Chapter 401 A Dilapidated Taoist Temple in the Tang Dynasty: The Little Female Taoist Priest (9)
After the dried vegetables were dried, a few days later, the Three Character Classic copied by Jiang Yue was successfully sold. This time, Jiang Yue alone received fifty taels of silver. In total, the books sold for one hundred taels of silver. Although Jiang Yue's calligraphy was a foundation, she was not famous at the moment, so it was quite remarkable that the shopkeeper was able to sell them for such a high price.
Along with the money came a custom order, still containing the Three Character Classic, but this time the writing brush, ink, and paper were top-of-the-line. After putting the items away, Jiang Yue asked the waiter to pick them up in a few days. Back in her study, she felt more inspired and finished writing in one go. Jiang Yue looked at it and saw that it was much better than her previous writing. She thought she had made a profit.
After the ink dried, Jiang Yue put the completed books away. She didn't plan to continue writing this batch. She would just sell the copied scriptures in her spare time, otherwise she would never earn enough money.
A few days later, when the waiter came to pick up the items, Jiang Yue asked him to inform the shopkeeper not to continue taking these kinds of orders. The main reason was that taking orders was like going to work. Before the orders were finished, she was thinking about them every day. As a Taoist priest, she was full of work attitude all day long and had lost all her otherworldly air.
By mid-July, the protagonist's mansion was completed. People still value the ceremony of moving into a new house at this time, but this had little to do with Jiang Yue. People would invite famous figures to choose auspicious dates, after all, he was a marquis and not an ordinary person. They couldn't very well invite an unknown nobody like Jiang Yue.
In the end, Jiang Yue wasn't entirely out of the picture. After the family moved, they held a three-day banquet, and Jiang Yue joined in for two meals. It wasn't that she was short of food; she just hadn't been to a big banquet in a long time and wanted to join in the fun. After eating two meals, Jiang Yue, whose mind was full of gossip, was forced to return to the Taoist temple.
The next day, after finishing her morning prayers, Jiang Yue copied several scriptures. The protagonist's move in did not affect Jiang Yue. However, recently his people were selecting a site for the academy, and several groups of people came to survey the area. Jiang Yue was not worried that it would be built here because she knew there was a better place on the other side. The protagonist would definitely choose the other side if nothing unexpected happened. Besides, whether it would be built or not was another matter.
After seeing off the people who came to pick up the medicine, Jiang Yue looked up at the sunset. The sunset was truly beautiful from this angle. After stretching, Jiang Yue got up and moved around a bit. No wonder the Taoist temple was built here. After walking around a couple of times, Sanhua jumped into Jiang Yue's arms. Jiang Yue hugged the cat and petted it. Hearing the meowing sounds, Jiang Yue knew that Sanhua was craving something sweet.
She was also very cunning, pretending not to hear it until Sanhua's voice cracked before feeding her a cat treat. The little one in her arms was heartless; after eating, she turned her back on her and ran away without a trace. After the sun set, Jiang Yue finished her evening classes, ate dinner, and cleaned the yard. That was the end of the day.
In the early morning, a splash of cool water on her face instantly woke her up from her lingering sleepiness. After morning exercises and breakfast, she opened the gate of the Taoist temple, picked up a broom and swept the path in front of the temple, then swept the path up the mountain as well. By the time she went up the mountain again, it was already noon. Climbing the mountain was too strenuous for an ordinary person. Jiang Yue thought about whether to build a pavilion, but then decided against it. If it were developed into a tourist attraction, it would be impossible to find any peace and quiet.
In the afternoon, patients who came to see the doctor talked about the academy opened by the protagonist, their words filled with longing. They wondered if their children could join the academy. Jiang Yue comforted them, saying that she couldn't give away any spoilers. Generally speaking, the people in his fiefdom would one day be able to attend school for free, but the protagonist was still weak and alone, so it was probably unlikely that children born in the next few years could attend.
After the patient left, a very important person arrived. The protagonist's grandmother, who was inspecting her territory, learned about Jiang Yue's place. As the saying goes, since she was already there, and Jiang Yue had helped the protagonist's sister with her illness, it was quite a coincidence. She made a special trip up the mountain to pay her respects, and Jiang Yue reciprocated by giving her a book that she had copied herself. Although she knew that the person was a Buddhist, it wouldn't hurt to read some Taoist scriptures, would it?
After seeing the person off, it was getting late. After finishing her morning prayers, Jiang Yue went to bed early because she was going down the mountain the next day to visit the patients' homes. These patients couldn't walk that far to the Taoist temple, and their relatives usually came to get their medicine. After several courses of treatment, Jiang Yue would have to make a trip there, since the medication would depend on the patient's specific condition and whether the prescription needed to be adjusted.
Jiang Yue set off with her medicine kit at the crack of dawn, arriving at her first destination around noon. After leaving the patient's house, she stopped briefly in the village. Soon after, people who had heard of Jiang Yue's arrival came out and examined all those who were feeling unwell. She stayed until nightfall, then spent the night at a wealthy family's house before heading to another place the next day.
After three or four busy days, the matter of going down the mountain was finally completed. When passing by the academy, Jiang Yue took a look. Jiang Yue had been here before. Before the academy was established, it seemed to have been a manor belonging to someone. After it was bestowed upon the protagonist by the imperial court, the protagonist was too embarrassed to accept it and eventually bought it at market price.
When Jiang Yue looked around, the old soldier guarding the gate noticed her. Seeing that she didn't do anything, he ignored her. Jiang Yue knew that there were no female students in the academy yet, and that the academy operated under a military-style management system. She didn't want them to make an exception for her, so she left after satisfying her curiosity.
After the Cheng family, the protagonist's family, and the academy gathered together, businesses started to emerge in the surrounding area. Some people set up small stalls and began to gather here. Although there weren't many, there were food stalls. Jiang Yue put down her medicine box, ordered a plate of flatbread and two pancakes. After eating her fill and resting for a while, she set off for home.
After reaching the foot of the mountain, I went to the village chief's house to pick up the cat. The three-colored cat had been being cared for by them for the past few days. No wonder Taoist priests don't keep animals. Unless you stay in the Taoist temple and never go out, it's not convenient to have to bring a pet when you go on a long trip. On the way up the mountain, I also cleaned up some small stones that had fallen. As for the fallen leaves, I'll sweep them up tomorrow.
After walking for a few days, I burned incense and started cleaning the dojo. I put Sanhua down and let her play. She couldn't stay in my arms early in the morning. After finishing my work and evening prayers, I ate something and went to sleep. I was exhausted these past few days and was very sleepy. It took me two days to recover.
After regaining her energy, Jiang Yue decided to reorganize the herb garden around the Taoist temple. She took a hoe and carefully turned the soil in the garden, thinking about which herbs could be planted more of. Sanhua watched curiously from the side, occasionally poking at the soil with her paws.
After tidying up the herb garden, she pruned the fruit trees that had been transplanted later, and also tidied up the flowers and plants inside the Taoist temple. After the tidying up, the landscape of the Taoist temple looked much more comfortable. As the sun set, Jiang Yue walked out of the Taoist temple. She wandered around and chose a suitable place to enjoy the scenery. She planned to take some time to build a pavilion. It didn't need to be too luxurious; it just needed to provide shelter from the wind and rain.
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