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Lin You shook her head blankly, then, with some effort, managed to understand what Yao Jiu was trying to express through her animated gestures.

“Isn’t it strange? That Daoist temple at the top of our village has been abandoned for so many years. Even the town says it’s beyond repair, but he insists on restoring it… Youyou, are you listening to me?!”

Yao Jiu was exasperated. How had she not noticed before how spaced out Lin You seemed?

Lin You slowly flopped down onto the chair that had just been tidied up: “Good Xiao Jiu, let me sleep for a while…”

The original owner’s physical condition wasn’t that great, especially considering the erratic schedule in the entertainment industry, where days and nights blended together, and she was often hungry without getting enough to eat. As a result, just a little extra food now made her blood sugar unstable, and she was extremely sleepy.

Yao Jiu stomped her foot, but not wanting to wake her up, she quietly closed the window, pulled a thicker blanket over her, and then left.

Lin You slept deeply, and in her dreams, she faintly smelled a strange fragrance. But the scent quickly faded, and Lin You turned over, falling even deeper into sleep.

—

At the eastern end of Lianhua Village, a dilapidated Daoist temple stood high on a hill, overlooking the entire village. The outer wall of the temple had collapsed, and many bricks and tiles were scattered around. Only the main hall remained, barely holding up a frame.

Although it was early spring, some trees had already begun to sprout green, and the scattered green like mist added an artistic beauty to the temple.

A figure, as tall as a pine tree, walked leisurely through the mountain, clearing some weeds and dead branches, occasionally gathering bricks and tiles into a pile. He worked carefully, as though he was the only person in the mountains.

Yet, his leisurely movements were far from slow. In just one afternoon, he had already cleaned up a large area of broken tiles. Yet, he showed no signs of fatigue.

Inside the main hall, a statue of a deity was missing an arm but still wore a benevolent expression. The shrine was damaged, and in front of the statue stood a half-destroyed incense burner.

White smoke spiraled upwards like a snake, and the figure, as straight as bamboo, kneeled before it.

“Heaven and Earth, the foul qi disperses. In the depths of the cave, the profound and mysterious, bright and clear, the Great Source.”

With two soft clinks, the divination cups fell to the ground.

Bo Chuan’s brow furrowed imperceptibly.

One positive, one negative, divination with a cup.

He looked up at the smiling statue.

“Since I arrived here, even the divination with the cups hasn’t worked. Has there finally been a change?”

After a long pause, Bo Chuan stood up and, bowing to the statue, murmured, “Disciple obeys the command.”

—

Lin You had a peaceful nap, and when she woke up, the sky outside had already darkened, giving her a sense of disorientation, like she didn’t know what time it was.

Fortunately, Yao Jiu had returned and helped Lin You reconnect the electrical switch in the house.

“I see you’re still missing quite a few things here. Would you like to go to the town with me tomorrow?”

Lin You thought for a moment: “Sure.”

The refrigerator and washing machine at home were still usable, but the kitchen was missing a lot of things.

Also…

Lin You: “I want to ask about buying a second-hand tricycle.”

Yao Jiu: “Why do you need that? You can just use the one at my house.”

Lin You: “That won’t do. In a few days, I’ll need to open up the vegetable field, and I’ll also be raising chickens and pigs.”

Yao Jiu was surprised: “Wait, you’re serious about this?!”

Lin You’s mention of farming made Yao Jiu think it was just about tending a small patch of land, but this sounded like a bigger undertaking.

Lin You smiled and said, “Of course! Tomorrow, I’ll also need to trouble you to take me to the town to ask if I can reclaim the land my grandmother left me from the management.”

The land Lin You’s family had been allocated, just like those of villagers who had moved away, was mostly entrusted to contractors.

Lin You didn’t plan to reclaim all of it, but she definitely wanted to take back about two acres, and there was some woodland at home she needed to check out too, planning to plant some of her favorite fruit trees.

Yao Jiu shook her head, thinking Lin You was just caught up in the moment: “Alright, fine, we can go tomorrow. We’ll catch the early market, and tomorrow happens to be a big market day.”

Yao Jiu took Lin You to her home for another meal. By the time they returned, Lin You remembered what Yao Jiu had said about the neighbor.

However…

Lin You peered over at the neighboring house. To be honest, it looked just like her own place, with no repairs in a long time, and there was no sign of anyone living there.

Originally, the house next door had belonged to Uncle Da Shui, whose child had opened a meat shop in the town a few years ago, so Uncle Da Shui had gone to help his son. The house had been vacant for a few years before being bought by an outsider last year.

At first, the villagers had thought it was a rare occurrence and assumed the new owner would interact with them. But soon they realized, though the person lived in the village, he clearly had no interest in socializing with anyone.

Lin You recalled Yao Jiu’s complaints at dinner.

“Don’t even talk about socializing. After moving in, this person is sometimes here, sometimes not. We never really see the lights on. We’ve never seen him farming or growing vegetables. I don’t even know what he eats, he’s always coming and going mysteriously.”

Lin You had originally been concerned about safety, but hearing Yao Jiu’s comments, she thought no more of it.

Since he didn’t interact with the villagers, she didn’t need to worry about any need for socializing either.

Lin You hummed a tune as she went back to rest. Little did she know, the person in the next house, who had been meditating in the dark, suddenly opened his eyes the moment she opened her door.

Although two walls separated them, Bo Chuan could hear the girl next door humming, turning on the lights, washing up…

Even the sound of her phone notifications was as if they were right next to him.

Bo Chuan’s brows furrowed slightly, and he didn’t relax until Lin You had fallen asleep, then slowly closed his eyes again to continue meditating.

Even though someone had moved in next door, they probably wouldn’t be too noisy… right?

With that thought in mind, the next morning, Bo Chuan realized how ridiculous his assumptions had been the night before.

Yao Jiu’s electric tricycle rattled over, and she shouted at the door, “Youyou! Hurry up, the market’s about to open.”

Lin You scrambled out of bed, put on her black down jacket, and hurriedly followed Yao Jiu.

It was six o’clock in the morning, and it was still dark. Yao Jiu’s tricycle was already loaded with several baskets of vegetables and chickens.

“These are from our village. The chickens and ducks are sold for money, and the vegetables are just whatever we can sell.”

With the village’s small population, the town had started encouraging villagers to grow greenhouse vegetables a few years ago. A few diligent elderly people had opened several greenhouses, and it provided a modest income.

The mountain road had been paved, smooth but winding. After about ten minutes of driving, Yao Jiu’s electric tricycle arrived at Fangping Town.

Fangping Town was the largest in the surrounding area, and the main road next to the town center activity square was also the most central spot during the big market days. Yao Jiu arrived early, swiftly claiming a spot on the edge of the street. Before long, vendors began setting up their stalls along the road.

“Beef skewers, six mao each!”

“Leftover bedding, twenty-one sets!”

“Come have a look, freshly picked greenhouse strawberries, if they’re not sweet, they’re free!”

—

The bustling market atmosphere quickly woke Lin You from her drowsiness.

Yao Jiu: “After we sell the vegetables, we can go eat.”

The chickens and ducks were easy to sell. They were taken to Uncle Da Shui’s butcher shop and sold quickly.

The vegetables, however, were picked over and haggled for, with a few mao or fen here and there. Fangping Town had a large population, and many families no longer farmed, buying their vegetables instead. There were also small restaurants at the foot of the mountain that came up to buy in order to lower their costs.

Overall, the market had limited sales.

Fortunately, the vegetables Yao Jiu brought were fresh. After selling for a while, the remaining stock was sold off at a low price to the small vegetable vendors who came looking for bargains.

Yao Jiu, with over a hundred yuan from selling vegetables and chickens, was feeling proud: “Let’s go, we’re having breakfast!”

There were several breakfast stalls at the morning market. Besides soy milk, fried dough, and pancakes, there was even one selling beef soup.

The two of them sat down and each ordered a bowl of beef soup.

The beef soup, stewed all night, wasn’t murky. The broth was a tea color, with a fragrant aroma. Large chunks of bone and beef floated in the broth, with white bubbles rising from the pot.

Tofu strips, beef tripe, and brisket were briefly cooked in the soup with a slotted spoon, then placed in a large bowl, garnished with green onions and cilantro, and topped with a spoonful of fragrant red chili oil. The beef broth was poured gently along the edge of the bowl. The clear soup, dotted with green onions and red chili oil, immediately aroused the appetite with its delightful fragrance.

The knife sliced the freshly made scallion pancakes into thin, long strips, perfect to pair with the beef soup.

“If we’re still hungry, we can order some instant noodles.”

The pancake strips soaked in the beef soup became tender and chewy. Though the chili oil looked intimidating, it was more fragrant than spicy, with the green onions balanced by the aromatic soup and oil, cutting through the richness.

On such a cold morning, a warm bowl of soup was comforting. Not only Lin You, but even Yao Jiu let out a satisfied sigh.

After finishing breakfast, the sky had brightened.

Yao Jiu took Lin You through the streets, first buying pots, pans, and various condiments, then daily necessities. After loading the tricycle with everything, Lin You also finalized the deal to reclaim two acres of land from the contractor.

The land management company was easy to talk to. Since no planting had started yet, it was a smooth process. The transfer of ownership was quickly completed.

With a lot of things to carry back home, Lin You didn’t stop, immediately tidying up the house. She also swept out the pigpen in one corner of the yard.

“After a few days, I’ll get two piglets.”

After raising them for a year, they could have pork to eat by the end of the year!

Thinking about the food, Lin You felt much more energized for her chores.

By the evening, Yao Jiu brought over a bunch of fresh leeks.

Lin You was exhausted, so dinner was a simple affair.

The leeks were mixed with scrambled egg chunks, soaked vermicelli cut into small pieces, and a little dried shrimp for flavor. Various seasonings were added, along with a dash of sesame oil to the filling. The dough was divided into small portions, rolled out into circles slightly larger than the size of a palm, and the filling was placed inside. The edges were pinched into a twisted flower shape, then pan-fried on low heat until cooked.

Lin You also made a pot of mung bean soup, creating a refreshing and light dinner.

She sent a few of the leek-filled pastries to Yao Jiu and Aunt Wang, then sat down with a bowl of fragrant leek boxes and porridge.

The first batch of tender leeks, the soft, aromatic eggs, were a perfect match for the light mung bean porridge.

Bo Chuan reluctantly opened his eyes, for the first time, his calm, unruffled gaze turned toward the opposite wall.

He focused on self-cultivation, living on this mountain where he paid no attention to food or clothing. His daily routine consisted of staying in his Taoist temple, meditating…

Hmm, and most importantly, he practiced ^[1]Fasting is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from food, drink, or both for a specific period. “fasting” refers to abstaining from food entirely as part of a spiritual or … Continue readingfasting.