Mr. Wang said irritably, "Go away, go away! I don't care about your Clear Breeze Temple or Liangfeng Temple. My place is perfectly fine; I don't need you Daoist priests to bother with this..."
Jingting, "We were just asked to do this. We came today to take a look, and if everything's alright, we can go back and report..."
The reason Jingting was making conversation was simply to allow enough time for Daoist Qingxin to see if Mr. Wang had been possessed by any evil spirits or encountered anything unclean. So, while talking to Mr. Wang, he kept an eye on Daoist Qingxin's movements.
Then, Daoist Qingxin suddenly made a hand gesture and gently patted Mr. Wang on the shoulder.
It was a very light tap, almost like a gust of wind, but the side of Mr. Wang's shoulder that was hit felt as if it were weighed down by a thousand pounds, and he slumped down instantly. If Jingting hadn't caught him quickly, Jingting would have suspected that Mr. Wang would have fallen to the ground.
After helping the person to their feet, Jingting couldn't help but turn to Daoist Qingxin and whisper, "Why did you have to hit them for no reason? You're afraid they might fall and try to scam you!"
Daoist Qingxin looked enigmatic. "He wouldn't."
Jingting felt that Daoist Qingxin being a bit pretentious at this moment. But he had to admit that he was quite successful at it, because Mr. Wang really didn't say anything, and even let the two of them listen downstairs for a while longer.
Meanwhile, Daoist Qingxin and Jingting could clearly hear the noise coming from upstairs—it has to be said, this was truly a game of villains, not a single good guy among them.
Jingting then went upstairs and gave that factory tycoon a good scolding. After scolding him, she had Daoist Qingxin deliver a powerful blow to him from afar.
The second-generation factory owner didn't expect things to be exposed so quickly, nor did he expect that Daoist Qingxin was so capable, so he dared not speak out despite his anger throughout the whole process.
Although the matter was resolved fairly evenly, with both sides bearing equal blame, it served as a reminder to Jingting that he shouldn't act impulsively when encountering requests for help to insult others. He might find himself caught in a situation where the thief cries "stop thief!" If things turn out differently, not only Jingting but also Clear Breeze Temple would be embarrassed.
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Last time, we mentioned that Yun Zhaozhao and Jingting went to University A to see Xie Yu and Xu Tingting set up a stall. As a result, a group of art students who were sketching said they wanted to visit Clear Breeze Temple. So, during this period, students carrying huge drawing boards could be seen everywhere in Clear Breeze Temple.
Sometimes it's one person, and sometimes it's a small group.
There is no entrance fee to Clear Breeze Temple. Although there are many more people than when Yun Zhaozhao first took over, it is still relatively quiet compared to those large temples.
Most importantly, there are quite a few places in Clear Breeze Temple worth painting. In the front yard there are pavilions, towers, eaves and temples; in the back yard there are fruit trees and hedges, as well as herb gardens and flower gardens; in the kitchen there are even Daoist priests busily preparing human meals... I feel that every scene painted is quite vivid and lifelike.
Therefore, many art students are not restricted by where they are. As long as they see a picture they like, they will set up their easel, put down their Xiao Ma, and start painting.
Yun Zhaozhao was quite curious about this phenomenon. Sometimes when she had nothing to do, she would stroll over with her hands behind her back to look at the paintings made by these art students, and even secretly make some comments in her mind.
Actually, the increase in art students hasn't had a significant impact on Clear Breeze Temple's sales. Even though the paper, brushes, and drawing boards these art students use seem expensive, they are very frugal. Sometimes they don't even buy an extra bottle of water, bringing their own in large glasses.
However, Daoist Chang Kong also has ways to deal with students like this.
He prepared a large pot of chilled plum juice and sold it cheaply.
A small cup costs only 2 yuan, and a large cup costs only 3 yuan.
It was shortly after the start of summer, and the plums on Clear Breeze Mountain were plentiful. Most people found them too sour and wouldn't pick them. More importantly, many plum and green plum trees grew on wild paths, which people were too afraid to pick. Therefore, the cost of ingredients for the sour plum drink at Clear Breeze Temple was very low: free plums, free well water, and a little white sugar.
So even if you only sell it for two or three yuan, you can still make a profit; it's just a matter of how much.
Since green plums are not suitable for eating directly, Daoist Chang Kong crushes the green plums, coats them with white sugar, and makes them into sweet and sour green plum snacks.
There were any leftover green plums, so they were pickled and fermented to make plum wine.
Art students can refuse plum wine and plum snacks, but almost no one can resist a cup of chilled plum juice that costs only two or three yuan.
Furthermore, Daoist Chang Kong simply placed the bucket containing the plum juice outside, using a tap connection. Everyone could fill it themselves, and even get a refill if they wanted.
This led to even more people buying them.
Although there were a few people who tried to take advantage of others by using their own cups to offer help, overall, everyone's manners were quite good.
Yun Zhaozhao also supports Daoist Chang Kong occasionally selling these kinds of drinks at Clear Breeze Temple, which aren't particularly profitable but are very popular. This would make Clear Breeze Temple seem less commercial and more lively.
For this reason, she even went to the backyard herself and asked Lin Banxia to move some mosquito-repelling Chinese herbs to the front yard. Especially next to the stone benches filled with elderly people and children, or next to the art students who were painting, she could put a couple more pots.
While working, Lin Banxia couldn't help but tease Yun Zhaozhao: "I didn't realize you were so humane. No wonder you've been my devoted follower for so long. Although you're making money, it seems like every penny you've earned has been quite clean."
Yun Zhaozhao: "Of course, making money and being a good person don't conflict. Besides, I think if money could really choose its own path, it would definitely prefer to stay in my hands, since I'm good-looking."
Chapter 51
After Yun Zhaozhao finished discussing her views on money with Lin Banxia, she took out all the spare cash she had on hand and counted it off before going to bed that night, just like a little miser.
When she first took over Clear Breeze Temple, she had practically no spare money. Later, Lawyer Wang gave her some, and she also earned some money with the help of Daoist Chang Kong. At her peak, she had about 500,000 yuan in spare money.
However, she later spent money to contract a tea garden and nearly 100 acres of farmland. In addition, there were various other expenses, such as decorating and renovating Clear Breeze Temple, and purchasing flower seeds, fruit trees and medicinal herbs. In short, after careful calculation, she now has less than 200,000 yuan left.
If this money is used for food and drinks, it certainly seems like a lot, but if it's used for major expenses, it's definitely not enough.
What constitutes a large expenditure?
For example, Yun Zhaozhao has been thinking about expanding Clear Breeze Temple recently.
As mentioned before, Clear Breeze Temple is dilapidated, old, and extremely small. Despite having three courtyards inside and out, and now with the addition of a backyard for planting flowers and fruit trees, each courtyard combined is only about 100 square meters at most. It didn't feel crowded when there were fewer people, but now that there are a few more visitors, Yun Zhaozhao feels that the place is really too small.
Putting everything else aside, there's no way to find a quiet place in the courtyard to rest and take a nap. Every time, you have to wait until all the guests at Clear Breeze Temple have left and it's completely dark outside before you can get a peaceful night.
Speaking of housing, Yun Zhaozhao has another dream: to buy more properties in the city.
It has to be said that human desires keep expanding like this. At first, Yun Zhaozhao only wanted a free place to live in this city, but now, she is no longer content with just a free place to live. She hopes to have a house of her own in this city. Not a Daoist temple, a place used for business during the day and for living at night, but a simple, warm, sun-drenched house.
Not only her, but also Jingting and Daoist Chang Kong, Yun Zhaozhao hoped that one day she could give each of them a house.
What's that saying again? "Following Daoist Chang Kong, you'll get meat to eat; but following Temple Master Yun, you'll get a house."
However, for Yun Zhaozhao right now, expanding Clear Breeze Temple or buying a house is nothing short of a pipe dream.
So Yun Zhaozhao took stock of the money and finally went to bed first.
The next day, Yun Zhaozhao was awakened by the crowing of chickens in the backyard.
Since Yun Zhaozhao brought the little rooster named " Yunlai " back to Clear Breeze Temple, she hasn't needed an alarm clock lately. The little rooster starts crowing early every morning. Fortunately, Yun Zhaozhao sleeps very well, and even if she's woken up, she can usually just turn over and go back to sleep.
But for some reason, Yun Zhaozhao couldn't fall back asleep after being woken up today, so she simply got up and went to the backyard to check on the flower seeds that Yunlai and Xiao Yao had recently planted.
It has to be said that Xiao Yao has taken good care of these flowers. A few months ago, these flowers were just seeds, but now many of them have grown lush and green. Yun Zhaozhao was even pleasantly surprised to find that some of the flowers whose names she didn't know had already started to bloom.
Xiao Yao arrived quite early that day. She had fewer classes lately, and she was also thinking about the flowers she had planted, so she would go to Clear Breeze Temple whenever she had time.
It takes at least an hour to get to Clear Breeze Temple from Xiao Yao's school, and you have to take a bus. So when Yun Zhaozhao saw her appearing so early, she felt quite sorry for the little girl.
Xiao Yao himself didn't feel tired at all. Young people are always full of energy. As soon as he entered the backyard, he started pulling weeds and watering the plants, keeping himself very busy.
Yun Zhaozhao couldn't help but praise her, "I see all these flowers are in bloom; you've taken good care of them."
Upon hearing Yun Zhaozhao praise her, Xiao Yao Yao's face lit up instantly. "These are petunias and zinnias, both annuals. From planting to blooming, they only take a little over two months, so they bloom early. After a while, these roses and fuchsias will also bloom one after another. Then our Clear Breeze Temple's backyard will become a sea of flowers, and it will look even more beautiful then!"