Day and night tour

Chapter 18 Maitreya Temple

After being reminded, Zhou Xuan realized that there was a stone bridge a few hundred meters ahead of the car.

The bridge is a covered bridge. Excluding the bridge deck and railings, there are a total of sixteen thick columns and beams from the bridge head to the bridge end, supporting a huge roof.

After a few puffs of cigarettes, the car drove to the bridge head and stopped. Zhou Xuan woke up Yu Zhengyuan: "Big Brother, we've arrived."

“So soon…?” Yu Zhengyuan felt like he hadn’t slept for a moment.

This is what it’s like to snore. You may seem to be sleeping soundly, but your sleep quality is actually not high. Even when you take a nap, you always feel like you can’t wake up.

Yu Zhengyuan stretched several times before he remembered his business. He hurriedly got out of the car, opened the door, and helped Mr. Dai to the underworld stage.

While the two were not paying attention, Zhou Xuan bent down, reached out and put the business card in the back door into his pocket, then turned off the engine and got out of the car.

On the way to the Ming Theater, Zhou Xuan was still wondering why Mr. Dai could see his problem.

Could it be?

When we were at the gate of Dai’s house, the “it” writing on the paper was not Qinglian, but Mr. Dai?
No, no,
Zhou Xuan denied this speculation.

He only wrote one sentence on the paper: "Can we talk?" This sentence is very vague and can point in many directions.

It could be a confession of love written by a young man.
It can also be the opening line of a draft letter.

But to understand it as white noise whispering - how big of a brain hole does that require?

"Let's go for a walk first."

Zhou Xuan thinks that instead of thinking about it blindly, it is better to open his mind and have fun, because life is full of confusion.

He put aside his unnecessary thoughts and focused on the scenery by the river.

The scenery of Huilang River is really nice, beautiful and exquisite.

There are many small Maitreya temples built along the river bank, which are not much bigger than ordinary shops.

"These Maitreya temples are strange... strange... strangely small. Small but exquisite."

I am really at a loss for words.

Even with a good supporting actor like Yu Zhengyuan, it is difficult to find precise words to praise the Little Maitreya Temple.

It's too small indeed.

Buddhist temples usually pay attention to their grandeur.

If you want to show grandeur, the easiest way is to build it bigger and higher, and the imposingness will naturally be revealed.

If funds are insufficient to build a large temple, there is a solution: make the Buddha statue smaller.

A small Buddha makes the temple look bigger, just like tightening your belt to make your legs look longer, it's an illusion created by visual effects.

But the Maitreya Temple next to it is not only small, but the Buddha is huge, with his head hitting the temple shed. The Buddha's body is too wide, so the aisles on both sides are squeezed to only half the width of a person. If the pilgrims are fat, they cannot squeeze into the aisle even if they turn sideways.

After taking a quick look, Zhou Xuan felt aggrieved for the Maitreyas.

"This is the custom in the area around Huilang Bridge. The people here are poor and afraid of disasters. As long as the wind and rain are not smooth, every household will eat tree bark. So even if they don't have money to build a big temple, they still build a big Buddha statue and ask the Buddha to show mercy and adjust the wind and rain."

Mr. Dai pointed to an elm tree beside a yard not far away and said, "In the past, when there was a disaster, we would eat that kind of tree. We would cut it down, peel off the bark, fry it dry, grind it into powder and eat it!"

"Ugh!"

Yu Zhengyuan sighed. He felt deeply sympathetic towards natural disasters.

Zhou Xuan said to Mr. Dai: "So, Mr. Dai is a local of Huilang River?"

"Xiao Xuan, you are wrong. Mr. Dai is from Beijing. He came to Pingshui Prefecture for business in his early years. How could he be..."

"Yes, I am from Huilang River. The young boss has a very bright appearance."

Mr. Dai walked slowly towards the elm tree.

Yu Zhengyuan asked secretly: "How do you know Mr. Dai is a local?"

"Hey, look at Mr. Dai. Does he look like an old man searching for his roots? The kind who misses his hometown so much? Every word he says is filled with sadness."

"You can hear that? You have very sharp ears. Hey, Mr. Dai, be careful..."

Mr. Dai was walking in front of the tree. There was moss under the tree. He accidentally stepped on it and almost slipped.

Yu Zhengyuan ran over and supported him, asking, "Are you okay?"

"It's okay, it's okay. People in Huilang River are rich now. When they are rich, they don't want to see things from their poverty, including trees."

Mr. Dai patted the elm tree gently and praised it, "There are fewer people planting them in Huilang River now, but they are good trees, good trees. The bark can be ground into powder. You have never tasted it. It tastes good and soft."

He was not only moved by the trees, but also walked all the way to the underworld stage. Every few dozen meters, Mr. Dai would stop and explain a house, a small temple, or even a railing by the river.

Those who don’t know might think that Mr. Dai is a tour guide, taking Yu Zhengyuan and Zhou Xuan on a day trip to Huilang River.

I sighed too many times and by the time I arrived at the underworld stage, I had missed the agreed time.

The show was scheduled to start at 10 o'clock, but it was already half past 10 when we arrived.

Reporters from all the major newspapers were waiting with their cameras and when they saw Mr. Dai, they swarmed over.

"Mr. Dai, what is the next charity plan of Shan De Hui?"

"Dear members of the public, I think it is meaningless to do charity for death row inmates. What do you think?"

"Pingshui Prefecture is going to develop industry this year. Mr. Dai, can you tell us about the prospects of this policy?"

Asked anything.

Zhou Xuan didn't think they were noisy, he just thought their spotlights were too flashy. When they took pictures, it was like electric welding, and it hurt his eyes.

In addition to the reporters, Xu Li and second sister-in-law Song Jie also came. Both of them were wearing cheongsams and heavy makeup, looking very formal.

"Hey, Xiaoxuan, did you have any trouble driving?" Xu Li greeted Zhou Xuan.

"Drive, just take a few glances and you'll learn. Sister-in-law, why are you here?"

Xu Li leaned over to Zhou Xuan's ear and whispered, "Look at those newspaper reporters. They were all hired by Mr. Dai to interview him. Mr. Dai also allowed our Zhou Family to promote ourselves, so the owner asked Song Jie and me to come. We both look very decent."

Oh.
I see,

It turned out that this good deed was not done in vain. It only cost a lot to arrange a funeral play for six death row prisoners. The good reputation gained from publishing it in newspapers is more valuable.

The interview lasted a very long time, with most of the shots focused on Mr. Dai. Xu Li's makeup was almost ruined by the sun before it was her turn for the interview.

But she was very happy. After all, she didn't spend any money and just got some newspaper space. What could she complain about?

However, the audience who were waiting to watch the underworld play kept complaining.

The audience were all from Huilang River nearby. They heard that there was a ghost play to watch, and that it was staged by the Zhou family troupe. Anyone who didn’t have urgent work to do came to watch, and brought their own benches.

After waiting for a long time, the show didn’t even start. How could I not be anxious and angry?

After the interview was finally over, Yu Zhengyuan asked Mr. Dai for permission. After getting the other party's permission, the eldest brother gave a thumbs up to the stage announcer.

The announcer held an iron trumpet and announced that the guest of honor was invited to take his seat.

Several disciples of the Zhou family acted as temporary carry-ons and carried the six death row prisoners to the main seats in the audience.

The six of them were dressed neatly and elegantly, but the common people watching the show around them all sat back and some could not help spitting on the ground.

The six people took their seats, and the underworld play officially began.

The play was performed as brilliantly as usual. Zhou Xuan felt that the actors from the Zhou family troupe were very professional. Their singing and body movements were no worse than those of professionals.

but,

This play was chosen by Mr. Dai, and the excerpt is from "Yu Tang Chun", which has more literary scenes and less martial arts scenes.

The audience below looked listless.

"Why isn't there anyone doing somersaults?"

"No one plays with flower spears, it's boring."

They didn't care whether the play was good or not, they just wanted to have some fun. Look at the martial artist standing on several stacked tables, flipping the tables upside down.

Although most people were not satisfied with the play, few people left early.

come all come...

From time to time, masters from the opera troupe would come with sacks and hand out free candies and melon seeds.

Even if the play is not good, it’s good to just crack some melon seeds.

Zhou Xuan listened to most of the play. He enjoyed it at the beginning, but he felt more and more sleepy towards the end. He asked for two long benches from the backstage, placed them next to the stage, and used them as a small bed. He lay down on them and prepared to sleep.

Before going to bed, take out the business cards in your pocket and study them.

As a result, as soon as he lay down, he noticed that there was something wrong with the audience.
Most of these audiences are local people from Huilang River.

At least one-third of them couldn't touch the ground with their heels, so they just stood on tiptoe. Moreover, when the sun shone on them, there was no shadow of them on the ground...

"rub",
Zhou Xuan suddenly sat up from the long bench. Based on his experience as a ghost, he knew that one-third of these people were not alive...

　Good brothers, please collect it, love you
　　
　
(End of this chapter)