early morning.

The Longhu Temple was shrouded in clouds and mist.

In the steamy kitchen, Qin Luo put large glutinous rice balls filled with brown sugar into a pot to cook.

Ziyue and Xiaotuanzi stood beside Qin Luo, each holding a bowl containing cooked glutinous rice balls.

How many more can you eat?

"Boss, I can eat ten more!"

The little dumpling proudly raised her head; she had just returned to Longhu Temple and still smelled of alcohol.

Zi Yue smiled, "Senior brother, don't just think about us, you haven't eaten yet!"

"Yeah, boss, you eat your fill first before you cook us glutinous rice balls." The little dumpling winked playfully.

Qin Luo nodded, scooped two freshly cooked large glutinous rice balls into the small dumpling bowl, and said softly, "Golden Horn and Little Black should also have a taste."

"Uh-huh."

The little dumpling turned around with a smile.

In the backyard of the Taoist temple, Zhang Fulong, dressed in a golden Taoist robe, sat under a peach tree eating glutinous rice balls. His joy was evident on his face. "This is truly a delicacy!"

Jin Yan and Cai Xia nodded with smiles, enjoying their meal. Xiao Die was also eating glutinous rice balls, chewing slowly and deliberately, her smile growing wider. A warm feeling filled the Taoist temple.

Outside the Taoist temple, Little Dumpling tossed out a steaming hot glutinous rice ball. Golden Horn caught it with its mouth open and wagged its tail gratefully, saying, "Thank you, Great Protector!"

The little dumpling raised an eyebrow. "You have to thank my boss. He asked me to deliver this."

"The boss is still the best!"

Jinjiao kowtowed towards the direction inside the Taoist temple.

"Little Blackie, this is yours!"

The little dumpling threw the large glutinous rice ball from the bowl to the little black cat perched on the courtyard wall. The cat, which looked very small, suddenly opened its mouth as if it could swallow it all. It swallowed the large glutinous rice ball with brown sugar filling without expression. After the little dumpling left, the little black cat licked its lips.

On the first day of the new year, it is a happy thing for everyone to gather together to eat tangyuan (sweet rice balls).

Qin Luo enjoyed this time very much.

...

As the sun rises and the clouds dissipate, the Taoist temple becomes bustling with activity. People flock to Longhu Temple to offer incense and pray for blessings, filling the temple with laughter and joy.

Zhang Fulong sat in the hall telling fortunes, while Ziyue sold door god portraits in front of the hall. She would occasionally draw talismans for people in need, and the price would naturally be much cheaper.

Jin Yan sat in the hall, with a bamboo tube filled with bamboo sticks in front of him. Many people came to him to draw lots.

"A neutral draw!"

"China-Kyrgyzstan visa!"

"A poor draw!"

Jin Yan would truthfully inform the people of the results of their divination. If a person drew a bad divination, he would gently remind them, "Drawing a good divination does not necessarily mean good luck, and drawing a bad divination does not necessarily mean bad luck. Fortune is unpredictable and subject to change. We should accumulate virtue and do good deeds, love life, and know that fortune and misfortune are interdependent, and that after adversity comes prosperity."

"The Immortal Master is right."

The middle-aged man who drew a bad lot nodded repeatedly.

Caixia provided incense and candles for the people in the hall, Xiaodie was in charge of serving tea and water, and Qin Luo was not idle either. He sat in the courtyard in front of the hall, with an old long table in front of him. He wrote words on red paper strips, such as long life and wealth, happiness as vast as the East Sea, good fortune and good luck, and abundant harvests. These were all auspicious words, and they were free. People who left Longhu Temple would come to Qin Luo to choose an auspicious word to take with them.

The little boy walked around the Taoist temple with his hands behind his back, smiling and greeting the locals.

Outside the Taoist temple, the Golden Horned Beast is eating braised pork knuckle. The Golden Horned Beast likes to say auspicious words such as "Wishing you prosperity," so people who come to the temple to offer incense and pray for blessings will bring it delicious food.

Dong Jisheng stood halfway up the mountain admiring the sunrise, surrounded by people coming and going.

Zhao Qing'er and Chu Peiran arrived at the foot of Luoxia Peak hand in hand. Xie Fei followed beside them, her eyes filled with envy. "Qing'er, your husband is so much better. My Sun Lang doesn't even have time to come with me to offer incense and pray for blessings."

Chu Peiran and Zhao Qing'er exchanged a smile.

"Qing'er."

Linglong came closer.

Zhao Qing'er's eyes lit up. "Linglong, what a coincidence!"

"This is my first time visiting Longhu Temple."

"Let's go draw lots together."

"Uh-huh."

Linglong nodded and smiled. This was her first time visiting Longhu Temple in all her years at Mirror Lake. She used to be a little afraid of Zhang Fulong, but now that she was familiar with Longhu Temple, she was no longer afraid.

The Taoist temple was packed with people. When Qin Luo saw Chu Peiran and the others, he smiled and nodded in greeting.

Knowing that Qin Luo was very busy, everyone smiled and nodded, not wanting to trouble him. They went to the main hall to offer incense and pray for blessings, and then drew lots from Jin Yan.

"Great fortune, good news is coming soon."

Jin Yan interprets the divination slip for Zhao Qing'er.

This was the first time Zhao Qing'er had ever drawn such a good lot. She covered her mouth, somewhat incredulous.

Sheffield exclaimed, "You guys are so fast?"

Linglong was at a loss, but Zhao Qing'er understood Xie Fei's meaning and blushed, "It's still early!"

Chu Peiran and the others drew lots one after another, and the lots they drew were all good ones. After drawing lots, they went to Qin Luo to receive slips of paper with auspicious words written on them.

Qin Luo greeted them with a smile.

It wasn't until evening that Longhu Temple returned to tranquility. The sunset was gentle, and the little dumpling yawned, "I didn't do anything, but I feel so tired. I'm going to sleep now!"

Zi Yue took out the incense money from the donation box, her eyes filled with a smile, and put all the money into her storage ring. This incense money would eventually be donated to Mirror Lake Academy.

"You can't deny getting old!"

Zhang Fulong had a sore back and sat on the steps in front of the hall to rest, while Caixia stood behind him and massaged his back.

Caixia said with a smile, "Master, you can rest. We can handle anything that needs to be done at the temple."

A relieved smile appeared on Zhang Fulong's face. "If only my disciples had you guys to listen to them back then!"

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