Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

"Your wisdom is as sharp as a torch. This Tantric Buddhist practice of bliss is the great way of heaven and earth, the way of yin and yang. Isolated yang cannot produce life, isolated yin cannot grow. The combination of yin and yang is eternal."

It can elevate one to paradise or plunge one into hell. During cultivation, one must maintain a clear mind and use this method to exchange yin and yang, so that you are in me and I am in you, embracing oneness…” The old lama began to explain the key points of this secret method of cultivation.

"Are you satisfied, benefactor?"

"Master, what if the other party doesn't cooperate?" Niu Dazhuang asked after thinking for a moment.

"Well..." The old lama thought for a moment and then said, "If you have a strong will, you can forcefully use this method."

After thinking for a moment, Niu Dazhuang continued, "If we practice like you say, keeping our yang essence from leaking out, then we can have offspring."

"Benefactor, once you practice this technique, you will be able to control your thoughts."

"I understand. Tell me what you want me to do!" Although Niu Dazhuang asked this, he still didn't put the manual away.

The old lama understood perfectly well what he meant: he wanted to see what he was asked to do before deciding whether to raise the price.

"This old monk knows his days are numbered. After I pass away, the government will definitely take back the Yonghe Temple. My two disciples are both in their forties or fifties, and it's impossible for them to return to secular life. You don't need to worry about them, but my three grand-disciples are still young. After they return to secular life, I would appreciate it if you could help take care of them."

"It's not that I'm unwilling to take on this job, it's just that I'm still living at my uncle's house, and I don't have a job. How am I supposed to take care of them?"

The old lama looked at Niu Dazhuang's face again: "Benefactor, you need not worry about work. Good news will surely come within half a month. Losang, good luck."

Then two middle-aged lamas who were waiting outside pushed the door open and came in.

"Go, bring the boxes out of the house," the old lama said, brooking no refusal.

"Yes, Master."

Two middle-aged lamas carried out an old-fashioned, dark box from the west room. It was about two feet wide, three feet high, and four feet long.

They carried it to Niu Dazhuang and opened it.

Well, there are two gilded Tibetan Buddhist bronze statues, each over a foot tall, a dozen or so ancient books, two pure gold bowls, and a dozen or so large yellow croakers from the Republic of China era.

"These should be enough to settle my three grand-disciples!" the old lama said.

"Master, you have these things, just give them to them directly. They can take care of themselves. Why do you have to go through me?"

"My benefactor," the old lama explained, "my three grand-disciples grew up in the temple. If I give them the property directly, I fear they might not be able to keep it and it could even bring them misfortune."

"Oh! You think I can hold out? Aren't you afraid I'll take the stuff and leave them alone?"

"You may leave now." After dismissing the two middle-aged lamas, the old lama said, "I see a red light shining from the top of your head, which is the result of the accumulation of many generations of ancestors." The old lama's words were rather tactful.

"Damn, you could even tell?" Niu Dazhuang's heart skipped a beat. "Could it be that you figured out my transmigrated identity?"

"You grew up in a single-parent family, lost your father in your youth, and even faced a life-threatening ordeal in your coming-of-age ceremony... Hmm?"

Niu Dazhuang grew increasingly alarmed as he listened, and interrupted the old lama: "Alright, I'll take it!"

Looking again, the old lama's eyes were slightly closed, and his cheeks seemed to be oily.

"Master?" Niu Dazhuang called again when he didn't respond. He then walked closer and saw—Holy crap…

"Help!" Niu Dazhuang shouted loudly.

The people outside seemed to know that the old lama would pass away today; they knelt down on both knees as soon as they entered, prostrating themselves completely.

Niu Dazhuang cursed inwardly, "Damn it, at the very last moment, they still managed to trick me."

With a cold face, he said, "You guys handle the funeral arrangements. I've agreed to everything. I'll come back tonight to take your things away. Do any of you three kids have any traditional clothes?"

"some!"

"I'll come pick you up in three days. That's all!" With that, Niu Dazhuang put the manual in his pocket and turned to leave.

Niu Dazhuang is the kind of person who hates trouble the most and is also afraid of taking responsibility. Otherwise, his sister-in-law Chen Xia from his hometown would have been one of his own long ago.

Although the contents of that box are worth a lot of money, that will be twenty or thirty years from now. What we have now is outdated, and only those dozen or so large yellow croakers are usable.

They also have to take care of the three young lamas' food and lodging for the rest of their lives. No matter how you look at it, it feels like a loss.

In the original version of the Siheyuan drama, there was no little lama. Everything was in chaos, a complete mess. Niu Dazhuang walked home, muttering curses under his breath.

I strolled back home, and it was already dark. I hadn't made dinner yet, so I hurriedly started cooking. When Niu Youliang came home from get off work, dinner still wasn't ready.

"Uncle, where can I borrow a handcart?"

"There's a supply and marketing cooperative at the entrance of the alley."

"Oh, I'll go borrow it right away before they get off work. The vegetables are leftovers from lunch, and there are still some flatbreads stuck in the pan. Take a look for yourself." After giving a few instructions, he hurriedly went to borrow the cart.

"We're in a real bind! Let's eat first!"

"No, I'll eat when I get back." Even after walking outside, she felt more at ease once she had the food in her hands.

He deposited one yuan, borrowed a handcart from the supply and marketing cooperative, and hurriedly rode to the Yonghe Temple.

When we arrived at the courtyard west of Yonghe Temple, we saw several of them circling around the old lama's body, chanting sutras.

When the lamas saw that it was Niu Dazhuang, they ignored him and continued chanting sutras in circles. Niu Dazhuang didn't disturb them either. He went to the west room, opened the box, and checked it again. Everything was still there. He loaded it onto the cart and rode back. He hadn't gone far from the gate when he put the large box on the back of the cart into his spatial storage.

I returned the cart and went home for dinner.

"Uncle, three friends of mine are coming to visit the day after tomorrow and will stay at our house for a few days. I'll set up a plank bed in the outer room so they can sleep there." There's nowhere else to accommodate them right now, so this is their only option.

"Yeah, this place will be yours sooner or later, you can do whatever you want with it." Niu Youliang was quite supportive.

After dinner, the father and son smoked a pipe. Seeing that he didn't seem inclined to leave, Niu Youliang asked him...

"Dazhuang, aren't you going out tonight?"

"I'm not going out anymore. The women in Beijing have too many schemes; I almost got myself into trouble last night!"

"Hahaha... A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea. It won't hurt for you to be more careful, kid. If you're not going out tonight, go to the Central Courtyard and hang out with them for a while. It's a big compound, so it won't hurt to become familiar with them!" After saying that, he tapped his pipe on the sole of his shoe, blew on it, then tucked the pipe into his belt and went out.

Niu Dazhuang thought about it and agreed. He had been there for several days and still didn't recognize everyone in the courtyard, so he went out with Niu Youliang.

Although the weather was still a bit cold, it didn't stop people from having nothing to do after their meal.

They each went to find their own companions. At the entrance of Sha Zhu's house, two were standing and two were sitting, chatting enthusiastically.

Niu Dazhuang walked over and handed each person a cigarette.

Sha Zhu looked around again: "Da Qianmen! Not bad, you're Old Man Niu's nephew from the backyard, right?"