The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

As he spoke, the elderly leader cheerfully said, “Welcome, our friend! Please receive our most extravagant reception. Let’s dance!”

At the next moment, the elder led, and the other elders followed. As they blew their lusheng, their legs began to hop along with the melody. Following that, the others joined. Regardless of whether they had a lusheng or not, everyone danced and laughed.

Ji Xiang said, “This is a lusheng dance, a dance of our Lahu race. I heard from my teacher that China has named it intangible cultural heritage and that it is one of the top ten most popular traditional dances in the world.”

With that said, Ji Xiang raised her head proudly.

Fangzheng also gave her a thumbs up. “Impressive.”

Just as Ji Xiang said, the lusheng dance of the Lahu race was very unique. They had to dance while blowing the lusheng, and also ensure that their breathing remained calm. Fangzheng found it unbelievable just thinking about it.

However, according to Ji Xiang, they had learned how to blow the lusheng and do the lusheng dance since they were young. Therefore, it was not difficult for them. However, it was difficult for outsiders to learn.

Fangzheng was also pulled into the crowd by Ji Xiang. They circled the bonfire as he followed the way they kicked and jumped. Thankfully, he was extremely powerful both in mind and body, so he learned things very quickly.

After completing one circle, his dance was already looking pretty decent.

When Grandpa Tie saw this, he gave Fangzheng a thumbs up and pointed at the lusheng. He meant: “Do you want to learn?”

Fangzheng was already extremely intrigued as he hurriedly nodded, indicating that he wanted to.

Grandpa Tie handed the lusheng over and began teaching him how to blow it. With his excellent physical coordination, Fangzheng learned it in a short period of time. Grandpa Tie called him a genius, hoping that Fangzheng would stay.

Fangzheng quickly declined. He still had a mountain that relied on him back home, so how could he abandon himself to pleasures?

Grandpa Tie chuckled, his eyes filled with a sense of melancholy. However, the forthright him immediately forgot about this matter. He began teaching Fangzheng how to dance, and Fangzheng followed him, only to realize how difficult the dance was. He could blow the lusheng and he could keep up with the dance steps, but when combined, it would be a mess. Either he forgot to play the lusheng while dancing, or he would go off tune… This amused everyone.

However, half an hour later, everyone looked in surprise at how Fangzheng was able to dance so freely while holding the lusheng. He had already gained some mastery!

“What a genius!” The old people couldn’t help but praise him. At the same time, they looked at Fangzheng with even more fervor.

Ji Xiang’s eyes were twinkling like the stars as though she was a fan chasing after a celebrity.

Fangzheng didn’t know that if one danced the lusheng dance well, their status in the Lahu race would be elevated to that of a dazzling celebrity. It attracted the fondness of many women; therefore, not only Ji Xiang, the other adult and unmarried girls also looked at Fangzheng with glowing eyes.

As Fangzheng jumped, he felt as though he was being encircled by wolves in a forest. His hair stood on end as he hurriedly returned the lusheng to Grandpa Tie and ran off to sit down.

Ji Xiang came over. She now followed Fangzheng everywhere, in charge of explaining the entire process. She was truly the envy of quite a number of young ladies… However, everyone was too shy to disturb Fangzheng. All they did was glance at him from time to time, leaving Fangzheng shuddering.

Fangzheng quickly changed the topic. Without looking at them, he asked Ji Xiang, “Ji Xiang, where’s your brother?”

Ji Xiang hadn’t noticed this. She had been very happy today and, having danced so long with Fangzheng, her face was flushed red as she blinked her big eyes. “My brother is making some lazhaduo. I reckon he will be done soon.”

“Lazhaduo?” Fangzheng was taken aback as he wore a blank look. There was no record of this thing in his mind.

Upon seeing Fangzheng’s blank look, Ji Xiang chuckled. “Lazhaduo is what we call it. In Mandarin, it’s called Roasted Tea. However, our tea isn’t just your ordinary tea. It comes from Ancient Tea Trees planted by the older generations. All these years, we get rid of worms and insects manually or by letting the birds help us. Ancient Tea Trees grow only a tiny bit every year. I heard from the adults that this ancient tree is at least two to three hundred years old. I’ve no idea if that’s true, but the tallest ancient tree we have is ten meters tall. It’s a lot taller than the ones you find outside.”

Fangzheng had also heard of Ancient Tea Trees, but he had only heard of them. He had never seen one before, so when he heard that there were Ancient Tea Trees here, he became even more curious.

At that moment, Grandpa Tie came over. He put down the lusheng and chuckled. “What are you talking about?”

Ji Xiang immediately said, “Grandpa Tie understands this the best. Grandpa Tie, can you tell Brother Chang about the Ancient Tea Trees?”

Grandpa Tie chuckled and said, “This… Actually, there are some stories about the Ancient Tea Tree.”

Fangzheng was intrigued as he asked, “Grandpa, please tell me.”

Grandpa Tie narrowed his eyes as though he was immersed in his memories. He said faintly, “If you want to talk about the Ancient Tea Trees, it’s a story from ages ago. In Yunnan, the Ancient Tea Trees have been passed down from ancient times until today. However, the production of the Ancient Tea Trees has always been very low. One of the reasons is that the Ancient Tea Trees are too tall, and it’s very difficult to pluck them. Only those one-meter tall trees allow us to pluck copious amounts. In contrast, to pluck Ancient Tea Trees, we have to climb up the tree or use a ladder. It greatly affects our efficiency.

Hence, it was unknown what stupid idea some cadre member came up with, but he chopped off the Ancient Tea Trees in Yunnan, leaving behind the shorter ones for harvesting. At that time, many people responded to his call and fell the Ancient Tea Trees. They were all gone, leaving only those one-meter-tall ones. Although they produce tea, the quantity is… Sigh.”

Upon saying this, Grandpa Tie’s heart ached. He drank a mouthful of water before continuing. “However, our village was different. The Tuyao Fort is too remote. Furthermore, we were doing the autumn harvest back then. Everyone was busy the entire day and exhausted by the end of it, so who had time to chop Ancient Tea Trees? It was also fated. Back then, the laziness of our ancestors ended up sparing the Ancient Tea Trees. This ended up as a blessing for us, and we have excellent tea.

“The Ancient Tea Trees’ roots go very deep. The water and nutrients they can take in make them self-sufficient, so there’s no need for us to take care of them. Therefore, everything is pure and natural. In the past, an expert came to our place. He said that the tea leaves of our Ancient Tea Tree contain very high mineral contents. The tea can refresh one’s mind, replenish one’s energy, slow down aging, and lengthen one’s lifespan through prolonged drinking.

“Of course, I’m not completely sure if it really has such an effect. However, there are indeed some long-living elderly people in our village.”

When Fangzheng heard this, he was amazed. “I never expected such a story.”

At that moment, Ji Han came. He held a pot of tea in one hand and a clay jar in his other hand. He ran over happily and said, “Brother Changfeng, try my family’s tea! This was roasted by my mother when I was little. It’s been more than ten years. It’s definitely good tea!”

When Grandpa Tie heard that, he scolded him jokingly. “You monkey, I didn’t get to drink a mouthful of it back when I wanted to drink it. Now with your Brother Chang here, you are immediately offering this treasure to him. To think I treated you so well.”

Ji Han blushed and said, “Grandpa, as you know, we don’t have much stock left at home. If you like the tea I roast, you can get as much as you want. I’ll roast it all.”

Grandpa Tie wasn’t really bothered by it. He chuckled and said, “You little rascal, you sure know how to talk. Chang, come and try this tea. This is authentic Ancient Tea Tree tea. It was roasted many years ago, and this is the true taste of the Ancient Tea Tree.”

Ji Han hurriedly poured tea for the two of them. Fangzheng gestured for Grandpa Tie to drink first due to his seniority. As a junior, he drank after him.

It wasn’t that Fangzheng was being corny, but that after Fangzheng sat there and observed carefully, he realized that the Lahu race were extremely respectful to the elderly. At the very least, Fangzheng hadn’t seen a young person dare walk ahead of an elderly person all evening. If they had to pass by, they would circle around the elder.

Therefore, Fangzheng naturally had to do as the Romans do and maintain his respect for the elderly.

At that moment, Ji Han picked up a cup of tea and raised it high above his head. He swiped away his usual cheeky smile and said sternly, “Grandpa Tie, have some tea.”

Grandpa Tie happily received the tea and took a sip. “Perfect… This is really good tea.”

Ji Xiang hurriedly explained. “In our region, this is how the juniors serve tea to their elders.”

As she spoke, Ji Xiang raised it high above her head and handed it to Fangzheng.

Fangzheng scratched his nose. Considering his age, he was indeed considered an elder, so he received it from her. However, he didn’t immediately drink it. Instead, he smiled and said, “Since you call me Brother and gave me such a big gift, I can’t be petty.”

With this in mind, Fangzheng took out the cell phone in his pocket. It was Chang Feng’s cell phone, not his. Fangzheng’s cell phone wasn’t with him, so he couldn’t give it to them even if he wanted.

As for money? Fangzheng had given it all to Ji Han. Having nothing left, he naturally couldn’t give them a single cent.

Fangzheng handed the cell phone to Ji Xiang and said, “If anyone in the village misses their children, they can use this phone to video-call them. In the future, I will charge the phone with some money every month. You can use it however you want.”

Ji Xiang planned on declining whatever gift Fangzheng gave, but when she heard that, she hesitated and subconsciously looked at Grandpa Tie.

Grandpa Tie shook his head and said, “It’s too expensive. We can’t accept it.”

Fangzheng laughed. “Grandpa Tie, do you know how much the tea that Ji Han gave This Penniless Monk is worth outside?”

Grandpa Tie was very familiar with the Tuyao Fort, but he didn’t know much about the outside world. He shook his head and asked, “How much?”

Fangzheng said, “This is sold in terms of grams. It’s very expensive. There’s no problem selling a jar like this for about a thousand yuan, but even then, it’s better to call it priceless! You might not be able to buy it even if you want to. According to what This Penniless Monk knows, although the real Ancient Tea Tree is one of Yunnan’s highlights, it’s extremely difficult to buy authentic Ancient Tea Tree tea leaves. The ones circulating outside are mostly fake. Because of this, the price might end up being even higher.

“Furthermore, your Ancient Tea Trees are natural and green, found deep in the mountains. Therefore, your price can be even higher. As such, I’ve made a killing just drinking this.”