21. A giant tree fell from the sky into the backyard.

◎Isn't it a shame that my shop is located in the Dragon King Temple? Won't the Dragon God be angry?

That day, Yan Yunzhao was woken up early by a noisy knocking sound from downstairs.

She wore a peach-pink dress and her hair was casually tied up before hurrying downstairs. The small shop was spotless, but Sancao Yao and Lou Su were nowhere to be seen.

She opened the door with a puzzled look in her eyes, and there stood a group of villagers with tense expressions.

"Boss Yan, please go outside and take a look. What's wrong?" Old Xu was a regular customer at the shop, and seeing that he also looked uneasy, Yan Yunzhao's heart sank a little.

"A strange phenomenon has occurred from the sky..."

Yan Yunzhao lifted her skirt and ran to the backyard. When she saw what was going on, she almost collapsed: Where did this towering tree come from?!

A towering tree, its branches and leaves dense and seemingly growing out of nowhere, appeared in the vegetable garden. It didn't seem to have grown on its own; rather, it looked like it had just wandered out from somewhere.

At this moment, the Three Grass Demons and Lou Su were standing under the tree looking around. Yan Yunzhao went over to ask what was going on, but they seemed to have no clue either. The five of them stared blankly for a long time, not knowing what to do.

If no one else had seen it, it would have been fine, but now that so many villagers have come to join the fun, the news will surely spread throughout the entire Lixi Town in no time. Although this tree has nothing to do with them, Yan Yunzhao is afraid that with so many onlookers, her secret of using spiritual energy to grow crops will be discovered.

If people find out that her potatoes will mature in three to five days, wouldn't that cause a huge uproar in Daqi?

She had a vague feeling that the tree was related to the coffin she had dug up yesterday. However, having lived in the immortal realm for over twenty years, she had developed a calm and unfazed attitude towards any strange occurrences and accepted the existence of this strange tree with equanimity.

In Lixi Town, crops are grown approximately twice a year. However, by the end of each year, the weather becomes frigid and covered in snow, making it unsuitable for planting.

With the small talisman keeping the soil warm and moisturized, plus the continuous flow of spiritual energy, Yan Yunzhao could plant hundreds of times a year without any problem. Now that people were surrounding the vegetable garden, if they discovered that the potatoes were growing at an alarming rate, he would have no way to explain himself.

Just as Yan Yunzhao was wondering how to deal with the villagers who had come to join the fun, Granny Chen arrived just in time after hearing that there was trouble on her side. She was accompanied by a group of people from Guiyue Tower, and Miss Luo was also there.

"Boss Yan, this tree is..." Granny Chen hesitated, glancing at the people around her, each with their own ulterior motives, and said worriedly, "Will our Biyuefang potatoes be able to be offered before the winding stream party?"

Yan Yunzhao understood her concerns and affirmed, "The potatoes can be delivered on time, but with so many people surrounding us right now... it's quite inconvenient for us."

She looked at the tree, still unable to come up with a reasonable explanation.

Jingming, who was standing to the side, chimed in and explained for Yan Yunzhao, "This tree must have been planted by the Heavenly Emperor to bring blessings to the people. It's a divine tree."

Before his ascension, the Heavenly Lord was the founding emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty. He was kind and benevolent, and after his ascension, he ruled the Immortal Realm. He was a highly respected figure in the Three Realms. Yan Yunzhao had heard his story countless times at Qingshan Sect.

However, Jingming's words were brilliant. Most of the residents of Lixi Town have deep faith and usually worship the Heavenly Emperor or the Dragon God. If it is said to be a divine tree bestowed by the Heavenly Emperor, its appearance out of thin air can be explained, and it should not cause panic among the people.

As expected, Granny Chen, who was in charge, looked deeply at the "sacred tree" upon hearing this, and immediately knelt down and prayed devoutly. This prompted a crowd of onlookers to kneel down as well, chanting something like "May the Heavenly Emperor bless us, may the Dragon God bless us."

Upon seeing this, Yan Yunzhao couldn't help but chuckle and secretly gave Jingming a thumbs up: "You're really good at fooling people."

Jingming covered his mouth and chuckled smugly. The two joked for a while, then saw Miss Luo walking over, as if she had something to say, so they composed themselves.

Miss Luo remained aloof, glancing at Yan Yunzhao: "The two owners had already discussed it a few days ago. If the 'Floating Wine Cups' event goes smoothly this time, both of you will take half of the vegetables you grow in the future. This is Bai Fangzhu's biggest concession."

Yan Yunzhao nodded knowingly. This result was naturally the best possible outcome, as it offended neither side and spared her the dilemma of being caught in the middle.

"As for joining the Seventeen Restaurants, what is Master Bai's opinion?"

If Yan Yunzhao hadn't pressed her for details, Miss Luo wouldn't have mentioned the matter at all. Upon hearing this, she merely paused, turned around, and said disdainfully, "Master Bai said that Boss Yan should come to Guiyue Tower to discuss this matter with her once she has earned enough 100 guan."

To thrive in the local market long-term, joining the ranks of the seventeen trades of eateries is essential. One hundred strings of cash is no small sum, and the shop's current revenue is a far cry from that amount.

Originally, Yan Yunzhao only thought that in addition to farming, he would use his own vegetables to make some delicious food for the surrounding villagers to taste. Promoting food to support his family was the first priority, and making money was secondary. If he wanted to adjust his focus now, the development strategy of the small shop also needed to be changed.

She pulled over the three grass demons and Lou Su, who was staring at the giant tree, seemingly lost in thought, and solemnly said, "The days ahead are probably going to be tough."

“Our shop is small, and even if we have a lot of customers who come from far and wide, we can’t accommodate them all. So I’ve been thinking, the problem with our business isn’t that the food doesn’t suit our taste, but that we don’t have enough sales!”

Diners who are willing to come up the mountain often prefer to eat filling noodle dishes. Although pizza, sushi, hamburgers and other delicacies are well-received, few people come to the small shop to order them. If they want to open up sales channels, they need to open a small shop that is convenient for the villagers of Lixi Town to buy at any time.

"But we don't have enough money to lease a plot of land in Lixi Town, do we?" Shuyu looked up at Yan Yunzhao, who seemed confident, and asked with concern.

“We can’t afford to buy land, but we have a plot of land in town that we already own.” Yan Yunzhao smiled smugly, already having a plan in mind.

"Boss, could you mean... the Dragon King Temple?" Jingming frowned, seemingly not quite agreeing with how food was prepared in the temple.

Lou Su, who had been listening to their discussion indifferently, turned his head slightly when he heard the words "Dragon King Temple".

“We deliver food to the children at the temple every day, but sometimes the food gets cold if we're not fast enough. I've been thinking about how to solve this, and this solution is perfect—it kills two birds with one stone.” Yan Yunzhao clapped his hands happily, “Then it's settled!”

When the children in the temple saw the group of people arrive, they jumped and skipped over to listen to Yan Yunzhao tell a story.

"Sister Yan, you haven't finished telling the story of Fuxi you told last time!" A group of children, big and small, surrounded Yan Yunzhao, looking at her pleadingly.

“If you want to hear it, I’ll have my sisters write it down and read it to you, okay?” Yan Yunzhao leaned down and smiled.

"The boss has something to do, so I'll play with you guys instead."

Qingxi was simple and lively, and was the most popular among the children. Hearing this, the children stopped arguing and happily pulled her aside to play shuttlecock.

Since the three grass demons took human form, they have been wary of Lou Su and have been sneaking down the mountain through the teleportation array to deliver food. Perhaps it is because the grass demons are inherently kind, but in a short time, they have become friends with the children in the temple.

Seeing that they were getting along very well, Yan Yunzhao picked up a broom and stuffed it into Lou Su's arms, who was standing idly to the side.

"Let's go, Young Master Lou. The cleaning duties will fall to us."

Yan Yunzhao, carrying a large broom and humming a song, entered the Dragon King's Palace. He looked around for a moment at the dark, moldy walls and the uneven, waterlogged floor.

"The workload is enormous." She sighed, shook her head, rolled up her sleeves, and got to work.

She and Lou Su each stood on one side, laboriously dusting off the spider webs in the corner of the wall.

"Lou Su, the Dragon God is in charge of water transport. Although Lixi Town does not rely on water for its livelihood, I have seen that everyone worships the Heavenly Lord and the Dragon God on the same level. Why is it that no one has come to repair the only Dragon God Temple in Lixi Town?"

Yan Yunzhao used a broom to sweep away the dense spider webs in the corner, but after sweeping one place, another appeared, seemingly endless, and he couldn't help but wonder.

Lou Su paused in his work, pondered for a while, and said in a low voice, "I saw that there were marks of offerings on the offering table, so there must have been a time when the incense was burning brightly. But then, I don't know what happened, and it gradually declined."

Yan Yunzhao seemed to be deep in thought. There were only a few reasons why most people were unwilling to worship gods. Either the gods were unknown and ineffective, and it would be more satisfying to worship the Heavenly Lord directly; or the people were living in peace and prosperity, with everyone having enough to eat and drink, and had no need for anything to rely on; or... something had happened at this temple in the past.

In his spare time while busy preparing for the Dragon King Temple shop, Yan Yunzhao inquired about the business from the surrounding villagers.

When an elderly woman carrying a vegetable basket heard that Yan Yunzhao was going to open a shop in the Dragon King Temple, she waved her hands repeatedly as if facing a great enemy: "Young lady, this is not something to be taken lightly. Temples are places of pure and devout worship. If you open a shop here, wouldn't that be the same as cooking in the Dragon God's house? Even the Kitchen God would probably be angry."

Yan Yunzhao had never believed in the protection of gods or Buddhas. Even the gods in heaven were human, and many of them had emotions and desires. What was so high and mighty about them? Besides, gods were so busy; they wouldn't have time to care about a little grass demon like her.

Faced with the old woman's kind reminder, she chuckled and said, "It's alright, Auntie. I think the Dragon God must have a very good temper, otherwise why would he allow so many homeless children to live there?"

Upon hearing this, the old woman's expression immediately turned serious: "Young lady, you seem to be from out of town, so you may not know this. This Dragon God Temple used to be extremely popular, even surpassing the Heavenly Lord Temple in the west of the city. The villagers who went to offer incense wore down the threshold. But later, for some reason, those who went to worship at the Dragon God Temple often experienced the opposite of what they wished for. Those who prayed for family peace would find their whole family falling ill, and those who prayed for many children and grandchildren would be unable to conceive for more than ten years..."

“At that time, there was a feng shui master in the town who said that the Tianjun Temple should have been built in the east where the sun rises, as it is the main position, while the Dragon King Temple should have been built in the west, so that the two gods would each occupy one side and there would be harmony. But the two temples in Lixi Town were built in reverse order. The Tianjun Temple is in the west and the Dragon King Temple is in the east. The positions were wrong, and the two great energies of the Tianjun and the Dragon King clashed, which angered the Dragon King, so he deliberately prevented people from getting what they wanted.”

"But temples cannot be demolished at will, and the matter of inviting gods involves many things, so the villagers kept two temples and only went to worship the Heavenly Lord thereafter. If you open a shop in the Dragon God Temple, young lady, you will surely incur the Dragon God's wrath by descending to earth and casting a curse upon you!"

If it were to descend to the mortal realm, that would be fine too. She'd heard that the Dragon God was incredibly handsome, and she'd like to see him for herself.

Thinking this to herself, Yan Yunzhao dared not say it aloud, but smiled and said, "I see. Thank you for your kindness, madam, but my mind is made up, this shop must be opened."

Seeing that she couldn't persuade her, the old woman sighed helplessly, "The Dragon God controls water, and water controls wealth. If you really want to make money, young lady, you should make good offerings to the Dragon God."

Yan Yunzhao took these words to heart. As the saying goes, "He who takes a man's money is bound to be grateful for his food," so he had to make sure the offerings were well made.