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

Chapter 127 Everyone's eager to give me money.

Chen Shi'an has closed up shop.

Some people who hadn't bought what they wanted, or who still wanted to discuss traditional Chinese culture and Taoism with Chen Shi'an, were reluctant to leave and surrounded him, asking him questions:
"Will Master Chen set up his stall here every night from now on?"

"We'll see. I didn't bring much down from the mountain, and it's all sold out now. I'll make some more another day to sell. If I'm going to set up a stall, I probably won't be selling anything for the time being."

"So, Master Chen, what will you be selling at your stall later?"

"Face reading, fortune telling, answering questions and resolving doubts."

"What's the price?"

"It depends on the situation and depends on the specific circumstances."

"Good good..."

"Master Chen, could you recommend some books? I think your lectures on traditional Chinese culture are really excellent!"

"Just read what interests you; classics that have stood the test of time are all good books."

"Master Chen, how many books have you read?"

"I have read 2,647 books carefully."

"intensive reading……!!"

"Master Chen, I've started following you on Douyin. Next time you set up your stall, please let me know in advance! I'll come early to listen to your lecture!"

"……what?"

Chen Shi'an found it amusing, thinking to himself that he had just set up a stall and it had turned into a classroom for teaching and imparting knowledge, even though he himself was still a student!

The crowd gradually dispersed, the lights along the West River shone brightly, and the river breeze that brushed against our faces was refreshing.

When there were fewer people, Fei Mo would act as a lucky cat next to the stall, but when there were more people, he went to sleep on the big banyan tree next to it.

Seeing that Chen Shi'an and Li Wanyin had packed up their stalls, the cat jumped down from the tree.

As expected, it was thanks to Fat Ink that we finished work so early today!
"Taoist priest, how do you use this incense? What are its effects?"

After the excitement subsided, Wen Zhixia, who had been waiting there, finally had a chance to speak with him.

"This is a refreshing incense. You can light one when you are reading or studying in your room. It will help to refresh your mind."

"Does it really work...?"

"Then why did you spend six hundred yuan to buy it?"

"Oh right, hurry up and click 'Receive Payment'! The money will only arrive after you click 'Receive Payment'!"

"...I know, later."

Seeing that Chen Shi'an had packed up his stall, Uncle Lin, who was standing nearby, also came over with a smile, carrying a painting.

"Hello, principal."

Although Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu did not get along, she still respected Principal Lin very much, as he was a rare good principal.

"It's Wen! I was so focused on the paintings that I didn't even notice you. What brings you here tonight?"

My cousin and I are taking a walk.

Lin Mengqiu, who was leaning over the railing watching the West River, cursed inwardly...

If Chen Shi'an weren't here, would you, you annoying cicada, even come out for a walk?
If you're plotting something, I'll have the head of the teaching affairs office come and arrest you one of these days!
Suddenly, as if struck on the head by a boomerang, Lin Mengqiu stared silently at the night cruise ships on the riverbank.

As the principal, Lin Ming did not teach, but he still had a deep impression of the outstanding students in each grade, especially Wen Zhixia, who had been his daughter's deskmate for a semester.

The girl was cheerful and very polite. Whenever they happened to bump into each other at school, she would greet him proactively. Lin Ming had a very good impression of Wen Zhixia.

The father felt a headache coming on when he thought about his daughter's aloofness and reluctance to interact with others.

Look, when old classmates meet, they don't even greet each other!

Oh, Wen Zhixia didn't greet Meng Qiu either, then it's alright...

Lin Ming could tell that his daughter and Wen Zhixia didn't seem to get along. After all, back when they were classmates, whenever he mentioned Wen Zhixia, Lin Mengqiu would go back to her room, acting as if she wouldn't listen.

But as for why they didn't get along, Lin Ming didn't know. As a parent, there was bound to be a generation gap, and often they couldn't understand things as well as their classmates and friends.

Of course, adults don't need to interfere in the little squabbles between children. Unless Mengqiu gets married in the future, she will always be a child in her father's eyes.

Shi An is still the most mature!
If Lin Ming hadn't met him today, he wouldn't have known that Chen Shi'an was not only skilled in making incense, but also in carving, calligraphy, and painting.

He had just been immersed in admiring and studying the painting for a long time, and Chen Shi'an's painting skills already showed the style of a master.

Although he was only eighteen years old, when Lin Ming first learned that Chen Shi'an was the disciple of Master Chen, he thought that it would be remarkable if Chen Shi'an could learn even 30% of his master's skills. He never expected that the young man in front of him would far surpass Master Chen in these skills...

Lin Ming has been closely monitoring Chen Shi'an's recent studies through Teacher Liang, and the results were equally astonishing.

It's really hard to imagine how someone could learn so much and achieve such success in just over ten years.

If only someone like Chen Shi'an is qualified to be accepted as a disciple by Master Chen, Lin Ming thought, the old master must be very fortunate to have found Chen Shi'an in his life.

"Uncle Lin, take this box and use it to store your paintings. I'll come over and frame them for you when I have time another day."

"Good, good! Shi'an, you can even frame frames?"

"Yes, it is. This time, setting up a stall was a spur-of-the-moment decision. The calligraphy and paintings are not framed, so they look rather simple."

Mounting calligraphy and paintings is not as simple as putting a frame on a photograph. As a traditional technique for protecting and beautifying calligraphy and paintings, its core procedures and steps are very complicated. If you encounter an unskilled craftsman, you may ruin the painting.

"If you can frame it, Shi'an, I'll be much more at ease! Such a beautiful painting, I wouldn't feel comfortable having someone else do it for me!"

"However, I don't have any framing materials on hand, so Uncle Lin will have to prepare them later."

"Of course, Shi'an, don't worry, I'll get the materials, it's just that I'll have to trouble you to frame it."

"Uncle Lin, you're too kind. It's nothing at all."

"Shi'an, I'll transfer the money directly to your WeChat account in a bit. I'll also transfer the painting and Mengqiu's wood carving to you together."

"Uncle Lin, you're too kind. There were guests around earlier, so it wasn't convenient. Now that we're all family, Uncle Lin, if you like the painting, please take it."

"No way! I'd rather take your painting and then ask you to frame it for me. I'd be too embarrassed to do that!"

"..."

Fortunately, he managed to sell the painting he wanted to someone else before it was sold to someone else, otherwise Lin Ming would have been heartbroken.

Lin Ming was in a good mood and greeted everyone warmly:

"Shi'an, Xiao Li, Xiao Wen, if you have time, let's go grab a late-night snack nearby. It's on me."

"Thank you, Principal. Well, I still need to go back and study. You all continue eating, Principal. I'll go home with my cousin now!"

Wen Zhixia declined Lin Xiao's invitation to dinner and then said to Chen Shi'an and Li Wanyin, "Taoist priest, Sister Wanyin, I'm leaving now."

After saying that, Wen Zhixia went home with her little cousin.

"Second sister, let me smell that perfume you have."

"What's the rush? Let's go back and try lighting another one..."

"Second sister, slow down!"

……

Chen Shi'an and Li Wanyin had just finished drinking the sweet soup and weren't hungry. Chen Shi'an smiled and said, "Thank you, Uncle Lin. It's getting late, and I'm planning to go back and rest now. Let's do it another day."

"Uncle Xie Lin, I also need to go home first. I need to take these thermos containers back to wash them."

Seeing that the young people were all planning to go back, Lin Ming didn't insist.

"Xiao Li, did you make this mung bean soup yourself?"

"Yes, I have weekends off, so I thought I'd set up a stall to earn some extra money to supplement my income."

"Xiao Li is very diligent! How's work going? Is it going smoothly?"

"Yes, everything went smoothly. I should be able to get a permanent position next month."

"Your sweet soup tastes great! Starting a side business like this is a good idea! You're very motivated!"

Lin Ming then took the bowl of mung bean soup that Lin Mengqiu had packed for him and drank it, praising it highly.

Li Wanyin smiled shyly.

"Squad leader——"

Chen Shi'an finished packing his things and called out to Lin Mengqiu, who was quietly leaning against the railing, playing with a small wooden squirrel carving in her hand.

Lin Mengqiu turned her head to look at her.

"We're going back!"

"Ah."

The girl answered softly.

Just as Chen Shi'an and Li Wanyin were about to leave, she turned back and asked:
"Are you playing badminton tomorrow morning?"

"We two?"

Lin Mengqiu glanced at her father, who was sandwiched between the two of them, and hesitated before saying:

"...Dad, are you going to call or not?"

"OK!" "?"

Lin Ming happily agreed, "I originally wanted to invite Shi'an to play badminton with me last week, but you guys went cycling instead. Mengqiu said you're really good at badminton, so I'll come and learn from you tomorrow!"

Lin Mengqiu: "××××!!"

"Oh right... I don't think tomorrow morning will work out, I have an appointment with Director Chen... Shi'an, you play with Mengqiu, I have a membership card for the gym with time still available, you can just go and use it."

Lin Mengqiu: "~~~~"

Unbeknownst to the old father, the twenty points that had flown away from him were returned by the river wind.

"Okay, then let's go play badminton tomorrow morning, class monitor. What time?"

"Nine o'clock."

"Okay. Uncle Lin, we'll be going now."

After saying that, Chen Shi'an, Li Wanyin, and Fei Mo left the Xijiang River together.

With Chen Shi'an gone, Lin Mengqiu lost interest in taking a walk. She played with the little squirrel wood carving as she turned and headed home.

"Mengqiu, shall we go grab a late-night snack?"

"Don't eat."

"..."

Got it!
I finally thought of treating everyone to a late-night snack, but nobody's willing to oblige!
……

The two insulated buckets, which were full when the stall was set up, were now empty when the stall was closed.

The streetlights cast long shadows of the siblings.

The kitten jumped onto the folding cart that its sister was pulling, and sat down next to two empty thermos containers. The wheels rolled over the uneven sidewalk, and the two empty containers clattered and rattled...

I got home at ten o'clock.

The stall closed much earlier than Li Wanyin had anticipated. In fact, the sweet soup had already sold out by a little after nine o'clock, and she spent the rest of the time watching Chen Shi'an set up his stall.

Li Wanyin excitedly took out her calculator and notebook to tally up today's income.

[Reset! Reset!]
Actually, it's simple to calculate. WeChat and Alipay's payment QR codes both come with built-in ledgers and statistics; you can just click on them to see the results.

But Li Wanyin still preferred to add them up herself, one by one.

With each stroke she added, her mood improved a little more!
Cash would be even better; it feels more real than numbers.

This was her first time setting up a stall to do business, and the first time she had been called "boss." These experiences and feelings were unlike anything she had ever had before.

While Li Wanyin was calculating, Chen Shi'an and Fei Mo sat on either side of her, watching her calculate with curiosity.

"So, how much did Sister Wanyin earn today?"

"hey-hey!"

Li Wanyin looked blissfully happy as she proudly showed Chen Shi'an the figures in the ledger in her hand.

"The mung bean dessert sold for a total of 108 yuan! The taro sago dessert sold for a total of 225 yuan!"

"The cost of mung bean soup is 28 yuan, and the cost of taro sago pudding is 57 yuan. We made 248 yuan today!"

Even Li Wanyin herself didn't realize that what came out of her mouth was not "I" but "we," just like a young couple returning from setting up a stall together, busy calculating accounts and sharing their feelings.

"so much?"

"Yeah! I really didn't expect that both buckets of sweet soup, which totaled eighty or ninety bowls, would all be sold out!"

No wonder Li Wanyin was excited. She thought that breaking even would be a success, but she sold them all, and the profit was quite considerable.

Of course, she was also well aware that it wasn't because her sweet soup was so popular, but mainly because of Chen Shi'an that she attracted fans, which in turn attracted more passersby to gather around. With more people, naturally some would come to buy her sweet soup.

As expected, Chen Shi'an was her benefactor and her lucky star.

"Will Sister Wanyin continue to set up her stall tomorrow?"

"Yes, I'll take it. I'm free this weekend anyway. Shi'an, you probably won't be setting up your stall tomorrow, right? You have to go to evening self-study."

"Yes, she has to attend evening self-study sessions. Can Sister Wanyin manage all that by herself?"

"It's okay, I can handle it myself. I'm so grateful to you today. Business might not be as good tomorrow if you're not here."

"Sister Wanyin, have confidence in yourself. Look, the customers who bought your sweet soup today all praised how delicious it is."

"Hehe, keep up the good work!"

"So, will you still be setting up your stall in the evenings during the weekdays?"

"...Okay! I specifically calculated the time today. Preparing the sweet soup takes about three hours. On weekdays, I'll prepare a smaller amount. Before I go to work each day, I can soak the mung beans and prepare the taro, sweet potatoes, and purple sweet potatoes. When I get back from get off work, it will be much faster to make it. I should be able to set up my stall around 8 pm and sell until 11 or 12 pm."

"Won't that be too tiring?"

"It's okay~"

Li Wanyin smiled and said, "Once I've saved enough money, I'll buy a stall cart and equipment to make milk tea. Then I won't have to be so busy with the schedule, and I can make it on the spot."

"I'll lend you money."

"No."

"..."

Chen Shi'an was convinced. He thought the class monitor was stubborn enough, but it turned out that Sister Wanyin was the real stubborn mule.

"By the way, Shi'an, how much money did you make from your stall today?"

Even Chen Shi'an didn't expect that he could sell all his items when he set up his stall today.

Nine wood carvings, four handmade incense sticks, two calligraphy pieces, and four traditional Chinese paintings.

Among them, Li Wanyin bought a small deer wood carving for 29.9 yuan, Lin Mengqiu bought a small squirrel wood carving for 1,200 yuan, Wen Zhixia bought a tube of incense for 600 yuan, and Uncle Lin bought a traditional Chinese ink painting for 5,000 yuan...

抛开自己人捧场的生意不算，陈拾安今日收入：[400*7+600*3+400*2+2800*3]
The total is 13,800 yuan.

That's roughly equivalent to fifty-five sweet soup ladies tonight...

"One, thirteen thousand eight!!"

When Li Wanyin heard this number from Chen Shi'an, she was even more excited than him.

Her math skills weren't as good as Chen Shi'an's, but she still felt the number was a little less than she had estimated. She blinked and asked curiously, "You probably didn't include Uncle Lin and the others in your calculations, did you?"

"Yes, we're all on the same side, so we don't want to charge you. The raw materials are plentiful all over the mountains, it's just a matter of putting in some effort."

"Okay, whatever you decide is fine. But over 13,000 yuan is still amazing! I can't even imagine when I'll be able to earn over 10,000 yuan a day..."

"Don't worry, Sister Wanyin, this day shouldn't be too far away. I can see that your fortune is growing stronger."

"I'll lend you some good words!"

Making money already puts her in a good mood, and after hearing what Chen Shi'an said, Li Wanyin almost couldn't control herself and gave him a big hug.

Unable to contain herself any longer, Li Wanyin quickly went to take a shower.

Chen Shi'an sat down on the sofa and took out his phone.

On WeChat, there was 6,200 yuan that Uncle Lin had just transferred to me.

Chen Shi'an returned the transfer.

A short while later, I received a voice message from Uncle Lin: "Shi'an, why did you return it! You have to accept it. If you don't, I won't be happy. I'll feel like I'm taking advantage of you. Hurry up and accept it."

Uncle Lin transferred the six thousand two hundred yuan back to him.

Chen Shi'an had no choice but to reply with a voice message, just like him: "Uncle Lin, how about this, consider the class monitor's wood carving a gift from me. I only carve it for fun, it's really not worth that much."

After saying that, Chen Shi'an returned the money again. He didn't accept it first and then return 1,200 yuan, otherwise Uncle Lin would definitely not have accepted it.

Seeing Chen Shi'an say this, Lin Ming finally agreed and transferred five thousand yuan to him to buy the painting.

Chen Shi'an had no choice but to accept it.

Today, I'm just setting up a stall to experience it. Chen Shi'an didn't intend to make much money. Even if his creations could sell for a high price, he wouldn't bother to sell them unless he was truly desperate. It's purely for fun and to cultivate his mind. If his initial intention was to sell them, perhaps his works wouldn't have this artistic conception.

Of course, now that he's experiencing the world, he still needs to make a living. He can do some odd jobs occasionally when he's free to earn some money to live on and pay off his master's debts. I suppose his master wouldn't want him to put the cart before the horse.

The reason I kept emphasizing debt to him before my death was more to hope that he would not forget his roots and human relationships.

Humans always yearn for unfettered freedom, yet it is precisely because they need some form of restraint that they are human, not animals.

Possessing supernatural powers and magic, there are few beings in this world who can restrain Chen Shi'an. Therefore, what his master taught him first was not supernatural powers and magic, but self-discipline, guarding his mind, understanding his nature, and being cautious when alone.

Just as they received payment from Uncle Lin for the painting, news from Wen Zhixia arrived.

Zhizhi: [Why haven't you clicked "Receive Payment" yet!]
Chen Shi'an: [Here, take this]
Zhizhi: [No way!]
Chen Shi'an: [I didn't take any money from the class monitor either.]
After a while, the girl's message finally appeared—

Zhizhi: [I won't take advantage of you, just take the money.]
what!
An ice cube spirit who loves to take advantage.

The difference in quality is obvious!

Chen Shi'an: [Not accepting]
Zhizhi: [(▼ヘ▼#) Hmph! ! ]
I'm furious!

I should have kept trying to take the squirrel wood carving from her!
On the other side, perhaps after hearing from her father that Chen Shi'an hadn't accepted the money, Lin Mengqiu also sent a message.

Ling: [Transfer of 1200 yuan]
Chen Shi'an: [Refund of 1200 yuan]
Ling: [?]
Chen Shi'an: [?]
Ling: [Why won't you accept it? You're so poor.]
Chen Shi'an: [Class monitor, your words are so hurtful]
Ling: [Transfer of 1201 yuan]
Chen Shi'an: [Why is there an extra yuan?]
Ling: [I apologize to you]
Chen Shi'an was speechless. These people were all eager to give him money.
(End of this chapter)