Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 13: Outer Sect Senior Brother

"Yiyi, I'm going out."

Zhao Yifu picked up a book box and walked out. He decided to go out and make money.

His third uncle had already left, and he had to find a way to make money before the two hundred taels of silver left by his third uncle were used up, otherwise such a big house would probably remain abandoned.

As for the one behind him seeing him off, it was a pitch-black kitten.

The kitten seemed very clingy, so Zhao Yifu named it Yiyi.

For example, he was about to go out at this time, but the cat was sitting quietly behind him, but when he turned around, Yi Yi ran behind Zhao Yi Fu very quickly.

Zhao Yifu had reacted and turned around, but the collar of his clothes on the back was tightened, and then he felt a small thing pulling at his clothes and climbing onto his shoulders.

So clingy.

Zhao Yifu nodded helplessly at the little guy's head on his shoulder, and simply took the kid out with him.

He is going to prepare to make money.

As for ways to make money, the only way he could think of at this time was to sell calligraphy and paintings.

He felt that this would not only supplement his family income, but also allow more people to appreciate his calligraphy and paintings, so that he could complete his practice of painting.

After all, he had finally reaped the benefits of Danqing Miaofa recently. The huge boost to his practice made him unable to stop after trying it once.

Zhao Yifu didn't go out early. After all, he was going to set up a calligraphy and painting stall, and his target customer group was different from those stalls that opened in the early morning.

He went to the City God Temple with a clear goal. The market here was the largest in Moyang City. Many snacks, books, calligraphy and paintings, and antiques were set up here.

Because there are many pilgrims coming here, and many of them are nobles and wealthy businessmen who want to have children, the cultural relics market here is also very good.

However, when Zhao Yifu arrived here and prepared to set up his stall, he suddenly realized something...

Well, one reason is that there are limited stalls, and the other is that he found that there are too many competitors here!

There were so many calligraphy and painting stalls, which reminded him of something he had neglected recently: his calligraphy and painting skills were only average!
He felt a strong atmosphere of competition and didn't expect that he would have to face such competition after living a new life.

Zhao Yifu originally wanted to find a place to set up a stall, but now he doesn't think so.

Before setting up a stall, he has to do a market survey to ensure his "market competitiveness".

He was feeling a little irritated, so he reached out and grabbed Yiyi in his sleeve and started kneading her.

It has to be said that Yiyi's soft body makes him feel very relieved. Of course, he also pays attention to his strength so as not to make Yiyi feel uncomfortable.

He first walked along the street in front of the City God Temple and found that the items sold here were mainly cultural relics and snacks, and there were also some book stalls specializing in selling books.

There are people selling calligraphy and paintings, but you can tell at a glance that the stalls are not run by the artists themselves.

Because those calligraphy and painting stalls are actually connected to the book stalls, judging from the signatures, they should be works by famous artists in Moyang City put here for consignment.

He definitely couldn't compare to this kind of calligraphy and painting. Zhao Yifu showed an embarrassment. He had no advantage here.

So he turned to the back street of Chenghuang Temple.

Compared with the bright and beautiful Front Street, this place looks much messier, and the quality of the stalls is completely different.

There are some calligraphy and painting stalls here, but the quality is naturally not as good as those of the famous artists' consignment stalls on the front street.

It even seemed that the quality of some stalls was not as good as his...Here, Zhao Yifu finally found a sense of belonging, which at least made him feel that he was not that bad.

Even so, his competitive advantage is still not obvious. Market research needs to continue.

Zhao Yifu continued to study the situation of his colleagues here...

"what?"

He was stunned.

Because he saw a familiar trace at the signature of a piece of calligraphy. Although it was not his "Xin Zi Zhang", it was obviously also a kind of spirit-suppressing seal!

Good guy.

He looked at the stall owner with thick eyebrows and big eyes in astonishment, and was about to say something but stopped himself.

The stall owner was slightly taken aback when he saw him like this, and then asked tentatively: "Brother, are you studying at Molu Academy?"

Zhao Yifu understood something instantly. He said with a strange feeling, "Senior Brother?"

The man with thick eyebrows and big eyes looked like a real street vendor. He laughed and said, "That's right. What's your name, Junior Brother?"

Zhao Yifu quickly said, "My younger brother Zhao Yifu's courtesy name is Junxin. You can just call me Junxin."

The stall owner nodded and said, "So it's you, my dear brother Junxin. I'm Song Jie, courtesy name Zitai. I'm a few years older than you, so I'm not ashamed to call you 'brother'."

The character "玠" implies good fortune and wealth, and "泰" means small going and big coming. This character has the meaning of good fortune after bad luck.

"Brother Zitai, when did you come down the mountain?"

Zhao Yifu asked curiously.

The stall owner, Song Jie, sighed and said, "I have wasted forty years of my life this year, and have been away from the mountain for ten years. Unfortunately, not only have I lost the expectations of my master, but I have also lost the title of scholar I had passed before leaving the mountain. Now I can only make a living selling calligraphy and paintings here."

They were a little too familiar with each other, perhaps because Zhao Yifu also came down from the mountain, which made Song Jie feel that they were in the same boat... They were both brothers who had expired their outer sect.

Zhao Yifu simply sat down next to this senior brother and asked curiously, "Brother Zitai, did you also come down from the mountain after achieving academic success?"

Song Jie said, "Yes, this may be the final consideration given by our master for our life in the mortal world."

He sighed and said, "With the title of scholar, at least I can have enough food and clothing."

"Unfortunately, I was so focused on my cultivation that I neglected to continue my studies. As a result, in the sixth year after I left the mountain, I received the lowest grade in the annual examination and lost my academic title. This is how I ended up in such a difficult situation."

Zhao Yifu sighed after hearing this. The annual examination was held every three years. It was used to admit students and also to assess whether the old students were qualified. It was not a one-time thing to pass the examination and become a scholar.

He asked, "Brother Zitai, do you know if there are any other brothers coming down from the mountain?"

Song Jie looked around the streets, then pointed in a direction and said, "That used to be another senior brother's calligraphy and painting stall. Unfortunately, he's old now, and he stopped coming after his wife passed away."

Pointing to the street, he said, "Three years ago, after the annual exam, two junior brothers came over there. They probably felt that staying here would lead to no future, so they soon decided to travel abroad to study."

"Now I'm the only one on this back street... Oh, and you're here too, brother Junxin. Now it's just the two of us."

Zhao Yifu was silent for a moment. According to what Song Jie said, it foreshadowed the fate of the two types of outer disciples.

One is to finally choose to give up like the senior brother and return to ordinary life.

The second option is to travel abroad to seek opportunities. Their status as scholars also allows them to travel and study abroad conveniently without the need for a travel permit issued by the government.

But what about those who left?

(End of this chapter)