PCJ – Chapter 71 Seeking to Buy the Safety Talisman

“Jiaohua, Jiaohua!”

Zhang Jiaohua was still inside the house drawing the Talisman when he heard the Dumb shouting loudly outside.

Putting down his brush, Zhang Jiaohua went out and saw the Dumb leading Teacher Gong into their yard.

“Teacher Gong, this is Zhang Jiaohua’s home. He usually doesn’t go to the village much, so he must be in the house at this time.” The Dumb turned around and immediately saw Zhang Jiaohua standing at the door. “Jiaohua, I’ve been calling you for a while, why didn’t you respond? Teacher Gong is here to visit your home. Where are your parents? Teacher Gong hasn’t eaten yet. You need to have your parents prepare some food. Did you finish eating the wild rabbit you prepared last time? By the way, you also raise three wild rabbits. Why not just slaughter one for some appetizers?”

“I might as well slaughter you for appetizers.” Zhang Jiaohua glared at the Dumb impatiently, then smiled at Gong Ziyuan. “Teacher Gong, please come in and have a seat. My parents just went to the fields. You can sit for a while. I’ll go call them back.”

“No need, no need. I have something to discuss with you. Zhang Banggen, you go back first. I need to talk to Zhang Jiaohua alone. Thank you for your help today, Zhang Banggen.” Gong Ziyuan intended to buy more Talismans for the house from Zhang Jiaohua, and it wouldn’t be appropriate with the Dumb present. If the Dumb spread the word, it could cause some trouble.

The Dumb hadn’t expected Gong Ziyuan to change his tune. He thought he could have a greater role in this matter. Feeling conflicted, he lingered around the house, reluctant to leave.

“Zhang Banggen, you go back and tell your parents I’ll visit your home later. I still need to do a home visit. ” Gong Ziyuan had to change his approach. Indeed, the Dumb found this more acceptable.

“Oh, Teacher Gong, the chickens and ducks in our house have been troubled by some pests. I’ll ask my parents to buy some eggs from the village. We’ll prepare a meal for you.” The Dumb was more considerate in some aspects than his peers.

“No need, no need. I’ll eat at Zhang Jiaohua’s house first before going to yours. I’ll sit for a while when I get there.” Gong Ziyuan was amused by the Dumb’s actions. The child knew how to please others.

“I’ll go call my parents back. We raise chickens and ducks at home, so I’ll ask my mother to slaughter a chicken for you.” Zhang Jiaohua prepared to go out to call his parents back home.

“Don’t bother. I intentionally said that to Zhang Banggen. Actually, I came to buy a few more Talismans from you. I just conducted an experiment at school, and the Talismans indeed have the effect of repelling snakes. I want to place a few more in the classrooms and cafeteria to ensure that classes won’t be disrupted.” Gong Ziyuan quickly explained his purpose.

“I see. But the Talismans I just made were all taken by my father to give to my grandfather and uncles. I can only make two more here.” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“Two will do.” Gong Ziyuan just wanted to solve the immediate problem.

Zhang Jiaohua picked up his brush and continued with the previous Talisman. Drawing the symbols had a few challenges. First, the symbols were complex, requiring smooth strokes during drawing, especially for more advanced symbols where the brush must not pause. Second, the distribution of the ink, particularly the cinnabar, needed to be even, requiring precise preparation of the ink. The final step was to activate the spiritual power of the Talisman with an incantation and hand seal. Only then would the Talisman truly be effective.

Fortunately, this Talisman was relatively basic, otherwise, given Zhang Jiaohua’s current skill level and the interruption by the Dumb earlier, more advanced Talismans might have been ruined. However, he could continue with this one, although its effectiveness would likely be slightly compromised.

By the time Zhang Jiaohua finished the second Talisman, Zhang Youping and Liu Qiaoye had returned home from the fields.

As soon as she saw Gong Ziyuan, Liu Qiaoye immediately complained to Zhang Jiaohua, “Kid, why didn’t you call us when the teacher came for a home visit?”

“It’s not Zhang Jiaohua’s fault. I didn’t let him call you. I came this time to ask Zhang Jiaohua to draw two more Talismans for me. These Talismans indeed repel snakes. With so many snakes at the school, I specially came to ask Zhang Jiaohua to draw a few more.” Gong Ziyuan hurriedly explained to help Zhang Jiaohua.

Zhang Youping quickly reminded Zhang Jiaohua, “Kid, draw properly for the teacher. And this time, don’t ask the teacher for money during class.”

Gong Ziyuan couldn’t help but smile and said, “You still need to be paid. These Talismans are quite effective, even five yuan is cheap.”

“It’s not like that. Teacher Gong, please sit for a while. We’ll prepare some dishes, and you can have a meal before leaving.” In this era, parents were always very enthusiastic about teacher home visits. Moreover, most parents believed in the proverb “Spare the rod, spoil the child,” so when a teacher punished their child, they would even serve water for the teacher to wash their hands.

“No, no. I’ll go back soon. There are too many snakes at school. If I don’t handle this, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.” Gong Ziyuan hadn’t even had breakfast yet. Just as he finished speaking, his stomach embarrassingly growled.

Adults could restrain their laughter, but children couldn’t. Zhang Jiaohua didn’t even think about holding back his laughter. “Dad, Teacher Gong hasn’t had breakfast yet. There are snakes everywhere in the classrooms and cafeteria. Teacher Gong probably hasn’t even entered the cafeteria.”

“Teacher Gong, then you must eat before leaving. If you leave on an empty stomach, people will gossip and say I, Zhang Youping, don’t know manners.” This time, Zhang Youping directly held Gong Ziyuan back from leaving.

Gong Ziyuan, a weak scholar, couldn’t struggle free from Zhang Youping, a farmer, and had to stay. “You’re all too kind.”

“A teacher comes for a home visit, how can we let the teacher leave on an empty stomach? There’s no such precedent in our Meizi Village.” Zhang Youping chuckled.

Without Zhang Youping’s invitation, Liu Qiaoye had already skillfully caught a hen weighing less than two kilograms. It was a bit early to eat now, but they couldn’t find better dishes at home.

“Jiaohua, come and light the fire!” Liu Qiaoye called from the kitchen. Zhang Jiaohua happily ran over. The kids were quite enthusiastic about slaughtering chickens at home.

While Zhang Jiaohua was lighting the fire, he suddenly remembered something he experienced with the old Taoist in his dream. There was a water expert who didn’t want to share the chicken with others, so he melted a Frost Water Talisman into the pot when boiling water. No matter how others boiled it, the water never heated up. When touched, it was still cold. The water expert loved to play tricks on people, making them frustrated.

“Mom, do we have any water that won’t boil?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

“No, unless it’s Frost Water. Son, are you reluctant to give this chicken to Teacher Gong? Do you not want to boil the water?” Liu Qiao Ye asked with a chuckle.

“It’s not that.” Zhang Jiaohua wanted to have some of it himself.