TTTQF Chapter 11

The Allure of Money

Time passes quickly, and before he knows it, the sun is already halfway down the mountain. Jiang Miao has used up all the ingredients he prepared, turning them into money now resting in his small drawer.

Staring at the drawer full of copper coins, Jiang Miao’s mouth curls into a wide grin, all previous worries wiped clean from his mind.

“Brother Daniu, are there this many people coming every day for these three days?” Jiang Miao can’t help but ask as they carry their loads back to their lodging. If so, he will need to prepare more ingredients; today’s batch is clearly not enough.

Daniu shakes his head and says, “Not just this many. Today, it’s mostly the influential people. Us ordinary folks avoid trouble and will come later to offer incense. The real crowd will be tomorrow and the day after.”

“But it seems like many people haven’t gone down the mountain yet?” Jiang Miao is puzzled. He has noticed many carriages coming up in the morning, but less than half have left.

Daniu looks around at the passing pedestrians, then leans in close to Jiang Miao and whispers, “Those who went down today are the ones without backing. The temple didn’t prepare meditation quarters for them, so they had to leave early. The truly powerful ones will stay up there for three days. They offer incense on the first day and then spend the next two days enjoying the backyard, which we ordinary folks can’t access.” Daniu has learned this from overhearing guests while working as a waiter.

Jiang Miao suddenly understands. No wonder those people were carrying so many things up the mountain this morning—they are planning to stay for two nights. With so many people staying, each family must have their own courtyard. The Puling Temple must be huge! However, he hasn’t expected the monks to also treat people differently based on their status. It seems they aren’t as detached from worldly matters as one might think.

When they return to their lodging, Jiang Miao is about to unlock the door when a man in his fifties comes out.

“You must be the ones Brother Zhang brought?” the man asks.

“Yes, I’m Jiang Miao, and this is Zhang Daniu, Brother Zhang’s grandson.”

“I heard from my mother. You’ll have dinner at our place tonight. I wanted to invite you for lunch, but you weren’t back in time,” Miao Dagen says. He hasn’t seen Brother Zhang for a long time and only found out about the visitors after returning from the fields in the morning.

Jiang Miao feels a bit embarrassed, but Miao Dagen is very hospitable, and they can’t refuse. So, they go along.

The food on the table looks quite rich, with salted fish, bacon, and a plate of scrambled eggs with chives. The fresh green of the chives is rare in winter, prompting Jiang Miao to take a few extra bites.

Noticing this, Miao Dagen pushes the plate toward him and says, “If you like this dish, Little Jiang, have more. We don’t have much fancy food in the countryside, so please don’t mind.”

Jiang Miao feels a bit embarrassed. “What are you talking about, Uncle Miao? This table of food would be considered a feast back home. Especially these chives—I haven’t even seen them sold in the city.”

Miao Dagen chuckles proudly. “You’re right. You can’t find these chives in the city now. I planted them in an old pot and kept them in the kitchen. But with the constant changes in temperature, they didn’t grow well, so I just cut them to treat you all.”

Isn’t this just the early concept of greenhouse farming? Jiang Miao’s eyes light up. Could it be that he is brought to this era to develop agriculture and improve the diet of the people of Liangjing?

“Uncle Miao, have you ever thought about building a shelter over your vegetable plots to keep them warm? That way, you could have vegetables from other seasons even in winter,” Jiang Miao suggests.

Miao Dagen laughs heartily, finding the city guy amusing. “How could we possibly build shelters over all the plots? Besides, it would be too expensive. If I had that kind of money, I wouldn’t be working in the fields from dawn to dusk.”

“You don’t need bricks and tiles for this. You could use bamboo frames and cover them with oilcloth to keep the warmth in. Wouldn’t that work?” Jiang Miao persists.

“Is it really worth all that trouble just to eat some fresh vegetables? It’s easier to stockpile dried vegetables in the spring and autumn and soak them for a fresh taste in winter.” Miao Dagen doesn’t quite understand. To him, this city boy who has never worked the fields seems unreliable.

Seeing Miao Dagen’s lack of interest, Jiang Miao decides to change the subject. Indeed, for ordinary people, this idea is impractical, and most don’t have high requirements for food.

“Uncle Miao, have you always lived around here? Uncle Zhang mentioned that this whole area belongs to Puling Temple. Is the land you farm also part of it?”

Miao Dagen nods and says, “That’s right. Both the land we farm and the houses we live in belong to Puling Temple. The land deeds are held by Abbot Zhaokong. But we only need to pay two-tenths rent annually; the rest is covered by our labor.” This rent is two to three tenths less than outside rates, so the locals feel fortunate to be under Puling Temple’s jurisdiction.

“When you pay the rent, do you ever go to the back of Puling Temple?”

“Of course we do. Every year, the rent is paid directly to the back. The back is so huge, like you wouldn’t believe. Without someone to guide you, you can’t even find your way out…” When asked about something he is familiar with, Miao Dagen speaks at length with confidence.

Puling Temple originally is a small temple. After more than a hundred years of development, it gradually reaches its current scale, encompassing various architectural styles from over the centuries, making it highly valuable for sightseeing. According to Miao Dagen, Puling Temple oversees more than 13,000 mu (about 2,140 acres) of land, starting from where they take the turn and including the entire Luohua Mountain at the back.

Apart from the eight or nine main halls dedicated to various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the front part of the temple also has dozens of smaller halls. Inside, they enshrine the memorial tablets of the meritorious officials who contribute significantly to the founding of the Liangjing Dynasty. Each main position in the small halls is dedicated to either a great general who leads troops in battle or a strategist who provides counsel from behind the scenes. The ancestors of Liangjing place them here so that all the people of Liangjing know that those who once serve the state with distinction would always be remembered. Subsequent capable ministers and generals take pride in having their memorial tablets enshrined in Puling Temple after their deaths.

Because of this, some people refer to these smaller halls as the “Hall of Heroes.” The current nobility of Liangjing is mostly descendants of these individuals. Hence, even the most unruly and unreasonable young heirs don’t dare misbehave here, for fear of being punished severely.

Of course, In addition to the small halls that enshrine their memorial tablets, Puling Temple also has a pagoda forest built among the mountains and waters, surrounded by green pines and cypresses. These tall pagodas house the remains of soldiers who are hastily buried and later exhumed and brought back after the founding of Liangjing. Since too much time passes to trace their hometowns and families, the ancestors of Liangjing place them together in the pagoda forest. They stand at the highest point, gazing out at the prosperous Liangjing city for which they once fought for.

At the back of the temple are the courtyards where people of status stay, as Daniu mentioned. According to some meticulous records, Puling Temple has two to three hundred courtyards of various sizes, and the number of monks has grown from the initial dozen to over a thousand, making it the largest temple.

Every year, the wealthy and powerful donate a considerable amount of incense money to the temple. Puling Temple uses these funds for charitable activities, such as providing porridge in disaster-stricken areas, aiding the elderly and children, and building bridges and roads in remote places. In a way, this also helps those donors accumulate good karma. Of course, while accumulating virtue, it also benefits the common people—a win-win situation.

Hearing all this, Jiang Miao’s impression of Puling Temple greatly improves. Earlier, when Daniu mentioned the exclusive courtyards, he thought Puling Temple was a snobbish place that treated people differently based on their status. But now he realizes that they genuinely practice the compassion expected of Buddhists. In hindsight, even if the temple prepares separate courtyards for families with lower status, not many would dare to stay there comfortably.

By the time Jiang Miao returns to his room, it is already completely dark. He takes the small drawer out of his carrying pole and pours the copper coins onto the foot of the bed, which has no bedding on it. Stacking them in piles of ten, he begins to count them meticulously.

This small act of delight in his money is something that Daniu watches with great envy. He and Jiang Miao are probably around the same age, yet Jiang Miao has already become a small business owner through his bun-selling venture. Meanwhile, Daniu, due to his lack of social skills, has been kicked out of the restaurant he works at, leaving him without any means of livelihood.

Reflecting on this, Daniu can’t help but feel a bit of self-pity. If only he hadn’t gone in there back then.

When Jiang Miao finishes counting the money he earns today, he turns back satisfied, only to see Daniu sitting there with a gloomy expression, looking utterly dejected.

“Brother Daniu, what’s wrong? Oh, here’s your pay for today. Take it,” Jiang Miao says, handing over fifty copper coins.

“Brother Jiang, it seems like you gave me too much?” Although Daniu hasn’t counted them yet, he can tell by the weight that it’s more than the agreed amount by at least ten coins.

“The extra is today’s bonus,” Jiang Miao says generously. He has just roughly calculated that the net profit from today alone can cover the round-trip travel expenses, the stall fee, and the rent for lodging. The rest will easily be enough to buy ingredients for the next few days.

In other words, starting tomorrow, all the money he earns will be pure profit. How can that not make him happy?

Of course, it’s also true that he and Daniu have barely rested the entire day. Jiang Miao has observed Daniu’s work attitude and decides to pay him more than the agreed amount.

“Bonus?” Daniu is a bit puzzled but, after thinking for a moment, figures it’s probably a kind of reward. He has never received any bonus during his half-year stint at the restaurant, despite working hard. He doesn’t expect to get one on his first day working for Jiang Miao!

“Thank you, Brother Jiang. I’ll make sure to work hard!” The honest young man’s eyes light up with determination, and his earlier gloomy mood vanishes.

Seeing Daniu suddenly so full of enthusiasm, Jiang Miao is somewhat puzzled but quickly feels a sense of understanding. After all, the allure of money is great. How can ordinary people resist the happiness it brings?

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Table of Contents