Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 11 Custom-made God of Wealth Statue! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Soon, lunch was ready, and Zhou Yi and Wu Meiniang sat down in the dining room to eat.

The spicy hot pot tasted great. Although it was her first time eating spicy food, Wu Zetian still ate two bowls of rice and drank a bottle of iced cola that seemed to contain medicinal herbs.

A perfectly good empress was forcibly turned into a fat, reclusive woman by the I Ching.

During the meal, Zhou Yi mentioned Chen Tang's visit to Hunyuan Palace. Unexpectedly, Wu Meiniang was a fan of the Western Han Dynasty's "Ah Tang" (Chen Tang's nickname), and immediately expressed her desire to stay at Hunyuan Palace for the night to meet her idol who was famous throughout the Western Regions the next day, and also to try the mutton from Kangju Kingdom to see if it was as delicious as the mutton from the Tang Dynasty.

Zhou Yi was worried about verifying the progress of the household registration exchange when Wu Zetian volunteered to be his guinea pig, which made him overjoyed.
“The room next to mine is empty and quite clean. This afternoon, I’ll pick out a Simmons mattress in town and buy some bedding and such, and then you can move in.”

Actually, the small Penglai in the northwest corner of the Taoist temple is also habitable; it is the only place in the entire Taoist temple that has been properly repaired.

Xiao Penglai is a separate courtyard containing many Taoist books. The main hall has wooden floors and a large mirror for correcting posture, where one can practice various external Taoist techniques.

However, Zhou Yi felt that the place was too effeminate, like a dance studio, and rarely went there.

After the meal, Zhou Yi looked at the remaining half-pot of vegetables and a small bowl of rice, and couldn't help but slap his forehead:

"I was scared by Chen Tang last time. He prepared so many ingredients, but after we ate for half a day, this spicy hot pot only suffered minor damage."

Wu Zetian, rubbing her bloated stomach, smiled sheepishly upon hearing this.
"The generals do have huge appetites. I once saw Cheng Zhijie eat two lamb legs by himself, and after he finished, he even tried to steal Su Dingfang's. He's practically a bandit in the court."

That certainly sounds like Lao Cheng's style... Zhou Yi put the remaining rice and spicy hot pot in the refrigerator, planning to reheat them and eat them in the afternoon.

His frugal approach earned him praise from Wu Zetian:
"The Immortal Master is truly a role model for us all. If Taiji Palace could have such a spirit, the Tang Dynasty would be even more prosperous."

As Zhou Yi cleared the dishes, he said:

“I think the Zhenguan era was alright, not so extravagant. On the contrary, after you came to power, extravagance and luxury began to prevail. By the Tianbao era, your grandson Xuanzong had reached new heights of extravagance.”

Wu Meiniang: "..."

I don't know any of these things, okay?

No, tonight I'm going to read "The Biography of Wu Zetian" to see how many things I did in history that angered both heaven and man, so that the immortal will stop secretly belittling me!

Leaving the restaurant, Wu Meiniang went into the next room. It was indeed empty, but quite clean, with white walls, warm-colored floor tiles, and fresh-style curtains, giving people a very comfortable feeling.

After tidying up the kitchen, Zhou Yi took a broom and went into Wu Meiniang's room, sweeping the floor while arranging the furniture.

"Place the bed against the wall, leave the window side open, and I'll put a desk for you later, and a dressing table in the corner... But not today. We'll have enough money to furnish your house with furniture and appliances after Sun Chenglin takes away the statue of the God of Wealth. Don't worry."

A statue of the God of Wealth is not valuable, but a statue that has been enshrined in a temple dedicated to the God of Wealth, and has been consecrated according to the I Ching, can sell for at least ten thousand.

Wu Meiniang was deeply moved. Ever since her father, Wu Shihuo, died in Jingzhou, she had never felt so cared for and loved.

Especially after entering the palace, she had to be careful all the time, and she had to think through every word she said several times. Now, when she suddenly heard words of concern, she almost burst into tears.

Upon returning this time, I must ask the immortal for more rare treasures and try to empty the treasury of Taiji Palace... Faced with Zhou Yi's concern, Wu Meiniang did not know how to repay him, so she simply set her sights on Li Shimin's treasures.

As a steward of the Yiyuan Palace, is it alright for me to help Immortal Yiyuan obtain some treasures?
After sweeping the floor, Zhou Yi returned to his room, picked up his black notebook, and flipped through it. He found that Wu Meiniang's progress in exchanging household registrations was still 1/365, with no increase.

It has now been confirmed that staying here to eat will not increase your progress; we'll just have to see if it will increase when the sun sets.

He put down his notebook, sat on the sofa, picked up his phone, opened the online shopping platform, logged into his grandfather's account, and then found a shop called "Uncle Ming's Customized Statues" in the order list, and began to select statues from them.

Before he passed away, my grandfather instructed me to place an order with this shop whenever I needed a statue. He said that I could just choose from the shop for general orders, and if I had any special requests, I should write them down in the notes. The owner would then send me a payment link based on the complexity of the customization, and I wouldn't need to communicate with him at all.

While Zhou Yi was selecting the statue of the God of Wealth, Wu Meiniang came behind the sofa and carefully studied Zhou Yi's instructions.

She was eager to experience online shopping for herself; this way of shopping—selecting and ordering online—was something she had never heard of before.

The shop had several kinds of statues of the God of Wealth. Wu Meiniang asked curiously:

"Immortal Master, is there more than one God of Wealth in this world?"

Zhou Yi nodded, then pointed to a 64-centimeter-tall statue of Zhao Gongming, the God of Wealth, and said, “Our God of Wealth is divided into five-way God of Wealth and nine-way God of Wealth. Among these Gods of Wealth, there are also the Civil God of Wealth, the Martial God of Wealth, and the Righteous God of Wealth.”

Wu Zetian had never encountered similar knowledge before, and asked with great interest:

"Is Zhao Gongming the God of War and Wealth that you chose?"

After reviewing the details, Zhou Yi placed his order.
"Yes, he and Guan Yu are both martial gods of wealth... Ordinary shops don't need to be so particular, just having a statue of the god of wealth is enough, but lobster restaurants kill countless animals every day, and diners are prone to being too aggressive, so they need to use a martial god of wealth to calm them down."

The Zhao Gongming God of Wealth figurine selected by Zhou Yi is very majestic. He is wearing armor, holding a gold ingot and a steel whip, and riding a black tiger. It is an ideal choice for attracting wealth and warding off evil.

Wu Zetian then asked:

What are the differences between Guan Yu and Zhao Gongming?

“The statue of Lord Guan is more menacing, and he prioritizes loyalty. If the lobster restaurant is in the wrong, he will not only not protect them, but may even stab the restaurant owner. In contrast, Zhao Gongming only suppresses evil spirits and doesn’t care about anything else, so I chose this one for Boss Sun.”

This ornament is worth 1,300 yuan. Zhou Yi's WeChat balance was barely enough. After placing the order, he was just about to log out of his account when the shop owner suddenly sent him a message:
"Zhou Banxian, you finally made a sale! We haven't sold a single item this month, I'm starving."

Zhou Yi thought his grandfather was simply placing an order for decorative items online, but he didn't expect that he was actually quite familiar with the shop owner.

He picked up his phone and replied:

"Hello, my grandfather passed away half a month ago. I am Zhou Yi, and I just took over Hunyuan Palace."

The shopkeeper sent a "Don't joke around" emoji:
"No way? Zhou Banxian was so good at avoiding cause and effect, how come he's gone?"

"The doctor said that Grandpa died of sudden cardiac death caused by excessive alcohol consumption."

The other person sent a "Good heavens" emoji:
"Indeed, no matter how much you try to avoid cause and effect, nothing beats quitting smoking and drinking. Superstition is unacceptable; at the end of metaphysics, we must still talk about science!"

Zhou Yi thought the shop owner was acting strangely, so he changed the subject:
"Please arrange for the shipment of the God of Wealth ornament I requested as soon as possible. It also needs to be offered at the God of Wealth Temple for nine days before the customer can bring it to the store."

The shopkeeper sent an "OJBK" emoji:
"Don't worry, I'll arrange for the goods to be shipped right away... By the way, Master Yi, are you interested in earning some extra money?"

Zhou Yi has some doubts:

"What extra money?"

As if the other party was certain that Zhou Yi would respond, a message popped up immediately after the message was sent:
"Use your grandpa's account to help me insult a shop called 'Custom Auspicious Deity Statues.' I'll give you two thousand yuan for every insult you give. How about it? This service is valid indefinitely. You can come to me anytime you need money."

Zhou Yi replied that he wasn't interested and then left the chat window.

It's really strange that someone would be so eager to give me money today. But since it involves cause and effect, Zhou Yi wouldn't dare to use his grandfather's account to curse people.

Wu Zetian said:
"It seems that Master Zhou is quite famous in this circle, which is why this shopkeeper used this method to attack his competitors."

Zhou Yi nodded:

"No matter how famous you are, you can't get involved in this kind of trouble, otherwise the consequences will be endless."

He took out two bronze coins from the drawer next to the sofa and used a very simple divination technique to see how troublesome the Didi-sponsored insult incident would be.

The test was conducted three times, and all three results were very auspicious.

Seriously? Insulting people has actually become a good thing?
Never mind that for now… Zhou Yi put away the ancient bronze coins and said to Wu Meiniang:
"Come on, Meiniang, I'll take you to town to broaden your horizons and do some shopping!"

"Thank you, Immortal!"

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(End of this chapter)