Azure clouds over the vast sea; thunder shook a hundred miles as a flood dragon appeared.
A poor farmer squatted by his fields, gazing happily at the lush green seedlings. A neighbor called out from afar, and the old farmer shouldered his hoe, humming a hometown tune as he joined the villagers. The village had decided to build a Dragon King Temple beside the stream that had begun flowing again, and everyone pitched in.
The village was poor, so they were not building one of those grand, lavish temples, but a Small Temple merely two or three feet tall.
The stonemason chipped away at stones with clink after clink, doing his best to carve them into the shape of a house. Then they found a scholar to write the three words "Dragon King Temple," which were carved onto the front of the stone house. Thus, the two- or three-foot-tall Dragon King Temple was completed. Whenever they had the time, they could come burn a few sticks of incense and some joss paper.
These little temples were common in the countryside. One carved from stone was considered high-end.
Many Mountain God and Land God Temples were simply built into squares with several flat stones, and that counted as a little temple. Some were occasionally piled up from bricks. In any case, they could not compare to wealthy cities, which had the money to build Great Temples and erect golden statues.
The villagers busied themselves laying the foundation. To make it look imposing, they built a raised platform of stone. The entire village, men and women, old and young, turned out. Whether bent-backed elders, bare-bottomed children, or the women of the household, all came to carry a few stones, so the Dragon King could feel their sincerity.
Finally, they respectfully placed the