Firmament

If you have a lot of friends, you don't feel difficult.

- Oroqen

In Xiguan, the descendant of Wang Chen and the son of Wang Shouye, Wang Yongsheng, ran a small noodle restaurant with his wife and children, and lived an ordinary life.

One morning after the beginning of spring, a middle-aged Tibetan man dressed as a lama walked into the Wang's restaurant. No one thought that it was his unexpected arrival that completely changed the peaceful life of Wang Yongsheng's family.

Unlike the Orientals, the Tibetan diet has always been based on meat, tsamba and milk tea. Wang Yongsheng's noodle restaurant rarely has Tibetans come in to eat.

Wang Yongsheng's eldest son, Wang Youfu, stepped forward and greeted the middle-aged lama, "Please take a seat." What are you going to eat?".

The middle-aged lama said in an Oriental dialect that he was not very fluent in: "Gava, Nao does not eat. Nau wants to find your boss, and there's something to talk about with him. "

Wang Yongsheng was working in the dormitory, and when he heard his son calling him, he came out of it. When he saw that it was a rare Tibetan customer, he warmly invited the middle-aged lama to sit down and struck up a conversation with him.

The middle-aged lama said: "Nao is the steward lama of Qutan Temple in Maquangou, Nanshan. Today, the king has decreed that the main hall of the temple should be built. The Nau brought in a group of craftsmen from the south. Their craftsmanship is really good, but they are not used to eating the food of the Tibetans, and the Nao people do not know how to cook the food of the southerners. They were always screaming and exhausted, and they had no strength to work. I thought to myself, if you can go to Qutan Temple and cook them a summer meal, Nao will definitely not treat you badly. "

Wang Yongsheng listened to the middle-aged lama's request, and roughly calculated in his heart: the scale of Nian Bowei is so large, the population is not large, and the business of the restaurant is going to die. If you go to Qutan Temple to cook for the craftsmen, you can have a regular income every day, which is a good way to make money.

He said to the middle-aged lama, "You wait a while, and Nao will discuss it with the people in the family." "

Wang Yongsheng walked into the inner room and discussed with his wife for a while.

In the end, they agreed to leave their wives, eldest sons, and eldest daughters-in-law to continue to open a noodle restaurant and maintain the current basic business, and to take their second son Wang Youyuan to Qutan Temple in Nanshan to cook for the craftsmen.

Wang Yongsheng arranged the big and small things at home, and went to the grocery store with Wang Youyuan to buy some flour and seasonal vegetables. They followed the middle-aged lama out of the south gate and walked towards the mountainous Nanshan Mountain.

Wang Yongsheng, father and son and the middle-aged lama rode horses for a long time before they came to Qutan Temple, which was hidden deep in the mountains.

Qutan Temple is more than 40 miles away from Nian Bo City, is located in the majestic and quiet feng shui shaped place, backed by Luohan Mountain, facing Qutan River, north by Songhua Ding, south against Beibei Mountain, facing Phoenix Mountain, far away from the snow mountain, harmoniously integrated with the natural environment.

Qutan Temple sits in the northwest, faces southeast, basically adopts the southern temple shape, is a typical early official building complex in the southern country. The whole temple is composed of three courtyards in the front, middle and back on a central axis. On the central axis from the mountain gate, there are large palace-style buildings such as the mountain gate, the King Kong Palace, the Qutan Palace, the Baoguang Palace, and the Longguo Palace. On both sides, there are symmetrically built the imperial tablet pavilion, the small bell and drum tower, the cloister, the pagoda, the side hall, the scripture hall and the big bell and drum tower.

The most striking is the stone sculpture of an elephant carrying a cloud drum. An elephant lies peacefully on the ground, with a carved wooden cloud on its back. On the stacked clouds is a large drum of leather. The elephant looks back and looks forward to it, with its long trunk curled with lotus flowers, and its posture is elegant and lifelike.

The middle-aged lama arranged for Wang Yongsheng and his son to live in a hut next to the lama's dormitory.

Wang Yongsheng and his son first tidied up the dormitory, then thoroughly cleaned the kitchen dedicated to cooking for craftsmen, lit a fire, and began to prepare dinner.

The middle-aged lama dispatched 5 young lamas to give them a start.

Wang Yongsheng took out the housekeeping skills of opening a restaurant, and instructed his son and the little lama to make noodles, steam steamed buns, wash vegetables, and cut vegetables. Finally, he put an apron around his waist and took charge of the stir-fry himself.

When Wang Yongsheng was stir-frying meat dishes, the little lama covered his mouth and nose with his hands, and immediately ran out of the kitchen and ran to a distant place to stay. Wang Yongsheng knew that Buddhism forbade killing and eating meat, but it was his job to satisfy the taste of craftsmen. He thought to himself: Nau is also contributing to Buddhism.

It was getting dark, and the craftsmen called it a day and came back.

When they saw a large table of sumptuous home-cooked stir-fried dishes, their mouths were drooling. They sat around the round table, eating their meals and praising Wang Yongsheng and his son's superb cooking skills.

The middle-aged lama smiled with satisfaction when he saw this scene.

When the craftsmen ate delicious meals, they gained strength and their mood improved. They worked happily and greatly accelerated the progress of the temple's restoration.

Wang Yongsheng cooks every day, rolling noodles, steaming steamed buns, pancakes, and stir-fried vegetables or vegetables and meat, and serves the craftsmen very happily.

Wang Youyuan and a small lama were in charge of purchasing ingredients. Every 10 days, they go down to the city to buy vegetables, meat, and condiments.

Wang Yongsheng is the first generation born after Wang Shouye immigrated to Xihai from Bingzhou. When he was young, he listened to his parents describe the good life in Bingzhou, but he had never been there, let alone what his ancestral home was like now. So, in his spare time, he chatted with the artisans and listened to them talk about the new things in the mainland.

Wang Youyuan is different from his father and does not like to chat with craftsmen. When he had nothing to do, he was always alone in the temple, gazing at the Buddha statues enshrined in the main hall or observing the Buddhist stories drawn by the craftsmen.

Autumn has arrived, and the leaves of the trees all over the mountains turn golden yellow, as if they are covered with dense yellow butterflies. The Qutan Temple, which is about to be renovated, is hidden in the brilliant autumn colors, which looks even more magnificent and majestic.

The middle-aged lama had a joyful smile on his face all day long.

When the merits were complete and everyone was happy, a strange thing happened in Qutan Temple.

The craftsmen happily packed up their belongings, received their wages and happily went down the mountain, ready to return to their hometown from Nian Bowei. Wang Yongsheng also received a considerable amount of wages from the middle-aged lama, and he was very excited. While cleaning up the pots and spoons, he hummed a mountain song, urging his son to hurry up and help and prepare to go down the mountain to go home.

Unexpectedly, Wang Youyuan sat on the edge of the kang for a long time and did not move, and was silent for a while and said, "Abba, Nao doesn't want to go down the mountain. "

Wang Yongsheng was very surprised, and hurriedly asked, "The work on the mountain is done." The craftsmen are also gone. Why don't you go down the mountain and go home, why are you staying here?".

Wang Youyuan calmly replied, "I want to stay in the monastery and become a lama." "

"Huh?" Wang Yongsheng suddenly heard his son's ridiculous plan, and sat on the ground in surprise. He was so anxious that a string of sparks seemed to emerge from his throat and eyes.

Wang Youyuan hurriedly stepped forward and helped Wang Yongsheng, who was limp and collapsed. He still said flatly: "Abba, Nao may have seen through the red dust. "

Wang Yongsheng's face was full of tears.

He stared at his son, his lips trembling rapidly, and he couldn't say a word for a long time. His heart was in turmoil, as if the sky had collapsed. It took a long time for him to slowly calm down.

Wang Yongsheng asked in a gentle tone as much as possible: "Fate, are you talking nonsense when you are confused?"

Wang Youyuan said calmly: "Abba, Nao is not confused, nor is he crazy. Nau said what was in his heart. "

Wang Yongsheng bitterly advised his son: "Fate, if you are dedicated to the Buddha, there are temples in the city of Naomen, and you can go to pay homage every day, why do you have to stay in this deep mountain and old forest? How are you going to live in the future?".

Helplessly, Wang Youyuan's mind was as hard as iron, and let his father talk badly, he just refused to return to the home of Nian Bowei.

Wang Yongsheng patiently accompanied his son in the mountains for a few days.

The son didn't talk to him much, and soaked in the temple in a daze every day.

It looks like heavy snow is about to close the mountain. Wang Yongsheng had no choice but to entrust his stubborn son to the middle-aged lama of Qutan Monastery, hoping that one day he would change his mind and go down the mountain by himself or his family would go up the mountain to pick him up.

In the wind and snow flying in the sky, Wang Yongsheng shed sad tears and hurriedly went down the mountain.

He returned home with a heavy heart.

When the wife saw that her husband was slumping his head alone, but he didn't see his second son, she hurriedly asked, "Have you earned any money?"

Wang Yongsheng was smuggling for a long time, and had to tell his wife and family the truth.

After his wife knew about her son's situation, her reaction was exactly the same as Wang Yongsheng's original reaction, her two knees instantly weakened, and the whole person immediately collapsed to the ground.

She slapped the ground with her hands, crying and reproaching: "Oh, Nao's God! Nao's good son followed you up the mountain in the spring, but he became a lama in the autumn! Wang Yongsheng, you return Nao's son to Nao!"

Wang Yongsheng looked guilty and said helplessly: "Nao doesn't know what kind of demon he has fallen into! Besides, if you eat fasting and chant Buddha at home all day long, could it be that you are under your influence?"

The wife cried loudly: "Nao has been fasting and reciting Buddha for many years, why has Nao's son been well? You took him to Nanshan for a summer, how did a good person become a lama?

Wang Yongsheng's eldest daughter-in-law is usually clumsy and can't speak, but when she saw her mother-in-law in great pain, she kindly stepped forward and persuaded her: "Mother-in-law, I have a fortune to eat and drink in Qutan Temple." You old man, just relax. A while ago, Nao heard the monk of Nanguan Temple say: 'One son is a monk, and nine clans are born'. "

When Wang Yongsheng's wife heard the words of her eldest daughter-in-law, she immediately stopped crying, and angrily pointed her finger at her and scolded: "Bastard daughter-in-law, tell your mother's brother to leave home." Your whole family can go to heaven!".

Wang Youfu heard the sound and ran in from outside. While helping his mother up, he persuaded him: "Grandma, don't be sad about your old man. Maybe it was a whim, and I wanted to be a lama for a while. When the spring of next year is opened, the road to Nanshan will be opened, and Nao will go up the mountain to pick him up and bring him back to you. Okay?".

Wang Yongsheng's wife wiped the tears on her face with her hands and asked suspiciously, "You say...... Would he still like to go home?".

Wang Youfu replied, "Definitely willing." He'd love to go home. At the beginning of the year, didn't you tell him that the Li family's girl was still waiting to marry him. "

Wang Yongsheng couldn't help but be stunned when he heard his eldest son's words: Yes, how could I have forgotten about this! If this evil son is too obsessed and still refuses to come back next year, wouldn't it delay the Li family's girl?