The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

With One Finger Village going viral, it also gave a boost to the economies of the surrounding villages. With many of the devotees having nowhere else to stay, all they could do was go to the neighboring villages. Hence, as the villagers from the neighbouring villages were still chuckling and calling the One Finger Villagers silly for spending so much money to buy their goods, they immediately turned enraged when batch after batch of tourists came to their villages!

The telephone at Wang Yougui’s house kept ringing nonstop.

“F**k you, Wang Yougui! You scammed me!”

“Wang Yougui, you better return me that livestock and poultry! Send everything back, I’m not selling anymore!”

“Brother-in-law, you little bastard. You even scammed your uncle! I want a refund, now!”

…

Meanwhile, Wang Yougui had long fled to someone else’s house. He wasn’t meeting anyone!

Although the villages were cursing, they were also laughing. As rural farming villages with undeveloped transportation systems, their annual revenue was limited to whatever the few acres they had could earn them. How much could those lands produce? They could only earn in the tens of thousands of yuan a year. As for all the free-range poultry and livestock they reared, everyone knew that they were premium quality, but unfortunately, without the means to transport them out, they couldn’t be cashed out.

At the end of the day, all of their products were consumed by the villagers themselves. But with their low consumption habits, it also limited their possibility to do any large-scale animal farming. Hence, winter became the time for them to rest where they played mahjong and chatted. As for income? That wasn’t something that existed in winter…

With only expenditures without any income, they could only retrograde. This severely limited the farming villages’ development.

Now, these animals which couldn’t be converted into cash were suddenly turned into money! All of them were naturally exhilarated. Although they cursed Wang Yougui verbally, they were actually roaring with laughter inwardly. This son of a gun. I owe him one yet again!

Everyone knew very well that without products to sell, One Finger Village could have just as well ordered from the big bosses in the county city. That would have not only been fast but also convenient. However, Wang Yougui had purchased their goods at prices higher than those bosses’. This was him giving them help and a favor they kept in mind.

While a buzz happened beneath the mountain, Fangzheng couldn’t close the wide grin on his mouth. This was because he had triggered the local economy and brought an improvement to the people. His merit points kept rising! It was even faster than when the doctors were treating the ill! It left Fangzheng roaring with laughter. “If I had known that this was the correct way to earn merit, why did I go through all the effort back then? Sigh, I took so many detours.”

Meanwhile, Fangzheng was also gloomy. He stared at Zen Master One Finger’s black-and-white photo and mumbled. “Old Dad One Finger, although our One Finger Monastery is receiving lots of incense, it’s not easy for us either. With so many people, we don’t even have an incense cauldron. Now, all the incense sticks are stuffed everywhere in the yard… Sigh, those in the know understand that they are for Buddha, but those not in the know might even mistake our place for a public cemetery. Look at me. My hair has all fallen off from my worries… If you hear me, please bestow me with your blessings.”

Zen Master One Finger obviously had no way of replying to him.

Fangzheng clapped and said, “If you aren’t speaking, it means it’s a tacit agreement!”

Zen Master One Finger: “…”

Fangzheng said, “System, This Penniless Monk previously saved people and punished a bastard. Does that mean I can draw a prize?”

“Yes, do you want to draw now?” asked the System.

“Since Old Dad One Finger has blessed me, definitely!”

“Ding! Congratulations, you have received a Fortune Incense Cauldron!”

Upon hearing that, Fangzheng jumped up from his bed and slammed into the ceiling. However, ignoring the pain, he held up Zen Master One Finger’s photo and kissed it as he laughed out loud. “Old Dad One Finger, thanks! Haha, I get whatever I need. Awesome!”

“Ahem…” At this moment, the System coughed twice.

Only then did Fangzheng recall that winning at the draw was one thing. The guy at the warehouse hadn’t sent the item yet. He was celebrating a little too early. What wasn’t in hand wasn’t his after all. Hence, Fangzheng hurriedly asked, “Thank you, System Bro. If we meet in the future, I’ll treat you to some good food!” Inwardly, he added another thought. But I’ll smack your bastard face first!

“Do you want to accept it now?” asked the System.

Fangzheng thought about it and said, “Wait a moment!”

Then, Fangzheng ran out. He spread out a piece of paper on a table, and waved his brush. He quickly wrote a few huge words like a Buddha scattering ink. “Renovation today. Visitors will be allowed in later!”

Then, he called Red Boy and his disciples over. “Take this out and paste it on the door. Once the last batch of devotees offer their incense, immediately shut the door.”

“Alright!” Upon hearing that they were finally shutting the doors, Red Boy, who was exhausted from all the work, excitedly took the notice out.

With the notice being put up, Lone Wolf began to block the door as he permitted exits and barred entry. When everyone saw this notice, many people grumbled. But since the monastery was renovating, what else could they say? All they could grumble about was how late they came. Besides, it was also said that visitors would be allowed in again later. That meant that the door would be opened in a while for visitors.

Hence, no one said much. With Lone Wolf’s and Red Boy’s organization, they left One Finger Monastery. Once they walked out, everyone felt relaxed. Moments before, they were desperately trying to enter the monastery to offer incense to Buddha and meet Fangzheng. The long line left them vexed, but to suddenly know that they didn’t need to line up anymore with lining up useless, they ended up relaxing instead. They began to observe the scenery on Mt. One Finger. Immediately, they felt one with nature. They were entranced by the immortal-like beauty. The snapping sounds of cell phones filled the top of Mt. One Finger as exclamations resounded. They found the trip worth it!

Meanwhile, with One Finger Monastery’s main door closed, Fangzheng finally walked out of the backyard. The moment he came out, he almost suffered an aneurysm.

This was because the entire front yard of One Finger Monastery was filled with incense sticks, in almost any spot that allowed them to be inserted! Even Salted Fish had incense sticks everywhere in front of him. He also didn’t know if people were paying him respect or worshiping him… There was plenty of high-incense, but there were even more ordinary incense sticks!

Seeing the yard in a mess, Fangzheng frowned. He waved his hand and said, “Take the small incense cauldron to the backyard.”

Red Boy immediately took action and moved the incense cauldron.

Fangzheng came to the entrance of the Ten Thousand Buddha Hall and took a deep breath. “Next up is for all of you to witness a miracle! Watch!”

As he spoke, Fangzheng waved his hand and thought, “System Bro, I accept the prize!”

The next moment, a yellow beam of light fell as Fangzheng held it in his hand before placing it on the ground.

The yellow light shattered as a massive pitch-black object smashed into the ground with a loud bang! Thankfully, One Finger Monastery had been fortified by the System. Otherwise, Fangzheng suspected that the ground might have been smashed open.

At the same time, Fangzheng also began to study the Fortune Incense Cauldron. It was huge, but Fangzheng couldn’t tell its exact size by eye. However, it was definitely almost three meters wide. It wasn’t too tall, allowing the typical child to insert an incense stick. There wasn’t any gorgeous lid, and its squarish entirety was made out of chiseled stone!

The stone looked very ordinary, but the grain on it was clear. On it were the huge words: “Prosperous Fortune.”