The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Zheng Jiaxing felt those words come like a bolt from the blue. Pay up? Where would he get the money to repay the debt? If he were to use his entire family’s savings, perhaps that would be enough. However by doing so, how was he to live on? His child still needed to go to school, and Li Na was expecting. If he were to pay Wang Laosi in one go…

He could not even fathom what his future life would entail. Hence he said, “I got it. I’ll continue tomorrow.”

With that said, Zheng Jiaxing left with his tail inbetween his legs. Wang Laosi behind him stood under the bulb as his grin widened.

Zheng Jiaxing did not dare return home. Instead he went back to his parents’ place. The moment he entered, he saw Li Na and his son there. He had bumped into them out of sheer coincidence.

“Jiaxing, come in, right now!” Zheng Jiaxing’s father, Zheng Huo, fumed the instant he saw his son. He jumped out and roared angrily.

Helpless, Zheng Jiaxing bit the bullet and walked in, thinking to himself, “I’m doomed. News of my gambling has reached my family.” At the same time, he felt anger rise in him. He was already feeling extremely pressured after losing a huge sum of money and had hoped to get a breather at his parents’ place, but this happened.

Zheng Jiaxing shouted angrily as a result, “Li Na! You went too far! Can’t you talk about this back at home? Are you only happy by bringing it all the way to my parents’ place?”

Li Na was taken aback when she heard that. Her aggrieved and worried feelings all turned into fury as she said angrily, “Zheng Jiaxing, be honest to yourself. Did I make a fuss? Now you are even claiming to be reasonable?”

“What did I do? I did it for our family. I also wished for us to lead a better life. Is there anything wrong with that?” The moment Zheng Jiaxing’s voice faded, he saw Zheng Huo charge forward and slap him in the face.

“Little bastard, you even have a temper now! How dare you shout in front of your father? You want to shout? If there’s anything, direct it at me!” Zheng Huo reprimanded him.

Li Na instantly wailed and ran out. Zheng Huo did not chase up to her and instead stamped his foot and pointed at Zheng Jiaxing while delivering a harsh tirade. To Zheng Jiaxing’s surprise, he was scolded for not returning home the entire night. Furthermore, from the exchange he realized that his mother had only learned of it from his son, Zheng Xiaoyu. Li Na had not snitched on him. At that instant, Zheng Jiaxing felt regret.

Zheng Jiaxing immediately chased after Li Na and only managed to catch up to her at the village entrance.

“Dear, I was wrong.”

“Wrong? How could you be wrong? The gambling was for the betterment of our family, right? Let go! I want to go home!”

Zheng Jiaxing turned anxious as he immediately knelt in front of her. “Dear, I was really wrong!”

Li Na felt mixed emotions when she saw Zheng Jiaxing in such a manner. Having been in love for so many years, they had an extremely deep relationship. At this stage, she said helplessly, “What’s a man like you kneeling like this? Get up. We can talk about it at home.”

With that said, Li Na headed home as Zheng Jiaxing quickly chased after her.

The moment they reached home, Zheng Jiaxing immediately apologized, swearing never to gamble again before he managed to placate Li Na. Shortly after, Zheng Huo brought Zheng Xiaoyu home. When he saw that the couple was no longer quarreling, he left with peace of mind.

The next day, Zheng Jiaxing did not go gambling, but someone came to his place on the third morning.

“Wang Laosi, why did you come?” Zheng Jiaxing who had just chopped some wood returned to a shocking surprise.

Wang Laosi grinned as his face appeared somewhat terrifying under the sun’s shadows. He looked like the devil. “Jiaxing, I came to see you. Aiyah. You live quite well. Your child is sensible, and your wife cares about you. Not bad.”

With that said, Wang Laosi curled his finger at Zheng Jiaxing.

Zheng Jiaxing hurriedly ran forward and whispered, “Wang, Brother Wang, I have to keep low for these two days. I’ll go in two more days.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not here to hound you on your debt. Jiaxing, I’m here to remind you that we have a 4% interest. The longer you take, the worse it will be for you. I will have to do what has to be done if you don’t repay. If you still can’t pay up when the time comes, we will have to have a good talk. Alright, go on and busy yourself. I’ll take my leave first.” With that said, Wang Laosi bade him farewell and left.

Zheng Jiaxing felt his scalp tingle as he felt troubled and perplexed.

“Jiaxing, did you borrow money from him?” asked Li Na as she suddenly appeared.

Zheng Jiaxing shook his head subconsciously. “No, why would I…”

“Don’t spend too much time with such people, and don’t borrow any money from him. He’s the type of ravenous wolf that will swallow you whole!” warned Li Na.

Zheng Jiaxing nodded, but he was pondering how he could gather some money to gamble. It would be best if he could win it back…

Therefore Zheng Jiaxing began to secretly borrow money from the villagers. He did not borrow much and only borrowed a few hundred yuan. Then he would secretly head to Wang Laosi’s place in the day to gamble, only to rack up more losses. Zheng Jiaxing became insomniac due to the increasing pressure. He also began to become lazier. He even slept during the day.

Li Na was worried about him and brought him to the doctor, but after a checkup, the doctor only requested Zheng Jiaxing to rest more and not worry too much.

At home, Li Na felt something was amiss, so she secretly tailed Zheng Jiaxing only to see…

“Dear, I…” Zheng Jiaxing, who was sitting at the gambling table, stiffened up.

“There’s no need to say another word.” With that said, Li Na turned and left.

Zheng Jiaxing quickly chased but when he reached the door, he heard Wang Qingzhi shout, “Jiaxing, go home early. Remember to return the money you borrowed tomorrow!”

With that said, Zheng Jiaxing felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. A secret he had kept all this while had been revealed by Wang Qingzhi’s shout.

Indeed, Li Na halted in her footsteps and turned back to glare at Zheng Jiaxing. “You borrowed money? Didn’t you say you didn’t borrow any money?”

“I…” Zheng Jiaxing was unsure what to say.

“Home!” Li Na pulled Zheng Jiaxing back home and pressed him. “How much did you borrow?”

“150,000…” Zheng Jiaxing knew that there was no way to hide it anymore, so he answered honestly.

“What!?” Li Na nearly fainted.

Zheng Jiaxing quickly said, “Dear, listen to me. My luck just came. When I have good luck, another round can—”

“Another round!?” Li Na ground her teeth in anger as she turned to rummage through a cabinet.

Zheng Jiaxing turned anxious as he ran over to stop Li Na. “Dear, I was wrong. Don’t leave!”

“Leave? Who said about leaving? I’m checking to see how much money our family has!” Li Na broke away from Zheng Jiaxing and fished out a bank account card and savings at the bottom of the drawer. When she did the math, she sat on the ground and heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank the heavens. We won’t hit rock bottom yet.”

“Dear… You…” Zheng Jiaxing did not know what Li Na was doing.

“Take it and draw it all out. I’ll go home and borrow some. Your parents should still have some. Regardless, you have to quickly pay off the debt with Wang Laosi. To owe him money is to dig your own grave.”