Chapter 674: Giving Up Wealth and Splendor

Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon

“Why? What happened?” Manager Sun was a little dumbfounded. Although the Sun family wasn’t a powerful family clan, it was rich and did have some power in Songwu County. It even had some say in Black River City, so who would dare wreck their sales department?

“Manager Sun, I’m not sure either. It seems to be people from the Jing Dragon Corporation. They didn’t say why, but they said that they were looking for you,” Jiang Chaowei said.

Manager Sun was left even more dumbfounded. People from the Jing Dragon Corporation? That was a huge conglomerate! It was a force not to be messed with! However, he couldn’t figure out how he had offended people from the Jing Dragon Corporation no matter how he racked his brains. He wouldn’t dare do so even if he was a hundred times bolder! Manager Sun was truly afraid, and he didn’t dare return, especially when he saw his huge belly. That made it even more impossible for him to return…

“Little Jiang, listen. I don’t care who it is from the corporation, but you are to immediately send a combined harvester to One Finger Village! The sooner the better. If you are fast enough, I’ll give you a raise!” Manager Sun said.

“Ah? Oh, okay.” Jiang Chaowei was just a trivial figure. No one paid him any notice, so after he informed the people at the warehouse, he easily got someone to send a combined harvester on its way.

“What’s happening? Why is everything going wrong today…” Manager Sun grumbled as he accelerated towards One Finger Village.

At the same time, someone was panicking, and that someone was none other than w.a.n.g Yougui.

He had no one to tell about what he had encountered, so all he could do was tell Tan Juguo who ended up being left dumbfounded. When did their tiny village end up tied to some huge conglomerate? According to w.a.n.g Yougui, they were even rather respectful of w.a.n.g Yougui and helped the village set things right. It was inexplicable.

Tan Juguo was also a sharp man considering his age. He quickly guessed that this had nothing to do with the village, and if anything, it had to do with the person on the mountaintop.

Therefore, w.a.n.g Yougui called Fangzheng.

Fangzheng said, “Oh that? It’s fine. Patron Jing Yulong once came to One Finger Monastery. He probably wishes to do something for us sincerely. Just let him do it. Right, Patron w.a.n.g, since they are there, you should just come back.”

w.a.n.g Yougui thought about it and agreed. He pushed aside the fruit platter and beverages in front of him and was then escorted out by the Jiangyong Combined Harvester Factory’s Factory Head.

When he returned to the village, w.a.n.g Yougui was still a little dazed. This was the first time in his life, even with his age, that he was sucked up to by a Factory Head so much. He noticed that everything was done very professionally too, and he even felt a little addicted to it.

When he returned to the village, he saw Tan Juguo, Dog Song, and company at the village entrance. A brand new combined harvester was placed at the entrance. Jiang Chaowei stood there with a bitter look.

“What’s happening?” w.a.n.g Yougui asked.

“Village Chief, we must concede defeat. We have brought the machine here. Do you think… You can…” Jiang Chaowei rubbed his hands and said embarra.s.singly.

w.a.n.g Yougui was surprised. He refused to believe it when people at the Jiangyong Combined Harvester Factory mentioned that he had been compensated. But from the looks of it, they had even delivered it themselves. He must have misunderstood them.

“It’s good that it has been sent. Where’s Manager Sun?” asked w.a.n.g Yougui.

Jiang Chaowei subconsciously looked up towards One Finger…

“Abbot Fangzheng, I was wrong. I have delivered the machine. Please rescind your divine powers.” In One Finger Monastery, Manager Sun said with a sobbing tone as he nearly knelt down.

Fangzheng looked at the fatty who was sobbing in front of him. At times, he had his hand on his back while he held his belly up as though he could not take the weight any further. It was truly s.e.xy… Therefore, Fangzheng pressed his palms together. “Amitabha. Since Patron is willing to concede defeat, everything is naturally negotiable. However, This Penniless Monk isn’t taking the winnings of a bet, but helping you acc.u.mulate merit. Otherwise, you could forget about having children for the rest of your life.”

Fangzheng pointed, and Sun Youqian suddenly felt something go missing from his stomach. When he pulled open his clothes, he found that his belly had deflated!

If he had not experienced it himself, he would never believe that people had divine powers in this world! Now that he witnessed it, he immediately treated Fangzheng as a man of G.o.d. He naturally believed whatever Fangzheng said without a sliver of doubt!

What also shocked him to the core was that Fangzheng had revealed that he knew that he was childless!

Manager Sun subconsciously asked, “Abbot Fangzheng, how do you know I’m childless?”

“Your body stinks of money. It’s clear that you earned money unscrupulously, and with all this baneful aura lingering around you, have you not realized that all your sperm is dead? With such a thick baneful aura, how is your sperm to survive? It would be quite surprising if you could still have children under such circ.u.mstances.”

Manager Sun’s heart tightened. He had started going to checkups a long time ago after so many years of being childless. Just as Fangzheng said, his sperm was dead! Putting aside normal insemination, even artificial insemination was impossible with such sperm. Because of this, he had often quarreled with his wife. And it was because he had no chance of a child that he began turning his attention to making copious amounts of money even more. From his point of view, since he couldn’t enjoy the greatest joy in life, he could go for the second best. He could earn more money to enjoy life. But over time, he only felt emptier as a result. Now, he finally knew the root cause of the problem. With a plop to the ground, he knelt in front of Fangzheng and wailed, “Master, please save me!”

Fangzheng looked at the kowtowing Manager Sun, and his baneful aura before shaking his head. “This Penniless Monk has already pointed a path for you. What’s left is your own redemption. Go down. Whether you can have a child will depend on whether you can let go of your riches.”

When Manager Sun looked up, Fangzheng had already turned to leave.

Red Boy went forward and said, “Patron, please return.”

Manager Sun was indignant.

But a white wolf baring its fangs appeared in front of him, scaring him away.

Fangzheng sighed when he saw Manager Sun leave. “Since times immemorial, a real gentleman only gains his wealth in the right way. Money isn’t to be earned unscrupulously.”

“Master, I don’t believe in what you said. I’ve seen many cases on the Internet where many people make their riches through evil means. Nearly every businessman is evil. According to what you said, shouldn’t businessmen all be childless?” asked Red Boy.

Fangzheng shook his head and said, “The heavens have their laws, and people have their paths. Look at those who have become rich, what do they do in the end? Don’t they spread their wealth to do more good?”

“Do they actually understand this logic?” Red Boy was perplexed.

“They might or might not be aware of it, but everyone knows the reason. As the saying goes, wealth does not pa.s.s three generations. If one doesn’t deserve one’s wealth, it will definitely wane. Money earned against one’s conscience isn’t easily held. If one earned through unscrupulous means and then one’s behavior leaves wanting, how would one’s children view them? They would learn that being morally bankrupt can still lead to money. Therefore, the children would also be without morals. They would be unfilial, unrighteous, and do as they please. Finally, either they offend someone they cannot afford to and implicate the family, or they commit some crime and are jailed. It might even unearth some of the family’s dark history, causing the entire family to be imprisoned. That’s how you screw up your family.

“Of course, what I’m referring to is a type of karmic circulation which results in punitive justice as recompense is required. And if punishment has not struck yet, it is because the time has not yet come! Every person has their own karma. Patron Sun being childless is just one of the many manifestations thereof. However, he’s still better off. At the very least, he doesn’t have a son that ends up s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g his father,” Fangzheng said.

Red Boy thought over it and recalled his parents. Didn’t his family end up getting screwed because of a brat like him?

If he had not tried to eat Tripiṭaka’s meat and fought the monkey, he wouldn’t have been captured to become the Child of Wealth. With Sun Wukong and Bull Demon King’s relations.h.i.+p, Princess Iron Fan would have definitely lent the Banana Fan. That way, Bull Demon King and Princess Iron Fan would have suffered one less calamity…

With this in mind, Red Boy’s face turned red. He had the nagging feeling that the monk was making oblique accusations, so he ran off to have fun.

When Manager Sun reached the foot of the mountain, he saw w.a.n.g Yougui. Before w.a.n.g Yougui could even ask, he patted himself on the chest and said, “I concede defeat. I am someone who knows how to keep his promises! Both this machine and the one you bought before are on the house!”

w.a.n.g Yougui opened his mouth and was about to say something…

But Manager Sun rushed to say, “Village Chief, don’t say a word. I’m doing this out of my own will! If you don’t accept it, you are not giving me face. In the future, our Jiangyong Combined Harvester Factory will never do business with you if you don’t accept.”

w.a.n.g Yougui stuttered as he watched Manager Sun get in the car and drive off. He said with a wry and embarra.s.sed smile, “You speak as if I don’t want it. I just wanted to ask what you did up the mountain.”

Manager Sun had spoken rather casually and had left without any qualms, but he nearly wept in the car… Two combined harvesters were worth hundreds of thousands of yuan. His heart ached!

But soon, it wasn’t only his heart that ached…

Once he returned to the sales department, he saw many people in the office waiting for him. Even the Sun family’s princ.i.p.al member was present. He was taken to the side, and when he came out, his eyes were dark. He said with a sobbing tone, “I’m never going to the villages again… Who did I offend?”

After Jing Yulong received news that everything was settled, he heaved a sigh of relief.

A few days before, he had been tormented by Jing Yan. He was still on tenterhooks, but Jing Yulong also knew that in order not to be tormented by Jing Yan, he had to close ties with the monk. He would rather die than go up the mountain, but for him to improve their relations.h.i.+p didn’t necessarily require him to head up the mountain. After he investigated the relations.h.i.+p between Fangzheng and One Finger Village, he immediately took action. He basically protected One Finger Village, giving them the go ahead in any project, and he aided them in any way he could. A relations.h.i.+p needed time to be forged after all.

After w.a.n.g Yougui told Fangzheng what had happened, all Fangzheng did was smile, and he thought nothing of it.

Zhou Zishan and company slept to evening due to their drunken stupor. When they woke up, the harvesting had been done.

As he looked at everything in a daze, Zhou Zishan raised his hand and slapped himself twice. “Glutton, how useless you are!”

“Brother, what do we do? We didn’t do much work. It was mostly done by themselves. We even ate a sumptuous meal they gave us,” Zhou Ziyuan walked over and asked in embarra.s.sment.

“Brother, just get straight to the point,” said Zhou Zishan.

“I mean… Why don’t we not take the money? Let’s take the opportunity before it gets dark to visit the village,” asked Zhou Ziyuan.

Zhou Ziheng added. “Brother, I share the same thought. If we had really exerted effort, it would only be right to be paid, but if we take this money, I won’t feel good.”

Zhou Zishan was taken aback before he laughed. “Good on the both of you! Alright, we won’t take the payment! Pack up and let’s head to the next village. To be honest, I really wish to thank them.”

“Me too. Out of the entire trip, today is my happiest day. A pity, though. They are such good people. If we bid them farewell, they will definitely try to pay us. I think it’s best we don’t,” said Zhou Ziyuan.

Shen Aijia added. “The people in this village are really good, all of them.”

“Mengmeng is good too.” The two little kids added.

The moment the family recalled that adorable kid, all of them laughed.

After packing up, they began setting off. By the time they were ready, it was completely dark. Despite not being able to see the road, they were used to it and rushed off in the dark,

But at that moment, they heard a few sputtering sounds!

A few torchlights lit up ahead of them!

Following that, a flame lit up at the end of the road, illuminating the darkness.

The few of them jumped in fright and on careful look, they were surprised to see the villagers from One Finger Village.

“Brothers Zhou, are you leaving already? Do you not want the money?” w.a.n.g Yougui stood in front and laughed.

“Ah… This… We didn’t do anything. We can’t bring ourselves to take your money,” said Zhou Zishan with a bitter smile.

“That’s true indeed. Then let’s do this. We won’t give you any money, but we will give you a gift. You have to take it,” w.a.n.g Yougui said.

“This…” Zhou Zishan was stumped. He really couldn’t bring himself to accept anything.

“You really aren’t treating us as friends if you aren’t willing to accept a tiny gift,” w.a.n.g Yougui said as though he was getting mad.

“Don’t say that, don’t say that! We will accept it,” Zhou Zishan said hurriedly.

“Haha, that’s more like it. A man shouldn’t be so wishy-washy!” Dog Song laughed as well.

“Come, come over and take a look!” Sun Qiancheng shouted. Zhou Zishan and company went forward and as Sun Qiancheng pulled away a cloth, a brand new combined harvester appeared in front of them!

Zhou Zishan, Zhou Ziheng, Zhou Ziyuan, Shen Aijia, and company were instantly dumbfounded. They pointed ahead and said in disbelief, “This is…”

“That’s right! It’s for you! It was worn through the compet.i.tion with Sun Youqian today. We won a total of two. We will get one, and you will get one. It’s perfect. How about it? Do you like the gift?” w.a.n.g Yougui asked.

When Zhou Zishan, Zhou Ziheng, Zhou Ziyuan, and company heard that, tears streamed down their cheeks instantly. Respect, a gift, help… All of this was a luxury they had never even dreamed of having, but they were suddenly in possession of all of this today. Their hearts warmed as their eyes turned moist. They cried, even though they had remained steadfast their entire lives.

Zhou Zishan and company refused to accept the combined harvester at first, but under w.a.n.g Yougui’s persuasion, they finally accepted it. That night, Zhou Zishan and his family stayed in the village. The two little kids finally got to stay in a house. They rolled on a stove bed and caused quite a mess…

Warm food, warm stove bed, and warm-hearted people. This was bliss and nothing more.

“It’s the Cold Dew. The heavens and earth are cold, but the human heart is filled with warmth. This autumn is quite alright…” Standing by the village entrance, Fangzheng sighed before turning to leave.

In fact, Fangzheng had been around the entire time. However, he did not partic.i.p.ate. As a monk, he shouldn’t fight for fame or interests. If there was something to fight for, it was to do good. This was something Zen Master One Finger had taught him despite Fangzheng always believing it as something incorrect. How was one to develop the monastery if there was no fame or interests involved?

Even at this point in time, Fangzheng still had a question on his mind that he had no answer to. However, he still did it. He walked up the mountain alone and returned to his monastery. When he heard the cheerful laughter at the foot of the mountain, Fangzheng’s heart turned even more placid.

Sitting under the bodhi tree, he looked at the bright moon in the sky. He had a thought: “Giving up wealth and splendor to exchange for peace of mind. This is perhaps the reward…”