The first Taoist priest of the Tang Dynasty

Bending over and hunchbacked, Zhong Mugen, who was working, immediately stood up when he heard his daughter's cry.

"How big is the fish? Can't both of you brothers and sisters carry it back? Then I'll go and have a look."

Zhong Mugen was also a little puzzled, just a fish, how big can it be?Normally, the fish that Xiaowen catches weighs only a few kilograms at most, but today, even his two sons and daughters can't get it back. Is it really big?

Went up to the edge of the field, washed casually in the ditch, and followed Xiaohua to the direction where Zhong Wen was.

When Zhong Mugen and the others came to the bank of the small river, they saw the big fish in front of them, their eyes bulging.

"Xiaowen, is this the big fish you caught? Isn't it too big? Is it hurt? Did you go into the water? Why are you soaked?"

Zhong Mugen looked at Big Yu, then at his son, and found that Zhong Wen was completely soaked, so he asked concerned.

"Father, this fish is too big, I can only hug it up from the shore, otherwise the hemp rope will not be able to pull it up, and it will break easily, otherwise this big fish will run away."

Zhong Wen answered selectively, but he didn't dare to say that he went down the river, otherwise, he would be blamed by his father.

"That's good, but you can't go into the water, you have to go back and change your clothes quickly, or it won't be good if you catch a cold."

Zhong Mugen picked up the big fish, Zhong Wen picked up the basket, Xiao Hua took the fishing rod and the small wooden hoe, and the family of three walked home.

Back home, Zhong Wen hurried to the house, dug out a piece of clothes and pants and changed.

In fact, Zhong Wen only had these two sets of summer clothes, and there were too many patches to count. These were remade from the clothes his father had worn before.

"Xiaowen, Xiaohua, you stay at home and I'll go back to work first. When your mother comes back, let her clean up this big fish."

Zhong Mugen didn't want to take too much responsibility for the farm work, and after a casual confession, he trotted to work in the field again. Although Big Yu could give himself some surprises, the crops were the most important thing.

The two brothers and sisters who were bored at home wanted to find something to do, pretending that there was nothing to do at home, so they could only carry the basket and kitchen knife, and went to the ditch not far below the house to pick up the small fish in the basket.

"Brother, let's eat fish tonight."

Xiaohua looked at the small fish in the basket, and then thought about the big fish at home. It would be the best if all the fish were eaten for dinner today.

"It's ok. After Aniang comes back, let Aniang cook fish today."

Zhong Wen responded to Xiao Hua while handling the little fish in his hand. Of course, Zhong Wen also wanted to have a big meal in his heart.

When Xiu returned home, seeing no one in the house, she wondered if her little one had gone to collect firewood. Then she entered the stove, but saw the big fish in the stove.

When Dangxiu saw the big fish, she was startled at first, and then panicked.

He raised his legs and ran towards the small river, afraid that something would happen to his two little children by the small river. If something happened, she, a mother, didn't know what to do. alright.

"A Niang, A Niang." When Xiu trotted past the small ditch, she heard Xiao Hua's cry, and quickly turned her head to look at the small ditch, where her son and daughter were cleaning up by the small ditch some small fish.

Xiu felt relieved, but luckily nothing happened, otherwise, she wouldn't know what to do.

Zhong Wen’s home is on a high ground, and the small ditch is just below the open space. A small path leads to the paddy fields and the small river. There is a small path behind the kitchen that goes down to the small ditch. It is nearly two meters high, so when you need to fetch water, you need to go down to the small ditch.

Of course, there is also a small pool next to the small ditch, with a radius of one meter and a depth of not too deep, less than one meter. Usually, the water at home is taken from here.

"You guys scared me to death. I thought something happened to you by the small river. By the way, did you catch that big fish in the kitchen? Why are you so brave? Such a big fish , If you are dragged into the river, you will die, and you can't do this in the future."

Xiu approached the small pool, and although she blamed her, it sounded like affection.

"Mother, the big fish was caught by my brother, and I went to call my father to bring it back."

Xiaohua hurriedly explained, although she knew her mother would not scold them, but Xiaohua's temperament was like this, she had to talk about everything.

Afterwards, Xiu returned home, used a big basket to bring the big fish to the small pool, and began to handle it, not forgetting to repeat to Zhong Wen and his sister to be careful and be careful.

For dinner, Xiu listened to her daughter's request and made a large plate of fish. Most of the other fish were hung up to make dried fish. Because there was not too much salt, they could only be made into dried fish.

"Mom, this fish is delicious."

Xiaohua eats large pieces of fish, because there is not much oil available at home, so she basically cooks them after roasting them for a while before eating them.

As far as the taste is concerned, Zhong Wen would definitely reject it in his previous life, but at this time, he ate it very delicious, maybe because he was extremely hungry, or maybe his body was already used to this taste.

As night fell, he had to go back to sleep again. This was Zhong Wen's most uncomfortable night.

Just like a pig, you have to go to bed when you are full, there is no so-called nightlife.

But in this era, where there is no nightlife to speak of, if you can fill your stomach, it is already considered a good life.

Zhong Mugen and his wife were sitting in a corner of the house, rubbing hemp, and lighting a torch not far away, illuminating the originally dark house.

While the couple were busy with their work, they were whispering something, while on the other side of the thatched mat on the ground lay two brothers and sisters.

In the early morning of the second day, the two brothers and sisters were woken up by Xiu, Zhong Wen was a little puzzled, why did his mother wake them up so early in the morning?

"I will go to the temple to pray for your Aunt Ahua in a while, and you two should go too."

Xiu looked at her silly son and daughter who had just woken up, and explained casually.

It was only then that Zhong Wen remembered the past. As long as anyone in the village passed away unfortunately, he had to go to the temple to pray for blessings. This was already a custom in the village.

As for the death of the elderly, only their family members will go to pray for blessings, and other people in the village do not need to go, it is only for those who have passed away unfortunately.

Not long after, all the people in the village, old and young, big and small, all headed towards Longquan Taoist Temple. A large team of nearly [-] people rushed onto the path leading to the Taoist Temple, occupying the entire path.

The gate of Longquan Temple has already been opened wide, and all the Taoists in the temple have already been waiting at the side, chanting some Taoist words, and welcome the villagers to enter the temple.

After half a quarter of an hour, everyone gathered in the square in the temple, and then several Taoists in the temple led the crowd to the main hall.

All the villagers entered the main hall, and the Taoists began to burn incense and pray for blessings, chanting words.

"Worshiping the Sanqing, praying for blessings, the dead have passed away, the transcendence is ignorant, the heart of sorrow, the heart of pain, the beginning of bliss, the law of reincarnation, the ancestor of the Sanqing, please bless the people..."

A group of people held Dharma incense, knelt down on the tuanpu, and worshiped the Patriarch of the Sanqing in the main hall.

Zhong Wen, who was kneeling in the crowd, was very interesting. Although the Taoist didn't hear what the Taoist said later, for Zhong Wen, he rarely visited the main hall here, except for praying. They are not allowed in at other times.

Zhong Wen raised his head and looked around the hall.

In the center of the main hall, there are three stone statues of the venerables. In front of the big statues is a desk with an incense burner and other things.

On the left and right sides of the main hall, there are several smaller stone statues, all of which belonged to Taoist immortals. Although Zhong Wen didn't recognize any of them, he also knew that apart from Taoist immortals, how could there be other immortals here.

s: Introducing the first book written by the author himself (Da Tang Huan You): Invincible daily life, fantastic creatures, finding the door to home, I am 'Da Tang Huan You', waiting for you every day. read.

Chapter 22 Salt Production

After praying for a long time, the Taoists stopped their actions and the words of Taoism in their mouths.

The villagers just started to disperse and walked towards the village. They had to finish their breakfast in a while. There were still many things waiting for everyone today.

Back home, Zhong Mugen's family was busy making breakfast, Xiao Hua was helping to light the fire, Zhong Wen was fine, but he also began to think about getting some salt for the family.

In Zhong Wen's mind, he began to recall the method of making salt that he saw in his previous life. After the plant ash was melted, he filtered it and then fired it. After repeated several times, he could finally get the so-called potassium salt. Easy way too.

As for whether there is a so-called halite mine nearby, in Zhong Wen's memory, there is no such thing.

As for the halite mine, maybe I just don't know about it, or even the people in the village don't know about it. When I have time, I must go and look for it.

After breakfast, Zhong Wen's family went to Ah Cai's house to prepare for today's ceremony.

For these things, Zhong Wen still has some in his memory, and he knows what to do. Even if he doesn't know the specific situation, he just needs to follow the adults.

A Bo wooden coffin was placed in the room of Ah Cai's home. Ah Cai and his three children, dressed in linen clothes, knelt beside the coffin.

The expressions of the four were dull, or they were in a state of hopelessness in life.

As the villagers began to gather, Taoists from Longquan Temple also came with some magic weapons.

For every death in the village, the temple must be notified, whether it is a normal death or an unfortunate death.

One is because the people here are all registered as vassals of Longquan Temple, and the other is because Longquan Temple is good at funerals mainly based on rituals.

For the villagers who don't know anything, naturally they must focus on the Longquan Temple. No one is literate, and they have never traveled far, so they don't know anything about the outside world.

Of course, there is no need for Taoists to charge money for performing rituals in the village, because they belong to the tenants of Longquan Temple, and it is unreasonable to charge money.

What's more, this is a matter of grief, and the Taoists in Longquan Temple will not sprinkle salt on the wound of the principal's family at this time.

The ritual needs to be carried out for a whole day, so it needs to be carried out according to the order of seniority.

Starting from the elders in the village, each family goes into the back room to worship.

When it was Zhong Wen's turn, the sun was already in the middle of the sky.

Zhong Mugen took his wife and children into the back room, and said some comforting words to Ah Cai's family, basically some comforting words, and gave some gifts along the way.

Finally, after the Taoist said a few words, he bowed to the coffin where Ah Hua was lying.

After it was over, Zhong Mugen and his wife sighed heavily, and then they took Zhong Wen brothers and sisters out of the house and went home.

Afterwards, the family continued to worship, which could be regarded as a silent farewell ceremony. Although there were not many words, it could also make Ah Cai's family feel a little relieved.

Back home, Zhong Mugen and his wife went to work in the fields with their agricultural tools, leaving Zhong Wen and his brother and sister at home.

Zhong Wen sat under the tree in front of the open space, staring blankly ahead, sighing heavily in his heart.

I was thinking about Uncle Cai's family, and I didn't know how the family would live in the future, and I didn't know how Uncle Cai, who lost an arm, would raise the three children in the family.

Such a heavy burden will be on Uncle Cai in the future. If his hand is still there and his body is healthy, then naturally it will not be a big problem.

But for a man who is missing an arm, there are many things he can't do, let alone raising three minor children who are still young.

Xiao Hua held a piece of unfinished fish in her hand, and approached Zhong Wen biting it.

"Brother, you eat."

Xiao Hua handed the fish piece to Zhong Wen's mouth, stared at Zhong Wen, and didn't know why her brother sighed so long.

"Eat it yourself."

Zhong Wen pulled Xiao Hua to sit beside him, and touched Xiao Hua's little head.

"Brother, shall we still go fishing today?"

Xiaohua is very interested in fishing. At least there are more and more fish at home, and there is still a lot of stock. As long as her brother continues to fish, the kitchen at home will be full of dried fish.

"I won't go today, my brother needs to get some straw and burn it into plant ash to boil water."

Zhong Wen recovered from the matter of Uncle Cai's family, and said something to Xiao Hua.

"Brother, what are you doing cooking plant ash?"

Xiaohua stared at Zhong Wen ignorantly, as if she was looking at a fool, who could cook plant ash, this is not a fool, but also a fool.

"I'm going to cook some salt in a while. There's too much fish at home. It's not good to bake it with fire. I have to make some cured fish and cured rabbit. Later, let Dad and I go to the mountain forest to see See if there is a wild rabbit on the cover."

Zhong Wen looked at Xiao Hua, and then explained. As for whether Xiao Hua understood or not, he didn't care.

Xiaohua looked in disbelief, boiled salt, where is such a good thing, at least she knows, the salt at home is made from some things, and it is impossible to cook salt with plant ashes.

Zhong Wen didn't speak any more. After getting up, he went to the straw shed at the back of the house, brought a lot of straw, and called Xiaohua to take the flint and start burning.

Two quarters of an hour later, the fire was extinguished, leaving behind a pile of plant ash. Zhong Wen even pulled all the plant ash from the earthen stove in the kitchen into a wooden barrel, and filtered it with the straw plant ash later.

"Brother, what is the use of burning these straws? You said just now that you want to boil the ashes, but the ashes are gone, how can you cook the salt?"

Xiaohua looked at Zhong Wen beside her with puzzled eyes, she didn't quite understand Zhong Wen's actions, more likely she didn't understand.

"You'll know in a while. I'll go get a wooden bucket. After the plant ash cools down, put it in a pot and filter it with water, and then put it into a pot to boil the salt."

Zhong Wen looked at the ash pile that was still emitting small sparks, picked up a branch not far away, and picked up the ash, so that the sparks inside could be extinguished earlier.

Xiaohua didn't understand, so she couldn't understand what her brother had done, or even didn't understand it.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhong Wen collected all the ash. Although it was still warm, it did not affect its use.

There is no extra cloth in the house, some are just a little bit of linen, which is sure to be usable, but Zhong Wen is worried that after using it, he will be beaten by his parents, but at this time, he has not thought about it so much, and just took the cloth. A piece of sackcloth, and another wooden barrel, went to the small pool.

Xiao Hua followed, wanting to see how her brother cooked the salt.

In Xiaohua's head, she kept thinking about whether her elder brother had suffered a demon again, but thinking about what happened in the past few days, let's wait and see.

Filter, filter again, Zhong Wen filtered all the plant ash two or three times before returning to the stove with a wooden bucket of muddy water.

"Little sister, turn on the fire, we are going to boil the salt."

Zhong Wen poured the turbid water in the wooden barrel into the pot, and called Xiao Hua to start the fire.

As for the pot, it wasn't an iron pot in the first place, it was just a larger clay pot. No one in the village had such a so-called iron pot, but there was one in the Taoist temple, and Zhong Wen had seen it before.

When the fire started, Zhong Wen kept stirring the pot with a wooden stick, and the heat rose. As long as the water in the pot was boiled dry, the salt would naturally be there.

As for whether it can be eaten directly, Zhong Wen will not consider these issues. Even if the color of the salt is a little grayish black, that is optional. There is a lack of salt in the house. There are not many of them, and the salt made from these plant ashes, a little salty taste is good, but it cannot be eaten all year round, and it is only a temporary solution to the current predicament.

Boiling the salt was a long-term problem. Finally, after more than an hour, the water in the pot was almost boiled, and it bottomed out.

"Little sister, look, these are salt, do you want to taste it?"