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

Chapter 82 It's not good to always eat at other people's houses.

They made a trip to the mountains and returned home with a full load.

Li Wanyin felt that this trip was truly worthwhile, as she not only enjoyed the scenery but also gained so much from the experience.

It was already past 3 p.m. when I got home.

Chen Shi'an put down his basket and, together with Li Wanyin, tallied up their harvest from the trip to the mountains.

Besides the pile of 'trash' that Chen Shi'an picked up to make incense, and a large bunch of Chinese herbs that Li Wanyin couldn't name, the basket was mostly filled with various kinds of wild mushrooms.

Especially the yellow elm mushrooms and black fungus, which together weigh more than ten pounds, plus two or three pounds of hazel mushrooms, pine mushrooms, and scattered small miscellaneous fungi.

There are only two people and one cat eating at home, so we definitely can't finish all these wild mushrooms in one meal. Besides, they are all fresh mushrooms, which spoil and taste very quickly and are not suitable for long-term storage.

"Shi'an, there are so many mushrooms. Why don't you take some and give them to Uncle Lin or your classmates? We can't eat them all ourselves, and it would be a waste if they were wasted."

"Yes, I was just planning to send some to Uncle Lin and my classmates too."

"Okay, you go deliver it first. I'll go buy some groceries later and make a soup! I happen to have some monkey head mushrooms for soup, then a stir-fry of mixed mushrooms, stir-fried wood ear mushrooms with meat, and stir-fried elm mushrooms with eggs, how about that?"

"Sure, these are all my favorite foods."

What time are you going to evening self-study tonight?

Classes begin at 6:30.

"Okay, then I'll cook dinner early and come over after you've eaten."

Li Wanyin calculated the time; she was quite skilled at timing her cooking.

During summer vacations, she was responsible for cooking at home so that her parents could eat when they came back at noon. After their lunch break, she would go back to work at the factory. If she cooked too early, the food would be cold, and if she cooked too late, it would delay her parents' rest. This kind of thoughtfulness and thriftiness was ingrained in her.

"Thank you, Sister Wanyin. We'll have a big meal again tonight."

"Ha, thanks to you we were able to find so many wild mushrooms! We're in for a treat tonight!"

While Chen Shi'an was tidying up his own pile of herbs, Li Wanyin took out a few clean bags, picked out all the wild mushrooms from the basket, and divided them into two bags, which Chen Shi'an could take to give away.

"Sister Wanyin, just leave it for me."

"It's okay, just go about your business."

Although she only gave away mushrooms that she couldn't finish eating herself, you could still see the simple kindness in Li Wanyin. She would specifically choose the best-looking mushrooms and carefully clean the impurities and dirt off them.

After everything was packed and ready, she put each of the two bags inside another clean bag and handed them to Chen Shi'an.

"Then take Shi'an and deliver it first. It'll be late, and Uncle Lin and your classmate will probably be buying groceries and cooking."

"Okay, I'll go out for a bit."

"Yes, we can be back for dinner around 5 o'clock."

"it is good."

Chen Shi'an went out carrying two bags of wild mushrooms.

……

He took out his phone and sent messages to Wen Zhixia and Lin Mengqiu respectively.

[Has Little Cicada returned yet?]
Is the class monitor home?
As soon as I stepped out of the residential compound, the two girls replied to my message.

In the chat list, the profile pictures of the two arch-rival girls were right next to each other. It was unclear whether they were WeChat friends, but Chen Shi'an guessed they weren't.

Reply to Lin Mengqiu's message first, because the class monitor's reply will come sooner.

Ling: [What's wrong?]
Chen Shi'an: [Uncle Lin hasn't bought groceries and cooked yet, has he?]
Ling: [What's wrong?]
Chen Shi'an: [I picked a lot of wild mushrooms on the mountain, and we can't finish them all, so I'm sending some over to you and Uncle Lin.]
Ling: [You're back from your hike?]
Chen Shi'an: [Yes]
Ling: [Wild mushrooms?]
Chen Shi'an: [Yes]
Ling: [What mushroom?]
Chen Shi'an: [Elm mushrooms, black fungus, and some other small fungi]
Ling: [My dad isn't home]
Chen Shi'an: [Are you home?]
Ling: [At]
Chen Shi'an: [I'll bring it to you in a bit.]
Ling: [How long?]
Chen Shi'an: [Soon]
Ling: [How long?]
Chen Shi'an: [Waiting]
System notification: 'Ling patted you and said, "Taoist Master, I was wrong."'

Chen Shi'an couldn't help but laugh as he looked at his phone.

It's a pity we can't see the class monitor's expression on the other end of the phone; it must have been quite an interesting one.

We've been waiting for this move!

……

After replying to Lin Mengqiu's message, I opened Wen Zhixia's message.

Zhizhi: [I just got back and put down my luggage. I was just about to look for you. What's up?]
Chen Shi'an: [Why did you call me?]
Zhizhi: [My mom made dumplings today. Thank you for the gift. She asked me to bring you a box of dumplings. Where are you? Have you finished hiking? I'm coming to find you!]
Chen Shi'an: [I was just about to come find you. I picked a lot of wild mushrooms today, I'll bring some over for you to try.]
Zhizhi: [Wild mushroom [lecherous]]
Zhizhi: [Is it ready yet? [Lewdly]]
Chen Shi'an: [Born]
Zhizhi: [I thought you had made it and brought it to me to eat. [Arrogant]]
Zhizhi: [Then I'll go downstairs to find you, and bring you the dumplings while I'm at it.]
Chen Shi'an: [No need, just come downstairs, I'm right downstairs.]
Zhizhi: [So fast!]
While replying to the chat message, Chen Shi'an had already reached the intersection where the two of them usually met.

Wen Zhixia was staying at her aunt's house. Although Chen Shi'an had never been there, he roughly knew which building she lived in, since he saw her running up a stairwell next to a breakfast shop every night when they went home together.

The breakfast shop is very close to the intersection, located in a small alley. It is called Zheng Yue Steamed Bun Shop. The shop is not big. It is located on the first floor of this self-built building. The left half is the bun shop and the right half is a small shop.

Chen Shi'an looked up and saw that the self-built house was about six stories high. There was a sign for a chess and card room on the second floor, and a rental advertisement was posted next to it. He guessed that the third floor and above were either owner-occupied or rented out.

There was a security door in the hallway that required a card to access the building. I could vaguely hear footsteps, and then the security door opened.

A girl wearing school uniform pants and a white printed T-shirt, with slippers on her feet, appeared charmingly in front of him.

"Taoist priest! You arrived so quickly!"

"I was walking here when I sent the message, why are you back so early?"

"I have to attend evening self-study sessions. If I eat at home before coming over, I won't make it in time."

Wen Zhixia came over, carrying a box of dumplings in her hand, her big eyes blinking as she looked at Chen Shi'an in front of her.

"You're not wearing your school uniform today!"

"You weren't wearing any either."

Chen Shi'an's gaze slid down from the girl's face to her delicate neck and exquisite collarbone, then suddenly traced a graceful curve before leveling off again, until he reached her loose school uniform pants and her pair of fair, tender little feet in slippers.

To be honest, after getting used to seeing Xiaozhi in her school uniform, it's quite refreshing to see her in a different outfit.

The same sense of novelty also arose in Wen Zhixia's heart. Chen Shi'an was not wearing his school uniform or a long robe today, but a lighter, more casual short jacket with a diagonal placket. Walking in the metropolis, he looked as if he had traveled from somewhere else.

Meeting him off-campus during times when there are no classes makes Wen Zhixia feel that their relationship goes beyond what happens on campus.

"Here you go. The dumplings are still raw, remember to cook them before eating." Wen Zhixia held up the bag and handed it to him. "Thank you, Zhixia."

"Thank you, Mom."

"Thank you auntie."

Chen Shi'an took the dumplings and also handed her a bag of wild mushrooms.

"You picked so many mushrooms..."

Wen Zhixia opened the bag and looked inside. She couldn't recognize any of the various kinds of mushrooms. The wild mushrooms she picked from the mountains felt very novel to her.

Does your aunt cook at your house?

"Hmm, she should know how to make it. I'll show it to her in a bit and see how it's usually cooked."

"It depends on your preference. You can make soup, stir-fry eggs, stir-fry meat, or just stir-fry with some scallions and garlic. It's also delicious."

"Which mountain did you go to collect it from?"

"Waterwheel Mountain".

"Never heard of that... Did you go by yourself?"

"I went with my roommate."

Wen Zhixia nodded, knowing that his older sister roommate was someone else; as long as she didn't go with Lin Mengqiu, that was good...

"Is this building your aunt's self-built house?" Chen Shi'an asked curiously.

"Yeah, do you want to rent a place near my aunt's house? I can give you a discount!"

"You only tell me now that I'm already living here. Which floor do you live on?"

"Fourth floor."

Wen Zhixia casually pointed, and Chen Shi'an indeed saw her school uniform drying on the fourth-floor balcony.

"The first floor is a breakfast shop and a convenience store, the second floor is a chess and card room, the third floor is where my aunt, uncle, great-aunt and great-great-aunt live, my cousin and I live on the fourth floor, and the fifth and sixth floors are rented out."

"The convenience store and the card room also belong to your aunt's family?"

"Yes, my aunt and uncle usually look after the convenience store, my uncle looks after the mahjong parlor, and my aunt manages the breakfast shop."

"This building is considered the family's economic property."

"Would you like to come up and sit down? My aunt loves wild mushrooms. If she sees that you've brought so many, she'll definitely invite you to stay for dinner."

Wen Zhixia then extended an invitation.

As the two chatted idly by the roadside, she caught a glimpse of the auntie eating sunflower seeds at the convenience store looking in their direction with curiosity, which made her feel inexplicably a little shy.

"Next time, I'll go deliver wild mushrooms to Uncle Lin again."

"..."

Hearing Chen Shi'an say this, Wen Zhixia realized what he was going to do with the other bag of wild mushrooms he was carrying. She had been quite curious about it.

"Oh."

The girl pouted and asked casually, "So, are you having dinner at Principal Lin's house again tonight?"

"No, I went back right after dropping off the animals. I'll eat with my roommates."

"That's true, it's not good to always eat at other people's houses."

Wen Zhixia felt relieved.

After delivering the items, the two chatted idly for a while.

"Then I'll go first."

"Okay, I'll wait for you at the intersection at 6:15."

"it is good."

Chen Shi'an left carrying the dumplings and the bag of wild mushrooms.

The aunt from the nearby convenience store then came out out of curiosity.

"Zhizhi, who is that boy? He looks like a Taoist priest. Is he wearing Taoist robes?"

"Yes, he was originally a Taoist priest, but now he's my classmate! My good buddy!"

"What kind of partner... living together?"

"No, it's just being friends, eating together, going to school together, and stuff like that."

"Your classmate looks very refined and has a good presence. He's also quite tall, so his grades must be pretty good too, right?"

"...Uh, they cultivate Taoist magic, and they're proficient in it!"

"What about the grades?"

"……very good!"

What did he give you?

"A bag of wild mushrooms, which he picked himself in the mountains."

"Wild mushrooms! How thoughtful! These are so rare! ...Wow, they look quite good too!"

"That's it, Auntie! Let's make this for dinner tonight!"

Seeing her aunt's happy face and her constant praise of Chen Shi'an.

Wen Zhixia felt her back straighten up considerably, her face full of pride and smugness.

(End of this chapter)