The carriage moved forward slowly on the mountain road, and Roger and his party had already penetrated deep into the mountains before sunset.

On the rolling hillsides, black goats and white goats were scattered among the green grass, and the shepherd monks were calling them home. Roger looked ahead. On the steep cliff, there was a monastery with white walls and red tiles, against the sunset.

Solemn and solemn, without fighting against the world.

The priest opened the door of the monastery. The monks would not refuse travelers, let alone the priest. They were a little surprised to see that the team was full of wounded people, but they did not ask any questions, but enthusiastically made arrangements.

Accommodation and meals.

The dean came to visit them after dinner. He greeted everyone enthusiastically, without distinction of superiority or inferiority. He looked quite young, with bright eyes and a fair face, but his hair style was a bit funny. All the hair in the middle was shaved off.

His shiny scalp was exposed, surrounded by a ring of dark hair, which looked very Mediterranean. He introduced himself: "Please call me Benedictine,"

"Benedict," the coachman said in surprise, interrupting the other person's words and appearing a little rude, "are you the Benedict who founded the Benedictine order?"

The dean was very well-educated and still smiled: "There is another Benedictine. Benedictine, who founded the Benedictine Order, was called hundreds of years ago, but his rules have been passed down to this day.

, we inherited his will and established this Benedictine monastery."

Dean Benedictine chatted with everyone again and agreed to take everyone to visit the monastery tomorrow. Then he said: "I am going to go to evening prayers. You can go to bed early today and see you tomorrow. You can join us.

Prayers, but please note that we have a strict schedule. Also please note that unless there is an important reason, no one is allowed to break the silence from the evening prayers until the end of the night prayers in the early morning of the next day.”

After the dean left, Roger asked the Baron about his next arrangements. The Baron scratched his head again, but he finally made a decision. He said, "Just stay here for a few days and recuperate before leaving."

No one had any objections, so Roger hurried to the stables to take care of his horses and went back to his room to rest before the end of evening prayers.

Roger then lived a peaceful monastic life.

Roger got up before dawn with the monks to the sound of bells, and then went to the church to pray at night. The entire night prayer lasted until the morning, and ended with morning prayer. Basically, he praised the Lord and thanked the Lord in other words. This part of the prayer time

After that, the monks began to work non-stop until the mass in the monastery began.

Abbot Benedictine took the baron and his entourage around the entire monastery after morning prayers. The abbot took them to visit the Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the rock shrine, and the Cross of the Resurrection Jesus, and introduced to them the "pray without forgetting" stipulated in the monastery charter.

Work" and took them to visit the monks' workplace.

In the halls of study and writing, Roger saw monks serving as scribes patiently transcribing biblical manuscripts and religious documents, as well as ancient Greek and Latin works, and decorating them with minute paintings.

In the granaries, mills, metal smelting furnaces, cellars, vegetable gardens, and cowsheds, Roger saw the monks working hard.

Abbot Benedictine took them to the bell tower again, where Roger saw from a distance that the monks were either working in the planting fields or raising animals on the grass.

Dean Benedictine also showed them a small cemetery in the monastery. The monks did not leave the monastery after their death. Roger felt that the entire monastery was like a miniature city.

Roger then went to the stables to take care of the "gift" and then went to attend mass. This was the core of the entire religious ceremony and the climax of monastic life.

Roger noticed that their Mass was very solemn, solemn, and very ceremonial. It had a complete set of procedures, including hymns, Bible readings, sermons, etc. Receiving the Eucharist (Holy Eucharist) is the most sacred moment of the Mass. The monks believe that

Wine and bread are the real presence of the body of Jesus.

The bell rang again, and it was time for the monks to have lunch. In the monastery dining room, Abbot Benedictine blessed the entire dining hall. A second-grade monk on duty read aloud passages from the Bible during the meal in accordance with the regulations. Except for the monk who read aloud

, other monks had to keep quiet. At the dinner table, there were monks sharing food with everyone. Roger and them enjoyed beer and white bread. The dean even brought out liqueur to entertain the baron and his party. Roger heard that this wine was produced in

Fecamp from the Normandy region of France is a very famous liqueur. It is made from an ancestral secret recipe based on the alchemy of priests. It is "dedicated to the great and holy God". Roger truly felt that these monks

of affluence.

After lunch it was public rest time, and there were two breaks every day, one at noon and one in the evening. Roger wandered around looking for someone to chat with, and he learned that monks need to make "three wishes": to be beautiful (not to marry),

Jue Cai (no selfish wealth), Jue Yi (strict obedience), chant sutras in groups every day, study seriously, and work in their spare time, day after day.

Roger even gossiped and asked: "Why is your dean younger than you?"

He got an unexpected reply: "Because Dean Benedictine is very good at running things."

"Huh? Isn't it because of piety?"

"All of us here are pious, so we have to look at things other than piety. When the old dean was in charge, he didn't ask everyone to work hard. After praying, everyone was dawdling, and the days became worse and worse. Later, the old dean

The dean was in poor health and asked Benedictine to be his assistant. He put a lot of effort into rectifying the situation. At first, everyone was not used to it, but as the days got better and better, everyone agreed with him.

After the dean was called, everyone voted for him when electing the dean."

"You still vote for the dean?"

"Of course, every monk is equal. Each person has one vote. Anyone can run for dean, and the one with the most votes will be elected."

Roger was very impressed. This monastery was indeed a piece of pure land in the chaotic Middle Ages. Later American presidential elections were not fair to them.

Then Roger continued the gossip: "But I also heard that some monasteries are very chaotic, with male and female practitioners and some who are messing around."

"It's okay for men and women to share the same monastery. As for the other things you mentioned, please don't say any more. It will disturb my practice."

Roger ended the conversation awkwardly.

After the break, the monks resumed their work. Roger found that he had nothing to do. He wandered to the gate of the courtyard and unexpectedly saw a new traveler.

Roger approached. It was a traveling merchant, leading a donkey and wearing a money bag on his belt. The traveling merchant brought salt in exchange for the wool that the monks had hoarded.

So Roger chatted with the traveling merchant. The man was quite talkative. He told Roger: "In these years, I have traveled almost all over Sicily, from one place to another, selling whatever I want to make money."

Roger asked: "How do you know what makes money? For example, this time you exchanged salt for wool, what if you can't exchange it at the next place?"

The businessman faced Roger and pointed at his eyes with two fingers. He said: "Look at these eyes. Everything is worth what it is. It never sees wrong."

Roger expressed his admiration and asked, "Are you going to continue doing business like this?"

The walking businessman sighed and said: "As I get older and older, my legs and feet become more and more inconvenient. There will always be a day when I can't walk anymore."

"Then why don't you open a shop and do business? I see a lot of people in Messina doing business like this."

"There has to be a way. In places with a lot of traffic, there is no room available. If you go shopping, they will welcome you. If you go to occupy a shop to grab business, they will not agree. There is no way for people like me.

Yes, I can only run around as a businessman, alas."

"Then go to our place. Do you know Baron Rollo's territory? I can help you introduce it."

"I've been to that place. The villages by the river are rich, and you can make a profit by bringing goods. But they all grow grain and fruits, and the wine they make is not good, so I can only leave empty-handed. The villages in the mountains have some good goods.

But the road is difficult, they are poor, and the goods I brought cannot be sold, so it is not worth the trip. As for Baron Rollo's town, it is really unpopular. If you open a shop there, you will definitely get a cool breeze."

The traveling merchant left, and Roger also went to do his own business. The bell rang for dinner, and the monks gathered again. The dinner was quite simple, and Roger was not too demanding, so he was full.

During a short break after dinner, Roger chatted with Dean Benedictine. He said, "Dean, you are doing really well here. Everyone says you are capable."

The dean was not humble either. Roger knew that Europeans were like this. But as we chatted, the dean sighed and said, "You may think it's good now, but you won't know in the future."

"Hey? What's the problem?"

"Without new brothers joining, when the monks get old one by one and can no longer work, this place will decline."

"How come? You have done so well here, how come no one comes?"

"It's not famous. Who knows how good this place is? If I hadn't grown up here, I would have chosen one of the famous monasteries in Messina or Palermo."

"Dean, I will help you publicize it."

"Thank you, little brother."

But Roger heard Dean Benedictine's perfunctory tone. Apparently the dean didn't think that Roger, a kid, could help him.

When the monastery fell into silence, it was time for Vespers. Evening prayer was the last activity of the monks' day. Abbot Benedictine blessed all the monks. After praying to the Virgin Mary, everything was silent.

, the monk's long and busy day ended.

It was another silent night.
Chapter completed!