Wangjiayao Village is located at the foot of Xishan Mountain.

There are several porcelain kilns opened by the Wang family here, and adjacent to them are large and small Zhuangzi owned by members of the Wang family.

There are seventy or eighty families living in Wangjiayao. They are either managers of the Wang family or tenants who rent land from the Wang family.

Of course, the "Wang family" here is not Wang's family, but the Wang family, the largest gentry in Anlu Prefecture.

The Taoist idiot followed Wang Fuping to the entrance of the village and saw a young man in sackcloth walking towards him. He was twenty-five or six years old, with an honest appearance and a tall and strong body.

When he saw Wang Fuping, the young man quickly took a few steps to greet him.

He is the second son of Wang Fuping. In the past two years, he often went to the mountain to sweep the house. He recognized the Taoist idiot and said hello to him first. Then Wang Fuping said: "Dad, my second uncle is looking for..."

Wang Fuping said "Hmm" and ran to his yard without stopping.

The courtyard of Wang's family was not far from the entrance of the village. Before he got close, he heard the sound of mourning coming from the courtyard.

When the Taoist idiot heard this, there were no tears in his eyes, but he felt extremely uncomfortable in his heart.

To other people, perhaps the bloodline of the clan and the family relationship of flesh and blood are the closest. To the Taoist, the old monk on the mountain and the old handyman at the foot of the mountain are the most important people to the Taoist in this life.

When we arrived at the door, the crying became louder and louder. Among them, one person's cry was particularly loud.

Dao Chi felt his eardrums trembling. He turned his head and looked at Wang Fuping and his son. Seeing that they were completely unaware, his heart sank involuntarily.

The gate is white, and a funeral shed has been set up in the yard.

According to current custom, if there are elderly people in the family, they should prepare longevity materials as early as possible.

The Wang family is no exception. Although Mr. Wang considers himself a handyman in Xishan Temple, in the eyes of his children and grandchildren, he is the old man of the family.

Although they are just a family in the village, the Wang family not only has a house and land, but also has the respect of the clan master. Several of Mr. Wang's children and grandchildren work as errands in the city, and they are also among the top servants in the Wang family.

Therefore, in addition to his own children, grandchildren and villagers, the stewards of several neighboring villages also came to pay their respects after hearing the news.

The courtyard was very lively. Dao Chi followed Wang Fuping, looking through the crowd and landing on the mourning hall.

In front of the coffin, filial sons and grandsons knelt down.

It's almost noon, and the sun is blazing in the sky.

Even though a shed was set up over the mourning hall, you could tell how hot it was in the mourning hall from the dripping sweat on everyone's foreheads.

The Taoist idiot was dressed in monk's robes, holding a half-foot-long wooden fish, with a solemn expression. Despite his age, standing next to Wang Fuping would inevitably attract people's attention.

As for the descendants and relatives of the Wang family, with Wang Fuping around, it was no longer anyone else's turn to speak; among the visitors, there were a few who were pointing, full of curiosity and doubt.

There was a village head who was familiar with the Wang family. He looked at Dao Chi up and down. He couldn't see anything strange at all. He asked the man next to him: "Brother Ping is so uncomfortable that he is stunned? He just wants to find a monk to chant sutras."

Isn’t this little monk taking it seriously?”

The person next to him was none other than Wang Fu'an, the second son of Mr. Wang. He did not respond, but whispered: "Eldest brother Fang went to Xishan Temple..."

When the head of the village heard "Xishan Temple", he immediately swallowed a few mouthfuls of foam and stopped silently.

Although they, the village leaders, are just servants of the Wang family, they still act like senior officials in the village.

However, those who can sit firmly in charge of the village know in their hearts that Xishan is a forbidden area and cannot enter or exit at will.

In the early years, there was a manager who did not believe in evil and led people to the Western Mountains because of his seniority.

As a result, not only was the manager fired, but he received dozens of blows, and the entire family was sold to Sichuan Guests.

The word "forbidden land" applies not only to the Wang family's servants, but also to the Wang clan members.

In March last year, a young master from the royal family of the Wang family took some of his dandy classmates out of the city to play. Seeing the elegant scenery of Xishan Mountain, he insisted on going up the mountain despite the entreaties of his followers.

At the head of every village at the foot of the mountain, everyone is waiting to see the excitement.

No matter who lives on the mountain, they should give face to the clan, right?

The person who went up the mountain was not only the young master of the Wang family clan, but also the direct grandson of the head of the Wang family.

Unexpectedly, the young master of the Wang family was carried down the mountain.

Then, someone saw the clan leader arriving at Xishan in person.

Is it to raise troops to hold the people accountable, or to raise troops to hold the people accountable, or to raise troops to hold the people accountable?

No one knew what was going on in the West Mountain. But within a few days, word came out in the city that the young master who had wandered into the mountain was executed according to family law. In addition to being beaten, he also knelt down in the ancestral hall.

Suddenly, everyone knew what was going on.

The young master hit the iron plate. Xishan is so powerful that even a serious master needs to retreat, so of course they cannot afford to offend their servants.

Apart from the elders of the Wang family clan, everyone was careful to make friends with Wang's family, the only ones qualified to go up the mountain, and there were many people who were interested in making inquiries.

Among the few Wang family members who came to the mountain, Wang Fuping's second son was too honest and had a mouth like a clam, and he couldn't even make a sound with a stick; the eldest nephew was also cunning, saying "Uncle" when he spoke, and he was used to flattering people.

, but nothing useful is revealed.

The remaining one is Wang Fuping's eldest grandson, Hutouhunao, whose nickname is Hutou. He looks strong, but he was sick and burned his skull when he was a child. He is a fool and can't speak clearly.

It was this fool from the Wang family who drove away the Taoist idiot's pain of bereavement and made him angry.

The child was already full of energy, and it was such a hot day. He knew what was good and would stop crying when he was tired. But the fool was sincere and howled at the top of his lungs.

Even adults can't stand this, let alone a half-year-old child.

His voice was trembling, but no one around him paid attention.

Even his own father was busy discussing with his own father about going to the city to buy ice.

The weather is extremely hot. Whether you stay at home for three days or seven days, you need to buy ice. Otherwise, no one can bear it.

Except in the city, who in the countryside would prepare ice?

Most of the ice in the city is made by rich people themselves. After all, Huguang is not like the North, where they dig cellars to store ice in winter, but use ancient methods to make ice.

For ordinary people, it is hard to afford an ice bowl even if they have to spend a few bucks to eat it. Who is willing to use ice to cool down the heat?

If you enter the city, you cannot avoid the clan house.

Father Wang was originally a servant of the Wang family and was given the surname Wang, but he became a citizen before getting married. Even if his children and grandchildren worked as servants in the Wang family's business, they signed employment documents, not personal deeds.

If it had been anyone else, an old servant who had been released would have been gone forever; but Father Wang had always been treated differently by the clan.

It would be unreasonable not to report the funeral to the clan clan when we arrived in the city; but since we were reporting the funeral to the old master's family, it would be disrespectful for brothers and nephews to come forward, so Wang Fuping, the head of the family, could only give it a try.

Wang Fuping will temporarily leave matters at home to Wang Fu'an.

Relatives and friends aside, Dao Chi is here on behalf of the great monk.

Others don't know the identity of the great monk, but Wang Fuping knows a thing or two. Apart from other things, the fact that the great monk is Father Wang's "benefactor" cannot be disrespected by his own descendants.

Therefore, he made a special trip to his brother and said: "Young Master is going down the mountain to recite sutras on behalf of the Great Master. Don't be slow to do so. Please invite the Young Master to have tea first and send someone to buy a meal for the meal. We will talk about the rest after I come back."

Wang Fu'an knew the importance of Xishan Temple, so he readily agreed.

Wang Fuping made the arrangements. He first spoke to the Taoist Chi, then said hello to the manager of the village who came to pay homage, and then took his second son into the city to report the funeral.

On Wang Fu'an's side, he was polite and said to Dao Chi: "Excuse me, young master, please move to the west hall for tea."

The Taoist idiot nodded and followed Wang Fuan.

At this moment, Hu Tou had already seen Dao Chi and stopped crying unconsciously.

Dao Chi only glanced at him, then he shrank his neck, stood up obediently, and came closer.

He cried hard, his eyes were swollen like rotten peaches, his face was covered with snot and tears, and he looked miserable.

Wang Fu'an couldn't help but frown when he saw his grandnephew acting like this. Just as he was about to scold him, his eyes fell on Dao Chi and he swallowed his words.

He remembered that his grandnephew had lived with the old man in Xishan Mountain for several years in the past few years. He was an old acquaintance of the same way.

The Taoist idiot didn't say anything at the moment, so he didn't have anything to do.

When he arrived at the west hall, Wang Fu'an called his nephew to bring tea and served tea to the young monk himself.

The Taoist idiot didn't say much, he just said: "Donor, please go and do your work. It would be nice to have Tiger Head here. When I have a rest, I will go and recite sutras."

Wang Fu'an hurriedly responded, and before leaving, he did not forget to wish his grandnephew: "Hutou, you are so good at serving my little master."

"Oh." Hu Tou heard this and replied naively. Maybe he had howled so hard before that his voice was already hoarse.

After Wang Fu'an heard this, he stopped and frowned: "If your throat feels uncomfortable, you should also have a cup of tea to moisten your throat."

"Oh." Hutou responded naively.

Wang Fu'an had a headache when he saw this silly and dull look, but he had no other option, so he shook his head and went out to entertain the guests.

Dao Chi looked at the tiger's head and shook his head.

The tiger's head still looked innocent, but his eyes wandered around, and finally landed on the towel rack in the corner of the room. He went up to get the towel and wiped his face.

The Taoist idiot couldn't help but smile.

In the eyes of the world, Hutou is just a poor guy, his brain is burned out and his brain is filled with mush; but Taoist idiots know that Hutou is not stupid.

Teach him slowly and he will remember it in his heart.

Just as the old monk once warned him not to show off his great strength in front of others, he never showed anything strange, even in front of his biological parents.

One time, Dao Chi followed Wang Fuping down the mountain to visit Mr. Wang and saw the urchins in the village bullying Hu Tou.
To be continued...