A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 146: Big Brother, I bow to you (Part )

Besides, Fan Xian felt that it was the famous Shierlang who was taking the lead.

It just happened to solve my predicament, so I must follow him!
Wang Tai, who was enjoying the fun, didn't mind the big deal and quickly led the way:
"None of you are as familiar with the road as I am. Let's go."

Several people, with the same purpose but different emotions, strode towards Lingtai Temple.

On the way, Wang Tai, who had some knowledge of Buddhism, introduced Lingtai Temple to everyone. He said that it had existed for a long time. It was rumored that Wu Zetian allocated money to expand it. Until now, it has been very popular.

"Does Lingtai Temple lend money?"

Song Xuan's question surprised Wang Tai, and he said:

"They have an endless treasure trove. Twelve Lang's bookstore is doing brisk business, so they probably won't need it!"

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the practice of temples lending money at high interest rates had a nice name, called "Changshengku" or "Endless Treasury".

The temple deposits the property or money donated by believers into the Changsheng Treasury, and then lends these funds to farmers, businessmen or other people in need of funds. The loans are usually secured by land, houses, etc.

The interest rates on these loans are usually lower, but they still fall into the category of usury.

"Brother Wang, you don't know that I've invested a lot of money to make it harder for people to cheat, but I haven't made any profit yet. Looking at the people coming and going, it's all superficial."

Song Xuan smiled as he fanned himself with his folding fan, "My business has also been targeted. I don't know when a similar business will appear on the street."

Wang Tai expressed his understanding.

Song Xuan is an ordinary student with no background.

Business is so prosperous, just like a child crossing the street with gold in his arms.

It would be strange if no one remembered me!

"Shi Er Lang, if I wasn't so short of money, I would definitely support your business."

Fan Xiang himself is a poor guy.

He came from his hometown to take the college entrance examination, and he came with his classmates, just to gain more knowledge.

Anyway, the travel expenses are paid by classmates.

As a result, his classmate failed the exam, but he himself passed.

"Why are you saying this?" Song Xuan snorted and laughed.
"Can I still earn your money?"

Bao Zheng didn't know much about Song Xuan's business.

But he thought that Song Xuan had always been generous with his money, and even if he made money, not much of the profit would remain in his pocket.

Zhang Fangping looked at the stall on the roadside. He had been deeply involved in Brother Twelve's nighttime money counting activities.

If this shop doesn't make money, there won't be any profitable business in the entire Song Dynasty.

However, he understood that his twelfth brother would never tell others how rich he was to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Zhu Yu subconsciously touched his purse, thinking he could probably take out two cents to support his twelfth brother's business.

"But don't get me wrong, Twelve Lang. Temple lending isn't just about profit, it's also about mutual aid, and mutual aid lending doesn't make up a large portion of the population."

Wang Tai knew about temples.

Many people send money or lend money to the temple out of trust, otherwise the temple's lending business would not be so prosperous.

Song Xuan also knew that the temple's lending business was much better than Mr. Lei's.

Especially in the Song Dynasty, commerce was relatively developed and the lending industry was extremely common.

Even though the laws of the Song Dynasty prohibited officials from lending money, their family members were not officials, so they could still rely on family influence to engage in lending business.

There are even professional money lenders among the people!

Borrowers ranged from ordinary farmers, soldiers, small traders, and bureaucrats, all of whom borrowed money to make a living.

Because borrowing is their only way out.

Once a natural disaster occurs or a small business runs into problems, in order to survive, one can only take a chance and borrow money.

The Northern Song Dynasty also attached great importance to sacrifices and marriages, which were often completed through borrowing.

It is difficult for students to have a stable source of income before they become officials.

Unless they come from a wealthy family, most scholars come from poor backgrounds. Therefore, in order to buy books, study, and take exams, many students can only rely on borrowing to solve their financial difficulties.

Some officials are often not so wealthy when they are transferred or take up their posts. In order to cope with temporary poverty, they can only choose to borrow money.

As for the situation of soldiers in the wing army borrowing money, it is even more common.

Song Xuan nodded.

In any case, in the current Song Dynasty, lending is a business that is sure to make money.

The temple naturally grew into a tower and became richer and richer.

A few of them chatted and laughed as they walked to the street of Lingtai Temple.

Even before arriving, the smell of "burning incense" on the street fills my nose.

"The incense is really popular!"

Song Xuan walked into the temple gate. There were still people coming in and out, and it was very crowded.

At this time, the monk who greeted the gate came over and asked:

"Are you guys here to burn incense, make offerings, or perhaps participate in the Dharma Assembly?"

"Have a meal!"

Listening to the two words uttered by Song Xuan, the welcoming monk wondered if he had heard wrongly and asked again:

"What did the donor say just now?"

"I heard that the vegetarian food at Lingtai Temple is famous for its deliciousness, so I came here specifically to eat it."

Even though he had seen many monks coming and going, he did not expect Song Xuan to say this.

Wang Tai glanced away.

He had been worshipping Buddha with his father since he was young, but this was the first time he had seen such a shameless scene.

After all, Wang Tai had lived a privileged life since childhood and had never been short of money.

His father was the prime minister, and even the emperor had to bribe him with a pot of pearls, not to mention other rewards.

Bao Zheng suppressed his cough, his face full of embarrassment.

However, he had a dark face like Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, so it was hard to tell.

Fan Xian opened his eyes wide, rubbing his hands in anticipation, determined to have a few bowls of vegetarian food.

Zhu Yu hid behind Song Xuan and didn't dare to look up.

This was the first time he had done such a risky thing.

However, the monk who greeted them did not refuse them when he saw them dressed like students. Instead, he said:

"Those donors have come to the right place. Please."

The monk who greeted the door called a young novice monk to take a few guests to have vegetarian food.

Song Xuan walked in front, and Wang Tai said in disbelief:

“This works!”

“It turned out to be so smooth!”

Even Fan Xiang, who wanted to eat and drink for free, did not expect it to be so smooth.

Song Xuan snorted and laughed: "Do you think that the people in the temple are the same as those in the government office, who will beg for food when they are hungry and throw you out?"

"That won't happen."

"Yes." Song Xuan walked up to the young monk who bought his own lottery ticket and said with a smile:
"Monks are compassionate and seek to save all living beings. The Buddha won't blame us for eating a vegetarian meal, right?"

The young monk just chanted "Amitabha" and did not answer Song Xuan's words.

When I pushed the door open, I saw that there were not many people eating vegetarian food.

Song Xuan and six others sat around a long table.

The young monk brought a small wooden barrel of thick rice and two bowls of pickled radish.

Six black porcelain bowls were brought up, along with chopsticks.

"If this bucket is not enough for you, please ask for more." Song Xuan didn't waste any words and distributed the food to everyone.

Picking up the bowl of rice, Song Xuan smelled it first and couldn't help but say:
"It smells so good."

Although monks do not eat meat, Song Xuan felt as if the food was seasoned with sesame oil.

"Ccrunch."

"Don't eat the sour radish."

As soon as Song Xuan finished speaking, several people looked at him and asked, "Why don't you eat this sour radish?"

It tastes sour and sweet when chewed, and goes well with rice!
Even the young novice monk asked nervously, "Donor, is it not to your taste?"

"No." Song Xuan quickly put several pieces of pickled radish into his bowl:

"I think this pickled radish is poisonous, so I'm going to test it first. Don't eat it yet."

Wang Tai was so scared that he jumped up with a look of horror on his face.

Only Zhang Fangping laughed heartily, put a lot of food into his own bowl, and then explained:

"Twelfth Brother is just trying to scare you. This pickled radish is delicious and he wants to eat more."

"Hey, I almost fell for your trick."

Fan Xiang also kept putting food into his own bowl.

"Good good."

Wang Tai felt a little embarrassed when he thought about his big reaction just now.

The young monk reacted and turned around to smile at the noisy students.

After all, as a welcoming monk, you must not panic when encountering things.

The old pilgrim woman who was chewing slowly on the side saw how happily Song Xuan and other young people were eating, and her appetite was also whetted, so she ate half a bowl more of vegetarian rice.

After Song Xuan and six other people finished a bucket of rice, Fan Xian still wanted to get more.

"Hey, don't eat so much at night." Song Xuan stopped Fan Xiang:
"Although the vegetarian food at Lingtai Temple is well-deserved, if you eat too much at night you'll want to sleep. How can you still study?"

Fan Xiang felt that he was only 70% full. After all, he hadn't eaten so much in many days.

Listening to Song Xuan's words, Fan Xian felt that there was still a lot of time to go. When he didn't want to study at night, he could go out and eat a lot and indulge himself.

"real or fake?"

Wang Tai expressed doubt.

"Of course it's true."

Song Xuan explained his theory of digestion: "I am a famous medical expert in Lema Town!"

"Bah, just blow it."

Wang Tai and others naturally did not believe what Song Xuan said, especially when he told them not to eat the sour radish.

It sounds uncultured. The educated people in the Song Dynasty called radish "La Yu".

"I can prove that what Brother Twelve said is true." Zhang Fangping took a sip of the warm water provided by the temple.

"Oh, you two were in cahoots just now." Wang Tai said, "Don't think I don't know."

Song Xuan said with a smile: "Brother Wang, please stretch out your hand and let me feel your pulse."

"Okay." Wang Tai stretched out his hand and said, "Let me see how you play tricks on me."

Song Xuan's pulse-taking alone made Wang Tai raise his brows slightly.

The Cun, Guan and Chi parts correspond to different internal organs.

"The pulse is deep, thready and weak, especially the pulse on the radial side is deep, weak and feeble."

Song Xuan looked at Wang Tai and said with a smile, "Brother Wang, have you ever married?"

"Of course not. I'm still waiting to pass the imperial examination before getting married. Otherwise, if I indulge in the pleasures of the world too early, wouldn't it be a waste of my ambition?"

"Okay." Song Xuan retracted his finger and said with a smile, "Then my brother should do less handicrafts at night to avoid sore waist and knees and frequent urination at night."

Wang Tai looked at Song Xuan in horror: "What do you mean by this craft?"

"It's fine if my brother knows it himself."

Song Xuan's face was serious as he warned: "If you don't control yourself, you will easily feel cold in autumn and winter, and your limbs will be cold. After you get married, it will be easy for you to become weak in bed and your penis will become smaller."

Wang Tai even wanted to cover Song Xuan's mouth. The other students did not understand Song Xuan's standard terminology of traditional Chinese medicine.

But Wang Tai felt more and more guilty as he was told.

"What do you mean?" Fan Xiang was very curious: "I don't understand what Twelve Brother said!"

Wang Tai saw him blinking and chuckled, "You're still young, it's normal that you don't understand."

"I am older than you!"

Wang Tai immediately broke down and said:
"Bullshit, I'm bigger than you."

Fan Xiang quickly proved himself: "I am indeed older than you. I was born in the second year of Jingde."

Bao Zheng, who had experienced the world a lot, did not respond. He naturally understood the meaning of Song Xuan's words.

Song Xuan, on the other hand, pursued Wang Tai relentlessly, even though his defense was broken.
"Do you believe in my medical skills?"

"I don't believe it!" Wang Tai was stubborn. If he believed it, it would be confirmed.

"You are talking nonsense. I am young and in good health."

Song Xuan opened his folding fan casually: "I have a way to restore you to your original state."

"Big brother, please bow down to me!"

Wang Tai immediately held Song Xuan's hand and said, "My dear brother, your lifelong happiness depends on you."

"Hahaha."

Zhang Fangping and others looked at Wang Tai's arrogant and respectful attitude and laughed at him, slamming the table.

Wang Tai glanced at everyone:
"Don't laugh too soon, this day will come."

This kind of education was even rarer in the Song Dynasty.

Many people take the time to look at albums like the Emperor's Uncle's before getting married, so that they won't be at a loss as to what to do after entering the bridal chamber.

However, wealthy families have maids who might be seduced and experience the joy of sex early on.

In order to prevent this situation from happening, the family would also hire a servant to accompany the child in his studies.

The lazy little monk on the side couldn't help but smile, he understood.

Just as they were talking, a maid came over and asked if she could take the pulse of the old lady at home.
Song Xuan turned around and saw the old woman and a married woman beside her. They had a standard upturned bun, wore golden hairpins, and had a flower ornament on their foreheads. They had pretty faces.

"also."

Song Xuan sat down at the invitation of others and said:

"Let the old lady know that I studied with the country boy. If I get sick, I have to go to see Doctor Wang."

"Nothing is wrong. Please, young master, take my pulse and put my mind at ease."

"please."

Song Xuan felt around for a long time before speaking, "The old lady has liver qi stagnation. Sometimes she experiences flank pain, dry mouth, bitter taste in the mouth, irritability, short and dark urine, and constipation."

The old woman's eyes widened when she heard this:
"Young Master, you're right. I'm like this. Is there any medicine to treat it?"

Wang Tai was now really convinced by Song Xuan's words, and he would definitely ask him to take good care of him later.

I can remember the contents of the book very clearly on weekdays, but when I review it, I always can’t remember it clearly.

The pretty woman beside her also opened her mouth slightly and stared at the handsome young man in front of her.

"Actually, it's just the old lady who's sulking on her own, and it's been like this for a long time."

Song Xuan hummed a sound and said soothingly, "In fact, medicine is three parts poison. If the old lady can come to terms with it, then this pent-up energy will slowly dissipate. Otherwise, no matter how much medicine she takes, she won't be cured."

The old woman sighed and said:

"My son is right. My son is now the magistrate of Yingtian Prefecture. He has a very successful career. But he has been married for several years, but I still don't have a grandson. How can I not be anxious?"

(End of this chapter)