The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“Then they are inferior to my bro after all,” said Liu Beijun.

Fangzheng laughed. “Do you really think they were there to deal with transportation logistics?”

“What else if not transportation logistics?” asked Liu Beijun, puzzled.

Fangzheng did not continue. After reaching the foot of the mountain, he borrowed Wang Yougui’s motorcycle and headed for the mines with Liu Beijun.

When Liu Beijun saw the mines, he was puzzled. What were they doing there?

“Let’s look for that bro of yours and ask him what those graduates are currently doing,” said Fangzheng.

Liu Beijun was baffled over Fangzheng’s actions. After entering the mines, they found a man with a blackened face. When the man heard Liu Beijun’s reason for coming, he blushed in embarrassment and said with a rueful smile, “Punk, why aren’t you studying in school? Are you here to mock me?”

“Not at all. I’m just asking,” said Liu Beijun.

“It’s a weekday today, right? Why aren’t you studying?” asked the man.

“I’m quitting school. It’s useless. What’s the point of going to college? Didn’t you say that college students are useless?” Liu Beijun said matter-of-factly.

“Idiot!” the man cursed. “I was a f**king idiot back then to say that. If I were given another chance, I would really wish to attend university and study hard.”

“Bro, why?” Liu Beijun was confounded.

The man said with a rueful smile, “Last year, I was saying how useless those graduates were. All they could do was use their pencils to do some bullsh*t calculations. But this year, they became my boss. They aren’t here to do manual work like me. They only came to understand what we do, to familiarize themselves with the mining work and get the numbers. It makes it easier for them to manage us when they get promoted. Bro, to be honest, in terms of skill, they are inferior to me, but when it comes to management, I’m inferior to them. Therefore, they are destined to be leaders, and I’m f**king destined to a life of hard labor!”

Having said that, the man looked up at the sun and said, “Look at the sky. It’s so hot it feels like we’re inside a burning stove. I’m being baked here like a sweet potato, but they’re drinking tea in their offices, tapping at their keyboards, earning salaries higher than mine. Last year I was just bragging, but I was dumb. Since we have met again this year, listen to my word of advice: Go back to school and study well. Life is just too tough if you haven’t gone to school.”

As he left the mines, Liu Beijun’s mind was swirling with the black-faced man’s words—study well; life is just too tough if you haven’t gone to school…

“Patron, do you still think school is useless?” asked Fangzheng.

Liu Beijun’s face turned red, but he still gnashed his teeth and said, “I’m not going to school regardless! I’ll do anything but attend school!”

Fangzheng nodded. He returned the motorcycle to Wang Yougui and took the bus to the city with Liu Beijun.

“Abbot Fangzheng, where are we going?” Liu Beijun asked nervously as he saw they were leaving their hometown.

Fangzheng said, “This Penniless Monk has never been to any big city. I want to visit the capital.”

“Are you bringing me to the capital, Shengjing?” Liu Beijun exclaimed in excitement.

Fangzheng nodded with a smile. “Yes, to Shengjing.”

Liu Beijun was thrilled. Shengjing! Ignoring how thriving it was, just the thought of it being the country’s capital lifted his mood. He immediately could not stop himself from speaking. He was talking about visiting the Great Wall or visiting Tiananmen to see the Monument to the People’s Heroes and so on.

As for Fangzheng, he patiently listened.

When they arrived at Black Mountain City, they switched to a high-speed train and arrived in Shengjing the next day at dawn.

Upon seeing the magnificent Shengjing train station, Liu Beijun was astounded. The train station was huge! It was too pretty, with screens everywhere. There were people all around them, as heads bobbed up and down. It left him dazzled, causing him to lose his sense of direction. Meanwhile, he also felt fear towards the unfamiliar environment, so he stuck close to Fangzheng.

Little did he know that the monk he was treating as his backbone for support was in the same situation as him. It was his first time in a huge city too, after all. The shock he felt was in no way lesser than Liu Beijun. He just did not show it.

Ten minutes later.

“Abbot Fangzheng, where are we?” Liu Beijun asked.

Fangzheng looked up at the familiar scene around him as beads of perspiration appeared on his forehead.

After twenty minutes.

“Abbot Fangzheng, this place sure is huge. We’ve walked for so long, yet we can’t get out of here,” said Liu Beijun with a sigh.

Fangzheng looked at the advertisement in front of him. Why did it look so familiar? More beads of sweat appeared…

After thirty minutes, without Liu Beijun asking, a uniformed lady came towards them and asked politely, “Venerable One, where are you heading? Do you need any help?”

Fangzheng turned crimson in embarrassment. He had been going in circles for half an hour, so even the staff could not bear to watch it any further. How embarrassing! Liu Beijun also understood that it was not that the area was huge, it was that the darn baldy was lost!

Fangzheng coughed dryly and said, “This Penniless Monk wishes to exit this area.”

The lady covered her mouth, nearly laughing out. She had seen the monk circle the various zones repeatedly with a child. In the beginning, she thought that they were just walking casually, but she later realized that something was amiss. It prompted her to inquire and from the looks of it, they were really… lost! She seldom encountered such a situation, but she did not hold them in contempt or anything. She found it quite interesting. The extremely genial-looking monk who gave a radiant smile looked especially adorable.

“Take the escalator there and go up. Then take a left turn and walk straight. Then… Uh, forget it. I’ll lead the way.” The lady just managed to give half the instructions when she saw the two people in front of her look lost already. She decisively gave up on giving instructions to prevent the two from going in circles again.

As they followed the beauty, Liu Beijun whispered, “Venerable One, do you have a poor sense of direction as well?”

Fangzheng: “…”

Thanks to the beautiful lady’s guidance, Fangzheng and Liu Beijun finally left Shengjing West Station. After thanking her profusely, Fangzheng and Liu Beijun stood in a square and took a look at the massive Shengjing West Station. Fangzheng marveled. “It’s really big!”

Liu Beijun marveled as well. “You can’t tell on tv, but it really is. Such a huge building could probably accommodate our entire village, right?”

Fangzheng nodded in agreement. Certain things shown on television could only be fully appreciated in reality. The visual impact was far greater in reality.

Having left the train station, Fangzheng remained a little lost. It was his first time coming to a huge city. Matters like what to eat or where to stay were all problems. Thankfully, Fangzheng had done his homework before coming. He had read travel guides and made plans ahead of time. Although it was quite troublesome to put theory into practice, Fangzheng had learned his lesson. If he did not understand, there would be someone who did, right?

Fangzheng suddenly remembered a question he once asked Zen Master One Finger.

“Master, how did you walk all the way from the distant south?” Fangzheng asked curiously.

Zen Master One Finger stroked Fangzheng’s head and tapped his nose. “No matter how stupid you are, isn’t there a mouth beneath your nose? If you aren’t sure of the way or encounter troubles, can’t you ask?”

So now Fangzheng would just randomly grab someone to ask. Eventually, he succeeded in finding the metro and reached the place they were going to stay.