On the way through the temple to Master Tongrong's meditation room, Lu Mingran had already gone through the general plot of this world.
The author of "The Mountain Village Teacher" said that he chose the title for two reasons: first, it was a homophone for "The Mountain Village Corpse," which he intended to kindly remind people of their childhood psychological traumas; second, he was indeed telling the story of what happened when he was a teacher in a mountain village in the first person.
Unfortunately, the good village teacher got on a bad track and turned, and the main storyline fell apart as soon as he joined some supernatural department.
Lu Mingran intervened a bit late. What he needs to do now is to pull the male lead back from the small boat, and his starting point is that rich businessman with gold teeth who keeps saying "Hey ho ho".
Master Tongrong had been following Boss Zhang, and Lu Mingran was Master Tongrong's most valued disciple.
The sound of the wooden fish grew closer. Lu Mingran entered the meditation room and saw that although the master was striking the wooden fish, his mind was clearly no longer on the Buddhist scriptures, and his eyes were staring blankly at the Buddha statue in front of him.
"Mingran, I know that I have committed many sins in my life."
The master spoke, his voice hoarse beyond recognition, and after he finished speaking, he remained silent for a long time.
Lu Mingran sensed something was wrong and hurried over while calling out to her master, her heart pounding with alarm.
My master... passed away, amidst the midday temple bells.
Three days later, a luxury car pulled up in front of the temple.
Under the silent but complex gazes of the monks, Lu Mingran, clutching the string of prayer beads his master had left him, walked out of the meditation room and stepped over the threshold.
"Amitabha."
He murmured a Buddhist chant.
The bodyguard standing in front of the car door twitched at the corner of his mouth, thinking to himself that these monks were the ones he hated and couldn't stand the most.
But his boss liked it very much, rolled down the car window and waved to the monk.
"Master Mingran, Thunder Monkey!"
Upon hearing this, Master Mingran slowly raised his face, his eyes clear and cold like a spring.
He parted his lips slightly and said:
"Mr. Zhang, this isn't the 1990s anymore, and you're here to do business..."
Master Mingran said sincerely:
"Please speak Mandarin."
Author's Note: There will be another update at 11 PM tonight!
Chapter 43 Want to get on the small boat? No way (2)
Fortunately, communication was not a problem. As a typical wealthy southern businessman often seen in supernatural novels, Mr. Zhang often said things like "Hey ho ho" and "Hey hey hey".
As for anything else? Other Cantonese authors wouldn't know; he himself only knows a few lines.
Lu Mingran sat in the car, listening to Boss Zhang ramble on. He mentioned that he was going on vacation, and then the conversation drifted to his business and his new car. Lu Mingran tried hard to sort out what he was saying in her mind and finally managed to make sense of it.
After Master Yuanrong died, Lu Mingran had to take over as his master and follow him. Meanwhile, Boss Zhang was going on vacation with his children to a comfortable and pleasant villa in the mountains.
On the surface, that's how it is, but in reality, it's to avoid attacks from the living and the debts he owes in the underworld.
Lu Mingran will take care of the debts in the underworld. His bundle contains bottles and jars left by his master. If he is not careful, the things inside could take Boss Zhang's life.
As for the debts of the living, it's even easier to explain. Boss Zhang hired bodyguards specifically to deal with anyone who wanted to take action.
As for the reporters who came to interview him, Mr. Zhang arranged for a psychological counselor to tell the public that he suffered from depression, was as fragile as a delicate flower, and was licking his wounds and should not be disturbed.
"I hired a really good psychologist this time. He showed me so many certificates, but I'm a rough person and can't understand them."
Mr. Zhang was clearly very satisfied with this psychologist and even showed Lu Mingran the man's photo.
"It's him, Lin Jiansheng."
This is a work photo. In the picture, Lin Jiansheng is wearing a white coat and talking to a patient from the side.
Lu Mingran knew Lin Jiansheng's true identity, and even as someone unaware of the truth, he could see the problem with the photo.
This looks so staged! Everything in the photo looks brand new, like it's never been used, and everyone has a happy and satisfied smile on their face. It looks so weird.
But Mr. Zhang was fooled and was even looking forward to Lin Jiansheng's arrival.
Sigh, Lin Jiansheng came here to make you pay off your debts.
Lu Mingran turned her head to look at the scenery outside the window, but just then, Boss Zhang smiled brightly while looking at his phone, revealing his gold teeth that reflected the sunlight, almost blinding Lu Mingran.
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Therefore, the first step in reforming wealthy businessmen was to replace their teeth.
The system instructed him to help the wealthy businessman reform himself, repay his debts, and shed the typical characteristics of a wealthy businessman from ghost stories, so that Lin Jiansheng would have nowhere to turn and would eventually return to teaching—the system said everything was arranged, and Lin Jiansheng would become an excellent teacher in the future.
Now Lu Mingran has her eye on the gold teeth of wealthy businessmen. Almost every nouveau riche has a gold tooth and a gold chain. These notions are outdated and seriously damage Lu Mingran's eyesight.
As the car drove halfway up the mountain, Mr. Zhang praised the beautiful scenery of green hills and clear waters, then pointed somewhat wistfully to a small stream:
“Your master saved me from being covered in blood right here. When I woke up, he kept shaking his head, saying that he dreamed last night that there was a giant python in the stream, which was a very bad omen. But your master was compassionate and still saved me.”
He was probably truly saddened by his master's passing.
Lu Mingran tried hard to make himself look like a monk:
"Master said that everything has its own destiny."
"Hahahaha, yes, yes."
Mr. Zhang, unusually, spaced out for a moment, but when he came to his senses, he was still all smiles. He glanced at a farmhouse restaurant that appeared outside and said, "We're actually hungry, why don't we all have a simple meal here?"
Before going inside, Lu Mingran looked at the green picture of a girl carrying a bamboo basket on the outer wall and thought that this place was just for cooking wild vegetables for rich people to enjoy. He couldn't eat meat, and neither could anyone else, so it was fair.
But damn it, why are they selling roasted chicken, roasted duck, roasted lamb... all kinds of roasted meat here!
Seeing Lu Mingran's expression change, Boss Zhang realized what was happening and slapped the bodyguard across the face. The bodyguard didn't budge, and Boss Zhang almost fell to the ground.
"How did you choose this location? How could you let the young master see all this?"
After calming down, Mr. Zhang pointed to the next room and said apologetically:
"Little master, there's a wild vegetable stall next door. Why don't you go over there and we'll go this way?"
Lu Mingran: "..." No one knows how he endured his longing for chicken legs in the nights after coming to this world.
That day, the system saw how pitiful he was and said, "You can eat it. I won't let anyone else find out." But Lu Mingran thought about it and said, "Even if you don't believe in Buddha, you should still respect him."
At this moment, Lu Mingran was still playing his role professionally. After saying "sin" a few times, he turned around and went to the next room. He was very resolute, and no one could tell how much he missed the barbecue.
The shop next door did indeed sell wild vegetables. When the owner saw that he was a monk, he respectfully invited him to sit in a clean corner inside the house. From there, one could see several slender bamboo stalks outside, which was quite pleasant.
Lu Mingran didn't notice that a little girl who passed by the house saw him and then stopped in her tracks, staring at him for a long time.
After a while, a little girl came up to Lu Mingran with a bowl of white porridge. She had a pretty silver ring around her neck. Lu Mingran thanked her and took the bowl.
"Hey, little master, wait a minute."
The little girl suddenly stood up, turned around and went into the house to bring back a small bowl, then scooped a mouthful of pickled vegetables into Lu Mingran's bowl.
After doing all that, the little girl didn't say a word. Suddenly, a blush appeared on her face, and she turned around, picked up the small bowl, and ran away quickly.
Soon, a few scattered words, barely audible, came from the next room:
"Did you really give him the pickled vegetables you made yourself?"
"Tsk, you've seen little monks in these mountains before, why are you so fond of them?"
“It’s different,” came the little girl’s voice, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes as she spoke. “He, he’s handsome.”
"Ha, look at her, her face is red, so red!"
The girls pinched each other, laughing and joking in a chaotic mess. Lu Mingran could only pretend not to hear them at all, slowly drinking her porridge and eating her pickled vegetables, one spoonful at a time.
"Sigh, Lu Mingran..."
At this moment, the system exclaimed, "The term 'demon monk' perfectly describes you."
Lu Mingran silently touched her head.
Whether he's a demonic monk or not is another matter; he wants his hair.
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The vacation doesn't start until next week, so in the evening Lu Mingran went to Boss Zhang's villa in the city first.
Mr. Zhang really can eat a lot. Even after returning home, he still wants to eat fruit. Looking at his belly, Lu Mingran planned the second step: losing weight.
“Benefactor,” Lu Mingran began cautiously, “did you find the food tasteless and your teeth uncomfortable while eating today?”
He looked at Mr. Zhang's teeth with a pained expression: "This is because you are too greedy. But I have a solution. You can replace your gold teeth with porcelain veneers."
"By the way, I know a really good dentist. Would you like me to introduce you?"
System: "Hey, when did you meet the dentist?"
"So you have to help me find one, and I want a commission."
System: "...After meeting the wealthy businessman, did your get-rich-quick dreams start to surface?"
This was the first time Mr. Zhang had been advised to get his teeth replaced. He was taken aback for a moment, and just as he was about to say something, the nanny ran over:
"Mr. Lin has arrived."
Mr. Lin? Which Mr. Lin?
Lin Jiansheng.
The door on the first floor slowly opened. Lu Mingran followed Boss Zhang downstairs and saw a bespectacled, refined-looking man walk slowly into the house, standing there somewhat reservedly.
Upon seeing him, Mr. Zhang practically pounced on him in an instant: "Oh, Dr. Lin, I've been having trouble sleeping lately, and I've been looking forward to your visit."
That could also be because you ate too much.
Lu Mingran was thinking of a second reason for him in her mind, while noticing that Lin Jiansheng's gaze had passed over Boss Zhang's shoulder and landed on him.
Lu Mingran wasn't too surprised. In the novel, Lin Jiansheng had the same reaction when he first met Master Rongtong's disciple. Surprise was normal.
Lu Mingran also looked back, revealing an envious look: Lin Jiansheng has so much hair, I really want to touch it.
After the handshake was over, Lin Jiansheng followed Boss Zhang to the study to examine him and prescribe medicine. Boss Zhang lamented that his life had become so miserable that he had nothing but money. Lin Jiansheng, with his excellent manners, listened with a smile.
Half an hour later, the two of them came out. Boss Zhang looked at the sky outside and saw that it was about to rain, and smiled: