When calculating the profits at night, Luo Chen and Jiang Dong, these two rich kids, were more excited than the other, counting their money with great enthusiasm, even counting it three or four times!
Jiang Tianxin was also a little excited. She said to Xu Zifan, "Our temple has income now! We'll have funds if we want to add anything in the future! Master, let me keep the books?"
Xu Zifan took two prayer mats and pulled his young apprentice to sit cross-legged. "Rest for a bit, no rush. The accounts need to be kept clear, but this money is for doing good deeds."
"Doing good deeds?" Jiang Tianxin asked in confusion, and the two people stopped what they were doing and looked over.
Xu Zifan tapped his knee with his fingers and said to them, "Our Qingfeng Temple only keeps enough money to maintain a normal life; anything extra is used for charity. You must remember that the Five Deficiencies and Three Shortages are real and absolutely cannot be ignored."
If our Taoist temple becomes very popular in the future, it will definitely be because our talismans have been effective for others, perhaps even changing someone's destiny. The money earned in this way must be used for good deeds, and we must ensure that it is truly used for good, not to be cheated. Do you understand?
"Understood," the three answered in unison.
Jiang Tianxin thought for a moment and asked, "If the Taoist temple accepts registered disciples, what are the requirements? Master, do you think my mother is suitable? She loves doing charity and often attends charity banquets. She knows many people who like doing charity. If she joins, we can entrust this task to her."
Jiang Dong suddenly asked, "Can a Taoist temple accept married people? By the way, Abbot, what are the taboos in a Taoist temple? Are eating meat and drinking alcohol forbidden, or dating and marriage prohibited? But you seem to have...eaten meat, aren't you bound by those taboos?"
Xu Zifan waved his hand, "Taoism is divided into two groups: one group is vegetarian and celibate, and the other group doesn't have these taboos. The taboo of our Taoist temple is that we can't engage in evil or crooked practices, but there are no other taboos. As long as we do more good deeds and sincerely help others solve their problems, that's fine."
Jiang Dong gave an OK sign knowingly. "Just like Ji Gong, I understand. Then, Abbot, please let my mom join. She's familiar with this, and she'll make sure every penny is used effectively. This is all our merit, right? We've never done this before, and we don't trust outsiders to do it. My mom is the most suitable."
"And my mom!" Luo Chen immediately chimed in, "Master, my mom and Jiang Dong's mom are good friends. They do charity work together. Anyway, they don't have much to do every day, and sometimes they complain about being bored. They would definitely be willing to do this."
Xu Zifan certainly wouldn't let go of these easy targets, especially since they were two fat sheep. They also had many wealthy wives around them, who in turn brought many husbands and children, who in turn had relatives and friends. This was definitely a huge, top-tier customer base. Once they formed a chain and connected with him, Qingfeng Temple's charitable work would be a success. He refused to believe he couldn't get rid of his unlucky fate!
Xu Zifan readily agreed, "I'll leave this to you guys. There's no rush; we don't have much money right now." He thought for a moment, "Here's what we'll do: I'll make a list, and you can use this money to buy things. I'll process them and then resell them for several times the price. Let's make a big profit first, and then we'll start doing charity when we have a decent amount."
"Master, what do you process that can multiply your profits?" Jiang Dong asked curiously.
Xu Zifan raised his hand and loosened it slightly, and a jade pendant fell out of his palm, hanging on the red string in his hand. "This is it. We'll start by making low-grade protective jade pendants, exorcising jade pendants, and calming jade pendants, five hundred each. So the jade doesn't need to be too good; ordinary low-end material will do. After this batch is sold, we'll make medium-grade and high-grade ones. The effects will get better and better, and the price will naturally increase as well."
Oh, and also make a rather old-fashioned booklet listing the services our Taoist temple offers: calming the nerves, soothing the mind, performing rituals for the deceased, praying for blessings, fortune telling, exorcising ghosts, feng shui consultations, etc. Refer to the service categories offered by those scammers; the more types, the better, we can do them all. Another service is medical treatment, with fees based on the complexity of the illness.
These projects require funding for gradual expansion; don't rush, take it slow.
Xu Zifan's words opened a new door for the three who were just excited. They realized that in the Taoist temple, it wasn't just about waiting for people to come and offer incense; there were so many other ways to do business!
Their enthusiasm was completely ignited. Just like playing a management game, the most interesting and addictive part is the initial stage of gradually building up things that didn't exist.
After Xu Zifan finished speaking to them, he didn't need to worry about anything anymore. They efficiently took care of everything. He only needed to carve the array, draw the talisman, and tell fortunes on the jade pendant. The disciples would take care of the rest.
Luo Chen and Jiang Dong also recruited seven or eight boys in their early twenties to become junior Taoist priests. They were all children of family servants or relatives. The Taoist temple provided room and board and paid them wages. If they could learn anything, they could earn a commission when taking on missions in the future. Such good treatment was a good opportunity for them.
Most importantly, the abbot of this Taoist temple has real skills that others can't even dream of. Those who come here are very fortunate. Even if they don't learn anything in the end, they can still have a good future by being close to the young master and young lady. It's all beneficial and without any harm!
With more young Taoist priests, the temple operated more smoothly. When worshippers came and saw so many young priests, they felt that the temple was quite large and reliable. In addition, none of them were ugly or deformed; they were all quite handsome, which was pleasing to the eye. Sometimes, even if they didn't want to spend money, they would willingly buy things after being greeted with a few smiles and words from them.
The Taoist temple's daily income is used to buy things, which are then processed and received.
The items sold in the Taoist temple were then bought back and reprocessed, quickly creating a hierarchy of quality. Prices were clearly marked, with no haggling or credit allowed.
After Mo Jiani's fans and onlookers had almost all visited, the Taoist temple experienced a period of decline. Luo Chen was somewhat worried and suggested, "Should Jiani mention it again subtly?"
Xu Zifan disagreed, saying, "It's fine for her to do this once. She introduces truly useful talismans to her fans, and the fans buy the talismans and provide them to her. It's a win-win situation. But if she does it again, it will seem too utilitarian and like she's using her fans and inciting netizens."
Seeing the three looking worried, he took a sip of his tea and laughed, "This time we can do it ourselves. These days, anything that's trending can become an internet sensation—internet-famous milk tea, internet-famous snacks, internet-famous inns. We can also become an internet-famous Taoist temple."
He's played the game of online public opinion many times, and now the timing is perfect.
Xu Zifan asked Luo Chen to contact Mo Jiani's agent to recruit online trolls, and asked Shao Hua to draft several advertorials and dozens of "netizen experiences." He also asked Jiang Dong to take photos, some solemn, some rustic, some beautiful, and some high-class, and to take some candid photos of handsome young Taoist priests. That would complete the task.
Once these things are posted online, those who have actually visited the Taoist temple will naturally follow suit. They've posted before, but this time, to avoid being outdone, they'll definitely put in more effort. Many who didn't intend to post will also share, and the buzz quickly rises.
The next day, the hashtags #TheMostGoodTaoistPriestsAreAllAtQingfengTemple# and #QingfengTempleIsReallyEffective# became trending topics!
Several handsome young Taoist priests, looking like heartthrobs, were quite eye-catching. Coupled with Qingfeng Temple's recent trending topic, netizens' curiosity was immediately piqued. The photos Jiang Dong took were posted online by various accounts, making them appear as if they were taken by the worshippers themselves. Everyone who saw them felt that Qingfeng Temple was extraordinary, unlike other Taoist temples, and felt an urge to see it for themselves.
The claims about the efficacy of Qingfeng Temple have become increasingly numerous. Shaohua wrote dozens of reports, some saying that after buying a calming talisman, they could fall asleep after suffering from insomnia for a long time, and others saying that after buying a peach blossom talisman, they could successfully find a partner. There were many, many such claims, and then people who had bought the talismans also echoed these claims.
Of course, only a very small minority of them sensed the talisman's authenticity; after all, not everyone encounters situations requiring a talisman. This small minority was incredibly excited, wanting to express their gratitude to Qingfeng Temple with the finest words. Meanwhile, those who bought talismans but felt nothing special, driven by herd mentality, also thought their talismans were good and offered a few words, seemingly genuine but actually false.
At first, many people who hadn't bought the talisman complained about Qingfeng Temple, saying that a piece of scrap paper cost 100 yuan and could only be used for three months, and if they wanted to use it again after three months, it would cost another 100 yuan—it was highway robbery. But with so many people personally confirming the talisman's effectiveness, those who hadn't bought it naturally had no right to speak. On the contrary, because the talisman was expensive, it gave people a very high-end feeling. Even Mo Jiani felt reassured because of the talisman; the movie star certainly wouldn't lie, right?
In this way, not only did Qingfeng Temple become famous, but its talismans also became internet sensations. This was the first time that the metaphysical community had made such a big splash on the internet.
Liao Cheng was so anxious that he personally came to the Taoist temple to find Xu Zifan. "Qingfeng, are you planning to make Qingfeng Temple great? But it's not appropriate if the people become superstitious."
Xu Zifan poured him a cup of tea and said calmly, "It's alright, everyone's just joining in the fun. Not many people really believe it. Most people are just buying it because it's cheap and they'll give it a try. Uncle Liao, how many of you are actually facing a major crisis? As for other things like improving insomnia, he'll still be skeptical. It's like when someone dies and comes to us for a ritual to help them pass on, they don't necessarily believe in reincarnation. They just want some psychological comfort and are willing to spend the money. It won't have any real impact."
Seeing that he was still frowning, Xu Zifan smiled and said, "How about this? I'm planning to treat patients anyway. If I spread the word that I'm a psychologist and also have medical skills, many people might think I'm using my medical skills to help people. For example, soaking calming herbs in calming talismans or something. What do you think?"
Liao Cheng's brows relaxed, and he understood that he didn't intend to make the demons and monsters public. He smiled and patted his shoulder, "You've thought everything through, so we'll listen to you. You've done a great job here, so don't keep keeping Xiao Jiang under control. Our Special Affairs Bureau still has cases to handle."
Xu Zifan smiled and said, "Of course work is important. Xin Xin has been working hard to improve herself during her vacation so that she can perform better at work. Uncle Liao, just ask Xin Xin if you need anything."
"You little rascal, you're quite the fox." Liao Cheng shook his head and sighed with a smile. Seeing the worshippers coming to buy talismans and have their fortunes told, he felt relieved; it was no different from before, because indeed, most people wouldn't believe it.