Chapter 512: No. Scholar Tree
I got up early the next morning and continued to climb Dayu Mountain.
The road was not difficult to walk, but it was very hard to climb. The merchants and goods coming and going were an eye-opener for Sun Shan.
There are long pavilions, short pavilions, teahouses, wine shops and post stations on the mountain for pedestrians to rest, and many famous people's calligraphy works are also left there.
For example, Su Shi's poems and fu, Tang Xianzu's plays, the temple about Liuneng Huizu, and a number one scholar tree encountered along the way.
No.1 Scholar Tree
Now everyone became interested and got off the carriages to check it out.
The small vendors nearby knew that Sun Shan and others were scholars because of their attire.
And I understand that the person climbing the mountains and crossing the Mei Pass at this time must be the legendary scholar going to Beijing to take the imperial examination.
The vendor came up excitedly to sell his product: "Dear scholars, would you like to burn some incense and offer a few tributes? This No. 1 Scholar Tree is a cure-all, and it guarantees that you will pass the imperial examination."
After saying this, he looked at Sun Shan and the others eagerly, holding a lot of incense and candles in his hands.
As one peddler finished speaking, another peddler suddenly popped out.
He said enthusiastically, "Master, I have some incense, candles and gold ingots here, and they are cheap. Do you want to buy some for worship?
This No. 1 Scholar Tree was planted by Mo Xuanqing himself, and it is hundreds of years old.
Mo Zhuangyuan was the number one scholar in our Lingnan. He was only 17 years old when he entered high school. He was truly a child of destiny.
Dear scholars, why don't you come and pay your respects, and let Mr. Mo bless you to win the first place in the next year's examination."
After hearing this, Chen Mibo jokingly asked, "There are so many of us, but there is only one No. 1 in this class. Who do you think No. 1 Mo will bless to get into high school?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Sun Shan and others couldn't help but laugh.
The vendor was not afraid of being teased, and still said with a smile on his face: "This scholar, as long as he passes the imperial examination, he is a literary star, and in the eyes of us ordinary people, he is the top scholar. Haha, do you want to buy some incense, candles and gold ingots to worship? The top scholar will definitely bless you."
Sun Shan looked around and saw a lot of incense sticks under the No. 1 Scholar Tree. It seemed that many passers-by came here to pay their respects.
Sun Shan had no intention of paying respects. Just as Chen Mibo said, there were so many of them that it was impossible for everyone to pass.
It is already a great achievement for one of the 15 people to make the list, as most of them are just "funerary objects".
Sun Shan was just about to move on so as not to delay the Chen family's journey.
Turning around, he saw Gui Ge'er taking out a penny from his inner pocket and said cheerfully, "Give me some incense and candles. My master needs to pay his respects."
When the peddler saw the silver coin, his eyes lit up and he quickly prepared some incense and candles for Gui Ge'er.
He also asked, "Young man, would your master like some paper offerings? The more and more sincere the offerings, the easier it will be to fulfill your wishes."
Before Gui Ge'er could say anything, Sun Dali took out another silver coin from his belt.
He smiled and said, "Yes, of course. My master is the god of literature who has descended to earth. Now that we have come across the No. 1 Scholar tree planted by the god of literature, we must worship it so that the No. 1 Scholar can bless my master to become the No. 1 Scholar in the imperial examination."
When the peddler saw the silver coin, his eyes continued to sparkle.
He grinned and said, "Mr. Mo will surely bless your master to become the top scorer in the imperial examination. Hey, uncle, get the clothes paper. Just light some incense and burn it aside."
Sun Dali and Gui Ge'er took the incense, candles, and paper with a smile.
Gui Ge'er turned around and saw Sun Shan and said, "Brother Shan, go and pay your respects. This top scholar tree is really strong, thick and tall. It is worthy of being planted by our first top scholar in Lingnan. It will surely bless you to become the top scholar in the imperial examination."
All the scholars looked at Sun Dali and Gui Ge'er in amazement.
They stopped only because they wanted to see how the No. 1 Scholar tree planted by the No. 1 Scholar fellow villager hundreds of years ago was growing, and they had no intention of offering sacrifices.
How come Mr. Sun moved so quickly? His movements were as fast as the speed at which they rushed to light the first incense stick during the New Year.
When the servant of the Juren gentleman saw this, he immediately ran to the two vendors and tried his best to be the second one to buy incense, candles, clothes and paper.
Why were they so stupid not to buy the sacrifice first?
Look at Mr. Sun’s family and friends. They value speed and thoughtfulness.
Mr. Sun must have wanted to pay homage, but he couldn't do it because of his face.
This is when the friends and family group comes into play.
The servant of the master thought that when he had time, he would definitely ask Mr. Sun’s relatives and friends for advice on how to please the master.
They all want to be a good and considerate servant.
Sun Shan had been dragged to the No. 1 Scholar Tree by Sun Dingnan. After burning the first stick of incense for fifteen people, Gui Ge'er and Sun Dali burned paper money.
Gui Ge'er kept murmuring: Mo Zhuangyuan, my Shan Ge is from the same hometown as you, you must bless him to become the top scholar in the imperial examination. If he can't become the top scholar, the third place will also be fine. You must bless my Shan Ge to be on the list.
Gui Ge'er kept mumbling to himself, and the more Sun Shan looked at it, the more familiar it seemed. Wasn't this the way Su worshipped the gods?
Thinking that Gui Ge'er was becoming more and more like Su, Sun Shan couldn't help but shudder.
Ouch, what a sin.
The servants of the Juren master also bought incense, candles, clothes and paper, and asked the old man to come over and pay his respects.
Some people didn't believe at first, but they had to follow suit because everyone else was worshipping.
Among them, the third brother of the Chen family was going to Beijing for the second time. After offering incense, he sighed and said, "Could it be that I didn't offer sacrifices the last time I passed by here, so I didn't pass the exam?"
The corner of Lu Yuming's mouth twitched, and he wondered why he hadn't heard of a No. 1 Scholar Tree the last time he passed by here?
Then he casually glanced at Sun Shan's cousin Sun Dinggui. It seemed that he was the one who first called out the title of "No. 1 Scholar Tree" this time.
Then everyone ran over to check it out in a daze.
Lu Yuming thought that the No. 1 Scholar Tree had a good meaning and that everyone would come to admire it and recite poems.
He deliberately slowed down his pace as he walked over, quickly composing poetry in his mind.
I was thinking about showing off my literary talent later.
How come there was a sudden wave of worship and prayer as we were talking?
The last one to burn incense was Chen Dongling from the Chen family.
Looking at the rows of cigarettes and candles, Chen Dongling was stunned. Why did he come here to worship again?
He had known about this number one tree since his first trip to Beijing for the imperial examination.
Similar vendors, similar terminology. I also came here to buy incense, candles, clothes and paper to worship, but naturally I failed the exam.
The second time he went to Beijing to take the imperial examination, he passed by here again. For some unknown reason, he came here to pay his respects again. However, he failed.
I don’t know how many times this is, why do you come here to worship again?
Is it possible that I will fail this time too?
Chen Dongling felt sad. He looked at the candidates who were laughing and talking happily, and finally said nothing.
Anyway, he is just a playboy, and he likes doing business more than being an official. Whether he can pass the high school entrance examination or not, it all depends on fate.
Because we spent quite a bit of time under the No. 1 Scholar Tree, we hurried along for the second half of the journey.
Chen Mibo cried out in pain, "Don't be so anxious, you can just walk slowly."
He Shujun slapped him on the shoulder, shook his head and said: "Let's go quickly. We must leave Dayu Mountain before dark. Otherwise, we will have to spend the night in the mountains again. Ouch, the mountain mosquito bites were really painful last night. I can't stand it anymore."
Not to mention He Shujun couldn't stand it, even Sun Shan couldn't stand it.
There was a mosquito net, but for some reason, when I woke up, there were a lot of mosquitoes hanging on it.
After getting up, I found a lot of dead mosquitoes on the mat.
I don't know how these mosquitoes got in.
Sun Shan also hoped to get down the mountain earlier and cross Mei Pass as soon as possible.