At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was a carpenter in Datong Province named Duan Yu. He is skilled and willing to endure hardships and stand hard work. The foreman spoke highly of him and called him every time he had a job.
This winter, Duan Yu followed the foreman to a neighboring village to work. Some people were hired until the second day of the lunar month. Before leaving, the foreman also gave Duan Yu a red envelope worth five taels of silver.
After Duan Yu got the money, he hammered Xiaoqu and went home. Halfway there, he was attracted by a shrill sound. As I approached, I saw three strong men beating a mother and daughter.
Duan Yu hurriedly stepped forward to stop it, and only after asking. The woman's husband was a gambler and owed a sum of money to the gambling business. The mother and son could not get the money, so the casino had to sell the daughter to a romantic home to pay off gambling debts.
Duan Yu felt pity after hearing this, and took out his salary to help the mother and son pay off the loan, saving them from the crisis. Seeing this, the mother and son knelt in front of Duan Yu, kowtowed to thank him repeatedly, and invited Duan Yu to be a guest at home.
Duan Yu didn't have much to do, so he agreed. Unexpectedly, that night, her daughter's wife sneaked into Duan Yu's room, claiming that Duan Yu could not repay his kindness and could only commit herself to him.
Duan Yu knew that his mother must have meant this. If he agreed, wouldn't he have taken advantage of the opportunity? Duan Yu refused the woman's request and left early the next morning.
In the spring of the following year, Duan Yu returned to work in a neighboring village. After finishing his work, he passed by the woman's house on his way home and learned that the woman's brother-in-law was married. The father-in-law is honest and kind, and the family is happy. Duan Yu smiled, got up and walked away.
When I was almost home, the sky was suddenly cloudy, thunder was loud, and soon it started raining. Duan Yu walked all the way to a broken temple.
After Duan Yu entered the temple, he found that except for the statue intact, there were problems with the other fixtures in the temple. One of the legs of the Holy Case was broken, the incense burner was accidentally thrown into the corner, the floor was slightly dented, and a large hole was smashed out of the roof.
Duan Yu couldn't stand it anymore, so he took off his luggage, took out his tools, and started working. He first found a piece of discarded wood that matched the legs of the god table, remade a piece, and then nailed it to the god table.
Then he picked up the incense burner and prepared to put it on the holy case, but as soon as he approached the incense burner, a huge centipede crawled out of it, startling him. After all, centipedes are one of the five poisons, and it is unlucky to find a home in the temple incense. To this end, Duan Yu took out the wooden ruler behind him and beat the centipede to death with three strokes, five strokes, and two strokes.
Strangely, after killing the centipede, two glowing red gemstones appeared on the ground, which appeared precious. Duan Yu picked it up, put it in his pocket, and continued to work.
The clean-up continued until midnight, when the remains of the temple were removed. Looking at the peeling paint on the wall, Duan Yu decided to find a stonemason tomorrow to help him repaint the temple.
When he had cleaned everything up, he lay down under the statue and fell asleep. In his sleep, Duan Yu seemed to dream of the statue of the god in the temple. The statue said to Duan Yu: "Thank you for helping me clean the temple and killing the centipede essence attached to my incense burner." Those two rubies are centipede essence eyes and can be sold for a good price. "You definitely will. Better blessings to get them later!
Early the next morning, Duan Yu woke up at dawn and took out the two rubies in his pocket. As the statue says, they are crystal clear and beautiful. After returning home, he sold the two rubies and got a lot of money. But he did not forget to rebuild the dilapidated temple. Duan Yu found some workers, bought some new furnishings, and brought them to the broken temple. They worked hard for a day to renovate the dilapidated temple.
Later, Duan Yu took the money from selling rubies and became a foreman. Because he treats people sincerely and honestly, many workers are willing to work with him. Soon after, he built a house for the prefect under the guidance of the former foreman.
Taishou saw that he was kind-hearted and sincere and reliable. He also heard about his deeds of building a broken temple and admired him very much. He recommended Duan Yu to the imperial court to repair the temple. Duan Yu readily agreed.
From then on, Duan Yu became the king of the imperial court, responsible for repairing the royal temple, and lived a very wealthy life.
Editor's note: Do more good deeds and don't worry about your future. Duan Yu had a Buddha in his heart. When he saw that the temple was in ruins, he did not stand idly by. Instead, he was kind enough to repair the dilapidated temple out of his own pocket, thus getting this opportunity. It was not so much the help of the gods as the reward of Duan Yu's kindness.
Disclaimer: This story is a fictional folk tale, based on folklore, ghost stories, myths, stories, legends, etc., aiming to inherit, expand and develop Chinese folk cultural heritage, and has nothing to do with feudal superstition!
Written by: Mr. Chatsai