Part-Time Taoist Priest

Xie Lingya sincerely asked He Zun to bring his classmates to eat melon seeds and drink tea. He recently bought some tea and set up some tables and chairs in the front yard for people to rest. They can also order tea and melon seeds and chat while eating.

Alas, there is no one to offer incense, so I can only earn some extra money this way.

Although it was a little black line, He Zun thought it was easier than asking people to burn incense, so he decided to go back and recommend another method.

……

Because life in the Taoist temple is relatively tight, Xie Lingya has not asked his family for money since he was in college, and it is even more impossible for his father to subsidize living expenses now.It was even worse before, but now I can often eat meat or sell melon seeds to increase my income.

Xie Lingya thought about it, and simply used the soil in the backyard to grow some vegetables, which would save a little bit, and he would save Uncle He's money if he saved it.

When the land was not deserted before, it was Wang Yuji who took care of it. Xie Lingya helped with the work, so he knew more or less about the melons and vegetables.

When the front yard was fine, Xie Lingya was farming in the back, comforting himself that hard work and plain living are a good style of work.

In the middle of the work, an aunt came over and called him: "Xiao Xie, come quickly, Xiao Xie, your colleague is here."

my colleague?How can I have colleagues?

Xie Lingya was puzzled, he was watering, put down the kettle to wipe his hands, went out and saw a Taoist priest in Taoist robes standing in the front yard, probably in his 30s, with a mustache on his mouth and a few strands of beard on his chin, Sparse, with hair tied into a bun on the top of his head, and a bag in his hand.

The mustache Taoist saw that Xie Lingya came out with his aunt and walked in front of him, but he still didn't come back to his senses, and said doubtfully, "Hello, I want to find the temple master here."

"There is no temple master for the time being, Taoist priest, just tell me if you have anything to do." Xie Lingya looked the Taoist priest up and down, and always felt that his beard was rather obscene.

The mustache Taoist hurriedly said, "Excuse me, I want to place an order here."

As long as you are a Taoist priest, you can live in a local Taoist temple when you go to another place. This is called a pending order.The rules have been different from ancient times to the present. In modern society, regular Taoist priests who have obtained Taoist certificates are generally able to eat and live in other Taoist temples for free for three days, and then they have to pay the Taoist temple.

Xie Lingya also knew this rule, and it was just the first time he encountered it. There were also extra rooms in the backyard, but they were not cleaned up. He said very politely: "The Taoist leader and I will pack your luggage first, I will pack up a room and come out."

"Thank you, thank you little brother." The mustache Taoist thanked him.

Xie Lingya asked casually while walking: "I don't mean anything else, but in our local area, the Temple of Supreme Harmony is much more famous, why didn't you go to the Temple of Supreme Harmony to place an order?"

Not only is it more famous, but the accommodation environment must be better when you go there.

The bearded Taoist faltered and said: "This... the view of Taihe is too biased..."

Xie Lingya was suspicious, and looked at the Taoist priest with a mustache again, and suddenly stopped and said, "Is there any mistake? The conditions of our Taoist temple are so poor, and you still cheat on food and drink?"

He lifted up the clothes of the Taoist priest with a mustache, and there were clearly a few vague words on the inside of the hem, which could be clearly identified as "Longhu Scenic Area", which were faintly visible when he walked around.

——Longhu Scenic Area is a tourist attraction in Fuyang City. There are no Taoist temples inside, only an antique square market. The staff inside are all dressed in ancient costumes. There are also actors such as scholars, beggars, and fortune tellers on the streets to add a sense of reality.

Xie Lingya thought his clothes were of poor quality before, but now that he thinks about it... the costumes are of course of poor quality!

"No, no, you misunderstood!" The mustache Taoist didn't know whether to press the hem of his clothes first or take out his ID first, "I am a real Taoist, I just worked there!"

Xie Lingya: "???"

What the hell, true Taoist, you work in Longhu Scenic Area?

Xie Lingya suspiciously checked the mustache priest's Taoist certificate, and it turned out to be true, "What's the matter, you're not an actor."

The mustache Taoist said dejectedly, "But I'm poor."

Xie Lingya: "..."

Xie Lingya: "Really, how poor are you? You don't even have a place to live?"

The mustache Taoist raised his head and told a very sad story.

His real name is Zhang Daoting, and he is only one character different from Zhang Daoling, the legendary founder of Tianshidao, but his fate is very different.

He had no father and no mother, he became a monk that year, and less than a year later, the incense in the Taoist temple became less and less, and he couldn't even eat, so he was kindly invited out, and each found a way out.

It never occurred to me that even in Taoist temples, they could be laid off.

In the next eight years, Mustache went to many places, but all the Taoist temples where he officially took office usually declined due to various reasons, and he couldn't even eat.

Last year, Mustache lived in Fuyang. This time, instead of going to the Taoist temple, he simply went to work in the scenic area.Because he has an advantage over those actors, he can recite some classic Taoist mantras, so he successfully applied for the job.Just sit in the scenic area every day and take pictures with tourists. The unit includes food and accommodation.

But the good times didn't last long. A few days ago, he was complained by tourists because he was sleeping during working hours. He was fired when the big leader came to inspect him.

Xiao Huzi had actually been to Taihe Temple. He placed orders there for three days and stayed there for a day because he had no money to pay for board and lodging. He came out again, and then he saw Baoyang Temple.

After hearing this unlucky story, Xie Lingya had a look of incredulity: "You became a monk and spent eight years, so you are only 26 now?"

But it looks like 36!

Mustache: "..."

Mustache touched his beard, and said awkwardly: "This is required by the scenic spot... No, you are focusing on the wrong thing, right?"

Xie Lingya said awkwardly: "You are so unlucky?"

"I also want to know. My master told me that my life is too bad. Maybe my parents were so restrained that they threw me away." The mustache said, "Well, brother, I will only live here for a few days Okay? I'll go find another job."

Xie Lingya asked curiously: "Look for another job, don't you plan to go to the Taoist temple?"

Mustache: "I'd better not hurt anyone..."

When Xie Lingya thought about what happened to him, he was bad enough, and felt a little wrong, "Wait, your unit provides food and housing, so you haven't saved any money? Can't even pay the bill?"

Living in a Taoist temple is already cheaper than living in a hotel or renting a house.

"Oh..." Mustache scratched his head and said, "My salary is basically donated to the orphanage. I myself grew up without father and mother, so I know how hard it is."

Xie Lingya was taken aback.

He took a closer look at the mustache, and found that although the man's beard was wretched, his eyes were centered, his nose was straight and straight, and the tails of his eyebrows were down, showing a sincere and reliable face.

Mustache turned his head and said, "You guys planted vegetables, hey, let me water it for you."

Xie Lingya looked at him with a complicated expression, "Master Hu, actually we don't have a single Taoist priest in our Taoist temple now, if you don't mind, you can stay here."

Mustache: "...my surname is Zhang."

Xie Lingya: "..."

Xie Lingya: "I'm sorry for misremembering. Well, the conditions here are not very good. If you want, you can pay [-] a month with food and lodging included. The ritual is not included, is that okay?"

The single money is equivalent to the basic salary of a Taoist priest, not counting the kind of big temples with particularly good incense. In fact, the single money of ordinary Taoist temples ranges from a few hundred to one or two thousand.If you go out to do things, it will be calculated separately, just like a commission.

Baoyang Temple is poor now, so poor that Xie Lingya has to farm by himself to save money, but Uncle He Zun still has some money left, which can last for a while.He dared to pay this money because a Taoist temple must have Taoist priests, which is a necessary investment.

As for other issues...

Mustache: "I'm so weak, aren't you afraid?"

"Don't be afraid. An expert once told me that I am a fairy material and can fly people around me." Xie Lingya said indifferently, "I think you should not be weak enough to defeat me."

Mustache: "..."

And to be honest, if Mustache hadn't been so bad, he might not have been able to recruit Taoist priests.People go to high places, and mustaches still have a Taoist certificate, which can only be applied for after eight years of transmission.

Xie Lingya is not afraid anymore, what's so scary about a mustache, he immediately said: "Then I will ask you to give me more advice!"

……

Xie Lingya and Xiao Huzi cleaned up the room together, he went to serve Xiao Huzi a bowl of noodles to eat, and when he came out of the kitchen with the noodles, he saw Xiao Huzi watering the vegetable field, and he actually took the initiative to work.

"Let's eat first." Xie Lingya greeted.

Mustache got up and put down the kettle, raised his face and startled Xie Lingya, "Who are you?"

Mustache...can't be called mustache anymore, Zhang Daoting touched his face, "I shaved my beard, can't I recognize it?"

"I now believe that you are really 26 years old." Xie Lingya took a while to speak.

The corner of Zhang Daoting's mouth twitched.

After he shaved off his slightly wretched beard, his appearance and temperament improved by leaps and bounds, making him refreshing and handsome.

——But it can also be seen how bad he is, like Xie Lingya, because he is good-looking and likable, the uncles and aunts in the front yard are willing to chat with him.

Xie Lingya originally thought, this guy has a dark history of working in the scenic spot, how should he solve it properly.Looking at it now, if this can be recognized, there will be a ghost!

Zhang Daoting ate noodles while taking time to answer Xie Lingya's question.

As a certified Taoist priest, he has been in various Taoist temples for six or seven years. He is familiar with Taoist classics and norms, and has also learned some rituals from his master and husband, but he has not presided over them himself.

Xie Lingya: "Can you draw symbols?"

Zhang Daoting said anxiously: "No."

Because he lived in several Taoist temples, he also paid homage to no less than three masters, or did odd jobs for others, but because the sun was not long, he learned very miscellaneously and not well.There were too many and complicated runes, and he didn't quite understand them.

Over the years, he has traveled to various Taoist temples, and with his own fate, he deeply feels that there are some things that cannot be explained by science.

Xie Lingya had no other intentions, and said casually, "It's okay, I will."

Zhang Daoting: "..."

"By the way, come here and let me touch it." Xie Lingya said.

He intends to touch Zhang Daoting's roots. This person's life is not very good, but his character is good. If he is not too stupid, it may be a bit bad to be one of his uncle's apprentices, but he can also teach other skills depending on the situation. After all Now he is also a member of Baoyang Temple.

"???" Zhang Daoting swallowed a mouthful of noodles with difficulty, and said weakly, "Why..."

"Touch it casually." Xie Lingya said casually, and didn't say anything about the investigation for the time being.But touching Zhang Daoting is really much more convenient than touching Shi Changxuan, Zhang Daoting is now their yang-minded person.

Zhang Daoting nodded tremblingly: "Oh."

After touching it, Xie Lingya probably knew it in his heart, and explained to him: "I will tell you about the history of Baoyang Temple later, as well as the precautions."

Of course, more importantly, discuss how to attract believers.

……

……

The regular visitors of Baoyang Temple have all noticed that there is suddenly a Taoist priest here.But this is also normal. It is strange that there is no Taoist priest in a Taoist temple. The Taoist priests of Baoyang Temple did not know where they went before, but now they finally appeared.

This little Taoist priest is also quite young, and he looks pretty good. He greeted everyone under Xiao Xie's introduction, and introduced himself as Zhang Daoting.

Most of the people here were tea drinkers fetching water, or nearby residents came to chat. Seeing that Zhang Daoting was young, they also asked with interest what life was like to be a Taoist priest.

Zhang Daoting talked about his daily life like doing homework, and brought the topic to Baoyang Temple itself.

Speaking of Baoyang Temple, everyone couldn't help saying: "Baoyang Temple seems to have been around for a long time, but I have lived in Fuyang for so long, and I don't know what it is exactly."

Zhang Daoting couldn't help laughing, and said: "Our Taoist temple was first built in the Ming Dynasty. It was once destroyed by war, and it was rebuilt once in the Qing Dynasty. In the temple, the main god enshrined is Taiyi Thunder God Yinghua Tianzun Wang Lingguan."

"Wang Lingguan? Which god is it? Aren't you offering Sanqing?" someone asked.

Zhang Daoting explained about the main god of the Taoist temple, popular science Wang Lingguan.

Some honest people said: "To be honest, I haven't heard much about it."

In the minds of ordinary non-believers, the powerful and famous gods enshrined in Taoist temples are all like Emperor Zhenwu and Lu Dongbin.Moreover, when Zhang Daoting said that Wang Lingguan would be enshrined in all Taoist temple gates, it sounded like a gatekeeper.

Speaking of which, Baoyang Temple's incense is deserted, and it has nothing to do with the patriarch they enshrine is Wang Lingguan. There are few Lingguan temples in Queshan Province.These days, everyone would rather worship the famous ones when worshiping gods.

"Wang Lingguan is the great protector of the Taoist sect, exorcising evil and suppressing evil. You may not have any idea about it. Let me give you an example." Zhang Daoting said.

"Everyone in "Journey to the West" should know that when Monkey King made a big fuss in the Heavenly Palace, no one could stop him. It was Wang Lingguan who stopped him when he hit the Temple of Heaven, and the two fought hard. Although Journey to the West is a novel, but Why did the author set Wang Lingguan and Monkey King to be tied? It is precisely because Wang Lingguan is indeed a god with extremely high combat power in Taoism!"

Wang Lingguan only showed up in "Journey to the West", and everyone didn't have much impression, but after checking what Zhang Daoting said, it was indeed the case, which made people feel suddenly enlightened.

Wang Lingguan and the others are not familiar with it, but everyone is familiar with the story of Monkey King's havoc in the Heavenly Palace, and they immediately have a specific concept.

I didn't expect Wang Lingguan to be so powerful, and his combat power is among the best in the entire Taoist religion, so it's no wonder Baoyang Temple worships him.

After Zhang Daoting's in-depth explanation, everyone was relieved, and no longer felt that the main god of Baoyang Temple was unqualified.

"In addition to subjugating demons, Wang Lingguan actually has other duties. He is also the God of Thunder and Vulcan. He brings rain and clears the sky, collects plagues and poisons, and picks up human faults. In the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yongle believed in Lingguan the most, even in the palace. Enshrine the statue of the Lingguan." Zhang Daoting said, "If there is a sick person at home, they often read Wang Lingguan, or burn incense, and ask the Lingguan amulet to go home."

At this point, it is a bit mysterious, and it belongs to the category of believing, but not believing.

Everyone is in Baoyang Temple, and many of them often fetch water here. If you don’t believe it, of course you won’t say anything bad.Those who are usually more interested in these things are willing to continue listening because Baoyang Temple finally has a Taoist priest.

For example, Mrs. Wang, the neighbor of Sun Fuyang, the owner of the newsagent, is also a friend of his mother Mrs. Sun. She listened and asked questions.

Zhang Daoting smiled slightly, let the flow take its course and chatted with Mrs. Wang about how to hold the Lingguan mantra, what are the key points, and taught each sentence.

Mrs. Wang nodded again and again, and finally asked about the types of Lingguan talismans and how much they cost, but she just asked. Overrun it.

She lives close to Baoyang Temple, but she has never come here to worship before. These days, she came for a walk with her friends, and offered incense to Sanqing twice as a courtesy.For her, the sign of Taihe Temple is better.

While talking to Zhang Daoting, Mrs. Wang scratched the places on her body that had been bitten by mosquitoes.

Zhang Daoting took a look, "Auntie, do you have a lot of mosquitoes in your house?"

Mrs. Wang said: "Yes, my house lives on the first floor, there are many mosquitoes, and the mosquitoes can't be wiped out."

Zhang Daoting smiled again, "If there are too many mosquitoes, please take a mosquito repellent talisman back."

"..." Other people who heard it were a little speechless, what the hell, you can forget about amulets, why are there mosquito repellents?

Even Mrs. Wang, a superstitious woman, couldn't help but ask, "This, can this be useful?"

Taoist temples now sell a lot of amulets, luck charms, and mosquito repellents?I haven't seen it before, why does it feel weird?

Zhang Daoting asked back: "Do you think there are mosquitoes in our Taoist temple?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment. For the past two days, there seemed to be no mosquitoes in Baoyang Temple!

Zhang Daoting didn't say that they didn't feel it, but once he said it, he felt it deeply.Especially those who sit here for several hours feel the deepest, "I'm still surprised that there are no mosquitoes!"

Even so, it is still difficult for most people to believe that it is the effect of the mosquito repellent that Zhang Daoting said.

In the end, only Mrs. Wang and three or four tea guests were willing to ask Zhang Mosquito Repellent Charm to go back. Zhang Daoting said so firmly that Mrs. Wang believed it.

Apart from being interested, other people thought, anyway, this talisman is not expensive, only 20 yuan, so it should be entertained.Not to mention anything else, they usually get less free well water here?If you reciprocate, you should support this very poor Taoist temple!

……

Zhang Daoting turned to the back to get talismans for everyone, but he walked up to Xie Lingya and said, "Boss, three mosquito repellent talismans."

He used to call Xie Lingya little brother, but later he learned that Baoyang Temple belonged to Xie Lingya, so he changed his name silently.

"Oh, I knew there must be a market for mosquito repellent charms in summer." Xie Lingya hurriedly drew three mosquito repellent charms. This is one of the achievements of his study during this period of time, and it is also why there are no mosquitoes in the Taoist temple these two days. reason.

Xie Lingya was deeply impressed by the uneaten curse and well water incident last time. At this stage, these life-related alchemy can help their small Taoism with few believers, so they focus on this aspect.

Like this mosquito repellent talisman, ordinary Taoists probably don’t know it. It was studied by a Taoist named Wang Ziran in the Ming Dynasty. He is more famous for his ability to drive away thunder and rain. He is also dedicated to Wang Lingguan. It may be related to Baoyang Temple It's kind of unclear what the relationship is.

Mosquito repellent charms are actually miscellaneous charms. As the name suggests, they can only solve a few miscellaneous problems.This kind of miscellaneous talisman is basically not sold in modern orthodox Taoist temples, which gives people an illusion of indecentness. In fact, Taoism contains thousands of methods.

Mosquito repellent charms only cost 20 yuan, like other amulets and prayer charms, referring to the prices of other Taoist temples, it usually ranges from fifty to sixty to three to five hundred.

Zhang Daoting came at the right time, so Baoyang Temple finally had a Taoist priest who could receive believers.

Xie Lingya also went along with the flow and asked Zhang Daoting to sell the talismans. After all, Taoist priests made more decent ones, and he himself produced talismans by remote control from behind.With his speed, no matter what the character is, it can be done in three to five minutes.

——During this period, it also became a major reason why Xie Lingya was later called the Fuyang Human Flesh Sealing Machine.