Chaos in the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Chapter 26
On the post road in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there are "posts" for 40 miles, and "kiosk" for 20 miles, which are used for boarding and lodging by officials in the past.

Starting from Fuling County, passing Youyang County, Yuanling County, and Shaoling County, all the way along the official road, it is both peaceful and easy to walk.

More than ten days later, in May 349 AD, Guan Ziyang and his party came to Xiangdong County, Jingzhou.

Because I went off the road two days ago and entered a small road, I couldn't go to the village or shop, so I had to spend the night in the mountains.The dry rations he had prepared were also exhausted. Guan Ziyang saw that everyone was a little tired, so he decided to take a rest in this Xiangdong city and replenish some dry rations and water.

In order to be able to reach the destination as soon as possible, and to avoid unnecessary troubles, they basically spent a month in the posthouse. This was the first time Guan Ziyang and his party entered the county town.

The flames of war have never reached Jingzhou, so Jingzhou is far more prosperous than Yizhou. Although Xiangdong City is just a remote county town in Jingzhou, its prosperity is far more than a hundred times that of Fuling County.

Everyone found an inn, and after inquiring, they found out that they stayed for thirty cents a night, and usually the official post they stayed in was only five cents. Qing Chan took out the money bag and counted it, and then decisively asked the shopkeeper for only two rooms .

"Master, the inn is too expensive. Although the mistress gave me a lot of money, we don't know when we can go back, so we should save a little." Qing Chan said to Guan Ziyang shyly.

"There are only two rooms, wouldn't it be possible to sleep in the same room with Qingchan tonight?"

"Sister Qingchan, you can make the decision. You have been following my mother to take care of the affairs of the East Building. You must know more about these matters than I do. You don't need to report to me in the future." Guan Ziyang replied with a smile.

You get what you pay for, this inn is indeed much better than the post house, the room is big and bright, the furniture and bedding are also very comfortable, and Qing Chan's reluctance to spend money is also a bit less.

After putting away the luggage and resting for a while, Qingchan let Guan Ziyang sleep for a while, while she called Tiewei and Hei Nuer to go shopping.

Guan Ziyang didn't feel much sleepy lying on the bed, and happened to see Guan's mother, Zhu Ping, helping Guan Ziyang's package unraveled, revealing a book inside - "Lotus Sutra". The scriptures can bless Guan Ziyang, so Qing Chan took them with him.

Having nothing to do, Guan Ziyang got up and flipped through the Buddhist scriptures.

The full name of "Lotus Sutra" is "Miaofa Lotus Sutra". This book was translated by eminent Buddhist monks from Zhufa in the Western Jin Dynasty. I can't stand it at first sight, after all, he is a staunch atheist.

When he was closing it, a line of words came into view: "With all kinds of conveniences, the subtle method is said, the voice hearer, the edge enlightenment, and the Bodhisattva, the three vehicles are one, and they are one vehicle."

Guan Ziyang of later generations has been dealing with old men and women for a long time, and he has also heard them talk about Buddhist scriptures after reading and seeing them. This sentence is the general outline of the "Miaofa Lotus Sutra".

As Guan Ziyang recited this line repeatedly, there was a sudden itching between his brows and seals, and then his head went blank, as if something had come out of his brain.

Guan Ziyang was taken aback by a burning sensation in the sea of ​​consciousness, but then the burning sensation in the sea of ​​consciousness disappeared.

"It seems that this Buddhist scripture is not an ordinary thing!" Guan Ziyang realized.

The passage of "Three Vehicles Returning to One" is not the original text in the book, but written between the lines in teeny lowercase letters. Guan Ziyang felt strange, so he went through it carefully, and found that basically every page had one or two sentences like this hidden in lowercase letters in the scriptures. in the text.

Guan Ziyang recalled that his mother once told him the origin of this "Lotus Sutra", which was given to Guan Mu by a wandering monk before he was born, and predicted his birth.

This handwriting is obviously not Guan Mu's, so these notes in the scriptures should be written by that wandering monk!
The scriptures are obscure, but these notes are easy to understand, and there are only one or two sentences on each page. Guan Ziyang studied it carefully for another hour and came to a conclusion. These notes are the summary and explanation of the scriptures.

Condensing hundreds of obscure words into one or two sentences, Guan Ziyang has to admire his inductive ability. This wandering monk is definitely not simple, and this scripture is definitely extraordinary!

With his stomach growling a few times, Guan Ziyang remembered that when Qing Chan and the others went out, they said they would be back in half an hour. It had been more than an hour, maybe they had encountered some trouble.

Guan Ziyang carefully put the scriptures close to his body, went downstairs to look for Xiao Er and asked if he had seen anyone traveling with him, Xiao Er only knew that they had inquired about the location of the market more than an hour ago, and left without seeing him They come back.

Guan Ziyang asked about the location of the market, and was going to look for them there.

When they came to the market, Guan Ziyang wandered around for two times but still couldn't find them, and he became a little worried...

At this time, there was a scent, Guan Ziyang walked a few steps along the scent, and saw a shop selling steamed buns.

Steamed cakes, the staple food of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, are actually unfermented steamed buns, which are relatively hard and dry in taste, while fermented steamed buns are fluffy and much more delicious.

Although Guan Ziyang is not picky about food, since he was reborn, the staple food in his family has been steamed cakes, soup cakes or porridge.

When the owner of the steamed bun shop saw a visitor, he also warmly greeted him.

"Little master, have you ever eaten this white and fluffy 'noodle cake'? Buy a few and try it? I went to Jiankang City, the capital of the country, to learn the craft. These 'noodle cakes' are all dignitaries in the city." , a good food that only the top gentry can eat!"

Guan Ziyang's money is taken care of by Qingchan, usually he doesn't bring any money with him, he digs out his whole body, only a few coins, and asks in embarrassment: "Boss, you steamed bun... hey... How much is a pancake?"

The boss saw that Guan Ziyang was wearing a clean silk jacket, and thought he was a rich man. Seeing Guan Ziyang's reaction, he immediately changed his tone impatiently: "3 coins for each, no credit!"

Guan Ziyang counted and found that he had exactly 6 Wen on his body, and said, "Two of them."

The boss took the money, and became polite again: "Come on, two pancakes! Please take it, sir, and eat it while it's hot..."

Guan Ziyang took the steamed bun and was about to eat it when he noticed a ragged little boy in front of him, staring intently at the big white steamed bun in his hand.

The little boy was about seven or eight years old, his whole body was dirty, his hair was messy, and some of his hair was stuck together by mud, and his body smelled sour.

His lips were chapped, he stared at the steamed bun, stuck out his tongue and smacked his lips, but he couldn't moisten his lips, it was obvious that he hadn't even drank water for a long time.

Guan Ziyang couldn't bear it. He lived in the 21st century where beggars were rarely seen. Even if he occasionally saw one or two homeless people, the quality of life was much better than him, and he basically wouldn't go hungry.

The steamed buns were not expensive, so he directly handed the two steamed buns to the little beggar. The little beggar looked at Guan Ziyang in surprise, as if he couldn't believe it, and he meant to give him the steamed buns.

Seeing Guan Ziyang stretching out his hand and looking at him with a smile, the little beggar slowly stretched out his hand to pick it up.

Until his hand touched the steamed bun, a pair of dark eyes stared at Guan Ziyang, seeing that he really didn't intend to take back the steamed bun, but just looked at him with a smile. As soon as he took the steamed bun, he immediately turned around and ran away.

Guan Ziyang thought that the little beggar must have been hungry for a long time, but he didn't eat it right away, and cursed inwardly: "You are a liar!"

After all, with 6 Wen, his family is not rich, and his parents probably gave him most of the money in the East Building when he went out this time. In order to prove whether he was cheated by a fake beggar, he hurriedly followed.

(End of this chapter)