The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“Little Fang, have a drink.” As Li Haisheng spoke, he placed a wine glass in front of Fangzheng.

Fangzheng hurriedly shook his head and said, “Mr. Li, I’m sorry. I don’t drink alcohol. I’ve never drunk, and can’t drink.”

Li Haisheng frowned and said, “How can a man not drink alcohol? Come, come! Don’t stand on ceremony! You can drink without worries. This is your home, not your company. Have some alcohol. Xueying won’t reprimand you.”

Li Haisheng had always treated Fangzheng as Li Xueying’s assistant. After all, every time Li Xueying returned, she would bring an assistant or bodyguard.

As time passed, he got used to it.

Fangzheng hurriedly rejected it. Drinking? He was indeed hoping to try it. However, as a monk, he had basically cut ties with it.

Therefore, Fangzheng shook his head repeatedly and declined politely.

Li Haisheng, on the other hand, was afraid of being a bad host, so he kept persuading him.

At that moment, Li Xueying’s voice came through. “Dad, Fangzheng can’t drink. He’s allergic to alcohol. He might vomit after drinking. He might even be hospitalized.”

When Li Haisheng heard that, he put down his wine glass and stopped persuading him. He said wistfully, “That’s a pity. Come, have some food.”

Fangzheng nodded immediately. He was dumbfounded when he picked up his chopsticks. Eat? Eat what?

Stewed chicken, beer duck, spicy fried meat, pancakes with scallions mixed with fish sauce?

These dishes were nice, but he could not eat them!

Li Haisheng said, “Come, come, have a taste of our family’s culinary skills. These are all chickens and ducks that our family rears. The fish is also from the river. They are all good stuff in their original form.”

“Yes, yes, eat, eat…” Fangzheng chuckled as he watched and responded to Li Haisheng’s words. Then, he bitterly held on to his rice.

He thought to himself, “People eat dishes with rice, but I’m eating rice while looking at dishes. How pitiful…”

At that moment, Li Xueying walked in and placed a plate beside Fangzheng. When Fangzheng saw it, his eyes lit up!

It was a plate of stir-fried cabbage. The cabbage leaves were emerald green and the stalk was pure white. He could even detect a faint sweetness with a sniff.

More importantly, there was plenty of cabbage!

One look and one could tell that this was definitely an extremely large cabbage!

Although it paled in comparison to the White Jade Cabbage, this was a life-saving dish before him.

Fangzheng looked gratefully at Li Xueying.

Li Xueying said, “It might not be delicious. Try it.”

At that moment, Li Xueying’s mother, Lu Yongping, walked in. She nagged at her, “It’s so rare for you to return home and for you to bring a guest. Why did you cook vegetables? There’s so much meat.”

When Li Haisheng heard that, he frowned and said, “Xueying, you are a famous celebrity now. You have to take note of your image and take good care of your health. In the future, don’t enter the kitchen to prevent yourself from being covered in oil and smoke. Once you get them on you, you will grow old quickly…”

When Lu Yongping heard that, she snorted and said, “Why? Are you hinting that I got old fast? Why don’t you find a younger one?”

The moment Li Haisheng heard that, he was immediately frightened. He kept his head down and drank without a word.

There was to cope with the shifts in mood by staying still.

Fangzheng was stunned when he heard that. Did this mean that the cabbage was cooked by Li Xueying? Li Xueying knew how to cook?

Fangzheng subconsciously shot a glance at Li Xueying. Li Xueying’s face blushed slightly as she said, “When I was young, I helped my family cook daily. However, I haven’t done much in the past few years. I’ve no idea if it’s delicious. You deal with it.”

Fangzheng did not say a word. Instead, he took a bite without saying a word. Then, he gave a thumbs up and hurriedly took a bite of the rice. It was unknown if he was excited or what, but the way he ate looked like he was touched!

When Li Haisheng saw this, he said, “My daughter has always been sensible since she was young. She helped out with the cooking when she was around six. Her cooking skills are excellent. Let me try it. I haven’t eaten my dear daughter’s cooking after so many years…”

After Li Haisheng finished speaking, he placed a piece of cabbage into his mouth. He was so excited that his tears were about to fall. He downed the wine in his glass and began eating in big mouthfuls.

When Li Xueying saw this, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Fangzheng smiled. “It’s delicious. Patron, you should try it yourself. However, the vegetables are a little bland. You should eat more…”

When Li Haisheng heard that, he pricked up his brows and looked at Fangzheng before looking at Li Xueying. Then, he nodded and said, “Yes, eat more.”

Li Xueying subconsciously took a big mouthful of food and put it into her mouth…

Then, Li Xueying rolled her eyes at Fangzheng and Li Haisheng. She took big strides and ran out. Then, she heard the sound of slurping water coming from the kitchen. Li Haisheng shouted, “Dad, Fangzheng, you two tricked me! It’s so salty!”

Fangzheng and Li Haisheng laughed when they heard that. With a smile, the last trace of awkwardness between the two men vanished.

Lu Yongping also tasted the cabbage before shaking her head helplessly. “This lass, did she rob a salt hawker before coming back? She put in so much salt… Let me cook it again.”

Fangzheng hurriedly said, “Don’t. Keep it. I’ll just treat it as pickled vegetables. It matches the rice perfectly.”

Regardless, this was a token of Li Xueying’s sincerity. Fangzheng did not despise it just because it was salty.

Li Haisheng added, “Don’t. Xueying made it. It’s delicious when it’s salty.”

Clearly, this father extremely doted on his daughter.

It was made by his own daughter, so it was delicious!

Lu Yongping shook her head helplessly as she called out for Li Xueying to come back to the dinner table.

Both hosts and guest enjoyed the meal. After the meal, Li Xueying helped clean up the utensils. As a fake assistant, Fangzheng also helped clear the utensils.

However, before the two of them could do anything, Lu Yongping chased them out. “The two of you should do something serious. Don’t touch the kitchen again in the future or you’ll grow old quickly. That will only leave your dad nagging again.”

Li Xueying had no choice but to bring Fangzheng out to play with the ducks in the yard.

Sitting in the yard, Li Xueying whispered, “Don’t tell anyone about today’s vegetables!”

Fangzheng nodded immediately. “Don’t worry. When there’s not enough people, I definitely won’t say anything.”

Li Xueying: “…”

After the two casually chatted for a while, Fangzheng said, “There are some things This Penniless Monk needs to tell you.”

Li Xueying said, “Speak. I’ve already prepared myself mentally.”

Fangzheng looked at Li Xueying in surprise and asked, “Patron, do you know what This Penniless Monk wants to say?”

Li Xueying said, “I know what it is roughly, but not the exact details. Therefore, I’m willing to hear them in detail.”

Fangzheng nodded. Hence, he told Li Xueying the entire time he was shopping with Li Haisheng.

After Li Xueying heard that, she suddenly stood up and prepared to enter the house.

Fangzheng grabbed her and said, “Patron, what’s the rush?”

Li Xueying said angrily, “These people are too much!”

Fangzheng shook his head. “Sit down first.”

Li Xueying said, “How can I sit here at this time?”

Fangzheng shook his head. “Patron, have you forgotten what you promised This Penniless Monk? Since This Penniless Monk came with you, you have to listen to This Penniless Monk.”

When Li Xueying heard that, she sat down obediently and said angrily, “Here, I’m sitting. What’s next?”