RPAGF Chapter 245 World of Famous Works 34
Chapter 245 World of Famous Works 34
The Tang Emperor paced back and forth in his study, his expression solemn. Although he felt that a yield of a thousand catties per mu of corn was unlikely, he still held a sliver of hope in his heart.
He instructed Li Lizhi, "Whether it's true or not, once Wanjun plants those corn seeds, remember to keep a close eye on them. I will send agricultural officials from the Ministry of Agriculture to help take care of them. Once there is a harvest, report the yield to me truthfully."
Li Lizhi nodded solemnly, "Your subject understands."
The Tang Emperor picked up his teacup and continued, "Have you seen what that Monkey King looks like?"
Li Lizhi shook her head: "No, when I went there there was a screen blocking the view. Shopkeeper Lin said that the Great Sage was inside having an enlightenment and should not show himself, so I did not see his appearance."
"The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the Bodhi Patriarch..." the Tang King murmured. What on earth was going on with their Tang Dynasty lately? One minute a Bodhisattva appeared in his true form, the next a visitor from outer space came to the palace, and now a strange restaurant and the Great Sage Equal to Heaven had appeared. Although he had never heard of the names of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and the Bodhi Patriarch, they sounded like powerful figures.
Thinking of this, the Tang Emperor said to Li Lizhi, "Let's leave the matter of that strange man in the suburbs here for now. Lizhi, you don't need to continue searching for him."
Li Lizhi hesitated slightly: "But Father still has some doubts about what Shopkeeper Lin said, doesn't he? Perhaps I should find a few more people to take a look?"
The Tang Emperor waved his hand: "No need. If the gods really wanted to take action against the mortal Tang Dynasty, they wouldn't go to such great lengths."
He now believes that what the shopkeeper Lin said about the merits of moral education is probably about 80% true. It's probably because of those so-called merits of moral education that these immortals suddenly appeared in Chang'an.
Li Lizhi frowned and asked in confusion, "But Father, I don't understand. What is the purpose of Shopkeeper Lin? Judging from the decorations in her restaurant, she is obviously not an ordinary person. Is she just trying to sell wontons in Chang'an?"
After Emperor Tang figured it out, his face became more composed. When his daughter asked him, he said, "That depends on whether Wan Jun's corn can really yield a thousand catties per mu."
If he guessed correctly, the so-called merit of teaching and guiding people should be similar to how a deity can gain merit to cultivate by doing good deeds for the people.
That day, Guanyin Bodhisattva used the sound of Mahayana Buddhist teachings to guide Xuanzang to the Western Paradise to obtain scriptures. Clearly, Guanyin Bodhisattva intended to use the scriptures to universally save sentient beings and thus gain merit through education. The extraterrestrial visitor surnamed Zhuang in the suburbs likely sought to rely on the powerful Tang Dynasty army to spare the people from the suffering of war and thus gain merit through education.
As for that shopkeeper Lin and his group, they have agricultural seeds from foreign lands, and they probably want to start with agriculture and sericulture. You know, if the grain yield per mu could be increased tenfold, how many lives could be saved from starvation? What a great act of merit that would be.
After imagining all this, the Tang emperor suddenly lost his fascination with gods and Buddhas, realizing that they were just like that, not so selfless, and that they would also scheme against mortals for their own benefit.
He did not believe in any religion; he allowed religion to exist only to facilitate the management of the country.
This reminded him of all the trials and tribulations he had experienced since ascending the throne, from the bloody chaos of the Xuanwu Gate Incident to the establishment of the Zhenguan Era, when the country was just beginning to prosper. Every step he took was due to his own efforts, and although the journey was difficult, he was determined to take it.
The sudden appearance of a "divine being" to disrupt things inevitably puts some pressure on the emperor, who had always been confident of victory.
However, the shopkeeper Lin was right about one thing: this was an opportunity for the Tang Dynasty.
He wanted to see just how capable these so-called "gods" really were, and whether they could truly lead the Tang Dynasty to power.
*
At the restaurant, Lin Xiaoqian, unaware of the elaborate scenarios Tang Wang was imagining, was having a video call with Zhuang Damao and Liao Zhuang.
After listening to Lin Xiaoqian's description of what happened during the day, Liao Zhuang laughed like a goose behind Zhuang Damao.
Zhuang Damao scratched his head, his face full of disbelief: "Huh? Why would the King of Tang think of me like that? How do I seem like a weirdo?"
He felt a little hurt, "My heart is completely devoted to the Tang Dynasty."
Liao Zhuang squeezed in from the side, laughing so hard he could hardly breathe. "Xiao Qian, you're really something else! Teaching and moral virtue? What were you thinking? Are you writing a fantasy novel?"
Lin Xiaoqian shrugged: "Anyway, this is the only solution I can think of. Whether you believe it or not is up to the Tang King."
Just then, the alarm downstairs suddenly went off. Jiang Shuang, who was sitting to the side, glanced at the monitor and said, "Someone is knocking on the door downstairs."
"Huh? It's so late, the shops are all closed, who would come here?" Lin Xiaoqian craned her neck to look and saw an old man in tattered clothes, holding a cane, standing shivering in the cold wind.
The two women went downstairs together and opened the door. When the old man saw them, he raised his other hand, which was not holding a cane, revealing a chipped bowl. He said in a trembling voice, "Ladies, please have some food."
The old man had gray hair and a miserable expression; he was actually an old beggar.
When Lin Xiaoqian and his companion saw him, they inexplicably recalled the old beggar they had encountered in the martial arts world. After exchanging a glance, they stepped aside and said, "It's cold outside, why don't you come in and warm up?"
The old man hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm a beggar, I'm dirty, so I'd better not go in."
Lin Xiaoqian waved her hand: "It's alright, please come in. I'll make you something hot to tide you over, noodles will do?"
The old man's eyes were filled with surprise and delight, and he nodded repeatedly to express his gratitude: "Oh, oh, okay, thank you kind person, thank you kind person."
Jiang Shuang reached out and helped the old man into the shop, settled him down, and poured him a cup of hot water.
The old man thanked him repeatedly with great emotion, then lowered his head to drink the hot water.
Jiang Shuang walked into the kitchen, exchanged a glance with Lin Xiaoqian, and gently shook her head.
Lin Xiaoqian's expression remained unchanged as she said, "Sister Shuang, the old lady is wearing too few clothes. Go upstairs and get her a thicker coat."
Jiang Shuang replied with an "okay," and then took the elevator from the kitchen to the fourth floor.
Lin Xiaoqian quickly made a simple bowl of hand-pulled noodles. She rolled out the dough, blanched it in boiling water with a small handful of greens, poured a spoonful of broth that had been simmering in the pot on top, and even poached an egg on it. Lin Xiaoqian then personally served the bowl to the old man.
The old man, seeing the fragrant hand-pulled noodles, repeatedly clasped his hands together in gratitude.
Whether it was because the old man was too hungry or because Lin Xiaoqian's cooking was too good, the old man ate with shining eyes, wolfing down his food without even looking up.
Lin Xiaoqian didn't leave either, but sat opposite the old man, comforting him, "Eat slowly, there's more if you're not full."
The old man nodded as he ate, and soon the bowl of noodles was empty.
Lin Xiaoqian politely asked him if he had eaten enough and if he wanted more.
The old man nodded somewhat embarrassedly, "I'm still a little hungry, thank you for your help, shop owner."
Lin Xiaoqian nodded knowingly, got up and went to the kitchen to make him another bowl.
But the old man still wasn't satisfied after eating two bowls.
After eating more than ten bowls of noodles, Lin Xiaoqian looked at the tall stack of empty bowls next to him, his lips twitching involuntarily. He asked, "Old man, have you ever heard of Marshal Tianpeng?"
The old man paused in his hand, which was holding noodles, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and said, "What Marshal Tianpeng? This old man has no idea. What does the female shopkeeper mean?"
Lin Xiaoqian shook her head: "It's nothing, I just feel that your appetite is comparable to that of Marshal Tianpeng."
The old man seemed not to have heard this, raised his head, and looked intently at Lin Xiaoqian: "Female shopkeeper, do you have any noodles left?"
Lin Xiaoqian crossed his arms and said, "I have plenty of noodles, but since you've eaten more than a dozen bowls of my noodles, you should probably introduce yourself."