The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng was instantly amused with what he saw. He never expected an international Heavenly Queen to have such a playful side to her. He replied: “Alright. Mt. One Finger finally has a good mountain path and most importantly, it has handrails. There’s no need to worry about people falling off accidentally.”

“That’s awesome!” Li Xueying sent another custom emoticon. It was of her body leaning back, with her thumb nearly pressed against the screen.

“Patron, how many of these custom emoticons do you have? Did you really create an emoticon set?”

“Of course, it’s a work of yours truly! All rights reserved, not to be used by others!” Li Xueying sent another emoticon. It depicted her standing akimbo with a smug look.

Upon hearing the term ‘all rights reserved,’ Fangzheng was shocked. He smacked his bald head and laughed. He sent her a reply: “Patron Li, could I ask for your help with something?”

“We are already so familiar, go ahead. What is it?” Li Xueying sent a cool picture of her. Below it were the captions: “Good brothers talk about the code of brotherhood!”

Fangzheng was amused as he thought about it before replying: “I recently got to know a friend. She opened an online store, but she doesn’t know how to operate it. It’s been days with no business to speak off. Well…”

“Venerable Fangzheng, you wish for me to endorse her? That will be a little difficult…” Li Xueying frowned on the other end of the line. Although she was very familiar with Fangzheng, liking the relaxed mood he gave her, she did not wish that a business relationship would arise between them. She had many of such friends, so she cherished the pure and simple relationship they had.

“There’s no need to do so. Her situation is very special. Even if you were to appear, she might not be willing to accept your help.”

“Oh? She has that much character?” Li Xueying was taken aback. Someone would actually reject her help? Without saying, if she were to help, she would definitely help her be cleaned off her goods and have brimming profits!

“How should it be said. She’s a person eager to outdo others.” After some thought, Fangzheng described Qin Xiao’s situation to Li Xueying.

Li Xueying fell silent after listening to his story.

Noticing that she did not respond immediately, he probed: “Why aren’t you speaking?”

“Wait a moment. Give me some time to cry,” Li Xueying sent a wailing emoticon.

Fangzheng was rendered speechless once again. Was this Queen Xueying, the slightly aloof model for all queens in the eyes of the people? She was practically… a girl next door!

A short while later, she replied: “What a strong sister. I have to support her. But how should I help her?”

“This Penniless Monk doesn’t know. You have lots of friends. Try thinking of a way to help her. Although Patron Qin did not say so, This Penniless Monk can sense that she does wish to be looked at differently instead of being a charity case. She wants to make a living through her own abilities.”

“I see. Let me think about it. I need to help her without her realizing that someone has helped her. That truly is troublesome. Venerable Fangzheng, I’ll think about it. Once I think of it, I’ll contact you again. I’ll have to go for now.” With that said, Li Xueying disappeared, presumingly due to other matters.

Fangzheng finally heaved a sigh of relief. If Li Xueying was willing to help, the matter was likely to be resolved.

At that moment, there was an additional message from Jing Yan.

“Master, tell me, how can there be such a person in the world?” Jing Yan grumbled immediately.

Fangzheng said, “Amitabha. Patron, less grumbling and the world will be at peace.”

“Uh… Master, can this mere grumbling of mine have such great consequences?” Jing Yan laughed when she said that.

“Perhaps.”

“Alright, in order to maintain peace in the world, or even peace in the Universe, I won’t grumble. But Master, I’ve encountered trouble once again. I wish for you to advise me.” Jing Yan did not stand on ceremony and immediately asked for help. Without waiting for him to agree, she said, “My interviewee this time is the wife of a narcotics officer. The policeman passed away many years ago. Their team has always hoped to help his family. However, the policeman’s family refuses to receive any help, especially the wife. She threw this out directly: ‘He never bowed his head to anyone in his life. Now that he is gone, I’ll keep his head up for him! I will not be a burden on anyone.’ Did you hear that? Once that was said, how could anyone help her? Sigh. Recently, her child fell sick. She finally could not take the pressure and accepted the help of others.

When Fangzheng heard Jing Yan describe the situation, he could not help but find it familiar. “Are you talking about Dong Bing’s family?”

“Oh? Abbot Fangzheng, you are truly a man of god. You even know of this! Is this prescience?” exclaimed Jing Yan.

Fangzheng rolled his eyes. “Not really but… It’s a long story. Anyway, by sheer luck, I am in contact with Qin Xiao. Do you know that she’s currently in the online store business?”

“What? She has opened an online store? I don’t know about that.” Jing Yan was even more astonished as she followed up immediately, “What kind of store did she open? I can help her advertise it.”

“Forget it. If you were to advertise for her, I believe she would immediately stop at it. Patron, do you want to help her or have this piece of news,” asked Fangzheng very seriously after some thought.

Jing Yan replied without even thinking, “The news is not important. Helping her would do! You probably aren’t aware of this, and I only recently learned of it too. Although Dong Bin’s salary was not high, he did get quite a high survivors pension. But the moment she received it, she donated it to a child with a brain tumor for his surgery. She’s a good person.”

This was something Fangzheng was actually unaware of. However, the matter was no longer important. “If you really want to help her, don’t put her on the news. If you know how to operate an online store, teach her. Euhm, just say that it was This Penniless Monk who introduced you.”

“Deal! Leave it to me. But I was left standing at the doorstep the last few times. If I were to go…”

“I’ll help you talk to her. If it’s only to teach her necessary knowhow, I believe she will be willing to accept it. Do you remember how we did our charity the last time?” reminded Fangzheng.

“Aiyah, I know. To show our charitable heart to others, we cannot treat it as if it’s a case of charity, right? Don’t worry. I’ve learned my lesson.”

The two chatted a little more before Jing Yan went to busy herself.

Meanwhile, in Spring City, Qin Xiao was feeling frustrated. Every day, other than sleep, making her meals and eating them, she spent the rest of the time in front of her cell phone. She kept wishing that someone would ask about the price or buy a pair of shoes. But the days passed as Qin Xiao realized that opening an online store was not as easy as it appeared.

“Clang.” At that moment, the sound of something dropping on the floor came from the kitchen. Qin Xiao shouted, “Baby, what are you doing?”

Then, Qin Xiao wheeled herself over and was taken aback. She saw rice scattered across the floor as the five-year-old was picking up the rice with a flustered expression. The rice was too scattered and it was difficult to gather it cleanly. He was so anxious that his tears were dripping, but he did not even dare to make a whimper.