The young woman beside him: "..." That five yuan was money well spent. No, I absolutely have to make it ten.
The passersby watching the livestream: [Quick, find a pen and take notes. This might actually come in handy next time you go to a hair salon.]
Once Jingting had cursed to his heart's content, he dusted off his hands and logged out, ignoring all the fans still clamoring for more in the livestream. But admittedly, coming and going freely as the wind suited that arsenic-coated tongue of his perfectly, so the viewers only became more hooked.
Even though Jingting had already logged out and left, the livestream's real-time viewer count actually kept rising rather than falling, and the video account's follower count broke past the thousand mark along with it.
Jingting had no idea how enthusiastic the viewers were. He had logged out simply because all that cursing had made him hungry. Since coming to Clear Breeze Temple, perhaps because he now ate three regular meals a day, he got hungry whenever mealtime rolled around.
When he went into the kitchen, Daoist Chang Kong was making plum blossom cakes. Plum blossom cakes did not actually have much to do with plum blossoms; they simply resembled them in shape.
Compared to the ginkgo cakes, hibiscus pastries, and other treats Daoist Chang Kong had made before, the plum blossom cakes probably had the most complex assortment of ingredients, because he had added so very many things. With just a cursory glance, Jingting spotted little glutinous rice balls, green and red candied fruit, pine nuts...
Jingting was not picky about food at all. He had only one standard for anything he ate: it had to be cooked.
So he leaned over the windowsill with his backside sticking out and asked Daoist Chang Kong anxiously, "Brother Changkong, are those plum blossom cakes cooked yet? Can I eat them?"
Daoist Chang Kong said unhurriedly, "Cooked? They're all raw. I haven't even put them in the steamer yet!"
Jingting said, "Then sorry for the trouble, but please hurry up and steam them. I'm starving to death. I urgently need something to eat to restore my energy."
Daoist Chang Kong did not know about Jingting's online cursing-for-hire business. It was not that Yun Zhaozhao and Jingting had deliberately kept it from him. Mainly, Jingting thought Yun Zhaozhao had told him, while Yun Zhaozhao thought Jingting had, so in the end neither of them said anything.
Hearing this, Daoist Chang Kong could not help asking Jingting, "What did you do to get this hungry? Didn't you just eat a big bowl of noodles this morning?"
Jingting said, "I took an online job cursing someone out. You know, cursing really is physical labor. Once you've cursed to your heart's content, you really do get hungry fast."
Daoist Chang Kong opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Jingting guessed what he wanted to say and shut him down with a single remark. "Don't worry. I already told the temple master before I cursed anyone out this time. So now I'm not just getting paid to curse people out-I'm doing it under imperial decree!"
Daoist Chang Kong: "..."
Yun Zhaozhao, who happened to come over in time to hear that last sentence: "..." I didn't! I'm not! Don't make things up!
Chapter 18
Daoist Chang Kong made a very large batch of plum blossom cakes this time. It took several steamers to barely finish steaming them all. Although he had made a lot, these plum blossom cakes were not for sale. They were gifts.
They were for none other than the left-behind children and elderly people living alone in the village of the older woman who had been delivering vegetables to Clear Breeze Temple lately.
Previously, while wandering around the villages near Clear Breeze Temple, Yun Zhaozhao had noticed something: there were very few young and middle-aged workers in these villages. Young people were practically nowhere to be seen. After chatting with the woman a few times, Yun Zhaozhao confirmed this observation. In fact, it was not just the woman's village; many rural villages were in similar situations.
Whether to support their families or pursue their dreams and love, most young people had left their hometowns to go elsewhere, leaving only their children or elderly relatives back home.
Yun Zhaozhao had spent some time as a left-behind child herself, so she understood their hardships very well, and she also knew how difficult life was for elderly people living alone in the countryside. When she first saw this, she had thought that once she had a little more means, she would offer these people some help.
Although Clear Breeze Temple's financial resources were currently limited and there was little they could do, they could still afford to make some pastries for these elderly people and children.
Once the plum blossom cakes were ready, Yun Zhaozhao had Jingting carry them on his back and invited the woman who delivered vegetables to accompany them to the village. They went from house to house delivering the cakes, along with a flyer Yun Zhaozhao had recently printed. The flyer's contents were very simple: from then on, on the first and fifteenth of every lunar month, Clear Breeze Temple would give out free pastries to elderly people over sixty and children under twelve.
Jingting had no objection to giving away pastries for free. In fact, he was quite happy to do it. What he could not understand was why Yun Zhaozhao had asked him to deliver them instead of having Daoist Chang Kong do it himself.
Many of the elderly people who received the pastries thought Jingting had made them. They held his hands and kept praising his skill until even he felt embarrassed. Most importantly, Jingting felt as though he had inadvertently taken credit for Daoist Chang Kong's work.
Yun Zhaozhao said, "It's all right. I asked Daoist Chang Kong before we came, and he doesn't mind. You don't need to worry too much about it either. Whoever delivers these pastries, they're still gifts from our Clear Breeze Temple."
Jingting muttered, "Well, that's true, but..."
Yun Zhaozhao said, "Besides, doing good deeds helps you gain merit, and the person in Clear Breeze Temple who needs merit the most right now isn't Daoist Chang Kong. It's you!"
Jingting: "..." How wonderful. Another day of merit +1!
Yun Zhaozhao had not immediately told Lawyer Wang about Jingting starting an online cursing-for-hire business, but she had told him right away about Xu Tingting and Xie Yu helping sell talisman tube blind boxes on their university campus.
Perhaps because Yun Zhaozhao's earlier business ventures had been so outrageous, Lawyer Wang actually found it rather surprising that she had suddenly started selling talismans, a perfectly proper business for a Daoist temple.
Of course, what surprised Lawyer Wang even more was how university students had become involved in selling talismans. Weren't university students supposed to be the people who believed most strongly in science and most firmly opposed this sort of feudal superstition?
Lawyer Wang messaged Yun Zhaozhao on WeChat to confirm: [Are you sure you found university students to sell talismans for you?]
Yun Zhaozhao: [Of course! They're junior agents for our Clear Breeze Temple now, and they might become senior agents in the future. Starting their own business at such a young age-they might even reach the pinnacle of life!]
Lawyer Wang said nothing for a long time. Finally, he sent Yun Zhaozhao a thumbs-up emoji and added: [Your Clear Breeze Temple isn't just good at selling cakes. You're professionals at selling pipe dreams too.]
Yun Zhaozhao: [You're too kind!]
Lawyer Wang: [...]
Although every step Yun Zhaozhao took exceeded Lawyer Wang's expectations, it was an indisputable fact that she had now led Clear Breeze Temple into another new business venture. In accordance with their contract, Lawyer Wang gave Clear Breeze Temple another sum of money.
After receiving the money, Yun Zhaozhao divided it into three portions as usual, just as she had last time.
The first portion was once again for upgrading and improving Clear Breeze Temple's internal surroundings.
With the previous payment, Yun Zhaozhao had renovated Clear Breeze Temple's walls, repaired its roof, and bought a batch of fish fry. The little fish in the temple's pond had now grown to two or three fingers wide.
This time, Yun Zhaozhao used the money to buy new winter supplies, new tables and chairs, and even a batch of vegetable seeds and fruit trees.
There was an empty plot outside Clear Breeze Temple's back courtyard gate, and Yun Zhaozhao had wanted to plant fruit trees there for a long time. She had not had the money then, so she could only think about it. Now that she had money, she could gradually bring her plans to life.
As for why she wanted to plant a few vegetables along with the fruit trees, it was because Clear Breeze Temple's business was gradually improving, and supplying all their vegetables was becoming a little difficult for the woman alone. Besides, in Yun Zhaozhao's view, having their own was more convenient than relying on anyone else, so she bought vegetable seeds along with the fruit trees.
As for the second portion, Yun Zhaozhao planned to use it to give Clear Breeze Temple's few employees year-end bonuses.
When she had first recruited Daoist Chang Kong, they had not even discussed wages, much less bonuses. Jingting had been picked up off the street by Daoist Chang Kong, so naturally wages and bonuses had never come up for him either. The only person whose pay they had properly discussed was Xiaojiu.
But when Yun Zhaozhao recruited Xiaojiu, the base salary she offered had not been high either: only three thousand, with commissions calculated separately.
Yun Zhaozhao had promised then that as long as Clear Breeze Temple became profitable, she would make sure everyone was treated well. Now that she had received money from Lawyer Wang, she decided to honor that promise. After all, the end of the year was fast approaching. It could serve as a reward for everyone's hard work over this period.
As for the remaining portion, Yun Zhaozhao saved it as Clear Breeze Temple's reserve funds, just as before.
To clear the land, plant fruit trees, and grow vegetables, the few people at Clear Breeze Temple would certainly be far from enough. Fortunately, Yun Zhaozhao now had a little money to spare, so she simply hired outsiders to help.
While they cleared the land and planted trees, Yun Zhaozhao brought over a little stool and sat nearby to watch.
Perhaps because she had spent so much time at Clear Breeze Temple, her attachment to it was gradually growing deeper.
In truth, she had never really felt a sense of belonging in this city. At first she had lived at school, and afterward she had stayed at Granny's house. Thinking it over, Clear Breeze Temple was actually the first place that felt like home since she had come to this city.
While Yun Zhaozhao was busy supervising work in the back courtyard, Daoist Chang Kong and Jingting were both busy in the front courtyard.
Daoist Chang Kong was busy making that merit wooden fish for Jingting.
A wooden fish, as its name suggested, was naturally made of wood. Daoist Chang Kong had recently made bamboo tubes and bamboo-leaf bookmarks, but this was his first time making a wooden fish himself. Fortunately, he had deft hands, so after looking up a few videos on how to make one online, he could make a reasonably close version himself.