40 Chapter 40
The female cultivators who rushed over were already immersed in the various clothing, bag and jewelry shops. Some male cultivators also gathered curiously at the door of the strange snack stalls to satisfy their appetite. Zhang Daoquan stood on the street for a while in a daze, and finally decided to find a place with few people and come back at noon.
He came here simply because he wanted to get the same piece of jewelry as Miss Pianpian. He was not very interested in anything else.
The directions on this makeshift commercial street were a bit confusing. Zhang Daoquan followed the signs along the road and finally found the exit. Just as he was about to leave with a sigh of relief, a familiar melody suddenly rang in his ears:
"Stride forward and break free from shackles and discipline,
The ridicule and mockery are all in the past..."
It is the theme song of Xiuxian Dream Factory, sung by forty contestants. It is played at the beginning and end of each show, and he can sing it every time.
What's the point of a talent show? Could they even sell the contestants' singing and dancing? Zhang Daoquan was puzzled. He turned around and involuntarily walked into the store.
As soon as he entered the door, he was dazzled by the dazzling array of portraits of beauties. At the entrance was the new issue of Hehuan Weekly. Hanging against the wall were portraits of popular contestants of various sizes and shapes, some of which had never appeared in the magazine before.
"What is this?" His eyes stopped at a piece of paper printed with portraits of Miss Pianpian. The paper was about the size of a magazine. Each of the Miss Pianpian portraits was pointed at by a finger, and there were various postures such as walking, practicing, dancing, etc. The clothes of each portrait were different.
Very lifelike and a little cute.
"Master, these are stickers." This shop was originally a half-dead brothel. After being acquired by Ning Shu, these prostitutes and waiters changed their careers directly. Now they can earn a lot of money through their own labor. The service attitude of these salesmen is extremely enthusiastic.
"The back of each portrait is smeared with the juice of firefly grass and dried in the shade. You can take it off at will and stick it on your storage bag, magic weapon or mount. If you don't want it anymore, you can just tear it off without leaving any trace." The female salesperson said as she picked up an unpacked sticker from the side and took it off, then casually stuck it on her clothes.
Liu Pianpian, with her graceful dancing posture, was firmly attached to the rough cloth, and it looked as if she was dancing on the salesperson's chest.
"A bag of ten stickers costs only two spirit stones."
Zhang Daoquan was deeply moved. He waved his hand and said, "Give me a bag!"
"Okay!" The salesperson immediately smiled happily. She picked up a small bamboo basket from her side and put the stickers in it. Then she pointed to a long strip of cloth with words written on it next to the stickers and started to sell them:
"Master, this is a wristband. You can wear Miss Pianpian's signature on your wrist..."
"Give me one!"
"This is a tattoo sticker. You can tattoo Miss Pianpian's portrait or signature on your body. Of course, our product is washable..."
"Give me one!"
"These are light boards and glow sticks. I wonder if you won a ticket to the finals? Hold these up high when Miss Pianpian performs. I guarantee she'll see you right away!"
Zhang Daoquan, who actually won a ticket, was overjoyed: "Come on! I want the biggest and most eye-catching one!"
"Ah! Since you've won a ticket, would you like to prepare a cheering uniform? Our uniforms are all exclusively authorized by the contestants. Look at this robe, Miss Pianpian's eyes are embroidered with pure magic..."
"I want a set!"
Just like that, one after another, beautiful little cards, special craftsmanship, life-size posters, cute and soft cotton dolls...
Zhang Daoquan lost himself in Miss Pianpian's beautiful face. It was not until he finally filled his storage bag and walked out of the store that he finally regained his sanity.
"Have I been spending too much lately?" He muttered to himself while pinching the bag of spirit stones that had been flattened a lot.
This is strange. Both the magazine and the card only cost a few spirit stones. Why did my savings go through so quickly?
He squatted on the busy roadside, with a bitter face, and recalculated his remaining assets. He found that he had spent money like water in the city that never sleeps for the past month. If he continued like this, he would have to sleep on the street because he could not afford the rent.
"Alas, everyone used to say that the Nightless City was a den of infamy, but I didn't believe it. Now I see that it's really true!" Zhang Daoquan clutched the flattened bag of spirit stones, feeling heartbroken. He stood up with a gloomy face, clenched his fists, and made up his mind:
"It's decided! From now on, I will never spend any spirit stones other than food and lodging! After watching the finals, I will leave this place completely!"
"It's time! It's time! The jewelry store is open! If you want to get the same piece, get in line! Be quick or you'll miss out!"
Zhang Daoquan: ...
Me, I'll just buy one jade pendant! Just the last one!
The spacious jewelry store was crowded with fans of different players. Many monks had obviously also visited the peripheral store. They rushed in wearing pain clothes and carrying peripherals. If you didn't know, you would think it was a fan meeting.
Zhang Daoquan squeezed in with all his might and finally reached the counter. Just as he was about to buy a jade pendant and leave, he suddenly heard the sweet voice of the salesgirl:
"Five thousand spirit stones can buy a jewelry gift box including jade pendants, hair crowns, bracelets and all other moonstone accessories. The box also comes with a music box featuring the surrounding characters. Immortals who like it should not miss it!"
As she spoke, the salesgirl casually picked up a music box for display and opened it. A little figure in a red dress opened her arms and slowly spun to the sound of pleasant music, as if Miss Pianpian was dancing in her palm.
"Of course, there are music boxes from other contestants, but you can only get one from a gift box!" The saleswoman smiled and closed the lid. The beautiful and dreamy music abruptly stopped. "If you want to buy a gift box, please come to me and pay!"
Zhang Daoquan: ...
Although he really wanted to get that music box, his empty pockets helped him resist the temptation. He walked dejectedly to the counter where the jade pendants were displayed. Even the fact that he was about to get the same one as Miss Pianpian couldn't make him happy: "I want a red moonstone jade pendant."
"Give me three jewelry gift boxes. The music box must be Miss Huai Jin's! Oh, and give me three copies of all the hairpins, earrings, necklaces, and other things you have! I'll mail them to my mother and sister-in-law later!"
To make matters worse, at this moment he heard the arrogant voice that he least wanted to hear.
Wang Zhicai swaggered to the counter and threw down a bag of spirit stones without even looking at them. He laughed contemptuously as he passed by Zhang Daoquan carrying a lot of bags.
"Hmph, poor brat, weren't you very arrogant before? Now you're short of money, right? Let me tell you, the champion of this competition must be Miss Shangguan! You casual cultivators should hurry up and make a living! Hahahahahaha!"
"Hahahahahahaha!" The other second-generation rich kids and lackeys behind him also laughed wildly, and walked away laughing like a very standard cannon fodder villain.
Zhang Daoquan was so angry that his face turned red. He took the jade pendant from the clerk, threw down a few spirit stones, and turned away angrily.
Humph! What's so great about being rich? It's just a blessing to be born into a good family! Unlike me? Every single one of my spirit stones was earned through my own hard work!
Zhang Daoquan became more and more angry as he walked on the road. He walked aimlessly on the criss-crossing roads with his head down. Finally, he simply sat down under a willow tree by the lake and started to sulk.
Don’t bully the young because they are poor!
One day, I'm going to crush those arrogant second-generation rich kids under my feet! Make them admit that Miss Pianpian is the rightful champion!
Zhang Daoquan picked up stones from the lakeside and threw them into the lake as if to vent his anger. The crackling sounds startled the carp in the lake. Several old men who were fishing shook their heads and walked away with disgust on their faces.
But Zhang Daoquan was not relieved. He sat under a tree, staring at the shimmering lake, feeling very sad.
Although Wang Zhicai, the playboy, is hateful, what he said is not without reason. If he wants to continue to support Miss Pianpian, he needs more money, otherwise he can only pack up his bedding and leave the city that never sleeps, this den of money, in disgrace.
But I've watched Miss Pianpian come this far, and I really don't want to leave her now! Zhang Daoquan picked up the pebbles on the shore and threw them all in, splashing the water in the lake.
"My fellow Taoist, are you sitting here alone with any worries?" Suddenly, a steady and concerned voice came from behind.
Zhang Daoquan paused in his frantic movements, slowly turned around, and quickly dusted off his hands and stood up. "Hengwen Immortal Lord? What do you want from me?"
Immortal Lord Hengwen is an immortal lord who enjoys great prestige among the independent cultivators. Not only did he cultivate from a mortal to the late Golden Core stage by himself, but he also had a wide circle of friends and never bullied the younger generation. Overall, he was a strong man with both strength and reputation. Zhang Daoquan still respected such an elder very much.
Moreover, this person's style of doing things in the City That Never Sleeps is also very different. He doesn't have a particular favorite contestant, nor is he obsessed with this talent show. He doesn't leave here like those uninterested monks. Instead, he watches every game without missing a single one, making it impossible to tell what he is thinking.
Why would such a highly respected immortal king look for me, a casual cultivator who is still in the foundation-building stage?
As if aware of Zhang Daoquan's doubts, Hengwen Immortal Lord took the initiative to come over and sit next to him: "Don't be nervous, my friend. You haven't done anything rude to offend me. I'm here to seek your cooperation."
"Cooperation?" Zhang Daoquan was completely bewildered. "You still need to cooperate with me? Cooperation... on what?"
Immortal Heng Wen did not answer directly. Instead, he took out a small Spirit Shadow Stone from his sleeve, activated it with his spiritual power, and pointed it at the shimmering lake. He then played the captured image back to Zhang Daoquan:
"This is a piece of Spirit Shadow Stone I found not long ago. I tried to use it to capture the scene like you did, but for some reason the picture isn't as clear as yours. Do you know why?"
"This is because I engraved some talismans and spells on the Spirit Shadow Stone to amplify its clarity." Zhang Daoquan scratched his head embarrassedly:
"I'm a talisman practitioner. I usually like to study things like magic arrays and talismans. This is a magic array I developed myself. I originally wanted to use it for seeing through invisibility and illusion, but unfortunately, it didn't perform well in actual combat. Now I can only use it to shoot things..."
"I see..." Immortal Lord Hengwen pondered for a moment after hearing this, and suddenly looked up at the young wandering cultivator. He was still wearing an outer robe and inner shirt embroidered with the image of Liu Pianpian, but the moonstone accessory he wore was only a jade pendant. Perhaps he was a little short of money...
Thinking of this, Heng Wenxianjun smiled. He raised his hand and patted Zhang Daoquan on the shoulder: "My dear brother, I have a promising business deal here. If you take it, you can earn a lot of spirit stones. I wonder if you are interested in cooperating with me?"
"Ah?" Zhang Daoquan looked confused. After thinking for a while, he asked half-doubtfully, "What kind of business is this? I can't beat someone who's trying to steal my money and kill me..."
"Don't worry, there's no need to fight." Heng Wenxianjun twirled his beard proudly. "A few days ago, I bought an abandoned mine at a low price. It only produces fragments of this kind of Spirit Shadow Stone."
He put his arm around Zhang Daoquan's shoulders and helped him stand up. "I'll provide the raw materials, and you'll be responsible for the processing. Before the finals begin, we'll sell this special spirit shadow stone at a high price to the audience watching the finals. No one can resist such temptation. Then we'll split the profits 50-50..."
【Author’s words】
Years later, Zhang Daoquan, who has become the Steve Jobs of the cultivation world, said: Without Miss Pianpian, I wouldn't be who I am today. This is the power of idols! [Spread flowers]
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