Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination

Chapter 43

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Books can be sold for a long time. Strictly speaking, few people buy it for reading the Bible, but to spend money on faith. New Year's Day, Qingming Festival, Buddha Bathing Festival, and Zhongyuan Festival are all sales peaks, the market is vast, and devout customers are not stingy with spending money. As long as his printed copy is good, it will be easy to sell it in the future, and it will be easy to sell it to other state capitals. There is no need to hype it up layer by layer like when "Lianfang Lu" was published.

It's just that the name of this shop has to be changed when the book is printed.

In the backyard of their bookstore, when they saw the outer room of the eldest son of Wang, some nasty words came out. What I sold before were beautiful paintings, poetry collections of romantic talents, and love novels of gods and demons, and the vague rumors in Fangshi didn't hinder anything. Now that they are going to sell scriptures, with such a reputation, those who donate scriptures are afraid that their bookstore is not clean enough.

It was just that it was too late to open a new store in the rented house, and it was not so necessary. Cui Xie asked the shopkeeper Ji to arrange it. Anyway, the scriptures are printed and sent directly to the temple. When the scriptures are actually given after two festivals, they will rent a place in the temple and temporarily sell them for two days, which is also convenient for people to buy.

Even if everyone sees the painting and knows that it is from his family, as long as it is not exposed on the bright side, the donors Tanyue can give with peace of mind.

Shopkeeper Ji replied with a smile: "The owner thinks it well, then let's change the name of the hall. Our family used to set up stalls at the Jishang and the entrance of the temple, but now the business in the store is good, and we don't have to go out to sell these months. After changing the new hall number, do you want a new guy to sell books, so that no one can see it?"

Cui Xie had never been to the store, so he asked him, "How many new friends do we have in our family? If you really can't find a suitable one, you can simply choose someone who will sell the elegant books under the Qingzhutangtang. If someone asks, just say They've changed owners."

The shopkeeper Ji said, "It doesn't sound very nice... Well, it's still early, let's hire a few smart guys from the tooth shop and let them take care of the stall temporarily."

People can be picked slowly when it comes to setting up a stall, but there are still some details about the matter of donating scriptures. He looked down at Cui Xie and asked, "The days of sacrifice are still far away. In what name does the young master plan to donate the scriptures?"

Giving monasteries should also have a name: for example, a certain son Yemeng had to give scriptures to atone for his ancestors’ suffering; for example, if a rich man wanted a good marriage, he should give scriptures and pray for the blessing of the Buddha; I am weak, I need to use scriptures to relieve my illness... The only thing that cannot be said is that the owner of a bookstore wants to sell Buddhist scriptures, and asks the monks in the temple to promote the books he donated.

"That's because I've been studying too hard these days, and I'm not feeling well. After I painted the Buddha statue two days ago, I was able to calm down, so I printed the painting into a scripture, and I want to give it to Buddhism and create a good relationship."

Cui Xie lowered his eyes and thought for a while, then holding his chin, he said, "It happened to be two days for the worship of Wenwu Temple, so Mr. only gave us two days off, and we won't have time in the future. I'll just take this time to visit the temple in the east of the city. By the way, I ordered a few scrolls of scriptures to read during the Qingming Festival to help the concubine to eliminate disasters..."

His eyes wandered slightly, his eyes fell on a clear sky in the corner of the window, and he said in a very soft voice, "Let them read a few volumes of blessings to me too."

He himself is not superstitious, but when he wears it on others, he is also willing to recite the scriptures to the original owner of the body according to the custom, so that little Cui Xie will be safe in the next life, and also hope that he will feel at ease.

Shopkeeper Ji put his palms together and recited the Buddha, then said with a smile, "That's right, since the owners are pious, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas can bless our business. Just to recite the scriptures, we have to write down the names and characters of the people who gave the scriptures to the temple, and the monks wrote When Tie’er is handed to the Buddha, the scriptures can be guaranteed to eliminate disasters and karma for you and pray for a long life. The owner pre-wrote Zhang Jian’er and brought it to the temple for them.”

Cui Xie didn't know the birthdays of Yuanshen and his mother, so when he went back, he told Cui Yuan and his son about Shi Jing, and asked them how to write the eight-character post. Ping Yan knew his eight characters, but he didn't know his mistress's. He only remembered that he died in childbirth, and Jichen was Cui Xie's birthday. Cui Yuan was with Cui Langzhong when he was young, but I remembered that she was married to Tianshun in six years, but I don't know how old she was when she got married, because the bride's birthday was not very big, and she didn't know when she was born.

The last post for Mrs. Liu's confession could only be written: "Cui Liu, a letter girl in a certain rank of a certain society in the city of Qian'an County, lost her birth year and died on the 30th day of the second month of the fifth year of Chenghua"; Cui Liu Xie's one had the address and the date of birth written down, and it was packed in a kit together. Going out is not as simple as it is in modern times. On this day, they prepare scriptures and silver taels at home, smoke new clothes, and drive to the temple the next morning.

Xuanjue Temple is located in the northeast of the county seat. It is half a street away. There are bustling stalls on the road: some sell yellow and white paper, incense candles, flowers, incense burners, fruit offerings, desserts, etc. There are Buddhist scriptures, some sell gilded and gilded Buddha statues, some stalls draw lots for fortune-telling, and there are snack stalls mixed in... Three religions and nine streams, monks and lay people, crowded on the roadside is as lively as going to a market.

Cui Xie and Peng Yan looked out the window all the way, and exchanged from time to time which cakes were steamed thickly and which ones had more tea soup.

Their carriages and clothes are only ordinary, but Cui Xietian is good-looking and has the air of being used to seeing big scenes. The monk who knew the guest took the initiative to greet them. Seeing that they bought good incense and the incense money donated to the temple was not a big ingot, but a whole piece of silver wrapped in snow-white silk, he added a little extra enthusiasm and asked them if To enter incense, it is still necessary to provide ever-bright lanterns, donate scriptures, and make land and water dojos…

Cui Xie folded his palms together and said sincerely, "I'm shy in my pocket, I can't compare to those devout believers, but I have engraved a hundred volumes of the Diamond Sutra in my home, and I want to donate it to your temple and form a good relationship. Then I will go to Qingming next month. , I also want to ask the eminent monks to recite a few volumes of scriptures for the concubine to eliminate disasters, and also read a few volumes for me by the way, so as to accumulate blessings in the afterlife."

The acquaintances put their palms together and sang Amitabha: "If the donor has this heart, it is a great merit."

Since he was a rich man who came to give scriptures, he couldn't just let him stroll around in the yard. The acquaintance led him to the guest courtyard, and ordered a head to go to the backyard to carry the scriptures, and he sat next to him. The monastery has excellent tea, and the novice monks put pine, hazel, jujube, chestnut and dragon beard candy made in the monastery a few years ago with tea.

Zhike persuaded him to eat tea, and asked him, "I don't know where the donor came from?"

Cui Xie pondered for a second whether he wanted to fight with him, but in a blink of an eye, he thought that the monk would fight, but he wouldn't! Although he can still follow the routine of "come from here", and even say "the cloud is in the blue sky and the water is in the bottle", he will definitely not be able to follow it further.

Then why does he have to work hard, just be a pure and unpretentious donor, let his words be as Zen-like, and just listen to him!

He made up his mind, lowered his head and said, "I came from Jigong Haoyifang in the north of the city, and the Han family is the Cui family behind the workshop."

Unexpectedly, Monk Zhike was also a straightforward monk who did not want to be aggressive. After listening to his words, he sighed: "Could it be that the donor is the master of Jigonghaoyifang, Cui Yishi of the court Jingmian? The donor is the demon of the White Lotus Sect. Cui Yishi!"

When he said a word, Cui Xie nodded, and the acquaintance said that he actually stood up, stared at him with bright eyes, folded his hands, and chanted the Buddha's name: "The little monk has long admired the style of Tanyue, and I don't want to see a real person today. , is actually more exciting and brighter than the rumors."

Cui Xie seemed to see three question marks hanging on his head. He really didn't understand how a person who was honored with martial arts could be admired by a monk. Seeing his dazed expression, the acquaintance explained with a smile: "Those demons from the White Lotus Sect have used the name of Maitreya Buddha to commit great and unethical evils, deceive the world and steal their name, and ruin the reputation of my Buddhist school. They are really Buddhist thieves! The head of the monster, eliminated the calamity of the White Lotus Sect, and even cleared up a lot of evil words and books in the market, and the little monk has always admired it."

So... this is a fight between the original faction and the OOC fandom? The monks have no fighting strength, and they can't beat the White Lotus Sect, which will incite the people to rebel. He pretends to be a helper in catching demons. The real monk is grateful to him for this

No, no, it's Jin Yiwei who really does the work, and he can't be greedy for this kind of credit! Cui Xie quickly explained: "At that time, it was actually Lord Jinyiwei Qianhu Xie who wounded and caught the White Lotus cultists. I was just there, and I was lucky enough to escape from the monster's hands."

The acquaintance sighed: "Why should a righteous person be so modest. The little monk also came down from the square of eagerness and good fortune. The stone tablet on the side of the square is clearly engraved, and the donor is clearly the one who fought bloody battles and wounded the demon! The familiar Tan Yue also said that there is still a long scar on the donor's body!"

He scratched under his neck, squinted his eyes suddenly, and asked cautiously: "The benefactor is here today. Could it be that the demons are hurting you? You don't have to worry, although our temple is not the kind of big man who was ordered by the imperial court. The temple has also been built since the end of the Tang Dynasty, and it is quite effective. If the donor is to relieve the misfortune, the little monk will arrange it, and within the past one or two days, the monk will recite the scriptures for you!"

Cui Xie hurriedly said: "I don't dare to bother Master, I'm usually upright and upright, and the evil spirits dare not invade me. I came to the temple today because I was tired from studying hard the next day and night, but I couldn't sleep well. I prayed for my grandparents and copied the Diamond Sutra, and since then my fatigue has subsided. Seeing such a miraculous thing, I asked my family to print several volumes of scriptures to donate to your temple.”

While talking, Toutuo had brought the scriptures to show them, and Cui Yuan also followed and rested in the outer monk's room. Cui Xie opened the box with his own hands, took out a thin scripture book wrapped in red satin leather, and said, "It's just these hundred scrolls of scriptures, please accept the master."

This book is a translation of Master Kumarajiva, with a total of more than 5,000 words, plus two pictures at the beginning and end of the scriptures and hymns, mantras, prayers, etc., there is still only a thin one. A hundred books add up to only one small box.

The acquaintance thanked him, picked up the scriptures and read it carefully, and couldn't help but praised it in his heart. Although the Cui family's scripture was not copied from magnetic blue paper and gold mud, the cover was pasted with red satin, and the back cover had a colorful pattern. , very delicate.

Just as he was about to praise Cui Xie for his neatly copied and well-drawn figures, he suddenly remembered that he had just said that this was an engraving, not a copy.

Now in Qian'an City, there is only one family that can print color pictures. He has also heard of Cui Meiren's reputation. Could it be that this is the one who printed the pictures of beautiful girls... He subconsciously glanced at Cui Xie, who was also looking at him, his eyes Qing Zheng asked calmly and calmly, "I think the ones with color pictures are better than the original ones that only printed scriptures, so I hired a craftsman to print the color plates. Does the master think it's still eye-catching?"

The master smiled slightly: "The decorations on the scriptures are all devoted to the donor, how can it be bad?"

There are many donors Tanyue in the temple, and the offerings are all compared. Today, a rich man offers 50 catties of sea lanterns in front of the Buddha, and tomorrow there will be large households offering 100 catties. As long as the color-printed scriptures are in the eyes of a monk, and someone advocates for him, he is not afraid that there will be no other donors to print them.

Cui Xie didn't tell him what to say, but he was full of meaning. He put his palms together and replied, "I feel relieved when the master said this. These scriptures will be given to your temple. It's just before and after the Qingming Festival. I hope the master will pay attention to pick one for me. Chanting and praying on a good day."

Zhike said, "There is an eminent monk from the south in our monastery who recently placed an order and read the scriptures very well. Let him personally preside over it with you on that day."

Cui Xie didn't understand Zen theory, and he couldn't say anything about the customs of the world. He only heard a few stories of retribution from Zhike, so he got up and said goodbye on the pretext that it was not early. Zhike wanted to let him eat in the temple, but he said that the homework left by his husband had not been completed, so he didn't want to delay much, so he left the temple at the meal time.

Zhike didn't go back until he sent him outside the gate. Seeing the sun was on his head, he sighed, "It's a pity that we don't have very famous food in our temple. have a meal."

The little novice, who was seeing off the guests together, advised: "How can such a delicate official and rich man be willing to eat vegetarian food. We are not like the monks in the south who can cook pig's head, and the donors are famous to eat it. This is also a helpless thing."

Zhike didn't bother to care whether he was helpless and the benefactor refused to stay for the vegetarian meal, or because there was no pig head to eat in the temple, so he sent the little novice to take care of the other benefactors, brought the head Tuo by himself, and held the box of scriptures to show the supervisor to the temple.

Cui Xie didn't eat vegetarian food, but he didn't eat meat. Instead, he bought some sliced cakes, steamed dumplings, taro cakes, and scallop cakes at the food stall outside the temple, and ordered three bowls of hot tea soup to eat at the stall. On the way back, there were people selling pine nuts biscuits and cloud cakes from Nanjing. They also bought a few packs. They wanted to distribute some to the workers, but they didn’t want to have guests at home.

Said to be a guest, but in fact, he was just reading in his study, and he didn't want anyone to greet him.

Cui Xie went in and said "neglect", but when he looked closely, it was Guo Yong, Tang Ning and other young students, sitting lazily on the sofa reading a book. Guo Yong was the youngest, his physical strength was better, he even stood up and cupped his hands, but those few had drooping eyelids, and sighed: "I have been rushing to two major festivals in the past two days, and I have to write poems and essays. Two lacks. When we came back, we remembered that the bed in your study was comfortable, and it was not far from the Martial Temple, so we came as an uninvited guest, and hope that Brother Cui Xian will not dislike us. "

Cui Xie smiled and said: "How dare you. Seniors are willing to come, my yard is full of brilliance. I will ask people to prepare some thin wine to treat each other. Are you eating in the hall or here? Eat on this table, I told them to clear the table."

Several people forced themselves to sit up and said, "No need, we can clean it up by ourselves. How can the servants know where to put it."

Cui Xie brought a rattan basket from the bookshelf and told them to put the books on the table in it, and then he went back and filled it in himself. A few people put the books and said, "Your study is much more organized than ours. I'm at home, and the books I read are always thrown around, so why don't you think of getting a basket for him."

Someone else said, "You can easily clean up this study. Get a note and stick it on the back of the book, and it's easy to find it."

However, Guo Yong didn't follow to clean up. Instead, he held a book that was hastily bound and asked, "Is this the "Four Books of Contradictions" you made? It’s neat and rhythmically recorded, but why isn’t it printed in a book?”

He turned the pages of the book, looked up at Cui Xie, and asked again, both sternly and hopefully, "This book is more worthy of printing than Shen Yuan's poetry collection, why not print it?"