Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Fangzheng didn’t know when Lone Wolf came back. He didn’t see the wolf enter when he sent Wang Yougui and company off. Now he suddenly appeared, and it truly gave Fangzheng a shock.

“What are you doing?” asked Fangzheng.

Lone Wolf whimpered twice.

Fangzheng said angrily, “No way! This is This Penniless Monk’s breakfast! There’s only a mouthful and you want me to share? Do you want This Penniless Monk to starve to death?”

Lone Wolf whimpered sadly, beseeching Fangzheng to give him just a little. A wolf’s nose was much better than a human’s. He knew better than anyone if it was delicious or not! The rice in Fangzheng’s bowl was the most fragrant scent he had ever smelled. It was much more delicious than a fat chicken!

Seeing how aggrieved Lone Wolf was, Fangzheng stamped his foot before his heart gave in. He gave the wolf a tiny bit.

Lone Wolf immediately swallowed the rice on the ground. Things got weird a moment later when its entire body started acting oddly. The wolf slumped to the ground and let out his tongue. His eyes widened significantly and had a look of pure bliss. He was like a satiated husky!

Fangzheng was puzzled. Wasn’t it just a bowl of rice? Why did it make a starving wolf act like a silly husky? Could there be caffeine in it?

As he muttered, Fangzheng had a taste of the rice. Then, he cried. He wailed loudly! He wrestled Lone Wolf down to the ground, beating it and shouting, “Spit it out for me! Spit it! Spit it out! You have ruined my delicacy…”

That’s right, the flavor of the rice was just too delicious! There were no superfluous flavors, only the fragrance of rice. Just a gentle chew was enough to make the aroma feel like oiled meat, in that it refreshed one’s heart and mind in a scintillating manner. It got more addicting the more he chewed!

Fangzheng immediately understood why Yang Ping, Wang Yougui, and Tan Juguo would rather choke on the rice than drink water! By eating in such a manner, the aroma would continue filling the mouth. Who would want to wash away that flavor!? However, the trio eventually salivated and had no choice but to wash down the delicacy lodged in their larynx. It was no wonder that Yang Ping nearly wept leaving the place…

Despite being attacked, Lone Wolf refused to spit out anything.

Fangzheng looked at the clean bowl, rubbed his stomach, and realized he was even hungrier!

Out of options, Fangzheng had no choice but to scoop out the remaining old rice he had and cook a new pot. However, the moment this new pot of rice entered his mouth, he found it impossible to swallow! After having enjoyed the delicacy from before, he felt that eating the old rice was no different from chewing on wax. However, in order to fill his stomach, he mixed it with a plate of wild vegetables and ate it all with his eyes closed, until he was finally satiated.

Fangzheng looked at the remaining five hundred bucks he had and said, “System, how does the handling and delivery fee work?”

“The price depends on the item delivered. If it’s something like Crystal Rice seeds, the handling and delivery fee are each one hundred bucks regardless of the quantity,” said the System.

Fangzheng immediately regretted his decision. If he knew that the Crystal Rice was produced in such large quantities and was so delicious, he would have made one big order. Great, now he spent three hundred bucks buying one seed! Talk about a great loss!

However, the experience at least taught him a lesson, so he could only accept his mistake and move on.

After eating his fill, Fangzheng began cleaning the temple’s hall and courtyard. He also watered the bodhi tree. It was growing rapidly. After a day, it had not only sprouted, it was even covered in a layer of green. It looked much nicer.

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Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain.

Tan Juguo, Wang Yougui, and Yang Ping had reached the foot of the mountain. Along the way, they were reminiscing about the delightful taste of the Crystal Rice. Only when they reached the foot of the mountain did they stop to think on other, more important matters. They had to expand the temple. The reason was none other than to have another bite of that rice! It had to be a mid-range temple at the very least. The kind that provided food!

The trio was completely enamored with the taste of the Crystal Rice. They readily agreed to expand the temple before going their separate ways.

At noon, Yang Ping was sitting by a heated brick bed in his house. Having had the Crystal Rice, his standards for food had also increased. He deliberately spent a great amount of money to buy high-quality ingredients. His wife, Liu Ya, had made two of his favorite dishes and also given him a bottle of wine.

However, as Yang Ping looked at the omelet with red pepper, sauteed pork intestines, and the bowl of rice, all he could think of was the flavor of the Crystal Rice. Even the sauteed pork intestines he loved were tasteless. He found the alcohol unappetizing after two sips of it. After a few mouthfuls of food, he sighed and went out of the house.

“Old Yang, what’s wrong? Have you fallen sick?” Liu Ya was puzzled. Typically, Yang Ping would be wolfing down the food, but why wasn’t he eating today?

Yang Ping said with a wry smile, “I’m not sick. It’s just that… Sigh… I don’t know how to explain it.”

At that moment, a person came over. He was slightly older than Yang Ping and looked like he traveled a lot. He walked through the door with a depressed look on his face. He held a laboratory report in his hand…

Yang Ping noticed that his elder brother, Yang Hua was back. Without sighing, he asked in concern. “Brother, you are back? How was it? What did the doctor say?”

Yang Hua let out a long sigh and said, “It’s the end…The doctors say that both your sister-in-law and I have problems. We won’t be able to have children together. Sigh, Little Ping, let’s go and have some drinks. I’m feeling really sad. I see others having children but I can’t even produce an egg…”

When Yang Ping heard that, he ignored his intense cravings and became depressed with Yang Hua. It was quite comedic for him actually. Hence, he brought Yang Hua into the house, saying, “Brother, you came just in time. I was just about to dig in. Let’s eat together. Liu Ya, go get a chicken and stew it for Brother.”

“Alright.” Liu Ya went out into the courtyard to catch a chicken, causing quite a stir outside.

Yang Ping led Yang Hua into the house and they sat on the brick bed. They drank the wine, they ate the intestines and chatted.

After a few rounds of drinks, Yang Ping felt a little tipsy. His senses were not with him as he said, “Brother, what do you want me to say? Don’t be too worried about this matter. It’s useless worrying. There’s no problem that cannot be solved in this world. If science can’t solve it, try some magic recipes.”

“I’ve tried all sorts of methods. I’ve tried numerous solutions around the village. We’ve gotten nothing out of it but diarrhea.” Yang Hua grumbled.

Yang Ping said, “If they don’t work, why don’t you try Gods or Buddha!? Didn’t people of the past do that? Who knows, the heavens might give you a baby.”

“Gods? The nearest temple is a day’s travel away. Your sister-in-law isn’t feeling well recently. I’m afraid she can’t endure it,” said Yang Hua.

Yang Ping responded with a smile, “Why do you need to go so far? Doesn’t our Mt. One Finger have One Finger Temple?”

“That run down temple? Hasn’t it collapsed? Even the old monk, One Finger, has passed away. Can he still bless us? Forget it… When I have the time, I’ll go to Baiyun Monastery,” said Yang Hua.

As the saying goes, gifts blind the eyes. Yang Ping suddenly thought of something. He had brainstormed some ideas to entice people to give incense offerings to One Finger Temple with the village chief and the secretary. Now, with Yang Hua intending to pray to Buddha, he could kill two birds with one stone.

Hence, he immediately said, “Brother, you don’t know! What I said before about the temple being run down is nonsense. I hadn’t been up Mt. One Finger recently. However, I did go up today with the village chief and the secretary. And, who would’ve guessed it, the village had already gotten people to renovate One Finger Temple. It is truly beautiful! Also, that kid, Fangzheng, has inherited One Finger’s mantle. He is taking good care of the temple as its new abbot. Especially that rice… Let’s not talk about rice. If I say more, I won’t be able to stomach what I have here. Sigh…”