How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

Liu Yin and her entourage stayed in Daicheng for quite some time, enough for her to finish writing her new book and then deliver it to the publishing house.

That day, Liu Yin looked at the sky, gathered the students, and announced that they would continue their journey the next day.

Everyone was quite happy, after all, they had been here for quite a while and were inevitably getting a little tired of it.

“Sir.” Ming Ge, along with the children he had later rescued, stepped forward.

Everyone was a little puzzled, but seeing Liu Yin there, no one said anything.

Ming thought for a moment and said, “Sir, we believe that our knowledge is not as good as yours, and following you would only bring us more trouble, so... so we want to go back to Yancheng to make up for the lack of basic knowledge first.”

"Yes, a solid foundation is essential for a high-level strategic vision, that's true." Liu Yin nodded, agreeing with the other person's statement.

"So, we might need your help, sir, to find a security escort agency for us," Ming said somewhat apologetically.

Liu Yin nodded: "This is what I should do."

After thinking for a moment, she instructed Mei Wu: "Go to the escort agency and make arrangements to send them there properly."

Mei Wu nodded naturally and headed to the Guining Escort Agency branch with the token. Most of the elites of the escort agency had been transferred back to Yancheng to help train them into elite soldiers, but in order not to delay the transmission of messages, branches were still left in various prefectural cities.

The next morning, after seeing off Ming and his group, the group accompanied Liu Yin in the car to continue their journey.

The trip had just begun, and only five boys and three girls remained among the students.

Liu Yin wasn't too worried. She had always hesitated about taking on students, and these days she only did so because she felt that taking them would allow her to see a lot. But now that Zhang Yong'an's matter had been added to the mix, she was somewhat disheartened.

"Sir, shall we go to Fengcheng as agreed?" Tao Boyi was the eldest and had the most to worry about, so arranging everyone's trip naturally became his responsibility. Mei Wu was completely freed up and focused solely on taking care of Liu Yin's safety.

"No, let's head south." Liu Yin shook her head.

"South?" The group was a little puzzled, but they didn't say anything more.

Upon seeing this, Liu Yin smiled and said, "In my agricultural book, I mentioned that in some parts of the south, crops can be harvested three or four times a year. I'd like to go and look for it. If we can find it, we can greatly reduce the scope of our research on high-yield wheat varieties."

"Four kinds of cooked food? Three kinds of cooked food?" Everyone was surprised.

Wang Yongxin then quickly said, "Sir, you're not joking, are you?"

"I never joked in my book. It's just that some of the news I heard was just hearsay. I still need to go and see for myself," Liu Yin sighed and explained.

Upon seeing this, Mu Jiaxu said with delight, "I haven't studied agricultural books in depth, and I didn't know about this matter. If you can find this place, I... I would rather settle here and concentrate on studying agriculture."

Liu Yin knew that Mu Jiaxu had come to her because of the agricultural book, and she was happy to see his ambition: "Okay, I will introduce you to a few more young men from farming families. I think you will definitely be able to achieve something great."

Mu Jiaxu's face was flushed with excitement as he looked at Liu Yin and nodded repeatedly.

Zhuo Yongnian came from a prestigious family, but unlike Mu Jiaxu, he didn't come from a poor background and experience hunger and poverty. However, he was not unaware of Mu Jiaxu's excitement, as they had witnessed far too many tragedies caused by hunger or poverty in recent days.

Liu Yin once told him that etiquette, civility, and morality are things that can only be discussed with ordinary people after they have enough to eat. If people can't even get enough to eat, how can they have the energy to care about anything else?

At first, he didn't take it seriously, but later he realized how right Liu Yin was.

As they spoke, the group had already left Daicheng and headed south.

Since it was already summer, everyone was rather listless along the way, and before long, everyone except the coachman fell asleep.

It wasn't until evening that the group finally stopped in the town, relaxed, and rested for a day before continuing their journey.

As they traveled and rested along the way, they witnessed the oppression and exploitation of small merchants by large merchants, the deception and kindness of small merchants towards ordinary people, and the fact that regardless of wealth, as long as you are at the bottom of society, you are everyone's target for exploitation.

They also met the wife that Liu Yin had seen before, and even met Dianzi who looked very much like the wife.

I even saw cases where poor families, unable to raise their sons, gave away their handsome sons to others as male prostitutes. If they were lucky, the sons would become sworn brothers and have a better future; if not, they would end up in brothels.

Of course, those with a large age gap may also become godfather and godson. These events, whether tragic or joyful, unfold before them, like a series of paintings about human nature.

That day, they rested in a small riverside town. Thinking about the foster father and son they had just met by the roadside and their astonishing age difference, they suddenly lost their appetite.

"Teacher, they...they..." Zhuo Yongnian frowned slightly, looking somewhat troubled.

Liu Yin knew what they were thinking from the expressions she saw today. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Do you know why this is happening?"

Everyone shook their heads, except for Cheng Le'an, who said with a look of disgust, "It's nothing more than powerful families relying on their power or wealthy families relying on their money to lose their humanity, trample on the dignity of others, and satisfy their own desires."

Seeing her unusual emotional fluctuation, everyone guessed that she must have witnessed something unbearable to be so disgusted, and for a moment no one said anything.

Instead, Liu Yin sighed and said, "Yes, and no."

Cheng Le'an frowned, somewhat reluctant to admit it, yet also wanting to know where he had gone wrong. He looked at Liu Yin, waiting for her answer.

Liu Yin continued, "There's another kind, just like selling children or pawning wives and children, which is all caused by poverty."

"Poor?" Cheng Le'an looked at Liu Yin in confusion. "I saw that they were dressed exquisitely. Although they weren't made of fine silk or satin, they were still made of very fine cotton. How could they be poor?"

Liu Yin nodded and continued, "Judging by appearances, they are certainly not poor. But let's not even talk about sworn brothers. Most sworn fathers and sons are from wealthy families, while the sons are poor. Poor people can't afford to raise their sons, so they naturally send them to be raised by others. This way, the sons can live like young masters, and if the father is kind-hearted, he can even help them build a fortune and find a wife. Isn't that better than living a hard life with them?"

Cheng Le'an pursed her lips and nodded in understanding, but she still asked, "If that's the case, then it can be considered a matter of fate."

“Think about Ming-ge. At least this is better than Ming-ge.” Liu Yin sighed and continued, “If the common people are trying to survive, there are all sorts of ways. The best outcome for the extra boys is naturally to be sent away as concubines. The next best is to become the sons of these foster fathers and sons. The worst is to become slaves or maids. The worst outcome is Ming-ge…”

These words caused a sense of unease among the students, especially Mu Jiaxu, whose face paled as if he had just realized something…