From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 231 Poetry Party
It is chilly in the mountains in autumn, and the air feels cool when the wind blows.

Many persimmons fell under the tree, most of which were pecked by birds.

Xiangling paid the money reluctantly and said something difficult to understand.

The three people from Lao Bie Keng then returned to Lao Bie Keng.

The three of them ate as they walked, and their mouths turned yellow from eating so much.

Especially Xiangling, her whole face was covered in yellow.

"It's delicious!" Xiangling, who had no ambition, rubbed her belly and said, "Third Grandma must have never eaten anything this good!"

She stood on Meng Yuan's shoulder, grabbed Meng Yuan's hair at the temples with one of her small paws, bent over, and used the other small paw to clean the stains around Meng Yuan's mouth.

"This is what it means to return to nature." Dugu Kang walked in front, holding a piece of dead wood as a walking stick. "If there is a quiet ancient temple, it will add a bit of meaning."

"How much will that cost?" Xiangling asked with wide eyes.

"Temple can be big or small, so the money spent can be more or less." Dugu Kang said with a smile: "Depending on the different sects and philosophies, some rely on donations from pilgrims, while others go down the mountain to beg for alms."

Xiangling seemed to understand, and asked, "Does begging for alms also earn money yourself?"

"..." Dugu Kang was stunned for a moment, and said: "In the past, begging was just asking for a mouthful of rice or a bucket of water. If it is a new temple, then it is asking for a brick or a tile, and no money will be charged."

"That's great!" Xiangling tilted her head and thought for a while, then said, "Can I pay for building the house myself?"

"Of course you can." Dugu Kang said with a smile.

"How do they make money? How do they earn it?" Xiangling asked, rubbing her hands together, "I want to learn too!"

"You can't learn it. They collect rent from the land." Dugu Kang shook his head and sighed, "Back then, the largest landlord in Ping'an Prefecture was Lanruo Temple. Half of the land belonged to Lanruo Temple. Most of the newly built temples were also followers of Lanruo Temple."

Meng Yuan had talked about Lanruo Temple with Dugu Kang before. At that time, he knew that Lanruo Temple had a lot of temple property, and most of it was farmland. However, he did not expect that Lanruo Temple was once a big landlord in Ping'an Prefecture.

"How amazing!" Xiangling exclaimed.

"Then the land was given away?" Meng Yuan asked with a smile, "Can you spit out the things in your mouth?"

"This has something to do with Donor Ying." Dugu Kang said in a low voice.

"Old Ying Gong?" Meng Yuan understood immediately.

"That's right." Dugu Kang nodded. "Old Ying Gong gave away land and distributed land, and his reputation spread far and wide. Many people from the three religions followed him. Lanruo Temple also gave away a lot of land, but now it seems that someone has donated land again. In a dozen or dozens of years, it will belong to Lanruo Temple again."

Dugu Kang said it simply and easily, but when Meng Yuan heard it, he knew that there must be many stories involved, and perhaps many people had died.

"I would like to hear the details." Meng Yuan asked.

"Details, details!" Xiangling also came to listen out of curiosity.

Dugu Kang shook his head and said, "I was not very old at that time, and I heard it from my mother. If you want to know, ask donor Ying, she should have left some words."

"Third Madam's study is so big!" Xiangling stood on Meng Yuan's shoulder, her eyes wide open, her arms and legs stretched out, completely forgetting about making money, "It's even bigger than the old turtle pit!"

"That's the library." Dugu Kang corrected with a smile.

Meng Yuan was dejected. As someone who was close to the Third Young Miss, he had never even been to her library.

Xiangling not only went there, but also helped him take a bath, painted his nails, and wrote letters for him.

The three of them chatted nonsense and came to the old turtle pit.

Meng Yuan and Dugu Kang washed their hands by the pit, and Meng Yuan scooped water to wash Xiangling's hair.

"Why does the hair lose its shape when it dries?" Xiangling shook the water off her head and looked at herself in the puddle. She always followed Ying Rushi around, and although she didn't learn anything about exquisite fashion, she did learn a lot about exquisite rusticity.

After combing her hair, Xiangling put the cloth flower back on, happily took off the bag from Dugu Kang, and took out various snacks.

The three of them sat on the bluestone beside the old turtle pit. It was quiet and cool, with birds singing in the distance.

"This time the theme of the poetry gathering is autumn!" Xiangling's eyes lit up when she talked about poetry. She supported herself with her lower limbs and stood up. She wanted to put her short arms on her waist, but she could only put them in front of her chest.

She looked at Meng Yuan and Dugu Kang and added, "But since you two are both great poets, it has to be a little more difficult! You have to write about autumn and include food in your poem!"

This is obviously not that difficult, but Xiangling is very imposing and methodical, as if she has asked several difficult questions.

Dugu Kang glanced at Meng Yuan, and seeing that Meng Yuan was thinking carefully, he knew that the president had not leaked the questions.

"Who will go first?" Xiangling spoke in a teacher's tone, as if testing the abilities of the members.

"Then I'll go first."

Dugu Kang sat cross-legged on the bluestone, holding a dead leaf in his hand, looking at the fallen leaves that had been swept away around him.

He pondered for a while, and seeing that Meng Yuan and Xiang Ling were not impatient, he chanted: "I have been sweeping leaves until I am crazy, and the piles in front of the pit have become a mess. Last night, autumn rain and west wind passed, and today the remaining lotus roots are sweet."

"Wonderful!" Meng Yuan praised.

Xiangling was much more sincere. She stared at Dugu Kang with her eyes wide open and praised him, "Student Dugu, you are making progress!"

She counted them and said happily, "There are graves and lotus roots. I can lie down in front of the graves and eat lotus roots. Just thinking about it makes me feel comfortable!"

Xiangling was born in the mountains and unlike the literati in the world who feel sad when seeing autumn, she thinks autumn is a good season because fish are fat and fruits are ripe.

"It's just a casual work. Thank you for your praise, President." Dugu Kang was very humble.

"You are quite modest!" Xiangling happily wrote down Dugu Kang's new poem in the book, and muttered: "Speaking of graves, I really miss my godmother a little bit!"

Xiangling looked at Dugu Kang and asked, "You don't have a mother either, right?"

Dugu Kang shook his head, "My mother is dead."

"Oh, my mother was roasted and eaten." Xiangling jumped onto Dugu Kang's shoulder and patted him on the head. "My godmother said that it's good to be alive, but it's also OK to die. We're still alive, that's good! Dugu, I'll find you a godmother later!"

"The president is thoughtful. But I am a hermit who has seen through the world, so I don't need a godmother." Dugu Kang expressed his gratitude.

"Forget it if you don't want it!" Xiangling looked at Meng Yuan again and said, "Little gelder, do you want a godmother?"

Just don't take on this kind of work? Meng Yuan saw that Xiangling was looking forward to it, but still shook his head, "No."

"It's good to have a godmother!" Xiangling said very reasonably, "If Third Madam doesn't want me to be a matchmaker, you two can't be together. I see Third Madam doesn't have a son either, so why don't you recognize her as your godmother!"

She lowered her voice and said seriously, "Third grandma is very rich! My godmother helped me make money and said she would leave it all to me! If you acknowledge me as your godmother, the money she saves will also be yours!"

Let's not talk about making money, shall we? Why did your godmother take you to make money? Wasn't it because you and your mother were cheated of all your money by the old fox?
"Forget it." Meng Yuan didn't want the third young lady to be his mother.

Xiangling patted her chest, as if she had taken on a big task, "I'll go and talk to her! It will definitely work!"

"Don't say it." Meng Yuan quickly stopped him, "I'll talk to him when the time comes."

"You have to be the president." Dugu Kang smacked his lips, "All the good things are left for you!"

Xiangling completely forgot about the poetry meeting and was only concerned with her little plans.

The three of them chatted for a while, and Xiangling finally remembered that they were still having a poetry meeting, so she hurriedly said, "Little gelder, it's your turn to write a poem!"

(End of this chapter)