“I don’t believe in so-called heavenly law. I only believe in my own heart.”
He Jingnian’s stubbornness was something Abbot Qingxu had always known.
For now, this was his choice—
We’ll see about the future!
After Abbot Qingxu left, He Jingnian stared at the chessboard.
Silent for a long, long time.
Next door.
The Li household.
After Li Qiao finished drawing her talismans, Su Yan was devoutly paying respects to the founding master.
“Founding Master, bless me with wealth.”
“Founding Master, bless me with health, bless me to become more and more handsome…”
“Bless me to become the number one most beautiful man.”
…
Her demands were really quite numerous. Li Qiao was exasperated!
“Are you trying to exhaust the Founding Master? Also… if you’re seeking wealth, you should go to the God of Wealth.”
If you seek the wrong deity, your prayers are useless.
Su Yan puffed out his chest and declared, “No… to me, the Founding Master is all-powerful.”
Li Qiao clicked her tongue.
She glanced at the incense smoke curling upwards and knew the Founding Master was very pleased.
Flattery might wear out heaven and earth, but it never wears out its welcome!
Li Qiao pulled out a bank card. After checking the balance inside, she already had a plan in mind.
“Su Yan, do you know of any good feng shui treasure land around here? Preferably undeveloped.”
“What do you want to do?”
“Build a Daoist temple!”
“Build a Daoist temple? Such a great thing—I absolutely must invest. Qiao, my dear… don’t even mention it, I actually know of a perfect feng shui spot. It’s in the south of the city, but it’s a bit desolate there.”
“A Daoist temple needs quiet. That suits me perfectly.”
Desolate meant quiet!
Once they agreed, Li Qiao couldn’t wait to see it. Su Yan, ever enthusiastic and proactive, drove her straight to the south part of the city.
The surrounding scenery was beautiful, and it was right at the foot of a mountain. Building a Daoist temple here would be wonderful.
The feng shui was excellent. Li Qiao liked it very much.
But—
“How much?”
“What?”
“How much for the land? I’ll buy it.” She couldn’t just take it for free.
Su Yan refused, “Qiao, my dear, I want to contribute to the Founding Master too. Consider this my investment. I’ll handle all the paperwork for the land later, and then you’ll be its owner.”
He had to be the first to jump on such a great opportunity!
Once the news got out that Li Qiao was building a Daoist temple, who knows how many people would want to invest!
He had a premonition, so he was determined to be her number one supporter.
“Building the Daoist temple… let me take care of the whole thing.”
“Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?”
“How could I find it troublesome? Qiao, my dear, if I build the Daoist temple, could you put in a few good words for me with the Founding Master? Just let me become the temple’s very first registered disciple, alright?”
Li Qiao looked at Su Yan with surprise, sizing him up.
“You… are you sure?”
“Of course! Having me as the senior disciple only brings you benefits, no downsides. I have money.”
“…”
A fool with more money than sense.
Su Yan looked at her expectantly. Li Qiao hesitated for a moment, then said, “I can’t agree right now. Whether the Founding Master is willing to accept you into our Xiangyun Temple depends on his nod. Once we’re back, I’ll ask for his instruction.”
“Alright, no problem. The Founding Master is sure to like me.” Su Yan was extremely confident.
The next step was building the Daoist temple.
Li Qiao and Su Yan carefully calculated it. Building the temple exactly as she envisioned would require a total of two hundred million.
Li Qiao silently stared at the balance info on her card!
There was only seventy million inside. She really was so poor.
Su Yan noticed, and with a hearty laugh, thumped his chest and said, “Qiao, my dear, money is a small matter. I’ll cover it all.”
“No, I have ways to raise the funds.”
Faced with her firm refusal, Su Yan didn’t insist further. At worst, he could just quietly send the money over later.
It was just that he didn’t have that much cash on hand right now. He’d go back and ask his dad for an advance.
Li Qiao posted a message on her social moments.
[Crowdfunding to build a Daoist temple: All contributors will have their names engraved on the Merit Stele, bringing blessings to future generations, enduring forever. (Total amount still needed: one hundred thirty million. First come, first engraved!)]
Shen Corporation.
In the large conference room, Shen Juncheng was listening coldly to a subordinate’s report. The senior executives were trembling, heads bowed low.
Just at that moment, his phone rang.
Everyone held their breath, not daring to make a sound.
Who had a death wish?
Shen Juncheng frowned. He unlocked his phone and saw a message from Shen Kuo.
[Dad, hurry up and donate money to Li Qiao. We need to be first, secure the top spot on the Merit Stele.]
What did this mean?
Shen Juncheng opened his social moments. Seeing Li Qiao’s posted message, he abruptly stood up and said, “Meeting adjourned.”
Then he strode out.
The people left in the conference room: “…”
“Immediately transfer money to this card number. Send one hundred million.”
The assistant: “…”
Others who saw the message included President Xue and President Song. The two were having dinner together when they simultaneously received messages from their wives.
Mrs. Meng and Mrs. Yang urgently demanded they send money right away.
Qiaoqiao was building a Daoist temple, and they wanted to secure a spot on the Merit Stele!
This was a wonderful thing that would protect their children and descendants.
When the Li and Xiao families saw it,
they all sent money to Li Qiao one after another. This was all so sudden! As a result, Li Qiao’s phone pinged with text message after text message!
In just ten short minutes, the balance in her bank account—
So, so many zeros.
So Li Qiao posted another message on her social moments.
[I feel everyone’s enthusiasm! I will engrave the Merit Stele in order of contribution. Any amounts exceeding what’s needed will be returned to the original accounts. Thank you all for your kindness!]
More and more people commented below.
Xu Tong: Li Qiao, how could you not tell me about such a huge thing as building a Daoist temple? Have you picked the location yet?
Li Qiao replied to him: Already chosen. I’ll announce the specifics on social moments.
…
Li Qiao was building a Daoist temple!
Su Yan bore a heavy responsibility.
When he returned to the Su family home, the moment he entered, he saw Su Jianguo spoon-feeding porridge to Li Nana. The old man really doted on her.
Pity the baby in her belly wasn’t his.
No one believed him when he said it. Trouble was bound to happen sooner or later.
“Dad, lend me a little bit of money.”
“How much?” Su Jianguo asked without looking back, continuing to feed Li Nana.
“One hundred million!”
“One hundred million? A little money? Su Yan, have you lost your mind, or do you not know what ‘a little’ means? You think I’m a bank? You can borrow as much as you want?” Su Jianguo instantly exploded!
Su Yan remained very calm and said, “I need the money for a legitimate reason. Li Qiao is building a Daoist temple and needs funds.”
“A Daoist temple? She’s crazy, and you’re crazy too? Let me tell you, I have no money. No money for you to throw around recklessly! What Daoist temple? It’s all a scam. Su Yan, how can you believe in such vague, illusory things? Don’t tell me there really are ghosts in this world.”
“That’s right, there are ghosts.”
“Ghosts my foot! If there really are ghosts, then let them come find me! Come on! I’ll kill every single one that shows up!”
Su Jianguo was hopping mad. Su Yan rolled his eyes. He wasn’t angry, but rather gave a deeply meaningful warning: “Dad, don’t you ever forget the words you said today.”
“Su Yan, I think you’ve been conned. Girls these days, all they care about is money.”
“Shut up, you gold digger,” Su Yan said with disgust.
Li Nana’s face changed color. Tears, like golden beans, welled up in grievance, which absolutely broke Su Jianguo’s heart. He immediately kicked Su Yan out of the house.
Blind old man, he’ll suffer for it sooner or later.
Just as he stepped outside, he ran into Li Man again.
“What are you doing here?”
“Young Master Su, believe it or not, I can read faces.” Li Man looked at Su Yan proudly.
