"Sanwa'er, in our lineage, the master is the closest person. My master, your master is a Sanren. I don't know where his Taoism came from or who he inherited it from, but he said that our lineage The pulse was opened by him. Therefore, he is the ancestor of our lineage." As he spoke, Old Man Jiang slowly opened the scroll in his hand and hung it under the Sanqing Xiang.
"Sanwa'er, your master didn't like to be worshiped by others in his life, but as a disciple, as a disciple and grandson, he must do his best. My master is the person I respect the most, and you are my disciple. You must Respect him even more, this is your master's portrait, come and serve him with three bows and nine kowtows." Old Man Jiang's voice was full of emotion and a little trembling.
I was also moved when I heard this. I took three lit incense sticks and knelt down with a bang. At the same time, I also laid my eyes on the portrait of my master for the first time.
The master in the portrait is a middle-aged and elderly man with a very ordinary appearance. He looks like he is in his forties or fifties. His hair is simply pulled into a bun, but it looks messy at first glance. It is probably to unify the whole body. The figure in the painting The master's dress is really... well, very casual.
An ordinary gray short robe, tied loosely with a black cloth belt, with several crooked patches on it, and a pair of ordinary cloth shoes, with the toes exposed.
Moreover, the master in this painting is also very lazy, with his hands in his sleeves, and he is squatting. There is no background in this painting, just the master alone, but at first glance it looks like he is squatting at the base of the wall. An old farmer basking in the sun.
I don’t know who painted this painting, but it is so vivid. Although the appearance of the master in the painting is ordinary, the laziness and indifference in his expression, but the clarity and clarity in his eyes are convincing. Everything is drawn thoroughly.
It makes people feel that the existence of the master is like a contradictory body. On the surface, he is a downcast and lazy person, but deep down, he exudes a unique charm.
I was young at that time and didn't understand a person's charm at all. I just felt from the bottom of my heart that this master was extraordinary, but I didn't know what was extraordinary.
"Why don't you pay your respects quickly?" Old Man Jiang stared.
Hearing this, I quickly held up the incense respectfully, and bowed three times and kowtowed in earnest again. This time I was even more pious than before the three pure aspects. After all, the three pure aspects gave me the feeling that they were too high and unattainable. But when facing the portrait of my master, I feel that he is really in front of me, and he is really extraordinary.
After worshiping my master, I lit incense in the incense burner and looked at Old Man Jiang. I didn’t know what to do next. However, at this serious moment of becoming a master, I was still shameless and stayed there honestly. Old Man Jiang stood still in front of him.
Old Man Jiang ignored me. He just stood up and stared at the portrait of Master for a long time. Then he carefully rolled up the portrait, and then said to me: "This portrait was painted by me, and it is the only one." This portrait of your master, my master, was painted by me only after he agreed. Unfortunately, my skills were limited at that time, and the charm of your master was not painted well, or at least not restrained enough. It is really far from the real person."
After saying that, Old Man Jiang sighed. Seeing that he missed my master so much, I couldn't help but ask: "Master, where is my master now?"
Old Man Jiang turned his head and looked at me. The look in his eyes was the first time I saw him. Old Man Jiang was also a little confused.
This is so new, my master will be confused? Unexpectedly, the next moment Old Man Jiang became fierce and said to me: "Do you think the initiation ceremony is over? I haven't drunk the master's tea yet. You go to boil water to make tea. I'll wait to drink it." Your master’s tea, I’m not satisfied with the tea you want to make, so just wait and make tea all night.”
Don't bully children like that! !
In the end, I lit a fire for the first time in my life, carried water for the first time, and boiled water for the first time... It took me an hour, but I still handed Old Man Jiang a cup of Master's tea in a respectful mood.
Life in the mountains is hard. Although the scenery of Old Man Jiang's small bamboo house is elegant, for a child, it is just like that after living there for a long time.
Three months have passed in the blink of an eye, and another winter has arrived... ..
The winter in Kawachi cannot be said to be very cold, but there is a chill that penetrates into the bones that makes people uncomfortable. It is even colder in the mountains, which means that my life is more miserable.
"You are self-sufficient in everything." This was the first thing Mr. Jiang said to me after I became a disciple.
It is because of this sentence that I have to take care of all my life here, including washing and cooking. What's terrible is that I am self-sufficient, but Old Man Jiang takes it for granted. With this sentence, Leave all chores to me.
"Anyway, cooking for one person is also cooking, and washing someone's clothes is also washing, so let's do it together."
"Master, aren't you self-sufficient?"
"Fart, the apprentice is self-sufficient. I am your master, this is your filial piety!"
In this way, I, an eight-year-old child (who is now eight years old), have to take on the chores of two people in a very 'miserable' way.
What's even more pitiful is that I couldn't cook rice at first, let alone wash clothes. Old Man Jiang didn't allow my family members who often go to the mountains to help me. If the rice is not cooked, then it is not cooked. Eat it! He eats it anyway. Clothes that are not clean are not clean. Put them on! Old Man Jiang didn't care about this anymore, he was dirty anyway.
So, I had to go to school, do homework, do chores, and complete the tasks assigned to me by Old Man Jiang. He said that this was the first step to learn his skills.
And what about him? Every day is always so leisurely, except for some "homework" that he has to do every day, which is to make tea, watch the scenery, and "educate the three children". Occasionally, he would carry some rice, flour and sundries up the mountain, and occasionally, he would get some game.
This was our day in the mountains.
Life after winter is difficult, mainly because water is needed for cooking and washing, and in this winter, the water in the pool is so cold that I simply don’t want to touch it.
The days going up the mountain were hard. Relatively speaking, going to school every day was the easiest thing. Classes used to be boring and I could fall asleep on the table. But now it’s better. I don’t know what Old Man Jiang did. Anyway, every day After finishing the "task" he gave me in the morning, I was as energetic as a monkey and my mind was very clear. It became easier for me to listen to the lectures. Even the texts that were usually difficult to memorize didn't feel bad anymore.
Nonsense, of course the text is not very good, can it be compared with that obscure "Tao Te Ching"
I will always remember that after having tea with Master, Old Man Jiang took out a tattered book from his 'secret room' and threw it to me: "This "Tao Te Ching" is the guide for people of my generation to cultivate their minds. The 'holy scripture', starting from today, you will recite it and copy it once every day. Start reading it now and ask me if you don't know the words."
It's a pity that I only have a 'diploma' in the first grade of elementary school!
So, why isn’t going to school easy? The way to and from school was like heaven to me.
"Sanba'er, what are you doing so fast?" Surou was panting as he ran behind me. I pity this kid. He is just like me. He is one year older. I have grown taller. He has grown taller and taller. Fat.
I really didn't feel that I was walking very fast, so I said: "I'm not walking very fast either. If I could, I would just stand here and not walk. The problem is that I have to do my homework at night and copy what I have to do." "Tao Te Ching", you have to do some punching before going to bed, I'm miserable, if I don't hurry up, I won't be able to sleep well at night."
"What kind of punch? Can you teach me?" Surou is very much a 'martial arts master'.
"Let my master teach me, but I haven't learned it all yet." I feel depressed when I mention that boxing. I haven't even learned the "Yi Qin" thing about Wu Qin Xi, and I was ridiculed by that old man Jiang; "I said you Like a monkey, I taught you the ape shape first, but in the end you couldn’t even learn the ape shape, so I guess you can only learn the monkey shape.”
It really pissed me off. How could the master’s mouth be so vicious?!
"Forget it, I won't go to Mr. Jiang. What if I want to learn boxing and he asks me to copy the Tao Te Ching 100 times? Forget it, forget it." Su Rou said with his body shaking. .
I gave him a look of disdain. That's it. If I don't let you copy the Tao Te Ching, I'm afraid you won't be able to practice for an hour without crying for your father and mother.
I walked back full of thoughts, sighing secretly about the misery of my life. At this time, Surou ran out of words to talk to: "Sanwa'er, who do you want to fight with recently? I don't think you've been pinching me all day long. A fist?"
I rolled my eyes, raised my fist and waved it in front of the meat, and said: "You see clearly, you hold it for a while, loosen it, and then hold it with more strength! There are certain things, such as holding it for a few breaths, etc. My master said this is called 'holding firm', which improves one's energy and spirit."
This was helpless. I wasn't used to it at first, but now it's better. Under Mr. Jiang's "Chunchun teachings", I have become accustomed to holding it. I hold it and loosen it in class, and I hang my head at all times while walking. Holding it around my waist, I said my classmates didn't dare to come near me. Liu Chunyan even hid when she saw me. For a long time, they thought I was going to fight.
"Oh, Mr. Jiang is very capable. I don't understand his tricks. I will go up to the mountain to play with you this Sunday. You have to pick me up. It would be great if Mr. Jiang can get another wild rabbit to eat." When he talked about the game that Old Man Jiang prepared, he became so greedy that his mouth watered.
This is the hateful thing about Old Man Jiang. I couldn't cook the food well at first, so it was inevitable that it would taste bad. I thanked God when it was cooked. He ate with me, but he couldn't stop others from going to the pool to fish for fish after eating. He went to the woods to make a small stove of whole game, but he didn't even let me eat it, saying that I could learn this skill from him.
But when my family comes, or the crispy meat comes, they will treat them to whole game or something, so that I can get a bargain and eat with them.
Speaking of which, Old Man Jiang is very good at cooking and it is very delicious, but why does he want me to cook? !