Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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The statue of Wang Lingguan in Baoyang Temple was 2.7 meters tall. Xie Lingya went to inquire about it. Remolding the cost, not including the material was not particularly high. It was about 10,000.
Fortunately, the statue of Wang Lingguan was relatively simple. The main statue of many temples was either made of gold or made of copper.
Fortunately, Shi Changxuan also gave Xie Lingya his share of the money. In addition to repairing the golden body of Wang Lingguan’s statue, Xie Lingya still had some money left after calculation, so he also wanted to renovate the tiles.
In fact, there were many places in Baoyang Temple that needed to be repaired. At the moment, there was not enough money, so Xie Lingya considered both the price and the urgent need.
However, that night when he consulted the craftsman, he dreamed of Wang Lingguan again.
Wang Lingguan pointed his middle finger forward, still looking majestic and angry.
Xie Lingya thought Wang Lingguan was here to praise him at first, and he was very happy. However, he still dreamed about Wang Lingguan the next night. He was extremely depressed, what happened?
Xie Lingya sat and thought for a long time, then looked through his notes, and then found two wild rice cups. At this time, these were two pieces of divination tools used for divination. Throwing them to ask for divination could help you learn about good or bad luck and communicate with the gods.
The jiao cup of Baoyang Temple was made of copper and had a half-moon shape, with one side convex and the other flat.
When doing divination, look at the pros and cons to determine the result. Two positive cups were laughing cups, which meant the situation was unclear. While two negative cups were sorrow cups, which represented things were not going well. One positive and one negative was the Holy Grail, which meant the approval of the gods. If there were two sharp corners with it points upward, it meant the shield hexagram which was very bad.
Xie Lingya asked silently in front of the statue: Do you want me not to find that craftsman? Is he unreliable?
He guessed wrong.
Xie Lingya did the hexagrams several times before he figured out that the Patriarch felt that he had been too shabby for a long time and hoped to be upgraded to a higher level, such as a pure gold body.
Xie Lingya: “…”
I didn’t expect that the ancestor would also know how to raise the price from the ground up.
Xie Lingya shook his head and said, “For pure gold, that is definitely impossible. I can’t even afford it if I sell myself. There is no hope for gold plating, but I can get bronze.”
Xie Lingya threw the wild rice cup and saw the sharp corners of the two wild rice cups standing upright. He held his breath. It couldn’t be a shield hexagram, right? Grandmaster is so fierce?
At this time, the two wild rice cups were shaking in two directions, and finally fell down unwillingly and became the Holy Grail.
Xie Lingya breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his sweat. With such energy…it seemed as if he could imagine the patriarch agreeing after Xie Lingya’s hard bargaining and careful consideration.
In fact, Xie Lingya had already worked very hard. He originally wanted to give him a coat of golden paint but considering that it was really not easy for the great master Lingguan here, if it was too shabby, he may really lose his temper in the future!
If he wanted to cast a bronze statue for Wang Lingguan, then the statue of the Three Pure Ones and the Jade Emperor would also have to be upgraded accordingly. A two-meter-long bronze statue would cost at least 28,000 yuan.
As a result, the money Xie Lingya just earned was far from enough, and he had to continue working hard.
However, he could still get rid of the peeling spirit official statue first. This was more urgent after all, and the gods would not pick this reason. The roof must also be repaired, otherwise what if the wind and sun accidentally damaged the other statues.
….
After making the decision, he discussed changing materials with the craftsman. On the other hand, Xie Lingya searched among his uncle’s belongings for a long time but could not find the contact information of the tile repair craftsman.
There were basically no tile-roofed houses in modern times, especially in cities. In the past, there was a special profession called “tile picking”. Craftsmen climbed to the roof and replaced the broken old tiles.
Moreover, the main hall of Baoyang Temple was very old, and no one burned the old-fashioned tiles placed on it anymore. Unlike Taihe Temple, where the tiles were also new after reconstruction. In this case, it was not possible to find just any worker.
Xie Lingya asked his father to look for a craftsman for him in the old villages in the towns below Diyang City, and finally found a tile picker and asked him to come to the city.
Considering the area and degree of damage to the roof of the Baoyang Temple’s Hall, it would cost at least eight to nine thousand yuan to pick up the tiles, and the person who picked up the tiles would have to have old tiles worthy of it.
An old craftsman like this was much more particular than Xie Lingya. He looked at the almanac and chose a day that was suitable and sunny before coming to the temple to collect tiles.
While Xie Lingya was boiling water and reading in the front yard, He Zun led several of his roommates to burn incense. He Zun’s roommates had an evil encounter with him on the nearby street last time. Fortunately, He Zun brought the talisman given by Xie Lingya at that time.
Because of that experience, although they looked curious when they saw Xie Lingya, they were all respectful. Moreover, they had already heard He Zun say that Xie Lingya was very good-looking, and even they, as members of the same sex, would secretly appreciate him in their hearts. They didn’t know if it was because of preconceptions, but looking at his cold white skin, they felt very mysterious!
“Want to burn incense? Let’s go.” Xie Lingya put down the book in his hand and led them to the back.
He Zun saw the book that Xie Lingya had put down and said in a fuss: “Aigoo, Teacher Xie, are you really taking the postgraduate entrance examination?”
“Didn’t I tell you already?”
He Zun: “…I thought you lied to me to make me happy.”
Xie Lingya: “…”
He Zun’s roommate couldn’t help but say confusedly: “I only knew that there is a Taoist college, but you also have graduate students. How many years do you have to study?”
Xie Lingya: “…”
“I’m not a Taoist priest.” Xie Lingya explained helplessly, “To paraphrase He Zun, just think of me as the sweeping monk here.”
Roommate: “???”
He Zun: “…”
The statue of Lingguan was still being remodeled. Xie Lingya asked them to go to the Sanqing Hall to burn incense. The distance between the two halls did not exceed one inch.
He Zun’s roommates also donated some pocket money. They were all students, and the amount was not large, but it was still a token of their support.
“Teacher Xie,” He Zun’s roommate had learned his name, and specially addressed Xie Lingya. “The last time, He Zun gave me a talisman. I want to ask if you still have more here? Or what is the way of getting some. I want to go back and put some at home.”
Xie Lingya sweated. It was not that he hadn’t drawn talismans these days, but for practical reasons, after all, many of the people who came to their Taoist temple were uncles and aunts, so considering the future, he gave it to them. This group had turned into believers, so they all started wanting life-type charms.
Turning back to his thoughts and looking around, Xie Lingya had an idea in his mind. He walked outside the hall and raised his voice to the tile collector above, “Uncle Liu, are there many tiles?”
The tile collector lowered his head and said, “Yes. What are you doing?”
“I’ll take a few pieces to give away.” Xie Lingya said.
The tile picker didn’t ask why and made a gesture of agreement.
Under the astonished gazes of several students, Xie Lingya took a few tiles, swept away the dust, and said, “Put this in a dry and clean place.”
He Zun’s roommate hesitated and said, “What’s the use of this… Huh?”
They had just watched Xie Lingya take it out from the pile of tiles and blow some dirt off it. What was the use of this?
“These are all collected old tiles, and the tiles were invented by Shennong[1]. They are in harmony with the five elements. They are made of gold, earth, water and mud, burned with fire, and then put on wood. The front is yang, the back is yin, and yin and yang help each other. If you put it at home, it can also be used to control the evil elements in the house.” Xie Lingya explained.
Many people know that the carpenter’s tools, such as the Luban ruler and the ink bucket, could protect the house and ward off evil spirits. In fact, the same went for the tools of the butcher and the bricklayer. The former was because he often slaughtered livestock, and the latter was because he combined the principles of yin and yang and the five elements. This was especially true for old tiles made by this old method.
After hearing this, several people thanked him and accepted it with peace of mind. Like this, just give him some cost price.
He Zun also complained aggrievedly to Xie Lingya: “Originally, we wanted to call other students to come together, but they didn’t come, saying that we were superstitious.”
He Zun was now basically the number one believer of Baoyang Temple, and he worked very hard to help Xie Lingya promote it, but unfortunately the effect seemed to be limited.
Xie Lingya himself knew how difficult it was. He comforted him: “Everyone has their own beliefs. If others don’t believe it, it’s too unnecessary for you to invite them to come and offer incense.”
This was the demeanor of a master. He Zun’s roommates lamented in their hearts that he was indeed a cold Taoist.
Xie Lingya continued: “Next time you invite them here to drink tea and eat melon seeds…”
Everyone: “…”
The author has something to say:
Daochang Shi: Why did he touch me?
Xie Lingya: Don’t worry, I will touch more people in the future.
Daochang Shi:???
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[1] Shennong has at times been counted amongst the Three Sovereigns (also known as “Three Kings” or “Three Patrons”), a group of ancient deities or deified kings of prehistoric China.
