It was still hard to tell what Clear Breeze Temple's team spirit was, but they could get a head start on team uniforms.
Daoist Chang Kong and Jingting could be set aside for now, since those two actually had team uniforms already. Not only did their Daoist robes match, they even had advertising slogans on them!
But apart from Daoist Chang Kong and Jingting, nobody else at Clear Breeze Temple had a uniform. More importantly, the remaining girls, including Yun Zhaozhao, weren't Daoists, so wearing Daoist robes outright wouldn't really be appropriate.
In the end, Lin Banxia came up with an idea for Yun Zhaozhao: they could all wear ruqun, a type of hanfu. The short upper garment could be white, while the skirt tied around the waist could be blue-green. Once the outfits were made, they could serve as Clear Breeze Temple's staff uniforms from then on.
Yun Zhaozhao thought that made perfect sense, so she left the matter to Lin Banxia.
As it turned out, Lin Banxia not only handled it quickly, but did a great job too. She even added little touches to the skirts based on everyone's personality or surname.
For example, the ruqun she designed for Yun Zhaozhao had auspicious clouds along the hem to suit Yun Zhaozhao's surname. The one she designed for herself had pinellia patterns along the hem.
In any case, when the finished outfits arrived in the mail, everyone knew which one belonged to them.
Xiao Yao had already thought interning at Clear Breeze Temple was pretty wonderful. Now that she had her new staff uniform, that happiness climbed another notch, so much so that she couldn't resist showing off in the group chat again:
[Image.jpg]
[Image.jpg.]
[Guys, I'm happy again! Interning at Clear Breeze Temple means not only having land to farm, but pretty clothes to wear too.]
Xiao Yao was lively and outgoing, and had always been well liked in class, so when they saw her messages, quite a few classmates who were usually on good terms with her expressed their genuine envy.
But someone also used the anonymous feature to mock her in the group: [Getting this excited over a few little perks? You really were born to be a corporate slave.]
Xiao Yao had been happily showing off her new outfit in the group, only to unexpectedly be told she was born to be a corporate slave. She was so angry she nearly coughed up blood.
Unfortunately, the other person had posted anonymously, so she didn't even know who had done it and could only sulk on her own.
Seeing her crouched on the ground holding her skirt and looking glum, Lin Banxia thought she was unhappy with something about it. She walked over and asked, "What's wrong, Xiao Yao? Are you unhappy with the skirt? If you are, I can speak to the shop owner and ask her to alter it."
Xiao Yao shook her head. "No. I just think I shouldn't have shown off in the group. I was so happy when I got the skirt that I couldn't resist saying a few things in the class chat, and someone snapped at me anonymously. Ugh, it's all my fault. Why can't I ever keep anything to myself?"
"Could I take a look at the messages?" Lin Banxia asked tentatively.
Lately, Xiao Yao had been working with Lin Banxia every day, and even took her lunchtime naps with her, so deep down, she trusted Lin Banxia quite a bit. Hearing the question, she didn't give it much thought. She simply opened the group chat and handed Lin Banxia her phone.
Lin Banxia skimmed through it, then suggested, "Just reply, 'Once we enter the workforce, we're all corporate slaves. But at least I'm a corporate slave with land to farm and pretty skirts to wear. Unlike you, a corporate slave who only knows how to hide behind anonymity and bad-mouth people.'"
Given Xiao Yao's personality, she actually tended to avoid conflict whenever possible. In the past, when faced with similar snide remarks, she might have hidden away to sulk for a while and then gotten over it herself. But today, perhaps because the other person had gone a little too far, and partly because she had Lin Banxia backing her up, she acted on impulse and really did send exactly what Lin Banxia had suggested to the group.
But the moment she sent it, she grew nervous and regretted it. She even felt the urge to retract the message.
By then, however, someone in the group had already given Xiao Yao a thumbs-up, and once that person took the lead, lots of other classmates followed.
As for the classmate who had posted anonymously, whether Xiao Yao's comeback had left them speechless or they felt guilty, they didn't say another word afterward.
For some reason, Xiao Yao found that rather satisfying.
So she could clap back directly when things like this happened! She knew she could learn new things at Clear Breeze Temple!
Lin Banxia not only taught Xiao Yao how to clap back, but also shared Jingting's account with her. "Listen to Daoist Priest Jingting's livestreams more often when you have time."
Xiao Yao had never watched Jingting's livestreams before. Since coming to Clear Breeze Temple, the person she interacted with most was Lin Banxia, followed by Yun Zhaozhao. She really didn't know much about Jingting.
When Lin Banxia recommended listening to Jingting, she instinctively assumed Lin Banxia wanted her to learn from Daoist Priest Jingting's generosity and serenity.
Instead, Lin Banxia sneered. "Him? Generous and serene? If he hadn't joined Daoism first, he'd have fallen to the demonic path for sure. If you don't believe me, listen to a couple of his livestreams and you'll understand."
Xiao Yao was thoroughly confused, but she obediently tapped follow anyway.
On the day Reporter Cui came to interview Yun Zhaozhao, everyone at Clear Breeze Temple put on their new clothes. Even Yunlai, the little rooster in the backyard, had a new headband forcibly fitted onto him by Lin Banxia.
Yun Zhaozhao first gave Reporter Cui a tour of Clear Breeze Temple, inside and out, then began answering his questions.
Reporter Cui's questions weren't particularly tricky or strange. The first few, in particular, were fairly standard, such as why she had chosen to open a Daoist temple, or whether she had any good advice on employment for young people.
Yun Zhaozhao's answers were impeccably high-sounding. She was the very picture of a press spokesperson.
As the interview went on, though, they reached the key questions. For example, what advantages and disadvantages did Clear Breeze Temple have compared with other Daoist temples?
Yun Zhaozhao really wanted to tell Reporter Cui, "Clear Breeze Temple has hardly any major advantages. It's mostly disadvantages, so all we can do is turn those disadvantages into advantages." But she certainly couldn't speak that plainly, or it wouldn't serve to promote Clear Breeze Temple.
So Yun Zhaozhao glossed over the difficult parts. "I think Clear Breeze Temple is like me, a university graduate who has only just left campus. If we have to compare our advantages with other Daoist temples, it's that we're young enough to have limitless possibilities ahead of us. And our strength is also our weakness. Because Clear Breeze Temple is so young, we lack both accumulated knowledge and experience. But as the saying goes, life is an open wilderness, not a railway track. I believe Clear Breeze Temple's future will certainly be full of wonders..."
Reporter Cui had probably heard too many similar speeches to react much, but the people from Clear Breeze Temple watching the interview couldn't resist clapping like seals for Yun Zhaozhao.
Jingting said, "Sure enough, when it comes to elevating the discussion, we need the temple master herself."
Lin Banxia said, "Why else would she be the temple master while we're just employees? Her thinking is on a whole different level from ours."
Daoist Chang Kong said, "Well said. Give the temple master an extra chicken drumstick tonight."
Xiao Yao said, "That's our Clear Breeze Temple mascot for you."
Everyone: "..."
Although Reporter Cui's goal was to interview Yun Zhaozhao, their show covered local livelihood issues, so they also had to focus on how Clear Breeze Temple was addressing those issues in the area.
The difficulty university graduates faced in finding employment was currently a particularly vexing social problem, so after interviewing Yun Zhaozhao, Reporter Cui also made a point of interviewing Xiao Yao and her classmates, who had recently come to intern at Clear Breeze Temple.
Xiao Yao's classmates were fairly restrained, making a few factual remarks, but Xiao Yao lavished praise on both Clear Breeze Temple and Yun Zhaozhao.
After finishing the interviews, Reporter Cui took quite a few photos around Clear Breeze Temple. Naturally, the focus was on scenes showing how everyone there had found work and a vocation that suited them, and was enjoying it.
To be honest, that day's interviews had, to some extent, changed Reporter Cui's understanding too. His previous impression of Daoist temples was that they were extremely staid, solemn places, where everyone looked grave and never smiled or joked. But Clear Breeze Temple was completely different from the temples he had imagined. For one thing, its range of operations was nothing like what he associated with a Daoist temple. For another, everyone, from the temple master herself to the temple's employees, looked happy and carefree.
After the interviews, Yun Zhaozhao made a point of inviting Reporter Cui to stay for lunch at the temple. If he had only had a somewhat favorable impression of Clear Breeze Temple before the meal, afterward, that impression had been upgraded entirely-it was a dream workplace.
After all, if a workplace with even such delicious cafeteria food wasn't a dream workplace, what was???
Beside him, Jingting kept adding points in Clear Breeze Temple's favor. "We don't even have to clock in at Clear Breeze Temple!"
"We get bonuses all the time at Clear Breeze Temple, too!"
"We have freedom of speech at Clear Breeze Temple!"
Reporter Cui joked, "...Are you still hiring, then? How about I just come straight here for work tomorrow?"
Jingting turned to Yun Zhaozhao. "Temple Master, hurry up and get Reporter Cui a team uniform. If we don't have any Daoist robes, one of those skirt outfits you're wearing will do."
Reporter Cui: "..." There was really no need to be quite so enthusiastic.
Chapter 43
Before Yun Zhaozhao appeared on the local affairs interview program, only Xu Ping and a few other university classmates knew she was working at a Daoist temple. But once the interview aired, everyone knew, whether they were supposed to or not.
What was more, it wasn't Yun Zhaozhao's classmates who first learned she worked at a Daoist temple. It was their parents, who then turned around and told her classmates. After all, Yun Zhaozhao's classmates rarely watched this sort of local affairs news. They mostly followed entertainment gossip, whereas their parents paid more attention to local livelihood issues and current affairs.
For example, there was her university classmate Xie Kai, who had once
had a crush
on Yun Zhaozhao for a while. He learned that she worked at a Daoist temple from his father. As for how his father had recognized Yun Zhaozhao as Xie Kai's university classmate, Xie Kai could only put it down to parents all having special people-recognition skills.