Chapter 52
At noon, the convoy arrived in the wilderness. Everyone took a rest here and had something to eat. Then they continued on the road.
From time to time, Li Song went to the back to check on the Jiang Family’s situation. His father had told him to take good care of the Jiang Family.
He thought the Jiang Family was amazing. An ordinary family in the village had never been to Lu Prefecture. They dared to go to Lu Prefecture when they heard that they could make money there. If it was him, he didn't dare. Thinking back to his first escort trip, it was also to Lu Prefecture. The team was full of old escorts. He was only following along and was very worried.
In fact, Jiang Cheng was worried. So when he saw him coming, he kept asking about the situation in Lu Prefecture.
There was no problem on the road, so Li Song told him in detail.
Jiang Yun Zhu listened at the side and confirmed what he said with what she knew. When she heard Li Song mentioning someone, she would ask. Consider it as paving the way for future plans.
Several people were chatting when Li Song suddenly looked back vigilantly.
"What's going on?" Jiang Cheng asked nervously. On the way they to seek refugee from the famine in Changfeng Mansion, they had once encountered bandits. Fortunately, they avoided them when they saw them from a distance. If not, really don't know what would happen.
"It's nothing. You guys continue to move forward." Li Song responded. Then he turned his horse's head and hid behind a nearby cliff.
Jiang Yun Zhu and the others continued to move forward. About a quarter of an hour later, Li Song caught up with a person in his hand. Behind was a donkey.
The convoy stopped. Li Song threw the person on the ground.
Gu Qi Feng got up with a swoosh. He harrumphed, "I told you that I’m not following you. Does the road belong to your family and it can't be used by others?"
It was him. Jiang Yun Zhu group was surprised.
This time going to Lu Prefecture was to set up a stall. Jiang Yun Zhu only brought Xue Jing, Jiang Cheng and Mrs. Chen. Xu Qing Shan was the driver.
Speaking of which, Jiang Yun Zhu had underestimated Gu Qi Feng's toughness. He seemed to be set on the Jiang Family and had been looking for chores everywhere at the Jiang’s house. His parents had dragged him back several times, but it didn't work. So they turned a blind eye in the end.
In Gu Qi Feng's words, they finally resigned to fate, knowing that he wasn't as good as Gu Yan Zhou and that he wouldn’t be able to take the imperial examination.
From then on, he guarded Jiang's house even more.
Actually, the Jiang Family liked him quite a bit. He had a good temper, knew how to settle accounts, and was a sweet-talker. He was really a good candidate to be the manager.
This time when he heard that Jiang Yun Zhu was going to Lu Prefecture, he kept pestering to go too. It went without saying Jiang Yun Zhu. Unforeseen, he quietly followed.
"Do you know him?" Li Song asked Jiang Yun Zhu and others. He had been to Jiang's house several times and he seemed to have seen Gu Qi Feng at Jiang's house.
"Why did you follow?" Jiang Cheng asked.
"I want to visit Lu Prefecture." Facing Jiang Cheng, Gu Qi Feng was still very honest. He couldn't resist saying, "After the New Year, I am fourteen years old. My cousin went to the capital for study when he was fourteen. Though I'm not as good as him, I'm not a child anymore."
That’s right, Gu Qi Feng had a clear understanding of himself. He was helping the Jiang Family these days and knew what he wanted to do in the future. And opportunities often need to be fought for as they are fleeting.
In this day and age, fourteen was indeed not young. Some people were even married and had children.
Jiang Cheng looked at Jiang Yun Zhu inquiringly. What should they do now? Drive people back? It had already been half a day's journey. It's not safe for Gu Qi Feng to go back alone.
Jiang Yun Zhu frowned.
"How about let him follow me?" Xu Qing Shan interjected. Gu Qi Feng was Gu Yong De's nephew. So he was related to him. He had to take care of him.
"Elder Brother Qing Shan, you are the best!" Gu Qi Feng immediately ran to Xu Qing Shan snf said a lot of good things. He even took out an apple from his bag for Xu Qing Shan to eat.
Xu Qing Shan didn't accept. He just asked him if he had told his family and stated that he must follow him closely.
"I told my father, but not my mother. I know, Elder Brother Qing Shan, don't worry." Gu Qi Feng assured.
After a small hiccup, everyone moved on.
When it was dark, they arrived at Biling Town.
"Rest here for one night. We will be able to arrive in Lu Prefecture at noon tomorrow." Li Song said.
Jiang Cheng and the others were fine with it.
A night of silence. The next morning, Jiang Yun Zhu got up an hour earlier than everyone else and got busy in the kitchen of the inn. When everyone was up, she just poured the contents of the pot into a jar and sealed it.
"Yun Zhu, you woke up so early? What are you making? Smells so delicious." Mrs. Chen looked around and saw the jar in Jiang Yun Zhu's hand.
"Mother, I have use for this." Jiang Yun Zhu replied.
The inn provided breakfast. Everyone ate breakfast. The contents of the jar had cooled. Jiang Yun Zhu poured it out, cut it into small pieces, put it in a food box, and moved on.
Near noon, they saw the gate of Lu Prefecture City. Lu Prefecture deserved to be the largest city in Central-South. The city was vast and majestic. The city gate alone was five meters high. A person seemed insignificant in front of such a giant size.
There was a lot of traffic at the gate of the city. Mrs. Chen and Jiang Cheng walked past the huge mottled bluestone slab. Anxiousness brewed in their heart.
While, Jiang Yun Zhu had a sense of familiarity. This was indeed Lu Prefecture City, where she had lived in her dream for seven years.
There was a temple fair in the city from the fifth day of the new year until the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day. The city will be very lively. Now all kinds of festive decorations have been placed on the street. Looking around, it was festive and full of pedestrians.
"What are you going to do next?" Li Song asked after entering the city. Once the Escort agency delivers the goods, they usually return on the same day, rest in Biling Town for one night, and return to Wuling County the next day.
What about the Jiang Family? Where do they go? Where would they stay? Stay in an inn? Usually it was okay. But at this time of year, the inn must be overcrowded and the prices could multiple. Li Song was very worried that they couldn't find a place to live or that it cost a lot of money to stay in an inn for one night. They couldn't make that much from selling food and could result in them losing money rather than earning money.
"Our family has a warehouse in the west of the city. But it's really a warehouse. There are no windows and no water. It’s fine to store some things. As accommodation..." It wasn't very good. Especially when Jiang Yun Zhu’s group was large. There was no way live in it. Of course, it was definitely better than sleeping on the streets. In that case, he might as well pay for them and find them an inn.
Jiang Yun Zhu originally wanted to find a warehouse to store things. Since Li Song offered, it worked out well. The rest was to find a place to live. Of course she won't let Li Song pay for it.
"Is Fatong Temple this way?" She asked Li Song.
"Are you going to Fatong Temple?" Li Song was puzzled.
"En. I heard you say, the guest-receiving monk of Fatong Temple is a strange person."
There were six famous temples in Lu Prefecture City. The first one was Jinguang Temple, which was built by the imperial court. It was the largest and had the most incense. Then there were Jialan Temple and Changming Temple.
Fatong Temple ranked last among these six temples. Still there were many people there.
The guest-receiving monk of Fatong Temple was very famous. He was a bit like Yi Yin in the Shang Dynasty and Liu An in the Western Han Dynasty. He was a gourmet. He once wrote a book "Main Taste Theory", explaining the Zen in food.
Because he liked delicious food, the vegetarian restaurant in Fatong Temple was very famous.
Jiang Yun Zhu had been to Fatong Temple several times in her dream and knew the nature of the guest-receiving monk. So she had made plans long ago.
Hearing this, Li Song recalled that Jiang Yun Zhu had asked about the guest-receiving monk’s situation before. He also knew that Jiang Yun Zhu's cooking was delicious. So he vaguely had a guess. Still, he felt that Jiang Yun Zhu was taking too much risk.
"I'll take you there." He said. If it didn't work, he could help them find an inn. At least he was familiar with Lu Prefecture.
"Thank you. We have troubled you too much." Jiang Yun Zhu responded.
Li Song smiled, "It will take some time for them to unload the cargo. When I get back from dropping you off, it should be about done." After speaking, he asked the escorts to unload the cargo. Then he led the way for Jiang Yun Zhu and the others.
It would be ungracious not to accept a kind offer. Jiang Yun Zhu and the others followed behind in a mule cart and a donkey cart.
There were a lot of people going to the temple to offer incense during the New Year. One was to pray for the blessing of the Buddha. Secondly, was to have fun. So even when the temple fair hadn’t started yet, there were crowds of people around Fatong Temple.
When they got here, Li Song was dumbfounded. What should they do now? Looking around, it was a sea of people.
"Father, Mother, take care of the cart and wait for me here." Jiang Yun Zhu got out of the cart with a food box.
"Yun Zhu." Jiang Cheng and Mrs. Chen worriedly uttered.
"Don't worry, I'll follow Miss Jiang." Li Song spoke. He was tall and big like an iron tower. He protected Jiang Yun Zhu and quickly opened a way for her in the crowd.
Not long after, Jiang Yun Zhu entered the temple and saw a young monk who was in charge of receiving pilgrims. So she went over and asked, "Master, is Master Pu Xuan in the temple?"
Pu Xuan was the temple’s guest-receiving monk.
In a temple like Fatong Temple, the guest-receiving monk was highly respected. If it wasn't for the rich and powerful, he usually wouldn’t meet in person.
The young monk took one glance at Jiang Yun Zhu and didn't dare to look any further.
Today Jiang Yun Zhu deliberately put on the new clothes given by Mrs. Liu and the two little hairpins in her hair. The person and clothes complemented each other. She was as beautiful as a bright moonlight pearl.
The young monk clasped his hands together and asked, "May I ask who Almsgiver is?"
Once he knows, he could go in and report.
However, Jiang Yun Zhu handed him the food box in her hand, "I have a dish here that I would like to ask Master Pu Xuan to taste. As for the name, let's talk about it after Master tastes it."
It was impossible for her to report her name as no one here knew her .
The young monk took in her attire, temperament, and speech. He felt that she must be a noble from some household. So he didn't dare to be negligent. He received the food box and went inside.
Recently, there were a lot of things going on in the temple. Pu Xuan was instructing two disciples to do things, when the young monk came in with a food box.
Pu Xuan stopped.
The young monk explained the matter.
It was already noon and he hadn't eaten yet. Pu Xuan happened to be a little hungry, so he became interested and peered at the food box.
The young monk understood, opened the food box, and took out the plate to put on the table.
It was just, his face suddenly changed drastically. He didn't know what to do with the plate of food.
Nearby, Pu Xuan’s two disciples saw what was on the plate and immediately yelled, "How dare you bring this kind of thing into the temple."
The other person was more kind and immediately urged, "Take it out now."
It dawned on the young monk, who was holding the plate, then. He quickly stuffed the plate into the food box. Internally, he was extremely annoyed with Jiang Yun Zhu. He saw that she was a virtuous and beautiful girl. That’s why he brought the food box in for her. Who would have thought that she would harm him like this!
At this time, Pu Xuan uttered, "Put down that dish."
"Master!" The three shouted together.
They only glanced at that dish, but they clearly saw that it was a dish of meat skin jelly. Buddhism avoided meat. And someone sent Pu Xuan a plate of meat skin jelly for him to taste. Wasn't this intentionally humiliating him?
This was simply intolerable and unbearable!
"Take a closer look." Pu Xuan said.
The three of them were stunned. Take a closer look? What did Master mean? The young monk took the food out of the food box again and put it on the table while carefully inspecting it.
No matter how one looked at it, it was still a plate of pork skin jelly.
Although the meat skin jelly was cut into pieces, it was placed in the shape of flowers.
Pu Xuan laughed. There were chopsticks in the food box. He picked up the chopsticks, clipped up a piece and put it in his mouth.
"Master!" The three disciples exclaimed in surprise. Master would break his religious principle for this mouthful! Moreover, it was unknown who sent it and whether it was poisoned.
While Pu Xuan, who put that piece of thing into his mouth, had a look of surprise on his face. Then he chewed more and remarked, "As expected!"
"Master..." The three disciples didn't know what to do.
"You guys, try it too. You'll understand then. None of you three are like me." Pu Xuan loved food as well as studying food. However, his three disciples were only busy with various chores.
The three disciples looked at each other. It wasn't meat skin jelly?
In the end, they gritted their teeth and tasted it. Master had already eaten it. If they didn't eat it, wouldn't they get disdained by Master because of this in the future?
They didn't have time to look for chopsticks either. So they each pinched a piece of the crystal thing and put it in their mouths.
The jelly was very soft and elastic. If one bit it with their teeth, the jelly melted immediately and the juice overflowed the mouth.
Fresh. What a fresh taste.
At the same time, the teeth bit into the meat skin in the jelly. The meat skin was soft and chewy. It tasted like meat, but...they all turned to Pu Xuan. This thing didn't really seem to be meat skin.
Moreover, this jelly had only the taste of meat, but no meat at all. It was really a vegetarian dish.
"Have your horizons broadened?" Pu Xuan said.
The three disciples showed shame on their faces. They never thought that someone could make a plate of vegetarian dishes to look so much like jelly.
"That's why I said that you can't just hang around in the temple every day. Sitting down to watch the sky is closing off your steps." Pu Xuan stated.
"Master, disciple accept teaching." The three disciples quickly saluted. Afterward, they looked at the plate of ‘meat skin’ jelly. This food was really delicious. They hadn’t fully grasped the taste of the piece just now. They just thought it was delicious .
Pu Xuan snorted and said nothing. However, his gaze lingered on the plate of ‘meat skin’ jelly.
"Invite the person who sent the food in." He ordered the young monk.
"Yes, Master." The young monk went out at once.
Outside, Jiang Yun Zhu was still standing there waiting.
"Miss, my master invites you in." The young monk informed.
Jiang Yun Zhu let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that she was lucky. She followed the young monk around the main hall. Once in a room at the back, she met Pu Xuan.
Pu Xuan was younger than she remembered, but basically the same.
Pu Xuan was examining Jiang Yun Zhu. His eyesight was much better than that of the young monk. He could tell that Jiang Yun Zhu's family background wasn't good. But it didn't matter. The person who could make this kind of dish was already outstanding enough.
"Miss, please sit down." He stretched out his hand.
"Thank you." Jiang Yun Zhu openly sat down.
"Miss, did you use sweet potato flour for this dish?" The ‘meat skin’ seemed to be made of sweet potato flour.
"Master is quite discerning. I certainly used sweet potato flour." Of course, she didn't just use sweet potato flour as it would definitely not be able to make that kind of texture. As for what was added, it was inconvenient to tell the monk.
"It’s made so realistic?" Pu Xuan asked. There were some vegetarian imitation dishes, such as imitation bear's paw and imitation abalone. But most of them imitated their taste. Jiang Yun Zhu's dish was so similar in shape. There was some suspicion of pranking people.
For example, his three incompetent apprentices just now.
Jiang Yun Zhu had no other way. This morning, she made this dish to give it to him to eat now. If she didn't make something novel, would he see her? But she couldn't say it directly. So she smiled, "Fake is real, and real is fake."
Her sentence comes from the sentence in ‘Dream in Red Chamber’- ‘Truth becomes fiction when the fiction's true; Real becomes not real where the unreal is real’. This sentence explains the relationship between truth and falsehood.
Pu Xuan was stunned for a moment. Real, fake...Suddenly, he burst out laughing, "Miss truly has a clever mind. This monk has been taught."
Jiang Yun Zhu's face turned slightly red. She didn’t come up with it. She just borrowed it.
Fortunately, Pu Xuan didn't ask her this. Instead, he asked her the reason of her visit.
Jiang Yun Zhu tactfully stated her purpose of coming to Lu Prefecture and the matter of wanting to borrow an accommodation. She said that she only wanted to have a tile over the body. She didn't need to live in a guest room. A firewood room and the likes would do.
Now that there were many pilgrims in the temple, there were really no vacant guest rooms. As for firewood room, "There are quite a lot of firewood rooms, but no one had lived in them for a long time. If Miss don't mind..."
"I don't mind at all." Jiang Yun Zhu said quickly.
Pu Xuan nodded and told the young monk to lead Jiang Yun Zhu to the firewood room.
"Then thank you, Master. One more thing, could I borrow the kitchen in the temple? I have no way to repay you for the accommodation in the temple. I want to cook two dishes for Master as a thank you." Jiang Yun Zhu’s meaning using food as the room fee.
Thinking of the taste of ‘meat skin jelly’, Pu Xuan readily agreed.
Outside the gate, Jiang Cheng and Mrs. Chen were waiting anxiously when Jiang Yun Zhu came out of the temple.
"Yun Zhu." Mrs. Chen asked with concern.
"Father, Mother, I have found a place to stay." Jiang Yun Zhu told. Then she said to Li Song, "Elder Brother Li, could I borrow your warehouse?"
It was to put her meat skewers. As they were staying ina temple, they couldn’t really bring in these meats.
Li Song was dumbfounded by her actions just now. She only heard that the guest-receiving monk in Fatong Temple liked delicious food, so she made one and delivered it to the door. And it wasn’t freshly made. It was made in the morning. The result was the other party really giving them a place to stay?
Li Song didn't know whether Jiang Yun Zhu was too smart, or she was lucky, or both.
Anyway, he admired her greatly now. He felt that the Jiang Family may really make a fortune in Lu Prefecture this time.
"Okay." He agreed.
After storing the goods in the Li Family's warehouse, Jiang Yun Zhu and the others returned to Fatong Temple. In the west courtyard of the guest room, there were indeed a firewood room. Some of which were piled with things, while some of which were a little dilapidated. Still, it could liveable after tidying up.
Only now did Mrs. Chen and Jiang Cheng have the opportunity to ask Jiang Yun Zhu what happened. Jiang Yun Zhu briefly explained. She was afraid that there would be no place to stay in the inn in the city. Hearing that the guest-receiving monk in Fatong Temple liked delicious food, she thought of coming over to borrow a place to stay and use dishes to pay for the rent.
Mainly, staying here meant close location advantage. It would be convenient for them to occupy a space to set up a stall.
After Jiang Cheng and the others heard this, they were both happy and filled with admiration.
That night, Jiang Yun Zhu made two vegetarian dishes for Pu Xuan. Pu Xuan sent someone to bring her two plates of pastries. It was obvious that he liked those vegetarian dishes.
Before dawn the next day, the Jiang Family got up early.
Jiang Yun Zhu had already figured out where to set up a stall- by the Wuliu Bridge. The people who come and go there were all people with small assets. Quite suitable for her to sell meat skewers.
Thought they came early, there were already a few stalls selling things by the bridge. Some sold sesame seed cake, some sold facial makeup, some sold tea, and so on. If they came a little later, they might not have a spot.
Everyone felt that it was very convenient to live in the temple.
Quickly occupying a space, Jiang Yun Zhu cleaned up the place. Jiang Cheng went to get meat skewers and other things.
After they tidied up, there were more people on the street.
"Grilled skewers! Delicious grilled skewer. Come and try them!" Gu Qi Feng shouted cheerfully at the top of his throat.
At noon, the convoy arrived in the wilderness. Everyone took a rest here and had something to eat. Then they continued on the road.
From time to time, Li Song went to the back to check on the Jiang Family’s situation. His father had told him to take good care of the Jiang Family.
He thought the Jiang Family was amazing. An ordinary family in the village had never been to Lu Prefecture. They dared to go to Lu Prefecture when they heard that they could make money there. If it was him, he didn't dare. Thinking back to his first escort trip, it was also to Lu Prefecture. The team was full of old escorts. He was only following along and was very worried.
In fact, Jiang Cheng was worried. So when he saw him coming, he kept asking about the situation in Lu Prefecture.
There was no problem on the road, so Li Song told him in detail.
Jiang Yun Zhu listened at the side and confirmed what he said with what she knew. When she heard Li Song mentioning someone, she would ask. Consider it as paving the way for future plans.
Several people were chatting when Li Song suddenly looked back vigilantly.
"What's going on?" Jiang Cheng asked nervously. On the way they to seek refugee from the famine in Changfeng Mansion, they had once encountered bandits. Fortunately, they avoided them when they saw them from a distance. If not, really don't know what would happen.
"It's nothing. You guys continue to move forward." Li Song responded. Then he turned his horse's head and hid behind a nearby cliff.
Jiang Yun Zhu and the others continued to move forward. About a quarter of an hour later, Li Song caught up with a person in his hand. Behind was a donkey.
The convoy stopped. Li Song threw the person on the ground.
Gu Qi Feng got up with a swoosh. He harrumphed, "I told you that I’m not following you. Does the road belong to your family and it can't be used by others?"
It was him. Jiang Yun Zhu group was surprised.
This time going to Lu Prefecture was to set up a stall. Jiang Yun Zhu only brought Xue Jing, Jiang Cheng and Mrs. Chen. Xu Qing Shan was the driver.
Speaking of which, Jiang Yun Zhu had underestimated Gu Qi Feng's toughness. He seemed to be set on the Jiang Family and had been looking for chores everywhere at the Jiang’s house. His parents had dragged him back several times, but it didn't work. So they turned a blind eye in the end.
In Gu Qi Feng's words, they finally resigned to fate, knowing that he wasn't as good as Gu Yan Zhou and that he wouldn’t be able to take the imperial examination.
From then on, he guarded Jiang's house even more.
Actually, the Jiang Family liked him quite a bit. He had a good temper, knew how to settle accounts, and was a sweet-talker. He was really a good candidate to be the manager.
This time when he heard that Jiang Yun Zhu was going to Lu Prefecture, he kept pestering to go too. It went without saying Jiang Yun Zhu. Unforeseen, he quietly followed.
"Do you know him?" Li Song asked Jiang Yun Zhu and others. He had been to Jiang's house several times and he seemed to have seen Gu Qi Feng at Jiang's house.
"Why did you follow?" Jiang Cheng asked.
"I want to visit Lu Prefecture." Facing Jiang Cheng, Gu Qi Feng was still very honest. He couldn't resist saying, "After the New Year, I am fourteen years old. My cousin went to the capital for study when he was fourteen. Though I'm not as good as him, I'm not a child anymore."
That’s right, Gu Qi Feng had a clear understanding of himself. He was helping the Jiang Family these days and knew what he wanted to do in the future. And opportunities often need to be fought for as they are fleeting.
In this day and age, fourteen was indeed not young. Some people were even married and had children.
Jiang Cheng looked at Jiang Yun Zhu inquiringly. What should they do now? Drive people back? It had already been half a day's journey. It's not safe for Gu Qi Feng to go back alone.
Jiang Yun Zhu frowned.
"How about let him follow me?" Xu Qing Shan interjected. Gu Qi Feng was Gu Yong De's nephew. So he was related to him. He had to take care of him.
"Elder Brother Qing Shan, you are the best!" Gu Qi Feng immediately ran to Xu Qing Shan snf said a lot of good things. He even took out an apple from his bag for Xu Qing Shan to eat.
Xu Qing Shan didn't accept. He just asked him if he had told his family and stated that he must follow him closely.
"I told my father, but not my mother. I know, Elder Brother Qing Shan, don't worry." Gu Qi Feng assured.
After a small hiccup, everyone moved on.
When it was dark, they arrived at Biling Town.
"Rest here for one night. We will be able to arrive in Lu Prefecture at noon tomorrow." Li Song said.
Jiang Cheng and the others were fine with it.
A night of silence. The next morning, Jiang Yun Zhu got up an hour earlier than everyone else and got busy in the kitchen of the inn. When everyone was up, she just poured the contents of the pot into a jar and sealed it.
"Yun Zhu, you woke up so early? What are you making? Smells so delicious." Mrs. Chen looked around and saw the jar in Jiang Yun Zhu's hand.
"Mother, I have use for this." Jiang Yun Zhu replied.
The inn provided breakfast. Everyone ate breakfast. The contents of the jar had cooled. Jiang Yun Zhu poured it out, cut it into small pieces, put it in a food box, and moved on.
Near noon, they saw the gate of Lu Prefecture City. Lu Prefecture deserved to be the largest city in Central-South. The city was vast and majestic. The city gate alone was five meters high. A person seemed insignificant in front of such a giant size.
There was a lot of traffic at the gate of the city. Mrs. Chen and Jiang Cheng walked past the huge mottled bluestone slab. Anxiousness brewed in their heart.
While, Jiang Yun Zhu had a sense of familiarity. This was indeed Lu Prefecture City, where she had lived in her dream for seven years.
There was a temple fair in the city from the fifth day of the new year until the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day. The city will be very lively. Now all kinds of festive decorations have been placed on the street. Looking around, it was festive and full of pedestrians.
"What are you going to do next?" Li Song asked after entering the city. Once the Escort agency delivers the goods, they usually return on the same day, rest in Biling Town for one night, and return to Wuling County the next day.
What about the Jiang Family? Where do they go? Where would they stay? Stay in an inn? Usually it was okay. But at this time of year, the inn must be overcrowded and the prices could multiple. Li Song was very worried that they couldn't find a place to live or that it cost a lot of money to stay in an inn for one night. They couldn't make that much from selling food and could result in them losing money rather than earning money.
"Our family has a warehouse in the west of the city. But it's really a warehouse. There are no windows and no water. It’s fine to store some things. As accommodation..." It wasn't very good. Especially when Jiang Yun Zhu’s group was large. There was no way live in it. Of course, it was definitely better than sleeping on the streets. In that case, he might as well pay for them and find them an inn.
Jiang Yun Zhu originally wanted to find a warehouse to store things. Since Li Song offered, it worked out well. The rest was to find a place to live. Of course she won't let Li Song pay for it.
"Is Fatong Temple this way?" She asked Li Song.
"Are you going to Fatong Temple?" Li Song was puzzled.
"En. I heard you say, the guest-receiving monk of Fatong Temple is a strange person."
There were six famous temples in Lu Prefecture City. The first one was Jinguang Temple, which was built by the imperial court. It was the largest and had the most incense. Then there were Jialan Temple and Changming Temple.
Fatong Temple ranked last among these six temples. Still there were many people there.
The guest-receiving monk of Fatong Temple was very famous. He was a bit like Yi Yin in the Shang Dynasty and Liu An in the Western Han Dynasty. He was a gourmet. He once wrote a book "Main Taste Theory", explaining the Zen in food.
Because he liked delicious food, the vegetarian restaurant in Fatong Temple was very famous.
Jiang Yun Zhu had been to Fatong Temple several times in her dream and knew the nature of the guest-receiving monk. So she had made plans long ago.
Hearing this, Li Song recalled that Jiang Yun Zhu had asked about the guest-receiving monk’s situation before. He also knew that Jiang Yun Zhu's cooking was delicious. So he vaguely had a guess. Still, he felt that Jiang Yun Zhu was taking too much risk.
"I'll take you there." He said. If it didn't work, he could help them find an inn. At least he was familiar with Lu Prefecture.
"Thank you. We have troubled you too much." Jiang Yun Zhu responded.
Li Song smiled, "It will take some time for them to unload the cargo. When I get back from dropping you off, it should be about done." After speaking, he asked the escorts to unload the cargo. Then he led the way for Jiang Yun Zhu and the others.
It would be ungracious not to accept a kind offer. Jiang Yun Zhu and the others followed behind in a mule cart and a donkey cart.
There were a lot of people going to the temple to offer incense during the New Year. One was to pray for the blessing of the Buddha. Secondly, was to have fun. So even when the temple fair hadn’t started yet, there were crowds of people around Fatong Temple.
When they got here, Li Song was dumbfounded. What should they do now? Looking around, it was a sea of people.
"Father, Mother, take care of the cart and wait for me here." Jiang Yun Zhu got out of the cart with a food box.
"Yun Zhu." Jiang Cheng and Mrs. Chen worriedly uttered.
"Don't worry, I'll follow Miss Jiang." Li Song spoke. He was tall and big like an iron tower. He protected Jiang Yun Zhu and quickly opened a way for her in the crowd.
Not long after, Jiang Yun Zhu entered the temple and saw a young monk who was in charge of receiving pilgrims. So she went over and asked, "Master, is Master Pu Xuan in the temple?"
Pu Xuan was the temple’s guest-receiving monk.
In a temple like Fatong Temple, the guest-receiving monk was highly respected. If it wasn't for the rich and powerful, he usually wouldn’t meet in person.
The young monk took one glance at Jiang Yun Zhu and didn't dare to look any further.
Today Jiang Yun Zhu deliberately put on the new clothes given by Mrs. Liu and the two little hairpins in her hair. The person and clothes complemented each other. She was as beautiful as a bright moonlight pearl.
The young monk clasped his hands together and asked, "May I ask who Almsgiver is?"
Once he knows, he could go in and report.
However, Jiang Yun Zhu handed him the food box in her hand, "I have a dish here that I would like to ask Master Pu Xuan to taste. As for the name, let's talk about it after Master tastes it."
It was impossible for her to report her name as no one here knew her .
The young monk took in her attire, temperament, and speech. He felt that she must be a noble from some household. So he didn't dare to be negligent. He received the food box and went inside.
Recently, there were a lot of things going on in the temple. Pu Xuan was instructing two disciples to do things, when the young monk came in with a food box.
Pu Xuan stopped.
The young monk explained the matter.
It was already noon and he hadn't eaten yet. Pu Xuan happened to be a little hungry, so he became interested and peered at the food box.
The young monk understood, opened the food box, and took out the plate to put on the table.
It was just, his face suddenly changed drastically. He didn't know what to do with the plate of food.
Nearby, Pu Xuan’s two disciples saw what was on the plate and immediately yelled, "How dare you bring this kind of thing into the temple."
The other person was more kind and immediately urged, "Take it out now."
It dawned on the young monk, who was holding the plate, then. He quickly stuffed the plate into the food box. Internally, he was extremely annoyed with Jiang Yun Zhu. He saw that she was a virtuous and beautiful girl. That’s why he brought the food box in for her. Who would have thought that she would harm him like this!
At this time, Pu Xuan uttered, "Put down that dish."
"Master!" The three shouted together.
They only glanced at that dish, but they clearly saw that it was a dish of meat skin jelly. Buddhism avoided meat. And someone sent Pu Xuan a plate of meat skin jelly for him to taste. Wasn't this intentionally humiliating him?
This was simply intolerable and unbearable!
"Take a closer look." Pu Xuan said.
The three of them were stunned. Take a closer look? What did Master mean? The young monk took the food out of the food box again and put it on the table while carefully inspecting it.
No matter how one looked at it, it was still a plate of pork skin jelly.
Although the meat skin jelly was cut into pieces, it was placed in the shape of flowers.
Pu Xuan laughed. There were chopsticks in the food box. He picked up the chopsticks, clipped up a piece and put it in his mouth.
"Master!" The three disciples exclaimed in surprise. Master would break his religious principle for this mouthful! Moreover, it was unknown who sent it and whether it was poisoned.
While Pu Xuan, who put that piece of thing into his mouth, had a look of surprise on his face. Then he chewed more and remarked, "As expected!"
"Master..." The three disciples didn't know what to do.
"You guys, try it too. You'll understand then. None of you three are like me." Pu Xuan loved food as well as studying food. However, his three disciples were only busy with various chores.
The three disciples looked at each other. It wasn't meat skin jelly?
In the end, they gritted their teeth and tasted it. Master had already eaten it. If they didn't eat it, wouldn't they get disdained by Master because of this in the future?
They didn't have time to look for chopsticks either. So they each pinched a piece of the crystal thing and put it in their mouths.
The jelly was very soft and elastic. If one bit it with their teeth, the jelly melted immediately and the juice overflowed the mouth.
Fresh. What a fresh taste.
At the same time, the teeth bit into the meat skin in the jelly. The meat skin was soft and chewy. It tasted like meat, but...they all turned to Pu Xuan. This thing didn't really seem to be meat skin.
Moreover, this jelly had only the taste of meat, but no meat at all. It was really a vegetarian dish.
"Have your horizons broadened?" Pu Xuan said.
The three disciples showed shame on their faces. They never thought that someone could make a plate of vegetarian dishes to look so much like jelly.
"That's why I said that you can't just hang around in the temple every day. Sitting down to watch the sky is closing off your steps." Pu Xuan stated.
"Master, disciple accept teaching." The three disciples quickly saluted. Afterward, they looked at the plate of ‘meat skin’ jelly. This food was really delicious. They hadn’t fully grasped the taste of the piece just now. They just thought it was delicious .
Pu Xuan snorted and said nothing. However, his gaze lingered on the plate of ‘meat skin’ jelly.
"Invite the person who sent the food in." He ordered the young monk.
"Yes, Master." The young monk went out at once.
Outside, Jiang Yun Zhu was still standing there waiting.
"Miss, my master invites you in." The young monk informed.
Jiang Yun Zhu let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that she was lucky. She followed the young monk around the main hall. Once in a room at the back, she met Pu Xuan.
Pu Xuan was younger than she remembered, but basically the same.
Pu Xuan was examining Jiang Yun Zhu. His eyesight was much better than that of the young monk. He could tell that Jiang Yun Zhu's family background wasn't good. But it didn't matter. The person who could make this kind of dish was already outstanding enough.
"Miss, please sit down." He stretched out his hand.
"Thank you." Jiang Yun Zhu openly sat down.
"Miss, did you use sweet potato flour for this dish?" The ‘meat skin’ seemed to be made of sweet potato flour.
"Master is quite discerning. I certainly used sweet potato flour." Of course, she didn't just use sweet potato flour as it would definitely not be able to make that kind of texture. As for what was added, it was inconvenient to tell the monk.
"It’s made so realistic?" Pu Xuan asked. There were some vegetarian imitation dishes, such as imitation bear's paw and imitation abalone. But most of them imitated their taste. Jiang Yun Zhu's dish was so similar in shape. There was some suspicion of pranking people.
For example, his three incompetent apprentices just now.
Jiang Yun Zhu had no other way. This morning, she made this dish to give it to him to eat now. If she didn't make something novel, would he see her? But she couldn't say it directly. So she smiled, "Fake is real, and real is fake."
Her sentence comes from the sentence in ‘Dream in Red Chamber’- ‘Truth becomes fiction when the fiction's true; Real becomes not real where the unreal is real’. This sentence explains the relationship between truth and falsehood.
Pu Xuan was stunned for a moment. Real, fake...Suddenly, he burst out laughing, "Miss truly has a clever mind. This monk has been taught."
Jiang Yun Zhu's face turned slightly red. She didn’t come up with it. She just borrowed it.
Fortunately, Pu Xuan didn't ask her this. Instead, he asked her the reason of her visit.
Jiang Yun Zhu tactfully stated her purpose of coming to Lu Prefecture and the matter of wanting to borrow an accommodation. She said that she only wanted to have a tile over the body. She didn't need to live in a guest room. A firewood room and the likes would do.
Now that there were many pilgrims in the temple, there were really no vacant guest rooms. As for firewood room, "There are quite a lot of firewood rooms, but no one had lived in them for a long time. If Miss don't mind..."
"I don't mind at all." Jiang Yun Zhu said quickly.
Pu Xuan nodded and told the young monk to lead Jiang Yun Zhu to the firewood room.
"Then thank you, Master. One more thing, could I borrow the kitchen in the temple? I have no way to repay you for the accommodation in the temple. I want to cook two dishes for Master as a thank you." Jiang Yun Zhu’s meaning using food as the room fee.
Thinking of the taste of ‘meat skin jelly’, Pu Xuan readily agreed.
Outside the gate, Jiang Cheng and Mrs. Chen were waiting anxiously when Jiang Yun Zhu came out of the temple.
"Yun Zhu." Mrs. Chen asked with concern.
"Father, Mother, I have found a place to stay." Jiang Yun Zhu told. Then she said to Li Song, "Elder Brother Li, could I borrow your warehouse?"
It was to put her meat skewers. As they were staying ina temple, they couldn’t really bring in these meats.
Li Song was dumbfounded by her actions just now. She only heard that the guest-receiving monk in Fatong Temple liked delicious food, so she made one and delivered it to the door. And it wasn’t freshly made. It was made in the morning. The result was the other party really giving them a place to stay?
Li Song didn't know whether Jiang Yun Zhu was too smart, or she was lucky, or both.
Anyway, he admired her greatly now. He felt that the Jiang Family may really make a fortune in Lu Prefecture this time.
"Okay." He agreed.
After storing the goods in the Li Family's warehouse, Jiang Yun Zhu and the others returned to Fatong Temple. In the west courtyard of the guest room, there were indeed a firewood room. Some of which were piled with things, while some of which were a little dilapidated. Still, it could liveable after tidying up.
Only now did Mrs. Chen and Jiang Cheng have the opportunity to ask Jiang Yun Zhu what happened. Jiang Yun Zhu briefly explained. She was afraid that there would be no place to stay in the inn in the city. Hearing that the guest-receiving monk in Fatong Temple liked delicious food, she thought of coming over to borrow a place to stay and use dishes to pay for the rent.
Mainly, staying here meant close location advantage. It would be convenient for them to occupy a space to set up a stall.
After Jiang Cheng and the others heard this, they were both happy and filled with admiration.
That night, Jiang Yun Zhu made two vegetarian dishes for Pu Xuan. Pu Xuan sent someone to bring her two plates of pastries. It was obvious that he liked those vegetarian dishes.
Before dawn the next day, the Jiang Family got up early.
Jiang Yun Zhu had already figured out where to set up a stall- by the Wuliu Bridge. The people who come and go there were all people with small assets. Quite suitable for her to sell meat skewers.
Thought they came early, there were already a few stalls selling things by the bridge. Some sold sesame seed cake, some sold facial makeup, some sold tea, and so on. If they came a little later, they might not have a spot.
Everyone felt that it was very convenient to live in the temple.
Quickly occupying a space, Jiang Yun Zhu cleaned up the place. Jiang Cheng went to get meat skewers and other things.
After they tidied up, there were more people on the street.
"Grilled skewers! Delicious grilled skewer. Come and try them!" Gu Qi Feng shouted cheerfully at the top of his throat.
read too fast and guest-receiving monk was for a short while quest-giving monk. i only thought "yeah, npc at religious fixtures are like that" ^^
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