If they grow up and no longer wish to stay at Clear Breeze Temple, that's another matter; but if they do wish to stay, then they must be given a skill.
The Daoist medical clinic offers a good alternative: one can learn to cultivate Chinese medicinal herbs and prepare medicines, or learn acupuncture to treat illnesses and save lives. It seems like a very good way out for an orphan with no family to rely on.
Especially after seeing how hard it was for a self-taught TCM enthusiast like Lin Banxia to learn, Yun Zhaozhao felt even more strongly that learning medicine should start from childhood.
Anyway, Yun Zhaozhao wrote all these thoughts down in the introductory material for Daoist Qiuting, and then asked Daoist Qiuting's little apprentice to pass the material on to Daoist Qiuting.
After finishing their business, Yun Zhaozhao and Tang Li took a stroll around Knowing Autumn Temple.
They even had lunch at Knowing Autumn Temple.
Lunch at Knowing Autumn Temple mainly consists of noodles, including various vegetarian noodles and pastries such as chive boxes and pancakes.
Tang Li strolled around the cafeteria and finally ordered himself a bowl of vegetarian noodles. Yun Zhaozhao also wandered around, but ended up ordering herself a plate of fried pancakes.
It takes very long to make a plain face.
And it's truly vegetarian; you can't see a single speck of oil. It's just simple noodles neatly arranged at the bottom of the bowl, topped with broth and sprinkled with chopped green onions.
However, Tang Li took a bite and said it tasted pretty good. Yun Zhaozhao also tried some later, but she secretly felt that it wasn't as flavorful as the vegetarian noodles made by Daoist Chang Kong.
Yun Zhaozhao's fried pancakes take a little longer to arrive.
The fried pancakes were also completely vegetarian, with chopped Chinese cabbage and some mung bean sprouts as a garnish.
Yun Zhaozhao didn't seem to have eaten fried pancakes before at Clear Breeze Temple; she usually ate fried noodles or fried rice. Perhaps because it was new, she found the taste very special.
Anyway, as she ate, she felt that Clear Breeze Temple could also introduce this method, and with Daoist Chang Kong's culinary skills, even if the same ingredients were used, the fried pancakes would definitely taste better than those from Knowing Autumn Temple.
-
Although Yun Zhaozhao's plan to open a Daoist medical clinic at Clear Breeze Temple was not announced in advance, everyone inside Clear Breeze Temple knew about it, as well as that she was going to meet with Daoist Qiuting with Tang Li today.
So when they saw Yun Zhaozhao and Tang Li return from outside, everyone else had expectant expressions on their faces, waiting for her to announce good news.
Yun Zhaozhao wasn't going to spoil the mood, and said with a smile, "Good news! I had a really delicious lunch with Tang Li today, especially the fried pancakes. I think they'd be perfect for our new cafeteria."
Upon hearing Yun Zhaozhao's words, everyone guessed that the trip might not have gone particularly smoothly. So, everyone very tactfully changed the subject, starting to talk about fried pancakes and what kind of dishes should be added to the new cafeteria.
As Yun Zhaozhao listened, she couldn't help but feel a little touched. She felt that it was clearly her responsibility as the abbess to protect everyone, but unexpectedly, it was everyone else who was protecting her.
Although there haven't been any new developments at the Daoist medical clinic for the time being, there has been new progress regarding the schooling of the 10 young Daoist priests.
With the help of True Yang Temple, the enrollment procedures for the 10 young Daoist priests were quickly completed. Then, Yun Zhaozhao chose an auspicious day at the beginning of the month and had the Clear Breeze Temple send these 10 flowers of the motherland to a rural primary school near Clear Breeze Temple.
Now that the new Clear Breeze Temple has just been established, the number of worshippers coming and going every day is no less than before. So, Yun Zhaozhao doesn't feel anything special about the 10 fewer young Daoist priests in the temple during the day. But the Daoist Cen and Daoist Mao, who are responsible for taking care of these 10 young Daoist priests, are almost always moved to tears of joy after sending the 10 children to school.
Daoist Cen: "Now I understand why everyone says children are the flowers of the motherland, because they are the morning glories of the motherland! Before, when these 10 little ones were in the temple, my ears were buzzing all day long, like a hundred bees were buzzing in my ears. Now that they've gone to school, I've finally had a few days of peace and quiet. I have to say, schools are truly the greatest invention in the world, without a doubt."
Yun Zhaozhao: "Then you'll have to get used to it. After all, as the number of Daoist priests at Clear Breeze Temple increases, we might even set up our own Clear Breeze Academy!"
Daoist Cen asked in bewilderment, "... What does Clear Breeze Academy have to do with me? Am I supposed to be responsible for teaching there?"
Yun Zhaozhao: "You have a choice."
Daoist Cen exclaimed excitedly, "Really?"
Yun Zhaozhao: "Well, you can choose to be a teacher or a nanny at our Clear Breeze Academy Clear Breeze Academy."
Daoist Cen: "..." This is truly a delightful and surprising choice!
-
Clear Breeze Academy certainly can't be established anytime soon. Not to mention Clear Breeze Academy, even the Daoist temple medical clinic that Yun Zhaozhao currently wants is still in the difficult preparation stage.
Regardless, the fact that 10 young Daoist priests were able to successfully enter primary school is a significant step forward for Clear Breeze Temple.
So when school ended that day, Yun Zhaozhao specially asked Daoist Chang Kong to prepare a delicious meal for the 10 elementary school students. One of the dishes was fried pancakes, which Yun Zhaozhao had tasted at Knowing Autumn Temple and then specially brought back.
After Daoist Chang Kong's technical improvements, the fried pancakes now include more nutrients that children need for growth, such as eggs and meat. So, although there are many other delicious dishes on the table, the fried pancakes are still the favorite of the 10 children who have been to school all day.
While everyone was eating, Yun Zhaozhao asked them about their experience on their first day of school.
She asked Sansan first, since Sansan was the youngest among the children. Yun Zhaozhao wasn't worried about anything else, but she was worried that Sansan, being the youngest, wouldn't fit in.
To everyone's surprise, Sansan integrated very well, and even got a little excited when talking about going to school. "It's fun! Lots of friends!"
Yun Zhaozhao: "What about your studies? Will you be able to keep up?"
Sansan blinked her big eyes innocently and said, "What is studying? Isn't it just playing?"
Yun Zhaozhao: "..."
Yun Zhaozhao could only console herself that it was probably because it was the first day of school, so the child didn't really understand the concept of learning yet, and would understand after attending school for a while longer.
Besides, these kids haven't even been to kindergarten yet, they went straight into primary school. Although some of them are in after-school care programs within the primary school, it's already quite impressive that they don't cry or make a fuss. Yun Zhaozhao can't expect more from them.
Yun Zhaozhao specially arranged shifts for the 10 junior Daoist priests who picked her up and dropped her off every day. Because she felt that changing them every day was too troublesome, Yun Zhaozhao chose to rotate them every week.
Fortunately, Clear Breeze Temple now has two vehicles, and the school is not far from Clear Breeze Temple, so over time, everyone has gotten used to it.
During this period, Yun Zhaozhao made time to see Daoist Qiuting a few more times, but most of the time she came up empty-handed. On the rare occasions she would run into Daoist Qiuting, he was always surrounded by patients, so Yun Zhaozhao didn't have a chance to talk to him much.
Yun Zhaozhao eventually considered giving up, after all, there were other Daoist doctors in the world besides Daoist Qiuting. If they really weren't meant to be, they could try someone else.
Unexpectedly, Daoist Qiuting eventually came to visit him on his own initiative.
The day Daoist Qiuting arrived was in the evening.
The evening glow painted the sky a fiery red against the backdrop of the Daoist Qiuting and his young apprentice, Daoist Yiyezi, stood one after the other at the entrance of the Clear Breeze Temple Clear Breeze Temple, glancing at the new temple and then at Clear Breeze Temple old one.
Yun Zhaozhao couldn't help but recall the first time she saw Daoist Chang Kong.
It seems like it was an evening like this too, although there wasn't this sky full of red clouds, but the scene felt pretty much the same as today.
Just as Yun Zhaozhao was overjoyed to see Daoist Chang Kong back then, she is equally delighted to see Daoist Qiuting today.
Filled with this joyful surprise, Yun Zhaozhao rushed towards Daoist Qiuting and asked excitedly, " Daoist Qiuting, have you finally come to my Daoist medical clinic to help out?"
Daoist Qiuting glanced at her and asked, "Didn't you say you adopted 10 young Daoist priests? Where are they now? Take me to see them!"
Yun Zhaozhao: "You can't see them now, they haven't gotten out of school yet. But someone has already gone to pick them up, they should be back soon. Would you like to wait at the gate, or should I show you around first?"
Daoist Qiuting thought for a moment and said, "Then take me to see where they live first!"
Yun Zhaozhao had previously arranged for the ten young Daoist priests to stay in the old Clear Breeze Temple. Although the new temple had been completed, she hadn't moved them out yet; she had simply rearranged the rooms. After all, the new temple was newly completed and might still have some renovation pollution. People came and went daily, and they mostly stayed outdoors, so she didn't think much of it. However, Yun Zhaozhao was still a little worried about letting the children live there.
Yun Zhaozhao personally led Daoist Qiuting to see the rooms of the ten young Daoists, and then, at Daoist Qiuting's request, led her to take a tour of Yun Zhaozhao's own room.
Daoist Qiuting didn't say a word the whole time, so Yun Zhaozhao didn't know what she was looking at. But she had a vague premonition that these 10 junior Daoist priests might be the key to keeping Daoist Qiuting here.
Before Yun Zhaozhao could figure out Daoist Qiuting was thinking, the ten junior Daoist priests had already returned.
Daoist Qiuting said he wanted to talk to the 10 children privately, and made it clear that Yun Zhaozhao was not allowed to come along.
Yun Zhaozhao had no objections and went out cooperatively.
No one knows what Daoist Qiuting talked about with the 10 children, but after half a day, Daoist Qiuting came out and told Yun Zhaozhao that he had agreed to Yun Zhaozhao's request and would take care of it. Of course, this was later reported to Clear Breeze Temple.
Yun Zhaozhao later learned that Daoist Qiuting had also been adopted by a Daoist temple, and that her medical skills were personally taught to her by the master who adopted her.