Many days passed in a row, and by the count of days, in a little over half a month, it would be time for the annual Longhu Mountain Temple Festival.
Besides the unique holidays of Daoism, the temple festival is the biggest Daoist holiday among the common people and the one in which the most people participate.
Due to road construction, there were even fewer people coming to the Shangqing Palace.
This also made it easier for them to clean the temple, reducing a lot of trouble.
As the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” so Lin Yi joined everyone in working, and in Zhang Youfu’s words, this was also a form of cultivation.
However, he kept looking for Gong Xiaoyun to talk hearts out every day.
When Lin Yi complained, he said that heart-to-heart talks were also a form of cultivation.
But for Lin Yi, what he liked most was sitting in meditation.
In the morning, he went to the back mountain, in the afternoon to the Blessed Land Gate, and gained new insights into many things.
“Uncle Master! Uncle Master!”
Lin Yi, who was meditating, heard the call of Gong Xiaoyun.
“What’s wrong? Did Zhang Youfu tear your Balenciaga?”
“No, no, no, he’s not that bold yet.” Gong Xiaoyun said, out of breath:
“Our road was pressed on, and there are so many ruts, after it dries, even small cars won’t be able to drive through.”
“Hmm? The road was pressed on?”
“Aiya, you’ll know when you see it, it must be deliberate!”
Without giving Lin Yi a chance to react, the energetic Gong Xiaoyun pulled his arm and headed down the mountain.
The two of them arrived at the foot of the mountain, where many disciples of Shangqing Palace were, along with the construction crew.
“Uncle Master, come quickly and see, someone definitely did this on purpose.” Li Yongnian said.
Lin Yi nodded and looked at the cement pavement ahead. Even at the shallowest point, it had to be over ten centimeters deep.
Elsewhere, it had been pressed down to the underlying roadbed.
Just as Gong Xiaoyun and Li Yongnian said, someone had definitely done it deliberately.
“Uncle Master, do you think it was Chen Yuanxing and his people?” Gong Xiaoyun said.
“Impossible,” Lin Yi said:
“They are the ones paying for the road construction now, naturally they wouldn’t do such a thing.”
After speaking, Lin Yi glanced into the distance and said softly:
“It should have been the people from Zhengyi Temple.”
“Zhengyi Temple?”
“If our road is not properly built, they will be the direct beneficiaries. Now that I’ve kicked away the stumbling block that is Chen Yuanxing, no one can help them anymore, so naturally, they have to do it themselves.” Lin Yi said:
“And with the temple festival coming soon, they wouldn’t want us to finish the road, so doing such a thing is only natural.”
Facing the dismal road surface, Lin Yi wasn’t angry at all; instead, he felt a bit speechless.
He wondered what these people were thinking, so openly sabotaging. Even the heel of the foot would know it was them.
They have no sense of logic in their actions; if only Zhang Youfu put as much effort into thinking as he does into heart-to-heart talks, the Shangqing Palace wouldn’t be in its current state.
“Uncle Master, what should we do about this?” Li Yongnian asked:
“Can the road be fixed before the festival starts?”
“Don’t worry about it, this isn’t asphalt. It can be fixed in a few days.”
With that, Lin Yi looked at the construction crew leader.
“Master Ma, keep working. This counts as extra expenses; we’ll settle accounts separately afterward and make sure you don’t lose out.”
“No need, it’s no big deal. We can do a bit more work.”
“Let’s keep things fair; you need to earn a living too.” Lin Yi said:
“But I have one request: when you handle the repairs and pour the concrete road, remember to make it a bit thinner. Don’t make it too solid.”
“Huh? A bit thinner?” the construction leader said:
“If we make it thinner, it won’t form well and will affect quality.”
“No problem, do as I say. If there are quality issues later, we can fix them, and payment will be normal.”
“Alright, we’ll do it your way then.”
The construction leader did not argue. Lin Yi was the client, so they’d do it as he instructed.
“Then let’s deal with the site first.”
After speaking, Lin Yi called out and prepared to return.
“Uncle Master, we’re just leaving it like this?” Li Yongnian asked:
“You’re not going to do anything about it?”