My eunuch godfather

Chapter 144 The General Who Calmed Down

After meeting the owners and managers of various gambling dens.

Qin Jisheng, representing Zhang Kun, then arranged a meeting with Long Tiandao of the Wenxiang Sect and Huaizhendao of the Wuwei Sect, conveying the following message:

The general's meaning is that you can open a branch altar in Tianjin.

However, all believers at the branch temples must be listed in the register, just like the Euryptophan movement.

Since the orthodox Buddhist and Taoist sects are not strong enough, they can only let these non-Buddhist sects confront the Jesuit missionaries first.

Ultimately, the solution is to establish secular education and allow the "state church" to occupy the ideological front.

The Third French Republic was known as the "Republic of Teachers" because of its strong promotion of free and compulsory secular education.

Jules Ferry, who pioneered this educational reform, famously said: "The clergy say, 'Give me a child, and I will educate him.' The teachers of the Republic also say, 'Give me a child, and I will educate him.'"

The former teaches faith in deities, while the latter teaches the concepts of homeland, republic, equality, reason, and freedom.

However, Zhang Kun currently does not have that much funding.

It will be possible to squeeze out some funds only after the "coastal procurement" that will begin after the new year is completed.

They established public secular education in Dagukou, but it was not entirely free.

"Commander Qin,"

Long Lingxian, the Buddhist nun of Long Tiandao, smiled and asked Qin Jisheng, "How are believers counted? Does burning an incense stick or donating a string of coins count as being a believer?"

After Huaizhen Dao built a temple in Matoudian that ostensibly worshipped Bixia Yuanjun, but actually worshipped Wusheng Laomu, the goddess.

Long Tiandao also built a Guanyin Temple in Matoudian to enshrine Guanyin Bodhisattva.

In fact, according to the teachings of the Longtiandao sect, Guanyin Bodhisattva is the female form of Maitreya Buddha.

"Pilgrimage visitors are pilgrims, and believers are believers."

Qin Jisheng frowned slightly and said coldly to Long Lingxian, "Going into your Guanyin Temple, burning an incense stick, donating a string of coins, etc., these things don't count."

However, anyone who attends your Longhua Association more than three times on the 19th of each month must be recorded on the roster!

"Please rest assured, Commander Qin."

Wu Daozhen, the incense master from Huaizhen Temple standing nearby, respectfully said to Qin Jisheng, "We will definitely register all believers in detail!"

Unlike the Incense-Reading Sect, which focuses on rebellion, the Inaction Sect focuses on strikes and tax resistance.

They would often openly let the authorities know how many followers they had in a certain place.

This will make the government think twice about how many soldiers, artisans, and laborers might riot when they investigate it!

In the capital city, in Xique Hutong, Zhengdongfang.

Sun Shuyun and Ning Xuan'er came with gifts to visit Cheng Wenqing, the former first wife.

The reason is simple: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Previously, Sun Shuyun and Ning Xuan'er were forced by Cheng Wenqing to check accounts, copy documents, and so on, working for the Qingxia ship for free.

I think Cheng Wenqing is really wicked, and I hope to escape Cheng Wenqing's clutches as soon as possible.

Now that she's met Li Huamei, the new first wife, she's realized there's something even worse out there.

On the surface, Li Huamei treated Sun Shuyun and Ning Xuan'er very well.

She didn't put on any airs of a first wife; they addressed each other as sisters and would occasionally exchange small gifts.

However, Li Huamei actually occupied almost all of Zhang Kun's free time, making it difficult for the two of them to see Zhang Kun.

Li Huamei also took full control of managing the family business.

Even when they sought to share the burden, they entrusted it to their personal maids, not allowing Sun Shuyun and Ning Xuan'er to get involved.

Most of these personal maids were brought by Li Huamei from her maternal home and had been trained in tasks such as checking accounts and copying documents.

Those who weren't brought from their maternal families, like Liu Shengnan, were all newly taken in as personal maids by Li Huamei.

She was more beautiful than the girl brought from her maternal family, and was personally trained by Li Huamei to become her future capable assistant and intimate ally.

After feeling threatened, Sun Shuyun and Ning Xuan'er couldn't think of a good way to deal with it.

Under the guise of paying New Year's visits, she ran over to Cheng Wenqing and cried her heart out.

"Hmph, now you know how tough it is, don't you think, after how I taught you a lesson?"

Cheng Wenqing lay comfortably on the soft couch, leaning against a large doll made by craftsmen under the personal guidance of Zhang Kun.

Zhang Kun was born in the Year of the Tiger, so he made this large doll with a tiger's head and a tiger's face, and named it "General Who Calms Down".

Sometimes when Cheng Wenqing was angry and Zhang Kun wasn't around, he would vent his anger by hitting the big doll.

Sometimes, when I miss Zhang Kun, I'll fall asleep while hugging a big plush toy.

Sun Shuyun and Ning Xuan'er looked at the distraught general with envy and jealousy in their eyes.

"This is just a concubine."

Cheng Wenqing picked up an orange from the glass table next to him, peeled it, and said to the two of them with schadenfreude, "If you two were to encounter a wife with the title of legal wife, or even a more capable one, tsk tsk~"

He popped a segment of orange into his mouth, chewing as he said, "But who knows, maybe if two tigers fight, you two little sparrows will benefit."

Cheng Wenqing's special status meant she couldn't possibly receive any official title; instead, she could simply watch from the sidelines and enjoy their entertainment.

It's unlikely that Zhang Kun will marry his legal wife anytime soon, and even if she does marry into the family, there's no guarantee that the two will fight each other.

Thinking of this, Sun Shuyun smiled bitterly at Cheng Wenqing and said, "Sister, we were both too foolish back then, not knowing your good intentions."

I just need your advice, sister, to help us...

Ning Xuan'er, who was standing next to Cheng Wenqing, reached out and took a small orange, and helped Cheng Wenqing peel it.

"Hmph, the eldest comes to me for advice, and the youngest comes to me for advice too. Do they really think I'm their mother?"

Cheng Wenqing snorted coldly, took the small orange that Ning Xuan'er had peeled, and sneered at the two of them: "I do have a way. You two take the initiative to find that bastard and say that you're bored at home all day."

Ask him to arrange a job for both of you, preferably a business venture.

Sun Shuyun and Ning Xuan'er exchanged glances, then asked Cheng Wenqing in a weak voice, "Will this method work?"

"Of course there are."

Cheng Wenqing picked up the glass, took a big gulp of lemon black tea, and explained to the two with a cold smile: "When the wives and concubines of wealthy families fight amongst themselves, everything else is secondary; the main reason is that they're just bored."

That bastard is just too busy lately. Once he's done with this, he'll probably find you two something to do.

To prevent you two from being too idle and causing unrest in the inner quarters...

'

Just then, one of Cheng Wenqing's personal maids rushed in and said urgently, "Madam, Madam, the master is here!"

Upon hearing Zhang Kun's sudden arrival, Sun Shuyun and Ning Xuan'er turned pale with fright, unsure of where to hide.

Seeing their anxious expressions, Cheng Wenqing smiled and said to them, "What's the rush? I'll back you up. Go find that bastard and ask him for a good job or a good business opportunity."

Zhang Kun walked into the inner room and saw Sun Shuyun and Ning Xuan'er there as well. He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I didn't expect to run into the two of you here. I'll take you back with me tomorrow."

After saying that, he walked to Cheng Wenqing's side, knelt on one knee, and put his head against Cheng Wenqing's belly to listen to the fetal movements.

Cheng Wenqing, somewhat displeased that Zhang Kun listened to the fetal movement first, snorted and gently patted Zhang Kun's head.

"Wrong, wrong."

Zhang Kun quickly raised his head, cupped his hands in greeting to Cheng Wenqing, and said, "I wish you all the best in the new year, and that you eat well and sleep well."

She reached out and patted the calmed-down general beside her, saying gently, "Little brother will always stay by his sister's side."