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

Chapter 168 The Little Cicada's Gas De-icing Fan

Instead of eating at Lin Mengqiu's house or Wen Zhixia's house, Chen Shi'an chose to have dinner at home.

"Sister Wanyin."

"Shi'an is back?"

"Hmm, Sister Wanyin started cooking so early?"

"Yes, it's perfect timing since you're going to evening self-study after you've eaten, and I also need to set up my stall."

In the kitchen, Li Wanyin had just finished washing the rice. She took a cloth, wiped the water off the outside of the rice cooker's inner pot, put it in the rice cooker, and pressed the cook button.

When I came out to look, Chen Shi'an came back carrying two large bags of things.

"Weren't you going to Mengqiu's house? Why did you bring back so much stuff?"

"Yeah, this bag is a local specialty from the South China Sea, given to us by the class monitor, and this bag is a local specialty from Xiao Zhi's road trip. We'll probably be eating them for a while..."

"so good!"

"Sister Wanyin, let's eat together, otherwise we won't be able to finish it and it will go bad."

"I'll make some milk tea later, Shi'an, you can take it over to Zhixia and Mengqiu too."

"can."

Chen Shi'an nodded. He realized that almost no girl disliked milk tea.

It was still early, and the rice had just been cooked, so there was no rush to stir-fry any vegetables. Li Wanyin came to help Chen Shi'an pack up the two large bags of local specialty gifts, taking out what needed to be eaten first and putting what wouldn't keep for long into the refrigerator...

"Have Jiayun and the others gone back?"

"Yes, it's the 5th today. They have to go back to work tomorrow. They'll go back after lunch."

"So, does that mean Sister Wanyin has a lot of vacation time and doesn't start work until the 8th?"

"Uh-huh!"

To be honest, Li Wanyin's vacation wasn't really a vacation; it was just a different way of working. It was tiring, but at least it was a way she liked.

The success of her milk tea stall opening last night boosted her confidence and allowed her to quickly learn a lot of experience.

Therefore, she set clear goals and plans for herself.

Yesterday's situation, with Chen Shi'an's help, was an exception. Normally, she would be on her own. She planned to use this month to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the situation, including holidays, weekdays, weekends, and changes in popularity. Once she reached her target, she planned to resign next month and devote herself to the milk tea stall, hoping to save some money and open a small shop that truly belonged to her.

"Shi'an, what do you want to eat tonight?"

"It's easy to do."

Chen Shi'an opened the refrigerator and saw some leftovers inside. "There are still some leftovers in the refrigerator. It's just the two of us and Fei Mo eating. These dishes should be enough after a simple reheat. Did Sister Wanyin make them for lunch?"

"Yes, there's some braised pork left. I'll make you some fresh, I can eat these tomorrow."

"It's okay, it won't matter if it's just one or two meals, and the braised pork won't spoil."

"Make something new, make something new."

Li Wanyin herself didn't mind eating leftovers, but she didn't want Chen Shi'an to eat leftovers, so she took some meat and vegetables out of the refrigerator to clean them up.

"How about I cook tonight?" Chen Shi'an rolled up his sleeves.

"Okay!"

Li Wanyin happily agreed, but her hands didn't stop moving as she helped him prepare the dishes for tonight.

Chen Shi'an heated the oil in the wok, talking to Li Wanyin as he cooked.

"Wanyin, are you setting up your stall tonight too?"

"Yes, I'll take it."

"Can you manage all the work by yourself?"

"Don't worry, it's just a little slower. Shi'an, you don't need to worry about me. Just focus on your own things, and I'll go earn money for you!"

Chen Shi'an turned around, but he couldn't see any joking expression on Li Wanyin's face, only a serious look.

"Why does it feel like Sister Wanyin is saying she's going to take care of me?"

"...What the hell? I was supposed to help you make money...I, I'm going to sell a hundred million cups!"

Chen Shi'an listened and couldn't help but laugh, then scooped the stir-fried tomatoes and eggs into a plate.

"Then Sister Wanyin, you'd better work hard. If I had that much money, I could drive that house-like car and travel around in the future."

"Oh, I know! It's a motorhome?"

"Yes. I saw it online before, it looks like a house, but it's very expensive."

Li Wanyin blinked, and suddenly felt even more motivated, as if she had thought of something.

"Don't worry, I'll work hard to earn money and buy you the biggest one, the kind with several rooms!"

"...Then it doesn't need to be that big."

……

There are no more motorhomes now, but there are still street vendors and bicycles.

After dinner, Li Wanyin rode her stall cart to set up her stall, while Chen Shi'an rode his bicycle to evening self-study.

There were three cups of milk tea hanging on the handlebars. They had just been made by Li Wanyin. One cup was for Chen Shi'an, and the other two were for him to take to Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu.

It usually takes about sixteen or seventeen minutes to walk to school, but it would take much less if I had a bicycle. The time I arranged to meet Wen Zhixia at the intersection was the same as usual.

Both of them were already wearing school uniforms.

After entering October, the temperature in the morning and evening became noticeably cooler. Chen Shi'an also wore his long-sleeved school uniform jacket for the first time. Like many other students, he wore a short-sleeved school uniform underneath the jacket, and could take it off whenever he got hot.

"Taoist priest! You're wearing a long-sleeved school uniform!"

"Are you that surprised?"

"Of course there are. We've known each other for so long, and you only ever wear two sets of clothes."

Good-looking people look good in anything. Wen Zhixia was used to Chen Shi'an always wearing short-sleeved school uniforms or martial arts uniforms, so when she saw Chen Shi'an wearing a long-sleeved school uniform, she was really surprised.

"Where's the milk tea? You said you'd bring me the milk tea, but what happened?"

"Here, whichever you'd like to drink, take your pick."

Chen Shi'an took down the three cups of milk tea hanging on the handlebars. The high-quality packaging and the beautiful tea color inside immediately attracted the girl's attention.

"You brought so much, is it all for me?"

"No, you only have one cup."

"...Then who gets the other two cups?"

"One for me, one for the class monitor."

"Oh."

Wen Zhixia wrinkled her little nose and snorted.

What's this cup called?

"Autumn Gui Fuyu."

Because her name contained the character "秋" (autumn), Wen Zhixia felt that this cup must not taste good, so she chose one of the remaining two cups.

What's this called?

"Clouds reflect the snow."

"This sounds delicious! I'll take this one!"

"...Can you tell if it tastes good or not just by listening to it?"

"Taoist priest, did you come up with all these names? They sound so nice."

"It was named by Sister Wanyin."

"Sister Wanyin is so good at naming!"

Wen Zhixia wasn't in a hurry to drink the milk tea. After all, she would be taking a car ride soon, and she needed to free up both hands to hold the Taoist priest. It was inconvenient for her to hold the milk tea, so she handed it back to Chen Shi'an to hold first.

Chen Shi'an turned the backpack behind him to the front, unzipped it, and took out a folding fan.

Wen Zhixia was taken aback and asked curiously, "Taoist, what are you doing with the fan...?" "A gift."

"……Gift?"

"Yes, you also brought me a lot of gifts. I didn't bring anything else when I came down the mountain, so I brought you a fan as a gift."

Chen Shi'an held the fan in one hand, flicked it lightly, and the folding fan opened with a whoosh. He then fanned the girl next to him, making her scream as her shoulder-length hair fluttered backward.

"It's already cold, and you're only now giving me a fan?"

"Aren't you afraid of the heat?"

"But no one fans themselves in the dead of winter..."

"No and no."

Chen Shi'an smiled and said, "This fan of mine is special. You can shake it when you're hot, or when you're feeling irritable. It can calm you down."

"Really? You're just bragging..."

Wen Zhixia didn't believe him. The smelly Taoist priest waving a folding fan looked like a conman.

However, she still found it very interesting and stretched out her little hand to Chen Shi'an: "Let me see."

"You don't not want it."

"When did I say I didn't want it anymore! Let me see...!"

"Take it carefully, don't break it, or I won't fix it for you."

"So stingy!"

Wen Zhixia finally took the folding fan from him and held it in her hand.

The bamboo fan ribs are as smooth and warm as jade, with an extremely fine ebony trim around the edges, which perfectly balances the lightness of the bamboo and adds a steady, clicky sound when opening and closing, unhurried and gentle, like the lingering sound of raindrops on banana leaves.

The fan surface is made of snow-wave paper, its plainness warm to the touch. On it, half of a spring scene is painted in light crimson ink: in the lower left corner, several stalks of new bamboo stand, their leaves tilting upwards, the ink varying in shades. Beside the bamboo, a cluster of wildflowers blooms, and two colorful butterflies flutter in the air. Further up, the ink fades, blurring into a hazy mist, within which half of a Taoist temple is hidden in the mountains, appearing and disappearing amidst this vibrant spring scene…

There was no inscription, only a small vermilion seal in the lower right corner with the inscription "Shi An".

The characters are as small as red beans, or like a small flower in this spring field painting, yet they give the whole painting a sense of grounding, preventing it from floating on the paper.

Wen Zhixia held the fan and gently waved it. The wind blew out from the fan ribs and the fan surface. The wind was gentle and carried a faint fragrance of bamboo. It felt like a spring breeze with dew on her face.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but the spring scenery of the mountains and fields on the fan seemed to come alive. The bamboo leaves swayed in the wind, the water under the stone bridge seemed to be flowing, and even the two colorful butterflies seemed to be about to fly out of the fan.

Wen Zhixia quickly stopped fanning herself; the scene that had just been alive suddenly froze completely.

That's amazing!!

The girl instantly fell in love with this folding fan, which was full of literary charm.

She bet that if she brought the folding fan home, her father would beg her to borrow it to play with.

"So, do you like it? If you don't, give it back to me."

"like!!"

The more Wen Zhixia handled it, the more she loved it; being a person who enjoys movement, she especially liked gifts that come to life.

"Taoist priest, did you make this fan yourself?"

"correct."

"Did you draw the picture above yourself?"

"Yes, there's my seal on it."

"So this painting you made... is it of your Taoist temple?"

"Yes, I drew it last spring."

After hearing what Chen Shi'an said, Wen Zhixia liked the fan even more!

Fortunately, the stinky Taoist priest also brought her a gift, otherwise Wen Zhixia would have decided to pinch his waist when she was riding her bike later. After all, she had just seen the gift that the Ice Cube Spirit posted on his WeChat Moments that afternoon.

Thinking of this, Wen Zhixia was still a little curious, wondering what gift Chen Shi'an had given Lin Mengqiu, since the woman had only mysteriously shown off a gift box.

It was obvious that they were deliberately making her guess.

Wen Zhixia didn't guess. After her big eyes darted around, she asked casually:

"Taoist priest, did you bring gifts for your class monitor and Sister Wanyin when you came down the mountain this time, or was it just me?"

“We have both.”

"..."

You stinking Taoist priest! You deadbeat Taoist priest! I'll strangle you in a minute!
"Then, what did you give them?"

"I gave Sister Wanyin a bamboo flute and the class monitor a box of paints."

"Oh oh oh……"

Wen Zhixia felt satisfied. Although it wasn't hers alone, she thought that compared to the bamboo flute and paint, her fan was still the best.

Putting aside the bamboo flute, which she quite wanted, she had no interest in the ice spirit's paint. What was so great about paint? Could it compare to one of her fans?
"Do these gifts you gave have names?"

"...A bamboo flute is a bamboo flute, paint is paint, a fan is a fan, why do they have names?"

"Hurry up and give the fan a name. It will make it more special if it has a name. Famous swords and weapons all have names!"

"?"

Chen Shi'an couldn't quite figure out the girl's thought process, so he thought for a moment and said, "Then let's call it a calming fan. When you're feeling irritable, just wave the fan and you'll immediately calm down."

"That sounds awful, change the name immediately."

"..."

Chen Shi'an felt a headache coming on. He was terrible at naming things, just like his master. Otherwise, he wouldn't have named a baby or a cat he found "Shi'an" and "Shimo" respectively, emphasizing practicality over extravagance.

After a while, Chen Shi'an replied, "Then how about we call it the Tranquil Heart Fan?"

"Um... so-so, how about 'Ningxin Yao'?" Wen Zhixia suggested.

"Hmm, this is not bad." Chen Shi'an nodded.

"Haha, then let's call it Ningxin Shake~"

Wen Zhixia waved her fan, in a cheerful mood.

The Ice Cube Spirit's gift had no name; hers might.

When I show off to Xiaoyan later, I can say that this time it was a "Ningxin Shake", which sounds really cool.

"Will it really calm you down...?" Wen Zhixia asked curiously.

"Then think of something that makes you very angry."

It's unclear what the girl was thinking, but she suddenly became sullen.

She took her phone out of her pocket and took a picture of the fan in her hand.

"If you're angry, why are you fanning yourself? Why are you taking pictures?" Chen Shi'an asked with a strange expression.

"Don't worry."

"..."

Chen Shi'an, not knowing why Wen Zhixia wanted to take a picture, called out:
"Let's go, get on the bus, we'll be late if we ride our bikes."

"Oh right! I almost forgot about class!"

Wen Zhixia quickly put the fan away and back into her schoolbag, then straddled Chen Shi'an's back seat.

Chen Shi'an leisurely rode his bicycle with her on the back towards the school.

The girl held his waist with one hand and took out her phone with the other.

Select the photo of the fan you just took;

Attached is a photo of someone supporting their lower back;
Select [Visible only to Ling];

Click to publish.

Sure enough, the fan had a calming effect, and the girl immediately felt less angry.

(End of this chapter)