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Besides shaping the roses into the character for "wind," Xiao Yao had originally wanted to trim all the trees in Clear Breeze Temple into the same shape.
This time, however, Yun Zhaozhao politely turned her down.
Yun Zhaozhao felt that the Dao followed nature. What was nature? Growing wild and free-that was nature. Besides, a little wildness actually made trees more pleasing to look at. If every tree looked the same, where was the fun in that?
Anyway, whenever she had nothing to do, her favorite thing was to lie on a lounge chair and stare at the ancient ginkgo tree in Clear Breeze Temple. Looking up from below, she felt as though the tree were the veins of the sky: the more freely and wildly it grew, the more beautiful it was.
Xiao Yao did not insist. When Yun Zhaozhao told her not to trim the trees, she obediently picked up her big shears and went to prune the little potted plants in Clear Breeze Temple.
The flower shop owner had thrown in those little potted plants when they bought the roses. They were mostly succulents, mint, and the like. Yun Zhaozhao had never taken particular care of them, only watering them when she happened to remember and otherwise leaving them on various steps. Yet, unexpectedly, they were flourishing just like the roses.
Previously, these potted plants had grown as haphazardly as the roses. Now that they had met Xiao Yao, she trimmed every pot neatly, and lined up together, they looked like soldiers in formation.
Looking at those potted soldiers, Yun Zhaozhao felt that Xiao Yao definitely had a bit of OCD. Still, someone like that really was suited to gardening.
A week later, the plot in the backyard that Yun Zhaozhao had promised Xiao Yao was finally cleared and tilled.
Xiao Yao made Yun Zhaozhao a shopping list of the flower and tree seeds she wanted to buy. Yun Zhaozhao knew nothing about flowers or trees, so she only glanced at the total and unit prices. Finding them acceptable, she gave Xiao Yao free rein to get to work.
Once Xiao Yao left, Yun Zhaozhao forwarded the bill to Lawyer Wang.
Come to think of it, since Clear Breeze Temple had been earning its own money lately, Yun Zhaozhao had not asked Lawyer Wang for reimbursement in some time.
This time, Lawyer Wang took half an hour to reply: [You're growing flowers at Clear Breeze Temple now, too? Planning to open a Clear Breeze Temple botanical garden?]
Yun Zhaozhao: [You know what? That's actually a great suggestion.]
Lawyer Wang: [...] This girl did not seem to understand sarcasm very well.
Afraid that if he kept talking, Yun Zhaozhao really would open a Clear Breeze Temple botanical garden-this girl really was capable of anything-Lawyer Wang did not dare make any more snide remarks and obediently reimbursed her for the flowers and plant seeds.
Of course, reimbursement was one thing, but he still had to give the necessary reminder. "While you're branching out into other businesses, don't neglect the temple's main business!"
Yun Zhaozhao said honestly, "Don't worry. The ghost-catching mission is also making arduous progress."
Lawyer Wang was quite interested. "...Oh? What stage have you reached?"
Looking at Daoist Priest Jingting, who was still holding a horse stance nearby, Yun Zhaozhao said faintly, "We've reached the horse-stance stage."
Lawyer Wang: "...???" Did catching ghosts have anything whatsoever to do with holding a horse stance?
No, rather, where were you going to find ghosts in this day and age? You had to believe in science, Temple Master Yun!
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Jingting was very determined to train. Now, even when he berated people on his livestream, he did it while holding a horse stance.
And since people were more prone to bad tempers when tired, his insults were much more concise than before.
Previously, his signature style had been rambling on and on. Now, it was cutting straight through the mess with a sharp blade.
Of course, he had his gentle moments, too.
For instance, the person seeking help online that day was a parent who claimed their child was driving them mad. This parent said they had disciplined their child strictly from an early age, hoping the child would rise above the rest and bring honor to the family. In elementary school, the child had done them proud, placing near the top of the class on every exam. But later, perhaps after entering a rebellious adolescent phase, the child stopped doing homework, talked back to parents and teachers every day, and became a habitual liar... This parent said they felt all their efforts had yielded nothing and even regretted having the child, then asked Jingting to give the child a good scolding to bring them to their senses.
After listening, Jingting said earnestly, "People keep telling you not to push your kids so hard. If it works, you hand your child over to the country and grow old alone. If it doesn't, your child becomes rebellious and depressed, and your household is in chaos every day... With that time, you might as well come to Clear Breeze Temple for something nice to eat and drink. Failing that, you could practice horse stance with me. This thing doesn't just exercise your body; it helps you lose weight, too. I feel like I've gotten thinner from doing it lately."
As he spoke, Jingting suddenly turned toward Daoist Chang Kong, who was busy cooking noodles in the kitchen behind him. "Brother Changkong, want to join me in a horse-stance weight-loss challenge?"
Stirring the braised topping in the pot with a spatula, Daoist Chang Kong said calmly, "A few years ago, I thought about losing weight, too. Then I went all the way from sixty-five kilos to my current hundred kilos. Personally, I'm quite satisfied with those weight-loss results so far. Oh, would you like more topping on your braised pork noodles, or less?"
Instantly forgetting that he had just been discussing weight loss, Jingting was led straight off topic. "More, please! I want something with a slightly stronger flavor."
The viewers in the livestream, however, spent ages counting on their fingers as they worked through Daoist Chang Kong's words, before finally bursting out with comments:
[Is he playing me? Who hasn't dieted their way from fifty kilos to their current sixty?]
[Reverse weight loss. Instant results.]
[When it comes to weight loss, I bow only to Daoist Chang Kong.]
[Asking a chef to lose weight is as hard as asking me to become the richest person in the world.]
[I won't say who's feeling personally attacked.]
Once Jingting finished his horse stance, he left the livestream running and went straight into showing everyone how he ate braised pork noodles. The viewers who had just been enthusiastically discussing weight loss cursed inwardly while opening their food delivery apps.
Partway through his noodles, Jingting was suddenly stopped by a woman holding a baby. At first glance, she looked somewhat familiar, but he did not think much of it. Only when she spoke did he realize who she was.
It was actually the first female lay devotee he had received when he first came to Clear Breeze Temple. Of course, she was also the person who had led him into his proxy-scolding business.
Back then, it was because he had berated this woman's husband for her that he had embarked on this road of no return... no, this road to riches.
Only, she had been heavily pregnant then, and now the baby had already been born.
Jingting no longer even remembered her name, but she clearly remembered him vividly. "Daoist Priest Jingting, long time no see."
Jingting set down his chopsticks and made a show of returning her greeting. "Long time no see. Have you been well, lay devotee?"
She said, "Thank you for giving my husband a scolding back then. Although it didn't solve any practical problems afterward, you really did wake me up and help me understand that when I'm angry, I need to let it out. Otherwise, I'm only making myself sick with anger. Like you said, losing your temper might not solve the problem, but it does let you vent. So afterward, whenever I was angry, I let it out right away. And guess what? Although everyone in the family thinks I have a bad temper, they're actually a little wary of me now. It's not like before, when anyone could criticize me."
Jingting was very gratified to hear this. "That's good, that's good."
She said, "I came today with a presumptuous request. I'd like you to help give my child a name."
Jingting said, "Me? Name your child?"
She said, "Yes, yes. In a sense, you're my child's lifesaver. Otherwise, with the mental state I was in back then, who knows if one day I might have lost all hope and done something to hurt myself or my child? In any case, I think having you choose this name would be truly meaningful. Besides, there's a custom back in my hometown that says having a Daoist priest or Buddhist monk bestow a name can keep a child healthy and safe. It's only a saying, but I thought we might as well try."
Jingting said, "Then please give me some time to think."
She said, "There's no rush. Take your time. Oh, and this is a small token of my appreciation. Please do accept it."
As she spoke, she took a red envelope from the baby's swaddling and pressed it into Jingting's hand. Holding the red envelope, Jingting looked at the mother with her baby, then turned toward Yun Zhaozhao nearby. They each saw the same words in the other's eyes: Well, well, business coming right to our door!
Chapter 40
Actually, that mother had given Jingting far too much credit by praising him as a person of virtue and prestige. Never mind Jingting-even everyone in Clear Breeze Temple put together had nothing whatsoever to do with those words.
Still, as the saying went, when business came knocking, they should take it if they could. Otherwise, it would be far too unlike Yun Zhaozhao.
Among the people at Clear Breeze Temple, Yun Zhaozhao had the highest level of education. But this was her first time naming someone, too.
Still, it did not matter if she did not know how. She could learn. If she could learn fortune-telling and ghost-catching, how hard could choosing a name be?
With that thought, Yun Zhaozhao simply gathered everyone at Clear Breeze Temple during their lunch break for a naming conference. Considering that an extra person meant extra help, she invited Xiao Yao this time, too. After all, Xiao Yao was a university student, even if she was only in her third year, but that was not important.
It had to be said that Jingting and Xiao Yao really were two naming geniuses. Since the child's father was surnamed Xie, one of them named the child "Xie Le," while the other named the child "Xie Xie."
Yun Zhaozhao said, "...I see you two really have no intention of earning this money!"
Lin Banxia, on the other hand, offered a relatively reasonable naming method. "You could name the child after a Chinese medicinal herb, like me. Xie Nanxing, for example. Nanxing is warm and pungent in nature and can be used to treat conditions such as stroke and infantile convulsions."
After hearing it, Yun Zhaozhao thought it really did sound quite nice. "Not bad. We can keep it as an option. If no one has a better suggestion, we'll use the one Lin Banxia chose."
Daoist Chang Kong thought for a moment and said, "Since this lay devotee is willing to have Clear Breeze Temple help choose a name, perhaps she'd prefer something closer to a Daoist name. I think we could use the single character Rang, or simply name the child Qingxuan."