Puling Temple is the first Buddhist temple in Liangjing. But before that, it was just a small and unknown temple in the northern suburbs of the capital.
It is said that the emperor of the previous dynasty was violent and extravagant, causing widespread resentment among the people and making life miserable for the common people. The ancestor of Daliang was once an official of the previous dynasty, but because he refused to go along with the corrupt officials, he was framed.
He heard that someone wanted to capture his family and threaten them, so he fled with his family overnight. Unfortunately, the news was leaked, and the group quickly sent assassins to hunt them down.
When they fled to the vicinity of Puling Temple, the abbot at the time took them into the temple and hid them. Later, facing the killers' questioning, he never uttered a word, even though they threatened his life.
After our ancestors started the rebellion, the abbot of Puling Temple secretly donated the incense money in the temple to the rebels to help them start the rebellion, hoping that they could overthrow the dictatorship of the foolish monarch as soon as possible.
After the ancestor succeeded, he expressed his gratitude to the abbot of Puling Temple in front of everyone, saying that without his help, there would be no Daliang today. The ministers understood the meaning of the song and made memorials one after another, requesting the title of Puling Temple.
Therefore, Puling Temple is also called the Temple of Protecting the Country. After more than a hundred years of development, the foundation of Puling Temple has become more solid. Even when the current emperor ascended the throne, he fasted and worshipped Buddha for three days in Puling Temple.
The main hall of Puling Temple is dedicated to Amitabha Buddha, also known as the Buddha of Infinite Life. Therefore, Puling Temple held a three-day Buddhist meeting on the birthday of Amitabha Buddha, sincerely inviting monks from famous temples around to exchange Buddhist teachings, and opened all the temple doors to welcome believers.
"Okay, turn the corner ahead and you'll reach the territory of Puling Temple."
Jiang Miao, who had been so winded that he began to doubt his life, immediately perked up when he heard this. He straightened up and looked past the two of them. There was no grand Buddhist temple in front of him. The scenery here was the same as the places he had just passed by.
But if you think about it, Uncle Zhang is talking about reaching the territory of Puling Temple. In other words, starting from the bend just now, it has been under the jurisdiction of Puling Temple.
Jiang Miao was amazed. Such a large field, with no end in sight, produced only enough food every year to feed the monks in a temple. How much surplus should they have? In addition to talking about the origin of Puling Temple and the Daliang Dynasty, Uncle Zhang also said that any land registered under the name of the temple does not need to pay a penny of tax. It seems that the monks in Puling Temple are very rich!
The donkey cart continued to sway forward. After about another quarter of an hour, Jiang Miao finally saw a corner of the magnificent Buddhist temple hidden in the mountains.
Just this corner can give people a shocking feeling. Please forgive Jiang Miao, a poor student, for not being able to use beautiful words to vividly present such a magnificent Buddhist temple to everyone. At this moment, he only had one thought in his mind, that is, this place is really big!
"Brother Jiang, do you want to start setting up the stall now, or do you want me to take you to find a place to live first?" Lao Zhang asked. Lao Mo had warned him before that Brother Jiang was unfamiliar with the place, so he should ask for help when he wanted to rent a place from a farmer's house.
Jiang Miao came back to his senses, thought for a moment, and said, "Let's find a place to live first. I'm afraid it will be rented out by someone else if it's too late."
"Okay, let's find a place to stay first." Lao Zhang turned the donkey around and walked along a small path on the right side of the main road.
At this time, there were already pedestrians carrying loads and pushing carts on the path. They were walking towards the direction of Puling Temple, and it was obvious at a glance that they were also going to set up stalls.
Jiang Miao felt a little regretful. If he had known, he would have come yesterday. Now it seems that he is too late. He hopes that there will still be a seat for him later.
The donkey cart turned left and right and stopped in front of a fence gate. An old lady was sitting in front of the gate, and she looked like she was picking beans.
"Grandma Miao, is Brother Dagen at home?"
Granny Miao raised her head and recognized the person who was talking to her at a glance: "Isn't this Zhuzi? How come you have time to come here today? Dagen went to the fields and will be back soon."
"Grandma Miao, I'm here to bring business to your family. How many rooms have you rented out this year? Do you have any vacant rooms?"
"Yes, there is an empty room at the back." Every year when the Buddhist meeting is held, the farmhouses in this vicinity are in great demand. It is only because Grandma Miao's house is a little bit off the beaten track that there is an empty room for rent.
Grandma Miao led a few people in, opened the door and looked around. The room was very clean, with a kang big enough for three or four people to sleep on, covered with straw and a quilt, which looked quite warm. Apart from that, there was nothing else.
Jiang Miao was not picky. After finding out that he could buy firewood from his family, he immediately decided to rent the house and paid for the rent and firewood in one go.
Grandma Miao took the key off and handed it to Jiang Miao, asking him to keep it safe. Jiang Miao took it, and then he, Daniu, and Lao Zhang unloaded the things that were not needed today from the donkey cart and put them into the house.
After putting everything in order, Jiang Miao closed the door, got on the donkey cart again, and headed towards Puling Temple with the remaining things.
The main entrance of Puling Temple is halfway up the mountain. There is an open space at the foot of the mountain. In Jiang Miao's opinion, it is about the size of two modern football fields and can accommodate thousands of people.
Before they reached the open space, someone came to stop them, saying that no matter what kind of car it was, it could not be parked here, and it had to go around to the back. Jiang Miao got out of the car quickly, and together with Daniu, he unloaded the load and other items from the car.
"Uncle, we want to set up a stall. Can we go in directly or do we need to do something else?" Since there are people taking care of the cars, there must be people taking care of the stalls as well.
The uncle looked like he was being sensible. He said, "You have to pay to set up a stall here. No matter what you sell, it's 50 cents a day. How many days will you set up the stall?"
“… Three days.” Jiang Miao was a little shocked. He didn’t expect that one day’s booth fee would almost cover his car fare.
The uncle skillfully took out a dyed bamboo stick from a bamboo tube at his waist and said, "Go over there and pay the money. After paying, keep the slip. It's your voucher. Don't lose it. If you lose it, you will have to replace it."
Jiang Miao looked in the direction he pointed, and saw a sea of people. He had thought that everyone was gathering there to buy something, but it turned out that they were all there to pay the stall fee.
He asked Daniu to carry the load first to reserve a place, and then he took the bamboo stick to pay. After much effort, he finally got the note. Jiang Miao folded it and carefully put it in his arms. It was 150 coins, it would be a pity to lose it.
After putting the note, Jiang Miao began to look for Daniu. While looking for him, he also looked at the things sold on the surrounding stalls. Of course, incense, candles, and paper money for worshiping Buddha were indispensable, as well as food, drinks, and toys. Almost everything you can think of on the market was sold here. Of course, except for meat, which was put out to be eaten.
When Jiang Miao finally found Daniu, he frowned. Because besides his bun stall, there were several other stalls selling sesame cakes, steamed buns, and candies. In short, it was like being stuck in a breakfast pile. Not only would it be harder to sell the goods, it might also cause dissatisfaction among his peers.
Daniu was a little nervous. He said, "I'm sorry, Brother Jiang. I just looked for a long time. There is only one vacant seat a little closer to the front. The others are a bit far away."
Jiang Miao sighed in his heart. Who told them to be late? There was nothing he could do about it. He patted Daniu on the shoulder and said, "Brother Daniu, it's okay. Let's set up the stall quickly."
Because the business had to be open from morning till night, Jiang Miao set up a brazier under the shoulder pole, and a pot on top to hold the steamer for steaming the buns. The steamer was very large, with three layers in total, and each layer could hold more than 30 buns. The buns in here were made by Jiang Miao yesterday afternoon, and it was just right to steam and sell them now.
When the buns started to steam, a fragrance came out. Customers who were originally preparing to go to other stalls stopped by the smell.
"Hey, young man, how long will it take for these buns to be ready?" the man asked.
"It will be ready soon." Jiang Miao looked at the steam coming out of the steamer and knew it would be ready in two or three minutes. But there was no accurate timekeeping tool here, and if he was told to wait a while, some people would probably leave immediately.
So Jiang Miao asked, "We have two flavors of buns, radish stuffing and tofu stuffing. Which one do you want, sir?"
The guest was obviously having trouble choosing. He pondered for a while and then asked, "Which one tastes better?"
Jiang Miao smiled and said, "Everyone has their own preferences. I can't say which one tastes better. Why don't you buy one of each and try them? Everyone said both are good after eating them."
The customer said, "Okay, let's have one each. How much is it?"
"Five cents for two." Jiang Miao raised the price without blinking an eye, and he didn't feel guilty about it. Food and soil are always three cents more expensive during festivals, and the price changes from time to time, so it's normal to make a slight adjustment.
The guest did not find it strange and directly took out five cents from his pocket and handed it over.
Jiang Miao took the money and threw it into the drawer, then opened the lid of the steamer. A scent of flour mixed with salty aroma hit him in the face, and Jiang Miao clearly saw the customer's throat rolling up and down.
The palm-sized buns had expanded, each one white and plump, and squeezed in the steamer, looking particularly tempting. In order to distinguish the two kinds of fillings, Jiang Miao deliberately left a small gap on the tofu buns.
When he picked up the bun with a bamboo tongs and put it into a half-sealed oil paper bag and handed it to the customer, he not only kindly told the customer the difference between the two buns, but also told the customer that the buns were a little hot when they first came out of the pan, so he should be careful.
After this customer left, several more customers came to the stall, all of whom tried to buy two and left. There was no other way. Compared with other stall owners, they were new faces, so it was reasonable that people didn't trust them. Although it was a bit deserted, Jiang Miao didn't care. When there were no customers, he directly covered the buns, pulled out a bench, put a chopping board on it, and started chopping the stuffing. Daniu was kneading the dough on the side. This was the only skill he learned in the six months he welcomed guests - how to knead the dough to make it more chewy.
The stall owners next to them were gloating. While doing business, they kept signaling to each other with their eyes, asking others to look at the two unlucky guys. They would come here to set up stalls every year during the Buddhist Association, and they had formed a tacit understanding, that is, competing with each other but being exclusive.
In other words, Jiang Miao didn’t know because he had just arrived. Didn’t he see that the other stall owners were staying away from these stalls
(End of this chapter)