The next morning, the sun rose brightly, dispelling the mist in the mountains.
Having just given some silver to Yi Kong, sending him to buy ingredients for making zongzi at the foot of the mountain, Qian Delu led a large group of craftsmen to the mountain.
Along with them, he brought six thousand taels of silver, five hundred of which had already been used to pay for the craftsmen's wages.
Huo Yuanzhen smiled and welcomed Qian Delu, putting the silver into his pouch.
Calling over the craftsmen, Huo Yuanzhen began explaining his plans for building the Shaolin Temple.
As they listened, the craftsmen's mouths dropped open in disbelief.
Initially, they had thought Huo Yuanzhen's plan was just to build a simple wall, fix some stairs, and level the ground. But to their surprise, his vision was far grander—this wasn't just building a temple; it was like constructing a fortress.
Huo Yuanzhen wanted to build a wall along Yuzhai Mountain, which was already difficult to approach from the mountain path. The idea of building a wall on the mountain's edge made it almost impossible to climb, except for those skilled in lightness martial arts. And the wall was to be as sturdy as a city wall—an enormous project.
Furthermore, the ground within the walls had to be leveled and paved with bluestone, a task equally enormous. According to the abbot's design, after the temple was built, it could accommodate thousands of people.
Luckily, the road construction wasn't too complicated.
However, this was far beyond the craftsmen's expectations and Qian Delu's plan. Panicked, Qian Delu quickly pulled Huo Yuanzhen aside.
"Abbot, this might not be feasible."
"What's not feasible?" Huo Yuanzhen asked calmly. Since acquiring the construction permit for the Ten Thousand Buddha Tower, Huo Yuanzhen's mindset had changed. It seemed his previous designs were too small-scale. Shaolin's foundational construction was a major task, and he preferred to spend more money now to avoid any future rework.
"Based on your plans, we'd need at least thirty thousand taels of silver to complete this. Do you have that much money?"
"Money can be discussed later," Huo Yuanzhen casually responded, saying something that startled Qian Delu.
"Then... there aren't enough craftsmen."
Qian Delu hesitated, afraid that Huo Yuanzhen might ask him for more loans. He only mentioned the shortage of craftsmen.
"That's also easy to solve. These craftsmen have family and friends, they can contact them. As long as I have enough funds, it shouldn't be difficult."
Huo Yuanzhen reassured Qian Delu, then went to speak with the craftsmen.
The craftsmen weren't worried about the large scale of the project; the bigger the project, the more money they'd make. Huo Yuanzhen promised to pay them fairly, and they immediately went off to find their friends in the trade—recruiting more workers wouldn't be hard.
Qian Delu, watching Huo Yuanzhen talking to the craftsmen, remained silent but secretly wondered how he could avoid lending more money if Huo Yuanzhen asked again.
Once the craftsmen had been sent off, Huo Yuanzhen returned to Qian Delu with a warm smile. "Amitabha, Master Qian, it's windy outside. Please come in for some tea."
"No, no, there's no need to trouble the abbot," Qian Delu waved his hands nervously. He didn't dare to have a long conversation with Huo Yuanzhen, fearing he might end up being tricked again.
Seeing that Huo Yuanzhen was about to speak, Qian Delu hurriedly interrupted, "Abbot, to be honest, my moneylender's branch here can't lend more than ten thousand taels. Your construction plan has changed and will likely need more silver, but I really don't have that much."
"Ah, you don't have the approval for that amount?" Huo Yuanzhen asked casually.
"Approval? Abbot, what do you mean by that?" Qian Delu didn't understand the term and asked.
Huo Yuanzhen quickly laughed off his slip of the tongue and continued, "Oh, I meant that your branch can't lend more than a certain amount. Is that right?"
"Yes, that's correct. The branch here is limited. The main office is in Jinling."
"Ah, the main office. In that case, could you introduce me to the branch in the county?" Huo Yuanzhen asked.
"Certainly, I'll introduce you. But Abbot, I must warn you, the real cost of building a temple is in the Buddha hall and the statues. The ground and walls are a small part. Your project is going to need much more than what the county branch can lend," Qian Delu said, cautioning Huo Yuanzhen.
"Don't worry about that, Master Qian. I've already planned for that. Please just introduce me to the county branch, and I'll handle the rest."
Qian Delu, still uneasy, agreed to introduce Huo Yuanzhen to the county's moneylender, though he warned him about the difficult character of the moneylender's steward, who was a scholar with a strange temperament.
"It's just that the steward, who's a scholar, is very particular. He only lends to people he likes, and you need to impress him. If he doesn't like you, even if you offer him collateral, he won't lend."
Huo Yuanzhen was intrigued, "What kind of person does he like?"
"Well, it's said that one time, someone impressed him by writing a seven-character quatrain while drinking with him. After hearing it, the steward praised the poem so much that he immediately lent the person five thousand taels of silver."
"Ah, I see. In that case, please arrange for me to meet this steward tomorrow. I would like to try my hand at impressing him with my talent."
Qian Delu thought this young abbot might back down, but to his surprise, Huo Yuanzhen was determined to go. It seemed that he really wanted to try his hand at impressing the scholar-steward.
The two agreed to go to the county town the next day. Meanwhile, people had already begun climbing up the mountain to listen to the storytelling session. Today's topic was the famous "Great Havoc in Heaven" from the Journey to the West.
Huo Yuanzhen, full of energy, continued telling the story as the incense he had created burned in the background, while the crowd eagerly bought the incense to avoid disturbing him. The temple's revenue was growing, and Huo Yuanzhen spoke with even more enthusiasm, entertaining the crowd until the sun began to set.
"With a laugh, Sun Wukong said to the Jade Emperor, 'The emperor's term is rotational; this year it's my turn. You'd better step down, old Jade Emperor.'"
"The Monkey King's boldness shocked the Jade Emperor and the celestial beings. For the first time since the beginning of the world, someone dared speak to the Jade Emperor like that! A true hero challenges even the greatest powers!"
Huo Yuanzhen paused for a moment and looked at the setting sun, "That's it for today. Tomorrow I have something to attend to. I'll continue the story the day after tomorrow."
The audience was captivated, so engrossed in the tale that they barely noticed they hadn't eaten. When they realized the session was over, they rushed to show their respect and left the temple with reluctance.
As the listeners dispersed, Huo Yuanzhen passed on the newly acquired Lotus Sutra to Yi Kong. He wasn't interested in studying it himself, and it seemed a better fit for Yi Kong, who genuinely appreciated Buddhist teachings.
Yi Kong was ecstatic and immediately began studying the sutra, while the others looked on enviously, hoping that Huo Yuanzhen might offer them a similar treasure. However, he only had one copy, so he pretended not to notice their hopeful gazes and instead inquired about Yijing's progress with his martial arts.
Yijing was already proficient in the Tiger Subduing Fist and eagerly awaited the Iron Head Skill, which Huo Yuanzhen handed over after dinner. With the new manual, Yijing ran off to the back mountain to study it, fully immersed in his martial training.
The next morning, a large group of craftsmen arrived, and Huo Yuanzhen eagerly handed out silver, setting the workers to their tasks. He hoped that in half a month, the construction would be finished. However, his silver reserves wouldn't last that long, and he urgently needed to arrange for a loan.
Not waiting for Qian Delu to arrive, he headed down the mountain to meet him at the foot of the mountain. A carriage was waiting, and they set off together for the county town. Huo Yuanzhen was eager to meet the scholarly steward.