Seeing a hint of confusion on the abbot's face, Li Ying didn't beat around the bush and began to speak calmly.
"Currently, there are quite a number of guests in the village. They come here to pray for offspring and the peace of their families."
"In that case, after they've paid homage to the golden statue of the Mazu Goddess, why not lead them here to pay devout respects to the Buddha? Let them be influenced by the Buddhist Dharma. Firstly, it can bring inner peace to themselves. Secondly, it can also spread the Buddhist Dharma widely and make the temple more prosperous with incense. It's a win - win situation, isn't it?"
She spoke as if it were a matter of course. The abbot was taken aback for a moment, then he let out a rather helpless bitter smile.
"Benefactor Li, since things have come to this, I won't hide it from you. Hasn't everyone in the temple ever had such an idea? But it's easier said than done!"
The old abbot looked rather dejected. Li Ying immediately understood his concerns.
Indeed.
The high - ranking officials and nobles who come and go in the fishing village have visited many efficacious temples. Why would they travel all the way to this humble and unknown small temple to offer sacrifices?
However, she just smiled indifferently and seemingly casually asked, "I wonder if you senior brothers think the taste of my vegetarian cuisine is passable?"
Everyone was puzzled, but still nodded honestly.
The food in the temple mostly consisted of green vegetables and tofu, which was naturally no match for Li Ying's elaborate cooking.
Li Ying smiled sweetly and said no more. She just looked at the abbot with a smiling face.
"Benefactor Li, do you mean..."
"You're right. When it comes to paying respects to the Buddha, the most important thing is sincerity. But those high - ranking officials and nobles are used to eating delicacies every day. How can they bear the simple and plain food in the temple? Although they dare not say much on the surface, they're actually complaining in their hearts."
Although the Buddhist temple in the fishing village is small, with her excellent cooking skills, it's no difficult task to prepare a variety of vegetarian dishes.
And this is the perfect turning point for this small temple in the fishing village.
"Master, I admit that I'm just a merchant, constantly scheming for small profits every day. But I have no intention of disrespecting the Buddhist faith at all. If you entrust me with the matter of the vegetarian cuisine..."
"I guarantee that within a month, pilgrims from all over the country will flock here. Within three months, the temple will surely be renovated and the golden statue of the Buddha will be remade!"
Li Ying said this firmly, but in her heart, she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.
Talking about the vulgar thing of "money" with these people who have renounced the worldly desires and transcended the mortal world is really disrespectful.
Sure enough, as soon as she said this, all the monks and novices in the temple gasped in surprise, and their faces became even more ugly.
What a big boast!
It's really a big joke!
This charming Benefactor Li actually wants to apply her business acumen to the pure land of Buddhism? She's really daring!
Li Ying felt as if several sharp looks were firmly fixed on her, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
She forced herself to calm down and stared steadily at the abbot, her eyes shining brightly like the gorgeous spring peaches.
After a long time, the abbot let out a long sigh, softened his expression, and even showed a faint smile.
"Benefactor Li is really resourceful. You've already calculated every move."
"Since Benefactor Li has a well - thought - out plan and everything you said is for the sake of the monks in the temple, how could I be so ungrateful?"
Li Ying once heard Lady Li and others chatting that this old abbot has been practicing hard for many years. He is extremely pious but also quite stubborn and hard to persuade.
She originally thought that it would take a lot of effort to persuade him to agree to develop this "temple scenic area". But unexpectedly, as soon as she explained her intention, he agreed so readily. Moreover, he even overruled the objections of several angry monks.
Li Ying was puzzled, but seeing the old abbot's mysterious expression and his unwillingness to say more, she wisely didn't ask further.
She waved her hand, and several waiters from the restaurant came in one by one sensibly. They neatly carried in all kinds of prepared mountain mushrooms and other local specialties into the dining hall.
Li Ying washed her hands and spoke softly. While skillfully washing and cutting the ingredients, she told the monk in charge of cooking in the temple how to process each ingredient to achieve the best flavor and taste.
If the vegetarian cuisine is to be so delicious that people will be amazed at the first bite, the most important thing is to make a pot of extremely delicious vegetarian broth.
She didn't choose any mushrooms with extremely strong aromas like matsutake or termite mushrooms. Instead, she just chose the most common dried shiitake mushrooms. They have a mushroomy aroma without being too overpowering, which would otherwise make the whole broth seem out of place and frivolous.
Cut the mushrooms into large pieces and cook them in the pot together with radishes, cabbages, kelp tips, and water chestnuts. A sufficient amount of fresh yellow bean sprouts should also be added to provide a sweet flavor. Green bean sprouts cannot be used as a substitute, otherwise, the taste will be extremely bland.
Then cut the deep - fried tofu into long strips and add them to the pot to simmer. With the addition of fat and protein, the vegetarian broth can also turn into a rich milky white. Without even tasting it, just by looking at the color of the broth, one can tell that a lot of effort has been put into it.
Since Buddhists cannot eat the five pungent vegetables, a little scraped celery skin and washed coriander roots can be used as spices instead. These two ingredients have extremely strong flavors, so one must be careful when using them.
The monk in charge of the stove had never seen such a strange cooking method in his life and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
Seeing that Li Ying had adjusted the heat and presumably finished a stage of cooking, he simply gathered up the scattered vegetable leaves and roots and was about to throw them out of the door when Li Ying quickly stopped him.
"Senior brother, you can't do this!"
She quickly snatched the small handful of shiitake mushroom stems from the monk's hand, carefully washed them, and then carefully sprinkled them into the pot to simmer together.
"Senior brother, remember that the stems of shiitake mushrooms and mushrooms have the strongest aroma and are the key to making the broth delicious!"
Li Ying didn't hide any of her knowledge and explained everything in great detail.
Her sincerity surprised the monk, and he was deeply touched. He quickly nodded and secretly memorized it in his heart.
"This broth must be simmered for at least an hour so that the flavors of all the ingredients can blend together perfectly."
Li Ying adjusted the saltiness of the broth, simmered the pot of soup over a low heat, gave a few instructions to the monk, and then calmly began to deal with other vegetables.
She intended to teach the monks in the temple everything she knew so that they could manage the vegetarian cuisine business independently. So she openly let everyone watch.
"The vegetarian cuisine I make imitates the taste of meat with vegetables. The cooking methods are quite different. Senior brothers, please watch carefully!"
As she spoke, Li Ying had already washed another plate of shiitake mushrooms, removed their stems, and blanched them in boiling water until they were soft.