Anyway, the group played in the medicinal herb garden until dark before heading back into Clear Breeze Temple in high spirits.
After dinner, it was time for the children to call their families.
Mrs. Wang was the first to call Wang Ziyu. It was not because she received special treatment, but simply because she was worried and had been waiting by the phone, watching the clock. The moment calling time began, she called.
After playing in the dirt all day, little Wang Ziyu had a dirty face and dirty clothes, but there was no trace of the miserable expression he had worn when he arrived that morning. Instead, he excitedly reported his accomplishments to his mother. "Mom, guess what? I dug up several earthworms this morning. One of them was as thick as my finger!"
Mrs. Wang said, "That thick? Were you scared?"
Wang Ziyu said, "What's scary about earthworms? Our teacher said earthworms are beneficial insects! Besides, I'm a real man. How could I be scared of a little earthworm?"
Mrs. Wang played along. "Yes, yes, my son's all grown up! What did you play in the afternoon?"
Wang Ziyu said, "We went treasure hunting in the medicinal herb garden this afternoon. It turns out the teacher leading us today is named after a medicinal herb, Banxia. Mom, have you ever seen what pinellia looks like?"
Mrs. Wang said, "No."
Wang Ziyu said, "I took pictures with my phone watch. I'll show you when I get home tomorrow."
The two talked for ages before reluctantly hanging up. Still, the call proved useful. Before it, Mrs. Wang had been a little worried that Wang Ziyu would have trouble adjusting to Clear Breeze Temple, but afterward, she realized she really had been overthinking things.
Sometimes, children were stronger than adults imagined. They seemed to grow up without anyone noticing. Sometimes, it was not that they could not do without adults, but that adults could not do without them.
Only after Lawyer Wang came home from work did he learn that Mrs. Wang had sent their son to Clear Breeze Temple for an educational trip. To be honest, his first reaction was resistance. Others might not know how unreliable Clear Breeze Temple was, but he knew better than anyone. Besides, what could a child learn at a Taoist temple?
Even if he really wanted to learn to draw talismans and chant incantations, Yun Zhaozhao's temple did not know how to do those things either!
However, after Mrs. Wang opened the photos and videos Yun Zhaozhao had posted in the group during the day and showed them to Lawyer Wang one by one, his prejudice against Clear Breeze Temple did ease a little. "Looks like I really underestimated Clear Breeze Temple before. This temple does have something going for it."
Mrs. Wang said, "Well, I think Clear Breeze Temple is great. They just don't have an educational tour for dads yet. If they did, I'd want to send you there too, so you could learn how to cook from Daoist Chang Kong and how to look after children from Temple Master Yun."
Lawyer Wang said, "..." That really wouldn't be necessary.
Chapter 30
In truth, Temple Master Yun did not know the first thing about looking after children. She had simply had Lin Banxia think of every possible way to drain the children's batteries during the day, and then they had all fallen asleep before nine that evening.
After checking that all the children were properly tucked in, Lin Banxia tiptoed out of the room and returned to the courtyard where she usually slept.
When she entered the courtyard, Yun Zhaozhao was watching a livestream there. At first, Lin Banxia thought she was watching Jingting's stream, but after listening closely, she realized Yun Zhaozhao was listening to Daoist Qingxin tell ghost stories.
Lin Banxia said, "..." A temple master who listened to ghost stories to help her sleep really was badass plus.
Seeing Lin Banxia approach, Yun Zhaozhao immediately turned off her phone screen and asked with concern, "Are all the children asleep?"
Lin Banxia said, "Yes! They're asleep."
Yun Zhaozhao said, "Thanks for all your hard work."
Lin Banxia said, "It wasn't really hard work. I find being with the children pretty relaxing. It's just that we've already spent the whole day with them in the back courtyard, so they're probably bored with it. What are we going to arrange for them tomorrow? Surely we're not going to have them watch people burn incense and worship Buddha in the front courtyard?"
Yun Zhaozhao said, "I already contacted your grandpa just now. He said the nearby farmland needs rice seedlings transplanted around this time. Take the children over to try it tomorrow!"
Lin Banxia had not seen her grandfather in a while either, so she was quite happy to hear that and cheerfully went off to bed.
Only after waking up did Lin Banxia remember a very important question. "Can children this young really transplant rice seedlings?"
Yun Zhaozhao was perfectly calm. "It doesn't matter whether they can, as long as their parents can. Have you forgotten? Their families will be coming to pick them up at noon tomorrow. If the children haven't finished transplanting their seedlings by then, do you think their parents will be able to resist jumping in to help?"
Lin Banxia said, "..."
Yun Zhaozhao said, "Of course, it's fine even if they don't help. You can discuss it with your grandpa then and let the parents voluntarily adopt a small plot of wheat or a rice paddy, then put up name signs the children have drawn in those plots. We'll help manage them in the meantime, and when harvest comes, they can come over to experience harvesting rice and wheat. In return, all the parents and children who take part can get a small bag of the rice or wheat they grew themselves for free. Of course, if they want more, they'll have to pay for it. These parents are all regular customers of Clear Breeze Temple, and I have every reason to believe they'll also be major buyers of our rice and wheat."
Lin Banxia no longer knew what to say. It felt as though Yun Zhaozhao had these parents' psychology completely figured out. Even though Lin Banxia already knew what Yun Zhaozhao intended, when she put herself in those parents' shoes, she still felt certain she would pay-and willingly at that.
That was exactly how it turned out. Ten families took part in the activities that day, but eleven families ended up subscribing to rice and wheat-because even the coach driver could not resist preordering the rice from a small patch of paddy.
Clear Breeze Temple's first educational trip could be called a complete success. Not only had they made a small profit, but they had also presold a batch of the rice and wheat grown by the temple.
Next, Clear Breeze Temple would have fruit-picking and tea-picking activities, which were much more interesting than weeding and searching for medicinal herbs. Not only would little children like them, but even the big kids would probably enjoy them.
Once Clear Breeze Temple's fruit ripened, they could also sell their own freshly grown fruit right at the temple, easing the pressure on Daoist Chang Kong to cook. It had to be said that Yun Zhaozhao had made the right move.
Lin Banxia and Grandpa Lin had probably contributed the most to this educational trip. As a reward, Yun Zhaozhao offered to grant Lin Banxia one wish.
Holding her silver needles, Lin Banxia looked at Yun Zhaozhao expectantly. "Can I really wish for anything?"
Yun Zhaozhao said, "...Not just anything. Tell me what it is first. I'll do my best to grant it if I can. If I really can't, we'll discuss it."
Lin Banxia said, "I've been looking through medical texts lately and learned an acupuncture technique that supposedly helps people grow taller. I want to try it."
Yun Zhaozhao said, "...Grow taller? Out of all of us, Jingting is probably the only one who still has any hope of growing taller. Why don't you ask him?"
When Jingting first arrived, he had said he was already an adult. But Yun Zhaozhao had always been skeptical of that. After all, Jingting did not remember what month or day his birthday fell on, and he was so thin and small that his build and appearance made him look like a minor. So Yun Zhaozhao was not talking complete nonsense when she said Jingting was the only one among them who had any hope of growing taller.
Who knew how Lin Banxia managed to talk Jingting into it, but in the end, he actually agreed to let her stick needles in him.
Although Lin Banxia was always talking about sticking needles in people, no one at Clear Breeze Temple had ever actually seen her do it. Even Yun Zhaozhao had only heard about Lin Banxia's great feat of "sticking needles in someone and drawing blood" from other people while enjoying the gossip.
So when they heard that Lin Banxia really was going to give Jingting acupuncture, everyone at Clear Breeze Temple temporarily set aside their work and came running to watch.
With that previous incident as a warning, and of course out of consideration for what little reputation Clear Breeze Temple had left, Yun Zhaozhao did not let Lin Banxia do it in the front courtyard. Instead, she specifically had the two hide in the back courtyard.
Under a fruit tree.
That way, if blood spurted out again later, at least it would not go to waste and could nourish the fruit tree. Supposedly, plants grew especially fast once they came into contact with blood. Who knew whether that was true?
After hearing Yun Zhaozhao's shocking remarks, Jingting was so frightened that he stopped rolling up his trouser legs and lifted a leg to run. Holding him down, Lin Banxia protested to Yun Zhaozhao, "Temple Master, that's not fair. The reason I made someone bleed back then was that I'd only just started practicing. It was purely a lack of skill. I've been studying and practicing hard every day lately, so I've definitely improved more than a little. Besides, I'm needling his calf this time, not his thigh. There definitely won't be any problems."
Yun Zhaozhao said, "Just take it easy. We still want this kid Jingting around! It's fine if he really can't grow any taller. We won't hold it against him. If you cripple him with your needles, though, we'll be in trouble."
Daoist Chang Kong watched from the side with schadenfreude. "Anyone studying medicine needs one or two practice subjects around. Since you can't resist, Brother Jingting, just lie flat and enjoy it! If Lay Practitioner Banxia really masters this divine acupuncture skill, it'll count as a blessing for all living beings."
Jingting said, "Since you have so much to say, why don't you take my place?"
Daoist Chang Kong said, "Absolutely not."
Amid this cheerful clamor, Lin Banxia solemnly opened the medical book in her hands. For some reason, it was as though a martial arts master had opened a secret martial arts manual before them. Everyone fell silent, quietly watching Lin Banxia leaf through the medical text.
Perhaps she flipped through it for thirty seconds? Or perhaps a minute? In any case, she soon found the page she wanted. Yun Zhaozhao gave it a quick glance and saw various diagrams of human acupuncture points, with densely packed small print underneath. It probably taught people how to locate the acupuncture points accurately.