The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Panda Novel

Fangzheng and Zhang Huixin were taken aback. The refrigerator had things? What things?

When the two went over, they were instantly dumbfounded. They saw the refrigerator filled with pork! From the looks of it, it was as though an entire pig bar its head had been cut up and stuffed in!

Fangzheng subconsciously pressed his palms together and said, “Amitabha.”

Lone Wolf hung out his tongue, wearing a look of bliss. Fangzheng silently smacked his tongue, sending it flying up to his eyes.

“This…” Zhang Huixin looked at Fangzheng as though he was the master of the house.

Fangzheng said helplessly, “It’s almost the new year. These are probably some new year goods Patron Song gifted to you. However… His gift is really something else.”

Indeed, Zhang Huixin found a piece of paper in the refrigerator, and it had the words “new year goods” and was signed by Song Bin.

Only then did a relieved Zhang Huixin accept the refrigerator full of pork.

When Keke saw so much pork, she smacked her lips and tugged at Zhang Huixin’s hand. “Mommy, there’s so much meat. Can we make some bacon? I haven’t eaten bacon in a while…”

“You little glutton. But with this much meat, there’s no way the freezer can hold all of it. We might really have to make some bacon,” Zhang Huixin said.

Keke immediately beamed in delight when she heard that, jumping with joy as she yelled, “Oh yeah! There will be bacon!”

Fangzheng and Lone Wolf secretly exchanged looks from the side and saw the misery in each other’s eyes. No matter how delicious it was, it was still meat, something they couldn’t eat… However, the two of them were curious to see how bacon was made.

Zhang Huixin felt inclined to start upon seeing Keke’s gluttonous look. She ruffled Keke’s head and said, “Calm down. This isn’t something that can be rushed. The meat has to be cut and hung up for a period of time before it can be used.”

With that said, Zhang Huixin took out a piece of pork belly, and she brought it to the kitchen to cut it into long strips. The meat was thick, and just the amount of fat on it had about the thickness of a palm. Evidently, this pig hadn’t been an ordinary farmed animal, but it must have come from a free-range farm. This gift showed how sincere Song Bin was.

As Zhang Huixin marveled at the quality of the pork, she processed it. As her back was facing him, Fangzheng wasn’t able to see what she was doing. It took Zhang Huixin a while before she got a huge basin to put the chunks of meat in. She then washed her hands and came out.

When Fangzheng saw this, he asked curiously, “Patron, aren’t you afraid the meat will go bad by leaving it there?”

Zhang Huixin pursed her lips into a smile. “Master, based on your accent, you aren’t from the south?”

Fangzheng nodded and said with a northeastern accent, “From a corner in the northeast.”

Zhang Huixin smiled and said, “No wonder. The bacon needs to be cured before we can cook it. I slathered salt and other seasoning on the meat’s surface. With the salt, the meat won’t spoil.”

Only then was Fangzheng enlightened as he continued asking, “How long will the curing process take?”

Zhang Huixin said, “It depends on the meat. I will need to regularly assess the situation. Besides, the method I’m using is a local method, so the seasoning isn’t as much as what you’ll find outside. It won’t look as pretty, but the flavor will be in its most authentic state.”

Fangzheng grinned. “Patron, what you said is pointless since This Penniless Monk can’t eat it anyway. Sigh…”

Fangzheng shook his head and called out to Lone Wolf and Keke before the three of them left the house to have some fun.

Fangzheng was also wondering if he should continue on his journey now that Zhang Huixin and Keke had recovered from their conditions. However, he was afraid that his departure just as they got back on track with their lives and gained warmth from him would leave them mentally unready. He was afraid of negative consequences. Secondly, he was also curious over how bacon was made. In the northeast, he had heard of bacon, but he had never seen it before. He why it was a local specialty, though. Apparently, once it left its ‘native’ area, the taste would adapt to the surroundings and become something of its own.

It was just like how it was difficult for northeasterners to have authentic Cold Noodles or Fried Pork in Scoop once they left the northeast.

Of course, that was just nonsense. The real reason was that Fangzheng liked Keke. He couldn’t bring himself to part with the little girl.

Hence, Fangzheng found himself a few reasons to stay another two days.

Downstairs, going round a bend lead to the Purple River, and as they walked parallel to it, Keke led Lone Wolf as she ran around shouting in joy like a happy kitten. Fangzheng followed behind and smiled. It felt like they—father and daughter—were the only ones left in the world.

And this scene was captured by certain busybodies again.

“Abbot Fangzheng and little girl are inseparable!”

When the pictures and news were posted, the Internet broke out into a frenzy again. Fangzheng’s fans and his anti-fans started a war of words once more. However, the anti-fans had been rewarded with more ammunition. Leading them was none other than Perfected Inaction Infinity. He cited from the classics and criticized Fangzheng in all kinds of manners. It left Fangzheng’s fans helpless. This was because many of the classics Perfected Inaction Infinity quoted were things they couldn’t find! In addition, Perfected Inaction Infinity claimed that these were classics handed down from his Ancestral Master Zhang Sanfeng, so they were unknown to the public. He claimed that they should be thankful for him sharing these classics with them.

As this hooha continued, Perfected Inaction Infinity’s fans reached three hundred thousand. Of course, there were many who scolded him while others praised him. He didn’t seem to mind as he kept the comment section open. He allowed everyone to curse and debate, appearing very transparent and open.

Unfortunately, Fangzheng knew nothing of this. He walked with Keke along the Purple River and unknowingly arrived near the county government building. There happened to be people practicing martial arts there and, with her interest piqued, Keke ran over in excitement. There was a huge screen hung up at the square which repeated a scene. It was a beautiful video of people practicing martial arts in the mountains, surrounded by huge bodies of water…

There was a line of text at the bottom: “Village of Martial Arts welcomes you.”

Fangzheng chuckled as he looked at the scenery. As for martial arts, despite being a practitioner of one, he didn’t understand a thing since they were different from his. All he could do was watch in amusement.

As Fangzheng was enjoying himself, he realized that some people around him were looking at him from time to time. At times, they would take pictures of him. Fangzheng thought about it, wondering if they were his fans. Now that he could be considered famous, it would be quite normal if he had some fans.

Hence, Fangzheng posed cooperatively, amusing the people who secretly snapped his pictures. Then someone added a tag line to the picture: “Philandering monk, Fangzheng, doesn’t act like an accomplished monk at all. This frivolous master has fallen, showing no signs of shame. He eats meat, has a kid, and even acts cute…”

It was a question what Fangzheng’s reaction would be if he saw what they were writing.

In the afternoon, Zhang Huixin hung up the cured meat by the windows, mentioning that the meat needed to be hung up to dry a little. With regards to this, Fangzheng could only watch.