The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng scratched his head. “Sorry about that. My eyes aren’t that good. The water was boiling, and there were indeed some rice grains tossing inside. I just thought the pot wasn’t clean…”

“You!” Song Keling rolled her eyes in anger. Although they collected boarding fees from everyone, they did not receive a large amount of money. Each person came up to ten yuan a day! What could they eat with ten yuan? They could only eat mantous, gruel, and salted vegetables. She also wished to eat something better, but they did not have the money for that! How many people here could afford anything better? However she could not say that as she had taken 2000 yuan from Fangzheng. He had paid several times what the others had paid.

“Why? Is there a problem?” asked Fangzheng as he scratched his head.

“No. But leave the kitchen matters to Song Keling in the future. If you think you have nothing better to do, converse more with others and learn from them.” Xu Yin was also at a loss for words as he pulled Fangzheng away.

When Xu Yin returned to the kitchen, he saw Song Keling scooping out the rice grains.

“The rice is almost half-cooked,” grumbled Song Keling.

“We still have to scoop it out. We can cook them in batches.”

Song Keling nodded.

That was the end of that incident. When Xu Yin found Fangzheng again, he forced himself to squeeze a smile. At present, the person he did not wish to see the most was none other than Fangzheng! He discovered that he had not had a single day of peace after meeting Fangzheng! However he was unwilling to back down without getting the money in hand! After suffering so much, how could he not get the money?

“Fangzheng, look. You have listened to the class, and you also think that our enterprise is good. So do you plan on signing up for the 18,800 or the 38,800 package?”

Fangzheng did not say a word as he took out a bag of money and stuffed it into Xu Yin’s hands. “What 18,800? I want the 98,800 package! Also, I’m paying for Ma Zhi’s share too. We are all a family, so we should help each other. Since this is a trade that will definitely profit, he can return me the money after he reaps the profits.”

“This… Fangzheng, we have a rule here that there should be no loans between family members. This is a strict rule, a taboo. No one should violate it,” said Xu Yin seriously.

“That’s fine. I’m in no rush for him to return it anyway. Let’s set some terms. He can return ten years later. I’ll absolutely not ask him for repayment before then!”

Xu Yin was taken aback. There was such an idiot in this world? Ten years? It was uncertain if Star Ocean would still be around by then! The strict rule was enforced because they were afraid conflicts would arise among members, which would be detrimental to the harmony of the syndicate. Since Fangzheng only wanted the money back ten years later, it did not matter. Besides, how could Xu Yin reject money that was already in his hands? Therefore Xu Yin said, “Alright. I’ll take this money then.”

Xu Yin took the money and immediately beamed. He hadn’t seen such thick wads of cash in a long time. How delightful! With money in hand, he could not be bothered to waste his time on Fangzheng. He patted him on the shoulder. “Alright, wait a moment. I’ll hand over the money for you.”

Fangzheng nodded immediately as he watched Xu Yin leave. Following that, he began humming a tune. A Golden Millet Dream…

Everyone in the room had seen Fangzheng hand the money to Xu Yin. When they saw Fangzheng take out so much money from his bag, all of their eyes turned green with envy! How good would it be if all that money was given to them…

When Ma Zhi saw Fangzheng really help him pay his share, he was astonished. He originally wrote it off as a passing remark from Fangzheng. After all, handing over such a large sum of money was impossible for a stranger, right? Yet the monk had done it.

At that moment, Fangzheng came over. “Ma Zhi, shall we have a chat outside?”

Ma Zhi immediately nodded and followed him out.

The moment Fangzheng went out, there was an uproar inside the room. All of them were talking about Fangzheng’s background. How did have so much money!?

“F*cking awesome. When did monks become so rich?”

“He took out more than a hundred thousand in one shot.”

“I didn’t expect his cloth bag to contain so much money… He sure wasn’t worried at all.”

“That’s right. He didn’t even have a lock on his cloth bag.”

“He’s naive I guess.”

“Stupid!” Sun Pu added. Everyone nodded. From the moment Fangzheng came, his every move was similar to a man-child’s. He was so innocent that he appeared dumb. Everyone shook their head and knew that Fangzheng would definitely be staying. Similarly, they envied Liu Dacheng. He had made a killing so easily. With such results, he would earn more than ten thousand yuan.

Regardless of their thoughts, Fangzheng led Ma Zhi to a corner with no one around.

“Venerable One, ask whatever you want.”

“Have you seen a girl named Qi Liya?”

The moment he said that, Ma Zhi’s expression changed. He suddenly got up and said, “Venerable One, I have something to tend to. Bye.”

“Is this how you repay your benefactor? Don’t worry. This Penniless Monk will definitely not tell anyone else.”

Ma Zhi turned to look at Fangzheng before clenching his teeth. He came back and sat down, whispering, “I’ve met the girl you mentioned. She was also invited here by Liu Dacheng. However, that girl was especially timid. She wanted to run when she realized that the situation was fishy. Xu Yin got Song Keling to watch her the entire time. At the time of the lesson on the second day, she turned around and slammed her head into the wall before the teacher began the class. Her head was covered in blood. With no other choice, Xu Yin tied her up. Later, she refused to eat anything and kept attempting to commit suicide. Xu Yin seemed out of solutions too, so Liu Dacheng dragged her out. As for what happened, we have no idea either. Xu Yin later told us that she was sent home, but…”

“But what?” Fangzheng’s face darkened. Although he did not know where Qi Liya was, he knew that she did not return home!

“I have been here for half a year. During this period, we moved thrice! The first two times was because the government was having a crackdown on MLM promoters. We only received a tip off when they were nearing the village’s entrance. We fled late in the night and did not bring a thing. We hid in the wilderness the entire night. The next day, the main Leader got a huge bus and moved us to another county city. After the crackdown operation ended, we turned to the Bei River. The last time was because someone ran off. He was very cooperative when he came. After he gained our trust, he went out to withdraw more money only to flee. He even called and got us to mail his luggage to a specific location as well as the money he paid. If we didn’t mail it, he would call the cops. Out of no choice, Xu Yin mailed his stuff over. Yet he still called the cops. However the Leader had had a premonition about it and led us to hide on time.

“If that girl really returned home, her parents would have reported it to the cops even if she did not do so. Even if they didn’t call the cops, the Leader would have brought us to hide just to be safe. But this time, nothing happened. Therefore I’m guessing that they did not send the girl home at all. As for where she was sent to, I have no idea. But from what I’ve heard, they seem to have a special place to handle such cases. I do not know where the exact location is. Venerable One, I’m only telling you this, but don’t you tell others. I do not want to be sent away unless I manage to escape myself!”