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

Chapter 37: Drink this bowl of chicken soup
The next morning, Zhao Zhijing slept comfortably until he woke up naturally, feeling refreshed.

The morning class on this day went on as planned, but after it ended, the head monk Ma Yu personally led three generations of disciples to a side hall to perform a ritual.

So when we arrived at the place where we usually practiced, a group of disciples had been waiting for a while.

"Master!"

Disciples such as Lu Qingdu and Liu Qingyuan, who had not seen Zhao Zhijing yesterday while patrolling the mountain, immediately gathered around him. They didn't know what to say, but they just looked at Zhao Zhijing excitedly.

"Go back and stand still. The master has something to say."

Lu Qingdu and others stood back obediently, waiting for their master to lecture them.

"Qingzhi, where is your junior brother Guan Man'er?"

Zhao Zhijing saw that Guan Maner was not among them and asked.

Zhang Qingzhi said in embarrassment: "I was just about to report to Master that my junior brother is still in his room."

"I went to call him early in the morning, wanting to take him to the morning class, but the junior brother said he only listened to the master and refused to leave no matter what."

Oh, right.

Zhao Zhijing immediately realized that it was his own negligence. Guan Man'er still called him Taoist Zhao instead of Master because his sister Guan Shengnan told him to only listen to Taoist Zhao.

"Got it. Wait a minute. I'll go get your junior brother."

Given Guan Maner's condition, it would actually be better to teach him individually, but Zhao Zhijing thought that he should be allowed to integrate more into an environment with more people, which might help promote his mental growth.

He was in the Changhong Escort Agency, and was a private tutor invited by Guan Changhong to teach at home. His sister Guan Shengnan was fifteen or sixteen years older than him.

It can be said that from childhood to adulthood, due to various reasons, I had few opportunities to interact with people of my own age.

Now that he has fellow disciples like Yang Guo who are of similar age, they will definitely treat him sincerely, so Zhao Zhijing decided to teach Guan Man'er together regardless of his progress.

Not long after, Zhao Zhijing arrived at the Taoist room where Guan Man'er was. He saw Guan Man'er looking up at the beam in a daze, wondering what he had discovered.

"Man'er, follow the master."

Guan Maner looked down and saw that it was Taoist Zhao. She did not resist and stood up and followed Zhao Zhijing.

It seems that it is not appropriate to let Man'er live in the disciple room. I have to find a way to keep him by my side all the time.

Zhao Zhijing took Guan Man'er and quickly returned to the side hall where they practiced martial arts.

"This is your junior fellow apprentice, Guan Man'er. Remember to take good care of him in the future."

The master has accepted a new disciple who is a little different. Yang Guo and his friends had already informed the other fellow disciples yesterday.

Everyone knew that the master hated infighting among his fellow disciples the most, so they all agreed immediately.

"This time when I came down the mountain, I happened to see some food in a town, so I brought it back for you to try."

Zhao Zhijing took out the paper packages containing preserved fruits and told Liu Qingyuan and Zhang Qingzhi to take them away and divide them equally.

Most of these disciples came from poor backgrounds, and some were even orphans. In addition, some joined the Quanzhen Sect early, so some had never even seen it, let alone eaten it.

At this time, the paper package was opened, and the sweet fruity aroma was fragrant, as well as the milky and oily aroma of the pastries, which made all the disciples swallow their saliva.

Zhao Zhijing noticed the reactions of his disciples and thought that these children were indeed suffering.

The Quanzhen Sect prohibits the consumption of meat and alcohol, so meat and alcohol are not allowed to be consumed. Therefore, their daily diet usually does not contain much oil or fat.

As for snacks, they were the wild fruits occasionally encountered while patrolling the mountains. They were only in the places with more fruits, and I don’t know how many disciples were eyeing them.

Now Liu Qingxing and Zhang Qingzhi carefully distributed the snacks to everyone. The fellow disciples all knew that the two were always fair. At most, they were curious about what others got, but no one was worried about the uneven distribution.

After Zhao Zhijing had distributed all the food, he clapped his hands and said, "You have been very diligent in practicing for the past three months. I have seen it all." "These foods are a reward. You must persevere in the future to achieve something and stand out."

Zhao Zhijing thought that today was a rest day, so the schoolwork was not intense, and he wanted to wait until all the disciples had finished eating before continuing with his normal lessons.

"Eat it, it's sweet."

Compared to his other brothers, Guan Maner, as the son of Changhong Escort Agency, has eaten quite a few of these snacks.

Hearing what Taoist Priest Zhao said, he poured all the candied pastries in his hands into his mouth without hesitation.

Zhao Zhijing reached out to wipe Guan Man'er's mouth, thinking that if he swallowed the food whole, it would probably not taste good.

When I looked at the other disciples, I found that almost no one was moving. A few disciples carefully picked up some fruit crumbs and ate them, then closed their eyes with a look of happiness on their faces.

"Eat, why not?"

Zhao Zhijing didn't know why his disciples didn't eat, so he asked.

"Master Master"

Compared to other disciples, the somewhat stupid and clumsy Lu Qingdu called out "Master" in a crying voice.

Lu Qingdu was a tall and strong man with broad hands. He held the snacks given to him in one hand and wiped his tears with his sleeve with the other.

Zhao Zhijing walked up to him, wiped his tears, and said with a smile: "You are so old, but you are still crying in front of your fellow apprentices. Aren't you ashamed?"

"Master."

"I know I'm stupid. Apart from being tall, I'm pretty much useless."

Lu Qingdu seemed to have turned on a switch. He sniffed and said intermittently, "Whether it's martial arts, scriptures, or other things like writing and drawing, I learn them all the slowest."

"Even when Master made me copy the scriptures, I would be lazy and go find other junior brothers for help."

"But Master."

"Master has never abandoned me or looked down on me just because I'm stupid. This is the same for all my fellow disciples."

"My disciples are slow to learn, but they understand things in their hearts."

"How can a disciple be worthy of eating these things? How can a disciple be worthy of eating these things!"

Lu Qingdu spoke so excitedly that tears could not stop flowing down his face. Most of his fellow disciples were touched and some of them started crying too.

Zhao Zhijing didn't expect that just wanting to distribute some sweet dates would lead to this situation.

He then whispered a few words of comfort to help Lu Qingdu calm down.

"There are many opportunities in one's life."

Seeing Lu Qingdu slowly stop crying, Zhao Zhijing raised his voice and said to all the disciples: "Even if you haven't found something you are good at for the time being, don't be disappointed or even discouraged."

"I firmly believe that everyone has his or her talents and potential. As long as you persevere, you will always gain something."

Zhao Zhijing looked at Lu Qingdu, picked up a whole piece of preserved fruit from his palm, and put it into his mouth.

"As for Qing Du, your tall stature is an advantage in itself. Even if you cannot master martial arts, your master will help you find a direction to pursue throughout your life."

"I have often thought about this matter over the past three months, and today I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about it."

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(End of this chapter)