Catching Monsters

Chapter 293 Drunken Fragrance Pavilion

As the entire capital celebrated the great victory at the front, a piece of news quickly began to circulate among the city's upper echelons.

The most prestigious auction house in Beijing, Yuanhu Auction House, has secured the auction rights for a precious item.

This treasure is called the Meteorite.

Not many people know about meteorites, and many high-ranking officials are quite curious about the origin of these so-called meteorites.

It is worth noting that many important figures sent people to the Yuanhu Auction House to inquire about the prices.

Legend has it that even the eunuchs in the imperial palace went to the Yuanhu Auction House.

This suggests that His Majesty is probably also interested in this item.

In the early morning in the capital, a light frost still covered the streets and rooftops. Jiang Yun walked with his hands behind his back, while Wen Chen followed behind him as they walked through the outer city.

Changxin Temple today is a far cry from what it used to be.

Even in the early morning, many believers stand at the entrance, waiting for Changxin Temple to open so they can go in to worship Buddha and invite the gods.

"Master, do you also have shares in Changxin Temple?" Wen Chen asked with a hint of curiosity. He and his father had lived in the outer city for a long time, so they had naturally heard about the Buddhist signs that had appeared at Changxin Temple before.

Later, they heard that the Buddha of Changxin Temple had manifested his power, and that if they sincerely kowtowed, silver would fall from the sky.

Of course, these things are not the main reasons for Changxin Temple's sudden rise to fame.

During that major epidemic in the capital, everyone was filled with fear and anxiety. Many people did not dare to keep their family members at home after they contracted the disease.

They had no choice but to kick them out.

Ultimately, many patients suffering from the epidemic were taken in by Changxin Temple.

Furthermore, Changxin Temple spent a lot of money to buy herbs, brew them, and distribute the medicine free of charge.

This act of kindness has made him famous throughout the capital.

In contrast, even the five major Buddhist temples remained closed during that epidemic; at most, only the powerful and wealthy would go to the temples to recuperate when they fell ill.

As for the other Buddhist temples in the outer city of the capital, it goes without saying that many patients went to these temples in the outer city hoping to recuperate there.

They are often the ones who are kicked out.

There is no harm without comparison.

Nowadays, whenever people in the outer city mention worshipping Buddha, their first choice is Changxin Temple.

Jiang Yun, dressed in a white robe, stood with his hands behind his back, nodded, and said with a smile, "I am an old acquaintance of Abbot Yunwu of Changxin Temple."

Upon arriving at the door, Jiang Yun raised his hand and knocked. The door opened quickly, but the monk guarding the door did not recognize Jiang Yun.

Changxin Temple is now bustling with activity, and many monks and laymen have been rehired.

The number of monks in the temple has reached nearly one hundred.

"Benefactor, it's not time to open the door yet, please wait a moment." The monk who opened the door was quite kind.

Jiang Yun said with a smile, "I would like to see Abbot Yunwu and Master Wuhui. Please inform them that Jiang Yun has arrived."

"Are you Jiang Yun?" Upon hearing this, the gatekeeper looked at him with some surprise and nodded repeatedly. "Please come with me, benefactor. Senior Brother Wuhui said that since benefactor Jiang has arrived, please come in."

After saying that, he made a gesture of invitation.

Led by the monk, Jiang Yun and Wen Chen walked inside.

Looking at the many monks busily cleaning the temple, Wen Chen couldn't help but whisper to Jiang Yun, "Master, when will our Sanqing Temple be able to invite so many people?"

Although Wen Chen was the second-ranked disciple of the Sanqing Temple.

There were only two people in the crowd.

It wasn't that Wen Chen was unwilling to do dirty or tiring work, but he just felt that the Sanqing Temple, despite its size, always seemed cold and deserted.

Jiang Yun smiled faintly, glanced at the many monks, and whispered to Wen Chen, "You have so many monks, are they all devoted to worshipping Buddha?"

"They're all just here to work."

"Our Sanqing Temple doesn't have that many worshippers, so we don't need it."

Wen Chen nodded as if he understood, and soon the two arrived at a kitchen.

You could hear the voices of Abbot Yunwu and Monk Wuhui from afar.

"Alright, I'll go in myself. You can go ahead and get busy, little master." Jiang Yun waved his hand and led Wen Chen to push open the kitchen door.

Inside, it was steaming hot, and Abbot Yunwu was steaming buns.

This old monk really hasn't forgotten his original aspiration.

Sweating profusely in the kitchen, Abbot Yunwu turned around upon hearing the commotion behind him. Seeing Jiang Yun, his eyes lit up slightly, and he smiled, saying, "Benefactor Jiang has arrived? And who is this?"

"My apprentice, Wen Chen." Jiang Yun smiled faintly, then went straight to the point, asking, "Changxin Temple has been doing well lately, hasn't it? I wonder about my share of the profits?"

Upon hearing this, Abbot Yunwu quickly instructed Monk Wuhui, who was tending the fire in the kitchen, "Quickly, go and bring the account book over so that Benefactor Jiang can take a look."

"Alright." Monk Wuhui jogged along and quickly retrieved the account book.

"These are the expenses and income for nearly two months after the outbreak."

"After the epidemic, our Changxin Temple became very popular, so we no longer used the methods that Benefactor Jiang had mentioned before."

“After deducting mandatory expenses, the net income of Changxin Temple over the past two months is about 30,000 taels of silver.”

"How much?" Jiang Yun stared wide-eyed at Abbot Yunwu in surprise.

Jiang Yun never expected that Changxin Temple could earn 30,000 taels of silver in net income over two months.

That is to say, it would be 15,000 taels of silver per month.

hiss.

Over the course of a year, nearly 180,000 taels of silver were earned.

This is too exaggerated.

No wonder Buddhist temples are always top-notch businesses, no matter the time of year.

Abbot Yunwu explained, "Of the nearly one million people in the capital, seventy percent are from the outer city."

"Back then, the good deeds of our Changxin Temple made most of the people in the outer city more willing to come to our Changxin Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha."

At this point, Abbot Yunwu sighed and frowned, saying, "There are still more than ten Buddhist temples in the outer city, but their business has declined considerably."

"If this continues, those monks will probably go hungry."

Knowing that Abbot Yunwu was kind-hearted, Monk Wuhui said, "Master, you can't say that. When our Changxin Temple was in trouble, they didn't even offer a single steamed bun." "Why should we care about them?"

Upon hearing this, Abbot Yunwu then asked Jiang Yun, "Young Master Jiang, do you have any expenses to cover recently?"

Jiang Yun nodded slightly and asked, "We agreed to split the profits 40/60 back then, but I have never been involved in the management of Changxin Temple's business, and I can't let the abbot go to all that trouble for nothing."

"I'll only take 50%."

"Give me this 30,000 taels of silver now, and I'll use it as an advance on the next two months' share from the abbot. How about that?"

Hearing Jiang Yun's words, Abbot Yunwu did not object and nodded to Wu Hui beside him: "Go and get all the silver notes for Benefactor Jiang."

"Yes, Master."

Soon, a full 30,000 taels of silver notes landed in Jiang Yun's hands.

Jiang Yun quickly put it away, chatted with Abbot Yunwu and the young monk Wuhui, and then left the place.

Thirty thousand taels of silver?
That's probably not enough to buy that meteorite.

Jiang Yun's heart sank slightly; he still owed Ye Xiuyuan a meteorite.

The exquisite meteorite was also stolen from her by that cat.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yun couldn't help but sigh.

Wen Chen followed beside Jiang Yun, and seeing Jiang Yun's worried expression, Wen Chen asked in a low voice, "Master, are you going to buy that meteorite we talked about a few days ago?"

"Yes." Jiang Yun nodded. "It's a pity we might not have enough money."

Wen Chen's eyes widened in surprise. "Thirty thousand taels of silver isn't enough? That's enough to buy a large mansion in the inner city!"

"What kind of stone is this? It's so expensive!"

Jiang Yun gave a wry smile. Thirty thousand taels of silver was indeed a huge sum of money, but there were just too many rich people in the capital.

The master and disciple quickly returned to the Sanqing Temple and had just pushed open the temple gate.

Then they saw Qin Shujian and a woman in a blue dress in the temple.

Zhao Qin held a wooden sword in her hand, while Qin Shujian held her hand from behind, teaching her swordsmanship.

"Senior brother!" Wen Chen coughed hurriedly upon seeing this.

Qin Shujian turned around, his expression changing slightly, as if he had done something wrong, and hurriedly hid to the side.

Zhao Qin turned around and saw Jiang Yunwenchen. Her face flushed slightly, and she lowered her head, saying, "I... I have something to do. Brother Qin, I'll be going now."

After saying that, he hurriedly ran out the front door.

Qin Shujian looked at Jiang Yun awkwardly and said, "Master, I just..."

Jiang Yun wasn't surprised and asked with a smile, "Which family's daughter is she?"

He turned to Wen Chen and asked, "That girl from a well-off family that you mentioned last time?"

“Yes.” Wen Chen nodded.

Qin Shujian stepped forward and explained, "Her name is Zhao Qin. She and I are childhood sweethearts. Our fathers have been business friends for many years."

"Even now that my family is in trouble, Miss Zhao doesn't look down on us..."

"But I've never been serious all this time, and now I've joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard..."

At this point, Qin Shujian blushed slightly and looked at Jiang Yun nervously: "Master, I... I want to propose marriage."

"That's great." Jiang Yun smiled upon hearing this and said, "You two are childhood sweethearts. Here's what you do: go to Zuixianglou and order a table of food and wine later, and invite her father over."

"Since your father is dead, I will take it upon myself to arrange a marriage between you and her family. What do you say?"

"Yes, Master." Qin Shujian's eyes lit up.

……

The private room on the third floor of Zuixianglou.

Jiang Yun, accompanied by Qin Shujian, sat in a private room where a table was already laden with food.

Soon, footsteps could be heard outside the door.

Then the door was gently pushed open, and Zhao Gongcheng came in with his wife and daughter Zhao Qin.

With a broad smile on his face, he was slightly taken aback when he saw Jiang Yun. He hadn't expected that the legendary Commander Jiang would be so much younger than he had imagined.

He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Commander Jiang, I have long admired your name."

After exchanging pleasantries with him, Jiang Yun gestured for him to sit down.

After Zhao Qin entered the room, she exchanged a glance with Qin Shujian with a slightly flushed face, and then sat down silently.

Jiang Yun reached out to make tea for Zhao Gongcheng and said with a smile, "I was busy for a while and only recently heard about my apprentice Shujian and Miss Zhao Qin."

"It's also my fault, I had too many things to do."

"I think they're not young anymore, so I'd like to ask Brother Zhao to help arrange a marriage between them. What do you think, Brother Zhao?"

Inside the house, Zhao Gongcheng's wife had a very unpleasant expression after entering. She frowned and clearly looked down on Qin Shujian.

You should know that the Zhao family is not short of money, and he has some connections with the wives of many high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital.

In addition, Zhao Qin was beautiful, well-educated and reasonable, which made her very popular with the wives of these high-ranking officials and nobles.

Qin Shujian's family was indeed quite wealthy before, but now their fortunes have declined.

As a mother, she naturally hoped that Zhao Qin could marry into a wealthy and powerful family.

She couldn't help but speak up: "Commander Jiang, I am quite familiar with the wife of the Earl of Zhongqin. She had previously wanted to propose marriage to our Zhao family for her nephew. Her nephew is now twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old and is already the deputy commander of the Five Cities Garrison. Your disciple..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun asked, "What's your name?"

"Ah, what?"

Jiang Yun asked with a smile, "What is the name of your wife, the Lady of Zhongqin's, nephew?"

"It seems, it seems his name is Xu Yichang."

Jiang Yun calmly turned to Qin Shujian and said, "Go to the Five Cities Garrison and ask them to bring this person here."

"Madam Zhao doesn't seem to understand the difference between our Eastern Garrison Command's Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Five Cities Garrison Command."

(End of this chapter)