The new Clear Breeze Temple is not only much more magnificent than the old one, but even the new temple's dining hall is three or four times the size of the old one.
The canteen is neatly furnished with tables and chairs of the same color scheme, and the windows are sparkling clean. In addition, there are many fresh flowers, green plants, and various handicrafts made by Clear Breeze Temple itself. Most importantly, there are no mosquitoes, a problem that many canteens have, in Clear Breeze Temple's canteen. This makes everyone who enters the new canteen feel comfortable.
Previously, Jingting had mentioned that two or three dishes at the Xin Guan Canteen were made by Daoist Chang Kong. Xu Fugui was initially worried that he wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but it turned out that he didn't need to bother to distinguish them at all. Although there were queues at every window in the Xin Guan Canteen, the two dishes with the longest queues were obviously made by Daoist Chang Kong himself.
Although Li Chunhua complained about Xu Fugui, she still felt sorry for Xu Fugui when it mattered. Seeing that there were many people in line, she told Xu Fugui to find a seat first, while she went to line up for food by herself.
Xu Fugui surprisingly refused, saying, "No need, I'll go queue with you."
Li Chunhua was unusually touched. "I didn't expect you to become so considerate after your surgery. You used to hate queuing the most, and you would want to stay far away from it every time you saw it. What's wrong with you today? You're actually willing to queue with me?"
Xu Fugui: "The main problem is that Daoist Chang Kong prepared two dishes, and you can't manage to serve them all by yourself."
Li Chunhua: "..."Get lost! You dead straight man!!!!
Despite their anger, the two of them still joined a separate queue. Although there were many people in the queue, the line moved quite quickly, and Clear Breeze Temple was well-managed, not allowing outside food or proxy queueing, so it was soon Xu Fugui and Li Chunhua's turn.
The two teams ordered braised noodles with pork belly and green beans, and crispy fish pieces. They ordered both, and then went to other teams to order two vegetarian dishes, such as stir-fried pumpkin and vinegared cabbage.
Li Chunhua looked at the table of mostly vegetarian dishes and was quite satisfied. "Not bad. I thought you came here specifically to prepare a lot of meat and fish, but I didn't expect you to remember to keep your diet light."
As Xu Fugui unpacked the chopsticks, he said, "You don't understand the quality of the vegetarian dishes at Clear Breeze Temple. The vegetables here are all grown and supplied by nearby farms. They are all organic and pollution-free. Even without any seasoning, they taste exceptionally sweet and delicious."
Li Chunhua said, "Is it really that exaggerated?", but she couldn't help but pick up her chopsticks and take a bite of the stir-fried pumpkin.
You know what, this pumpkin is really soft and sweet, quite different from the pumpkins she'd bought at the market before. And the cooking method didn't seem particularly elaborate—just a little minced garlic and salt—but the pumpkin flavor was incredibly strong.
Li Chunhua ate a couple of bites of pumpkin, then tried the stir-fried cabbage with vinegar and the crispy fish pieces. She often made these two dishes at home and ate them quite frequently. One was tangy and spicy, while the other was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The crispy fish pieces, in particular, were incredibly fragrant and tender, with few bones, no matter what kind of fish they were made of. Dipping them in the sauce, the freshness of the fish blended perfectly with the rich, savory flavor of the sugar syrup, making it impossible to stop eating.
Li Chunhua didn't know how to describe the taste of the food. She thought it looked ordinary, but tasted better than what she usually ate.
Of course, what surprised her the most was the braised noodles with pork belly and green beans. The noodles were soft, chewy, and fragrant, and the aroma of green beans and pork belly permeated the noodles. When you slurped it down, the rich texture felt like the noodles were dancing in your mouth.
Li Chunhua accidentally ate more than half a bowl.
After finishing his meal, he reluctantly put down his chopsticks, finally admitting defeat. "No wonder you've been so eager to eat at Clear Breeze Temple Temple's canteen; the food here is truly delicious."
Xu Fugui: "That's nothing. The first time I ate at Clear Breeze Temple, I could even order my own food! I still remember the smoked cured pork I had back then..."
Li Chunhua: "If I had known it would be this delicious, you should have brought me here sooner."
Xu Fugui: "I told you, you rejected me outright, saying, 'What's the point of eating out? Is the food outside really that good? Aren't the meals at home enough for you to eat? You'd be better off washing vegetables and cutting meat for me than wasting your time going out. I really don't know what the point of marrying you is!!!'"
Li Chunhua: "... That's enough, eat your food! Pretend I didn't say anything."
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Both of them ate their meal to their hearts' content. After finishing, Xu Fugui originally planned to go straight back, since he neither believed in Buddhism nor Daoism and just liked eating rice.
As a result, Li Chunhua heard that there was a back garden behind Clear Breeze Temple and insisted on going to visit it.
Xu Fugui couldn't refuse her, so he had no choice but to go with her.
The phrase "Xu Fugui's back garden" is merely an exaggeration; after all, many places have herb gardens, but does that really mean there are a hundred kinds of herbs?
When he finally saw the back garden in person, he realized that Clear Breeze Temple was indeed very realistic, because the backyard was a huge garden.
Not only are there flowers, but also fruit trees and medicinal herb gardens... and so many flowers are blooming in competition, with many aunties and older women taking photos with silk scarves in hand.
Li Chunhua's hands were itching to take a look. "I should have brought my scarf too! This place would be great for taking pictures. How about this, let's just wander around for now, and I'll invite a few of my girlfriends next time. You bring your camera too, so you can take some good pictures of us."
Xu Fugui said weakly, "... Actually, I think we should still have a sense of reverence for Daoist temples and sacred sites. Wouldn't it be a bit inappropriate to come here to take photos and check in?"
Li Chunhua rolled her eyes at him. "You're just a commoner who came to the Daoist temple for a meal, what right do you have to talk to me? At least I'm doing this for art, what about you?"
Xu Fugui: "Then I am more noble than you. I am one of the original shareholders of this Daoist temple. The reason why this Daoist temple has grown and become strong is partly due to my contributions."
Li Chunhua: "..."
Chapter 87
Yun Zhaozhao had expected the new Clear Breeze Temple to be quite popular, but she never imagined that the back garden would be the first part of the new temple to become popular.
She had initially thought that the gilded bronze statues in the new temple would be the first to become popular! After all, they were made of real gold, and who wouldn't appreciate genuine gold and silver?
But as it turns out, people probably prefer tangible beauty to gold that they can see but not touch.
Or, one could say that in this era where everyone lives in cramped, concrete jungles, deep down everyone longs to have their own private garden.
Just like Li Chunhua, she clearly had no interest in Daoist temples and wasn't as keen on food as Xu Fugui, but because she was attracted by the sea of flowers in the backyard of Clear Breeze Temple, she insisted on taking the bus to Clear Breeze Temple three times in one week.
And every time, they would get up very early, take the earliest bus to come, play until sunset, and then take the last bus back.
Later on, even Xu Fugui couldn't take it anymore, so the last time Xu Fugui didn't come with her at all. Li Chunhua simply called a few of her old girlfriends to accompany her.
Moreover, after Li Chunhua visited several times, she discovered that Clear Breeze Temple not only had a back garden, but was even building a path full of flowers.
Today, this path is surrounded by a stream. If you follow the path down to the foot of the mountain, there is a spring that is said to be called Prosperity Spring.
The weather isn't hot yet this season, so it's not suitable for swimming. But once the weather gets hot and the flowers on both banks bloom in profusion, Li Chunhua can almost imagine how popular this area will be with the local residents.
After the Clear Breeze Temple's back garden became a hit, more news about Clear Breeze Temple began to appear online. Some netizens even called Clear Breeze Temple the most worthwhile Daoist temple to visit in City A.
You should know that this honor used to be reserved for True Yang Temple.
Fearing that True Yang Temple might be unhappy, Yun Zhaozhao secretly went to sound out Daoist Jingyang's opinion. Daoist Jingyang was quite honest. "I was a little unhappy at first. After all, in terms of heritage and seniority, how can your Clear Breeze Temple compare to our True Yang Temple? But sometimes the world is like this; those with high moral standing and prestige may not be as popular as those with a lot of online traffic. So now I'm quite open-minded. Our two temples will each stick to different development directions. You have your online traffic, and I have my ancient charm. We'll keep to ourselves and each be our own king. That's good, that's good!"
Yun Zhaozhao readily offered compliments. "You truly deserve to be the head of the Grand View Garden; you certainly have vision and charisma."
Daoist Jingyang was pleased by Yun Zhaozhao's coaxing. "Not at all!"
It must be said that Yun Zhaozhao was indeed naturally gifted in interpersonal relationships. In addition to informing Daoist Jingyang in advance, she also prepared some gifts and had them delivered to Daoist Jingyang.
These weren't particularly expensive gifts, but rather some desserts and pastries that Daoist Chang Kong had recently made. These gifts not only expressed his sentiments but also served multiple purposes; for example, they could be used as offerings or eaten directly... In short, they were very practical gifts.
Daoist Jingyang accepted the gifts from Clear Breeze Temple, and thus turned a blind eye to the news of Clear Breeze Temple's online popularity. Ultimately, this was because Clear Breeze Temple didn't infringe on True Yang Temple's fundamental interests. After all, Clear Breeze Temple and True Yang Temple weren't adjacent; strictly speaking, they were even quite far apart. Furthermore, True Yang Temple Temple's main sources of income, besides donations from believers, were various religious ceremonies—neither of which Clear Breeze Temple excelled at. Therefore, True Yang Temple wasn't worried that Clear Breeze Temple 'True Yang Temple growth would hinder its own development.
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