The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng had an ominous feeling. Since Qi Liya was not home, where was she? To know the truth, he had to dig it out from Xu Yin, Leader, or Liu Dacheng. However Liu Dacheng remained unseen all this while, which meant that he could only act on Leader and Xu Yin.

At that moment, Song Keling walked passed as Fangzheng immediately asked, “Ma Zhi, are there any rules in our world? Other than not being able to borrow money.”

Ma Zhi was quick to react as well. “There are plenty. You can’t have a romantic relationship, you can’t borrow money, you can’t scold others, you can’t fight. You need to pay for your meals and if you are feeling emotional, you cannot vent it in the bedroom. You can vent it outside, and once you are done venting your frustrations, you have to return with a positive attitude. Our family has three dos and three don’ts. The three dos are: do talk about your ideals, do talk about your future, do talk about life. The three don’ts are, don’t talk about the company’s products, don’t talk about the company’s regulations, and don’t talk about superior-subordinate relationships. In short, there are many things, so take your time to learn.”

Fangzheng looked piqued with curiosity. “According to the teacher, our company is so rich, and the Leaders are so rich, so why do we need to pay for our own food?”

“Our enterprise is different from others. Others are employees, while we are entrepreneurs. The money we provide is a trading partnership with the CEO. We are all bosses, and we are all equal. We can’t let others pay for our meals, right?” answered Ma Zhi immediately. Clearly although he was not attentive in class, he could recite all of these lines fluidly after being inundated with the dogma. Even he was imperceptibly influenced.

Song Keling took a look at Ma Zhi before looking back at Fangzheng. Without thinking further, she left.

Ma Zhi immediately lowered his voice. “Venerable One, let’s end this. I’ll make my move first.”

“Alright, go ahead.” Fangzheng nodded as Ma Zhi left immediately.

Meanwhile Leader Li Jingchu walked out with a black bag. Beside her was a man as they left the premises.

Xu Yin sent Li Jingchu away as he took a look at Fangzheng. “Fangzheng, if you have nothing to do, study. Don’t just sit around idly.”

“Study? What do I study?”

“Study how to share… Forget it, I’ll teach you myself.” Xu Yin was in a good mood. Having received a hundred thousand from Fangzheng, he was in a very good mood actually. He naturally found Fangzheng a much more pleasant sight to behold now. He led Fangzheng to the side and sat by a table. Then he stuffed a book into Fangzheng’s hands. “This shall be your diary in the future. You should jot in it every day. We might check it. If you have no notes, you will not be able to eat for the day.”

Fangzheng immediately rolled his eyes. Indeed, the brainwashing was beginning…

Xu Yin continued, “Firstly, I will give you eight words of wisdom: Humility. Learning. Obedience. Face-off. The first three are easily understood, but face-off is a bit hard to understand. You have to understand that people in our line are easily misunderstood by others. Therefore you have to learn to face pressure. Pressure comes from three aspects. The first aspect is from your family. Family members might not understand the enterprise you are embarking on. They might want you home, refuse to give you money, or not support you. The second aspect is negative pressure. You will experience all sorts of negative naysaying from society. You have to understand that it is impossible for a successful enterprise to win the hearts of everyone. Money is forever something a minority can earn, and not the majority. If you seize the opportunity, you will be rich. The third aspect is monetary pressure. We are all doing a limitless enterprise with limited money. We are using tiny amounts to gain massive amounts of money. Hence what we need to do is to split every one portion of money into two. We have to employ the limited money we have where it is needed the most. You need to learn how to face these three pressures. When you are able to face them, you can be considered as having taken your first important step.

“In addition, we have some house rules. You have to remember them. One, the bedroom should be kept hygienic and clean. Two, maintain a warm atmosphere. Let friends and family realize how different we are as a group. Three, maintain good habits. Let rookies see that we are all people of high caliber and quality. Four, teamwork. When new friends come, you have to be humble, especially when playing cards. Lose more, win less.” With that said, Xu Yin emphasized his words. Clearly he was expressing his displeasure of Fangzheng’s past actions.

Fangzheng acted as though he did not hear him.

Xu Yin continued. “Five, affinity. The people that can come are all people with a shared fate. We want to be as close as a family as possible, united and loving of one another. Only then will our enterprise be able to succeed. You definitely wouldn’t wish that the people around you would be pouring cold water on a new recruit, right? When earning money, we have to be united. Six, the sense of mystery. When friends come, don’t shoot off your mouth. If they ask anything, let them see and listen for themself. The teachers are more eloquent than you, so trust them. The success rate will be higher. Seven, share your dreams. Before sleeping at night, you can post on your social media. Talk about how corrupt traditional jobs are and the true face of reality. Things like how the poor will never be able to escape poverty. Then, talk about how the people in your current enterprise have succeeded, or how they have managed to prove those that belittled and despised them wrong, as well as what grand enterprise you plan to embark on in the future. Eight, learn how to praise. If anyone asks you what the people around you are like, you are to praise them! Establish a good image. Only by exchanging praises will we be able to achieve our goal of becoming successful people. Nine, atmosphere. Learn to encourage a positive atmosphere. Regardless of the location, we have to maintain our optimism and learn diligently. There must be unwavering belief in our enterprise. These are our house rules. Have you jotted all of them down?”

Fangzheng nodded as he sighed inwardly. This marketing scam was truly amazing. It had brainwashing tactics at every turn.

“Alright, that will be all for today. Do you have any questions?”

Fangzheng immediately asked, “Back in my monastery, my master said that when doing business, only a buy and a sell would result in a transaction. When can we take a look at the desert I bought?”

Xu Yin was instantly left speechless. This darn baldy really believed the existence of the desert! He coughed dryly. “We will bring you there when there’s an opportunity. Any other questions?”

“Back in my monastery, my master used to tell me that I’m not to lie. Do we need to lie here?”

For some baffling reason, Xu Yin felt discomfort hearing the words ‘back in my monastery.’ He furrowed his brows tightly as he said, “We can leave that for tomorrow. I have something to tend to, so see you around.”

Xu Yin left, but Song Keling appeared. She sat beside Fangzheng and said some random stuff. She followed Fangzheng wherever he went. Even if Song Keling did not do so, there was someone else who did. In short, Fangzheng basically could not do anything alone! Even in the bathroom, there would be someone squatting outside to accompany him…

Fangzheng did not stir up any trouble for lunch. The adults could starve, but if he drank all of the porridge, it would be terrible if he ended up starving the children.

But even so, Fangzheng saw a bowl of nothing but clear water and a few miserable grains of rice. He felt conflicted at that! Thinking of the sallow and thin children, his heart pained for them.

After lunch Fangzheng returned to his room and the moment he lay down, he heard an angry roar outside. “Xu Yin, come out here now!”

Xu Yin reported immediately. Following that, Leader Li Jingchu’s voice was heard. “Did you see the money?”