Yun Zhaozhao: "..." She had to admit, people really did tend to get pessimistic when they were too tired!
Although Daoist Chang Kong's thinking was indeed a little pessimistic, Yun Zhaozhao thought it over and felt he had a point. After all, neither making food nor producing merchandise would deliver results in a short time. As for hiring someone specifically to help Daoist Chang Kong with odd jobs, that was even less necessary, since she and Jingting were enough for that.
Yun Zhaozhao said, "Then there's nothing for it. We'll have to limit purchases."
Clear Breeze Temple's purchase limits came so quickly and suddenly that not only had Yun Zhaozhao herself not expected them, even the temple's original shareholders hadn't seen them coming.
Especially Xu Fugui.
He had previously come to Clear Breeze Temple for a feast almost every month, though never on a fixed date. But regardless of when he came, he could almost always enjoy the freshest ingredients of the season. Yet when he arrived in the middle of the afternoon that day, he was met with the terrible news of purchase limits.
Xu Fugui was close to tears. "How could a perfectly good foodie temple suddenly start limiting purchases?"
Yun Zhaozhao spread her hands. "Can't be helped. Our head chef is exhausted and needs rest. But there aren't any limits on pastries or Clear Breeze Temple merchandise at the moment. You can buy as much as you want, while supplies last."
Xu Fugui said, "I just want a piping-hot meal fresh from Daoist Chang Kong's wok."
Yun Zhaozhao said, "Then you won't be getting that today. We hardly even let Daoist Chang Kong cook dinner anymore."
Xu Fugui asked, "Then who cooks?"
Yun Zhaozhao tipped her chin toward Jingting, who was sweeping the courtyard. "Jingting handles the cooking, and Daoist Chang Kong gives instructions."
Hearing his name, Jingting knew Yun Zhaozhao was talking about him. He happily put down his broom and waved an arm at them, even greeting Xu Fugui enthusiastically. "I'm cooking dinner tonight. Would you like to stay and try my cooking, lay devotee?"
Xu Fugui was already unwilling to leave without tasting Daoist Chang Kong's cooking. Then he thought about how Daoist Priest Jingting was also a priest at Clear Breeze Temple, so perhaps his cooking was decent too. Besides, Daoist Chang Kong would be guiding him from the sidelines. How bad could it possibly be?
So he gladly stayed.
To feel more justified about scrounging a meal, Xu Fugui even went to the back courtyard that afternoon and spent ages helping Lin Banxia and Grandpa Lin pull weeds.
But when dinner was served, he was completely dumbfounded.
Some people's food looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful, and tasted even better than it looked. Daoist Chang Kong's, for example.
Other people's food didn't look like much, and tasted even worse than it looked. Jingting's, for example.
Jingting himself didn't think it was particularly bad. He even thought Xu Fugui was being rather picky. "Isn't it enough that it's cooked? Why are your standards so high? Besides, I'm not charging you."
Xu Fugui said meekly, "I'd rather you charged me and made the food taste a little better. This is practically murder without the robbery!"
Jingting: "..."
Jingting had wanted to prove himself to Xu Fugui, but perhaps Daoist Chang Kong's cooking had spoiled his palate lately. He used to be able to eat anything, yet now, after two bites of his own cooking, even he couldn't stomach any more.
In the end, Daoist Chang Kong couldn't take it anymore and went back into the kitchen to make a few dishes. Only then did everyone manage to get through dinner.
Previously, Yun Zhaozhao had focused more on how to attract visitors. Now that this issue had been provisionally resolved, Clear Breeze Temple had clearly encountered a new problem: once they had attracted people, how could they successfully turn those visitors into actual revenue?
Early on, when visitor numbers were low, Daoist Chang Kong's food and some novel Clear Breeze Temple merchandise had been enough to convert those visitors into revenue. But as the crowds kept growing, relying solely on Daoist Chang Kong's food and that merchandise was nowhere near enough anymore.
How did the temple where Daoist Qingxin lived make money?
Hoping to learn from him, Yun Zhaozhao took the initiative to contact Daoist Qingxin and said she wanted to visit his temple.
Daoist Qingxin naturally welcomed her, so Yun Zhaozhao picked a sunny, breezy day, got into a car, and went to Qingxin Temple, where he lived.
Qingxin Temple wasn't particularly far from Clear Breeze Temple, and its name even made it sound like a sister temple. Unlike Clear Breeze Temple, however, Qingxin Temple was a very proper Daoist temple. On the day Yun Zhaozhao visited, she happened to see its abbot leading a group of Daoist priests in chanting scriptures and praying for blessings. A large crowd watched from the sidelines, leaving Yun Zhaozhao both envious and slightly self-conscious.
Daoist Qingxin took Yun Zhaozhao around Qingxin Temple. As they toured the grounds, she quietly paid attention to what she saw and discovered that the temple received a great many donations from its devotees.
Yun Zhaozhao's Clear Breeze Temple had received donations before, when Xie Yu's relatives from the village slated for demolition had come to offer the first incense of the new year. Since then, however, income from that source had been pitifully small. That was understandable, though. Clear Breeze Temple's name recognition and social influence were still quite modest, so it was understandable that devotees weren't particularly inclined to donate.
Besides, the whole point of this sort of thing was that it was voluntary. It wasn't something Yun Zhaozhao could dictate.
So that avenue could be set aside for now.
As they walked, they suddenly came face-to-face with a group of little Daoist priests in Daoist robes. Actually, calling them little Daoist priests wasn't quite accurate. They looked more like a group of young lay devotees attending meditation sessions at Qingxin Temple. The children were so adorable that not only did Yun Zhaozhao find herself unable to move on, even the passing worshippers couldn't help stopping to watch.
If donations won't work, perhaps offering classes is worth considering, Yun Zhaozhao thought. Curious, she asked Daoist Qingxin, "Daoist, do you charge for meditation classes like these, or are they free?"
But the moment Daoist Qingxin spoke, he shattered Yun Zhaozhao's last shred of hope. "They're usually free. Besides these meditation classes for children and teenagers, we also offer meditation classes for young adult lay devotees. Those are generally taught free of charge too..."
Yun Zhaozhao said sheepishly, "Qingxin Temple really does have deep pockets." Unlike their Clear Breeze Temple, which had held just one food festival and had never been able to hold another. That one hadn't even been entirely free; many of the tourists had paid.
Daoist Qingxin was very modest. "Compared with True Yang Temple, our temple hardly has deep pockets. Their monthly income from conducting rituals alone exceeds all our income combined."
Conducting rituals... Yun Zhaozhao felt that could be a good source of income. She could discuss it properly with everyone at Clear Breeze Temple once she got back.
Yun Zhaozhao spent a day touring the temple and gathered quite a lot of information. After returning that evening, she called a meeting and shared everything she had learned with Jingting, Daoist Chang Kong, and the others, hoping to hear their opinions.
Daoist Chang Kong said, "We should forget about conducting rituals. Those generally require a Daoist with spiritual cultivation to preside over them. My cultivation is too shallow. At most, I could cook a banquet."
Compared with Daoist Chang Kong's caution, Jingting was quite enthusiastic. "We could do rituals! I can handle the funeral wailing. As for all the instruments and singing, I learned the erhu from my master for a while when I was little. I can just about manage some mournful howling on it..."
Yun Zhaozhao: "..."
Since Lin Banxia wasn't yet officially part of Clear Breeze Temple and could at most count as an unofficial member, she had been quietly listening throughout the meeting without saying a word.
But as she listened, her eyes suddenly lit up. She had dreamed of practicing acupuncture all these years, but unfortunately, her grandfather had never agreed. If Clear Breeze Temple really did start conducting rituals and delivering souls, wouldn't that give her the perfect test subjects for her acupuncture dream?
With that thought, she couldn't help leaning over and saying earnestly to Yun Zhaozhao, "Abbess, if necessary, I could give the deceased some acupuncture to see whether there's any point in trying to resuscitate them. It wouldn't matter if anything went wrong with the needles, since they'd already be dead. And if I happened to bring one back to life... then our Clear Breeze Temple would really become famous!"
Yun Zhaozhao: "..." Thank you, but I don't think that's necessary right now.
Chapter 25
Yun Zhaozhao had always believed in two sayings. One was to increase income and cut expenses; the other was that people shouldn't keep their eyes fixed only on their own little patch of land.
Increasing income and cutting expenses was fairly easy for Clear Breeze Temple at present. After all, there still weren't many people living there, and everyone's food and drink didn't cost that much.
As for the second point...
Yun Zhaozhao thought that since she couldn't keep her eyes fixed only on her own little patch of land, she needed to take a longer view and look at the land beside Clear Breeze Temple.
As mentioned before, most of the young people in the village where the vegetable-delivering auntie lived had left to work elsewhere, leaving many elderly, frail, sick, and disabled residents at home. Although some were still sturdy and healthy enough to work the fields, like the auntie, most of the village's farmland was currently sitting idle.
Leaving those fields to lie abandoned was itself a waste of resources. Yun Zhaozhao wondered whether she could discuss it with the villagers and rent all that farmland in Clear Breeze Temple's name, then hire people to plant grain or wheat. Failing that, they could even plant tea trees.
After all, the Clear Breeze Tea from Clear Breeze Mountain had something of a reputation locally. If they grew it well, it could become a very substantial source of income for Clear Breeze Temple in the future.
Yun Zhaozhao now had some spare money. Originally, she had planned to use it to pay off Clear Breeze Temple's outstanding debts. After all, being debt-free was a weight off one's shoulders! But the incident when Granny's supposed grandnephew had come to try to seize Clear Breeze Temple had sounded an alarm for Yun Zhaozhao. It had made her realize that sometimes debt wasn't merely debt, but a protective talisman too.
With that protective talisman, there would be far fewer people coveting Clear Breeze Temple.
Yun Zhaozhao didn't want the Clear Breeze Temple she had worked so hard to revive to end up in someone else's hands. Although Lawyer Wang had told her there was almost no chance of that happening, it was always better to be safe than sorry.