In Langhuan City, a hundred miles away from Shaoyang Mountain, the winter festival is approaching, and every household is busy buying new year's goods. The markets in the city are crowded with people, and the streets and alleys are very lively.
The patriarch dressed up as a charcoal seller in his late 60s, with gray beard and hair, and used a blind trick to turn Chun Sheng into a dark and strong young charcoal seller.
The two of them were pushing a charcoal cart on the street, and Chun Sheng's eyesight was no longer enough.
"Clan leader, clan leader...look! There are many people there!"
"What did you call me?" the clan leader reminded in a low voice.
Chun Sheng stuck out his tongue and said, "Grandpa"
"My good grandson. Remember, your name is Xiaoxia. Don't use magic easily in the mortal world. Although we belong to a branch of the Celestial Clan and are not demons, we must be careful of the demon catchers. They can't tell the difference." The clan leader warned Chunsheng.
Chunsheng nodded.
"It's time to find a suitable appearance for you. You should pay more attention to it yourself." The clan leader continued to warn.
"It's okay, Grandpa, I'm not in a hurry. I'll take care of the Jade Clan's affairs first." Chunsheng responded carelessly.
The patriarch smiled and said, "If you are not in a hurry, others will be."
"Grandpa, are you talking about Danxia and Ziying?" Chunsheng could only think of the two of them. One was her twin sister who disliked her all the time and was holding her back, and the other was a good friend who hated her all the time.
The patriarch smiled and said nothing.
The grandfather and grandson were walking when suddenly, a hand stretched out from the side of the road and grabbed Chunsheng's arm tightly.
"Hey! Hey! This little brother! Please stay! I see that your complexion is different! I might be haunted by an evildoer!"
Chun Sheng was frightened, thinking that someone had seen her deception, and stood there without daring to move.
"Don't buy! Don't buy! No money." The patriarch slapped the old man's hand away and dragged Chun Sheng away.
Chunsheng didn't dare to look back, his heart was pounding with nervousness, and he asked the clan leader in a low voice: "Grandpa, is he a monster hunter? Has he seen me?"
The patriarch smiled and said, "They are just charlatans in the world. These people treat everyone like this."
"Charlatan?" Chunsheng didn't understand.
The patriarch explained: "Some people value money and are greedy for profit. If they don't get it, they will have all kinds of evil thoughts and evil deeds. When this car of charcoal is sold and exchanged for earthly money, grandpa will take you to go shopping and have a good experience."
"good!"
Spring is full of joy. I didn't know what the outside of the mountains looked like before, and I didn't have much yearning for it. Now that I saw the prosperity of the mortal world, my curiosity was aroused and I was very excited. I wanted to sell out the charcoal and go around for a while.
The grandfather and grandson found an empty space on a nearby street, set up a charcoal cart and started a charcoal selling business.
On the surface, the clan leader is selling charcoal, but in fact he is exploring the situation outside the mountain and making preparations to retrieve the Beiming Tongtian Big Shell.
Chunsheng didn't know it, but he followed the clan leader's instructions and started selling charcoal seriously, and the business was actually pretty good. After getting familiar with each other, I started looking around curiously when I had free time.
The "charlatan" old Taoist priest not far away gradually attracted Chun Sheng's attention.
It was freezing cold, but the old Taoist priest was wearing only one pair of trousers. The old Taoist robe had been washed white and faded, and the collar was frayed. The shoes on his feet were also single, and there was a big patch on the tip of his big toe. , looking poor and abject.
It’s freezing cold, why doesn’t the charlatan even have cotton-padded clothes? Chun Sheng was puzzled.
After a while, the old Taoist priest stopped several passers-by. Without exception, he threatened that the passers-by had strange complexions and were haunted by evil spirits, and recommended his "miracle medicine."
It's a pity that the old Taoist priest spent a lot of time talking about boredom, but no one fell into his trap.
Seeing that this method was not working, the old Taoist priest took a few medical books from the stall behind him and started to promote it vigorously.
Occasionally, one or two interested passers-by took a look at it, asked about the price, and left after saying, "It's more expensive than other stores."
"Huh? If you don't buy a book and you still read it for so long and take advantage of Pindao, let's at least get a fortune teller and read a fortune teller. I told you that if you are going to be unlucky, your whole family will be unlucky! Bah!"
The old Taoist priest was unwilling to give in and chased the passerby, cursing him.
After struggling for a long time without making any business, the old Taoist priest's throat was dry and astringent. He swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva and cursed, "You bastard hasn't come back yet!" Then he started coughing violently.
"Master! Master! The water is here!"
A young Taoist priest of fifteen or sixteen years old ran over from the alley holding a torn sheepskin water bag.
If the little Taoist priest didn't look at what he was wearing, he would have looked like a handsome young man, with handsome eyebrows and eyes like bright stars.
It's a pity that his little face was red from the cold, and the black and white patches on his face were covered with dirt. His original handsome appearance was completely covered up. Wearing a thin cotton tattered robe that didn't fit very well and patches all over, it made the body fat and clunky when running. Looking at him coldly, he looks like a slovenly beggar.
Seeing that the little Taoist priest looked so funny, Chun Sheng lowered his head and covered his mouth and laughed.
The clan leader looked at Chun Sheng, feeling helpless.
Chun Sheng laughed so much that he forgot himself, and his face was covered with black hands. He was so black that he didn't even realize it, and his silly look was not much better than that of the little Taoist priest.
"Master, drink some quickly." The little Taoist priest gave the water bag to the old Taoist priest.
The old Taoist priest took the water bag and took a big gulp. He almost lost his breath. He stared, stamped his feet and beat his chest before finally swallowing.
"Why are there ice cubes in the water? Do you want to choke to death as a teacher!"
The little Taoist priest hurriedly apologized, "Master, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! The water we just fetched from the well in the south of the city must have been frozen due to the cold weather. I didn't think well. I'll warm it up for you."
As the little Taoist priest spoke, he stuffed the cold water bag into his arms and warmed it with his own body.
"It's freezing cold. There are so many taverns and teahouses, but no hot water?" asked the old Taoist.
The little Taoist priest looked embarrassed, glanced timidly at the empty money box on the stall, and murmured in a low voice, "It costs money to get water in those places..."
"You are so shameless! You idiots who only care about money! Even a mouthful of hot water will cost me money! When I become famous, I won't even drink it if you give it to me!"
The old Taoist priest cursed and took out the water bag from the little Taoist priest's arms and put it in his arms.
"Master, let me warm you. I am young and have great firepower." The young Taoist priest tried to grab the old Taoist priest's water bag.
"I don't even listen to my teacher! Where does the firepower come from at such a young age?"
The old Taoist priest glared angrily, and the young Taoist priest had to let go.
Chun Sheng stared at the master and apprentice in trance.
I thought that there are people in this world who are so poor that they can’t even drink hot water! He had to use his body to cover up the heat so pathetically! However, the relationship between their master and apprentice is so good, and they are both afraid that the other will be frozen. It seems that the charlatans in the world are not so bad after all...
At this time, the little Taoist priest noticed that there was a young man selling charcoal diagonally opposite who always looked at them from time to time, so he chose a book from the stall and walked towards Chunsheng.
Chun Sheng felt bad, maybe he always looked at others, which made them come to sell things again, so he looked to the clan leader for help.
The patriarch shook his head and hinted Chunsheng not to buy it.
The little Taoist priest was different from his master's cheating style of grabbing customers on the street. He walked up to Chun Sheng and bowed his hands in a very polite manner.
"Not buying!"
Chun Sheng received the clan leader's instruction and resolutely refused before the little Taoist priest could speak.
The little Taoist priest was startled, but remained gentle and polite, "I'm not here to sell books, I just want to buy some charcoal."
"Ten bucks for a big bag, a hundred bucks for ten big bags, buy ten and get one free! Buy twenty and get three!"
Chunsheng is already very skilled. The patriarch taught her to act like an ordinary person selling charcoal, and she did her homework.
"Can I exchange this book for you for some charcoal?" the little Taoist asked.
"Huh?" Chunsheng was a little at a loss. This is her first time selling something, can she still exchange it like this?
"This book is a handwritten list of medicinal materials. I also drew the illustrations based on the medicinal materials. They are different from the rubbings outside. How much do you think the charcoal is worth?" the little Taoist priest handed the book to Chun Sheng and introduced it.
Chunsheng wiped his hands on his apron, took the little Taoist priest's book and opened it to read. The handwriting was clear, straight and beautiful, and the illustrations were also very delicate.
Chunsheng was a little reluctant to let go, so he asked the clan leader, "Grandpa, can we change?"
"Can ten bags of charcoal fire be exchanged for this medicine book of yours?" the patriarch asked the little Taoist priest.
"Okay!" The little Taoist priest nodded in agreement with a happy face.
At this moment, the book in Chunsheng's hand was violently snatched away.
I saw the old Taoist priest holding the book and scolding the young Taoist priest, "A prodigal thing, the skills passed down by the master are worth so little carbon! How can you belittle my demon-catching sect to death by freezing! You have copied this book for more than half a month, at least you have to Seven taels of silver!"
Chunsheng calculated that seven taels of silver could be exchanged for a hundred bags of charcoal. It was originally said to be ten bags of charcoal, but it suddenly doubled ten times.
She was a jade spirit from the mountains and didn't care about these dispensable mortal money, but the little Taoist priest first exchanged things for things, and the old Taoist priest sat on the ground and raised the price, singing and singing, which made her feel that she had been cheated.
"It's so expensive. I don't want it anymore. You can take it." Chunsheng said politely.
The little Taoist priest tugged on his master's lapel and whispered, "Master, it's not that expensive..."
"Shut up! Back off!"
The old Taoist scolded the young Taoist, raised the book high, and shouted, "Everyone, take a look! Comment! Some people read the poor Taoist's book, and the charcoal seller touched it with his dirty hands. He refused to buy it and bullied my Sanqing disciples!"
"You're talking nonsense! I wiped my hands!" Chun said angrily.
"Look at this! Look at this!" The old Taoist priest shook the book, and there was a small black fingerprint printed on the back of the book.
"Master, this is me..." The little Taoist priest wanted to say but the old Taoist priest pushed him aside before he could say anything, "Shut up! Go back and look at the stalls!"
There were many people in the market, and the old Taoist priest's scoundrels attracted many onlookers to watch the fun.
"You are unreasonable! I thought you were pitiful just now, but charlatans are really hateful!" Chun Sheng said angrily after he was wrongfully accused and soiled the book.
"Twenty packs of charcoal will give you this book. Otherwise, go to the Yamen. We won't sell the charcoal, and you won't be able to make money today."
The patriarch took a compromise approach and threatened the old Taoist priest with both soft and hard tactics. Selling charcoal in this trip is meant to hide people's eyes. It's better to do less than to do more. If the entanglement continues, they will abandon this place and find another place.
Seeing that there was a profit to be made, the old Taoist priest agreed immediately as he was blackmailing unreasonably and did not want to cause trouble with the Yamen.
The old Taoist threw the book to Chunsheng, rolled up his sleeves and took away twenty bags of charcoal, and also took two more bags by the way.
"It's twenty packs!" Chunsheng yelled angrily.
The old Taoist rolled his eyes and rolled his eyes at Chunsheng, "Didn't you say that if you buy ten packs, you will get one pack free!"
The old Taoist priest took advantage and walked away triumphantly. He returned to his small stall, solicited onlookers and continued to shout, "Fortune telling... fortune telling... fortune telling... catching monsters... Anzhai... seeing a doctor... selling books..."
Seeing the old Taoist being so shameless, the onlookers were afraid to avoid him and dispersed in a crowd.
The little Taoist priest looked guilty and bowed several times to the patriarch and Chun Sheng, apologizing and thanking them. He said that the twelve extra bags of charcoal that his master asked for should be regarded as borrowed by him, and he would definitely pay them back if he had the opportunity in the future.
The first time he went down the mountain, he was tricked by a mortal. Chun was so angry that he refused to pay attention to the little Taoist priest.
I thought to myself that this is a charlatan who deceives people and actually sings the same tune. Fortunately, she had the heart to give them some charcoal before. If you have the chance, you must play tricks on this master and apprentice!
