"Kunshan..." Zhao Hao almost tripped over the threshold when he heard this, and could hardly believe his ears.

"Why are you going to such a poor place? Don't monks go wherever there is money?"

"All things in the universe are active and inactive. When matter and mind arise, they support each other, are mutually inclusive, and are harmonious and unobstructed."

Master Xuelang chanted the Buddha's name solemnly, then said with a smile: "Besides, as long as Mr. Zhao is here, why should we worry about money?"

"Hehe..." Zhao Hao suddenly felt like he was being watched, fearing that the monk would ask for donations from him the next moment.

As the leader of science, I will not do anything unscientific and I will not donate a penny.

In fact, it mainly depends on the rate of return...

But Xuelang had no intention of soliciting donations from him at this moment. It didn't make sense to waste personal affection for public affairs.

The master then took Zhao Hao into the Arhat Hall.

In the Arhat Hall, five hundred golden Arhats are lined up on a horizontal platform in various postures, each one vivid and lifelike.

Even Mr. Zhao couldn't help but sigh, he's so damn rich...

Xuelang led him to the innermost row, put his hands together, and worshiped a Luohan statue that was obviously more golden than the other statues. He said, "Donor Zhao, please take a closer look."

"..." Zhao Hao saw that the arhat looked about fourteen or fifteen years old. He had two buns on his head, a smile on his face, and was wearing earrings, a necklace and other accessories. His hands were holding a treasure bowl in front of his chest, and his feet were standing side by side on the lotus seat.

But why does this little boy look so much like me?

"Are you satisfied, Mr. Zhao?" Xuelang asked with a smile, seeking credit.

"Haha, what a coincidence..." Zhao Hao pointed at himself, then at the Arhat. He thought this fundraising method was quite novel.

"Hey, Master Zhao, have you forgotten?" Xuelang was hurt when he heard this and said, "Is this the golden arhat that I promised you?"

"Oh, oh..." Master Zhao patted his forehead in sudden realization.

I remember now, this is what happened. Oh, my memory is really bad, it's hard to describe...

"I thought you were joking, but you were serious." Young Master Zhao laughed dryly to cover up the incident.

"Monks do not tell lies." Xuelang clasped his hands together.

"But you are from the Huayan Sect..."

"The prototype of Mr. Zhao's golden body is the boy Sudhana in my Avatamsaka Sutra." Xuelang seemed not to hear his complaints and continued to talk to himself:

"From the time the boy was conceived to the time he was born, within ten months, seven great treasures emerged from the ground in his home every day, and gradually seven treasure pavilions appeared. Five hundred treasure vessels naturally grew in the pavilions, and each treasure vessel was filled with various treasures. Therefore, he was named Shancai. Shancai means good at producing treasures."

"However, he devoutly learned from Manjusri Bodhisattva, made a great vow to become a Buddha, used his wealth to relieve the suffering of sentient beings, built countless temples for Buddhism, and finally achieved the status of a Bodhisattva."

Zhao Hao thought to himself, this guy has proven his ability with money.

Xuelang looked at Zhao Hao with a smile, and said with hope:

"Donor Zhao, I wish you could learn the great deeds of the Bodhisattva like the boy Shancai and achieve the status of a Bodhisattva... Then you won't have to stay in the Arhat Hall anymore and can enter the palace to receive more incense."

Zhao Hao sneered and said, "It seems that you are short of money again."

"Haha, Mr. Zhao is indeed my bosom friend." Xuelang said with a gratified smile, "But not now, I will wait until we get to Kunshan. I heard that Huiju Temple has been in disrepair for many years, and the main hall was washed away by the flood two years ago. I have already collected 20,000 taels. If there is still a shortfall, please donate generously..."

Zhao Hao opened his mouth slightly. It turned out that this monk wanted to bring money into the group... Oh no, into the temple.

"Is it appropriate for you to use the incense of Da Baoen Temple to worship the Buddha of Huiju Temple?" Zhao Hao couldn't help asking when he came out of the Arhat Hall.

“Isn’t Huiju Temple dedicated to the Buddha? They are all Buddha’s temples, is it necessary to distinguish them so clearly?” Xuelang’s eyes widened and he said as if it was a matter of course: “Repairing Huiju Temple will allow more believers to worship the Buddha. This is a great thing to promote Buddhism.”

"Uh..." Zhao Hao touched his chin, feeling that what he said made a lot of sense and he couldn't refute it.

~~

Weng Hall.

The huge bathtub was filled with white mist.

Several bathers covered their vital parts with a cotton towel and lay on the white porcelain edge of the pool, snoring.

Zhao Shouzheng, Xu Wei and Wu Cheng'en were all soaking in the pool, and the scalding soup made them look like three cooked prawns.

Xu Wei was holding a bowl of wontons with a fried egg and eating it happily.

Zhao Shouzheng was chatting with Wu Chengen, and they talked about the two philosophies of Zhang Zhixian and Hai Rui.

Wu Cheng'en smiled and said to Zhao Shouzheng, "Boss, there is no need to worry about this. The latter requirement is too high. It is unrealistic for you to copy it as it is your first time to be an official. In my humble opinion, you should focus on the former and supplement it with the latter. When you understand how to be an official in the future, it will not be too late to practice the latter."

"Don't learn from him in the future." Xu Wei wiped the soup from his mouth, burped, put down the porcelain bowl and said, "If you control yourself so strictly, what's the fun of being an official? You might as well go home and live a life of luxury."

"Haha..." Zhao Shouzheng gave Xu Wei a thumbs up in his heart.

He read Hai Rui's rules carefully last night and couldn't sleep as a result... It was simply torturing himself to death. How could Master Zhao, who was used to a life of luxury, endure this?

"What do you think, Mr. Qingteng?" He looked at Xu Wei eagerly.

"Well, since we get along well, I will teach you the true meaning of being an official." Xu Wenchang raised a finger and said, "When you are an official, you must do one or two eye-catching things!

"No matter how many trivial things you do and how much effort you put in, they are not worth mentioning in the end. When your superiors evaluate your performance at the end of the year, you are too embarrassed to report those trivial matters. And there is nothing worth reporting. As a result, the evaluation comments every year are just mediocre, and naturally there is no hope of promotion."

"Of course, the boss has money and connections, so promotion is a piece of cake." Xu Wei glanced at Zhao Shouzheng and chuckled, "But the boss certainly doesn't want people to say that he bought his way to the top with connections and money, right?"

Zhao Shouzheng nodded and thought to himself, it’s okay, I don’t really care what others say.

"So we have to do something big!" Xu Wei clenched his fist and said, "I'll keep an eye on you when we get to Kunshan to see if you can do something big!"

"And the most important thing is not to get involved in factional struggles... Of course, you are only a county magistrate now, so it's a little early to say this."

"It's just a county, it will be fine if we do something casually, there's no need to be so nervous." Xu Wei stood out of the water with a splash, water dripping all over his body. "Waiter, give me a bath!"

"Sir, please come in!" The bathhouse worker, who was only wearing calf-nose shorts, supported the naked Fatty Xu and walked towards the bathhouse.

After he left, Wu Cheng'en smiled and shook his head, saying, "Boss, don't look at him like this. In fact, he has been helping his elders in the government office since he was a teenager. He won't cause any trouble for you."

"Xu Wenchang is a man of great talent, but he is embarrassed to be in my small temple." Zhao Shouzheng said softly, "Seeing you two quarreling, I didn't expect that you have such a good relationship."

"Alas, authors and readers, they are both connected even if their bones are broken." Wu Chengen said with a bitter smile, "If I hadn't relied on his paintings to support me these two years, would I have been able to afford to live in a small cell and have a good meal every day? I would have long ago gone to a large cell to eat bran and vegetables, let alone write Journey to the West."

"It's true that there is no gentleman who doesn't support artists." Zhao Shouzheng couldn't help but sigh: "It's always like this."

P.S. I was so moved by everyone's comments yesterday. What good readers are you? You support my family with your genuine subscriptions and care about my health. I will write books for you all my life and never think twice.