The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

When Monkey saw Fangzheng coming, he hurriedly hid a mantou in his sleeves, acting like a thief.

“Does it make a difference… if it happens earlier or later?” Fangzheng thought. After all, they would be sweeping everything clean eventually one way or another. Fangzheng had no intention to stand on ceremony since he had been brought up under the benevolence of the village people. These villagers also didn’t stand on ceremony with him. Of course, he had repaid the kindness he’d received rather significantly. But there was no need to be particular when it came to family, was there?

Yang Hua said with a smile, “If you had come earlier, we wouldn’t have needed to plate it. You could just stay in the kitchen and eat. It would have saved us time.”

Fangzheng laughed when he heard that as he asked, “Patron Yang, where are the bean buns?”

Yang Hua was taken aback before he cursed. “You bunch of fellows shouldn’t be called monks in the future. You should be known as bandits! It’s like bandits have come down the mountain to wipe us out. You even have your eyes on our stock.”

Fangzheng chuckled dryly as a reply.

Yang Hua got Yang Ping to return the steamer to the kitchen before leading Fangzheng to the cellar.

The first thing Yang Hua had done after making a killing was to demolish the original mud house’s cellar and build a cellar with cement and brick. There were a few metal-skinned storage barrels inside, and when the lid of a barrel was lifted, Fangzheng saw a considerable number of bean buns in there. As Yang Ping reached for them, he said, “These were made a week ago. They are frozen stiff now. Are you and your disciples going to eat them straight or heat them up first?”

Fangzheng thought about it and felt that there were some being steamed in the pot at the moment, so if he wanted to eat them hot, he might as well eat the freshly steamed ones. Hence he said, “There’s no need. We’ll just eat them like that. Don’t give too many. Those guys are probably almost full.”

When Squirrel heard that there was still food to eat, he nearly teared up as he swallowed hard. After Yang Hua was done taking out the bean buns, he was summoned to handle some tasks. Confirming that there was no one around, Squirrel bitterly said, “Master, we aren’t almost full, we are almost exploding! Why are the mantou so delicious? Can we steam some in the future?”

Fangzheng rubbed Squirrel’s round belly and said with a smile, “The mantou has to be eaten when its piping hot to taste that nice, and it’s only nice if you eat them occasionally. Eating them all the time wouldn’t be as nice as it is with Crystal Rice. Let’s go, time to eat bean buns.”

“Master, is the thing in your hand a bean bun? Why is it so hard and stiff? How can it be tastier than mantou?” Squirrel cashed after him while carrying his belly. However, he had to take a break every two steps due to his satiation; otherwise, he would just feel too terrible.

Lone Wolf was a big eater, so although he had eaten a lot, mantou were nothing when you compressed them. Therefore, he was still bursting with energy, leaving Squirrel envious.

Red Boy and Salted Fish had split the food, so although Red Boy had seemingly eaten a lot, he actually hadn’t.

Monkey also hadn’t eaten much yet, so the few of them actually still had some space in their stomachs.

Seeing Fangzheng take something that they had never eaten before, all of them felt curious as they came over.

With people around, the animals couldn’t speak too much, so Jingxin asked on their behalf, “Master, what’s the things in your hands? Can that be eaten when it’s so hard?”

Fangzheng didn’t speak a word. Instead, he took one out and warmed it in his mouth. Then, biting down hard, he carved a slice from the hard bean bun before he slowly chewed at it with his eyes narrowed. He looked like he was enjoying it thoroughly.

Red Boy, Lone Wolf, Monkey, Salted Fish, and Squirrel turned even more curious. Red Boy got one and placed it in his mouth before biting down hard…

With a loud crunch, a huge piece broke off from the bean bun with the brat’s sharp teeth! All Red Boy felt was that the thing was cold and tasteless. It didn’t feel good licking it, so he immediately looked at Fangzheng with watering eyes.

Fangzheng smiled. “Haste makes waste. Although you have good teeth, chewing on bean buns requires technique. Warm it first before chewing, and it will taste completely different.”

With that, Red Boy left the bun in his mouth and when the outer skin melted, he was surprised to discover that its surface was smooth and soft. It had quite a good chew to it which felt awesome! Meanwhile, the corn fragrance inside the fillings gave it a unique sweetness.

Red Boy’s originally knitted brows immediately pricked up as he slowly chewed and ate.

When Monkey and Lone Wolf saw this, they immediately came over.

Fangzheng didn’t act pettily either. He handed each one of them one. However, since Lone Wolf didn’t have any claws, all he could do was hold it in his mouth and let his tongue lick at it repeatedly until it melted. He then bit at it, leaving his drool dripping everywhere. When Fangzheng saw this, he quickly kicked him to a corner for it was just too embarrassing…

Monkey had observed very carefully, so he mimicked Fangzheng by placing the bean bun in his mouth, warming the external layer before using his teeth to peel a slice off. It was cool and sweet, with the fragrance of corn. It had quite a nice chew to it, and the combination of the newfound heat made it especially comforting.

Miraculously, although it was winter and the bean bun was icy-cold to the point of it being necessary to continuously switch hands when holding it, no one found it even a bit cold when chewing on it.

Salted Fish watched, green with envy, as he secretly cried out. “Hey, hey… Don’t forget me!”

Red Boy directly stuffed a bean bun into Salted Fish’s mouth. With his age and experience, Salted Fish knew the trick behind the matter, so he naturally chewed at the bun carefully without any accident.

Instead, it was Squirrel who rubbed his belly and gave Fangzheng an aggrieved look. He wanted to get one for himself several times but ultimately didn’t. Seeing how Fangzheng and the rest were having the time of their lives eating, Squirrel gulped his saliva and looked at Lone Wolf. “Eldest Senior Brother, is it nice?”

Lone Wolf nodded incessantly. “There’s bean paste inside. It’s great.”

Squirrel then looked pitifully at Monkey and asked, “Third Junior Brother, is it nice?”

Monkey nodded. “Excellent.”

Squirrel then looked at Red Boy and Salted Fish, but before he could even ask, they began nodding. Salted Fish even cackled. “Hehe. Little guy, if I were you, I’d do anything to have another mouth. It’s just too delicious. Haha! I hadn’t eaten anything like this on Mount Numinous before. Tsk, indeed, when it comes to making food, humans are the best. Tsk…”

Upon hearing that, Squirrel felt even more tempted. Finally, he gritted his teeth and ran to Fangzheng’s side. He said pitifully, “Master, can I have a tiny bit?”

Fangzheng looked at the little guy and laughed. “Eating is a pleasure, but to go beyond the confines of pleasure is greed. There are consequences to greed. You only see the delicacies in front of you but do not think of the delicacies behind. Now, do you know your fault?”

Squirrel said in a sobbing tone, “Yes. In the future, I’ll definitely leave some room for more when I eat.”

Fangzheng was instantly rendered speechless. This little guy’s perceptivity was almost nonexistent…

Monkey said in exasperation, “Senior Brother, Master meant that there is a limit to everything. Being excessive means greed, and greed is a sin. The outcome will be for you to bear alone, and you will definitely suffer.”