portable space

After eating the dumplings, it was bright and clear, and you could still hear the sound of firecrackers coming from the village.

Cai Yazhi said to Zhang Taiping: "Let's go to the temple on the mountain for a walk?"

"What are you going to do in the temple today?" Zhang Taiping was a little surprised.

"I wish." Cai Yazhi said matter-of-factly.

"Oh? Have you ever made a wish in the temple?" Zhang Taiping asked, "What wish did you make that came true and needs to be restored?"

Cai Yazhi pursed her lips and smiled and said: "If you can't say this, it won't be effective if you say it."

Zhang Taiping did not ask any more questions and said: "Then let's go, but you can add another piece of clothing."

Cai Yazhi added another piece of clothing, but Zhang Taiping felt that it was not enough. The temperature in the mountains was very low in the early morning. He walked into the house and took out his old-fashioned coat and wrapped it around her body. It looked like

A rice dumpling.

There is a scenic spot to the east. There are countless temples after walking for a while, but the entrance is in Fengyukou Village. You have to go to Fengyukou Village first before you can enter. Zhang Taiping took out his motorcycle and drove Cai Yazhi there without anyone calling.

There were two of them, but there was a lion behind them.

After entering the scenic spot, I discovered that it was not just Cai Yazhi who had this idea. There were also many people visiting the temple on New Year's Day, not to mention bustling but also an endless stream. Many people had already started to go down the mountain. They were at twelve o'clock

He left home and went up the mountain right after the beginning of the new year, which shows his piety.

It was difficult for Cai Yazhi to walk, and the two of them walked very slowly. In some places where the mountain road was not good, Zhang Taiping simply picked her up by the waist. She received countless looks from people walking with her, and Cai Yazhi could only move her into Zhang Taiping's chest. Since he picked her up,

Zhang Taiping simply stopped putting her down and carried her up the mountain. Anyway, the weight didn't have much impact on him.

"Let me down." Cai Yazhi said softly, "It's uphill."

Zhang Taiping shook his head and said: "It's okay. With your weight, I can walk as fast as I can even if I hold two of you."

"It's so embarrassing." Cai Yazhi said in a low voice, "I feel like other people's eyes are weird when they look at me."

Zhang Taiping walked on the mountain road as if walking on flat ground, not letting Cai Yazhi in his arms be shocked at all, and said nonchalantly: "It is only natural for a husband to hug his wife, no matter what others think."

At the right time, a middle-aged woman next to her complained to her man: "Look at how good that young man is. He hugs his wife even when he goes up the mountain. Look at me, I'm a dead man. You don't even want to pull me."

Zhang Taiping smiled and said to Cai Yazhi in his arms: "Did you hear that? They are envious of you."

Cai Yazhi put her arms around his waist, pressed her face against his chest, felt the beating of his heart, and stopped talking.

The temperature inside the mountain is already lower than outside, and it gets even colder in the early morning. Looking down from a high position, all the trees are covered with a layer of frost. The north lacks sophistication, and even the frost flowers all over the mountain are impressive.

It has a rough feeling. Frost is also condensed on the grass blades on the ground. A few pieces put together look like white lotuses in full bloom, which is really beautiful.

Cai Yazhi stretched out her warm hands and put them on Zhang Taiping's somewhat cold cheeks. Looking at this rare beauty if you don't get up early, she said, "It's so beautiful."

Although Zhang Taiping didn't feel cold, he didn't reject her warmth either. He nodded and said, "It's indeed beautiful."

The two of them talked and laughed while looking at the scenery. It was not until they reached the temple gate that Zhang Taiping put Cai Yazhi on the ground.

There were many people in the temple, but there was no noise. The incense was particularly prosperous today, and the smell of incense carrying people's good wishes spread out and lingered around the temple. Under the statues, there were rows of people kneeling and worshiping, praying or fulfilling their wishes.

He bowed three times and bowed nine times with great piety, and silently expressed his thoughts or wishes in his mouth.

Cai Yazhi walked to the Jade Emperor's statue and knelt down, chanting in her mouth. Zhang Taiping didn't deliberately listen to what she was saying. He just stood by and waited for her to finish kowtowing and put some incense money in the merit box in front of the statue.

After worshiping the statue, Cai Yazhi stood up and said, "Let's go inside again."

"What other statues need to be worshiped inside?" Zhang Taiping asked.

"There is also the Empress of Deliverance," Cai Yazhi said. In fact, one of the reasons she came today was to fulfill her vows, and the other purpose was to pay homage to the Empress of Deliverance. As for what she was praying for, you could guess it without asking.

Compared with the previous statues, there is much less incense here, because there are very few people in mountain villages who are infertile or childless. Every family has at least two children. Without this demand, few people come to worship.

.

Among the gods, the one in charge of childbirth is said to be the "Empress Zhusheng", also known as the "Empress giving birth to children". The statue of the god sits peacefully, with a solemn appearance and a baby in her arms.

The woman who begged for a child placed an offering of fragrant fruits, burned incense, knelt down and prayed, asking the "Empress Zhusheng" to give her a son. Then she drew lots and asked for "lucky lots", indicating that the "Empress Zhusheng" was willing to bestow a child on her.

, that is, he got up and gave the small clothes he had prepared in advance to "

Put on the doll in the arms of the "Empress Zhusheng" and then worship her. It is said that everything is effective, but only the prayer knows whether it is effective or not. After getting a child, you have to come and thank her, and offer her rice, chicken, and wine.

.This is what is commonly called a return of a wish.

Some places also believe that Guanyin Bodhisattva is the goddess of children in the human world, so she is also called the "Girl Giving Lady". Some women who have been barren for a long time after marriage often burn incense to Guanyin Bodhisattva to ask for children. However, there are different opinions in different places, and sometimes

Even the appearance and even gender of the worshiped gods are very different.

The Empress Dowager Song was introduced to China during the Three Kingdoms period. Nowadays, most of the Empress Dowager Songson worshiped are female. However, at that time, Empress Dowager Songzi was still a mighty man. The murals of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu and the Northern and Southern Dynasties In the statues of that time, Guanyin was all in the male body, with two beautiful mustaches on her lips. Before the Tang Dynasty in my country, the statues of the Queen Mother were all male, and the ones in India were also male.

But nowadays, most of the empresses that people worship are female. Only in this way can they be worthy of the word "empress", right?

The two of them came empty-handed, so there were naturally not that many tedious procedures. Cai Yazhi just knelt on the ground and prayed with her eyes devoutly, while Zhang Taiping placed incense and money next to her.

Praying to God is a psychological comfort, whether you believe it or not, it is not. The most important thing is a matter of mentality. As long as you believe and are pious and don't care about these tedious processes, even a Bodhisattva who has achieved great freedom will not care about these mundane things.

of the process.

After a while, Cai Yazhi stood up and said, "Okay."

Zhang Taiping asked: "Do you want to worship other statues?"

Cai Yazhi shook her head and said, "No, let's go back."

"Okay!" Zhang Taiping responded and was about to pick her up again.

Cai Yazhi quickly stopped her and said, "Don't stay here. Can you hug me when you get outside?"

Zhang Taiping didn't know whether it was blasphemy to pick up his wife in the temple, but he didn't want to embarrass Cai Yazhi, so he helped her out of the temple before picking her up again and heading down the mountain.

Walking halfway up the mountain, Cai Yazhi suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, I almost forgot. I quickly broke off a branch and brought it with me."

"Oh?" Zhang Taiping stopped and put her on the ground and asked, "What's the point in this?"

Cai Yazhi said: "Bringing a piece of firewood back means to attract wealth. You see, everyone goes down the mountain with a piece of firewood."

Zhang Taiping glanced back and forth, and sure enough, everyone on the mountain road was dragging a branch in his hand, and some even pulled a whole small tree instead of a branch. This shows how strong the desire to attract wealth is.

.

Zhang Taiping smiled and was about to pick up a branch from the ground to express his meaning.

Cai Yazhi said: "It doesn't matter if you pick it up from the ground. It only counts if you break it off the tree with your own hands."

Zhang Taiping understood the meaning after thinking about it for a moment. What he picked up from the ground represented ill-gotten gains, while what he broke off the tree with his own hands represented wealth earned through hard work. In order to have peace of mind, he picked it up from the nearest store.

A branch, neither thick nor thin, was broken off from a tree.

He handed it to Cai Yazhi and said, "Here it is, you will keep our money."

After saying that, he hugged Cai Yazhi and ran down the mountain.