The legend of Xinghua splayed bridge

There is a widely circulated legend about the origin of the splayed bridge in Xinghua:

The figure-of-eight bridge in Xinghua is a stone slab bridge composed of eight stones, which is named after its shape of eight characters. Because this bridge can be crossed in eight steps, some people call it the eight-step bridge. The river under the bridge is just a river ditch that runs through the city. There is an Dongyue Temple in the east, Dongsi Bridge in the north and an old street in the west of the bridge. Legend has it that a long time ago, before the eight-character bridge, people on the east bank of the river had to make a big turn to get to the old street, which was very inconvenient. An old man surnamed Yang lived in the old street. His hair and beard are white, but his body is very strong. Nobody knows how old he is. He has the ability to carve chapters with one hand. Always do good deeds, set up a big pot at the door every morning and cook a pot of porridge to help the poor around you. Because of his kindness to Buddha, his business is particularly prosperous. There are also many people looking for him to carve seals. One night, eight people came in front of the door, seven men and one woman. The leader is a skinny old man, riding a donkey backwards, and said to the old man surnamed Yang, "We haven't eaten all day. Can you give us some porridge?" The old man quickly put down his work and said to them, "Good, good! Just a moment, I'll prepare dinner. Please come in and have a rest first. " The old man took out all the edible things at home and put them on the table for eight people to eat. The eight men were also rude and wolfed down a meal. One of the women said to the old man, "old man, we eat your food and have no money on us." What can we do for you? " The old man said happily, "as long as you are full, it is better than anything." Forget the money. It's getting late. Stay with me today. " ...... The next morning, the old man set up a cauldron to cook porridge as usual, and eight people got up early and stood by, watching the old man scoop porridge for the poor. A kidnapper with a hip flask on his back smiled and said to the old man, "Old man, why do you want to do such a good thing to help the poor?" The old man sighed and said, "These people who make disasters every year are very poor, and they are not much better than me as a craftsman. Anyway, I'm alone, as long as I can do something good for them. The poor on the east bank of the river. They have to turn around early in the morning to come to me. If only there was a bridge from me. " The kidnapper laughed, and the old man's business was on us. I saw eight people drop eight stones from the sky like magic, forming a figure-of-eight bridge. The old man just wanted to see clearly, when suddenly eight auspicious clouds flew in, eight people waved to the old man, boarded the auspicious clouds and floated away. At that time, people called this figure-of-eight bridge the Eight Immortals Bridge. After a few years, the poor found that the old man surnamed Yang had left and did not know where he had gone. Some people say that he was taken away by the gods and went to the celestial world. The poor can't forget the kindness of the old man, so they built a small temple under the Eight Immortals Bridge to commemorate him. The Eight Immortals Bridge was renamed the Eight-character Bridge because of the lettering of the elderly.