28

Bo Chuan single-handedly unraveled the malicious life-borrowing scheme. Even without investigating further, he knew that the person behind it wouldn’t come to any good.

People who fool around with karma are fortunate if they aren’t discovered. Once they are, the consequences will be far worse than just accumulating karmic debt.

Sure enough, within two days, Xiao Shitou’s father, Yao Xiangjun, received a phone call from that “brother.” On the call, the other party sounded like they were on the verge of collapse, as if they would kneel before Yao Xiangjun if they were in person.

Sobbing uncontrollably, he begged Yao Xiangjun for forgiveness, claiming that he was now severely injured and hospitalized, entangled in a lawsuit. The family that had attempted to switch lives ended up losing their eldest son, who had been suffering from a serious illness. If they hadn’t tried to swap lives, they could have continued with conservative treatment for a few more years. But after the curse was broken, the child passed away in the ICU within a day. In their grief, the family even demanded that the money they had paid earlier be returned. He wanted to ask Yao Xiangjun who he had consulted, offering to pay him more money, just to ask for his help.

Yao Xiangjun, who had still harbored a sliver of hope, had that hope completely shattered after receiving the call.

He cursed loudly at the phone: “You deserve this!”

He had originally thought that with nothing much to offer, the other party couldn’t possibly be after anything from him. He had let his guard down and befriended the person. But now he realized that people’s hearts could be this wicked, to the point where they wanted to take even his healthy son’s life, dragging his life into an abyss.

After venting his anger with curses, he hung up the phone and, with tears in his eyes, went to pack his son’s things. The child had woken up the previous morning, but his health was still weak. After some discussion, the family decided that it was safer for him to stay in the hospital for a while.

Yao Xiangjun took his son’s daily necessities to the hospital, then hurried home to take care of all the chores inside and outside. After that, he rushed to the county.

The master had helped his family, so he had to order the best plaque!

When the plaque arrived, Bo Chuan remained silently thunderstruck.

The incense burner that Aunt Chunling and her husband had sent before was already large enough, about as big as three people could embrace. Bo Chuan had placed it at the entrance of the dilapidated Taoist temple, mocking himself for receiving such a large incense burner from the faithful, wondering if there would ever be that many people coming to offer incense in the future.

This time, Yao Xiangjun’s family had gone even further. The plaque they brought was even wider and bigger, but it couldn’t even fit on the narrow door of the Taoist temple!

Many villagers had come to watch the commotion, as Bo Chuan had made a big spectacle with this “breaking of the curse.” The previous time when he helped Aunt Chunling’s family, Bo Chuan hadn’t been very detailed, and most people thought he was just calling on spirits.

In the past, when children inexplicably cried, the village’s elderly would sometimes call the ^[1]“Fushou Elder” (福寿老人) is a traditional figure in Chinese folklore, often regarded as one of the Three Star Gods, who represent different blessings. Fushou Elder is the god of … Continue reading”Fushou Elder” to help. Although Bo Chuan was young, he had set up a Taoist temple, so it wasn’t that surprising.

This time, the full story spread quickly, thanks to Aunt Wang, who had watched everything unfold.

The young man from the Taoist temple, who seemed to be a bit slow (…), took out a string of coins (…), waved them (…), and brought the almost lifeless child back to life (…).

As rumors go, it changed shape the more it spread.

Although the general process and result were similar, the details made people frown.

So when Yao Xiangjun’s family brought the plaque up the mountain, many villagers followed. Some even bowed solemnly in front of the incense burner and placed apples and pears on the ground before the temple entrance.

“Hey, weren’t we offering to Xianxia Yuanjun before?”

“Yes, that’s right, we used to offer to the two Yuanjuns. Now that I think about it, it’s been quite a long time. When I was a child, the incense here was quite prosperous.”

“Exactly, my mother-in-law used to say that my husband was prayed for here by her. Back then, there was an old Taoist priest who, like the Taishan Goddess Temple, had tied a doll here. My mother-in-law said she wasn’t lucky and got the ugliest one…”

“…Hey! I’m still here!”

“So what should we ask for now? We’re not going to ask for a doll, right? Oh dear, I wouldn’t ask for that. I have two at home, that’s enough.”

“Ask for something random. Xianxia Yuanjun is the mountain god here. Ask for a good harvest.”

“In that case, I’ll ask the goddess to help me make some money.”

“The goddess can’t take the job of the god of wealth, can she… I’ll ask the goddess to help my old sow have more piglets.”

The crowd was bustling, and Lin You, holding a cat, mingled among them, feeling that everyone’s wishes were simple yet filled with hope.

There was only one exception.

At the very front of the crowd, Yao Jiu, looking quite serious, offered several plates of snacks, chanting something under his breath.

“Pray to Yuanjun to bless me with a lottery win this year…”

Lin You: …

Bo Chuan, who was close by and had keen ears, found it extremely painful to listen.

Then, he looked at the clueless little mountain god in Lin You’s arms…

Forget it, ^[2]“even a blind cat can stumble upon a dead rat” is a variation of a common saying, which suggests that sometimes even someone who is not paying attention or not particularly skilled can … Continue readingeven a blind cat can stumble upon a dead rat.

This little mountain god didn’t look like he could understand anyone’s prayers.

Feeling that his path in cultivation had even less hope, Bo Chuan sighed deeply.

The large plaque still hadn’t been hung up. Bo Chuan accepted it, saying he would hang it up after the Taoist temple was properly repaired.

As the crowd dispersed, Lin You, somewhat confused, asked him, “With such a small job, you could just hire a construction team, and it would be done quickly.”

Bo Chuan didn’t seem short on money.

Bo Chuan replied, “This path I’m taking can’t be done that way. It has to be repaired by my own hands, or by the voluntary donations of the followers. These donations can’t be too many at once, just little by little.”

If anyone could fix it, what would be the difference between this and the many tourist attractions that had been built later?

To cultivate divine power, one must practice their own Taoist heart to the fullest.

But this is also a paradox. Originally, the Taoist temple was meant to welcome the mountain god back and restore the god’s consciousness. However, if the temple isn’t fixed, the mountain god usually just wanders around the mountains in ignorance, like a child. Since the god is ignorant, how can they fulfill the wishes of the believers?

Thus, only the cultivator can painstakingly repair it, bit by bit.

Bo Chuan had recently cleaned up the broken bricks and tiles around the temple, and the rooms in the back yard of the temple were almost finished. The next step was to find suitable wood to make beams to replace the original ones.

This was a large project, so Bo Chuan had even stopped letting the cows out recently. He sent the raccoon cat up to the fields on the mountain to roll around, marked the spots, and told Aunt Chunling and her husband to make sure the cows grazed there every day.

Speaking of Aunt Chunling, since she took over the task of raising the cows again, she felt that she had never been so relaxed.

Lin You paid her a salary, and whenever she was busy, she would come to help. She and her husband could come every morning, alternate at home for lunch, and didn’t need to worry about it in the evening.

Bo Chuan didn’t beat around the bush, simply saying that it was fine to let the cows stay in the temple.

At first, Aunt Chunling was worried, but she later realized there was really no problem. When she had raised the cows before, she was always afraid that the cows would cause trouble in the middle of the night, but now, these cows were very well-behaved up on the mountain.

Even the cow dung, Aunt Chunling didn’t need to shovel.

Lin You had mentioned in the village that the reason her vegetables grew so well was because of the cow dung. At first, people would often go to Lin You’s land to swap soil, but later, after getting Bo Chuan’s permission, everyone just went up the mountain to collect the cow dung.

The manure from the twelve cows wasn’t much. The villagers who grew vegetables always had a need for it. Everyone shared it, and it was all used up.

Aunt Chunling didn’t think much of the cow dung at first. She had raised cows herself and used cow dung to fertilize the land. The effects were real, but it wasn’t anything miraculous.

But recently, the vegetables that everyone had grown had completely overturned her previous beliefs.

The bok choy and green vegetables are not worth mentioning, but even the early-planted tomato seedlings are much thicker and sturdier than in previous years. The fast-growing chili seedlings have already started to bear fruit, and the densely grown ones are equivalent to two plants from before.

Anyone with a discerning eye would know that something was certainly behind this.

Now that I think about it, perhaps the cows raised in the mountain god temple have gained some spiritual power?

This is the only explanation.

Otherwise, how could they attract a big boss to come and invest in building a factory?

Although it was just a small cookie factory, it was already quite impressive.

Aunt Chunling didn’t feel any regret for missing the opportunity to get rich just because the cows were sold by her. She was very open-minded. She had raised cows for many years without encountering such a thing, so it seemed that it wasn’t really related to the cows. The most important thing was the temple.

Therefore, while others only casually prayed, Aunt Chunling and her husband prayed every day, occasionally even helping to clean the incense burner.

The couple only had one child, Yao Yun, so they naturally prayed for her wishes to come true.

Recently, Yao Yun’s wishes really had come true.

Her career at the kindergarten was going smoother and smoother, and the vegetables she bought from Lin You received praise from everyone.

Now even the kindergarten children recognized her. When they saw her, they would call out “Aunt Yao” and ask if there was any food for them at lunch.

However, Yao Yun wasn’t content with the status quo. Recently, she had been so busy that she couldn’t keep up with the housework. But her husband and mother-in-law only dared to ask her when her husband would go to work, never criticizing her for not taking care of things at home.

Yao Yun finally understood. She had never been idle before, but in others’ eyes, the work at home was never as important as the outside career.

Now, she had made up her mind not to let her husband return to work at home. She didn’t even want him to help wash vegetables anymore. However, Yao Yun was very ambitious herself, she was already preparing to take the chef certification exam.

After all, it had been her idea to take over the kindergarten’s cafeteria, and she had paid the first contracting fee with her own money and that of her family. Why should she give it to her husband?

Not only would she not give it to him, but she also brought her son to the kindergarten.

In the morning, Yao Yun first fed her son breakfast, had a quick bite herself, then rode her tricycle with her son to the morning market to buy vegetables.

After buying the vegetables, she took her son to the kindergarten, placing him in the younger class, which was a special allowance from the principal. She only had to pay a few hundred yuan per month for the meal fees.

Duoduo didn’t have many friends, even among the children of similar ages in the neighborhood, he never quite got along with them.

Children often push and shove each other, but every time, Yao Yun’s mother-in-law would cause a scene, scolding the other children, and when their parents came, the two sides would argue.

Over time, Duoduo didn’t have any playmates.

Once Yao Yun noticed this issue, she simply removed him from the environment, and at the kindergarten, she wasn’t always hovering over him. Without adults backing him up, Duoduo’s bossy attitude faded significantly.

After a few days, there was already a noticeable difference.

For lunch that day, Yao Yun made sweet and sour ribs, stir-fried greens with tofu, fried rice as the main dish, and a mushroom soup.

Lin You’s vegetables weren’t available all the time, so Yao Yun tried several meat shops and found one selling local pigs. The pigs were raised by the owners themselves, fed only pig grass and their own sweet potatoes, never food waste.

After selecting this shop, she arranged to order the meat in advance.

She knew that her cooking skills weren’t particularly great, so what she could do was ensure the ingredients were top-notch.

Moreover, her son would also eat at the kindergarten, so how could she not be careful?

The ribs were cut into small pieces, and the sweet and sour sauce coated the tender, braised pork. The tangy, sweet taste was especially loved by the children. The greens were still from the batch Yao Yun bought at Lin You’s house yesterday. Lin You mentioned that after this batch of bok choy was finished, there would be a long gap before the next. This worried Yao Yun, so she had to be frugal. Today, she stir-fried it with tofu, and tomorrow she planned to stir-fry it with mushrooms.

The tofu Yao Yun bought was from an old shop in town that had been making tofu for years. After frying the tofu until both sides were golden, she stir-fried it with the greens. The dish was light and delicious.

The fried rice was made in several batches, using freshly harvested peas, eggs, and carrots. A bowl of fried rice was colorful, not too salty, and perfectly paired with the fragrant mushroom soup.

Yao Yun spent a busy afternoon, and when she picked up Duoduo, she noticed that he was smiling happily, saying goodbye to his friends one by one.

Yao Yun tried asking him, “Did you have a good day today?”

Duoduo put his hands on his hips and said, “I’m happy!”

He gestured toward his mom, “Mom, you’re amazing! The kids all said your food is super—delicious! At lunch, Meimei even gave me a lollipop. She asked me to ask you if we can have ribs again tomorrow. But Shuaishuai gave me a chocolate, he said he doesn’t like mushrooms… Mom, can we not have mushrooms tomorrow?”

Yao Yun laughed, “It’s not that Shuaishuai doesn’t want to eat it, it’s that you don’t want to, right?”

Duoduo giggled, “Mom, if tomorrow you just make meat and veggies, that would be perfect…”

Yao Yun tapped her son on the head, “You can’t be picky about food.”

“Then, Mom, what will we have tomorrow? Are there any chicken wings? I really—love chicken wings! If there are no chicken wings, I want to have the square pork you made…”

Yao Yun and her son walked home, heading towards the setting sun. The sunlight fell down, and the sunset painted the sky with colors. The light gave the clouds a golden lining. Everything was so beautiful it couldn’t be described in words.

Du Xun’s wife and mother stayed for a while before returning home. Du Xun remained in the town until everything was on track. In the rented factory, the new machines squeaked, and round flatbreads emerged from beneath the machines. After being baked for a while, the biscuits were sent off the production line still warm.

The finished biscuits automatically entered the packaging machine, which wrapped them in a thin transparent film, then placed them into blue packaging bags. The machine sealed them automatically, and a worker stood at the end to put the biscuits into boxes.

Lin You, Bo Chuan, and Yao Jiu came to watch the first batch of biscuits.

Du Xun took a package of biscuits from the box, opened it, and handed it to several people.

“I’ve tasted the flavor. Apart from not being as fragrant as yours, everything else is pretty good. My son also tried it and liked it.”

Du Xun guessed that the slight difference might be because of the eggs.

The chicken farms Lin You helped him connect to had limited production. Even if they started hatching chicks now, it would take two months to raise them.

So, the eggs he used for this batch came partly from Lianhua Town and partly from local free-range eggs.

Lin You carefully tasted one: “It’s not bad, pretty tasty.”

The egg flavor might only account for a small part, and people who didn’t pay attention wouldn’t even notice it.

Bo Chuan and Yao Jiu agreed with her, saying this batch of biscuits was a success.

As long as they maintained quality control, there shouldn’t be any big problems.

Lin You asked, “Do you have all the necessary permits?”

Du Xun shrugged, “I’m missing a few sales-related ones, but they’ll be done in half a month.”

To be honest, he wasn’t in a rush. Looking at the current production capacity, the machines only ran for four hours a day, and even if he wanted to expand, this was the output he could manage. Sales weren’t urgent for now.

He planned to stock up on goods first.

Lin You said, “That’s perfect. I’ll start a live stream tomorrow to warm things up.”

Du Xun’s sales this time were primarily online, with an offline store set up outside the factory, ready to sell some in Fangping Town as well.

For the first trial run, Du Xun planned to release 1,000 packs of biscuits and also provide Lin You with 200 lottery tickets.

The biscuits were made in only two flavors: one was a large round milk biscuit with nothing added, plain even without any patterns. The other was a square soda milk biscuit, also without any patterns.

Even the packaging was simple—just blue bags with the words “Yenxia Mountain Milk Biscuits” printed in large letters.

How should I put it? It was like something from a small, unbranded factory.

Du Xun had a straightforward, no-nonsense aesthetic. He believed that genuine, high-quality biscuits should be paired with genuine, high-quality packaging.

The only thing Lin You had a slight complaint about was the packaging: “You should hire a designer to properly work on the packaging later.”

Since they were rushing to launch, they didn’t dwell on it too much.

After discussing business, as Lin You was about to leave, Du Xun stopped her.

Du Xun, being a big man, lowered his voice mysteriously and asked Lin You, “I heard there’s a great master on your mountain?”

Lin You: “Great master? No, there isn’t.”

She had been coming to the town often recently, and her sources were usually accurate, but she hadn’t heard of any great master.

Du Xun gave her a look as if saying “don’t try to fool me”: “I’ve heard about him, this master is amazing, especially good with children. I also heard he sells Five Emperor coins. Can you ask him for me? I want to buy a few strings for my child.”