Lin Banxia put down the silver needles and began leafing through a book. The others took a closer look and discovered that its title was Traditional Chinese Medicine Family.
Well, damn. So that was the traditional Chinese medicine family she was an heir to!!!
Jingting leaned toward Yun Zhaozhao's ear and whispered, "Temple master, by Lin Banxia's logic, wouldn't that make you an heir to Fortune-Telling Crash Course in 30 Days?"
Yun Zhaozhao said, "If you don't know how to compliment someone, don't force it. Your compliments sound worse than insults."
Jingting: "..."
Holding Traditional Chinese Medicine Family, Lin Banxia flipped through it page by page right in front of Daoist Chang Kong, remembering to glance at his arm as she went.
Daoist Chang Kong had already had a very bad feeling when she took out the silver needles. When he saw her consulting a medical book on the spot, that bad feeling reached its peak.
After all, who wouldn't break out in a cold sweat if they went to the hospital and saw their doctor looking things up in a book right there?
At that moment, Daoist Chang Kong could no longer feel the ache in his arm. He just wanted to escape.
So he picked up the bowl in front of him, stood, and left. "My arm doesn't hurt at all anymore. I could pick up that iron wok and cook another whole table of dishes any second now."
Jingting smiled as he made snide remarks from behind him. "Just what you'd expect from the heir to a traditional Chinese medicine family. Such impressive medical skills! She hasn't even started treating him, and Brother Chang Kong's arm is already better. A divine physician reincarnated, Hua Tuo reborn."
Whether Lin Banxia did it on purpose or simply failed to understand him, she turned and switched targets to Jingting. "Then are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
Jingting said, "No need. I feel wonderful right now. Wonderful all over. Everyone finished eating? I'll wash the dishes."
Watching Jingting flee with the bowls, Yun Zhaozhao couldn't help bursting into laughter.
She had previously thought a half-baked traditional Chinese medicine practitioner like Lin Banxia would probably be completely useless at Clear Breeze Temple. Now, though, it seemed she was at least a little useful. If nothing else, both Daoist Chang Kong and Jingting had become healthier since her arrival, and they were more enthusiastic about working than ever.
Jingting might not be reliable about other things, but he had spoken the absolute truth when he said Clear Breeze Temple didn't feed freeloaders.
So even though Lin Banxia was the heir to a traditional Chinese medicine family, she still had to work after coming to Clear Breeze Temple.
Most of the work in the front courtyard already had someone assigned to it, but no one was specifically responsible for the backyard full of fruit trees or the vegetable seeds they hadn't yet had time to sow. So Yun Zhaozhao assigned the backyard work directly to Lin Banxia.
Lin Banxia had no objections, but she did make a request of Yun Zhaozhao. "Growing fruit trees and vegetables isn't my specialty. Could I have a little plot specifically for growing medicinal herbs? If I end up treating people and saving lives, those herbs might come in handy!"
Yun Zhaozhao didn't mind. "As long as they don't interfere with my fruit trees and vegetables growing, plant whatever you like. But I need to remind you of something in advance. Practicing medicine requires a medical license. Even if you're the heir to a traditional Chinese medicine family, you still have to follow the rules..."
Lin Banxia said, "Don't worry. I'm already studying for the exam on my own."
Yun Zhaozhao: "..." Forget it. As long as you're happy.
Once Yun Zhaozhao agreed to let her grow medicinal herbs, Lin Banxia immediately became brimming with enthusiasm. Every day, she was out in the backyard from dawn until late, working from morning to night.
Since Xiaojiu didn't live at Clear Breeze Temple, Lin Banxia had already been there for several days before she belatedly discovered that the temple had gained another person.
She asked Jingting about Lin Banxia's identity. "Is this new Miss Lin a Daoist priest too? Then why isn't she wearing Daoist robes?"
Jingting said, "Not yet. She's just at the stage of practicing with her hair unshorn, something like a probationary period. If she passes her probation and wants to become a Daoist priest, she might become a proper one then."
Xiaojiu marveled to herself as she listened. "So Daoist priests have probationary periods too!"
Jingting was quite proud of being a Daoist priest. "Of course. Becoming a Daoist priest is hard. You think just anyone can become one? People like us are, in a certain sense, chosen ones."
That day, the chosen one, Daoist Priest Jingting, took another online request to tell someone off.
This time, the person seeking help was a working mother.
Back when this mother had stayed home full-time, her mother-in-law had constantly complained that she didn't work or earn money. Once her child was a little older, she had left the child in her mother-in-law's care and gone out to work. She had thought this would shut her mother-in-law up, only for her mother-in-law to start complaining that she neglected her family. Her mother-in-law also constantly said, "I'm helping you look after your child," trying to keep this working mother under her thumb. The mother didn't dare fall out with her mother-in-law to her face, fearing she would have no one to care for her child afterward. Sometimes, however, she was simply too angry to let it go, so she wanted Jingting to teach her how to talk back.
After Jingting's previous paid request to tell someone off, Yun Zhaozhao had specifically consulted Lawyer Wang in private. Only then had she learned that insulting people for money could actually be illegal in certain circumstances. If anything happened to the person he insulted afterward, Jingting might bear even greater legal responsibility. So Yun Zhaozhao had later discussed it with Jingting, changing paid insults to free insults. Secondly, he couldn't get right in someone's face and unload on them as he had last time. He needed to make his attacks as indirect as possible.
Jingting didn't know what indirect attacks were. All he knew was spraying fire. Put simply, he wouldn't name the person he was insulting, but whoever he meant would know perfectly well.
So after receiving this working mother's request for help, Jingting said directly in his livestream: [Attention, all mothers. Attention, all mothers. If your mother-in-law says she's looking after your child for you again, ask her whether she'd still look after the baby if you went out on the street right now, picked some random man, and had a child with him. If she's willing, admit that she really is looking after your child for you, because that means she absolutely treats you like her own daughter. Nobody but her own daughter would get that kind of treatment. Say no more. Get on your knees and kowtow to Her Majesty. Tell her that since she spent the first half of her life raising your children for you, you'll spend the second half caring for her in old age and seeing her through to the end.]
The livestream's spectators: Hahahahaha! Nobody does it like you, my ultimate internet mouthpiece.
Chapter 21
After Jingting successfully sold a batch of merit wooden fish on his livestream, Yun Zhaozhao realized that livestreaming held the key to making money.
But figuring out that key might take a little more thought.
After all, Jingting's wooden fish sales had been a lucky accident. If they deliberately tried selling products on livestream, the results might not be nearly as good. These days, so many things came down to carefully tended flowers refusing to bloom while casually planted willow cuttings grew into shade trees. Take Xu Tingting and Xie Yu, for instance. It had been almost half a month since the two of them took the talisman tube blind boxes away from Clear Breeze Temple. When Yun Zhaozhao contacted them two days ago, she heard they still hadn't sold even ten! Clearly, selling products was difficult in itself, nowhere near as easy as everyone imagined.
Then again, when it came to selling products and increasing sales, it ultimately all came down to "driving traffic." If they couldn't get viewers to spend money and place orders directly in Jingting's livestream, they would have to change their approach and find a way to bring those viewers offline.
After all, getting one person to come wouldn't be a loss, and getting two would be a win for Clear Breeze Temple.
With that in mind, Yun Zhaozhao called Jingting over and asked, "Where did you usually do your livestreams before?"
Jingting felt rather aggrieved at the mention of this. "Temple master, you never set up a dedicated streaming room for me. Of course I just streamed wherever I felt like it!"
Yun Zhaozhao said, "I see. Come with me, then..."
For a moment, Jingting was quite pleasantly surprised. He thought Yun Zhaozhao really had secretly prepared a professional streaming room for him, complete with lighting, beauty-filter equipment, and recording equipment. Instead, Yun Zhaozhao led him straight to the kitchen door.
Previously, Clear Breeze Temple's kitchen had only had a window in one wall, and that window faced the backyard. Yun Zhaozhao felt that when preparing food, the kitchen work area should be as open to view as possible. Ideally, diners should be able to see exactly how their food was made. Not only would this reassure them about what they ate, but it would also make the food more enticing. So when Clear Breeze Temple was being renovated, she had specifically hired someone to knock an opening in the wall facing the front courtyard and install a folding window.
Behind the folding window stood a broad preparation counter where Daoist Chang Kong could knead dough, make pastries, and so on.
Yun Zhaozhao led Jingting to the folding window, then told him seriously, "From now on, stream here. And try to do it when Daoist Chang Kong is cooking..."
Jingting looked at Yun Zhaozhao admiringly, understanding instantly. "So an insult streamer moonlighting as a food streamer?"
Yun Zhaozhao chuckled. "Who doesn't have to consider a side job these days? Look, even our heir to a traditional Chinese medicine family is out in the backyard spreading fertilizer right now!"
Jingting: "..."
Yun Zhaozhao said, "Anyway, remember this. From now on, your streams have one guiding principle: either roast them to death or make them drool to death."
Jingting: "..."
Jingting didn't really mind. Streaming was streaming to him, wherever he did it. There was no difference or difficulty at all. But this did make things a little awkward for Daoist Chang Kong. Despite his fair, plump, burly appearance, he actually had a bit of social anxiety. He was fine dealing with strangers in private, but he became stiff and inhibited in front of a camera.
Later, Jingting came up with a solution. He adjusted the camera angle slightly downward and sat in the frame to stream. That way, aside from Jingting himself, all the camera could capture was Daoist Chang Kong's hands working at the counter and in the kitchen. No matter where Daoist Chang Kong moved, his face would never appear.
Without his face on camera, Daoist Chang Kong instantly felt much more at ease.
That day, while Jingting streamed out front, Daoist Chang Kong fried meatballs behind him. Fried meatballs were something many families prepared over the New Year, and they didn't seem to require much skill. You simply minced the meat finely, added various seasonings, coated it with a little beaten egg and starch, then rolled it into small balls and put them in hot oil to fry. Once they were golden on both sides, you could scoop them out, drain off the oil, and leave them to cool for later.