The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Ji Han and Ji Xiang were dumbfounded.

Grandpa Tie was an experienced man. Although he had never gone out, he understood what Fangzheng meant. Regardless of the veracity of Fangzheng’s words, he had already given them an excuse to accept. If they kept standing on ceremony, it would be quite a faux pas.

Therefore, Grandpa Tie laughed and said, “Alright, we’ll accept it.”

Ji Han and Ji Xiang were overjoyed when they heard that. They took the phone and thanked him immediately.

Fangzheng and Grandpa Tie chuckled, and Fangzheng took a sip of tea. Instantly, his brows pricked up!

The tea tasted a little bitter, but the bitterness was different from the bitterness of ordinary tea leaves. It was bitter with a hint of astringency, but the latter dispersed quickly. If it wasn’t for Fangzheng’s keen senses, he wouldn’t have been able to capture the taste. Just as Fangzheng frowned, feeling that such bitter tea wasn’t that delicious, a sweetness spread from his throat.

“A sweet aftertaste?” Fangzheng subconsciously asked.

Grandpa Tie nodded and said, “The most important characteristic of Ancient Tea Tree is its bitterness and astringency that hits you right away. But after swallowing it, there will be a sweet aftertaste. That mouthful of sweetness is the feeling of drinking water right when you’re most thirsty. It’s very comfortable. If you carefully savor it, there will be quite a pleasant surprise.”

When Fangzheng heard that, he carefully savored the taste in the tea. Only then did he realize that not only was it sweet, but it also had a floral fragrance! This surprised Fangzheng as he looked at Grandpa Tie.

Grandpa Tie also looked at Fangzheng in surprise and asked, “You tasted it?”

Fangzheng nodded. “A floral fragrance.”

Grandpa Tie laughed and said, “I didn’t expect you to be a tea connoisseur. Most people wouldn’t be able to taste the floral fragrance.”

Fangzheng sighed. “I never expected there to be flowers in this tea. What a surprise.”

“It’s not strange for an old tree to be contaminated with some floral fragrance,” said Grandpa Tie.

At that moment, a granny came over and said something to Grandpa Tie. Grandpa Tie roared with laughter. “Alright, alright… I’ll go now.”

With that said, Grandpa Tie cast a meaningful glance at Fangzheng and left.

Fangzheng’s hair stood on end from Grandpa Tie’s stare. He had a nagging feeling that he was going to be in trouble.

Indeed, the moment Grandpa Tie left, the surrounding aunties and grannies who were already eyeing him covetously swarmed over. The way they looked at Fangzheng was odd, but when they looked at each other, it was as if sparks were about to explode.

Fangzheng immediately had an ominous feeling. When he saw the pairs of bright eyes that were hiding not far away, his heart palpitated even more.

He actually felt like Tripiṭaka having accidentally entered Womanland…

Indeed, a granny came over and said, “Ah Feng, how old are you this year? Are you married?”

When Fangzheng heard that, he instantly understood what was going on. She was trying to play matchmaker.

Upon seeing Fangzheng appear dazed, Ji Han whispered into Fangzheng’s ear. “Brother Chang, you’ve caught the fancy of someone! The maidens from our Tuyao Fort don’t easily fall in love with outsiders. In fact, we don’t even agree to interracial marriage. But you’re different. You know how to blow the lusheng and dance the lusheng dance, and you’re young and rich, hehe.”

Fangzheng rolled his eyes at the child. He was truly a brat!

Fangzheng was just about to lie and say that he was married, but he was afraid that a bolt of lightning would scare these grannies and grandpas. If anything were to happen to them due to the fright, it would be a sin.

Fangzheng shook his head instead.

This shake of his head seemed to ignite a fuse, and with a bang, everyone erupted.

The Dong family’s granny said, “It’s good that you’re not married. My family has a maiden who’s eighteen years old and as pretty as a flower…”

“Don’t listen to her. Mine is the prettiest.”

“My granddaughter is the most beautiful woman in the Tuyao Fort.”

“Come on! Perhaps ten years ago she was, but she’s old now. Mine is really pretty. The main point is that she dances well.”

“Yes, she dances until her legs bow.”

“What did you say?”

“Tell me what I said?”

“Don’t listen to her nonsense. I’ll bring you to meet my daughter.”

“Meet my daughter!”

…

Fangzheng felt that the grannies and aunties were extremely strong. Although he was fine, the buttons on his clothes had been ripped off! This wasn’t marrying off their daughters, but giving him a summary execution!

At that moment, Ji Han’s eyes darted around when he saw how unwilling Fangzheng was. He shouted. “Brother Chang, aren’t you married? I even met Sister-in-law last time.”

Everyone looked at Fangzheng when they heard that.

Fangzheng cleared his throat, being vague about his response.

However, the others took that as Fangzheng’s admission. Hence, the highly sought-after Fangzheng was immediately thrown to the back of their minds. However, someone still said indignantly, “If you divorce, remember to look for me.”

It made Fangzheng feel deeply embarrassed…

When Ji Han saw this, he held his stomach and laughed out loud. Ji Xiang carefully helped Fangzheng tidy up his messy clothes before the trio left the bonfire and slowly walked towards Ji Han’s house.

Fangzheng asked in puzzlement, “I see that there are also some youths in your village. Why would they insist so much on me?”

Ji Han shook his head and said, “The village usually doesn’t get to have interracial marriages. However, you are different. You know how to dance the lusheng dance. Everyone thinks you’re a good person, which is why they introduced their daughters to you. As for those people in the village, if we were to use the words of the village, ‘the capable young men have all left, leaving the useless ones behind.’ Who would want their daughter to marry a useless person?

With that said, Ji Han paused and said, “But if they weren’t in the village, life would be miserable. What would we do if a wild boar came then? What if an elephant came? There are other animals too. Those things are ferocious.”

Ji Xiang said, “Brother Ah Kui said that it’s not that he doesn’t dare to head out, but that he doesn’t want to leave his parents alone at home. He feels that it’s too unfilial…”

“Has no one ever thought of starting a business in the village?”

“Brother Chang Feng, don’t joke around. It’s already hard for people to get out of our village. What else can we do? It’s already good that the country has laid the power lines for us…” Ji Xiang said.

Fangzheng asked, “Ji Han, how do you transport the food you sell out of the village?”

Ji Han answered, “Of course, we carry it out on our backs. Who would traverse those crappy paths to collect our products?”

Ji Han’s answer was very natural, but it showed how helpless he felt about the situation.

Fangzheng said, “You carry it out? How much can you carry out each time on those paths?”

“Not much. It’s usually green vegetables, exotic meats, and so on. We take them out and sell them at the market. For Ancient Tea Trees, it’s better. Someone waits outside the mountain to buy the tea from us, but the rest we have to sell by ourselves. If you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t even have known that the Ancient Tea Tree is worth so much. Those bloodsuckers only gave us twenty yuan every half a kilogram! That’s too much! We won’t be selling to them again in the future,” Ji Xiang replied.

Fangzheng said, “Other than these things, do you sell anything else?”

When Ji Xiang heard that, she raised her head and said proudly, “Of course! There are plenty of treasures in this mountain. Our Lahu race knows where all the treasures in the mountain are. Besides, we also grow all sorts of vegetables and fruits. They are all natural and delicious.”