This humble Taoist priest wants to take the college entrance exam.

Chapter 126 The Ice Cube Spirit Who Likes to Steal Others' Things

More and more people gathered in front of the stall, and Chen Shi'an couldn't tell who were fans and who were passersby.

Many passersby only found out what kind of 'blogger' Chen Shi'an was after they came to watch the excitement, so they opened Douyin (TikTok) and followed him, and the passersby suddenly became fans...

These fans and passersby initially came for Chen Shi'an, but gradually their attention was drawn to the trinkets he was selling at his stall.

Several people were asking Chen Shi'an about prices or information about the wood carvings, handmade incense, and calligraphy and paintings.

Of course, because the price is not low, not many people are actually willing to pay for it; most are just there for the sake of it.

It's clear that Chen Shi'an's works are really good, but the value of art is mostly linked to the creator's resume and qualifications. This is the 'hard indicator' of the price. The young man in front of me is just a high school student. Even if he is a Taoist priest, he doesn't have any so-called fame or added value. Why should his works be so expensive?

But to those with real insight, who says these things have no 'added value'? Well, then their value is high!

Just like Lin Ming, who had just arrived, when he saw Chen Shi'an selling this pile of 'treasures' like street vendor goods, he was heartbroken and couldn't breathe...

What a waste! If you had told me you had so many, I would have taken them all for you!

"Shi'an, I want this painting, I want this calligraphy, and this incense, and this wood carving—I want them all! How much?"

Before Chen Shi'an could speak, some customers who had already chosen their items became unhappy, frowning at Lin Ming and saying, "There should be a first-come, first-served order when buying things. How can you be like this?"

Did you buy it?

"No ah."

"Then I'll buy it, what are you waiting for!"

"Wait for me to take another look..."

While the other customers were still hesitating, the old man who had been looking at the painting had already decided to buy it. Ignoring Lin Ming, the old man spoke to Chen Shi'an on his own:
"Young man, how about I offer you three thousand for this traditional Chinese ink painting of a mountain morning?"

Lin Ming didn't take advantage of his relationship with Chen Shi'an to make things difficult for Chen Shi'an. Seeing that the retired old man had made a bid, before Chen Shi'an could even speak, Lin Ming raised the price.

“Shi’an, sell this painting to me, I’ll pay four thousand.”

Old man: "..."

As soon as Lin Ming said this, the passersby who had come to watch the spectacle immediately erupted in an uproar.

Uncle, you're not a shill, are you?!

Everyone can see that this traditional Chinese ink painting is quite good, but is it really worth four thousand? If it were a large-scale work, that would be one thing, but it's only a four-foot-three-section piece, and it's not even framed. Is it really worth four thousand?!

"Four thousand five," the old man said through gritted teeth. That was his entire month's retirement pension!

"Five thousand." Lin Ming replied without hesitation, looking determined to win.

Chen Shi'an had originally intended to sell it at a set price, but unexpectedly, a bidding war broke out. Seeing that the old man couldn't afford that much money, he proactively offered him a way out:
“Sir, I’m sorry, but I’m acquainted with this uncle. I’ll take the liberty of selling this painting to him. You can take a look at other items you like.”

The retired old man then took the opportunity to back down, waving his hand and smiling generously: "It's alright, you two know each other, it's only right that you sell it to him, otherwise, I really would have raised the price again."

Having secured Chen Shi'an's traditional Chinese ink painting, Lin Ming decided to temporarily refrain from taking on other items, allowing the other guests to view them first.

This little incident made Chen Shi'an's stall even more lively.

Lin Mengqiu was originally standing outside the crowd, but when she saw Wen Zhixia and another girl walking straight towards Chen Shi'an's stall, she also walked into the crowd.

"Taoist priest!"

Wen Zhixia chuckled and waved to Chen Shi'an first.

Looking down from Chen Shi'an's stall, Wen Zhixia saw Principal Lin again. She subconsciously searched through the crowd and sure enough, she saw Lin Mengqiu's figure.

The two girls exchanged a glance, but neither greeted the other.

Chen Shi'an, who was busy with his business, also saw them, but he couldn't leave to talk to them at the moment.

Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu didn't specifically try to talk to him. Seeing that there were many people in front of his stall, they went to Li Wanyin's stall next to it.

Li Wanyin is busy right now. Thanks to Chen Shi'an, many passersby and fans have come to buy sweet soup from her. She was hoping to break even tonight, but she's almost sold out.

"Sister Wanyin~"

"Oh, Zhixia's here? Hey? Mengqiu's here too."

“Oh right, the Taoist priest said that Sister Wanyin was selling sweet soup at her stall today, so my cousin and I came over to check it out after we finished eating. Sister Wanyin, why are there so many people at the Taoist priest’s stall?” Wen Zhixia asked curiously.

“Some of them are fans. Shi An posted a video of his stall setting up today on Douyin, and then fans came over. It probably also attracted a lot of tourists, and then it suddenly became lively.”

"Oh, I see. I didn't even watch Douyin."

While Wen Zhixia and Li Wanyin were talking, Lin Mengqiu had already opened Douyin. Sure enough, the first message that popped up was Chen Shi'an's Douyin post about setting up a stall.

"Sister Wanyin's business is doing very well."

"Haha, I'm benefiting from Shi'an's fame. What kind of sweet soup would you like, Zhixia? I'll treat you."

"I want taro sago pudding~ Qingqing, what do you want?"

"Then I want taro sago pudding too!" said my little cousin.

"Where's Mengqiu? What does Mengqiu want?" Li Wanyin asked Lin Mengqiu, who was standing quietly to the side, while taking out two bowls to make sweet soup for Wen Zhixia.

"I'd like two bowls of mung bean soup. Thank you, Sister Wanyin."

"It's okay, these are all that's left."

Li Wanyin glanced at the two thermos containers for sweet soup. There were about two bowls of mung bean sweet soup and about four bowls of taro sago dessert left, just enough for her own family to eat.

Unexpectedly, while I was making the sweet soup, my phone vibrated twice and gave me a payment notification.

[Received 10 yuan via WeChat]
[Received 5 yuan via WeChat]
Looking up, I saw that Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu had each scanned the QR code to pay.

Li Wanyin hurriedly said, "Zhixia, Mengqiu, you don't need to pay. It's my treat."

"Yes, of course. No business is without money. I'm just helping out Sister Wanyin's business today," Wen Zhixia said with a smile.

Lin Mengqiu, who was standing to the side, didn't say a word. After paying, she put her phone in her pocket.

"Well, thank you all!"

Li Wanyin packed up the sweet soup from the two insulated containers and handed one bowl each to Wen Zhixia and her little cousin. Lin Mengqiu also took one bowl for herself and gave the other bowl to her father, who was watching the fun.

With two bowls of taro sago pudding left, Li Wanyin took one bowl to Chen Shi'an and kept the last one for herself. After working for so long, she was also a little hungry.

"Sister Wanyin, your taro sago pudding is so delicious."

Wen Zhixia and her younger cousin nodded repeatedly as they drank.

Lin Mengqiu, who was standing to the side, also thought the mung bean soup was quite good, at least much better than what her father made at home.

Is it really true?

Li Wanyin asked with a smile. All the sweet soup she had prepared for the day had sold out smoothly, and she was feeling very relaxed.

"Of course! Sister Wanyin is amazing! She makes such delicious sweet soup and she's also a great businesswoman!"

"This has no barriers to entry; anyone can do it. It's not something that requires any skill..."

"Hehe, I can't do that... I don't even know how to make sweet soup. How do you make this? What do you need to prepare for a stall?"

Wen Zhixia and Li Wanyin were chatting, while Lin Mengqiu quietly drank her sweet soup and listened, reaping the information she gleaned.

For the two girls, making money still seemed like a distant dream. Looking at Li Wanyin, who had already started earning her own money, they couldn't help but think how amazing she was. They originally thought that setting up a stall would be simple, but they didn't expect that it would take so many things to prepare to sell sweet soup. Both Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu felt that they couldn't do it now... Not to mention making such delicious sweet soup, they probably didn't have much courage to even set up a stall on the street like this.

Thinking about it this way, Chen Shi'an, who is the same age as me, is also very impressive.

After all, the stinky Taoist priest also came out to set up a stall with Li Wanyin, and he actually had so many things to sell, such as wood carvings and handmade incense. Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu had personally experienced them and knew that they were all good things. When they thought that these were all made by Chen Shi'an himself and could even be sold at such a high price, they found it incredible.

We're both high school students, so why do you know so much? And not only do you know it, but you do it so well! Maybe it's because we're so familiar with him that we subconsciously overlook his uniqueness. It's only when we compare him to others that we realize how amazing Chen Shi'an really is. He always subtly overturns our perception of him.

Those who once thought themselves quite impressive suddenly paled in comparison to Chen Shi'an...

Li Wanyin had already packed up her stall, so the three girls gathered together at Chen Shi'an's stall.

After all, the items Chen Shi'an was selling were priced high, so most people just looked but didn't buy, instead curiously asking Chen Shi'an questions from the side.

Chen Shi'an ate the sweet soup that Li Wanyin had just handed him, chatting with the guests as he ate.

Let's talk about carving techniques, incense-making processes, and our unique insights into calligraphy and painting.

Passersby took out their phones and started recording videos of Chen Shi'an and his stall.

The boy in the video is wearing a simple school uniform, but his understanding and insight into these traditional cultural skills are very profound. His breadth of knowledge is astonishing, and at such a young age, he has the demeanor of a master of Chinese studies.

Ninety percent of the people in the room were older than him, and at first, they looked down on him, thinking that a high school student couldn't possibly understand traditional Chinese culture.

But as they listened, the expressions of the crowd changed from initial disdain to seriousness, to humbly seeking advice, to respectful demeanor, to taking out their phones to follow his Douyin account—all within just ten minutes.

Faced with the professional questions raised by everyone, Chen Shi'an was able to handle them with ease, without being pretentious, arrogant, or timid. Despite being less than twenty years old, he possessed a calm and detached demeanor.

In the past, when people mentioned traditional Chinese culture and tradition, most people's first reaction was that it was bland and boring, but when Chen Shi'an talked about it, everyone listened with great interest.

After all, what Chen Shi'an said was not an answer found in an encyclopedia, nor was it a verbatim reading. Rather, it was his own thoughtful reflection, imprinted with his academic knowledge and unique insights.

Gradually, more and more people were drawn to the area. What was originally just an ordinary stall turned into a lively lecture on traditional Chinese culture on the street, thanks to Chen Shi'an's personal charm and cultural knowledge.

Surrounded by the crowd, Chen Shi'an calmly finished the last bite of sweet soup in his bowl, watching the growing crowd that had gathered around him, much to his surprise.

Seeing everyone staring at him expectantly, holding their phones up to him, as if waiting for him to continue his 'lecture', Chen Shi'an stopped talking.

"...Are you still going to buy anything? I'm about to close up shop."

After Chen Shi'an said this, everyone finally realized what was going on.

"Buy, buy, buy!!"

Chen Shi'an's stall this time sold nine wood carvings, four tubes of handmade incense, and six pieces of calligraphy and painting.

There are still four wood carvings, a tube of handmade incense, two calligraphy scrolls, and two paintings left.

Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu, who had been listening to the lecture for half a day, also came to their senses and each reached out to grab the wood carving they liked.

Above a wooden carving of a squirrel, the hands of two girls meet in mid-air and then stop simultaneously.

"Taoist priest, sell me this little squirrel for four hundred, right? I'll transfer it to you via WeChat!" Wen Zhixia was the first to take out her phone and speak.

"I'll offer five hundred, sell it to me." While Wen Zhixia was asking the price, Lin Mengqiu directly took the little squirrel wood carving into her hand.

Wen Zhixia turned her head and looked at Lin Mengqiu, who had suddenly launched a sneak attack. She puffed out her cheeks in anger and reached out her hand.

"Give it to me, mine first."

"We both liked it, so why should I say you were first?" Lin Mengqiu held onto the little squirrel wood carving tightly.

"I spoke first."

"I took it first."

"You stole it when I wasn't looking!"

"Why should I take something that isn't yours?"

"That's not yours, so why are you holding onto it?"

I will buy it.

"Who wouldn't buy it?"

"I offered a higher price."

"Who can't afford the price?"

The two girls spoke so fast that Chen Shi'an didn't even have time to interrupt.

Seeing the tension suddenly rising, Chen Shi'an quickly advised, "This carving is just so-so. I'll send you a better one next time."

But the two girls seemed not to hear, determined to have the wooden squirrel!
“Taoist priest, I’ll offer six hundred!” Wen Zhixia turned to Chen Shi’an again and said.

"Seven hundred." Lin Mengqiu still held onto the little squirrel wood carving tightly.

Chen Shi'an felt a chill run down his spine. At this point, it seemed like the highest bidder would win, but clearly, no matter who offered the highest price or who he ultimately sold to, it would infuriate the other girl...

"I'm not selling this anymore. Give it back to me, and I'll go and rework it."

“I’ll offer eight hundred!” Wen Zhixia said again.

"Nine hundred."

Chen Shi'an: "..."

Can't you listen to me?

"one thousand!"

"One thousand and two."

Lin Mengqiu immediately added two hundred. She didn't look at Chen Shi'an, but turned to look at Wen Zhixia. The meaning in her eyes was clear: if you add more, I'll play along.

A wood carving that originally sold for only 400 yuan was suddenly priced at 1,200 yuan.

The two young ladies usually have a lot of pocket money, and they can afford to pay 1,200 if they grit their teeth. But surprisingly, Wen Zhixia did not continue to bid against her.

"Alright, here you go."

"?"

After Wen Zhixia finished speaking, she quickly grabbed the last remaining tube of handmade incense.

"Taoist priest, I want this, is it six hundred?"

"Hmm, you don't need it if you want it..."

I'll transfer it to you!

Wen Zhixia directly transferred 600 yuan to Chen Shian via WeChat.

After finishing, he acted as if nothing had happened, turning his head to look at Lin Mengqiu, who was still in a daze.

what!
You’re dumbfounded!

That idiot who loves to steal other people's things! I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!
"Didn't you spend 1200? Aren't you going to transfer the money to the Taoist priest?"

"..."

Ah!
You pretend quite well!
Don't think I can't see that you, you annoying cicada, are just trying to save face for yourself and are maliciously trying to see me get the short end of the stick, aren't you?
"Didn't I say I wouldn't give it to you?"

Lin Mengqiu calmly stood up, walked out of the crowd, and said to her father, who was sitting on a small stool engrossed in looking at the painting:
"Dad, I bought a wood carving. Could you help me pay for it in a bit?"

"Oh? Oh, okay, the wood carvings are four hundred each, right?"

"One thousand and two."

"...?!"

Dad paid double the price for a painting, and you paid triple the price for a wood carving?!

(End of this chapter)