Chapter 1375: Chapter 620: Grassroots Work, the Mahayana Path (Part 2)
Instead, her mother, although even hungrier, only ate one rice ball and then set it down. It was unclear if she didn’t dare to eat more or wanted to save some for her daughter.
"Master, are you... from the Leiyin Temple?"
After eating, she finally had the strength to speak.
Cheng Yun smiled and said, "To be precise, we are from the Great Leiyin Temple."
"Great Leiyin Temple?"
The woman’s face showed some confusion.
Cheng Yun did not explain further but asked, "What’s your family name, Madam?"
"Valued?" The woman grew more anxious. "In front of the master, how could I speak of being valued? I am surnamed Gu, and everyone at home calls me Gu Liuniang."
"Mrs. Gu." Cheng Yun’s voice remained gentle, "Is there anyone else in your family?"
"Who else is there?" Gu Liuniang’s expression was a bit sorrowful, "A while ago... the others in the family went to Leiyin Temple and never returned. It’s chaotic outside, so Yan’er and I dared not go out. We pretended no one was at home and even chopped the tables and chairs to burn them."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Yun was silent for a moment, then took out a cloth bag and said, "The amount of food we have now is still not enough; each person temporarily only has one bag of rice. More will be delivered in the future."
"Mrs. Gu, your health is actually not bad, just eat more and rest well these two days."
"In a few days, our Great Leiyin Temple will send people again."
Gu Liuniang couldn’t help but ask, "May I ask about the origin of Great Leiyin Temple?"
Cheng Yun smiled, explaining, "We are the rightful inheritance of Leiyin Temple. The previous Leiyin Temple has been occupied by outsiders, and now we are here to restore it to its roots."
"Restore to its roots..."
Gu Liuniang murmured.
At Leiyin Temple, the Pharmacist Bodhisattva opened his eyes and cursed softly, "Arrogant! Extremely cunning!"
He also understood the intentions of these people.
In short, the reputation of Leiyin Temple among the people of the West Continent is very complex now.
On one hand, many commoners are filled with resentment towards Leiyin Temple because of the Paradise Fragrance.
But on the other hand, Leiyin Temple has ruled over the West Continent for several epochs, millions of years.
For the common people, submitting to the rule of Leiyin Temple and practicing the Buddhist Law has become a habit, even a mental imprint. These things are intangible, but essentially a cultural psychology that’s hard to change in the short term.
Zheng Fa can deeply understand this point:
In terms of knowledge and technological reserves, Nine Mountains Immortal Court and the modern world are virtually indistinguishable.
But the systems they choose, the technologies they value, and the ideologies of the cultivators are all subtly different.
The modern society emphasizes equality more and prefers productive spells, and their research is a bit more purely free.
The Nine Mountains Immortal Court leans more towards the Xuanwei tradition, and the cultivators prefer dueling spells.
The path chosen by Maitreya and others is simple:
The original intention of Thunder Sound Buddha was good.
But the execution by later generations was flawed.
Simply put, I comment on the Buddhist Scripture, and no matter if Thunder Sound Buddha meant it or not, if I say he did, then he did.
Perhaps there are hidden dangers, but upon testing, this is the fastest, most effective, and most direct method.
It’s even very appealing to those commoners dissatisfied with Leiyin Temple.
Psychologically, they are the ones who most believed in Leiyin Buddhism and were the most completely disenchanted—this talk of the Great Leiyin Temple, to some extent, fits their psychological state very well.
Thinking of this, Cheng Yun firmly stated, "Our Great Leiyin Temple aims to uphold the true meaning of the Buddhist Law, to rectify the chaos."
Gu Liuniang mumbled something twice upon hearing this, seemingly unsure of what to say, with no change in expression on her face.
Cheng Yun did not say much else either. He knew that the Great Leiyin Temple was not adept at this kind of promotion—at least not as skilled as the Leiyin Temple.
Based on his work experience, the people of West Continent are probably numb to flowery words by now, with a very high threshold—Leiyin Temple’s previous doses were indeed too strong, leaving them with antibodies.
Essentially, what the Great Leiyin Temple needs to do is to rebuild the reputation of Leiyin Temple, which is in ruins.
...
"Mom! Is this the Great Leiyin Temple? It’s not very big!"
Gu Liuniang tightly held her daughter’s hand, feeling a bit nervous.
In these days, the masters of the Great Leiyin Temple would send some grains and oils every few days, and there were even people who came to consult and give medicine.
But a few days ago, people from the Great Leiyin Temple suddenly said that if one wants to collect grains and oils, one needs to go to the Great Leiyin Temple.
Her health had improved.
But she was still very scared—before, her husband and father had both gone to Leiyin Temple to get porridge and never returned.
However, the masters from the Great Leiyin Temple had been so kind that her trust in them grew. Most importantly, the fear of hunger was overwhelming.
She waited for a few daring neighbors to go first, saw them return unharmed, and then waited a few more days before she came to the Great Leiyin Temple herself.
As her daughter said, the Great Leiyin Temple wasn’t big at all.
It occupied half the street, with a few courtyards, far smaller than the one in Pharmacist City.
At Leiyin Temple’s entrance, many people were coming and going, seemingly all commoners.
What made Gu Liuniang uneasy was that everyone coming out of the courtyard had a silly smile on their face, dazed, like they had inhaled the Paradise Fragrance.
She couldn’t help but feel apprehensive, poking her head around at the entrance, peering into the Great Leiyin Temple.
She saw Cheng Yun standing in the courtyard, seemingly arranging something.
Upon seeing her, Cheng Yun seemed to remember her and nodded, saying, "Please forgive us, Madam; we don’t have enough people to deliver food to your doorstep."
Gu Liuniang was stunned.
She hadn’t expected Cheng Yun to understand her concerns so well, and more surprisingly, Cheng Yun actually gave her an explanation.
She listened quietly for a while and discovered that Cheng Yun patiently apologized and explained to almost every newcomer.
Suddenly, she wasn’t as afraid anymore, leading her daughter into the temple.
What Cheng Yun said was honest.
At the beginning, besides delivering food, they were mostly conducting population statistics and inspection.
On the other hand, it was because many commoners didn’t even have the strength to leave their homes.
Now that so much time had passed, the situation was different.
Gu Liuniang glanced around and saw that new arrivals were queuing in a courtyard, so she hurried over.
Although there were many people, there were also many queues, as many as eighteen, so it was their turn quickly.
A disciple of the Great Leiyin Temple sat behind the desk, glanced at her, and said, "Name, address."
Gu Liuniang quickly reported her and her daughter’s names.
The disciple reached out, and a paper bag flew from the room behind him to the edge of his hand. He handed the paper bag to Gu Liuniang and said:
"Inside are three months’ worth of food and clothing tickets. You can redeem food and clothing at the first courtyard on the left each month, or you can redeem everything at once."
This was the Great Leiyin Temple’s helpless measure.
Essentially, in the short term, the West Continent has little production capacity; many supplies had to be provided by the modern world, so for fairness and convenience, the Great Leiyin Temple simply adopted this ancient model.
Another benefit of this is that the tickets can be freely exchanged, making it somewhat more flexible than directly delivering supplies.
But for Gu Liuniang, this was something she had never heard of.
Not only did they give out rice, oil, and salt, but even clothing?
"Also, inside there is your land contract."
"Land contract?"
Gu Liuniang was stunned.
"It’s distributed based on headcount, rented to you without rent," the disciple explained, "The lease is for five years and can be adjusted later. If you can’t work, you can have someone else manage it."
"Just go to the second courtyard on the right to finalize the contract."
Gu Liuniang felt a bit dizzy.
Her family had been well off, and of course, they owned land before, but she had long understood that as a widow with an orphan, she couldn’t hold onto her family property.
Now unexpectedly, she had more land of her own out of nowhere.
But it wasn’t over yet.
"Remember, the most important thing inside is the enrollment notice."
"Enrollment?"
Gu Liuniang was delighted, looking at her daughter.
"Yes, your daughter is just the right age to enter elementary school," the disciple quickly stated.
"Thank you, Master!"
"No need to thank me." The disciple waved his hand and suddenly asked, "Can you read?"
Gu Liuniang was a bit confused: "I know a few words."
"Then you need to take a test. If you pass, you won’t need to attend a literacy school; you can go straight to the adult vocational academy and learn a trade quicker."
Gu Liuniang was completely perplexed: "I can go to school too?"
"Of course, we can’t support you all forever." The disciple looked at her oddly and said frankly, "With limbs intact, land, and skills, you need to support yourself. If you have good aptitude, maybe you’ll even cultivate."
Cultivate?
Gu Liuniang didn’t even know how she walked out of the Great Leiyin Temple.
She stood on the street, clutching the file folder like a treasured possession.
Now Gu Liuniang understood why those people seemed like they had inhaled the Paradise Fragrance.
The Buddhism of the Great Leiyin Temple was intoxicating.
