Chapter 263: Master Chunyi Doesn’t Like Candy
Niuniu grabbed Gu Nan's sleeve and asked, "Sister, can you take me with you?"
"If I were a monk like Master Chunyi, I could certainly take you away, but I'm not. Going with me would only harm you."
Gu Nanxu hugged her and said, "Don't be afraid. Someone will come up the mountain to take care of you soon. After the discussion, take your sister and Master Hui Fafa back to Fayuan Temple. I will come to find you."
Niu Niu was scared and didn't want Gu Nan to leave, but she was just picked up by Gu Nan and didn't have the confidence to ask again.
She looked at Gu Nan pleadingly, her eyes full of tears.
Gu Nan opened the candy jar and fed her a candy. "This candy is for you. Eat one every day. When you finish the candy, I will be back."
It was Niuniu's first time eating candy, but the sweet taste did not dispel the anxiety in her heart, "When will my sister come back?"
"Before the winter solstice, I'll bring you a gift." Gu Nan changed the subject, "What gift does Niuniu want?"
Niu Niu held the heavy candy jar and shook her head with tears in her eyes.
"Then let's build a snowman together. My snowman is the best looking." Gu Nan wiped her tears away. "Don't cry. I won't abandon you."
Niu Niu threw herself into her arms, and the candies in the jar made a clanging sound.
The novice monk who went down the mountain to look for someone finally came back, and with him came a weathered middle-aged woman. Her thin clothes were so patched that the original color was almost invisible. When she saw Gu Nan, she knelt down and kowtowed without saying a word, begging her to stay.
Fortunately, Gu Nan acted quickly and supported her.
The woman was frightened by this move, and followed Gu Nan to meet the two children in a daze. She picked up the palm-leaf fan and went to the small kitchen to cook porridge and boil medicine.
Gu Nan watched her for a while and saw that she was diligent and conscientious, so he told her what she had to do in daily life and gave her the change left after buying things.
At the end of the Shen period, the Dharma Assembly ended and the monks of Fajue Temple returned to the guest house. Gu Nan transformed himself into a boy distributing money and scattered candies everywhere.
De Zhao took a bite of cake and a mouthful of candy, unable to speak a word while eating, and kept making "hmm" sounds like a donkey.
The older monks could still resist the temptation and just tasted it briefly, but a few novices who had not yet received full ordination stared eagerly at the sugar jar and oil-paper bag in Gu Nan's hand, pushing and shoving each other, wanting to be the lucky one to be fed next.
Gu Nan: "Why are you in such a hurry? You've all eaten it. What will Master Huifafa and Master Chunyi eat?"
De Zhao: "Master and Master Chunyi don't like sweets."
The young monks echoed one after another, and their green-skinned salted egg heads rose and fell one after another, like a group of ducks taking a bath in the water.
Gu Nan held the candy jar and curled her eyes. If only Chunyi was as cute and easy to coax as them, her work enthusiasm would definitely increase exponentially.
Gu Nan sent another round, and Hui Wu came back.
Gu Nan sent out a bag of pastries under the pretext of going to listen to the Dharma with his companions.
The Zen school emphasizes abandoning delusion and returning to the truth, and following fate. Gu Nan had a connection with Buddhism and had merits, so Hui Wu accepted it without much hesitation and thanked her kindly.
Then, under the eager gaze of his disciples, he opened the oil-paper package and shared the cakes with everyone.
The young monks were very satisfied with the meal and knew that the remaining packet was for Chunyi, so they tactfully dispersed and went about their own business.
The evening bell rang, and the monks went to the dining hall to eat together. Junyi, who had been missing for a long time, arrived late.
He carried a wooden bucket and walked into the small kitchen without looking around. He put firewood into the empty pit and ignited the fire in the stove that had not yet completely gone out.
After a while, the aroma of oil filled the air, and something was put into the pot, frying with a sizzling sound.
Gu Nan walked over and looked into the pot. He saw several gutted small fish being completely wrapped in hot oil, giving them the most terrifying massage in his life.
Chunyi carefully removed the scales before frying, so the fish skin became crispy, slightly puffed up, and glowed with golden oil.
Gu Nan couldn't control his saliva for a moment, "Is this made for me?"
Junyi squatted in front of the stove, and with a slight bend of his big hand, a wooden stick three fingers thick broke into two pieces. He knelt on one knee, tilted his head slightly and put the firewood into the fire pit, his face cold and his expression dignified.
The hem of the monk's robe rubbed against the gray ground as he moved, and the cuffs were slightly darker in color, as if they had been accidentally wetted while fishing.
A string of Buddhist beads was wrapped around his strong wrist. It was very long and was wound several times. The glistening beads reflected the dancing flames, presenting a completely different kind of warmth.
Gu Nan looked at the Buddhist beads, and suddenly seemed to feel a little hidden passion hidden beneath the cold and hard stone heart.
"Why don't you say anything? Are you too embarrassed to admit it?" Gu Nan lifted the corner of his robe and brushed off the dust.
Junyi moved forward and pulled the piece of clothes back from Gu Nan's hand.
Gu Nan muttered "awkward" and took the firewood he was about to put into the stove. "I'll light the fire, you concentrate on cooking the fish."
Junyi stood up and flipped the golden fried little spirit fish.
"You must make it delicious." Gu Nan said worriedly, "Your cooking skills are definitely good, but you're not putting your heart into it. The dishes you make are getting worse and worse."
Junyi had built a good structure for the firewood in the stove, so it burned brightly without much effort.
Gu Nan suddenly remembered a very important point, "You are a monk, killing fish is killing life, isn't it a violation of the precepts?"
"It's a violation of the precepts." Junyi said.
He didn't look at Gu Nan, but Gu Nan seemed to see a hint of murderous impatience in his deep, dark eyes.
Gu Nan: "What should we do then?"
Junyi: "Accept the punishment according to the precepts."
Gu Nan: “…”
Help me, brother, why are you so naive?
Since you knew that you would be punished for breaking the rules, couldn't you just run a few more steps down the mountain to buy a dead fish from the market, or negotiate and buy some other slaughtered meat?
She is not someone who acts unreasonably. Who does Junyi want to make feel guilty by doing this?
Gu Nan: "Why don't you look for three-clean meat?"
The three pure meats refer to the meat of animals that have not been seen, heard, or suspected of having died because of them. Some monks can eat the three pure meats because the three pure meats do not enter the cycle of cause and effect related to monks and are harmless to their practice.
Junyi didn't say anything.
So Gu Nan didn't say anything either.
Anyway, it wasn't her who broke the rules, so it was Junyi who was punished, not her.
When the fish was half cooked, Gu Nan smelled the fragrance and knew that he was going to have a delicious meal today.
No chili peppers, no perilla, no coriander, just a little sesame oil and a little vinegar, and an authentic "boiled fish" is ready.
The little spirit fish looks pitch black in the water, but it looks very cute in the bowl, with golden skin and even its head is crispy and delicious.
Gu Nan ate them one by one and was so moved that he almost cried.
She said, how could the male protagonist’s cooking skills not be maxed out.
There are no male protagonists who are bad at cooking, only lazy and careless scumbags.
Gu Nan took out the remaining cakes from his pocket and handed them to Chunyi, "Here, I saved some for you."
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