Meanwhile, Tang Sanzang had his dressing changed at the stonecutter's home.
Old Granny and the Stonecutter's Wife went off to prepare the meal.
The stonecutter chatted with Tang Sanzang for a while.
Tang Sanzang had spent the journey in fear and was wounded as well. Now that he finally no longer had to keep his guard up, he exchanged a few words with the stonecutter and inadvertently fell asleep.
The stonecutter hurriedly asked his wife to bring bedding to cover Tang Sanzang, then had a brazier placed in the room so he would not catch a chill.
His care could certainly be called wholehearted.
Before long, the stonecutter's child came running home.
The stonecutter quickly said, "Keep your voice down."
The child was sensible too. Seeing a guest, he immediately fell silent, not daring to disturb him.
The stonecutter said, "All you do is run around all day. Have you learned the craft I taught you?"
The child answered obediently, "Yes. I identified all the kinds of stone you taught me by their grain, just as you said."
As he spoke, the child took several fragments of stone from inside his clothes and showed them to the stonecutter one by one. Most were correct; he had only carelessly misidentified one.
The stonecutter said, "Good. Don't think stonecutting is just physical labor. There are plenty of tricks to the trade. I'll teach you more tomorrow. Go help your mother split firewood first."
The child obediently agreed and went out to help.
The stonecutter said, "I'm making a spectacle of myself before you two elders. I'm already a cripple, with no prospects left. All I can do is pass this little craft on to him, so he'll have a skill to support himself in the future and won't starve to death."
Sha