Chapter 55: Cultivation in the Mountains (1)

“Sanwa, in our lineage, the master is the closest person. My master, your ancestor, was a recluse. I don’t know where his lineage came from or who it was passed down to, but he said that our lineage was started by him. Therefore, he is the ancestor of our lineage.” As he spoke, the old man slowly opened the scroll in his hand and hung it below the three-faced statue.

“Sanwa, your master never liked to be worshipped, but as a disciple, as a disciple, you must do your best. My master is the person I respect the most. You are my disciple, and you must respect him even more. This is a portrait of your master. Come and pay your respects with three bows and nine kowtows.” Jiang’s voice was full of emotion and a little shaky.

I was also moved by his words, took three lit incense sticks, and knelt down with a ‘plop’ sound. At the same time, I also looked at the portrait of my master for the first time.

The portrait of the master is a middle-aged man with a very ordinary appearance, about forty or fifty years old, with his hair simply tied in a topknot, but it looks messy. It is estimated that it is for the sake of unifying the style of the whole body. The master in the painting is also really… well, very casual.

He was wearing a simple gray robe loosely tied with a black cloth belt, and there were several crooked patches on it. He was wearing ordinary cloth shoes, and his toes were even exposed.

And the master in the painting is also very lazy, with his hands in his sleeves and squatting. There is no background in the painting, just the master alone, but it looks like an old farmer squatting by the wall to sunbathe.

I don’t know who painted this picture, but it is really vivid. Although the appearance of the master in the painting is ordinary, the lazy and indifferent look in his expression and the convincing clarity and transparency in his eyes are all depicted.

The master’s presence gives the impression of being a contradictory figure. On the surface, he is a disheveled, lazy person, but there is a unique charm exuding from his bones.

I was young at the time and didn’t understand the charm of a person at all. I just felt from the bottom of my heart that this master was not ordinary, but I had no idea where he was extraordinary.

“Why aren’t you bowing?” the old man Jiang glared at me.

Hearing this, I quickly and respectfully held the incense, and I really did three bows and nine kowtows. This time, I was even more pious than when I faced the Three Pure Ones. After all, the Three Pure Ones gave me the impression that they were too lofty to be reached. But when I faced the portrait of the master, I felt that he was really in front of me. He was really extraordinary.

After I finished paying my respects to the master, I lit the incense in the incense burner and looked at the old man, not knowing what to do next. However, at this solemn moment of paying my respects to the master, I was still not naughty, and I stood in front of the old man.

The old man didn’t pay any attention to me, but stood up and stared at the portrait of my master for a long time before carefully rolling it up. Then he said to me, “I painted this portrait, and it is the only portrait of your master, my master. It was only after he agreed that I painted it. Unfortunately, my level was limited at that time, and I didn’t capture the essence of your master. At least, it wasn’t restrained enough, and it was really too different from the real person.”

After saying that, the old man sighed and looked at him so nostalgic for my master that I couldn’t help but ask, “Master, where is my master now?”

The old man turned his head and looked at me. The expression in his eyes was the first time I had seen it, and the old man was even a little confused.

This is new. My master is confused? But the next moment, the old man became fierce and shouted at me, “Do you think the initiation ceremony is over? I haven’t had my master’s tea yet. You go boil some water for tea. I’ll wait for your master’s tea. If I’m not satisfied with the tea you make, you’ll be making tea all night.”

Don’t bully children like that!

In the end, I lit a fire for the first time in my life, carried water for the first time, and boiled water for the first time… It took an hour, but I still respectfully handed the old man a cup of tea.

Life on the mountain was hard. Although the bamboo house where the old man lived was beautiful, it was just the same for a child after a long time.

Three months had passed in the blink of an eye, and another winter had arrived…

In Sichuan, winters are not particularly cold, but the chill that seeps into your bones is uncomfortable. It is even colder on the mountain, which means my life is even more difficult.

“Be self-sufficient in everything.” This was the first thing that old man Jiang said to me after I became his apprentice.

Because of this, I have to take care of everything here, including washing clothes and cooking. What’s annoying is that I am self-sufficient, but old man Jiang is acting as if it’s a matter of course, and with this sentence, he has dumped all the chores on me.

“You’re going to cook for one person anyway, and you’re going to wash one person’s clothes anyway, so just do it all together.”

“Master, aren’t you supposed to be self-sufficient?”

“Nonsense! A disciple is self-sufficient, but I am your master, and this is your filial duty!”

So, I, an eight-year-old child (I was eight at the time), had to take on the chores of two people in a very “miserable” way.

What’s even more pitiful is that I couldn’t cook rice well at first, and I couldn’t wash clothes well. Old man Jiang didn’t allow my family to help me often, and he said that if the rice wasn’t cooked well, then it wasn’t cooked well, and I should eat it anyway. If the clothes weren’t clean, then they weren’t clean, and I should wear them anyway. Old man Jiang didn’t care about this at all, because he was dirty anyway.

So, I had to go to school, do my homework, do chores, and complete the tasks that Old Master Jiang gave me. He said that this was the first step in learning his skills.

And what about him? He is always so idle every day, except for some of his daily “homework,” which is to cook tea and watch the scenery, and to “educate the three children.” Occasionally, he will carry some rice and flour up the mountain, and occasionally, he will go hunting for some wild game.

This is how we spend our days in the mountains.

The days after winter are difficult, mainly because cooking and washing require water, and in the winter, the water in the pond is so cold that I don’t even want to touch it.

The days on the mountain were hard, but going to school every day was the easiest thing. I used to fall asleep in class, but now, I don’t know how old man Jiang did it, but after I finished my morning ‘homework’, I was as energetic as a monkey, and my mind was clear.

Of course the text is not good, can it compare with the obscure and difficult “Tao Te Ching”?

I will always remember that after I had a cup of tea with my master, the old man took a tattered book out of his “secret room” and threw it at me: “This Tao Te Ching is the ‘holy scripture’ for cultivating the mind of our generation. From today on, you will recite it and copy it every day. Start reading now. Ask me if you don’t know any of the words.

My poor first-grade “diploma”!

So, going to school is not an easy task. The journey to and from school was like heaven to me.

“Sanwa, why are you walking so fast?” Su Rou was panting behind me. Poor kid, he was the same age as me, but he had grown taller and fatter.

I really didn’t think I was walking too fast, so I said, “I’m not walking too fast either. If I could, I would stand here and not move. The problem is that I have to do homework at night, copy the “Tao Te Ching,” and do some kind of boxing before I go to bed. I’m so unlucky. If I don’t hurry, I won’t get enough sleep at night.

“What kind of boxing? Can you teach me?” Su Rou is very good at martial arts.

“Let my master teach me. I haven’t even learned it all yet.” I was depressed when I mentioned the “what-what” boxing. I haven’t even learned “one animal” yet, and I was still being teased by the old man Jiang; “I said you looked like a monkey, so I taught you the ape form first, but you couldn’t even learn the ape form well, so I guess you can only learn the monkey form.”

I was really angry. How could a master be so vicious?

“Forget it, I’m not going to see Master Jiang. What if I want to learn a set of boxing moves, and he makes me copy the 100 times of the “Tao Te Ching”? Forget it, forget it.” The fat meat jiggled with a fat body and said.

I looked at him with contempt. That way, if you don’t let you copy the “Tao Te Ching,” I’m afraid you won’t be able to practice for an hour before crying for your mother.

I walked back with a heavy heart, sighing to myself about my own miserable fate. At this time, Su Rou had nothing to say, so he said, “Sanwa, who are you looking for to fight recently? Why do you always have a clenched fist?”

I rolled my eyes, raised my fist and waved it in front of Su Rou, saying, “Look carefully. It’s a matter of holding it for a while, loosening it, and then holding it with even more strength! There are some rules, such as holding it for a few breaths. My master said this is called “holding it firmly,” which improves a person’s spirit.”

I was helpless. At first I wasn’t used to it, but now, thanks to Master Jiang’s “sincere teachings,” I’ve gotten used to it. I hold it and release it during class, and I hold it at my waist when I walk. I said that my classmates don’t dare to come near me, and Liu Chunyan even hides when she sees me. After a while, they thought I was going to fight.

“Oh, Master Jiang is so capable, I don’t understand his methods. I’ll go to the mountains to play with you this Sunday. You have to come pick me up. It would be great if Master Jiang could get another wild rabbit to eat.” When Su Rou talks about the wild game Master Jiang makes, he gets greedy. He looks so hungry that his saliva is about to drip down.

This is the annoying thing about Old Master Jiang. When I first started cooking, it was inevitable that my food would be bad. I was grateful to God when I could cook well. He would eat with me, but he couldn’t resist going to the waterhole to catch a fish after eating, or going to the forest to cook a whole wild game, and not giving me a taste, saying that I could learn this skill from him.

But when my family comes over, or when the crispy pork comes over, they will treat me to the whole wild game, and I can only get a cheap meal to follow.

To say that the old man’s cooking is superb, it’s very delicious, but why does he want me to cook?