
Go to the kitchen and boil a pot of hot water. Place the ice basin on the steaming hot water to warm it for a while. Once the ice at the bottom of the basin melts, you can easily pour out the ice.
After pouring out the ice cubes, Yingbao did not rush to put them into the cave, but left them outside to freeze for a while before putting them into the cave.
For the next month, Yingbao continued to use this method to collect ice cubes, and each time she worked secretly when her senior brothers and master were not around.
By the twelfth lunar month, more and more people came to the Taoist temple to burn incense and buy water. Seeing that his young apprentice was too busy to handle it, Zhou Wuchang went to discuss with the village chief and asked them to select two capable young men to take care of the incense.
However, the income from Shiquan Cave is still borne by the three villages, and the money earned is distributed among them.
Yingbao ignored all that and wrote a letter to her family and Sister Wen, informing them that she was safe. She also sent a large package along with the letters, which contained crystal clear stalagmites.
I asked Master to mail these letters and parcels and I didn't worry about them.
It snowed here for the second time just before the Chinese New Year.
The heavy snow soon covered the snow that had not melted yet.
Yingbao sat alone on the warm kang, looking through the window at the people who came to worship in the snow.
Most of them are poor people from nearby areas. Some come to ask for money, some for medical treatment, and some for children.
Most of the time, it was Master Zhou Wuchang who went to see the patients who came for medical treatment. Occasionally, when he met a female patient, he would call Yingbao over.
Yingbao has seen quite a few female patients recently, but most of them are not asking about any illness. Instead, they are asking how to have a son.
Whenever she met these women, Yingbao would call her second senior brother and ask him to perform a sacrificial dance for them.
Zhang Min was very unhappy at first, but after being given a death stare by his junior sister, he had no choice but to take a few steps to fool around.
Time passed quickly in such trivialities.
In the blink of an eye, it was June of the following year.
At this time, Shiquan Mountain has become a well-known holy place of incense.
The area at the foot of the mountain gradually became a market. First, Wu Yi led the villagers to build several houses and straw huts on the wasteland at the foot of the mountain.
The house is a temporary inn for people to rest. There is a tea stand under the thatched shed, selling spring water from the stone spring.
Seeing this, people from other villages also came over and built a few houses and several straw huts. They did not sell tea, but food such as flatbreads, steamed buns, pickles, etc.
Seeing this, strangers also secretly came over with baskets to sell their own things. Some of them were smart and even sold sachets and handkerchiefs embroidered with the Queen Mother of the West.
The two peonies in the cave continued to bloom after being watered with some pupil spring water from time to time by Yingbao, which completely convinced people that these trees were the two sacred trees.
The noble sons and ladies who came from the provincial capital would spend a large sum of money to buy one or two peonies and bring them back, and they could brag about them for a long time.
As a result, the villagers of Zaoshu Village and the other two villages quickly became wealthy. Some people even quietly invited their relatives to come and set up stalls at the foot of the mountain.
Just when Yingbao thought that she would continue to stay here, her master Zhou Wuchang told his disciples that he would take them back to Qinchuan County.
Yingbao was so happy that she immediately packed up and prepared to go home.
Five days later, the master and his two apprentices rented two carriages and headed south along the official road.
Arriving at a canal transport dock, the master and his disciples boarded a large ship.
As soon as she got on board, Yingbao felt that the atmosphere on the ship was not right.
A dozen neatly dressed young men were protecting a young man intentionally or unintentionally.
This man has a graceful demeanor and a fair and handsome face. He is obviously a child of a wealthy family.
Master Zhou Wuchang seemed to recognize this person and nodded at him, but did not come forward to speak.
Yingbao became alert. After entering the cabin, she quietly asked her second senior brother, "Do you recognize that man?"
Zhang Min shook his head: "I don't recognize him, what's wrong?"
"It's okay. I'm just curious about who this person is and why Master recognizes him." Ying Bao said perfunctorily.
Zhang Min smiled and said, "Master knows so many people, there's nothing to be surprised about."
Yingbao said nothing more and went to pack her luggage.
At night, Yingbao lay on the small bed with her eyes closed and dozed off. She first went to the cave to tidy up the crops, and then thought about the identity of the man on the deck.
He obviously didn't want to reveal his identity, so he didn't talk to his master on the deck. But at night, he actually went to his master's cabin and asked several people to guard outside the cabin, which was not normal at first glance.
The ship sailed for two days. The man seldom strolled on the deck during the day, but went to the master's cabin at night, apparently to discuss something.
Yingbao was puzzled and could not ask her master or senior brother, so she could only observe secretly.
On the third day, the group got off the boat at a pier.
Yingbao watched them leave and asked the eldest brother: "Elder brother, what is the name of this place?"
Zhou Hao said: "This is the territory of Chengzhou."
Yingbao blinked, feeling that Chengzhou sounded familiar.
Suddenly an idea flashed in her mind.
Isn’t Chengzhou the fiefdom of the vassal king who would rebel
Could this man be King Cheng? Or King Cheng's son
No wonder he was so sneaky all the way.
The princes were not allowed to leave their fiefdoms without an imperial edict, otherwise they would be regarded as having ill intentions.
If this person is really King Cheng or King Cheng's son, then what is the master conspiring with him for
When Yingbao thought of this, she felt a chill on her back.
King Cheng is the younger brother of the late emperor, and Master is the late emperor’s brother-in-law, and can be considered the uncle of the current emperor.
If the master also participated in the rebellion of the vassal kings, wouldn't my family be doomed as well
No, no! Master must not be allowed to have anything to do with King Cheng.