If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

"I've come to ask you for a favor."

"Brother Song, please speak. I will go through fire and water for you."

"It's not anything dangerous, I just want you to help me find out about those bald monks and see if they have any shady dealings."

Upon hearing the name of the bald monks of Jin Guang Temple, Tie Dan's eyes immediately burned with anger. If it weren't for the exploitation by these bald monks, his parents wouldn't have died so tragically.

"Don't worry, Brother Song, I will definitely take care of it."

Tie Dan wasn't stupid; on the contrary, he was quite quick-witted. He knew that someone was going to deal with these bald monks, and considering the recent rumors circulating outside, he guessed it was that Lord Zhou.

However, Tie Dan didn't say it out loud. He was just a minor character, and he knew all too well that loose lips sink ships. Anyway, he had a grudge against these bald monks, and now that someone was dealing with them, he was naturally overjoyed.

"Alright, then let's get on with it as soon as possible. Keep this money; you're still growing, so don't go without eating. There will be a big reward after it's done."

Song Gong left a small bag of silver as a deposit.

"Thank you, Brother Song."

After Song Gong left, Tie Dan couldn't help but open the money bag. Inside, there were at least five taels of silver, more than he had ever seen in his life.

"Brother Song just said that there will be a big reward after the matter is done, and then I will be able to start a new life with this money."

Tie Dan is a man with ideas. He never thought of being a tenant farmer for the rest of his life like his parents. However, he was short of money, so having ideas alone couldn't fill his stomach. But now, he saw an opportunity, perhaps the only one in his life, and he had to seize it.

. . . . . . .

The next morning, Tiedan delivered firewood to Jinshan Temple as usual. He used to deliver it every two days, but now that it was cold and the temple needed more firewood, he delivered it almost every day.

Carrying two loads of firewood, he arrived at Jinshan Temple with familiarity with the place. When the little monk at the gate saw Tiedan, his usual pleasing smile vanished, and he roared fiercely at Tiedan.

"Damn it, you little bastard, I'll let you be arrogant for a few days first."

Tie Dan cursed under his breath, but still forced a smile onto his face, not daring to utter a single complaint.

After placing the firewood in the kitchen, Tie Dan looked around. It was the time when the monks were having breakfast, so everyone was gathered in the dining hall. There were hardly any people in other places, and it was too early. The mountain gate wasn't open yet, and there were no tourists. It was the perfect time for Tie Dan to make his move.

Tie Dan went straight to the abbot's meditation room, where any shady evidence would most likely be hidden.

After searching the room for a long time, Tie Dan found nothing suspicious. He looked around but couldn't find anywhere to hide anything.

However, a Buddhist shrine in the room made him suspicious. Generally speaking, Buddhist shrines are places where believers enshrine deities at home. Jinshan Temple is a temple with many Buddha statues of all sizes, so there shouldn't be a Buddhist shrine there.

Thinking of this, Tie Dan began to look for the mechanism on the Buddha niche. Sure enough, when he knocked on the base of the niche, he heard a hollow echo.

"empty?"

Tie Dan fumbled around on the base and found a hidden compartment. When he opened it, a booklet was revealed.

Although Tie Dan was illiterate, he had seen the monks record the amounts collected in their ledgers when they came to collect rent in previous years, and he recognized the word "accounts".

"This thing is both an account book and hidden in such a secret place, it must be something that can't be brought to light."

Tie Dan was quite clever. To avoid alerting the enemy, he didn't steal the accounts. Instead, he planned to go back and report the situation to Brother Song before making a decision. Anyway, there would be plenty of opportunities.

. . . . . . .

That evening, Engineer Song arrived at Tie Dan's house as promised, bringing some food with him as usual.

“Brother Song, I found an account book in the hidden compartment of the Buddhist shrine in that old bald monk’s meditation room.”

"Oh, what kind of accounts?"

“Brother Song, I can’t read, I only know the word ‘accounts’, but I think that since it’s been hidden, it must be something important. But I’m afraid of alerting them, so we haven’t touched it.”

Faced with Song Gong's question, Tie Dan was somewhat at a loss and explained somewhat embarrassedly.

“You did the right thing. We can’t alert them yet. It seems we can only wait until that old bald monk is away before we can figure out a way to steal him out.”

"But this old monk rarely leaves the temple unless a noble person asks him to perform a ritual."

"What a great idea."

Tie Dan's casual remark reminded Song Gong that he should find a powerful person to invite the old monk, so that he could have a chance to steal the accounts, show them to the adults, and then secretly send them back.

"Brother Song, what's your good idea?"

"I'll go back and find the important person. You can find a chance to steal the accounts then."

"okay."

Song didn't dare to delay any longer today and went straight back to discuss it with his two older brothers.

. . . . .

Capital.

"Third brother, you're back. Any progress?"

The fact that Engineer Song returned so early today surprised both Hua Rong and Wang Cang. They wondered if something had happened.

"Big brother, second brother, good news! Tie Dan found an account book in the old bald monk's meditation room, but he hasn't stolen it yet so as not to alert the enemy."

"The ledger, the hidden compartment—it must be something important."

"Yes, we need to find a way to lure that old bald monk out of the temple, and then have Tiedan steal it. That way, after the adults have seen it, we can return it without anyone noticing."

"It's good that you've noticed, but how do we lure that old bald monk out?"

Everyone thought the idea was good, but Wang Cang and Hua Rong couldn't think of a good way to lure him out.

"Brothers, I've heard that the old bald monk only leaves Jinshan Temple when a noble person requests him to perform a ritual. Why don't we find a noble person and ask him to perform the ritual?"

“Alright, Third Brother, you need to be careful. There are plenty of impoverished nobles in the capital. We just need to spend some money.”

"Okay, I'll take care of that."

Wang Cang volunteered, as he happened to know a down-on-his-luck nobleman who was confident that the man would be willing to help for the money.

. . . . .

Sure enough, thanks to the efforts of the three brothers, a nobleman soon invited the abbot of Jinshan Temple to his home to perform a religious ceremony. Because he was offered ample money and the ceremony would increase Jinshan Temple’s influence among the nobles, the abbot of Jinshan Temple agreed without hesitation.

"Today, nobles from the capital have invited me to perform a religious ceremony. You all must guard the temple gates."

"Yes, host."

When the old monk left the mountain, all the monks in the temple came to see him off at the mountain gate; the scene was nothing short of extravagant.

Little did they know that Tie Dan and Song Gong were waiting for the old monk to leave so they could make their move.

After Tie Dan stole the ledger, Song Gong delivered it directly to Zhou Wu by express horse. After Zhou Wu had looked at it, he secretly returned it.