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

Chapter 113 The Leaf Given by Buddha? [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Zhou Yi was at a loss for words when the blind man spoke. Praising friendship was inappropriate, and the blind man's tone didn't sound like a deep-seated hatred; it was as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

Zhou Yi thought for a moment, then tentatively asked:

"Are you here to seek revenge on my grandfather?"

The blind man didn't answer the question. Instead, he put on sunglasses and tapped on the window of the Wuling van with his folding cane.
"If you leave the magic artifacts in the car like this, and someone knowledgeable breaks into the car, you won't even be able to cry, and you might even be turned into a puppet by them."

After saying that, the old man used his cane to probe the way and slowly walked into the gate of the Mountain Retreat Restaurant.

Zhou Yi felt that the old man was right. It was indeed inappropriate to leave the magic artifacts in the van. After thinking about it, he drove the car to the courtyard of the police station next door, said goodbye to Liu Peng, and went back to the Mountain Residence Restaurant for dinner.

As he passed the front desk, he asked the cashier:

"Was there a blind person dining here just now? Which private room did he go to?"

The cashier had a strong impression of the blind man:

"In the private room on the third floor, which was called Wangyuetai, the project leaders were all there. They said they were going to hold a welcome banquet for some kind of consultant."

Project team? Welcome dinner? Consultant?

Zhou Yi immediately thought of Xie Yukun, the chief feng shui consultant of the project department... Could it be a welcome dinner for him?
Back in the private room, the ancient people were still eating heartily.

Grandma Gongsun munched on the deep-fried fish slices, planning to search for the recipe so the imperial chefs in the palace could learn it. She thought that if she ever craved it, she could just go to Taiji Palace for a free meal, and she was sure her grandson wouldn't mind.

Wu Meiniang asked:
When will the Yiyuan Temple in your area be consecrated?

Gongsun Da Niang took a sip of the drink Zhou Yi had brought and said:

"Once Li Bai arrives, the blessing ceremony will begin. After all, he is the Taoist priest's eldest disciple, and it won't do if he's not present."

Huo Qubing picked up a crispy and fermented crucian carp from his bowl, and while eating, he kept talking about the consecration of the Yiyuan Temple:
"Since the Taoist temple under the leadership of the eldest senior brother is being consecrated, I, as the junior brother, should send some gifts to express my gratitude."

Granny Gongsun waved her hand:

"No need. Just agree to let us put your photos up. Your photos with your uncle are more effective than anything else in the Tang Dynasty."

Huo Qubing was somewhat puzzled:
"Is it appropriate to hang my photo in a quiet place?"

Zhou Yi tasted the eggplant fritters that had just been served and said to his second apprentice:
"What's wrong with this? The sages are meant to be worshipped... The eggplant fritters are very good, the batter is just right, have a taste."

Wu Zetian picked up a piece, tasted it, and commented:

"I still think the Immortal Master's stir-fried noodles are the best. What do you think, Sister Gongsun?"

Grandma Gongsun shook her head and said:
"I think the Taoist priest's sweet and sour pork ribs and cola chicken wings are the best. I always want to chew the bones up."

Zhou Yi coughed lightly:
"I just learned it all from the internet, there's no need to praise me like this."

He had intended to mention the blind man, but worried that the old man, who had lost his eyesight, might use some secret method to eavesdrop, so he simply started chatting about all sorts of things.

After a delicious lunch, there was still quite a bit of food left on the table.

Zhou Yi said to Huo Qubing:

"Pack it up and take it back so that Zhao Ponu and Zhang Qian can both try it. It would be such a waste to throw away such good food."

After saying that, he got up and asked the waiter for takeout containers. When he learned that this service was available, he asked the waiter to pack all the dishes on the table.

After Zhao Wei and his family finished eating and drinking, they saw Zhou Yi packing up the leftovers, so they asked the waiter to pack up the pork knuckle and other dishes that hadn't been touched in their room, so that Zhou Yi could take them up the mountain as well.

Zhao Dengke, feeling he hadn't treated Zhou Yi well, asked the waiter to bring back several portions of braised pork with mustard greens from the kitchen, which he then packed and sent to Zhou Yi.
"I'll take the seaweed strips up the mountain in a bit, please give me your feedback."

Zhou Yi agreed:
"No problem, from now on I won't cook any more dishes in the morning, I'll just have steamed buns with seaweed strips."

When Zhou Yi left the Mountain Retreat Restaurant, he saw that the project team's car was still parked in the same spot, and they were probably still upstairs eating and drinking.

The group arrived at the police station, drove back up the mountain, and passed a steamed bun shop. Zhou Yi got out of the car and bought twenty yuan worth of white flour steamed buns, which he would have Huo Qubing take with him later to give the special forces officers an extra meal.

Back on the mountain, Huo Qubing took a towel and carefully wiped the horse spear that Zhou Yi had given him.

He had already sharpened the spearhead last night and even asked his master to help him purchase a batch of whetstones. Modern whetstones come in a full range of grit sizes and are much more useful than the ancient whetstones.

The Book of Changes asks:

"Will your cavalry special forces unit operate alongside the main force?"

Huo Qubing shook his head:
"My uncle instructed us to depart as soon as we reach Dingxiang to conduct preliminary reconnaissance missions. We are not to travel with the main army, but if we encounter the main force of the Xiongnu, we must notify the main army immediately," Zhou Yi said.

"I've ordered a dozen or so walkie-talkies and seven or eight drones, along with matching solar charging panels. Take some back with you next time you come, and give some to your uncle so he can stay in touch."

In the past two days, Zhou Yi has been researching and found that there are vehicle-mounted repeaters online that can connect dozens of walkie-talkies and have a coverage range of one or two hundred kilometers in areas with a clean ionosphere.

However, this thing requires an external power supply, so Huo Qubing's side cannot use it for the time being.

Zhou Yi wanted to buy one for research, but he was worried that the police would come knocking on his door. These kinds of handheld radios require registration and a license to be used, otherwise it would be illegal. Fortunately, there were no restrictions on purchases, so he could buy one and let the ancients take it away for research.

Not long after, Zhao Dengke arrived in a second-hand Ford Transit, delivering a truckload of products from the pickle factory. In addition to individually packaged kelp strips, there were also konjac strips, red oil bamboo shoot strips, sweet and sour pickled cucumbers, sweet and sour pickled radishes, and other products.

These pickles were unloaded directly at the entrance of the Hall of Longevity. After unloading the truck, Zhao Dengke had the idea of ​​inviting a statue of a god again, feeling uneasy that a place where he did business was not safe without the presence of a god of wealth.

Based on the characteristics of the pickle factory and Zhao Dengke's birth chart, Zhou Yi did not recommend the God of Wealth, but instead recommended the statue of the Great Emperor of the Central Heaven.

With the blessing of the Heavenly Official, all taboos are no longer taboos.

The statue of the Ziwei Emperor starts at 20,000 yuan, but Zhao Dengke generously said he wanted to commission a statue costing 33,000 yuan, and asked Zhou Yi to arrange it.

As for payment, Zhou Yi still chose to barter, which would save him the trouble of purchasing pickles in bulk.

After Zhao Dengke left, Huo Qubing, carrying his spear, placed the telescope, compass, and other items that Zhou Yi had bought during this time on the pickle box, bid farewell to Zhou Yi, and returned to the world of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty.

After seeing off his second apprentice, Zhou Yi was about to flip through his grandfather's book of accounts to see if there were any records of the blind man when he suddenly noticed that Aunt Gongsun was carrying a bag of pastries and sneaking into the main hall.

He remembered that when he came back from watching a movie yesterday, this girl came out of the main hall of the temple. He didn't expect her to sneak in again today.

Out of curiosity, he followed her, wanting to know what Gongsun Da Niang was doing.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the main hall, Zhou Yi heard the girl muttering prayers inside:
"Although Huifan is dead, his disciples and followers are still causing trouble in Chang'an. Are you just going to give up and ignore it? Those monks occupy a lot of fertile land but don't pay taxes or land rent. Do you think this can last? I'm here today to advise you to stop when it's time to stop, otherwise I'll have my grandson carry out a campaign to destroy Buddhism, and you'll be in big trouble."

After finishing her prayers, Granny Gongsun patted the offering table again:

"Speaking of which, I've already helped your Buddhist sect resolve a crisis. Do you have anything to thank me for? If not, I'll go find the Three Pure Ones."

Just as he finished speaking, a sandalwood-colored leaf drifted in from outside and landed on the offering table in front of the Buddha.

Granny Gongsun picked it up, her expression somewhat puzzled:

Why did you give me a leaf? Are you mocking me for being so poor that I can only eat leaves to survive?

Zhou Yi listened, speechless.
"If you keep making these wild guesses, the Buddha statue will be forced to speak."

Gongsun Da Niang was startled by his voice:
"Taoist Master, could you please not be so quiet? What if my sword doesn't have eyes? You'd be... ugh!"

The girl stopped haggling with Buddha, collected the snacks from the offering table, and gracefully walked out of the main hall with the purple leaf in her hand, casually handing the leaf to Zhou Yi.
"I've eaten so much of your food, so I'll give it to you. I'm too lazy to study these Buddhist things."

Zhou Yi held the leaf, somewhat at a loss.

Last time, when Wu Zetian went to the statue of Wang Lingguan to burn the envelope containing money for longevity, a leaf appeared on the offering table not long after. This time, when Gongsun Da Niang was muttering in front of the Buddha, a leaf also appeared.

What's the point of playing this?
Can you pray and make wishes? Can you summon gods? You can't exactly roast it into tea leaves and brew it into water, can you?

He took it to the room, found the Modern Chinese Dictionary on the bookshelf, and looked at the red leaves that Wang Lingguan had given him. After so many days, they showed no signs of drying out and still looked as if they had just been picked.

Zhou Yi then slipped the purple leaf given to him by Buddha inside, intending to study it more thoroughly when he was less busy.

After doing all that, he took out his grandfather's little book for keeping accounts and flipped through it from beginning to end. It was mostly filled with people's contact information; some names had a horizontal line after them, while others did not.

He only half understood what it meant and didn't know what the horizontal line meant... He had been busy with school in the past and didn't know much about his grandfather's affairs. Now that he had come into contact with him, he realized that there was still a lot he needed to learn.

Scrolling to the end, Zhou Yi saw someone labeled "[Tailor]", followed by a phone number, and then a note:
[For new Taoist robes, please contact this person to have them custom-made.]

custom made?

Could it be that this tailor made my black and white Taoist robes?
In the past, Zhou Yi often looked at what celebrities wore in haute couture and thought it was great to be rich. Little did he know that his own Taoist robe would also be considered haute couture.

Thinking that Gongsun Da Niang and Wu Meiniang only had Taoist robes bought online, Zhou Yi took out his phone and dialed the number, only to hear a message that the number was not in service.

"No way, Grandpa wrote this person down in the ledger so seriously, is he just joking with me?"

Zhou Yi thought for a moment, then took the cell phone his grandfather used before he passed away and redialed. To his surprise, this time it wasn't a disconnected number; it actually went through with a beep!

(End of this chapter)