Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Li turned around and saw that it was her neighbor, Madam Qi. Shen Yu smiled and replied, "Sister Qi, you are here too."

Madam Qi also had a bundle in her hands and said with a smile, "Yes, I came a little late today because I was taking care of my mother-in-law. So, I am squeezed in here."

When Li heard this, she felt sympathy for him and said, "Madam Qi, what can we do now? We are squeezed in here and can't get in. How can we offer sacrifices?"

Madam Qi looked to the side and said with a smile, "It's okay. I'll wait for Sister Liu here. She brought the child and Brother Liu here. We will go in with Brother Liu later. He will lead the way in front and we will just follow."

When Li heard this, she was overjoyed. Now she didn't have to worry about not being able to squeeze in.

After waiting for a while, Mrs. Liu and her husband came over with a child of five or six years old, followed by a woman. Shen Yu took a look and found that the woman was also an acquaintance, Zheng Sanniang, who lived diagonally opposite her home.

When the two teams met, they couldn't help but wish each other auspiciousness. Shen Yu originally wanted to wait outside the temple with Yutao and Yucheng, so he didn't need to go in with Li and the others.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened his mouth, he was refuted by Li's tiger face, who said that if one is sincere, his wish will come true and that he must kowtow to the Bodhisattva to be blessed with peace.

Shen Yu touched his crooked nose and took a deep breath. He pulled Yutao and Yucheng with him, followed Li and the others, and slowly squeezed forward with Brother Liu leading the way.

It looks crowded from the outside, but it's actually not that crowded once you get inside. Maybe everyone is here to burn incense and make offerings. In front of the Bodhisattva, everyone is polite and gives way to women and children.

The group of people walked into the temple smoothly. The temple was filled with Ullambana basins for offerings, with all kinds of things placed in the basins.

Some were used to hold fruits, sweet cakes, and some were used to hold clothes and silks. The most eye-catching offering was a jade bonsai, with a wooden trunk on which were fixed fruits carved from white jade and leaves carved from jasper using gold wire. The delicate fruit tree was placed in the offering basin, attracting passers-by to point and comment with envy.

Shen Yu was amazed when he saw it. The jade fruit tree bonsai looked small, but it was warm and shiny, sparkling in the sun, making people unable to take their eyes away.

Such a small pot must be worth a lot of money. There is also a little monk guarding it. I don’t know which wealthy family is offering this pot.

Under Li's command, Shen Yu kowtowed countless times with Yutao and Yucheng. Only after Li reverently placed the Ullambana bowl in front of the Buddha and the Buddhist scriptures he had requested yesterday did Shen Yu leave.

After leaving the smoke-filled hall, Shen Yu felt his head clearer. He took a few deep breaths and felt refreshed again.

Madam Qi and her family had already come out and were waiting for Shen Yu and his family in front of the palace. When they saw them coming out, they came up to them and asked, "Where are you going next?"

Li was not familiar with Guang'an Temple because it was her first time here. She could not answer for a while. Madam Qi said enthusiastically, "I think it is the first time for Madam Shen to come to Guang'an Temple. There is a temple fair in front of the temple today. The stalls selling various toys and food will be open soon. The children will definitely like to go shopping. At the time of Si in the temple, a senior monk will start to lecture on Buddhist scriptures in the main hall. The lecture is very good."

Li became interested and said, "When I was in the countryside, there were also great monks giving lectures during the Ullambana Festival. It was very heart-warming to listen to them. I will wait here and listen to the great monk giving lectures."

Then he said to Shen Yu: "I want to listen to the monk's lecture here. Do you want to listen to the lecture or go out to the temple fair?"

Shen Yu had no intention of going back into the hall filled with smoke and immediately expressed his desire to go out for a walk. Yutao and Yucheng were also eager to go for a walk. They were concerned about whether the dancing lion team and golden dragon team had arrived. They were afraid that if they went too late, they would be squeezed out of the crowd and wouldn't be able to see anything.

Li had not expected the children to accompany her to listen to the lecture, so she said, "Then you three can go out for a walk and take care of each other. Don't get separated. We will meet at the steps beside the temple gate at noon."

After hearing this, Shen Yu greeted Madam Qi. Unexpectedly, when Madam Liu's son heard that his brothers and sisters were going to the temple fair, he pestered Madam Liu to go with him.

Mrs. Liu and her husband are usually busy setting up their stall and rarely have the leisure to come to the temple to offer devout worship. They don’t want to go and want to wait for the monk to start his lecture.

But the boy refused to do so. He was only five or six years old and couldn't sit still. The family was trying to coax him and make a lot of noise. The boy pouted and was about to cry.

Shen Yu saw that this was not a solution, and was too embarrassed to just leave, so he said, "If you trust me, Sister Liu, please let me go with you. Just listen to the lecture at ease. When the lecture is over at noon, we will wait for you at the temple gate."

Mrs. Liu was having a headache because of her son's noises. When she heard that Shen Yu was willing to take her son out for a walk, she was overjoyed and responded quickly, "I can trust you, I can trust you. We are neighbors, so why can't we trust you? But this naughty boy in my house is very noisy, and I'm afraid he will be too noisy and annoy the girl."

Shen Yu had a calm smile on his face and said kindly, "It's nothing. Children are naughty. I'll just lead him."

After hearing this, Mrs. Liu told her son, "Maodou, your brothers and sisters are willing to take you to the temple fair. When you go there, you must listen to them, don't be naughty, and don't run around. Be careful not to be kidnapped by beggars. Your father and I will go to listen to the lecture, and we will take you to eat a good meal at noon."

When the boy called Maodou heard that he could go shopping, he immediately stopped crying and smiled. He stood next to Shen Yu in a familiar manner and promised loudly: "Mom, I promise to listen to my brothers and sisters and follow them and not run around."

Mrs. Liu raised her hand to help Maodou straighten his clothes, and then handed a basket in her hand to Shen Yu, saying with a smile: "Then I'll trouble you, Miss Shen. If he doesn't listen, just beat him. Here are some snacks and fruits I brought today, you guys can take them and eat them. In addition, there is a hundred coins in this purse, you can take it too. If Maodou wants anything that is not expensive, you can buy it for him. If it's not enough, I'll give it to you when I come back."

Shen Yu thought about the vendors waiting outside to set up stalls when they came in. They must have all kinds of toys to amuse children, so he took the purse generously and pushed the basket back. He smiled and said, "I'll keep the money for Maodou. If there's anything he likes, I'll buy it for him. Don't bring these snacks. It's not good to eat them while walking. I'd better take care of them. When the lecture is over, save the fruit for Maodou."

As she spoke, she handed the small basket in her hand to Li. Seeing that Shen Yu was not very old, Mrs. Liu was a little worried at first, but when she saw that Shen Yu was steady and thoughtful, she felt relieved. She stopped insisting, took back the basket, and watched Shen Yu holding Maodou's hand, leading Yutao and Yucheng, squeezed through the crowd and walked out of the temple.