Thanks for the invitation: In ancient times, people shared children

The fifth day of the fifth month, the first year of Tianji.

Dayong Yizhou, Xiacheng Li County, Peijia Town, Peilaojia.

There is a happy event in this family today. The eldest granddaughter is getting married, and she is going to marry a good girl. So the family hung up red cloth and red lanterns early in the morning, pasted big red wedding characters, and decorated the house with lights and colorful decorations, waiting for the son-in-law to come and pick her up.

The neighbors all helped out, and there was a bustling scene inside and outside the house.

In this lively scene, there was a four-year-old nun, sandwiched in the crowd, with a bright head that seemed out of place.

What was even more abrupt was the long streak of oil at the corner of her mouth, almost extending from the corner of her mouth to her ear. It was probably because she was wiping it too boldly and too carelessly.

The old nun Jinghui who brought her here stared at her little face and asked, "Have you broken your vows?"

The child shook his head decisively: "No!"

"Come with me," Jinghui took her hand and led her to the well, letting her look at the water in the bucket. "You haven't broken the precepts. What's on your lips? It's brighter than your head."

The oily sheen on his face not only shone brightly in the sunlight, but because of the color of the sauce, it was also very clear in the calm water.

The child's eyes were a little vague, and he stammered:

"Maybe small fish with soy sauce, roast duck legs, fried tofu... and, maybe stewed pork..."

Jinghui: "Is it delicious?"

The child looked at the master's still kind face and grew a little bolder: "It's just so-so...it's delicious."

"Would you be willing to leave the monastery and eat meat?" Jinghui asked tentatively.

The child couldn't hide his excitement: "Is it really possible?!"

Although he had guessed the answer long ago, Jinghui still felt very sad when he heard it.

This is not just a lack of wisdom. She only has flesh in her heart. Where is the place for Buddha?

Jinghui touched her head and said gently, "Not yet. Go find your Aunt Pei. Once you've eaten enough, we should go back to the mountain."

The child was a little disappointed, but in the blink of an eye, his mouth almost burst with joy, and he pretended to be embarrassed for a moment: "Master, is this appropriate?"

"Go ahead," Jinghui said with a laugh, "You still have a lot of growth to do, and you haven't received the formal precepts yet. I, the Buddha, won't blame you."

You can't force a cow to drink water if it doesn't want to, and you can't force a child to believe in Buddhism if she doesn't want to. They are a legitimate nunnery, not a cult.

The child was so happy that he almost jumped up. He said, "I'll come to see you after I finish eating," and then ran away immediately.

Pei Xiaohai was originally a child of this family. Although she was given away, she was not unfamiliar with this family, especially Aunt Pei, her biological mother. Every time Pei Xiaohai asked her for alms, she would give her a full bowl and would definitely give her an egg. If there was meat, she would also give her a big piece.

The first time Pei Xiaohai broke his vow was because he ate a bowl of noodles with egg that she made.

She was very happy at that time, but Master Jingneng, who brought her here, was not happy. Later, when the masters went to beg for alms, they would take her around this family.

Only her master would bring her here occasionally, but not often. The last time she came was winter, and now it is summer.

Little Pei overheard the nuns say that they didn't bring her here because Aunt Pei and her family were rich now and they were afraid they would take her back.

The master said no, because her other parents would not agree.

That’s right, other parents, Pei Xiao has several parents.

Because there were many children in her family and she was a girl, her biological parents did not want her, but they could not bear to kill her, so they planned to give her away. At that time, there were several families without children, and they were most optimistic about a childless family in Aunt Pei's village. They wanted to ask but were afraid that they did not want her either, so they simply asked a few more families.

As a result, these families were all willing to have the baby and came together to pick up the baby.

The incident was quite unpleasant at the time. The two families that were at odds with each other almost got into a fight. In the end, they drew lots and gave the child Pei to the nuns, and then recognized him as a relative with other people.

Pei Xiaohai was not very familiar with these godparents and did not see them often. He only knew that when he met them, he could call them godfather or godmother, and he could eat all he could eat at their homes. There was nothing special about them.

The master and the nuns said that her godfather and godmother also liked her very much, so they would rather she stay in the nunnery than let her biological parents take her back, because once she went back, she would have no relationship with her godfather and godmother. If something happened to her in the nunnery, at least she could still wear mourning clothes for her godfather and godmother.

Why is it possible in the nunnery but not at home?

Little Pei didn't quite understand what she heard, but if she had to choose, she would like to eat at Aunt Pei's house or her godfather and godmother's house, and stay in the nunnery with her master and nuns at other times.

Although she didn't like doing homework, the nunnery was still much better than the life at the foot of the mountain.

As for what exactly was good about it, she couldn't say.

Aunt Pei gave her a big chicken leg and asked her to sit on a small stool in the kitchen to eat it.

The seventh and eighth girls, one drooling, the other sucking her fingers, squatted by the stove, staring at her... the chicken leg in her hand.

Pei Xiaohai: ...

"Do you want to eat it?" Pei Xiaohai released his mouth from biting the chicken leg and asked in a soft voice with a sincere expression, as if he could eat the meat as long as his two sisters nodded.

The eight girls still had their fingers in their mouths and didn't have time to take them out. They nodded hurriedly with their eyes shining.

The seventh girl rubbed the corner of her clothes shyly and said, "Yes."

The bald-headed little nun suddenly understood, said "Oh", and turned away without hesitation: "No, I transformed it."

Pei Xiaohai said that the look in his eyes was a little strange, like the cats and dogs guarding Zheng’s fish stall.

But she was not the kind-hearted Madam Zheng. Although her master often told people to be kind, Pei Xiaohai still felt that the meat at her mouth was more important. She wanted to cry when she thought about sharing it with others. Even though she was full, she still swallowed the meat into her stomach mouthful after mouthful.

She hasn't eaten meat for a long time.

The seventh and eighth daughters haven't eaten meat for a long time. The meat in the house is mainly eaten by their grandparents and guests.

There was so much meat today and they wanted to eat it, but their mother only gave them a steamed bun with some vegetables in it, and then asked them to go and make a fire, saying that she would give them more after the guests left.

That's a lie. Guests at home always eat up all the meat, leaving nothing behind. What's more, today's guests brought gifts, so they will definitely eat even more.

No matter how delicious the steamed buns made with fine flour are, they are not as good as meat.

The eighth girl pursed her lips and was about to cry.

The seventh daughter wanted to say that the meat was hers and she would not give it to the freeloaders to lose money, but she did not dare to say it. Her mother was the best to the sister who was given away. Not only did she not say it herself, she also turned around with the eighth daughter and whispered:

"Don't cry, or mother will scold us."

On a wedding day, it is taboo to shed tears, except for the bride.

The sadder the bride cries, the better the family treats the child.

Pei Da Nu was a little unable to cry, she wanted to laugh. The man she was going to marry owned a wine shop, and he was the only son of that family. She had met him many times when they went to buy wine, food and meat before the wedding. He said that it was hard to say anything else, but at least there would be enough food in the future.

His parents were always smiling and good-tempered and gave her more food and wine.

Unfortunately, she rarely gets to eat it.

When the family was poor, she went hungry too, and when they became rich, she had nothing to do with it. But everything will be fine from today onwards.

How could she not be happy? She had thought she would marry a peasant or a laborer.

She was so happy that she couldn't cry, and her crying sounded like laughter until the three women pinched her hard.

She thought of her mother and her younger sisters at home, and finally burst into tears.

The firecrackers crackled.

Pei Da Nv covered her head with a veil and was carried out of the house by her great-grandfather's brother and put into the bridal sedan.

Little Pei, with his bulging belly, squeezed into the crowd to look at the not-so-good-looking groom. He was even stepped on by someone, but he picked up a wedding coin.

Holding back tears, I secretly smeared oil all over the body of that blind man.

Some people followed the bridal sedan and wanted to go to see the bride off and watch the fun, but little Pei refused to go. She struggled out of the crowd with difficulty and saw her master looking at her as if he was sighing, but he didn't really sigh.

Her greasy hands clutched the copper coins.

Feeling a little guilty.