Rising Cloud Temple was located in the southern suburbs of Anling City. It was close to the city, so it received a lot of incense. Every day, many pilgrims came to pray to the immortals. Compared to the Big Exchange Houses in the capital city, the temple was divided into a front yard and a back yard.
The front yard was spacious. Upon entering, a huge incense burner was placed in the middle of the road. Green smoke could be seen curling up from the burner. A path led straight to the Hall of Three Pristines. Worshippers could be seen shaking hands and worshipping devotees everywhere. Some Taoists were dressed in green and white robes, neatly combed hair and sleeves. They walked freely in the temple. They looked noble and did not take the initiative to talk to others. Therefore, although there were many people in the temple, it was rare for it to be quiet.
Yu Shu still managed to find out the location of this Daoist temple from Xue Rui. She brought Jing Chen here and circled around the courtyard for a while before entering the main hall. As soon as she entered, her nose was suffocated by the smell of incense and candles, and she almost sneezed. She rubbed her nose and looked at Jing Chen beside her. She saw that he was looking up at the Dao Ancestor's sacred statue high up in the air with a dazed look on his handsome face.
Yu Shu followed him to look at the huge painted stone statues. After looking for a while, she did not see anything special, so she turned her attention elsewhere.
From east to west, there were more than a dozen futons. Most of the pilgrims were female. Some were gray-haired old women, and some were young girls. They closed their eyes and prayed with a pious expression. It was not clear whether they were praying for their children or for their parents' safety.
Yu Shu was not an atheist. Seeing this scene, she felt touched and thought of donating some incense money later to go up and worship.
"Xiaoyu." After a long while, Jing Chen looked away from the statues and turned to call Yu Shu. He lowered his voice and said with confusion, "I seem to have been here before."
"Pfft." Yu Shu chuckled and waved her hand, ordering him to go to a corner of the main hall where there were fewer people. She said to him, "All Daoist temples look like this. It should be the place where you used to live on Mount Longhu, so it feels familiar. I'm sure you haven't been here before."
She still remembered that her acquaintance in Yiyang City, Jing Chen, had told her that this was the first time he had left the mountain. Shanxi was so far away from the capital, and it was not as if he could just leave the house. How could he have come here before?
"Yes." Jing Chen nodded. Xiaoyu knew more about him than she did. Since Xiaoyu said that he had not been here, he must not have been here.
"Do you remember anything else?" Yu Shu asked with a face full of expectation. She wanted Jing Chen to recall something after touching the scene.
Jing Chen shook his head. "Nothing else.
Yu Shu was disappointed, but she didn't want to come here for nothing. She pointed to the direction where the hall led to the backyard and said, "Why don't we go there again?"
"Okay."
The two of them walked around the front and back of the Daoist temple, leaving footprints everywhere except the places that people were not allowed to enter. Unfortunately, Jing Chen still couldn't remember anything. Only then did Yu Shu give up and brought him back to the main hall. She asked Jing Chen to wait while she went to buy a handful of incense and lit it up. They lined up in front of the statue of the sacred ancestor and prayed for peace.
It was rare for Yu Shu to kneel, so she prayed for everyone she could think of: Yu Xiaoxiu, Jing Chen, Zhao Hui, Doctor He, Pei Jing, Aunt Cui, Aunt Liu, and even Xue Rui and Xia Mingming. She burned ten joss sticks.
While Yu Shu was silently praying for everyone, Jing Chen stood alone in front of the Hall of Treasures, waiting. Because of his outstanding appearance, many people who passed by the door would look back again and again. If there were only one or two, Jing Chen would notice if there were more. Seeing that Yu Shu, who was not far away, did not show any signs of getting up, Jing Chen thought that it would be a while longer, so he decided to wait outside. With his head half lowered, he walked out of the Hall of Treasures, and coincidentally, the person who had entered the Hall of Treasures was walking right in front of him.
Both of them wanted to move aside. He moved to the left and the other person moved to the left. He moved to the right and the other person moved to the right. Since they couldn't move, they stopped at the same time and raised their heads to look at each other. Both of them were stunned.
Right in front of Jing Chen, stood a girl with half her face covered with a veil. Only her eyes could be seen and her facial features were unclear. However, he didn't know why but he had a different feeling about her. If he really had to say what it was, it was the same feeling he had when he saw the three statues of the Founding Masters. It was a vague sense of familiarity.
Jing Chen said he was stunned but it was only for a moment. He took two steps back and let the girl go first. The girl didn't hurry to leave. Her gaze lingered on his face for a moment before she realized that she had lost her composure. She lowered her head and bowed to him to thank him for letting her pass. Then she walked past him and entered the Hall of Three Pristines.
Jing Chen turned his head and looked at the girl's back again. There was a hint of confusion between his brows. However, he remembered that Yu Shu said that he had never been to the capital before and he shouldn't have recognized her. He thought that it was just an illusion.
He turned and walked out. On the other side, Ji Xingxuan also turned her head and looked at the door. She raised her hand and touched her chest. She didn't know what that palpitation was.
The two of them walked past each other and Yu Shu didn't notice. She burned half a stick of incense before she finished praying. When she turned her head and saw that Jing Chen had disappeared, she was shocked and ran out to look for him. When she saw that he was outside, she heaved a sigh of relief.
"Is everything alright?" Jing Chen asked.
"Mm, let's go back."
Not long after they left, a figure stood out from behind the door. Looking at their departing figures, she frowned slightly. Her lips moved slightly under her veil: "… Why is it her again?"
After a trip to the Daoist temple, they didn't find anything. Jing Chen and Yu Shu both felt disappointed. However, they didn't show it in front of each other. When they got home, they did what they had to do. However, each of them had other plans in mind.
The next morning, Yu Shu and Yu Xiaoxiu went out together. They didn't push their stalls. They planned to go to Autumn Osmanthus Lane to look for Shopkeeper Sun. They wanted to see if they could establish a connection with Na Zhou's Shop. They wanted to set up their stalls on the street and move into the building.
On the way, the siblings separated. Yu Shu first went to Sun's Wine Shop. She didn't think that there would already be someone waiting there. The morning was bright and clear. Xue Rui sat at a table next to the cashier's counter. He placed two dishes on the table and chatted with Shopkeeper Sun. Looking at the door, when he saw Yu Shu enter, he gestured to her. His face carried a smile that was like a spring breeze, as if some joyous occasion had occurred.
"Drinking so early in the morning?" Yu Shu walked over and sat opposite him. Seeing her arrive, Shopkeeper Sun stood up with a smile and left the table. He went behind the counter to do his accounts.
Xue Rui lifted the lid of the wine pot for her to see. "How is this wine? This is tea that Shopkeeper Sun specially steeped in a wine pot to raise one's spirits."
Yu Shu moved closer to smell it. Sure enough, it was tea. Curiously flipping over a clean cup, she poured a cup and tasted it. She felt that the tea was bitter with a hint of sweetness from the wine. It wasn't bad to drink.
The pot was already cold, but the tea was still warm. It seemed that he had been waiting for her for a while.
"You don't have any official business today?"
"It's my day off, so I came to find you. Yesterday, I went to Baichuan Academy and heard from Scholar Song that you had already sent Xiaoxiu over. How is it, is he used to it?"
Previously, Xue Rui had said that he would personally bring them to see Scholar Song. But those two days, he was busy so Yu Shu went by herself. Now that she heard that he had come over again, saying that it was on the way, it was obvious that he had gone to take care of Xiaoxiu. Seeing that he was so concerned about Xiaoxiu, no matter what his motive was, Yu Shu couldn't help but thank him. "En, he quite likes it there. I really must thank you for finding such a good place to go. Otherwise, I would be worried that he would have some sort of illness staying at home all day.
Hearing her sincere thanks, Xue Rui waved his hand. "There is no need to be so courteous with me."
Hearing this, the words that Yu Shu had been suppressing in her stomach for the past few days finally came out. "I don't have anything to thank you for. If there is anything that I can help with, just say it."
She owed Xue Rui a favour. This was not just one or two. Regarding this, she was already calm. In any case, she was here to slowly repay him.
Xue Rui had been waiting for her to say this. Putting down the teacup, he said: "What a coincidence. There is a matter that I need your help with."
Yu Shu did not want him to reply so quickly. Her expression became anxious as she asked: "What is it?"
"Let's go somewhere else to talk." Xue Rui raised the wine pot and pointed upstairs. He said to Shopkeeper Sun: "Are there any guests in the Sunflower Fragrance Hall on the second floor?"
"No."
"Then let's go upstairs and have a seat. In a moment, have the waiter bring some tea over."
"Okay."
Xue Rui led Yu Shu up the stairs and entered into a private room called the Sunflower Fragrance Hall. There were two wine tables within the room, and both of them were rectangular seats. The floor was covered with old velvet blankets, and it was the style of the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
Closing the door, the two sat facing each other. Xue Rui then stated his purpose for coming today: "I want to open a large restaurant in the northern part of the city. I have already found the floor, waiters and chefs. All I am lacking is a manager. Are you willing to help me?"
Yu Shu did not expect that the 'help' he wanted was this kind of matter. "Manager? Isn't the shopkeeper the one in charge? You want me to be an accountant, right? "
She had already said that she could not help him with anything else. However, when it came to accounting, he knew of her background. Thinking back to the time when the Thai Heng Chamber of Commerce had asked her to be an apprentice accountant, it was him who had spoken to Pei Jing on her behalf.
"It's not the same. I've found someone else for the manager and the accountant. I've asked you to help me keep an eye on the monthly accounts so that there won't be any mistakes. Secondly, I have official duties that I can't get away from. I need someone to take care of the people in the restaurant on my behalf. For some reasons, it's not convenient for me to find someone at home, and I can't trust an outsider. After thinking about it, I can only trouble you. How about it, if you are willing to come, apart from your monthly allowance, I will give you another ten percent of the restaurant's profits. No matter how much you earn, it is up to you. You don't need to show your face often. If nothing happens, you can go about your business. "
Opening a big restaurant in the northern part of the city was a big business. Ten percent of the profits was a lot. Thinking about it, it was easy to know that it would be a lot. Not only would she manage people, but she would also not have to look at others' faces.
Xue Rui tossed out a few baits, and Yu Shu was already able to smell the fish. This matter sounded like a good job, yet she knew very well that once she agreed to it, she would be tied to the same boat as Xue Rui, and it would be difficult for her to get off in the future.
"I …"
"Don't be in such a hurry to reject me. My restaurant is still under repair, and it will take a month or so before it can open for business. Think about it before you give me an answer. I know that you are interested in Yi, but helping me won't affect you from learning Yi. The more people you meet, the wider the world, and the more rare things you hear from time to time, the better it will be for your future. It's better than setting up a stall on the street.
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