Chapter 488 - 185: Temple Fair (3)
Chapter 488: Chapter 185: Temple Fair (3)
Zhou Zuan packed up his stall and walked over to the group.
De’an, Zhao Jing, and the others inevitably bowed in greeting again. After Mr. Zhou told them to rise, De’an asked mischievously, "Mr. Zhou, why are you leaving already? It’s still early and the crowd is just picking up. How much money will you lose out on by going home now?"
Zhou Zuan chuckled. "If you think I’m not making enough, then you should all have your fortunes told. Gift me a few silver coins."
"In that case, why bother with a fortune-telling? Couldn’t we just give you the silver directly?"
"You are my student. How could I refuse such a display of filial piety? Are you planning to give me ten taels, or twenty? Your teacher’s family is poor, you know. We’re counting on today’s divination fees to get through the New Year. If you’re flush with silver, feel free to give more. Your teacher certainly won’t turn it down."
De’an... took a step back, clutching his sleeves tighter.
He still had his big sister to support him.
The single tael of silver the government gave him each month wasn’t even enough for his spending money. He relied entirely on his sister and parents to get by, which was the only reason he could live so freely.
The thought of giving money to Mr. Zhou made his heart ache.
Wang Jun laughed out loud and tossed a few words at De’an, "Look at you, so pathetic."
He then casually pulled out ten taels of silver and placed it in the small bowl in front of Mr. Zhou. "Your student wishes you a most auspicious New Year, and may every year be better than the last."
Following Wang Jun’s lead, Zhang Lingxin and Sheng Kaiyan took out either ten or twenty taels in silver coins. Seeing this, Chen Wanqing also smiled and produced two small silver ingots, placing them in the bowl as well.
’Holding a small bowl like that, he looks like a monk begging for alms. Except it’s not a master asking patrons for donations, but a teacher asking his students. If word got out, it would surely cause a few laughs.’
But Zhou Zuan didn’t care whether he was a laughingstock or not, simply gathering up the silver with a cheerful grin.
"I’ll just consider this a gift of filial respect from you all... See? I predicted I’d strike it rich today. Look at this, so much silver obtained without even lifting a finger. It looks like it’s going to be a good New Year after all..."
He wasn’t saying this to the group of students, however, but to Mr. Yin, who had just returned.
Mr. Yin glanced at the gleaming silver coins and scoffed, "You’re really good at fleecing your students... Packing up already? Don’t. A lot of students from the academy are here today. If you stay a little longer, you might just earn enough for next New Year’s too."
Zhou Zuan paid him no mind and turned to leave. "No can do. I have to go now. Nine out of ten of my fortunes are wrong. If the people I read for earlier realize it and come back to settle the score, these old bones of mine won’t be able to take it..."
Zhou Zuan quickly disappeared from sight. Mr. Yin looked at the students before him and said sarcastically, "Since you’re all so rich, how about you help me out a bit too... Speaking of silver, I almost forgot. Now that you mention it, I remember—Zhao Jing, you conned me out of more than a hundred taels before. When do you plan on paying me back?"
Zhao Jing pretended not to hear him. He took Chen Wanqing’s hand and turned to head up the mountain.
"Let’s go pray to the Buddha, Wanqing. We can ask for a few peace charms to ward off evil and avert disaster. You know, to prevent getting scammed by someone who might show up at our door one day..."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Yin’s face instantly darkened.
The beauty beside him stifled a laugh and soothed his chest. "The students from your academy are certainly interesting."
This only made Mr. Yin angrier. He brushed the woman’s hand away and stormed off toward the edge of the temple fair.
Meanwhile, De’an and the others waved their hands, laughing as they called for Zhao Jing to wait. "Jing, where are you going? Wait for us!"
"Chen De’an, are you looking for a fight? You stepped on my foot! My shoe is dirty now."
"Hey, where do you think you’re touching? Is a young lady’s foot something you can just touch? You! Get away from me."
The group listened to Sheng Kaiyan and De’an bicker as they quickly caught up to Zhao Jing and Chen Wanqing.
De’an ran to his sister’s side and began muttering to Chen Wanqing about how he had been wronged.
Just a moment ago, as he was coming over, he and Wang Jun had both set their sights on the same little fox mask.
But it was the very last one.
He reached for it, and Wang Jun reached for it too. The two of them were at a standoff, daggers in their eyes.
Sheng Kaiyan, standing nearby, offered a terrible idea. "You two let go first. Then I’ll count to three, and whoever grabs the fox mask first gets to keep it."
He and Wang Jun fell for the trick. The moment their hands left the mask, Sheng Kaiyan, quick as a flash, snatched the fox mask for herself.
It wasn’t that she genuinely liked the fox mask or even really wanted it; she simply believed that things you snatch from others are always sweeter, so she decided to compete with them for it.
But once she got the mask, she just gave it a cursory glance, said she didn’t like it, and handed it over to Xiang’er.
How infuriating is that?
How shameless can you be!
He was furious, so he deliberately bumped into her and stepped on her foot. In return, Sheng Kaiyan chased him down and landed several punches on him.