For some reason, I always had a strange feeling about this man and woman who came up the mountain to worship Buddha.
The man seemed to indulge his wife's behavior completely.
Even when she almost openly showed affection to Si Jiangchen, the man didn't seem to care.
... Wasn't he worried that his wife would cuckold him?
I couldn't help but re - examine the relationship between the two.
Since the woman openly came with the fat man to worship Buddha and bossed him around for money so imperiously, she really seemed to be his legitimate wife, not just some ordinary mistress...
The fat man also heard the conversation between his wife and me. Thinking that we were just ordinary workers in Beijing, he chattered on and on, showing off his wealth and connections to Si Jiangchen.
"Hey, look up there!"
The fat man saw from afar that the gate of the Hongluo Temple on the mountaintop was wide open, and three or four high - ranking lamas in red robes and caps were waiting outside the threshold. Pointing at the monks who were looking towards the stone steps, he said to Si Jiangchen, "I, Lao Lin, have donated a lot of money to this temple. Look, look! When the monks in the temple heard I was coming, they even came out to greet me!"
"We've really paid a lot of money for the Buddhist ceremonies here. It must be several million, right!"
As the woman spoke, her eyes still glanced at Si Jiangchen. She simply stepped in front of us and provocatively asked, "Handsome guy, can this little girl afford to support you? You're dressed so shabbily, not even a single brand - name item. Why don't you come with us? My husband has four or five large mining areas in Shanxi Province. He can easily arrange a job for you that pays much more than what you can earn in Beijing!"
"Hey, how can you talk like that! He's my boyfriend, and we're going to get married!"
I put on an angry look on my face, but inside I was almost laughing out loud. So this woman really couldn't resist Si Jiangchen's "good looks" and was going to cuckold her husband right in front of him?!
These two came from the far - away Shanxi Province. They probably didn't read books or newspapers, so they naturally didn't know that Si Jiangchen was a big shot hidden behind the capital. They really thought he was a gigolo supported by a woman!
"Even married couples can get divorced."
The woman didn't care. She reached out and grabbed Si Jiangchen's other arm, looking at me provocatively and saying, "Little girl, you're just his girlfriend. If he wants to pursue a better life, you can't give it to him."
There was definitely something fishy about this man and woman. The woman was openly flirting with Si Jiangchen, but the fat man surnamed Lin just sat on the stone steps in front, gasping for breath. His eyes, squeezed into two thin slits by the fat, showed a cold look.
Si Jiangchen curled his lips and cooperated perfectly with my act. "My Xiaohe gives me five thousand yuan as pocket money every month. It's enough for our expenses."
"Pfft!"
This time, not only the woman but also the fat man let out extremely disdainful sneers.
"Five thousand yuan isn't even enough to buy a pair of my shoes!"
The woman simply pressed her plump chest against Si Jiangchen's arm, squinting her eyes and seducing him. "Come with us. I'll give you a monthly salary of fifty thousand yuan."
"Is that a lot?"
Si Jiangchen looked at me.
"Yes! The treatment is great, right!" Hearing Si Jiangchen's tone, the woman immediately thought she had won.
"I'd better not."
Si Jiangchen shook his head. "Too much money puts too much pressure on me. I can't even spend the five - thousand - yuan allowance."
Saying that, he gently shook his arm to break free from the woman's embrace and continued to hold my hand as we walked up the mountain.
"Hey!!"
The woman stamped her foot in anger. Even the stupidest person could tell that Si Jiangchen was just playing with them for fun. The woman was a bit ashamed and angry. She reached out and grabbed the fat man surnamed Lin who was sitting on the stone steps to rest. "Husband, they're looking down on us. You... don't you know the supervisor in the temple? Don't let them into the temple. Send them back where they came from!"
"Hehe..."
The fat man watched his wife's furious look but didn't take her provocation to heart. After catching his breath, he finally got up from the ground and followed behind us. "Little brother, didn't you say you knew the monks in this temple? I also know a few high - ranking ones. May I ask which great monk you're going to see?"
"I don't know either. It was arranged by a friend."
Si Jiangchen told the truth. How could he bother himself with such a trivial matter? Naturally, his assistant, Ji Chen, had taken care of it all.
"Hehe..."
The fat man let out another meaningful laugh. Si Jiangchen's words made him think that we were just "putting on airs" and using others' influence to boost our own status.
Immediately, the fat man perked up. He took a few steps and overtook us, striding towards the few red - robed lamas at the temple gate. From afar, he clasped his hands in salute and loudly said with a smile to one of them, "Master Danba, I'm just here for another small Buddhist ceremony. Why did you even come out to greet me in person?!"
The lama standing in the front was the supervisor of the Hongluo Temple, the "acquaintance" the fat man had approached for several Buddhist ceremonies.
"Virtuous layman Lin, please go in first."
Master Danba, the supervisor, just nodded slightly and said softly, "Your Buddhist ceremony may have to be postponed for some time."
"Huh? Why?"
The fat man surnamed Lin asked in confusion.
He was a coal mine owner from Shanxi Province, controlling several mining areas. To ensure his safety, he had come to the Hongluo Temple many times for Buddhist ceremonies to ward off disasters and change his fortune. Each time, he donated six - or seven - figure sums of money. This time, something had happened in his family again, so he had rushed here from thousands of miles away.
The Hongluo Temple was well - known throughout China for its effective Buddhist worship. There were naturally many people coming for Buddhist ceremonies on weekdays. But for a big spender like Boss Lin, as his wife had said, he was a VIP of the Hongluo Temple. Every time he came, he would get the first incense and have the most powerful monks preside over the disaster - warding ceremonies.
So this was the first time Boss Lin had been asked by the monks to wait and have his ceremony postponed.
Moreover, Boss Lin had seen the abbot of the Hongluo Temple standing in front of the gate. He had originally wanted to go up and say hello, but the abbot had already walked towards the stone steps behind him. And this Master Danba, who was familiar with him, even left him behind and followed the abbot, ignoring his doubts.
Boss Lin immediately showed an unhappy look on his face. He was the big benefactor here, but these stinky monks were ignoring him?!
Who else could be more important than him here?!
"Mr. Si, how do you do!"
Boss Lin heard the old abbot's aged and smiling greeting from behind. "I've long heard of your name. It's really a pleasure to meet you for the first time today!"
"Master Zhebu, how do you do!"
Si Jiangchen also responded calmly. "I didn't expect that your Hongluo Temple would actually be the dojo of evil ghosts!"