Chapter Thirty-Three: Having money but refusing to give it to them

  Menzi was surprised and looked at Zhao Che, how could the king have an opinion about the monks? Wasn't he afraid of being blamed by the gods and Buddhas? He didn't know that Zhao Che didn't believe in these things at all. In his past life, he had committed many murders and arson, but Heaven didn't punish him, instead letting him be reborn as a king. Although this king was quite unlucky.

  "Dong dong qiang qiang, dong dong qiang qiang" The door god's stunning skill was followed by another burst of gongs and drums. Several people wearing tattered clothes had their faces painted with colorful patterns, each looking like a ghost, beating gongs and drums, while shouting wildly as they rushed towards the entrance.

  "The bandits have come!" The gatekeeper exclaimed and was about to close the door.

  "Tian Shu, what are you doing closing the door?" Zhao asked the gatekeeper.

  "Second Master, they are all poor beggars who can't make a living. Every year at this time, they dress up as gods and ghosts, judges, Zhong Kui, and Stove King, beating gongs and drums, pretending to drive out the plague and evil spirits for the master's family, begging for food and drink. As soon as one group is given some, another group comes, it's really troublesome!" The gatekeeper explained hastily.

  "Oh, what are we waiting for! See Xi, you go get some money, Tian Shu, you go to the kitchen and make some Laba congee, tell the steward to bring some white rice for them." Zhao Che ordered.

  "What?! Menzi was stunned. With money not given to monks, but to beggars, what does the king want to do?"

  "What's wrong, go quickly!" said another older gatekeeper.

  "Second Master is"

  "What kind of person is Second Master, don't you know? He's a generous man. Look at the new clothes on our bodies and the copper coins clinking in our pockets, aren't they all given by Second Master?" said the old gatekeeper.

  "Oh, yes! Second Master is a kind and charitable person!" The two servants scurried off in a hurry.

  Monks arrived at the door, beating out of tune gongs and drums, jumping in steps that couldn't be danced, shouting "Hoo-ah!" with disdainful mouths, thinking to themselves: We are authentic Buddhist disciples, reciting the orthodox Diamond Sutra. This family gave only a few liters of rice, not even seeing a single copper coin. You poor wretches probably can't even get white rice, just blindly struggling!

  "When the bell tolls, the little ghosts run"

  "The Stove King has arrived, the house is peaceful." Several people jumped and sang auspicious words, making the scene more lively than the monks' side.

  "Come, come, everyone has worked hard. My master has prepared Laba porridge for you all, let's have a bowl to warm up your stomachs!" At this time, the gatekeeper came out, followed by several kitchen helpers carrying pots of porridge and holding a stack of bowls. Zhao ordered the gatekeeper to bring over a table, set out the bowls, fill them with hot porridge, and invite everyone over.

  On a cold day like this, being able to drink a bowl of hot and steaming porridge is truly a wonderful thing. The several "night owls" who were somewhat frightened all thanked him in unison, put down the tools in their hands, wiped their hands on their bodies, and then picked up the bowls to drink the porridge.

  Zhao Ke put on a curious expression, walked forward and fiddled with their drums, calling out warmly to the uncles and grandpas. Before he had even finished drinking a bowl of porridge, he was already familiar with several people. "Uncle, this year's harvest is not bad, are you living a good life?"

  "Alas, young master, you don't know that although this year's harvest is good, the previous years were plagued by locusts and poor yields. We had to borrow to get by, but this year's grain isn't even enough to repay our debts! We have no choice but to come out and beg with thickened skin, otherwise we won't make it through the new year!" The old man sighed and said.

  "Yes, the harvest was good, but the taxes collected were also 30% more than last year. I had to sell my cow just to barely pay the husband's money and miscellaneous expenses. I don't know what to do when spring comes!" Another man said with a shake of his head while drinking porridge.

  "See the joy, give each two liters of white rice, one mace of copper coins (one hundred cents)!" Zhao said, from their life now his father has developed from small fights and sneaky moves to being reckless and unscrupulous, resulting in a financial deficit, having to start using Cai Jing's tax increase.

  "Thank you, young master, thank you, young master," several night watchmen who had received the things kept thanking him.

  "This isn't Young Master, it's our family's master!" Doorson reminded.

  "Ah?" Several people were surprised that the master of this house was so young, "Although the old man is young, he has a Bodhisattva heart, and will surely hold high office, ride a fine horse, and have no illness or disaster for his whole life!" They immediately changed their tune, and praised him to the skies.

  "What kind of Bodhisattva's heart is this, we've been standing for half a day and not a single cent has been given to us, but they sing a few lines and are given rice and money. The porridge smells more fragrant than the one in our own temple." The monks couldn't help but mutter under their breath, with anger in their hearts, the chanting immediately increased by two hundred decibels, and the wooden fish was struck even louder.

  "Second Master, did you also give that monk some money to get rid of him? So as not to bother us at our doorstep." Xian asked in a low voice.

  "What's the point of giving it to them? It doesn't cost money and you can listen to scriptures, which is great for blessings and disaster relief!" Zhao Ye rolled his eyes and said. Seeing that Xi Wang had made up his mind not to give in, he didn't bother to say more and just treated it as a lively scene.

  Within a radius of over ten miles, there were not many wealthy families willing to give out money and rice. As soon as the news spread that the Zhao family was giving away money and rice, the beggars swarmed in, one group leaving as another arrived, an endless stream. Zhao gave each person two sheng of rice and a large coin, enough for the Laba congee. Later, when more people came, he had the kitchen set up two large pots at the gate to cook congee, but still ignored those few monks.

  These monks really have stamina, you don't give money I won't leave, and you dare to be disrespectful to Buddha in front of everyone. However, they recited scriptures with dry mouths and tongues, their lips were worn out, their hands were numb from knocking, and their feet were frozen and numb. Zhao just stood there, ignoring them and pretending not to see or hear, letting them continue their antics.

  The Zhao family had a large population, and everything they used had to be purchased from outside. Gradually, a small market formed in front of their gate. After the morning watch, the weather warmed up a bit, and people from nearby villages who did business or shopped came out one after another. The crowd grew slowly, with constant sounds of gongs and drums, and onlookers gathered around to join in the excitement, taking advantage of the opportunity to grab a bowl of congee to drink.

  "I'm telling you guys, the master doesn't want to see you, hurry up and leave, don't lose face here!" A guy who had just finished drinking porridge burped loudly, wiped his mouth, and said this in front of the monks.

  "Alright, alright, just give it and leave!"

  "Alas, people's hearts are no longer ancient, even monks think about money now!"

  "Just give them some money and forget it, why bother arguing with them!"

  People were talking about it, some said Zhao and his friends were stingy and didn't want to spend a few dollars, while others said the monks were greedy, and for a time, they made a big fuss.

  "Hey young man, don't bother with those monks anymore. They've been standing there for half a day too. Just give them some money and consider it a good deed!" an old lady chimed in.

  "We've already given you five liters of rice, and now you're asking for money? If we don't give it to you, you'll block the door and refuse to leave. What kind of nonsense is this? You're clearly trying to cheat us!" Xianji hastily explained.

  "That's enough from you all! Someone has given it to us, so let's go. Why block the door?" The old lady advised several monks.

  "Amitabha Buddha, the Buddha's mercy is boundless. This family is obstinate and unenlightened, they will surely suffer heavenly punishment. We are here to save them!" The monk holding the Buddha statue declared loudly, he and his group of beggars had been waiting for a long time, their stomachs were growling with hunger, but no one paid attention to them, he was at a loss, now that he finally found someone to talk to, he couldn't hold back and spoke out.

  "What are you talking about? Who is cursed by heaven, you few bald donkeys courting death!" Xian Xi knew that the king had left the palace because he was called a monster, and this monk's words hit their sore spot. How could he not be angry, jumping out to scold him.

  "You don't believe in Buddha and disrespect him, you will go to Avici Hell and never be reborn!" The monk also refused to show weakness, staring with his eyes and saying.

  "Ah, still giving us a hard time!" Seeing Xi and the monk speaking more and more offensively, he jumped up in anger, "Pan Long, Xue Feng, get these bald donkeys out of here for me!" He shouted towards the inside of the door.

  As soon as the joyful voices had just fallen, two burly men with menacing auras walked out of the mansion, "Who dares to make trouble here? I'll beat him to death!" Pan Long's face was ferocious, his eyes wide open and bellowing loudly. His roar suppressed everyone's voice, and the entrance immediately cleared up.

  "These few monks have come to our house and still dare to insult Second Master!" Jian Xi pointed at the monks and said.

  "How dare you scold the Second Master, are you tired of living!" Pan Long and his men had been treated to good wine and food every day since they arrived at the mansion, but they hadn't been used yet. The two of them had been holding back their strength, itching for a fight. As soon as they came out, the monks were already scared stiff, not expecting that earlier they had chosen not to bother with them, not because they couldn't afford to provoke them. Now it was too late to regret, and all they could do was close their eyes and wait for the beating.

  "Stop it! What are you doing fighting with a few monks?" Zhao arrived just in time and hastily stopped them.

  "They dare scold Second Master, they're just asking for a beating!" Xue Feng said with a loud and clear voice.

  "Alas, a dog bites a man, can we bite back?" Zhao Yan said, waving the spoon for scooping porridge.

  "Haha, Second Master is right, let's give them a break today!" Pan Long laughed and retreated behind him. The people around saw that the little kid was interesting and also burst out laughing. Several monks were furious, but the two strong men didn't dare to make a move.

  "Alas, you said what's wrong with your profession, must become a monk, can't even marry a wife, now that you've become one, just be one, but don't learn badly, not eating vegetarian food in the temple and reciting Buddhist scriptures, you're learning from those rascals to eat for free!"

  "Benefactor, we are here to cultivate good karma and save all sentient beings. How can that be considered reckless?" A monk, seeing Zhao's calm demeanor, plucked up the courage to reason with him.