City A was indeed close to Wen Xu's hometown, so much so that by 10 a. m. the next day, President Liu was already standing at the entrance of Clear Breeze Temple.
Before coming, President Liu had already imagined what Clear Breeze Temple would look like. In his mind, Clear Breeze Temple was just a small Daoist temple. Even if it had a little reputation, who had the leisure to visit a Daoist temple these days? Even dogs wouldn't go there!
When he actually stood at the entrance of Clear Breeze Temple, he realized how ignorant he had been.
The crowds were comparable to those at a zoo or amusement park during summer vacation.
Despite the large number of people, it wasn't noisy. Everyone subconsciously slowed their pace and lowered their voices upon entering the Clear Breeze Temple temple. Moreover, unlike the entrances of ordinary scenic spots, there were no vendors hawking their wares with loudspeakers, nor were there any clusters of vehicles. After all, the cars had already been stopped by park security guards at the parking lot in front of Qingfeng Park. So, although the Daoist temple was crowded, it was quite quiet.
President Liu had a clear goal this time, so after finding out the location of the Daoist Medicine Clinic, he went straight there.
The Daoist clinic is located near a side gate of Clear Breeze Temple, but the number of people queuing outside is no less than that Clear Breeze Temple the main gate. Moreover, the patients queuing outside the clinic form a serpentine pattern, going in circles and circles, and there are quite a few elderly people in the queue. If you knew them, you would say they were there to see a doctor, but if you didn't, you would think they were queuing to get free eggs!
President Liu stood at the back of the serpentine queue, peering inside cautiously. From a distance, he couldn't see clearly, only that the Daoist clinic didn't seem very large, like many traditional Chinese medicine clinics, with rows of medicine boxes. Occasionally, a person in a Daoist robe would flash by the entrance, but it was hard to tell whether they were the Daoist priest or the doctor.
Although President Liu wasn't exactly a domineering CEO, he wasn't exactly the type to be overly familiar either. However, he couldn't resist the enthusiasm of the elderly men and women around him. Seeing him peeking and looking into the Daoist medical clinic, an old man behind him in line asked, "Is this your first time here?"
President Liu nodded. "Yes."
Old man. "What's wrong with you?"
President Liu didn't say it directly, but kept it a secret. "An old problem."
It wasn't that he was suspicious of others; he just knew that traditional Chinese medicine practitioners were skilled in observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation. As for Daoist doctors, although he had never met them, just hearing the name made them seem even more mysterious than traditional Chinese medicine. So he kept it a secret, not for any other reason than to avoid being overheard by the Daoist doctors inside.
Ultimately, he still harbored a desire to test the doctor's true abilities. This tendency to test people wasn't exactly good or bad; it was probably just an occupational hazard.
A younger person, upon hearing President Liu refer to it as an old ailment, might have wisely stopped the conversation. But the old man didn't think so; he even found old ailments quite normal, since everyone who came here had some kind of chronic condition.
The old man spoke eloquently, "Then you've come to the right place. This clinic may not be particularly good at treating other ailments, but it's incredibly effective at treating chronic illnesses. My wife has had chronic headaches for years, and we've seen countless doctors without any improvement. Surgery was deemed too risky and not worthwhile due to her age. But after a few visits here, guess what? She's completely cured!"
President Liu was both excited and delighted, even more so than if he had negotiated a contract worth hundreds of millions. Could this really mean there was hope for his ailing back?
-
I don't know how long the queue lasted, but by the time it was almost President Liu's turn, it was already past lunchtime.
When President Liu arrived, he hadn't considered the issue of food at all. He didn't have an assistant with him, and he hadn't thought to prepare any snacks. So, he only started to worry when his stomach began to rumble with hunger. After all, this place didn't look like the kind of place where you could order takeout!
Just as he was thinking this, the old man he had been chatting with earlier nudged him and said, "Young man, have you eaten yet? If not, why don't you come with us to the Clear Breeze Temple canteen for a meal before coming back?"
President Liu: "Going out to eat? Wouldn't that mean we'd been waiting in line for nothing?"
The old man said, "It's alright. I'll go inside and talk to the young Daoist priest, and ask him to give us a pass to skip the queue. Then we can come back with the pass and rejoin the line."
President Liu: "???"
This method of operation sounds somewhat familiar, almost like it's similar to a certain amusement park he took his daughter to before?
But before President Liu could think any further, the old man had already gone inside.
A short while later, the old man led a young girl out of the Daoist medicine clinic. Calling her a young girl wasn't quite accurate, as she looked to be in her early twenties. She was tall and aloof.
When President Liu heard the old man call the woman " Miss Lin " so familiarly, she politely led the Miss Lin to President Liu's side, indicating that she had been standing behind President Liu in line.
Lin Banxia walked over to where President Liu standing, glanced at him, then took out two no-queue cards from her bag, wrote down the time and location they left, and then drew a line next to where they were standing. "Take these cards and go eat first. Come back to me when you're done, and then go back to queue here."
President Liu was given a card in a daze, and then, in a daze, the old man took him to the canteen of Clear Breeze Temple.
The old man brought him to Clear Breeze Temple Vegetarian Restaurant. Only after arriving did he belatedly realize what was happening and asked President Liu, "Young man, is it okay to eat vegetarian food?"
President Liu said nonchalantly, "Anything is fine, it's just to fill my stomach. How about this, it's a rare coincidence that we've met, so this meal is on me. Please don't refuse, just to give me face."
Businessmen are good at talking, and the old man didn't stand on ceremony with President Liu, agreeing half-heartedly.
If it's meat, he can order less, because too much meat can be greasy. But if it's vegetarian, President Liu doesn't have this problem. He's just worried about not having enough to eat. Besides, he didn't sleep well last night and got up very early this morning to rush here. He only drank a cup of coffee on the way. He didn't feel particularly hungry while queuing, but now that he smells the aroma of food, he feels like he could swallow an elephant whole.
So they ordered a whole table full of random things.
Finally, even the old man couldn't stand it anymore and kept stopping him, saying, "That's enough, that's enough. If we don't finish it, the Daoist priests at Clear Breeze Temple will fine us."
President Liu was taken aback. "We're customers, haven't you heard the saying? 'The customer is always right...'"
The old man said, "This is Clear Breeze Temple. There is no God here, only Daoist priests. The Daoist priests can manage everything, even the gods."
President Liu: "..."
President Liu wanted to retort, but he didn't know how to start. In the end, he could only silently grab a white and tender-looking pastry in front of him and take a bite out of spite.
Surprisingly, it turned out quite well.
It's fragrant and soft, not too sweet, with a smooth texture and a slightly cool feel, making you want to keep eating it until you've finished the whole piece.
Seeing that he was silent, the old man picked up his spoon and began to taste the tofu soup in front of him. He liked the tofu soup from Clear Breeze Temple. Traditional tofu soup uses tofu and minced meat, but the vegetarian restaurant at Clear Breeze Temple removed the minced meat and added ingredients such as wood ear fungus and winter bamboo shoots. The cooking temperature was also well controlled, so this bowl of tofu soup was both soft and smooth. He could eat several large bowls every time he came.
After finishing the delicious pastries, President Liu began to savor the plate of stir-fried mushrooms in front of him. Mushrooms were a dish he often ate, and he believed he had tried all kinds of delicious mushrooms, but he had to admit that the mushrooms from Clear Breeze Temple were both fresh and crisp. Paired with rice and drizzled with the mushroom sauce, the taste was simply amazing.
President Liu felt he hadn't eaten much; he finished his bowl of rice in no time.
The two of them were worried that they had ordered too much, but because every dish was so delicious, they ended up eating everything on the table, and were even a little reluctant to leave.
The old man was a local. Seeing how content President Liu was with his meal, he felt a strange sense of pride and even whispered some gossip to President Liu: "How was it? Delicious, right? Let me tell you, many people from other places love the food at Clear Breeze Temple. I even heard that a rich young master wanted to open a factory near Clear Breeze Temple just for a good meal!"
President Liu was taken aback. A rich family's young master? You're not talking about Mr. Wen Young Master Wen Xu of Old President Wen's family, are you?
After the two finished eating, they returned to the queue and waited for almost half an hour before it was finally President Liu's turn.
President Liu entered the Daoist medicine clinic and finally saw its true appearance. Apart from the medicine boxes and a few busy young Daoist priests he had seen while queuing at the entrance, there was only an elderly female Daoist priest sitting behind a long table. The conditions were extremely simple. Behind this female Daoist priest, there was a door with a curtain hanging on it. As for what was behind the door, President Liu had no idea, because the curtain was completely covered, and he couldn't see anything even President Liu wanted to.
Behind the long table, Daoist Qiuting busily finished writing the diagnosis record for the previous patient before glancing up at President Liu standing at the door. President Liu was struck by her cold gaze, and his previously mild back pain suddenly flared up again, causing him to inexplicably stumble and limp as he walked to sit down.
Daoist Qiuting no longer needed to take his pulse; he asked directly, "Does your back hurt?"
President Liu was taken aback. "Yes. It's an old problem, it's been hurting for many years."
Daoist Qiuting left with the words "Come with me," and got up to walk behind the curtain. Now, President Liu no longer needed to be curious about what was in the room behind the curtain, because he finally saw it with his own eyes—when the curtain was pulled open, there was a room that was even larger than the front, with several small beds placed side by side, and on each small bed lay a person covered in hedgehog-like quills.
When everyone saw the curtain being lifted, they all looked over with a mixture of schadenfreude and gossip. For some reason, President Liu's legs inexplicably started to tremble.
But since he was already there, President Liu overcame his fear and followed Daoist Qiuting to the empty bed at the very back.