Of course, the legend of Grandma Xishan was not only about saving Liu Xiu, but also about saving Zhu Yuanzhang. However, none of them were as widespread and influential as Liu Xiu's. Therefore, Liu Xiu's story was temporarily authentic.
Regardless of whether the story was true or not, there was no doubt that the Grandma Temple of Xishan had existed for a long time. Experts had verified that the well in the Grandma Temple of Xishan had a history of at least 1,800 years. Now, 1,800 years ago, it was the Jin Dynasty. After the Han Dynasty, there was the Three Kingdoms. After the Three Kingdoms, there was the East and West Jin Dynasty. The Jin Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty were not far from each other. Therefore, the legend of Grandma Temple was quite reliable. In addition, in the local annals of Qingyang, the existence of Grandma Temple was first recorded in the Tang Dynasty. It could be seen that at least in the Tang Dynasty, Grandma Temple was already very famous. Otherwise, it would not have been recorded in the annals.
The wheel of history turned to the present day. Grandma Temple of Xishan had three meanings. The first one was simply the Grandma Temple on the top of Xishan Mountain. The second one was that as the incense in the Grandma Temple grew day by day for thousands of years, believers built dozens of temples of various sizes on the way from the foot of Xishan Mountain to the top of the mountain as a foil. Some were simple caves in the mountain walls for an incense burner, and some were built on the ground to face the south and back to the north. There were endless temples of different sizes. It could be said that there was a small temple every ten steps and a big temple every hundred steps. Tourists could burn incense and worship in them. These temples were also included in the category of Grandma Temple. The last one was the "Arrival of the Old Grandma" ceremony held in Grandma Temple every year on the 15th day of the fourth lunar month. Believers and pilgrims from nearby provinces and cities would come to worship the old grandma. At the same time, local peddlers would also bring local specialties and daily necessities and set up stalls along the mountain road. It was a traditional folk temple fair.
Speaking of which, when Ding Yijing and Li Rui went to Grandma Temple to burn incense today, they had to go to the temple fair on the way up the mountain. They could only burn incense and worship in Grandma Temple at the top of the mountain.
On the way, Li Rui asked Ding Yijing to stop temporarily and went down to buy two bundles of incense. After all, they were going to burn incense and worship God. How could they not bring incense? There were also incense sellers at the temple fair where Grandma Temple was located, but it was expensive.
Originally, it would only take about 30 minutes to drive from the city to Xishan. However, it was the fifteenth day of the fourth lunar month. Every day, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and temple visitors would go to the West Mountain to join in the fun. There were too many cars going into the mountain, and the road was too narrow. Therefore, it took Li Rui almost an hour to get there.
In the wasteland at the foot of Xishan Mountain, there was a temporary parking lot set up by the local villagers. You could park for as long as you wanted for five yuan. After Ding Yijing parked the car there, she walked side by side with Li Rui up the mountain. Li Rui was afraid that he would bump into someone he knew at the temple fair, so he deliberately put on the sunglasses that Ding Yijing left in the car.
The entrance to the temple fair was at the intersection of the mountain road. Both sides of the road were filled with stalls and temporary tents. On both sides of the road were the local residents of the village. At this time, the afternoon sun was very good, and it was the time when tourists were weaving together. The mountain road was packed with people, and there were more people than the busiest shopping mall. Li Rui was afraid that he would be separated from Ding Yijing, so he held her hand.
Ding Yijing's face was slightly red, but she quickly shook his hand off and muttered: "How old are we? You're still holding hands. Even if you're not embarrassed, I'm embarrassed." Li Rui laughed and said: "How old are we? We're only thirty. Is thirty that old? "
Just as he finished speaking, two men and a woman squeezed out from the crowd and came face to face with him. Li Rui could see clearly that there were two people he knew, and they were both old acquaintances. One was his god-brother, Li Ming, and the other was his sister-in-law, Lin Yali. He was surprised and happy to meet them here. He didn't care about Ding Yijing anymore and stepped forward to greet them, "Brother, sister-in-law!"
When Li Ming and Lin Yali saw that it was him, they were surprised but also happy. They hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.
After the three of them finished exchanging greetings, Li Ming waved his hand and called the man who accompanied him to the front and said: "Xingwang, come. Let me introduce you. This is the brother that I always mentioned to you, Li Rui! Aiya, he's amazing. He's now the most popular person in the city. Even I can't compare to him. Haha. "
The man was in his forties. He wasn't tall and was slightly chubby. He was dressed very normally, and always had a smile on his face. He smiled and extended his hands to Li Rui and said: "Hello, Director Li. I'm Guo Xingwang. I've heard a lot about you and have always wanted to find an opportunity to get to know you. I didn't expect to meet you here today. Speaking of which, we're really fated."
Li Rui shook hands with him and smiled: "Hello brother Guo. Haha, we're outside so you don't have to call me brother. Just call me brother."
These words were to give face to both Guo Xingwang and Li Ming. The two of them were very happy when they heard it. Guo Xingwang even secretly raised his thumb.
After introducing the two of them, Li Ming was puzzled and asked: "Brother, are you also going up the mountain to burn incense?" Li Rui smiled and said: "Yes." He showed him the incense in his hand. Li Ming whispered: "Mayor Yu is also here. When I came down, he was still in the temple."
Li Rui was shocked. He didn't know if he should say that Qingyang was too young or something else. But after thinking about it, it was reasonable. Today was the 15th day of the fourth lunar month, the official day of the temple. It was also the largest and most influential folk activity in Qingyang City. The old fox Yu Heping had always been very superstitious. Therefore, it was not strange that he chose to burn incense on the official day. He smiled and said: "I hope we don't meet him. Otherwise, we'll have to greet him."
Li Ming shook his head and said: "If you ask me, you might as well not go to the temple to burn incense. As long as there is a god in your heart, it doesn't matter where you burn it. Just find a place nearby where there is no one and burn the incense. The thought is enough. Hurry up and burn it. After you burn it, come with me. We'll go look for a house … "
Before he could finish, Lin Yali snorted and said: "Xiao Rui, don't listen to your brother. He's talking nonsense. What does he mean by it's the same everywhere? If it was the same everywhere, why would they build this Granny Temple? Why are people from all over the world rushing to our Qingyang City? Even the pilgrims from Beijing are coming here? It's definitely different! If you randomly choose a place to burn the incense, who knows which god will enjoy the incense. It could be the Earth God or the Kitchen God. The old granny won't be able to enjoy it. Not only will she not appreciate your kindness, she will also blame you for treating her half-heartedly. "
Li Ming frowned and scolded: "You think you know? You think you can? I came up with this idea because Xiao Rui said that he didn't want to run into Mayor Yu. "
Lin Yali sneered: "Xiao Rui is wearing sunglasses. If you look carefully, you definitely won't run into him."
Li Ming said to Li Rui: "Don't mind your sister-in-law. She's just a woman who believes in ghosts and gods. If I wasn't invited by Xingwang to look for a house today, I wouldn't accompany her to burn incense. Hurry up and burn the incense. Then we'll go look for a house. "
Li Ruiqi said: "Look for a house? What house? "
Li Ming raised his finger and pointed at Guo Xingwang: "Xingwang is in the real estate development business. Last year, he developed a high-end villa community in Song Gezhuang Reservoir. It sold very well. He reserved a few big houses and gave me one. Today, he's taking me there to look for a house …"
When he said this, he suddenly thought of something and said to Guo Xingwang: "Xingwang, do you still have a house? Give one to Xiao Rui?"
When Li Rui heard this, his expression changed. He hurriedly said: "No, please don't. Don't give it to me. I don't want it!"
Guo Xingwang ignored him and said to Li Ming, "There are still two sets. One set is near the water and the other is in the forest. I don't know which set brother Xiao Rui likes. I'll let him pick one later." Li Ming was very satisfied with Guo Xingwang's answer and said, "Okay, then let's go."
Li Rui didn't know whether to laugh or cry. These two were really something. They just said that they would give a house and they didn't even consider his opinion. How could they be like this? He smiled bitterly: "Brothers, please forgive me. I don't want it. Really, I already have a lot of houses …" Although he said this, he was actually a little moved. He had been thinking for a long time that it would be great if he could have a house of his own. When he was free, he could take his lovers there for a vacation. Now that there was such a mountain villa in front of him, he really didn't want to refuse. But he couldn't not refuse because it would bring political risks.
Lin Yali didn't wait for Li Ming to speak and persuaded him: "How come I didn't know that you have a lot of houses? How many houses do you have now? Besides, who would complain about having more houses? Xingwang isn't an outsider. He's your brother's best friend, which means he's your brother. As an elder brother, why can't he accept giving his younger brother a house? "
Guo Xingwang smiled and said: "Sister-in-law is right. Brother Xiao Rui, you don't have to be polite with me. To put it bluntly, brother, you think that a villa is worth millions and it's expensive. If you accept it, you will owe me a favor. But in the eyes of a real estate businessman like me, the cost of this villa is only a few hundred thousand. I still feel embarrassed to give it away. Hehe. I have long wanted to make friends with you. Today, we are fated to meet. I'll give you this house as a gift for our first meeting. You don't have to be polite. "
Li Ming said: "Yes, in fact, the cost of a villa isn't much. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare to accept it. Brother, just accept it. Don't worry. We are all family. This matter won't be known by outsiders."
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