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After touring Suibian Temple, Yixuan Shifu still had matters to attend to and returned to Yunkui Summit first, while Arden Xu, Ju Fufu, and Yiji headed to Yum Cha Sin, enjoying afternoon tea as they discussed which parts of Suibian Temple still needed optimization and improvement.
"I think we could open a restaurant that sells all kinds of large-portion meat dishes!"
Ju Fufu voiced her own opinion.
Suibian Temple was an asset of Yunkui Summit, and as disciples of Yunkui Summit, they naturally enjoyed plenty of benefits when spending there—not only a monthly reimbursement quota, but also discounts.
"A meat-focused restaurant... I don't think it's very appropriate."
However, Yiji expressed opposition to Ju Fufu's suggestion.
This wasn't a battle between women; she genuinely felt it wasn't suitable.
"Although Yunkui Summit doesn't forbid meat, openly selling the flesh of living beings in a daoist temple would inevitably invite criticism, wouldn't it?"
"Fufu, if you want to eat meat, we can head back to Yunkui Summit and have Junior Brother Pan Yinhu cook for you."
Ju Fufu's little scheme was seen through at a glance by Arden.
"Alright."
Ju Fufu pouted, her small lips sticking out. Although her dream of freely stuffing herself with meat at Suibian Temple had been shattered, Yiji and Arden made good points. Ju Fufu wasn't a willful little tiger—always obedient, she naturally wouldn't insist on doing something she knew was inappropriate.
"So well-behaved. Come here, let me give you a kiss—mu~ah~!"
Arden rewarded the obedient Ju Fufu with a peck.
On Arden's side, he also put forward his own improvement proposal.
.....
Yum Cha Sin.
Arden sat at a table laid out with tea and pastries, with Ju Fufu and Yiji seated on either side of him.
"Sluurp~~ Yiji, I think we could set up a paid service where merit offsets sins."
Arden held a teacup in one hand, taking a sip of tea, while the other hand rested on Yiji's smooth, fair thigh as he explained the business plan he had come up with.
"Merit offsetting sins?"
Hearing Arden's suggestion, Yiji quietly scooted a little closer to her master so he could touch her more deeply, while simultaneously asking back.
She recognized each of those words, but once they were combined, she had no idea how it was supposed to work.
"That's simple!"
As he spoke, Arden put down his teacup and pulled a talisman out of his talisman pouch.
"Celestial Talisman Arts; Form!"
With the incantation and technique, the talisman transformed into the shape of a wooden fish, and he picked up a pair of chopsticks to strike it.
Knock knock knock...
"Each strike counts as one point of merit, and merit can be used to offer blessings and prayers, or to offset guilty deeds and sins you've committed."
According to Tang Dynasty Daoist texts, the wooden fish was originally invented by Daoism for gathering followers and lecturing during ritual feasts, and was only later adopted by Buddhism. Therefore, it was perfectly fine for Suibian Temple, as a Daoist temple, to use a wooden fish.
"Mm...."
Yiji fell into thought.
"Just knocking it a few times... does that really work?"
Ju Fufu blinked her big eyes curiously. This method of accumulating merit by striking a wooden fish and then using that merit to atone for sins—how could she, as the senior sister of Yunkui Summit, not know about it?
"Ahem!"
Arden coughed theatrically. "Whether it works or not, I'm not sure. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't.... But I think at the very least, it can have a certain psychological effect."
"Oh!"
Ju Fufu still looked only half convinced.
"But how would it make money?"
More business-minded, Yiji didn't care whether striking the wooden fish truly worked. As long as customers felt it worked and were satisfied, that was enough—but the key was profitability.
After all, striking a wooden fish was something anyone could easily do.
"Of course, it only works if you do it at Suibian Temple. And since it occupies our venue, they should at least give some incense money, right?"
Arden said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Mmm... it might not earn much Denny, but the costs are basically negligible. It does have some potential."
Yiji nodded and decided to adopt Arden's suggestion.
However, she felt that merely adding a merit-related service was far from enough. "Suibian Temple is only so big. I believe I've already done my best with it. If we want to keep developing, we need a new direction."
"A new direction for development..."
At that moment, a gentle, pleasant female voice with a hint of playfulness came from the side.
The three of them looked over and saw the owner of Yum Cha Sin, Sweety.
She had added black stockings beneath her usual qipao, and as she lightly fanned herself with a round silk fan, she looked more alluring than the Sweety everyone was familiar with, making one's eyes light up.
In short, one word—excellent!
Of course, the most crucial thing was that Sweety herself was beautiful, with a great figure to match.
She pulled over a chair and placed it beside Arden.
Pa!
As Sweety sat down, she shot Arden a glare and slapped away his hand that had reached over, groping around on her black stockings like a lecherous pig.
"What do you think about setting up a film and television company?"
"A film and television company?"
"Let me think!"
Arden and Yiji began analyzing the feasibility.
"I agree!"
Ju Fufu, however, offered her full support.
The movie she loved most, Legend of the Tiger Warrior!, still hadn't released a sequel, and Sweety's suggestion sparked inspiration in her mind. Since no one else was making a sequel, why not shoot one themselves?
"...."
After discussing for a while, Arden and Yiji also felt that running a film and television company was feasible.
First, a film and television company wouldn't take up Suibian Temple's limited space. It could also make use of Yunkui Summit and Suibian Temple as filming locations, as well as Yunkui Summit's large amount of free labor... disciples, serving as low-cost staff and extras.
Moreover, a film and television company was a light-asset industry. After all, compared to conglomerates like the TOPS Alliance, Yunkui Summit's funds weren't exactly abundant.
However, there was still one problem: starting a film and television company was extremely difficult. You had to have fame first; otherwise, with a bunch of rookie directors and actors, who would come watch?
As for famous actors and artists, you could cultivate them yourself, or sign already-popular figures.
"Sweety, if a film and television company wants to get off the ground, talent is the most crucial factor. Do you have any suggestions?"
Arden leaned closer to Sweety, breathing in the fragrance on her body that was reminiscent of flowers and tea as he asked.
Since Sweety had proposed founding a film and television company, it definitely wasn't a random idea. After all, when it came to being well-informed, if Sweety claimed second place, no one on the Waifei Peninsula would dare claim first.
"Hehe, I do know one."
Sweety shifted her body slightly. Arden's large hand resting on her black stockings made her feel warm and a little ticklish, but this time she didn't resist. Instead, she pointed in the direction of Suibian Temple.
"Suibian Temple?"
"Sister Sweety means... one of Yunkui Summit's disciples?"
But that wasn't the case.
Arden noticed that quite a few people had gradually gathered in the small plaza in front of Suibian Temple, and then, a beautiful singing voice could faintly be heard.
"...."
The Cantonese lyrics and voice gave Arden an extremely familiar feeling.
Pa!
Arden slapped his forehead.
"Look at my memory—how did I forget about her!"
That's right. The one showing off her singing voice in the small plaza in front of Suibian Temple was none other than the familiar superstar Miss Astra Yao.
In the game's story, Astra Yao primarily sang in Cantonese, and in all of New Eridu, almost everyone who spoke Cantonese was on the Waifei Peninsula. Naturally, Arden had suspected back then that Astra Yao was actually from the Waifei Peninsula.
Now, it seemed his guess was correct.
It was just that, judging from her current situation, she didn't seem to have become a blazing-hot top star yet.
[AN:The game content doesn't explicitly state Astra Yao's background. The author is adding a bit of secondary setup here—please forgive any issues.]
"As far as I know, Miss Astra Yao hasn't signed with any film, television, or talent management company yet. Perhaps... this is an opportunity."
Sweety had been paying attention to Astra Yao for quite some time. If their businesses weren't so different, she would have wanted to bring this genius into Yum Cha Sin herself.
"Then what are we waiting for!"
Arden sprang to his feet with a whoosh, not even touching Sweety's beautiful black-clad legs anymore, and headed straight toward the small plaza where Astra Yao was.
After all, before transmigrating, Arden had heard plenty about "unspoken rules," and he was feeling a bit eager to try. (JK lol)
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