He Jiangshan is a hard-working farmer, he makes a living from farming, farming to make money to support his family. He has an old mother who is sick, Lu Cairen, and He Jiangshan takes care of his mother's daily life and diet wholeheartedly.
This year, He Jiangshan was twenty-four years old, the age when he should have started a family, but he wanted to cure his mother's illness first, and saved enough money to marry a wife, so he is still single.
Their home is located in the south of the Blue Mountains, and the damp and cold mountain breeze blows all day long. They live in a dilapidated mud house, with peeling walls and leaky roofs, and on heavy rainy days, mother and son can only huddle in the corner of the house and rely on each other for their lives.
On this day, He Jiangshan carried a few bags of grain to the county seat to sell, just in time for the midwinter wax moon. Wrapped in an old wola, wearing a tattered dogskin hat, he carried a heavy burden through the bazaar.
In winter, the county town is deserted and desolate, and occasionally two or three pedestrians rush by, wrapping their cotton robes tightly. The branches of the jujube trees on the side of the road are covered with transparent ice cubes, like necklaces made of pearls.
Suddenly, He Jiangshan saw a hunter on the street corner in front of him, and grabbed a snow-white monkey. The monkey struggled in the hunter's hands, squeaking loudly, his eyes full of horror and despair.
He Jiangshan stepped forward and asked, "How can this monkey be sold?" ”
The hunter raised his eyebrows and asked for two taels. He Jiangshan secretly scolded the thief in his heart, but he still took out the only savings in his arms and bought this snow-white monkey with gritted teeth.
It was late, and the next day on the third day, He Jiangshan returned home with the white monkey on his back, and he told his mother Lu Cairen the origin of the white monkey.
Lu Cai was so angry that he stomped his feet and scolded him, "You stupid boy, spend our family's hard-earned money to buy a useless monkey!" It's just a brain in water! ”
He Jiangshan explained: "Mother, this is not an ordinary monkey, its whole body is white and flawless, its eyes are moist, and its appearance is beautiful, it must be a rare baby white ape in the deep mountains and old forests for 10,000 years." Maybe it will bring good luck to our family. ”
Lu Cairen snorted, counted him down, and went back to his room to sleep in a huff. But He Jiangshan didn't care about his mother's scolding, he looked at the well-behaved white ape, and became even more determined to keep it.
It was getting late, and He Jiangshan put the white ape in a cage, while he lay on a hardwood bed and prepared to sleep.
At this time, he faintly heard the sound of monkeys outside the house, which was intermittent at first, and then became more and more clear and high-pitched. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew open the closed door, and I saw that the house was full of monkeys scurrying around, led by one of them who was snow-white and twice larger than ordinary monkeys.
The monkey king spoke to He Jiangshan: "Little brother, I am the patriarch of the White Ape Clan, please release the Little White Ape Prince back into the mountain, he is the pearl of our clan, the entire White Ape Clan regards him as a treasure, please release him back." ”
After that, it promised He Jiangshan that if the little white ape was released, the white ape clan would be grateful and would definitely repay him for his kindness.
Early the next morning, He Jiangshan ignored his mother's objections, opened the white ape's cage, and released it back into the wilderness.
Lu Cai was so angry that he trembled, counting his ingratitude and wasting his family's hard-earned money. But He Jiangshan believed that the words of the White Ape Patriarch would not be false. For the sake of this little white ape, he did not hesitate to lose some of his belongings.
That night, He Jiangshan dreamed of the white ape patriarch again. I saw it come back to its senses, and a white light appeared all over its body, showing the posture of a half-man and half-beast. It thanked He Jiangshan loudly for his kindness and promised to answer him when he was in trouble.
March passed, and on this day, He Jiangshan came to the county seat again to sell grain. In the corner of the bazaar, he found an unconscious teenage girl lying on the side of the road.
He Jiangshan hurriedly went over to check, and when he patted the girl's cheek, she finally slowly opened her eyes and woke up. When she woke up, she weakly said that she had fled the famine, and that she had been hungry for three or four days, and that she was so weak that she could not stand.
He Jiangshan immediately took out biscuits from the package and fed her to eat, then helped her to a restaurant and ordered a few plates of hot rice for her to fill her stomach. While eating, the girl tearfully told him about her life experience.
She said that she was originally a villager in a small village in the north, but because of the heavy snow blocking the mountains, the food in the village was trapped and could not be transported, and the villagers even ate tree bark and wild vegetables for several days.
Her parents sent her out of the village in order to keep her alive. After coming here, she had no relatives and no reason, and she was dying of hunger for a few days.
After listening to her, He Jiangshan's eyes were red, and he said to her: "My family is good, so let's live in our house." I told my mother that you were my distant cousin and that she would welcome you. ”
The girl was grateful when she heard this, and she stayed at He's house. In the first two months, she helped with housework and tried her best to serve the elderly and sick Lu Cairen.
Gradually, Lu Cairen regarded her as his own daughter. One day, she suddenly said to He Jiangshan in front of the girl: "This girl is so capable, capable, and so gentle, you might as well marry her, so that no one will take care of me when I go to the grave." ”
When she said this, she peeked at the girl under the curtain, and the girl's face turned red, and she lowered her head and remained silent.
He Jiangshan was startled and stood in place at a loss.
At this moment, a Hedong Taoist priest named Shan Daxian in the village staggered in. He walked straight up to the girl and looked her up and down several times.
Then shouted: "Loaches! You little monkey humanoid! You still want to deceive my eyes, show me my original form! ”
With that, he poked a finger at the girl's forehead. Just hearing a "poof", the girl turned into a snow-white monkey and fell from the beam!
It turned out that she was the spirit of the little white ape released by He Jiangshan before!
Lu Cairen was taken aback, his hand was weak, and he fainted directly. He Jiangshan stepped forward to hug his mother and patted her on the back to wake her up.
At this time, the white ape has changed back into a beautiful and moving girlish form. She stood at a loss, looking flustered and ashamed.
After Lu Cairen woke up, the white ape girl cried and told everyone about her life experience:
Her father is the mountain god who governs this mountain forest, and her mother is a rare white ape demon for 10,000 years. She was born with magical powers, a white ape princess that is rare in a hundred years.
Two months ago, she traveled in human form and was moved by He Jiangshan's kindness, so she secretly fell in love and married into a girl in his family.
She knelt down to Lu Cairen and He Jiangshan to apologize for her sins, asking them to forgive her for her deception.
He Jiangshan hurriedly helped her up, saying that he didn't care about her true identity, as long as her gentle care for her mother and herself was sincere.
The white ape princess listened to He Jiangshan's words and burst into tears. She assured him that she would do everything in her power to lift them out of poverty.
She began to collect herbs in the nearby mountains to treat Lu Cairen's illness, and conjured up gold and silver treasures to help He Jiangshan build a new house.
The family moved into a spacious and bright new home, and Princess White Ape and Lu Cairen continued to respect each other as guests. And He Jiangshan worked hard, filial piety and consideration to his old mother and wife.
With the help of the White Ape Princess, He Jiangshan's family became richer and richer. He hired a few young and strong tenant farmers and expanded the size of the farmland.
The princess of the white ape often transforms into a mythical beast and helps them reclaim new land in the fields.
In a day of spring breeze and rain, Lu Cairen's strange illness that had lasted for many years was finally cured without medicine.
After all this, He Jiangshan saw that kind and sincere people would eventually be favored by Heaven.
The story of him and the White Ape Princess has spread and has become a local story. Since then, the villagers have become more convinced of the truth that "good deeds are rewarded".
With the help of the White Ape Princess, the He family has successors and children. Generations later, it was said that their family was blessed by the mountain gods.