After returning to Mt. One Finger, Fangzheng and Red Boy suffered from insomnia.
Red Boy missed home. He sprawled on the roof and looked at the stars in the sky, mumbling something … Squirrel squatted by the side and looked up in a daze.
Fangzheng lay in his meditation room and looked at the ceiling. He recalled the scene he saw when he first struck the drum. Parents … He had them too. But where were they? Were they sad when they let him go? It had been so many years. Did they miss him? Probably not. Otherwise, they would have come to visit him.
With this in mind, Fangzheng's heart winced. He subconsciously took out a photo. It was a photo of Zen Master One Finger. The old monk's smile was very benevolent. In the photo, Zen Master One Finger's face didn't have as many wrinkles as he did later on. His eyebrows were black, and he looked very good-looking when he smiled.
Unknowingly, Fangzheng fell asleep while hugging Zen Master One Finger's photo.
An uneventful night passed.
The next day, the bell and drum sounded in unison. From One Finger Village to Songwu County, everyone got out of bed when they heard the sound. They went to work or did manual labor. This had already become a habit for everyone.
After striking the bell and drum, they returned to the yard, closed the door, and cleaned the temple hall. Before the temple hall was cleaned, the monastery wasn't open to the public. This was also Fangzheng's rule. After Fangzheng finished cleaning the monastery and had breakfast, he was stunned when he pushed open the monastery's door!
He saw a man standing at the door. He had an imposing appearance, and he exuded a dignified aura. Clearly, he was someone who had been in a high position for a long time. He was either rich or noble.
Before Fangzheng could greet him, the man's dignified face revealed a smile. He said with a smile, "Abbot Fangzheng, it's really difficult to meet you. Let me introduce myself. My name is Qi Dongsheng. I'm temporarily the county magistrate of Songwu County. "
Fangzheng was taken aback. Man, didn't this county magistrate sleep in? How much of a grudge did he have to have come to block the door so early? He shot a glance at Qi Dongsheng. His hands were empty. He didn't bring any weapons, nor were there any armed policemen behind him. From the looks of it, he wasn't here to cause trouble.
Fangzheng pressed his palms together. "Amitabha. So it's Patron Qi. Greetings."
Although he was the county magistrate, Fangzheng was a layman. He didn't care what they looked like. As for greeting, he would greet everyone.
County Head Qi clearly didn't care about this. He greeted Red Boy, who had just come out of the backyard, and said, "Abbot Fangzheng, do you have time to take a walk?"
Fangzheng thought about it and said, "Then let's go."
One Finger Monastery was too small. It wasn't big enough for the two of them. Therefore, the two of them walked on the mountain peak through the morning fog. It looked like they were walking on clouds, and from afar, they looked like immortals descending to the mortal world.
"Abbot Fangzheng, as the ancient saying goes, visit the thatched cottage three times. I've come to One Finger Monastery thrice," said County Head Qi with a smile.
Fangzheng said, "A monk doesn't lie. Patron, This Penniless Monk was in the monastery the two times you came. This Penniless Monk just did not come out to meet you."
"Uh …" County Head Qi was taken aback. After being in politics for so many years, most of the people he saw hid their tears behind their smiles. In front of others, they would at least smile and say nice things. He had never seen someone like this. The moment she opened her mouth, she said, "I'll be right behind you, but I won't see you. So what?"
County Head Qi said with a bitter smile, "Abbot sure is straightforward."
Fangzheng shook his head and said, "That's not it. This Penniless Monk just doesn't wish to lie. It's easy to be struck by lightning. Besides, there's no need to beat around the bush about what we're talking about today. Patron, you wish to develop Mt. One Finger into a tourist attraction to attract tourists, right? "
County Head Qi was taken aback. This monk sure was humorous. Struck by lightning? Heh heh … County Head Qi nodded and said, "In that case, I won't hide it. I'll just say it directly. To be honest, our Songwu County is too poor. It can be said that we don't have anything we want, but we have everything we don't want. We don't have any of the scenic spots or industrial heritage that we want. There are poor people everywhere who don't want them. In such a situation, if we don't think of a way to resolve it, we can only continue like this. I'm not saying that it's for the country and the people, but even if it's for my own political achievements, I want to take advantage of my youth to advance further and do something. I've been in Songwu County for two months. In these two months, I've visited all the villages and towns in Songwu County. Some places are indeed not bad and have scenery that has potential to be developed. Unfortunately, it's not complete! Furthermore, the infrastructure is far inferior to Mt. One Finger. The development costs are too high. "
Fangzheng didn't say a word as he continued listening. This was the first time he had heard a high-ranking official like the county head say such straightforward words. Perhaps to many people, the county head was just a small official, but as an ordinary commoner who lived in the county, the county head was really a high-ranking official! At the very least, the county head's words were still very effective in the matters of this land.
Following that, County Head Qi recounted the situation of the nearby Hongyan Village, Snow Village, and other villages in detail. This gave Fangzheng a fright. He had grown up in this area, so it could be said that he knew many places and villages very well. It was precisely because of this that County Head Qi's words left him even more shocked! This was because what County Head Qi said wasn't general, but detailed information about the various villages! Things as big as the area of arable land, crop production, and the height of the mountain peaks could be accurately stated, as small as which village had a relative number of elites or large agricultural families.
From this, it could be seen that County Head Qi hadn't been bragging previously. Although he didn't know Songwu County like the back of his hand, he knew most of it.
This was the first time Fangzheng was seeing a county head who put in so much effort in this area. He had to admit that this fellow really wanted to do something practical. However, here came the problem. Was Mt. One Finger really suitable for tourism?
Therefore, Fangzheng asked this question.
In the end, this question seemed to be the key to County Head Qi's chatterbox. He analyzed it for Fangzheng from all angles. The final result was that although it wasn't the best or most ideal, from the looks of it, there was indeed something to be done here! Furthermore, doing so was a win-win situation for the monastery and Songwu County. County Head Qi was in charge of sending people out to do publicity. They wouldn't charge a single cent for the incense offerings from the tourists. They wouldn't even charge entrance fees for going up the mountain!
When Fangzheng heard that, he asked suspiciously, "No entrance fees? Then what does the government earn? "
County Head Qi laughed out loud and said, "When tourists come, they have to eat, drink, and sleep, right? They have to bring some souvenirs when they leave, right? Isn't this money? The commoners earn money, and we collect taxes. Isn't this a win-win situation? As for the maintenance of the monastery, I've already discussed it with Secretary Liu. We will apply for special funds for One Finger Monastery's repairs. And these funds also include the cost of repairing the mountain path. This way, your scenic spot basically doesn't need the local government to pay for it, and it can still boost the economy. Of course, if Mt. One Finger becomes a major scenic spot in the future, we don't mind collecting entrance fees. "
Fangzheng looked at the smiling County Head Qi and asked, "Patron Qi, as you can see, This Penniless Monk's mountain probably can't accommodate many people. Furthermore, the mountain path is steep and narrow. When it rains or snows, it'll be dangerous if there are too many people. Are you sure you want to make this place big? "
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