The Monk

Chapter 27 Going to the market

The three of them were getting into trouble, and the pillar was very happy playing on the dog's back, making a horse-riding pose and shouting, "Drive." Li Zhuang hugged him and scolded: "Why are you making trouble? Go out and play." Zhuzi looked unhappy, but he had to listen to his father's words and ran out of the yard with a pout.

Li Zhuang said to Zhang Awei: "Brother Zhang, please come in. Country people don't know etiquette. Don't blame you for neglecting me." Zhang Awei was flattered and said hurriedly: "No, no, it's not too late to thank you. I'm disturbing you." He said to him The family is very fond of each other.

Old Man Li let Zhang Ain into the house. There was a kitchen between the east and west wings, but no living room. Entering the east wing, Old Man Li asked Mrs. Li to make tea and said to Zhang Ain: "It's a country place, so I'll spend the night here."

Zhang Ai felt very embarrassed. A little Taoist priest accepted the warm hospitality for no reason, but was told that the hospitality was not good enough. He quickly stood up and said: "Uncle Li, I'm very grateful. If you continue to be so polite, I will have to stay in the courtyard." ." Old Man Li chuckled: "That's right, treat this as your own home, and I won't greet you." Then he went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Zhang Wen stood in the center of the room and looked around. The furnishings in the room were very simple, and the furniture such as the wardrobe and square table were a bit old. Educated by Lin Sen, he was skeptical of all sudden enthusiasm. When he entered the house, he used his spiritual sense to inspect it. He found that there were more than a hundred households in the village, all of which were ordinary people, and there were not many livestock.

Although the Li family's hospitality made him suspicious, his inner gratitude was genuine, and he subconsciously believed that this family was a good person.

Zhang Ping planned to stay in the small village for one day and take a villager's car to Pingcheng the day after tomorrow. He is really curious about this world and wants to know more about it. At this time, there were six children walking towards this outside the yard, talking as they walked. Under Zhang Awei's powerful consciousness, he had known that it was Zhu Zhu and a few children, talking about the big dog. Zhuzi said he could ride on it and play. Other children said he was bragging. Zhuzi was afraid they wouldn't believe it, so he took them to see it.

Not long after, Zhuzi came to the window of the east wing. In autumn, the weather was still hot and the windows were wide open. Zhuzi bowed to Zhang Ain through the window and pointed at Xiao Hei, meaning to let him come out to play. But he didn't dare to speak for fear of being discovered by his father. The expression on his face was extremely cute.

Zhang Wen smiled, patted the three big dogs, and asked them to go out to play with the children. The owner gave the order, and the three dogs jumped out of the window with grimaces. Xiao Hei took the time to look down on Xiao Bai and Xiao Huang: "I asked you to bully me, and now you are treated the same as me. I deserve it."

The pillar is too small, the big dog is too big, and humans and beasts are almost the same height. Zhuzi looked at the big dog and was worried. There was no rope to lead him and he couldn't ride on it. What should he do? The big dog behaved and ran out of the courtyard gate first. Five children were standing outside the yard waiting for a pillar. Suddenly they saw three big dogs running out. They were so frightened that they turned and ran away.

Zhuzhu came out and greeted in a low voice: "Don't run away, look how good they are." As he spoke, he reached out to touch the big dog. The other children were no longer afraid and approached the big dog carefully, asking again and again: "Do you really not bite?"

Zhu Zhu pretended to be an adult: "If you don't bite, they are obedient."

It's a pity that the three mid-level monster beasts in the foundation building stage are treated as pet dogs.

At dinner, Old Man Li and his family prepared a table full of dishes for Zhang Ping. Although there is no meat, there are all kinds of vegetables, and you can see that a lot of effort has been put into it. Zhang was very embarrassed and thanked him again and again. Old Man Li said: "The village is remote and salesmen rarely come here. It is rare for a Taoist priest to come to our door. It is a blessing to our family. Please don't be polite and eat more."

There was no wine on the table, just coarse grains and vegetables. It was completely different from the delicacies eaten in Wulingyuan, but Zhang Wen still ate more. Several people were chatting while eating. The old man asked Zhang Aing why he was here and asked about Taoist matters; Zhang Aing asked the old man about the situation in the village.

The village is located in the northernmost part of Pingcheng, far away from the city and has inconvenient transportation. The villagers have good relations, but they are too poor. Zhang was afraid that he would remember that he still had some gold, so after the meal he took out two pieces and gave them to Old Man Li, who quickly refused.

Zhang was afraid that he didn't understand prices. Common people usually used copper plates or broken silver for transactions. Ingots of silver and gold were only available from rich families. He gave two pieces of gold to each other during a meal, which really frightened Old Man Li. arrive. Old Man Li insisted not to take it, and he insisted even more. He threw two pieces of gold on the kang and said, "We cultivators don't value these things very much. Now that I throw them away, you should pick them up." Old Man Li was only a thousand years old. Put it away gratefully.

In the countryside, you can't spend the gold you have, and it can't be exchanged at all. Old Li called Li Zhuang and gave him a piece of gold, asking him to exchange the gold for broken silver and copper coins when he went to the city to sell peanuts. Li Zhuang was shocked when he saw the gold and asked his father where he got it. Li Zhuang pointed to the east wing and said, "We have met a god."

The next day, the child was still playing with the big dog. Zhang Ping was walking around the village alone. Most of the houses he saw were dilapidated and shabby houses made of loess and stones. In terms of sturdiness, they were probably not as good as the thatched houses he lived in in Ten Thousand Beast Cave. Room. He didn't expect that the people lived in such poverty. He also did not expect that although the villagers were poor, they would always enjoy themselves in hardship. In their free time, they would sit around in the center of the village and tell jokes, and they would be happy and harmonious.

In the early morning of the third day, it was still dark, and the Li family got up one after another. I loaded up the car yesterday, and I have to get up early and set off today so that I can get to the county seat before dark. Only then did Zhang Ping realize that his destination was the county seat, which was still far away from Pingcheng.

There were three carriages in total, Li Zhuang drove one, and two young men drove one each. There were also several women sitting in the carriages, who probably wanted to sell their peanuts and then visit the market. Li Zhuang's wife was also in the car. Old Man Li told her to go early and come back early, and the convoy slowly left the village.

The car was very large and filled with sacks. Li Zhuang's wife was huddled in a corner of the car and resting with her eyes closed. Zhang Wen was sitting next to Li Zhuang, and three big dogs were running behind the car. We walked all the way until dark, and finally reached the county seat before sunset.

The county town is naturally more prosperous. At dusk, many people go in and out of the city gate.

There was still half a mile before we could enter the city, but the convoy stopped. Li Zhuang and Zhang Wen said: "We have to rest outside the city at night. The inns in the city are too expensive. We will go there tomorrow after selling peanuts during the day and buying some daily necessities." Come back, you have to go to Pingcheng, so I can't take you there." Zhang Ping said, "It doesn't matter." Li Zhuang added, "The city gate is about to be closed. You'd better go to the city and find an inn to rest." Afraid of seeing the three carriages, the women took out their dry food and water bags and prepared for dinner. They said with a smile: "I have nothing to do, so I will spend the night with you and take me to the market tomorrow. I have never seen him before." "

Li Zhuang also smiled: "Okay, as long as you are not afraid of the dark night and cold wind."

"What's so scary about this?" He walked to the big tree beside the road, sat cross-legged, meditated, and rested. Three dogs ran over and hid on the left and right sides, lying down on guard.

Nights in the wild always pass more slowly, with the cold wind blowing one after another and the chirping of cicadas. Li Zhuang and others could not sleep well at all. Zhang was afraid of sighing and would rather endure the cool breeze and insect bites to save accommodation fees. Life was really hard. He casually drew a barrier to cover them. The barrier was as warm as spring and there were no mosquitoes. Li Zhuang and others had a good sleep.

Early the next morning, the convoy entered the city. There are guards guarding the gate of the county, and goods must pay an entry fee when entering the city. After Li Zhuang and others paid, they entered the city on the main road, turned left and right, and came to a huge market, which was at least bigger than Li Zhuang's village.

There is a large warehouse on the right side of the market, with several hanging scales hanging at the door. Li Zhuang drove the carriage over, negotiated the price, and weighed the goods and put them in storage. As each sack was weighed, Li Zhuang took a charcoal pen and marked it on a piece of paper. Only after asking people in the same industry did they find out that the peanuts were not owned by the same family. Many villagers did not grow much, so they were asked to sell them together, and then buy some salt and other daily necessities back home, which would save some trouble.

After half an hour of busy work, Li Zhuang and others collected their peanut money, assigned one person to take care of the carriage, and took the woman to the market. Zhang Ping had already secretly put the three dogs into his sleeves and went shopping with them.