Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

A girl with a long braid walked around carrying a gong. Inside the gong were a few coins and a few small bills.

Niu Dazhuang also gave five cents.

"One more, please!"

"Yes, one more..." There's still not enough.

The gaunt man placed the fish tank behind him, clasped his hands in a fist salute to the surrounding crowd, and said, "I'm here in this esteemed capital to thank all my fellow villagers for their generosity. Since everyone wants to see another one, I'll give you another one." Before anyone could react...

Then the thin middle-aged man suddenly had a banner in his hand, which the girl with the long braid then helped to unfurl.

Hanging from a rope were several pieces of red silk cloth, nearly freezing in temperature, embroidered with the words "Wishing our elders and fellow villagers good health and happiness!" The father and daughter then bowed in gratitude.

Once everyone had seen what had happened, they stopped crowding around.

The girl with the long braid began packing up the props. Seeing that Niu Dazhuang showed no sign of leaving, the thin man stepped forward and asked, "Comrade, is there something you need?"

"Your traditional magic tricks won't make you much money, will they?"

"Young man, you're a smart guy. Luckily, your family is in the cooperative, so with the cooperative as a safety net, we can come out and earn some extra money for the team."

"Is this enough for you to eat?" Niu Dazhuang thought to himself, "Could there be some secret?"

The thin man looked at Niu Dazhuang warily: "Yes, it's just enough for my daughter and me to eat. Please, it's alright!" After saying that, he ignored Niu Dazhuang and turned around to pack up the props.

"Wait! Uncle, I don't mean anything by it, I just want to cooperate with you." Niu Dazhuang stated his thoughts directly.

"Cooperation? No need. As you've seen, the performance this morning was barely enough for my daughter and me to eat!"

The girl with the long braid looked at Niu Dazhuang warily.

It seems they won't agree unless I show them what I'm capable of. Niu Dazhuang didn't say much, looked around, and said, "Little sister, help me hold the black cloth up."

"What are you doing?" the girl with the long braid asked warily.

Niu Dazhuang didn't care whether she agreed or not. He unfolded the black cloth she had folded and then covered the props with it. When he lifted the black cloth, all the props that had been arranged were gone.

Niu Dazhuang said shamelessly, "Hehe, if you don't agree, I won't give the props back to you!"

The thin, middle-aged man took a single step and stood in front of Niu Dazhuang, circling him once before…

"Oh, we're in the same line of work! Your technique this time is excellent. Comrade, everyone has their own methods for magic tricks. Since you're so skilled, why do you insist on teaming up with us?"

"I've never done floor work before, and I don't have any help. I don't understand the ins and outs of it. How about I do something even more amazing for you this afternoon, and we'll see how it goes."

If it doesn't work out, the money spent on treatment won't even be as much as what you and your daughter combined would have, so I won't bother getting involved anymore.

"Oh, you can swallow tangential threads?" The thin, middle-aged man became interested.

Niu Dazhuang shook his head.

"Could it be the seven orifices separating the elixir?"

Niu Dazhuang continued to shake his head; he had never even heard of it.

Don't bother asking anymore. You can make inanimate objects disappear, no matter how big or small, and then make them come back to life.

"What kind of approach is this?"

"It doesn't matter what method you use, as long as you can make money, it's a good method."

"What's so special about it?" the thin man said dismissively.

"The object you're trying to make isn't big enough. If I could make a stone slab as tall as you disappear, wouldn't that be amazing?"

"Damn! You're just bragging. Don't abandon the job!"

"Come on, let's find a big rock, and I'll give you a performance right here." After saying that, he picked up the black cloth and walked towards the front door.

A thin, middle-aged man followed behind.

"Dad, is this guy a conman? Be careful," the daughter with the long braid advised.

"Daughter, you stay here and keep an eye on our equipment. I'll go take a look and see."

Not far from the gate of a large courtyard, I saw a mounting stone.

Niu Dazhuang covered the mounting stone with a black cloth. Before the thin, middle-aged man could even stand up properly, Niu Dazhuang lifted the black cloth, and the long mounting stone disappeared.

This stunned the magician; his mouth gaped open, and it took him a while to recover before he asked, "How many steps are you going to take?"

Niu Dazhuang spun around in place a few times, then took a few steps.

The magician walked to the spot where he had just placed the mounting stone, stomped his foot on the ground, and then knocked on the nearby brick wall.

"Can we walk back?"

"No problem, I can not only walk back, but I can also conjure up again."

"If you can really conjure it up again after we get back, we'll team up!"

A mounting stone that's a full saddle length must weigh at least 200 pounds. Let's see how you manage to turn back.

They went quickly and returned efficiently.

"Still running around here this afternoon?" Niu Dazhuang asked, turning around.

"Um,"

Niu Dazhuang handed a corner of the black cloth to the girl with the long braid who was still in a daze: "Hold on for me."

"oh!"

The girl with the long braid had just straightened the black cloth and was about to see what Niu Dazhuang was doing when, in a flash, a large rock appeared behind the black cloth, with the props that had just disappeared on it.

The girl with the long braid squatted down and reached out to touch the large stone. When she touched the cool mounting stone, her eyes widened. She stood on the mounting stone, mounted her horse, and jumped a few times.

"How...how did you do that?" This was completely beyond her comprehension.

At this moment, the thin middle-aged man also came over, squatted in front of the mounting stone, gripped the bottom of the mounting stone with both hands, his face turned red, and he finally managed to lift the mounting stone a foot high.

Now it's confirmed, this isn't a prop, it's a real stone.

After setting down the mounting stone, he clasped his hands in a polite gesture and said, "Young master! You're amazing! With your skills, we're not afraid of not making money! Lunch is on me."

The three of them each had a bowl of Kyoto-style fried noodles. Through their conversation, they learned that the thin man was named Wang Baoguo and the girl with the long braid was named Wang Xiuying.

"Brother, with this amazing skill, you'll never have to worry about food and drink!" Wang Baoguo said with admiration.

"Brother, to be honest, I'm not a seasoned traveler; I'm a complete novice. This was just a spur-of-the-moment decision."

Wang Baoguo patted Niu Dazhuang on the shoulder, "I can't guarantee anything else, but just these two months in the spring, I guarantee you'll do better than you did in a whole year of work!"

"Hey bro, is there some secret to this? I didn't see much income this morning!"

"Yeah, I can only earn enough for food on weekdays, temple fairs are the real money! Spring is the season with many temple fairs, there's one at Ditan Park tomorrow, let's get to know each other this afternoon, and then we'll go to Ditan Park tomorrow."

"Oh, I see!"

"That's right. There are many temple fairs in Kyoto, and ordinary people have spare money. They can earn quite a bit by going around these fairs."

After the three finished their meal, Wang Baoguo pulled Niu Dazhuang aside to a secluded spot and asked, "How was the 'Six Immortals Return to the Cave' story?"

"Brother, I've only ever heard of the Three Immortals Returning to Their Cave?"

"The upgraded version of 'Three Immortals Return to the Cave' should be no problem for you. You can make such a big stone slab disappear, so a few eggs are nothing."