Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 742 Take Your Positions
In the blink of an eye, everyone was gone and the place was empty. Only then did Zhang Xuansong let out a long breath, reach out and grab Lin Yuanxiang beside him, and slowly sit down on the railing under the eaves. "I'm exhausted."

Lin Yuanxiang helped him sit down and said irritably, "Just keep me company and talk to me, what's so tiring about that?"

Just then, nine young Taoist priests who had finished their work lined up and came over. He pointed at them and said, "Look at them, they're the ones who are tired."

Zhang Xuansong turned his head and saw the nine little ones standing obediently in a row, and he was speechless.

They've been here since early morning and haven't had a break. Compared to them, I haven't done anything and can't compare.

Chen Fan, carrying his sword, came over and smiled to help him out, saying, "Third Master is just tired. It's normal to be a little excited after fulfilling a long-cherished wish of decades."

Zhang Xuansong clicked his tongue in amazement and looked up at Lin Yuanxiang, "Look, look, my apprentice really understands me!"

Lin Yuanxiang rolled his eyes. "I'm the one who found your apprentice."

Zhang Xuansong shrugged and said, "I wanted to go too, but you wouldn't let me."

Lin Yuanxiang glanced in a certain direction, looking quite dismissive. "You think you can run around with only one leg?"

Zhang Xuansong was speechless with anger.

Seeing that the two old men were getting into their usual bickering, Chen Fan decided to ignore them.

Just then, Jiang Lili ran out of the side hall, her face flushed. She ran up to him, tugged at his sleeve, and looked him over carefully. "Are you alright?"

Chen Fan glanced at her, then at Jiang Tiantian who was right behind her, and opened his arms with a smile, "What could possibly be wrong? Everything's fine."

He then handed the sword in his hand to her, saying, "Put this in the abbot's room at the back for now. I'll make a scabbard for it later, and it will be the sword of the head of Chaoyang Temple from now on."

The term "Fangzhang" originally referred to Fangzhang, one of the three immortal mountains in the sea, in ancient mythology, implying the place where immortals lived. Later, it was adopted by Taoism and became the title of the highest leader in the ten directions of Taoist monasteries.

However, "abbot" is a specific term in Chinese Buddhism, originally meaning "to reside in or maintain," referring to the abbot of a temple.

After the Tang Dynasty Zen Master Baizhang Huaihai established the abbot system, based on the Vimalakirti Sutra, which states that "Vimalakirti, who is a Bodhisattva, has a bedroom that is one zhang square, but can accommodate a large number of people," he named the abbot's residence Fangzhang. Thereafter, Fangzhang and Fangzhang monk also became respectful titles for abbots.

This abbot and that abbot are not actually the same person.

Therefore, it is perfectly reasonable to call the abbot's room at Chaoyang Temple the abbot's room.

Jiang Lili reached out with both hands to catch the sword, and was surprised to find it so heavy. "Why is it so heavy?"

Jiang Tiantian was a little curious and reached out to take it. "Is it heavy?"

Even though she was mentally prepared, she was still a little surprised when she actually held it in her hands. "Is it probably ten pounds? How did you dance so fast just now?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "I weighed it and it should be a little over twelve pounds."

As for the speed of sword dancing, as long as it is not too heavy, once you start dancing the sword, you can use its inertia and apply the principle of Tai Chi to use the opponent's force to make it faster and faster, which actually does not require much effort.

However, if it really comes down to swordsmanship, a light and nimble sword is better. This sword can only overcome skill with clumsiness. It's fine against someone with average swordsmanship, but if the opponent's swordsmanship is equal or even better, then it's bad.

This is a truth that Chen Fan only understood while practicing swordsmanship.

He guessed that the old man was indeed lacking in strength and could only resort to a trick, using this method to compete with him, but he still lost. No wonder he was so depressed.

Upon hearing Chen Fan's words, Jiang Tiantian couldn't help but widen her eyes, "So heavy?"

Although she was very curious as to why there was such a heavy sword, she knew it wasn't the time to talk about it yet. So she picked up the sword and walked with Jiang Lili to the backyard.

Chen Fan then turned to look at the nine Taoist disciples. He slowly walked up to them and saw that they were all looking down and somewhat uneasy. He smiled and said, "Master Liu has already told me that Chaoyang Temple is newly established and is in a time when everything needs to be rebuilt. In the future, we will need your help and effort to maintain the temple."

Seeing his amiable demeanor, the tense atmosphere among the nine people eased slightly.

Chen Fan then asked, "Do you have any Taoist names?"

At this moment, the oldest person standing at the very edge stepped forward, cupped his hands, made a Yin-Yang Meridian Linked Hand Seal, bowed his body so that the hand seal was level with his forehead, and respectfully said, "Reporting to the Abbot, we all have Daoist titles and carry Daoist registers, which the Abbot may verify."

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow slightly; they were quite well-prepared.

The term "Taoist register" has two interpretations. One is Taoist scriptures, and the other is a Taoist's file or roster, which records the detailed information of the Taoists in the temple, ... but does not include their birth dates and times. A Taoist's birth date and time are recorded separately on a talisman called "destiny register".

However, many Taoist temples are no longer so particular about these things. They simply use a roster for management, and the information on the roster must match the information on the "ordination certificate," which was later changed to "Taoist certificate."

The Taoist temple had been abandoned for so many years and had not had any new Taoists registered with the Taoist Association for a long time. However, these people lived in the Taoist Association's nest, with all kinds of materials readily available, so naturally everything was easy to discuss.

Chen Fan looked at him carefully and nodded slightly, "Let me take a look at the Daoist manual."

The young Taoist priest responded and quickly ran to the backyard.

Chen Fan waved his sleeve and said, "Come with me to the main hall to talk."

Upon entering the main hall, he turned around, sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, and then made a gesture, prompting the others to sit down opposite him. He even remembered to leave a prayer mat for the person who was going to obtain the Daoist certificate.

A moment later, the young Taoist priest ran back and respectfully handed a thin booklet to Chen Fan with both hands. "Abbot, the Taoist scriptures are here."

Chen Fan took it and nodded slightly, "Please sit down."

After saying that, he paused for a moment, wondering why his speech sounded so old-fashioned.
He vaguely sensed movement of light and shadow, and when he looked up, he saw Li Shangde, Lin Yuanxiang, and Zhang Xuansong peering through the window. He couldn't help but twitch his lips slightly.

What are you doing?
After pausing for two seconds, he still raised his head and said to the outside, "Master, there are no outsiders now, so you can all come in."

As soon as he finished speaking, the three people outside were startled, and for some reason felt like they had been caught red-handed doing something wrong.

However, the three men were seasoned veterans, and this little matter was hardly a big deal. They each coughed lightly, walked in as if nothing had happened, looked around, and sat down on a long bench in the corner.

Zhang Xuansong waved his hand while leaning on his cane and grinned, "You guys talk, we'll just watch."

Chen Fan smiled and turned to the nine people in front of him, saying, "This is Master Xuansong of the Chaoyang Old Temple, and also my master. If you are fortunate enough to join the Chaoyang sect in the future, he will be your grandmaster."

The nine people immediately turned slightly to the side and gave Zhang Xuansong a Taoist salute, saying, "Greetings, Grandmaster."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly; he was certainly adept at taking advantage of the situation.

Looking at these people again, there were three young Taoist priests sitting on the left and six young Taoist nuns on the right, all nine of them staring at him expectantly.

Chen Fan glanced down at the roster and then said, "You all sign up."

The young Taoist priest who had just gone to retrieve the roster immediately stood up, bowed, and said, "Lei Kongyun greets the Abbot."

Only after Chen Fan nodded gently did he sit down.

From him onwards, everyone introduced themselves by their respective numbers: Lei Kongfeng, Lei Kongyu, Xu Xianzheng, Xu Xianwei, Xu Xianling, Liu Yinyue, Liu Yinxia, ​​and Liu Yinxu.

Master Liu had previously stated that these people were all orphans who were taken in and raised at the Taoist temple.

They originally had no names, so the Taoist priests gave them names.

Those surnamed Lei all come from the Hunyuan School of Baiyun Temple. The patriarch of this lineage was Lei Mo'an of the Southern Song Dynasty, hence the surname Lei. Those surnamed Xu need no further explanation; their surname comes from Xu Zhenjun, the founder of the Jingming School. Finally, those surnamed Liu belong to the lineage of Liu Zu of the Quanzhen School.

The middle character in their names represents their generation in their original sect: Kong from the Hunyuan Sect, Xian from the Jingming Sect, and Yin from the Liuzu Sect.

If they later switch their allegiance to Chaoyang Temple, they will be ordered according to the name of the Yushan Sect.

The generational names of the Yushan Sect are a bit long... well, it seems that the generational names of the sects founded by the Seven Masters of Quanzhen are all a bit long.

The Yushan School's motto is: "The Way of Tranquility and Non-Action, Sincerity and the Name of the Sister, The Skill of Gold and Jade, Understanding This and Becoming an Earthly Immortal, The Profound and Responsive Sect's Righteous Virtue, The Flourishing and Profound Teachings, The Eternal True Law of Harmony, The Complete Wisdom of Preserving the Spirit, The Reverence of Respect and Auspiciousness, The Pure Blessings of the World's Peace and Tranquility, The Lotus Opens and the Red Book Reflects, The Vast and Perfect Harmony, The Journey to Tai and the Everlasting Continuation, The Constant Righteousness Manifests the Glorious Yang, The Pure and Profound Majestic Measure, The Complete Actions of Mao and the Auspiciousness, The Uncultivated Emptiness and the Wondrous Auspiciousness, The Elucidation of Words and the Preservation of Loyalty and Goodness, The Enlightened Guest Returns Once, The Extreme Simplicity Offers the Fragrance and Fragrance."

Zhang Xuansong belongs to the Xuan generation, so Chen Fan should belong to the Chong generation. According to the rules of the Taoist school, his Taoist name should be "Chen Chongfan", and his pseudonym should be "Chongfanzi".
Thinking of this, Chen Fan couldn't help but glance at Zhang Xuansong.

Then I saw him glance upwards, as if studying the beams above his head and wondering if there was anything different about them.
Chen Fan couldn't help but twitch his lips slightly. Sure enough, Master Zhang didn't even remember the seniority system in the Taoist temple, so he just randomly gave himself the Taoist name Qinglian.

It's too difficult to change now, so let's just leave it as it is.

Anyway, there are plenty of Taoist priests who don't follow the rules when it comes to Taoist names. There are tons of people with the same name, like Chongxu, Qingxu, Taihe, Guizhen, Lingxiao, Qingwei, and Xuanming. If they don't add a mountain or temple name before it, you wouldn't know who's who. As long as they're happy.

After closing the roster, Chen Fan asked a few more questions. Once he had a fairly good understanding of their situations, he finally said, "I don't spend much time at the temple usually. Master Xuansong will come to visit often. The daily management of the temple will depend on you."

After chatting for a while, they relaxed a bit.

Upon hearing Chen Fan's words, Lei Kongyun immediately performed a Daoist curtsy, "I will respectfully obey the Abbot's decree."

Chen Fan smiled and continued, "In a Taoist temple, there are positions such as abbot, supervisor, steward, guest master, inspector, clerk, storehouse manager, hall master, and head chef."

Now that I am the abbot, I will ask Daoist Xuansong to temporarily assume the position of supervisor.

Zhang Xuansong only held the title; he didn't even have a Taoist certificate and was just doing supervisory work at the temple.

At this point, Chen Fan looked at Lei Kongyun and said, "You will temporarily assume the position of Chief Administrator."

Lei Kongyun was slightly taken aback. He had come here to be a "handyman". He had always stood out before because he was the oldest among them. In the past, the younger brothers and sisters in the temple were used to listening to him. He never expected to be appointed as the head of the temple.

The head of the temple is the most powerful person in the temple besides the abbot and the supervisor. He needs to assist the abbot and the supervisor in handling matters large and small and manage various miscellaneous affairs. This is also something he can do.

Ignoring his terrified expression, Chen Fan looked at the others and continued, "For the remaining positions, does anyone have a chance to volunteer?"

The young Taoist priests, mostly teenagers, looked at each other in bewilderment.

A few seconds later, a young Taoist nun raised her right hand and said timidly, "Abbot, I can cook. Can I be the head chef?"

Chen Fan looked at her and remembered that her name was Liu Yinyue. It was rare for her to volunteer, so he immediately smiled and nodded, "Okay."

Upon seeing this, the others immediately realized what was happening and raised their hands.

"I can write, I can do clerkships."

"I can do accounting, and I can manage the warehouse."

"I can……"

In an instant, even the "Patrol Officer" in charge of etiquette and security, and the "Palace Master" in charge of managing the incense and offerings in the temple, were claimed.

The "know-it-alls" who had to interact with people were left unattended.

Six people were given positions, and the last three, their eyes filled with fear, slowly lowered their heads and pretended to be quails.

Chen Fan looked at the three girls, Xu Xianling, Liu Yinxia, ​​and Liu Yinxu, and couldn't help but smile. "There's one more person to be the host. Who will do it?"

The three of them secretly glanced at each other, each hoping the other would go first.

The others secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thankful they had escaped unscathed.

They grew up in Taoist temples and were very familiar with Taoist etiquette and rules. They also learned a lot of skills from the Taoist priests.

The only thing I've never done before is receiving and entertaining guests. In fact, before today, I'd hardly ever seen any outsiders. How could I dare to be the "guest host"?!

After waiting a few seconds and no one volunteered, Abbot Chen made a decisive move and said to the three of them, "Then the three of you can come together."

The three of them quickly looked up, their eyes filled with panic.

what?
Guest master? I really don't know that!
In addition to these positions, a complete Taoist temple also has a "high priest" in charge of Taoist rituals and ceremonies, a "scripture master" in charge of chanting and lecturing on scriptures and managing the scripture library, and several "miscellaneous servants" in charge of cleaning, maintenance, cooking and other tasks of the Taoist temple.

The people that Master Liu sent were originally intended to work as menial laborers at Chaoyang Temple, but even he didn't expect that Chen Fan would arrange important positions for them, making them bear burdens that they shouldn't have to bear at their age.

However, Chen Fan only dared to do this because he saw that they were well-trained and had been learning from those old Taoist masters for more than ten years.

Frankly speaking, in terms of "Taoist skills," these young Taoist priests were not necessarily inferior to the ordinary Taoist priests in later Taoist temples, and were at least better than Zhang Xuansong, who was watching the excitement from the sidelines.

With this as a foundation, as long as they gain more experience over a few years, if they can stand out, Chaoyang Temple will have a thriving core of talent.

Since that's the case, why not give the temples a good workout while they're still closed for worship?

After assigning responsibilities, Chen Fan waved his sleeves and said, "That's settled then. Now everyone, take your positions and leave."

The nine Taoist disciples looked at each other, but their upbringing prevented them from uttering a word of refusal. They could only bow and say, "Yes," with bitter expressions.

They then stood up, lined up, and walked out dejectedly.

If outsiders saw this, they would probably think they had been stripped of their positions rather than received new appointments.

After they left, Zhang Xuansong immediately came over and whispered, "They're still just kids. Is it really okay to make them do these chores?"

Chen Fan looked at him. "Why don't you do it?"

Zhang Xuansong immediately shook his head like a fan, "Forget it, I don't know as much about these things as they do."

Li Shangde walked over, flicking an empty sleeve, and said with a smile, "I think these kids are all pretty good. They're obviously well-trained, and they did a clean and efficient job today. Let them give it a try."

Lin Yuanxiang made a sarcastic remark, "If you don't need them, where are you going to find people? If you really find a bunch of old Taoist priests, and each of them brings a bunch of disciples and grand-disciples, then will Chaoyang Temple be the Quanzhen School, or some other kind of school?"

Zhang Xuansong clicked his tongue, pondered for a few seconds, and finally nodded, "That makes sense. Young people aren't necessarily incapable; they just lack opportunities."

He then turned to look at Li Shangde and chuckled, “Just like our team back then, many of those young guys were able to fight the Japanese and make great contributions.”

Li Shangde smiled and nodded, "That makes sense."

Chen Fan stretched, shook his sleeves, stood up, and said, "Third Master, Chaoyang Temple has been rebuilt. My mission can be considered complete, right?"

Zhang Xuansong laughed and said, "It's done, it's done."

The next second he suddenly realized, "What, you're going to run away again?"

Chen Fan spread his hands, saying helplessly, "I have work too. A few literary representatives from Western Europe are here, and the Writers' Association is embroiled in a dispute with them. I'm the main person in charge, so I haven't been dealing with that; I've been focusing on this first. And then there's writing; I have so many novels I haven't had time to write..."

Zhang Xuansong felt overwhelmed and quickly raised his hand, "Alright, alright, I know you're busy, but you still have to hold on for a few more days."

Chen Fan frowned. "What?"

Zhang Xuansong chuckled and said, "This Taoist temple has just opened. We can't have people come to offer incense only to find you gone the next day. Let's hold out for now, at least for ten days to half a month."

Chen Fan's face darkened. "How about we just stay for a year or two?"

Zhang Xuansong glanced at him. "You're willing?"

Chen Fan shook his head decisively, then held up his hand and made a gesture, "Seven days at most."

Zhang Xuansong said without hesitation, "Deal."

Chen Fan was taken aback. Had he shouted too much?

Just then, he suddenly saw Jiang Tiantian, Jiang Lili, Liu Juan, and Ma Lan walk into the courtyard from the back. He couldn't help but roll his eyes and said to Zhang Xuansong, "Third Master, I'd like Liu Juan and Ma Lan to come and help out at the Taoist temple. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuansong frowned slightly. "Should we have them come to the Taoist temple?"

Chen Fan nodded and said, "This is what I'm thinking. Anyway, there are already six female Taoists in the temple, so their arrival won't have any impact. Once the Taoist Association is restored, or other Taoist temples reopen, this will be a proper place. They can come and work here, cook in the kitchen, and we can officially pay them a salary."

In the future, when believers come to offer incense, the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Banquet we ate today can also be sold. They can be specifically responsible for making the banquet dishes, and we'll give them more bonuses later to increase their income. That's my main idea.

As for where they stay, they can continue staying at my place, or they can stay here. Or, why don't you ask them what they think?

This time, Zhang Xuansong didn't hesitate and nodded, "Okay, I'll go ask later."

It's just working at a Taoist temple. As long as it's a legitimate workplace and I can earn a decent salary, I don't mind going anywhere.

As for whether Chaoyang Temple is a legitimate or not?
Zhang Xuansong looked around with his cane in hand. "I've registered with the Taoist Association and have a file on me. Let's see who dares to say no!"
(End of this chapter)