Chapter 70: Mooching a Meal

“What a coincidence. I had given up all hope, but I went there just as you said, and he was in the middle of serving customers. Before I could even open my mouth, he gave me the money, and with interest, too.”

The man was as happy as could be. He kept repeating, “How could it be so coincidental?”

Qin Qing: “Alright, you can go home now.”

“Yes, I really didn’t expect this.” The man rubbed his hands together. “My daughter, she got into university this year, the first university student in our family. She doesn’t want to worry us, so she took out a student loan for her tuition. She even said she’ll pay it back herself after she graduates. The living allowance we can give her is small, so she works part-time. It’s so tiring to study and work at the same time. This is great. Now that I have the money, I have to send my girl a bit more…”

He was genuinely happy, rambling on to Qin Qing, a complete stranger, about his plans for the money.

Qin Qing didn’t find it annoying and listened to him patiently.

“Big brother, you’re not very vigilant. Aren’t you afraid I’m a bad person trying to scam you out of your money?”

The man waved his hand. “No way. Miss, one look at you and I can tell you’re not that kind of person. Your eyes are just like my daughter’s, you’re soft-hearted.”

Now those were words that could truly soften one’s heart.

“Hey, miss, how did you know I’d be able to get the money if I went back?”

Qin Qing stretched lazily toward the setting sun.

“Me? I’m actually a fortune-teller, believe it or not. I foresaw that you would get your money if you went back.”

“I believe you, why wouldn’t I?” The man’s words held not a shred of doubt. “Heh, so I met a benefactor today. Thank you so much, miss. I don’t even know how to thank you properly.”

He even tried to transfer money to Qin Qing.

How could Qin Qing possibly accept it?

But his straightforwardness took her by surprise.

“You are a kind and good person, and you deserve a good reward.”

Qin Qing gave him a business card.

“Let’s get acquainted. If you have any other issues in the future, you can contact our studio. Of course, I hope you’ll never need to.”

The man carefully took the business card and put it away safely.

Seeing that Qin Qing was about to leave, he stood up and gave her a formal bow, which she couldn’t stop.

As Qin Qing walked away, she glanced back at him. He was also gathering his things and leaving the bench. His hand occasionally wiped at his face, and in the light of the setting sun, the corners of his eyes seemed to glisten.

A few days later, Qin Fanghao informed Qin Qing that the front desk had received two boxes of fresh produce addressed to her.

Qin Qing was puzzled, as she hadn’t ordered anything online.

After opening them, she found they were full of all sorts of vegetables.

There was Chinese cabbage, spinach still with its roots, as well as peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, tomatoes, and the like.

They were all common farm vegetables, but there wasn’t a single yellow leaf or wormhole on them.

The gourds and fruits were all plump and uniform. They looked fresh and delightful.

“Boss, which store did you buy these from? They’re better than any I’ve bought online.”

There was nothing else in the two foam boxes besides the vegetables, but when Qin Qing checked the sender’s address on the shipping label, it looked a bit familiar, like the birthplace listed on the System Panel of the man who had been trying to collect his wages.

Qin Qing smiled.

“A client sent them. You all can take one box and split it. I’ll take one box home.”

Her kitchen was, naturally, also very clean, having barely been used for anything other than making congee or noodles.

Qin Qing took it straight home.

Ms. Wang and Old Qin were both out, and after waiting for a while, they still hadn’t returned.

Unable to mooch a meal, she couldn’t think of what else to eat for a moment.

She went home to make her own congee. As she cooked, she thought to herself, *I’m such a pitiful girl.*

Possessing an invincible golden finger, yet she couldn’t just eat whatever she wanted and still had to cook for herself.

She wondered if her Merit points could conjure up a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast for her.

She indulged in the fantasy for a moment but ultimately wasn’t so reckless as to throw all caution to the wind for the sake of food.

To maintain a score above 100, she only had 7.4 Merit points left that she could use freely.

So poor, I have to use them sparingly.

What to use them for? She hadn’t decided yet.

Dinner was congee sprinkled with crispy flakes, plus a packet of cold shredded seaweed salad.

The bag of crispy flakes was almost empty. It had been a large bag when she got it, but it really didn’t last long.

She opened a can for Mumu and was about to grab a handful of the crispy crumbs from the bottom to sprinkle on its food.

Mumu whimpered twice, covering the top of its dog bowl with both its muzzle and front paws.

Qin Qing threw the crumbs back.

Mumu pushed its food bowl and moved a little farther away from her.

Seeing this, Qin Qing carried her own congee over and pulled up a small stool, sitting next to the dog bowl to watch Mumu eat.

Mumu turned and showed her its butt, not being friendly at all.

Qin Qing sighed, “You’re tired of the crispy flakes too, huh, sigh…”

Mumu licked its food with slurping sounds.

Qin Qing: “Do you think I should try to persuade Officer Meng to sell something else? I’m getting tired of savory pancakes too.”

*Slurp, slurp, slurp.*

Mumu ate incredibly fast. Qin Qing had only taken a few bites of her congee, and its bowl was already licked clean.

After finishing, it pushed the food bowl with its forehead back to its original spot by the wall.

Awkward.

She felt like she was being snubbed.

Qin Qing remembered the dried goods she had bought at the market near Lihua Village.

Yes, she had brought them back.

Even in such a chaotic situation.

The ingredients were innocent.

The storage room was packed full.

The moment she opened the door, she could smell the rich fragrance of wild shiitake mushrooms.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t managed to unlock the cooking Skill.

She sorted them out, dividing them into piles to give to people she knew.

The group at the studio was an absolute must.

Qin Qing deliberately set aside a large portion for Wu Yong.

“You have a lot of people at your temple.”

Wu Yong: “Boss, would you like to come visit my temple?”

Oh…

Wu Yong: “My senior brother also asked me to invite you to the temple for a meal. I just never found a chance to mention it, I almost forgot.”

*How could you forget that!*

“I’ll go!”

Qin Qing had to lock this down, otherwise it would become a vague “some day” that might never happen.

“When?” she asked, adding, “I’m not busy recently, I’m free anytime.”

Wu Yong: “Uh… How about this Friday? It’s my day off.”

“Perfect, it’s a date!”

She could even change Wu Yong’s schedule to give her the day off tomorrow.

Sigh, a boss should be a bit more reserved.

To actually do that would make her intentions far too obvious.

With something to look forward to, she counted the days on her fingers.

When Friday arrived, she went up the mountain with Mumu in tow.

She had specifically asked Wu Yong if she could bring her dog, and only brought Mumu after she said yes. Mumu still remembered this place and seemed very excited the moment it got out of the car.

Qin Qing had also prepared gifts for Wu Yong’s senior brothers.

There was some good tea and a tea set sent by a client, Xuan paper and ink, and foot bath basins that elderly people liked to use.

The two cat Daoists got gifts too. Theirs were simpler: cat strips, canned cat food, and also some freeze-dried cat treats made from deep-sea shark, crunchy with every bite.

Baiyun Temple was the same as always, and the small fortune-telling stalls in front of the gate were also just as they were before.

She had to admit, she was quite nostalgic.

This was where the story began, where she had earned her first pot of gold.

Leading her dog and carrying bags of all sizes, Qin Qing looked no different from when she used to have her stall here.

Before she even got close, a sharp-eyed former colleague had already spotted her.

“Master Qin, back to set up your stall?”

Wait, why did his tone sound a little panicked?

With that shout, all the owners of the row of small stalls turned to look at her in unison.

“Master Qin.”

“Master Qin is back.”

“This dog has grown into a big dog.”

Huh, it seems everyone missed her a lot.

Her social skills were still pretty good.

She waved happily.

And approached with excitement.

“How’s business for everyone lately?”

“Thanks to you, it’s not bad,” said the old man with the white beard who used to sit next to her, stroking his beard and speaking slowly.

It really was true that distance makes the heart grow fonder. Back when they all sat together, they were always competing for business, both openly and secretly.

After being apart for so long, these former colleagues had learned to say nice things.

Qin Qing replied modestly, “Not at all, I didn’t help with anything.”

The white-bearded man twirled the tip of his beard. It was clearly autumn, yet he was still waving a feather fan.

“After Master Qin stopped setting up her stall here, our business naturally got better. You deserve great credit for that.”

Wait, was he being passive-aggressive?

She glanced at the Taiji Diagram he was using as a cloth for his stall. Tsk tsk, what a master of passive-aggression.

Qin Qing said, “Is that so? Actually, there’s no need to be so polite. I’m just glad I could help. After all, ever since I left here, my income has multiplied several times over—I even live in a luxury apartment now. It’s a win-win, isn’t it?”

“Why are you all still staying here? Maybe if you ventured out a bit, you’d find a better future.”

“Are you staying because you really like it here?” Qin Qing asked with such sincerity, so innocently.

Beside her, Mumu barked twice, backing her up.

She successfully watched as her old white-bearded colleague’s smile turned into huffing frustration. Qin Qing was quite satisfied.

White Beard let out a snort and turned away without another word.

Qin Qing still wanted to chat with the other former colleagues, but unfortunately, they all went silent and avoided eye contact.

Ah, this lonely life—lonely as snow.

She slung the gift bag over her shoulder and strode proudly toward the front gate of Baiyun Temple.

She could almost hear a collective sigh of relief behind her.

Wuyong stood at the gate in Daoist robes to receive her.

Her gaze was hard to read. “The moment I got your message, I came out… only to see you bullying a group of old men.”

Qin Qing tossed the gift into Wuyong’s hands. “You shouldn’t speak so carelessly—or eat food so carelessly, either.”

She placed a hand on her chest and said, “I was clearly helping them out of kindness. They sit around all day, their circulation’s poor—how could I not step in? I was energizing the conversation to help get their blood flowing. Didn’t you see how flushed their faces were when I left, breathing deeper and louder?”

Wuyong: “…”

“Be human, will you? They’re all over sixty. Even city officials treat them with extra politeness. And you’re telling them to go ‘explore the world’ and find a brighter future…”

Qin Qing was indignant.

“As the boss here, I have to criticize you a little, Daoist Priest Wuyong. You’re the next Celestial Master—how can you discriminate against the elderly?”

She clasped her hands behind her back, adopting a lecturing tone: “What’s wrong with being over sixty? That’s an age of experience and wisdom. Look at the conference tables on national news—who among them is under sixty? Besides, the average life expectancy in China as of 2023 was 78.6. Death is far away. People in their sixties are still in their prime working years.”

Wuyong: “…”

“I never realized—you really have potential as a boss.”

“Oh? Really? Tell me more.”

Wuyong gave her a few glances and said, “All under heaven are oxen and horses.”

“Cough cough cough…” Qin Qing protested wildly. “Not me, don’t you dare. I treat everyone in my studio like family!”

“That sounds more like it,” Wuyong replied coolly. “You tell sixty-year-olds to keep striving, but then you always say you want to retire at thirty-five.”

“That’s different. I have health issues and need rest.”

Wuyong: “My Senior Brother Wuwang is a Daoist doctor. Whatever’s wrong with you, he can take a look later.”

Come on, Wuyong, Little Celestial Master—just because we’re not at the studio doesn’t mean I’m not still your boss. So you think you can get cocky on your home turf, huh?

Qin Qing tried to convey her message with a look.

But her employee just gazed back at her with sincere curiosity and concern.

Qin Qing, who knew her health report like the back of her hand, hesitated for a long time before squeezing out, “I have Qi deficiency.”

Wuyong: “You mean the kind of Qi deficiency where you can carry a dog up a mountain without breaking a sweat?”

Aaaaaargh!

“I even coughed up blood the other day! Can’t you show your boss a little more concern?”

“…Fine.” Wuyong looked away and silently led the way.

After a while, she added, “My senior brother really is a Daoist doctor. His skills are quite good—he’s cured many difficult cases and is well-regarded by the temple visitors. Patients from all over come to seek his help. You could seriously consider seeing him.”

She added, “After all, you are coughing up blood.”

Though curious about the Daoist physician Wuwang, Qin Qing decided to drop the subject.

Safer to talk about something else.

“So, what’s for lunch today? Did Daoist Priest Wutun mention anything?”