Republic of China

Chapter 122 Crying and Laughing
Each era has its own unique products.

But gambling is different. It has existed for too many years. People who want to make a fortune through gambling have always been in short supply and will never become extinct.

Especially in Guozuo, which was only a dozen years old in the Republic of China, many things among the people still followed the bad customs of the feudal era, so gambling on this kind of thing is not shameful, and it is not illegal.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the gambling house must be registered with the government office, and it must pay a certain percentage of taxes to operate legally. The rest are illegal gambling gatherings and illegal gambling.

In today's world, gamblers have become semi-professional, and some people rely on it to support their families. The smart ones have even implemented industrial upgrading, using their experience to help others gamble, thereby earning tuition fees.

But either way.

People come to gambling houses to win money.

In addition to luck and gambling skills, it would be great if you can get help and advice from the 'gods'.

The poor monk didn't know all these twists and turns, and he had never been to a gambling house.

Moreover, he has never learned the Five Elements of Heluo, Criticism of Chinese Characters, and other wonderful techniques.

But the problem is that the gambler in front of him has already thrown his money into the merit box.

go back?
Better give it back
The poor monk was about to pay back the money, but unexpectedly, if someone took the lead, others would follow suit.

Everyone is here to change their destiny against heaven, so why are you the only one who can pray to the Bodhisattva?

Soon, more and more gamblers put money into the merit box, and the efficiency was countless times faster than waiting with the merit box in the cold wind.

"Master! Take a look at it too!"

"I'm not asking for profit today. I just want to win back the land deed I lost yesterday. Master, please help me say a good word to the Bodhisattva!"

"This is my last resort. I sold my wife and daughter to a brothel. If I don't stand up today, I can only wipe my neck. Master, you are compassionate and don't want to see me wipe my own neck, right?"

Looking at the filled merit box, the total amount was enough to repair the collapsed temple, which gave the poor monk a more magical understanding of the outside world.

At this moment, he fell into great confusion again.

Faith, survival.

Such a heavy choice lies before us.

As everyone knows, this kind of multiple-choice question that has not been able to distinguish right from wrong for thousands of years, as long as you hesitate once, you are very likely to lose your way.

"Looking at your appearance, if you perform well today, you can get your money back."

"You can make money too."

"You have bad luck today. It's best to come back in three days."

"You can gamble if you want, but don't go to games that cost more than 50 yuan."

Practice is the fastest way to accumulate experience.

The poor monk went from hesitating and hesitating at the beginning to learning to observe words and emotions and try to give different suggestions. It only took a cup of tea. The merit box could not be filled, and the gamblers on the three floors outside and on the inside could not hold it. Stuffing the banknotes into the poor monk's robes.

The huge benefits brought by lying are in sharp contrast to the meager benefits brought by ordinary alms.

Not just the portion size, but also the ease.

The only difference is whether you have to break the precepts for money or worldly things.

Apparently, the poor monk was broken and out of control.

Across the street corner.

Zhao Sanyuan and Kang Muang each held a candied haws in hand and had a panoramic view of everything.

"How ironic."

"It's quite ironic."

"Are you saying he was wrong?"

"Singing songs no matter which mountain he crosses, taking off his shoes no matter which river he crosses, he just has no Buddha in his heart and cannot talk about right or wrong."

When I stayed true to my heart, I suffered for more than half a month with the Buddha in my heart in the cold winter. If I hadn't met the two Fengchen sisters, the harvest would have been very meager.

By lying and lying, you can get hundreds of dollars in a very short time after betraying the Buddha in your heart. The efficiency is staggering.

The irony is that the gamblers are willing to spend money because of the Buddha and have nothing to do with the poor monk.

dusk.

The gamblers who came to tell fortunes almost all walked into the gambling house with satisfaction. Later gamblers had no time to go to the poor monk to tell fortunes in order to occupy the favorable terrain. At this point, the drama of windfall fortune came to an end.

The poor monk looked at the heavy merit box, his expression sometimes showing a bit of smile, and sometimes showing a bit of pain and struggle.

In the end, he chose to hold the merit box in his arms.

At least, fix the collapsed temple first.

If there are karmic consequences, then you can slowly repair them and remove them slowly in the future. There is no other way.
But before the poor monk had taken a few steps, he was suddenly stopped by a dozen big men rushing out of the alley, holding either large knives or axes and iron rods.

"Have you paid your taxes?"

The leading gangster grabbed the poor monk's collar and was extremely arrogant.

"Can't you hear what I'm saying? I'm asking you if you pay taxes!"

The poor monk had never encountered this kind of situation. He had never heard of paying taxes since he was a child fasting and chanting Buddha. And depending on the situation, the taxes these men asked for may not be the same as what he imagined.

Seeing that the poor monk was hesitating and hesitating for a long time, the leading gangster knocked him down in the snow with a punch.

"Hit! Hit hard!"

"You dare to set up a stall on this street without paying taxes?"

"Smash this broken box!"

On the streets of the county, everyone is watching.

The gangsters punched and kicked the poor monk, and basically did not hold anything back except to touch the guy. Of course, if the poor monk dared to resist even a little bit, the onlookers believed that those big knives would chop him down without hesitation. On the poor monk.

After smashing the merit box, a gangster took off his clothes and randomly wrapped the money and snow in it, sighing: "Brother, this monk is so rich, it's enough for us to be without work for ten and a half months!"

The boss is happy.

When he heard that the money was enough, he stopped taking the lead in beating up the poor monk. He laughed wildly and shouted: "It's really a lot, you guys are back!"

When he passed by the poor monk, he didn't forget to catch up on his sleep and spat, "I'll focus on recruiting in the future. Before doing business, I'll ask you who is in charge of this street!"

The lively scene is always full of people.

Even though things like this happen every day.

"It's all gone, let's go, what's there to see?"

I don't know if it's a coincidence.

Several patrolmen who had previously seized the poor monk's stolen money came over, holding cigarettes in their mouths and carrying batons to push the people watching the excitement.

They came at the perfect time.

As soon as the gangsters entered the alley, the people who wanted to catch them arrived.

The poor monk huddled in the snow, and faced the beatings from the gangsters, he gave up and said nothing.

"Eh? You are really a flower monk, and you actually have stolen money in your pocket!"

A patrolman with keen eyes saw several vouchers protruding from the poor monk's collar. Instead of pulling him up, he stepped forward and searched him carefully, and finally found more than a dozen small-value vouchers.

After confirming that no more "stolen money" could be found, he walked away.

Went to the brothel across the street.

It is estimated that there should be a very important case to be handled inside.

On the other hand, the poor monk gained and lost money several times, suffered from hunger and cold, and even received a severe beating.

He huddled on the snow, holding his head with his arms to resist.

From the gap between his arms, he saw that the business of the brothel across the street was particularly booming, and the women were dressed in colorful silks and silks.

He also saw a pair of actors walking out of the theater. As soon as they walked out of the theater, they were praised by the fans and waved before getting into a high-end car.

The poor monk suddenly sat up.

He got it.

Realized the true meaning of this world.

Don’t get sick if you have anything, don’t have money if you don’t have anything.

Look at the rich but not the fragrant, laugh at the poor but not the prostitute.

He had a profound realization and burst into tears again.

Laughing crazily and crying miserably.

Pedestrians passing by basically walked around, fearing that the poor monk had some kind of mad disease.

There was only one noble lady who was completely different, walking quickly towards the poor monk in a generous manner.

Dressed in jewellery, with a big gold bracelet on her wrist, she picked up the tattered merit box, folded it back to its original shape as much as possible, and then secretly stuffed the gold bracelet inside.

"Master, am I accumulating merit?"

The poor monk's cries and laughter stopped suddenly. He looked at the lady blankly, not knowing how to answer.

"On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, my brother came to Liaoyang for a visit. Who would have thought that as soon as he arrived at Taizi River, his horse was bitten to death by a blind bear that jumped out of the woods. My brother fled in panic and hid in a ruined temple for the night. The wall fell down. If the Buddha statue hadn't blocked it, my brother would have finished the ball. Later I asked, isn't that the Laoquan Temple? Master, you also talked to me about Buddhism before."

The poor monk did not recover from his daze until the lady left.The sun was setting, and the cold wind at night made him shiver and wake him up a lot.

After a long silence, he stood up holding the crumpled merit box.

This time, he did not choose to take the main road, but chose to shuttle through the deep alleys, trying not to be noticed by others as much as possible.

Although his brain is still confused, he is sure that the gold bracelet in the merit box will be pawned to get enough money to repair the temple.

It's just that no matter how much I search in my memory, I can't find any memory of that lady.
In the sparsely populated alley, the poor monk gradually calmed down. He thought about everything he had experienced recently and the way out for the future.

A monk guards a small temple, and his poor incense can barely prevent him from starving to death.

Does this even make sense?

If you lose these, where should you go?
Go to a big temple to place an order?

Wouldn't it be a waste of time to guard the small temple all these years?
Return to vulgarity?

Apart from chanting sutras and praying, there is no other way
But the gold bracelet in the merit box should be able to be pawned for a lot of money. It should be enough to go north to Ji Province or Hei Province to buy a few pieces of land. The land there is much cheaper than Feng Province. Then hire a few long-term workers to farm. , and also be a small landowner with no worries about food and clothing.

For the first time, the poor monk seriously considered his secular future.

What about the secular world?

Can being noble fill your stomach?
Why did I end up in this situation?

He suddenly remembered something. When he was at Dabei Temple, an old monk who had traveled all over the world told anecdotes about ancient temples in various places.

It is said that some monks eat fast and chant Buddha's name, and strictly abide by the rules and precepts, but they live a very miserable life, missing every meal.

The incense in some temples is particularly strong, not because of how well the scriptures are recited, but because the temples are operating in new ways, such as making three-life marriage lanterns, health and longevity lanterns, and academic career lanterns.

In order not to be left behind, pilgrims who visit the temple buy at least one lamp to light it for peace of mind. The price is not cheap, so the lotus pond in front of the temple is full of them, and people need to be hired to pick them up and clean the extinguished ones from time to time. Lotus lamp.

Some temples also offer the service of bringing in Buddha statues. You pay one fee for the statue and another fee for the consecration. The monk recites a sutra, sprinkles some water, and performs the ritual to consecrate the statue. In this streamlined manner, people are queuing up. Continuously.

The poor monk smiled mockingly to himself.

Maybe it’s because I only know how to chant sutras and pray for blessings, and I don’t know how to adapt.

boom--!
A sudden crash in the alley frightened the poor monk.

The front door should be the back door of a certain stall. A strong man walked out of it. He carried a thin man and strode out, then threw him out. The thin man was thrown to pieces.

But he ignored the pain and hurriedly crawled forward to hug the strong man's legs.

"Brother! Brother, I beg you!"

"Stop talking nonsense. It turns out that I thought the land deed you said could be worth more than 100 yuan at most. If I had known better, I shouldn't have believed your nonsense!"

The thin man grabbed the crumpled land deed and begged again, "This is my last property. If it's not enough, I will think of another way. Please, brother, please don't let my daughter-in-law hang out to pick up guests. Give me a few more days, three days at most." sky!"

The burly man was accustomed to this kind of people, and sneered: "You are really a crazy person. What kind of wife is a wife who has never married? His father sold her and it has nothing to do with you, right? Isn’t it time to find another bride?”

"Brother is joking. She saved my life. I swore that I would never marry anyone other than her in this life. Brother, good people are rewarded. I will definitely be able to raise the money!"

"What the fuck, your unmarried wife is selling well. She is a cash cow that we need to focus on cultivating. I want to redeem myself for at least 500 yuan. Do you know how much 500 yuan is? If you have money, take it now. If you don't have money, get out." .”

The selling of children and daughters can be seen everywhere.

If there is a calamity year, it is normal to even change the food.

whose fault?
Can't tell clearly.

Maybe in the underworld, those ghosts who do not want reincarnation and would rather endure endless loneliness and loneliness have experienced similar things.

"I don't want to live without her!" The thin man took out a pair of scissors from his arms and put it to his throat, but his hands were shaking a little.

"I've seen a lot of people who were stunned, and I've also seen people who were desperate for their lives." The burly man didn't care at all, "If you want to die, take a few steps back and don't splatter blood on the door panel."

The burly man had indeed seen many life and death farewells, but there was no contempt in his words. He could tell from the thin man's determined eyes that this boy was serious.

They are all forced by life. If doing serious business can fill their stomachs, who would be willing to do these bad things?Who wants to force others?

If you want to blame it, blame it on this fucking world. There are more than one or two suicides through the back door.

"Well...how much is it worth?"

A timid and reserved voice came.

In the dark alley, the poor monk bravely approached, holding a merit box in one hand and a gold bracelet in the other.

The sudden situation was unexpected.

The burly man pointed at the monk, then looked at the thin man, "Are you a relative?"

"I don't know." The thin man was also a little confused. If the poor monk hadn't interrupted, he would have died.

The poor monk handed the gold bracelet forward again, "Is it enough to buy oneself and redeem one's life?"

In terms of professionalism, a burly and strong man would definitely be enough. He first bit the gold bracelet with his teeth and found that it was not gold-plated, so he took out a small scale from the back of his waist to weigh it.

"Title."

"what?"

"I want you to get the land deed. The price of gold has dropped recently. This bracelet is probably worth a small four hundred bucks. If I want to exchange it for your sweetheart, I must add the land deed!"

"Okay! Brother, please take it!"

After a while, the burly man led a young woman with a very bad look back to the back door and pushed her into the arms of the thin man.

"Don't say that I'm not fastidious. We agreed before that today you will pay me and I will support you. This is a contract of betrayal. From now on, stay away from your father-in-law who is worse than a dog. Go away."

The back door is closed.

The reunited young couple hugged each other and cried. No one expected that things would turn out differently.

When I thought of thanking my great benefactor, I found that the poor monk had disappeared.

Next to a secret dog hole.

The poor monk sat hugging his knees and buried his head deeply between his knees.

Gradually, his shoulders shook a little and he sobbed silently.

The chance of repairing the small temple was ruined by his own hands.

He hesitated and struggled.

We have even enjoyed the prospect of purchasing land in the future.

But even if he was hurt again and again by the world, even if he lied and made money that was unconscionable, he still couldn't pretend to turn a blind eye and cross the thin man, let alone the hurdle in his heart.

Especially when I recall the look in the eyes of the two Fengchen sisters before, the elder sister's embarrassment and helplessness, and the younger sister's innocence and kindness.

Persevere?
Hold on, it seems worthless.
The scriptures and prayer beads fell from my arms and landed at my feet covered with frostbite.

The poor monk wiped his tears and picked them up.

If this is your ending, just accept it.

tired.

really tired.

The poor monk held a handwritten copy of the Diamond Sutra in one hand and a Buddhist bead in the other.

On the way back, he softly recited the meaning of the sutra that he had recited countless times.

Snowflakes are flying all over the sky, and the dark night has a long way to go.

"I have heard that at one time the Buddha was in the country of Savatthi, in the Solitary Garden, with a group of great bhikkhus, a thousand and two hundred and fifty people. At that time, while eating, the World-Honored One, wearing robes and holding an alms bowl, went to the great city of Savatthi to beg for food. After begging for the next time, he returned to his place. After finishing his meal, he collected his clothes and bowl, washed his feet, and sat down."

"The Dharma is equal and there is no superiority or inferiority. This is called Anuttarasamyaksambodhi. If one has no self, no one, no sentient beings and no life span, he can achieve Anuttarasamyaksambodhi by practicing all good Dharma."

"If the world really exists, it is a unified phase. The Tathagata says that a unified phase is not a unified phase. This is called a unified phase. Subhuti, a unified phase is indescribable. But ordinary people are greedy. Keep it to yourself."

Beside the Taizi River, there is a small dilapidated temple.

The remaining half of its wall collapsed, the Buddha statue was shattered, and there was not even a small shelter from the wind and rain.

The poor monk picked up the futon and carefully cleaned the dirt.

Somehow, at this moment, he had no distracting thoughts, his six sense organs were pure, and his state of mind was not disturbed at all.

Perhaps this is the state of mind of a person who goes to death peacefully. The poor monk smiled mockingly to himself.

Until he saw a strange package he had never seen before placed under the shabby old altar table.

What he saw after opening it made the poor monk stunned on the spot.

Two bundles of oceans wrapped in red paper, a pair of cotton shoes, a winter jacket, a quilt, a quilt, and two slips of paper underneath.

[The supremely profound and subtle Dharma has been encountered for hundreds of thousands of eons. I have now seen and heard it, accepted it, and am willing to understand the true meaning of the Tathagata. 】

[OK, monk, whether you are a devil or a Buddha is all in one thought. In the end, you still kept the Buddha's heart. I admire you. We brothers only have so much on hand. Let's take it first, but this is borrowed. Just in case one day If money is tight, I will ask you to pay it back. 】

The two messages with completely different styles were obviously written by two different people.

But no matter which one it was, the poor monk felt like he had found a treasure. He carefully folded the two notes and kept them close to his body. The smile he showed was like a broken Buddha head on the ground, cheerful and pure.

Once upon a time, I was a person who did not know how to adapt, a person who did not believe in evil, a person who was shy and reserved and not good at words, a person who only knew pain after hitting a wall, a person who was submissive to leaders, a person who humbled himself in front of bullies, and got a huge sum of money. People who have lost their true feelings are people who have been deeply hurt by the times, people who have been tortured by life and cry and laugh at the same time. I am the person you will see when you look in the mirror every day.

He is also a person who has never lost his conscience.

　It is estimated that my illness will last for several days. If it is serious and causes problems with the update, please forgive me.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)