Who would still be a social slave when they are so rich?

"Ideas? What ideas? Young man, you don't want this old man to open a shop and perform in a big city, do you?"

Clay Man Zhang stroked his beard, squinted his eyes and smiled: "That won't do. My old bones can't stand the torment of a tall building."

"Besides, my clay figurines have to be made in these old streets and alleys to have the right flavor!"

His rough fingers gently brushed over the clay figurines he had made on the table, with a hint of melancholy, "Look at these little gadgets. If they were placed in that bright glass cabinet, they would lose their vitality."

Su Chen couldn't help but flash a look of surprise when he heard this, and hurriedly explained with a smile: "Haha, old man, you misunderstood me!"

"Misunderstanding?" Zhang the Clay Man's expression froze, feeling that he was just being overly sentimental. He smiled and pretended that nothing had happened.

After all, he was old, and he didn't feel embarrassed. Following Su Chen's previous words, he asked, "Young man, tell me what you think!"

Su Chen did not respond to Zhang the Clay Man immediately. Instead, he turned around and glanced at other folk art craftsmen. Then he looked at Zhang the Clay Man and asked, "Grandpa, do you know any other intangible cultural heritage craftsmen?"

"Yes, of course I know him. We all make a living from our craft. Besides, we all live not far from each other, so naturally we often sit together to drink tea and talk about our respective crafts."

Speaking of this Clay Figurine Zhang, I think of the old lady Wang who was good at paper cutting. She just accepted two successors. Every time she has a party, she has to bring up this matter. It makes me angry just thinking about it.

Hearing this, Su Chen paused for a moment, then expressed his thoughts, "Grandpa, I want to create an academy for inheriting intangible cultural heritage, gather all the folk crafts in the country, and have you, the older generation of inheritors, teach and spread your crafts. What do you think?"

In fact, Su Chen still had some concerns in the beginning. After all, for intangible cultural heritage craftsmen like Zhang the Clay Man, what they care most about is the inheritance from master to apprentice and orderly inheritance.

To put it bluntly, only after gaining his recognition will he accept you as a disciple and pass on the skills to you.

In the past, taking an apprentice required a three-year probation period, and that was without salary, just food. If the apprentice did not perform well, they could be taught a lesson.

Once a teacher, always a father. This is not just talk. In their craftsmanship, only those who pass the test are qualified to learn relevant skills.

If Su Chen sets up an intangible cultural heritage academy, it means that apprentices can learn their favorite skills without passing any tests. This will be a little difficult for the older generation of craftsmen to accept for a while.

After all, they came from relationships like master and apprentice, and father and son!
This is also the reason why in modern times, more and more folk skills are slowly disappearing. Many craftsmen would rather take these skills underground than contribute them selflessly.

Of course...these are just one of the factors.

After Su Chen finished speaking, he looked at Zhang the Clay Man sincerely, waiting for his response.

After hearing Su Chen's thoughts, Clay Man Zhang was stunned at first, then he frowned and tapped his fingers lightly on the table, as if thinking about something.

After a long while, Zhang the Clay Man came back to his senses, looked up at Su Chen and said, "Young man, your idea... is quite interesting, but the thought is beautiful, and the reality is cruel. I believe you still have some understanding of folk arts."

Su Chen naturally understood what Clay Man Zhang meant. He nodded and was about to express his thoughts when he heard Clay Man Zhang's voice again.

"You know, the skills of us old guys are not something that can be learned casually!"

"Some things still depend on one's understanding, character, or even... some fate!"

Su Chen nodded, "Grandpa, what you said makes sense. I also understand your concerns, but times are changing, and the rules of our older generation should also change with the times!"

"If our craftsmanship is still passed down from master to apprentice as before, many folk skills may disappear in a few decades!"

Clay Man Zhang shuddered when he heard this, and a trace of fluctuation flashed in his turbid eyes, but it soon turned into a sigh, "Hey, what you said does make sense, but... who among the young people nowadays is willing to say this?
"In their eyes, making clay figurines, paper cutting, sugar painting, and shadow puppetry are not as practical as working in a factory. At least they don't have to worry about filling their stomachs!"

Seeing that Zhang the Clay Man was beginning to waver in his decision, he had to strike while the iron was hot.

"Grandpa, it is indeed as you said, but the times are advancing. Now that we have entered the Internet age, we can definitely let more people know about these intangible folk arts and let them like these intangible cultural heritages."

"In addition... while we are promoting folk art through short video platforms like Douyin, we can also earn considerable profits through the platform. Doesn't this solve the problems you just mentioned?"

"Just think about it. By then, thousands or even tens of thousands of people will learn related skills through your online teaching. Even if only one tenth or one percent of them truly fall in love with this craft, that would still be a lot of people!"

"By then, your disciples will be all over China. How proud you will be if you tell others about this!"

Clay Figure Zhang was also shocked by Su Chen's words. Thousands or tens of thousands of people would learn his technique of making clay figures. This was a scene he had never imagined.

"Is the Internet you mentioned really reliable? And is Douyin really as good as you said?" Clay Man Zhang is not young anymore, so naturally he has little exposure to this aspect, so it's normal that he doesn't know Douyin.

"Of course!"

As Su Chen spoke, he took out his cell phone from his pocket and immediately found a popular video with over 300,000 likes, but the content of the video was just a beautiful woman dancing.

"Grandpa, look, this is just a dance and there are hundreds of thousands of likes, which means at least millions of people watched it. If you post the process of making clay figures online in the future, it will definitely be a big hit!" Su Chen said as he handed the phone to Zhang the Clay Man.

Clay Man Zhang was watching the beautiful girl in the video wearing sexy hot pants and dancing dynamically, and he was mesmerized for a moment.

But he quickly came to his senses, coughed awkwardly, and nodded nonchalantly, as if he agreed with what Su Chen said.

"You are very thoughtful, but..." After a pause, a sly look flashed in Zhang the Clay Man's eyes, "My agreement alone is not enough, you have to ask other people for their opinions!"

Hearing Clay Man Zhang's answer, Su Chen's eyes suddenly lit up. This could be considered a successful first step. "What do you mean, old man?"

Clay Man Zhang laughed loudly, then stood up and said, "Come on, I'll take you to meet those old stubborn people! But I have to warn you, they are not as easy to talk to as I am."

Everyone would say compliments, and Su Chen is no exception, "Haha, with your personal introduction, this matter is halfway to success!"

"Don't! Don't be so confident!" How could Clay Man Zhang not hear the subtext in these words? It was nothing more than asking him to help say a few more words.

But... he knew how those people behaved, especially the old lady Wang who was the paper-cutting lady. If she knew that someone wanted her to pass on her paper-cutting skills to outsiders, she would probably poke them with a pair of scissors.

"Old Li, I brought an interesting young man to meet you!" Clay Man Zhang took Su Chen and walked towards Sugar Man Li who was closest to him.

Old man Li, who was sitting at the stall blowing up candy figures for children, glanced at the two of them, nodded as a greeting, and then concentrated on his work.

Su Chen stood aside and watched Sugar Man Li's operation. He saw a child sitting next to him with something like a tube in his mouth. Under the guidance of Sugar Man Li, he blew a few breaths from time to time, and soon a sugar man shaped like a rabbit appeared in his hand.

"Hehe~ Little guy, you are so awesome. This is your little rabbit. Hold it well and don't drop it!" Sugar Man Li handed the rabbit in his hand to the little guy with a kind face.

After the little guy followed the adults away, Sugar Man Li then turned his attention to the clay figurines Zhang and Su Chen who had been waiting for a long time. After looking them up and down, he asked, "Old Zhang, why are you coming to me instead of playing with your mud?"

"I must have something to talk to you about. Wait for me a moment. I'll go call the Paper-Cutting King and Shadow Puppet Chen over!" After saying this, Zhang the Clay Man rushed out. He didn't look like a white-haired old man at all. He was more agile and nimble than any young man.

"Boy, are you the apprentice of Zhang the Clay Man? You don't look like it. You have delicate skin and no calluses on your hands." Sugar Man Li looked at Su Chen with a puzzled look and asked. "Uh... I should be considered a tourist. I came here by chance!" Su Chen responded with a smile.

When Sugar Man Li heard this, he frowned slightly and became even more puzzled. Since he was a tourist, why did he bring Clay Man Zhang to see him, and also called Paper Cutting King and Shadow Puppet Chen over.

Although he was extremely confused, he did not continue to ask. After the other two people came, he naturally knew the answer.

Clay Man Zhang left quickly and came back quickly, followed by two elderly people in their fifties and sixties, a man and a woman, who were probably the two inheritors of intangible cultural heritage they mentioned earlier.

"Old Zhang, you called us here in a hurry. If you can't explain what's going on, I'll cut flowers into your clothes." Before the three of them could get close, they heard the slightly angry voice of old lady Paper-Cutting Wang.

The puppet Chen next to him was smiling, with his hands behind his back, and said softly: "Old lady Wang, you are already old, it's time to change your temper. By the way, Old Zhang, why did you call us here?"

The clay man Zhang who was walking in front said without turning his head: "Don't worry, you will know it soon."

When they arrived at the sugar man stall, Zhang the Clay Man immediately pulled Su Chen to his side. The three people, who had been muttering to themselves for a long time, immediately set their eyes on Su Chen.

"Let this young man tell you what's going on!"

Looking at the eyes of several people, Su Chen smiled and bowed, "My name is Su Chen, I am a tourist who came out for a self-driving tour. I happened to stay here for the past two days. I heard that there was a performance by the Qinqiang Opera Troupe, so I ran over to join in the fun. I didn't expect to see so many intangible cultural heritage inheritors here."

"The masters should know that in recent years, folk art has gradually faded, and fewer and fewer people are engaged in this industry. I am worried that these skills will disappear in the world in the future, so I want to set up an intangible cultural heritage academy and let the inheritors of intangible cultural heritage pass on their knowledge and experience in the academy."

Clay Man Zhang also added: "This kid also said that he would make a short video so that people all over the country can see our craftsmanship."

Finally, Clay Figure Zhang added, "Who knows, we may have disciples all over the country in the future."

When old lady Paper-cutting Wang heard this, she immediately became unwilling and frowned, "What? You want me to upload my ancestral paper-cutting patterns to the Internet? No way!"

Then he turned around and glared at Zhang the Clay Man, "Old Zhang, are you getting senile? That's the craft passed down from our ancestors!"

"You are confused!" Before Su Chen could even start to explain, Zhang the Clay Man, the Vanguard, retorted: "Old Lady Wang, think about your paper-cutting skills. Apart from your two apprentices who have not yet graduated after so many years of teaching, who else would be willing to learn? If you keep going like this, I'm afraid you'll really end up in your coffin."

Old Mrs. Wang was speechless. Her family knew her own business. Although she often said outside that she had two apprentices, they were actually her granddaughter and niece's granddaughter. She said they were her apprentices just to save face.

Hearing this, Sugar Man Li stroked his stubble thoughtfully, "What this young man said does make some sense. To be honest, I can't even sell ten sugar men a day at this stall now."

"Speaking of short videos, I have some experience with this. I went to set up a stall in the old street of the city before. A young man thought my sugar figurines were very good-looking and took a short video for me. Later, the young man told me that more than 10,000 people watched it!
"The young man wanted to take more detailed photos, but I refused. At that time, I thought that this was a skill passed down from my ancestors and there was no way I could let others see it. Now I regret it."

"If I had continued to let that young man take the photo, I might be a famous person now."

"Internet celebrity!" Su Chen quickly added.

Sugar Man Li patted his forehead with an expression of "Oh, my brain" and said, "Yes, I am an Internet celebrity. I may be the number one sugar man in Gansu Province or even in the northwest!"

As for the whole country... Although Sugar Man Li had thought about it in his mind, he just couldn't say it out loud. After all, he still had to have some shame.

Upon hearing this, Shadow Puppet Chen slapped his thigh, shocking everyone.

"I remember that my grandson insisted on doing some kind of live broadcast to me a few days ago, saying that more than a thousand people were watching online!"

Everyone talked to each other and soon broke through the psychological defenses of old lady Paper-Cutting Wang.

"Okay! Tell us what you think!" Finally, it was Zhang the Clay Man who stood up and brought the topic back on track.

Sugar Man Li, Paper Cutting King and Shadow Puppet Chen looked at each other and nodded in unison.

"In principle, we agree with what this young man said, but we still have some doubts about whether this intangible cultural heritage academy can be established, how big it can be, and whether the future will really be as you said."

"It's normal for you to have concerns!" Su Chen thought about it and quickly came up with a solution. "How about this? I'll find a leader you're familiar with in Tianshui or Gansu Province to discuss this matter!"

"For the time being, we will set up a small-scale intangible cultural heritage academy here. After all, you are the first batch of intangible cultural heritage inheritors. We are crossing the river by feeling the stones. Once we are on the right track, we will expand the scale and expand the scope to the whole of China!"

"What do you think?" Su Chen looked at the four people and asked.

These words scared the four people including Zhang the Clay Man. What did they mean by Tianshui or the leaders of Gansu Province that they were familiar with? Was that something they could call them?
They now believe in their hearts that Su Chen has the ability to set up this intangible cultural heritage academy. After all, they are almost 300 years old in total. He has no money, so what is there to cheat?

The four of them discussed in a low voice, and then it was Zhang the Clay Man who stood up, "Mr. Su...Mr. Su, you decide. We will all follow your arrangements!"

Su Chen smiled when he heard this, and immediately called Chen Fei over and asked him to call the person in charge of the Sunshine Project and ask him to contact the relevant leaders in Tianshui and try to get the Intangible Cultural Heritage Academy matters done in the afternoon.

In order to make Clay Man Zhang and his men more convinced, Su Chen directly asked Chen Fei to make the call in front of Clay Man Zhang and his three men.

Looking at the connected call and the respectful voice coming from the other end of the phone, the hearts of Zhang the Clay Man and his companions suddenly became more stable!
What surprised Su Chen was that the progress of this matter exceeded his expectations.

Less than twenty minutes after Chen Fei made the call, the person in charge of the Sunshine Project and the relevant leaders of Tianshui appeared in front of Su Chen.

After asking around, Su Chen learned that many leaders had come to Qingshui County today to participate in the Qinqiang performance, and the person in charge was also invited.

Zhang the Clay Man and his companions were all from Tianshui and often watched the news, so they naturally knew who the leader was. While they were excited, they were also shocked by Su Chen's identity.

After Su Chen had a friendly exchange with the leader, he put forward his own ideas, and received strong support from the other party regarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage Academy.

After some negotiations, the person in charge of the Sunshine Project was finally responsible for this matter. The investment was temporarily set at one million, and will be expanded later based on the results.

After seeing off the leader, Zhang the Clay Man and a few others excitedly surrounded Su Chen and talked a lot. To sum it up, they were very grateful to Su Chen!

"Okay, all of you go and do your own things. When the preparations here are done, someone will naturally contact you!"

"Hahaha, don't worry, Mr. Su, we will do our best to spread our respective skills at that time!" Clay Man Zhang immediately patted his chest and promised.

During the conversation just now, they heard with their own ears Su Chen tell the person in charge that he would pay them salaries every month in the future, and this salary was what they could only earn in at least two or three months now.

How can I make them unhappy!

The three Sugar Man Lis standing by also echoed the sentiment and promised to teach seriously!
After chatting with the four people for a while, many tourists came to them to buy clay figurines, sugar figurines and the like. Clay Figurine Zhang and his friends reluctantly dispersed and returned to their respective stalls.

Su Chen and his three companions wandered around the folk art exhibition area for a while. However, as there were too many people, they did not feel like continuing to play, so they finally decided to go directly to the Maijishan Grottoes.

After tasting the special food of Qingshui County - Eight Bowls, the four drove straight to Maiji Mountain. (End of this chapter)