I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 104 Du Fu and his nephew
"Please."

Jiang She made way for them, looked them over, and said, "Thank you for the lamps and candles you lent me yesterday, sir."

Du Langjun also ordered two bowls of steamed buns.

She asked with a smile, "Did you rest well yesterday, my lord?"

Jiang She repeated his answer to the neighbors.

After thinking for a moment, Du Langjun advised:

"To be honest, when I moved here, I heard that there were some supernatural things associated with this house. After living here for a month, I personally heard a lot of noises that were not normal."

"While the house is priced lower,..."

Du Langjun looked at Jiang She with sincere eyes.

"It's best to move out as soon as possible."

Two steaming bowls of steamed buns were brought over, and the noodle vendor, upon hearing this, secretly glanced at Jiang She's reaction.

Jiang She also noticed the other party's concern and frankly said:

"I am traveling because I want to see the world and see more interesting things along the way. The more unusual and strange things are, the better."

"This house may have some supernatural elements, but it suits me perfectly."

Du Langjun was taken aback.

He had lived for over thirty years and this was the first time he had ever seen anything like it.

There are actually people like this in the world...

Du Langjun was silent for a while, stirred the steamed bun with a spoon, and couldn't help but say, "You're quite bold, sir."

The boy next to him was also looking at Jiang She intently.

He suddenly asked:

"Sir, you travel the world, aren't you even afraid of ghosts?"

Jiang She said, "I've seen some before. Often, gods and ghosts don't bother people; they're just rare and seem unusual. In my opinion, they're not as frightening as some people."

Du Langjun sighed.

"Your words are brilliant, my lord."

The other person stood up and asked, "We've met twice, but I haven't yet asked your name, sir."

Jiang She cupped his hands in greeting: "My name is Jiang She."

"My name is Du Shan, courtesy name Mingde. This is my nephew, Du Fu."

Du Shan bowed.

The young man next to him also greeted him, and after finishing, he sat down to eat.

Jiang She sized up the boy who was eating mutton dumplings from a bowl. He had seemed rather mature before, but now he still looked a bit childish. He picked up the mutton with his chopsticks first, and then ate the dumplings after finishing the mutton.

This is quite a wonderful coincidence.

Separated by a wall, the Du family lived.

oh……

There's also Li Bai.

This is going to be interesting.

After finishing his meal, Jiang She bid farewell to the two men and went to the general store to buy some things. He felt a little uncomfortable without a table in the courtyard. The stove and cooking pot also needed to be rearranged, otherwise he wouldn't even be able to get hot water.

There were also oil lamps, candlesticks, brooms, washbasins...

With so many items, Jiang She simply gave the shop assistant a key, asking him to organize them and move them to the yard, paying him extra money in return.

By the afternoon.

Jiang She was teaching the cat to speak.

A sound came from outside the door. The man stood outside the courtyard, raising his hand to knock.

Seeing that these people were all alright, and the older man seemed healthy and without any problems, the man figured the ghost hadn't come out to cause trouble last night. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’ll take you to the Temple of the Stone Goddess.”

The man said it wasn't far, so Jiang She and his companions didn't ride horses or carriages, but walked there themselves.

We left the county town.

In the distance, all that could be seen was a blanket of white snow, the ground frozen solid. There were seven or eight pedestrians on the road, and Jiang She also saw a few scattered woodcutters and peddlers hurrying along, an old man pushing a cart heavily loaded with charcoal.

The man kept muttering to himself the whole way.

He hoped that the Emperor would grant him mercy and exempt Yanzhou from this year's taxes so that his family could finally breathe a sigh of relief and have a good New Year. Jiang She asked him and learned that he was the second son in his family.

His father had passed away, and his eldest brother had taken the lion's share of the family fortune. He received only a few acres of meager land, not enough to support his family, so he sold the land and went to the county to make a living. He was strong and could earn a good amount by helping people move goods.

I had a baby last year, and now I have a child to raise, so the burden on my shoulders is heavy.

At this time, Ding Nan had to pay two shi of millet, two zhang of silk, and a certain amount of cotton and hemp every year.

They also have to serve 20 days a year.

As the man spoke, he was still feeling fortunate, saying to Jiang She, "Luckily, I'm strong. Otherwise, if I asked someone else for a substitute service, I would have to pay an extra six zhang of silk. Where would I have gotten so much money?"

"Now my wife is feeling better, she can do some light work, and I can help people move goods, and we can earn quite a bit of money."

"Life is so much better now."

With a smile on his dark face, he said that the bowl of mutton soup Jiang She had given him yesterday had given him strength, and that his palms were still warm after working outside all morning.

Jiang She was somewhat at a loss for words.

I just listened quietly as the other person spoke happily.

After walking for a while, I saw a dark gray dot in the distance.

Li Bai exhaled a chilly breath.

Looking around, he was somewhat surprised: "Why are there still women here on such a cold day?"

There were few people along the way. In this cold weather, women would either be in the city or the village. Why would they come to this desolate place to worship at a temple?

The man glanced at it, a look of pride appearing on his face, and said without hesitation:
"That's for praying for marriage. The Stone Goddess Temple is the most effective for praying for marriage. My mother said that many matchmakers from the city secretly come to pray there."

Yuan Danqiu asked.

Don't you worship Buddha or Taoism?

The man muttered, "I've never seen any monks get married."

Jiang She smiled faintly.

When the group arrived at the temple, they could see what the Stone Goddess Temple looked like; it was small, consisting of only one room.

The walls were grayish-white, and the ceiling was thatched. There were some rough murals on it, but they were difficult to recognize after being exposed to wind and rain for a long time.

In the very center, there is a rough stone sculpture, unpainted.

She barely resembles a woman.

There was a small incense burner in front, with several incense sticks stuck haphazardly in it.

More people were gathering in the vicinity, sitting in groups of three or five, mostly to escape the cold and wind and rest their feet. There were also young women in the temple, accompanied by their families, who had come to pay their respects.

There was an old tree in front of the temple, its branches and leaves bare, with many red ribbons tied around it. Jiang She glanced at them and saw that most of them contained words of prayer and blessing.

There's a chance to make a lot of money.

I hope my family members will have a safe journey.

There is still hope that I will meet a good person and have a loving marriage.

Some people had a few extra pounds of grain taken from their homes by the officials during the harvest, and the officials even took away their immature chicks to stew. They were full of resentment and hoped that God would open his eyes and punish the evildoers.

This is a small temple in the wilderness.

Pedestrians come and go in a hurry, with almost no grand aspirations.

Many are just offering prayers at the last minute, or simply passing by and lighting incense, mostly asking for safe journeys and good health. The worshippers don't care who is enshrined inside; if they see a deity, they go in to pray, believing that sincerity is key.

The man had already knelt down.

Before him was the incense he had lit.

He muttered to himself:

"My wife is much better now, thank you so much, Goddess Stone..."

"I heard the emperor is coming to our place to perform the Fengshan ceremony. My family has had a hard time these past two years. Could the Stone Goddess please ask him to exempt us from taxes? That way, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief and feel a little better..."

Jiang She listened quietly.

His gaze swept over the people in the temple, and he saw that the young woman brought by her family had a faint red aura floating around her, and he realized that her prayers had indeed been answered.

After the man finished bowing.

Jiang She then spoke.

"Please come here for a meeting, Mr. Jiang."

(End of this chapter)