Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 62 Ranking of Strength
After confirming that the number of people was correct, the monk gestured for them to find a table and sit down, then said, "Have some cool tea."

The rough pottery pot contained aged tangerine peel and aged yin tea, which the monks poured into their teacups one by one. The color looked like amber.

This tea is called Lao Yin Tea. Although it is called tea, it is actually made from the leaves of a tree and is not a regular tea. This tree is commonly found in western Sichuan. It is a large tree with lush foliage, growing mostly in high mountain forests. Its leaves are also thicker than those of ordinary tea. After boiling, the juice turns reddish-brown, but it can quench thirst and is often brewed with dried tangerine peel and other ingredients.

At this moment, the aroma of stir-fried dishes wafted from the kitchen, accompanied by the muffled sound of a wooden steamer being lifted, and the fragrance of freshly harvested wheat also filled the hall.

"The vegetarian meals at Fawang Temple are famous throughout southern Sichuan, and they are prepared in an open kitchen for pilgrims to see."

Han San Niang introduced with a smile, then pointed behind her with her slender finger.

Sure enough, through the lattice window, one could see a monk stirring the jade tofu soup with a long-handled copper ladle in front of the stove, while bowls of jade soup made from ground lettuce leaves were already laid out beside it, with a few cinnabar-like goji berries floating on top.

Another young novice monk was tiptoeing to pick up a bamboo basket hanging from the beam. Something seemed to be chilled inside the basket, and water droplets were dripping into a container below.

"You'd better eat a full meal, otherwise you won't have any energy in the afternoon."

Han Ziyu slowly picked up two chopsticks and rubbed them together, offering a reminder.

Ji Yun was taken aback upon hearing this—what effort could a Zen gathering possibly require?
Although Ji Yun is a "benefactor," unlike "great benefactors" and "benefactors" who are guaranteed to be invited, he is not guaranteed to be invited. Therefore, although he comes to the Buddha Bathing Festival every year, this is the first time he has participated in the Zen Forest Gathering.

Why do you say that, Brother Han?

"Because we have to climb mountains."

While tying up her hair, Han Sanniang explained to her brother, "In previous years, the Zen gatherings were not about finding a place to sit idly. Instead, we had to start from the back of Fawang Temple and climb up a narrow stone path to the top of the mountain, which required a lot of physical strength."

"However, there will be some rest stops along the way, and different rest stops will have different elegant challenges to challenge. The team that wins the most challenges will be the winner. The challenges are different every year and will be rotated, but generally speaking, the round trip will take an afternoon, starting after noon and returning at dusk."

"That sounds quite interesting."

This combination of mountain climbing and obstacle course challenges was something Lu Beigu had never heard of before.

Moreover, since it is a so-called "refined hurdle," it certainly does not only include the content of the imperial examination. The scope should be broader, and it may include things like playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, tea ceremony, and even pitch-pot.

“I’ve heard from people who have tasted the golden beans that even if you’re not interested in competing for a ranking, just experiencing it can be quite enjoyable,” Lu Guangyu chimed in.

"Yes, generally speaking, there are very few teams that want to compete for rankings, and in previous years there were three people per team, but this year it was suddenly changed to five people per team."

Ji Yun was not very shrewd; he spoke without thinking, but the listener took it to heart. Lu Beigu suddenly realized that if the rules had suddenly changed, it would explain why this young master of the Han family in Luzhou had invited him.

But that's alright. After all, there's no such thing as love or hate without a reason in the world. Ultimately, interactions between strangers are nothing more than two things: fame or profit. That's perfectly normal.

"Cough cough."

Han Ziyu coughed twice, looking at Lu Beigu's bewildered expression.

Although he was from a prominent family and hadn't theoretically done anything wrong, he was still young and couldn't compare to the thick-skinned old foxes. However, in Han Ziyu's eyes at this moment, Lu Beigu was just an ordinary county student. Pulling Lu Beigu into his team was only a last resort, because he really couldn't find anyone more capable in Hejiang County.

But it's definitely impossible for Han Ziyu to think that Lu Beigu is that strong.

In Han Ziyu's mind, this Zen gathering, which concerned the dispute between the Han and Xian families and his own reputation, was ultimately about relying on himself.

After all, Han Ziyu was always able to enter the upper dormitory at the state school, so his academic knowledge was undoubtedly excellent.

In reality, the level of students in lower-level schools is about the same as that of students in top-level counties. In other words, students from top-level counties who enter state schools can only stay in lower-level schools, such as Ji Yun.

However, the students from the state who are stable in the middle dormitories or even those who can enter the upper dormitories are on completely different levels in terms of ability compared to the students from the lower dormitories.

Han Ziyu and Zhou Mingyuan are both a level above Ji Yun.

Of course, they also had their own shortcomings. For example, Zhou Mingyuan was not good at poetry and prose, while Han Ziyu was slightly weaker in policy essays. But this "not good at" and "weak" was only true for the students in the upper class of the state school. For the county students, they were still in a state of overwhelming superiority.

Therefore, in the five-person team, not counting Han San Niang who has a specialty, among the remaining four people, Han Ziyu believes that he is stronger than Ji Yun, Ji Yun is stronger than Lu Beigu, and Lu Beigu is stronger than Lu Guangyu.

This is basically the consensus reached by the four people besides Lu Beigu.

This ranking also determines the order in which the team members will participate in the Zen Forest Gathering.

His cough was so loud that it startled a kitchen mouser cat that was dozing on the roof beam.

The cat stretched backward, gripping the roof beam with its two front paws, then nimbly jumped down, skimming over the "Five Contemplations at Mealtime" instructions on the wall, and darted under the Buddhist shrine.

The vegetarian meal was served quickly, consisting of six dishes and a soup.

The soup was jade tofu soup, and the dishes were four hot dishes: braised fresh mushrooms, stewed bottle gourd, stir-fried water chestnuts with pine nuts, and braised eggplant stuffing in soy sauce, as well as two cold dishes: pickled water bamboo shoots with plums and lotus root salad with ginger and vinegar.

Lu Beigu's gaze swept across the table. Each dish seemed to have been taken from a painting, with elegant colors and exquisite plating.

In addition, there are desserts: a serving of jade soup and a loquat lotus cup for each person.

I had already seen the Jade Soup through the lattice window, while the Loquat Lotus Cup contained loquat flesh carved into the shape of a lotus flower, crystal clear, soaking in amber-colored honey nectar, with tender green mulberry leaves underneath.

Everyone first washed their hands, then placed the cups and saucers to the lower right of their respective bowls and chopsticks, and then they could start eating.

At this time, there aren't many rules about the dining table. If there are any, it's that although there are no communal chopsticks, you shouldn't use your own chopsticks to rummage through or pick through the dishes, nor should you point or tap your bowls and plates with your chopsticks, as that would be very impolite.

If someone is hosting a meal, the host should raise their chopsticks first to indicate that they are hosting. However, since this vegetarian meal is not strictly speaking a host's meal, this step is not necessary.

(End of this chapter)