Chapter 67: Stop, Take the Bird Back

Niu Niu watched until the car her father was riding in completely disappeared from her sight, then she turned and walked towards the main hall, with Xiao Yan following closely behind her.

"Sister Niuniu, what should we do now?" Xiaoyan said.

Niu Niu acted like an adult. She took out a few packets of burning incense from the incense cabinet and placed them neatly on the table at the door.

There are three incense sticks in a small handful, and there are three handfuls in total. There is also a merit box on the table. When pilgrims come to burn incense, they can put some money in it at will.

"Dad said that if there are pilgrims coming, I have to take good care of them. From now on, I am the little master here." Niuniu taught her little follower seriously, "You are my assistant now. You have to do whatever I tell you to do. Can you do it?"

Xiaoyan turned her head and saw her mother, who was sitting in the yard. When she saw her mother nod, she turned back and said, "Okay."

"Actually, there's not much to do and it's not difficult. Ever since something happened at the foot of the mountain, there have been very few pilgrims coming up. We won't make you too tired. Now that everything is ready, let's go patrol the mountain." Niu Niu clapped her hands with a smile on her face.

"Patrolling the mountains?" Xiaoyan didn't understand.

"Oh, just walk around the Taoist temple. If you see any uncivilized behavior, stop it, such as urinating and defecating anywhere, neither adults nor children are allowed. This is the Taoist's quiet place and it cannot be polluted." Niu Niu began to explain.

"These are what my father told me. My father also said that the Taoist temple is a sacred place, and there are gods above your head. Have you heard of it? I guess you haven't heard of it either. Let me tell you, it is."

Niu Niu, accompanied by her little follower, walked along the bluestone steps in the Taoist temple, inspecting the place in an orderly manner.

Zhang Ting watched from a distance and did not disturb the two children. As long as they did not do anything dangerous, she would not interfere. Only when she saw that the two little ones were thirsty, she would take the bottle and give them water.

Before Niu Niu had finished walking around, she saw someone going up the mountain. It was Uncle Wang who lived at the foot of the mountain.

"Uncle Wang, why are you here?" Niu Niu greeted him familiarly.

Lao Wang saw Niu Niu and another little girl behind her.

Niu Niu introduced: "This is my friend. She lives with me during this period."

"So that's how it is. Where's your father?"

Niuniu said, "My father is out on business. Do you have something urgent to talk to him about?"

When Lao Wang heard that Zhang Changsheng was not there, he was a little disappointed and smiled, "It's nothing serious, it won't be too late to talk about it when he comes back."

He came up mainly to express his gratitude to Zhang Changsheng. When he was sleeping last night, Lao Chen came to him in his dream and said that his revenge had been avenged and thanked Lao Wang for everything he had done for him.

Lao Wang didn't know what Zhang Changsheng had done, but since Lao Chen said so, it must be because he had been hanging around the farm house every day these days and even slept inside, which must have worked. Otherwise, Lao Chen wouldn't have come to him in his dream to express his gratitude.

Taoist Master Zhang is truly a god.

"Niuniu, is it okay for just the two of you to guard this huge Taoist temple? How about I stay and help you?"

Niuniu shook her head and said, "No, I can handle it. It will be fine. I promised my dad."

Old Wang looked at Niu Niu's confident look, just like a little adult. He thought that Taoist Zhang's daughter was indeed extraordinary. When she grew up, she would definitely be like Taoist Zhang, with great skills and a warm heart.

Of course, nothing serious will happen in the Taoist temple, and no bored people will come here to cause trouble. The main concerns are some accidents, such as sudden wind and heavy rain that may damage the house, or snakes crawling in, and also preventing fire.

The Taoist temple had caught fire before, which was mainly caused by pilgrims burning incense indiscriminately.

Zhang Ting came over at this time and said with a smile: "Uncle Wang, I'm here. I will take good care of them. Don't worry."

Old Wang looked at the woman in front of him in confusion. She was mature, beautiful, and had a very good temperament. "You are Taoist Priest Zhang."

Zhang Ting said, "Uncle Wang, you are a forgetful person. Your son and my husband are classmates, and I have been to your house before."

Old Wang thought about it carefully, then slapped his forehead and said, "I'm sorry, look at my memory. I'm old and can't remember things." He had just mistaken the other party for Taoist Zhang's Taoist partner. Fortunately, he didn't say it out loud, otherwise, it would be a sin.

"Why are you here?"

Zhang Ting said: "Our family is coming here to stay for a while."

"Oh, well, the environment here is good, the air is good, much better than in big cities." Lao Wang said a few polite words and found an excuse to go down the mountain.

He learned from his son that the daughter of his son's classmate had a strange disease and it was Taoist Zhang who helped cure her.

It's normal for them to come to the mountains and live for a while.

That classmate comes from a wealthy family and there will be no problem for him to take care of two children, so there's no need for you to join in the fun.

After Lao Wang left, the Taoist temple became deserted again.

Zhang Ting had lunch brought up from the foot of the mountain. It was all Niu Niu and Xiao Yan’s favorite dishes. The two little ones ate until their bellies were full.

Xiaoyan went to take a nap, but Niu Niu didn't sleep. She was in good spirits and continued to patrol the Taoist temple.

Zhang Ting couldn't persuade her any more and could only do as she wished.

In fact, Niu Niu felt that just patrolling the Taoist temple was a waste of her talents. If no pilgrims came, she would feel like she had all these skills but no way to use them.

In the past, when pilgrims came, Niu Niu especially admired her father for interpreting the divination sticks for them, so Niu Niu also wanted to tell fortunes for the pilgrims and solve their problems.

Niu Niu studied with her father for a few nights and felt that she had learned it almost perfectly except for practice. As for whether her father felt this way, Niu Niu didn't know, but she believed that it must be the case.

"Boring." Niu Niu sat on the doorstep, supporting her cheek with her hands, her eyes listless. She had completely lost her previous interest and felt that it would be more fun to go fishing in the back mountain.

Just as Niu Niu was thinking about whether to go fishing in the pond in the back mountain, a middle-aged couple, one on the left and one on the right, holding a fat boy in the middle, walked into the courtyard in front of the main hall.

The little fat boy is about five years old. His whole body is chubby like a little meatball. You can tell at a glance that he lacks exercise and eats a lot of junk food, a bit like the result of hormones.

"Dad, Mom, I really can't walk anymore. What's so good about this shabby place? It's not fun at all. It's far worse than an amusement park." The little fat boy looked around with disgust.

My mother was also a fat woman with a face full of flesh and a black mole on the right corner of her mouth. She said sharply, "It's tattered. Look at this house, it's in such a mess. Look at this incense burner, there's no scent of incense at all. This place is not a place for people to stay. It's a waste of my trip up here. When I go down later, I have to talk to the villager who tricked us up here, saying that the scenery here is beautiful. But it's not that great after seeing it. He is indeed a country bumpkin with no knowledge."

My father had a round face, fair skin and fleshy complexion. He looked well-maintained. He wore a pair of small glasses and had a small mustache under his nose. "Come and take a look. Maybe you can find something special here?"

"If you want to go shopping, you can go by yourself. My son and I are not leaving." The mother looked around, trying to find a shady place to sit down, rest for a while, and catch her breath.

"Mom, I need to pee."

"There is no bathroom here." The father looked around to find where the bathroom was.

"It's a shabby place, why go to the bathroom? Son, go over there." The mother interrupted the man and pointed to the stone bench under the Bodhi tree. "There's no one there anyway."

The little fat boy immediately trotted over, unbuttoning his pants as he ran.

He came to the stone bench, took out the bird, and was about to release the water.

A young girl's voice, with a hint of arrogance, rang out: "Hey!"

"You little fat boy, stop it, put your bird back, and don't pee casually!"

(End of this chapter)