I am Zhao Zhijing, a poor Taoist priest, and I have disciples all over the world.

Chapter 93: Make money while standing!

In this way, Zhao Zhijing and his disciples officially took root in the Jade Maiden Peak of Mount Huashan.

Because of the limited resources at hand, they kept things simple. They found a large stone from the mountains, moved it to the entrance of the mountainside, carved the words "Quanzhen" on it, and used it as the mountain gate.

Probably because of Li Mochou, very few people nearby came near this place, and there were no people from the martial arts world seen hanging around, making the place feel a bit quieter.

Occasionally, travelers who come from afar to visit the Jade Maiden Peak miss their place of stay and are unaware of what has happened here, so they come here to ask for a place to stay.

Zhao Zhijing asked his disciples to vacate a room and share it with other fellow disciples for the guest to stay.

After a few days, the disciples thought about it and made a list of all the food they would need in the future and presented it to the master.

If one wanted to build a Taoist temple during this period, the government would usually initiate a fundraising campaign, or local gentry would voluntarily contribute funds, and then Taoist priests would go around begging for alms, and the money would be accumulated bit by bit.

Zhao Zhijing would naturally not go to the government. Even if he succeeded for the sake of the Quanzhen Sect's Chongyang Palace's reputation, he would still end up exploiting the poor people.

Maybe in the end it will be Mr. Huang who will take the lead in paying the money and then return it in full, while half of the poor people's money will go to the government and the other half will go to the Taoist temple.

Lobbying local tycoons? That's making money on your knees.

Go down the mountain to beg for alms? That's making money in the mountains.

None of these is as good as relying on apprentices and making money without doing anything!
Huashan is rich in resources, including trees and stones. The disciples are young and strong, and they have plenty of time and energy.

We have all the manpower needed to build the Taoist temple, including tile work, earth work, stone work, wood work, painting, painting, scaffolding and wallpapering.

What is lacking are nothing more than materials to start work, such as shovels, hammers, chisels, paint, bricks and tiles, which are what we need to consider now.

"It seems like it's time to go down the mountain."

Zhao Zhijing thought that in addition to purchasing the things needed to build the Taoist temple, as the weather was getting warmer, he should also prepare two more sets of clothes for his disciples. Children like Yang Guo and Guan Man'er who were still growing could not wear last year's clothes this year.

You don’t know how expensive food and fuel are if you don’t manage the household. This little brat is eating me to death.

By the way, I have to visit Guan Changhong’s friends in Tongguan and ask them to send the news that I am leaving Guan Man’er in Huashan to Xianyang.

There were already a lot of things that needed to be purchased, and they might not all be available in the last market town. And with Guan Man'er involved, I might as well go to Tongguan.

"Qingxing, Qinghao, Qinghua, Qingdu, you guys follow me down the mountain, the rest of you stay on the mountain and wait for me to come back."

Yang Guo has the highest martial arts skills among the disciples, and he can also take care of Guan Man'er when Zhao Zhijing is not around, so he stays.

Zhang Qingzhi was the most steady, and Zhao Zhijing was most assured to leave him to look after his fellow disciples.

The next day, the master and his disciples had breakfast and then got on the carriage to go down the mountain. The other disciples accompanied them all the way to the foot of the mountain, and then they went back reluctantly.

Now that Zhao Zhijing is gone, the group of people are left without a backbone.

Fortunately, the journey from Huashan to Tongguan is not far. As long as everything goes well, I will be able to return tomorrow at the latest.

Zhao Zhijing handed the purchase list to Liu Qingxing and prepared to act separately. He would go to visit Guan Changhong's friends, while Liu Qingxing and the others would go to the market first, so as to save more time.

After receiving the visiting card, Guan Changhong introduced his friend in Tongguan as Chen Mingyang, a local tycoon who was fond of martial arts and had once become a lay disciple of Shaolin Temple.

When he got older, he returned home to get married and have children, and inherit the family business, but his love of martial arts remained unchanged. He was quite generous to his friends in the martial arts world, and he kept many martial arts masters in his house, and practiced with them all the time.

"Looking at the situation, it's a bit like Little Tornado Chai Jin." Whether it's Guan Changhong, Chen Bao, or even Jia Wan who shamelessly calls himself "Sun and Moon Sword", they are actually characters who have never appeared in the original novel of The Return of the Condor Heroes.

In Zhao Zhijing's opinion, this is more like a world of flesh and blood, with all kinds of people, good and bad people mixed together. Although the characters are small, they all have their own stories.

How could one easily meet a top master like the Five Great Masters? Even the Seven True Masters were targets that ordinary people in the martial arts world could never catch up with in their entire lives.

There are more people like the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan who are heroes of the city with chivalry in their hearts, the Four Ghosts of the Yellow River who are brutal bandits who only know how to bully the weak, and the likes of Wu Dunru, Wu Xiuwen, and other aristocratic family children who rely on the influence of their fathers and live a mediocre life.

It was almost noon when they arrived at Tongguan. After entering the city, Liu Qingxing found out everything and came back to report to his master.

"Master, the Chen Mansion you are going to is quite famous in Tongguan. I asked three people and they all said they knew the location. It is in the north of the city, east of the city. You can see a group of locust trees in front of the gate. That's it."

"As for the market where you can buy things, it is on the east side of the city."

Liu Qingxing is becoming more and more experienced in his work. Although his martial arts skills are not as good as Yang Guo's, he is the one that Zhao Zhijing trusts the most when he goes out.

Zhao Zhijing took a look at the prosperous scene around him and found that it was indeed much larger than the market town at the foot of Mount Hua. It was worthy of being the place that even Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, praised as "the best roujiamo in the world comes from Tongguan".

"Well, Qingdu, Qinghao, you guys, follow Qingxing and catch the carriage to go to the market to buy things first. After I visit Chen's house, I will meet you there."

Liu Qingxing can lower the price and will not be cheated. Xu Qinghao is good at blacksmithing and can make some distinguishing remarks when buying ironware and other things.

Lu Qingdu is tall and strong. Standing next to the two men, he is intimidating to the merchants. He is also a qualified laborer.

"Qinghua, follow me to visit Chen's house."

Cao Qinghua is good at calligraphy and painting, and he has a scholarly air, making him suitable for showing off in public.

"Yes, Master."

After hearing the instructions, all the disciples immediately started to act.

Zhao Zhijing took Cao Qinghua and walked towards the north of the city. There were many martial artists carrying weapons on the road. When they saw that the two men were wearing Quanzhen Taoist robes, some of them whispered to their companions, wondering if something big was going to happen in Tongguan.

As the largest sect in the world today, Quanzhen Sect has very strict rules. The Seven Quanzhen disciples have many restrictions on their disciples. Unless it is for sect affairs, they rarely move around in the world, which is why they have aroused speculation.

"Master, the locust tree that Senior Brother Liu mentioned just now must be this place."

The master and his disciple walked all the way to the northeast of the city, and saw a patch of tall and sturdy locust trees not far away, forming a lush shade that was very conspicuous like a landmark.

"I guess so. Please send over the visiting card."

Holding the visiting card, Cao Qinghua went to the gate of Chen's house and knocked on the door. Zhao Zhijing took a few steps behind to look at the scale of the mansion, which seemed to be more majestic than the Changhong Escort Agency.

The door opened quickly and the doorman came out to greet him. Cao Qinghua politely handed over the visiting card and explained his purpose.

"So you are the Taoist priest of Quanzhen Sect. I will go in and report to the master. Please come in and wait!"

When the doorman heard that they were Taoist priests from Quanzhen Sect and saw that they were indeed wearing Taoist robes, he remembered his master's instructions and hurriedly and respectfully invited Zhao Zhijing and his disciple in.

Then he apologized and went in to report.

(End of this chapter)