Seeing his practiced manner, Fan Youcai couldn't help but ask curiously, "Have you done this before?"
Zhu Ruiming shook his head. "No! It was the first time."
Fan Youcai: "You're really good at that. You harvested rice so well on your first try. By the way, how old are you?"
Zhu Ruiming: "17."
Fan Youcai: "Then you're older than me. I'm only 12."
Looking at Fan Youcai's tall and imposing figure, Zhu Ruiming couldn't help but swallow enviously. He was only a little over 170cm at 17 years old, while Fan Youcai 12, was already taller than him. He wondered what kids these days ate to grow so tall...
While the two young people were talking, some students nearby started to get upset and refused to work.
When one student quit, the remaining students either stopped to watch the commotion or started jeering. As a result, some parents started yelling and others started beating their children, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Looking at the chaotic scene, Zhang Lu was so anxious she almost cried.
Just when they were at their wits' end, Yun Zhaozhao arrived with Lin Banxia and Xiao Yao.
When Zhang Lu saw Yun Zhaozhao, it was as if she had seen a lifeline; her voice even trembled with tears. " Temple Master Yun, look at the situation now, what can we do...?"
Yun Zhaozhao gestured for her to calm down. After all, in these kinds of parent-child activities, parents are the primary caregivers for the children. With the parents present, Yun Zhaozhao felt they should be able to keep things in order... right?
Just as I was thinking this, I saw a mother being pushed to the ground by her child.
Seeing this scene, Yun Zhaozhao finally had a more direct understanding of the term "teenage rebellion". Sure enough, rebellious kids are a force to be reckoned with; they even dare to hit their parents.
However, it's likely that the parent-child relationship in this family has been problematic for a long time, and the parents' authority has probably been undermined, which is why the child has become so rebellious.
It was only then that Yun Zhaozhao realized that Clear Breeze Temple's martial arts skills were still rather weak. If Clear Breeze Temple had even one person with high martial arts skills, they could have easily subdued the person in this situation...
Although their fighting prowess was lacking, Yun Zhaozhao glanced at Lin Banxia beside her and felt that their Clear Breeze Temple was still quite lethal.
She asked Lin Banxia in a low voice, "Did you bring your silver needles?"
Lin Banxia nodded. "Of course, I always carry it with me."
Yun Zhaozhao: "Take it out!"
The people of Clear Breeze Temple had an almost instinctive trust in Yun Zhaozhao, so Lin Banxia didn't ask Yun Zhaozhao what she wanted to do. She simply took out the silver needles when asked.
Yun Zhaozhao gave Lin Banxia a look, then said loudly to the crazed little boy, "I advise you to calm down, otherwise this Daoist priest's silver needles might just fly over. As for whether they'll prick your arm or your face, that's hard to say."
The little boy, of course, didn't believe him and stubbornly shouted, "Go ahead and stab me if you dare!"
Without saying a word, Lin Banxia picked up the thickest stick and stabbed it into her own arm. Actually, according to her past personality, she would definitely have stabbed that stubborn brat directly, but recently Yun Zhaozhao had been constantly reminding her of the dangers of practicing medicine illegally, so Lin Banxia had become much more obedient.
The sight of Lin Banxia pricking herself with silver needles was something everyone in Clear Breeze Temple was already used to, so no one reacted particularly strongly. But to outsiders, the scene was still quite frightening. At least the little boy who had been making a ruckus earlier was successfully frightened.
After all, truly rebellious kids wouldn't be here today. The fact that they're here and obeying their parents means they're not rebellious enough. So Yun Zhaozhao was able to intimidate the kid with just a little effort.
Taking advantage of the quiet moment, Yun Zhaozhao pulled out a stack of contracts from her bosom and calmly said, "Dear students, you can choose not to harvest the rice, but I must remind you that your parents signed a contract with Clear Breeze Temple before you came to participate in this activity. If you don't finish harvesting these dozen or so acres of rice today, you will have to stay at Clear Breeze Temple tonight to cultivate your minds and bodies. You can ask your parents if this is true."
In fact, that wasn't the case at all, but Yun Zhaozhao was clearly on the parents' side, so which parent would jump out and contradict her? Therefore, all the parents nodded in unison. "Yes, yes, that's exactly what happened."
Yun Zhaozhao: "But don't worry, Clear Breeze Temple doesn't use corporal punishment or physical violence. We simply guide everyone to Jingxin recite scriptures and cultivate their character. In fact, the effect is quite good. Most children can quickly correct their bad habits. If you don't believe me, ask the person next to me." As Yun Zhaozhao spoke, she gestured to Lin Banxia beside her, "This is your senior. She committed a crime and was sent to our Clear Breeze Temple by her grandfather for purification. Now she has voluntarily stayed in our Clear Breeze Temple, which shows that our Clear Breeze Temple is extremely tolerant."
Xiao Yao and Zhang Lu, standing to the side, were speechless. "Oh wow, there's such an inside story?"
Lin Banxia: "..." I almost forgot about this myself if you hadn't mentioned it.
Chapter 54
Lin Banxia sat nearby with a box of silver needles to keep things in order. In addition, the parents also became more assertive and started to discipline their children severely. As a result, the originally chaotic situation was quickly stabilized.
The scene was so noisy just now, almost everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the excitement, but Zhu Ruiming remained focused on harvesting rice.
One, one, and another...
He worked with both focus and dedication!
Fan Ruocai had never seen such a hardworking person.
Not only was Fan Ruocai unfamiliar with the work, but even Mama Zhu was somewhat shocked. Her intention in bringing Zhu Ruiming Zhu Ruiming to do farm work today was to let him experience the hardship of farm work, not to make Zhu Ruiming love it. If Zhu Ruiming actually fell in love with farm work and refused to go back to school, what would become of her?
So she couldn't help but fan the flames from the side, saying, "Look, this is such a large rice paddy, and you have to harvest it all yourself. And right now the sun is so strong and it's so hot. Don't you have anything to say?"
Zhu Ruiming: "I don't have much to say. I think harvesting rice is quite interesting, much more interesting than going to school."
Mama Zhu: "...????"
Enraged by Zhu Ruiming, Mama Zhu blurted out, "Are you crazy? What's the point of farm work? It's a path only incompetent people choose. Anyone with a bit of ability, do you see anyone willing to stay in the countryside to work? Aren't they all trying to find a way out? I'm feeding you well every day and sending you to the best schools, just so you'll find farm work interesting?"
Fan Youcai, listening from the side, was indignant, but he couldn't find a rebuttal to Mama Zhu's words for the moment. In that instant, he suddenly felt sorry for Zhu Ruiming, because he was clearly doing his job well, yet he still got scolded. You see, when Fan Youcai eagerly did chores at home, his grandmother would always praise him.
Zhu Ruiming was used to her mother's unpredictable temper, so she said nothing, just buried herself in her work, using silence to resist all external harm.
Mama Zhu hated his stubbornness the most, and in her anger, she grabbed a handful of rice and threw it at Zhu Ruiming.
Although rice stalks aren't as heavy as sticks, they can hurt a lot when they hit someone. Fan Youcai hit before, so he instinctively intervened.
As a result, Mama Zhu beat him as well, regardless of the consequences.
The commotion here obviously caught Yun Zhaozhao's attention. Yun Zhaozhao originally didn't want to get involved, after all, every family has its own problems, and besides, she wasn't as fond of meddling as Jingting.
But Zhang Lu knew that Fan Youcai someone they had invited to help, so she strongly disapproved of the parent not only beating the child but also the junior employee. She rushed over and said, "Hey, parent, let's talk this out, don't resort to violence..."
Seeing Zhang Lu rush past, Yun Zhaozhao couldn't just stand by and watch, so she had no choice but to follow.
As soon as Zhang Lu and Yun Zhaozhao arrived, before the person who had been beaten even reacted, Mama Zhu, who had done the beating, broke down in tears. "Oh dear, what sins did I commit in my past life to give birth to such an impervious brat... Do you know what his grades were like before high school? Top 100 in the whole city!... And now, he can't even make the top 100 in his grade..."
Zhu Ruiming listened expressionlessly as his mother exposed his past in front of so many people, and suddenly felt exhausted. He knew his mother meant well, but this suffocating love was exhausting not only for his mother, but also for him.
If only his mother let go, everything would be fine for everyone...
But how can we get his mother to let go?
As long as he stays with his mother, her suffocating love will never disappear, so the best solution is to leave, even if only temporarily... Otherwise, he has no other choice but to die.
Driven by this survival instinct, Zhu Ruiming suddenly pinned his hopes on the complete stranger, Yun Zhaozhao. In his still- Zhu Ruiming mind, he believed that since his mother was willing to bring him to the Clear Breeze Temple activity, she at least trusted the Clear Breeze Temple. After all, his mother had never allowed him to participate in any activities before; his life consisted solely of studying...
At this moment, many parents gathered around to comfort Mama Zhu, so Yun Zhaozhao was not surrounded by anyone.
Zhu Ruiming walked over, bowed respectfully to Yun Zhaozhao, and then asked in a low voice, "May I ask if you are the abbot of Clear Breeze Temple?"
Yun Zhaozhao nodded. "Yes, that's me."
Zhu Ruiming: "Then may I ask if your Clear Breeze Temple is still accepting students?"
Yun Zhaozhao: "..."
-
Zhu Ruiming insisted on staying at Clear Breeze Temple, something that Yun Zhaozhao and Mama Zhu never expected.