PCJ – Chapter 72 Of Course You Should Charge for Your Skills

“Yesterday, my uncle brought a talisman to our house, and snakes dare not enter our door anymore. Do you know where uncle’s talisman came from? Let me tell you, it was painted by Jiaohua. Jiaohua learned the Meishan Water Method from the old Taoist in his dream and can paint symbols.” Zhang Yuanbao almost broadcasted this message throughout the village with a loudspeaker. Although there was no loudspeaker, Zhang Yuanbao managed to achieve the effect by tirelessly running around the entire Meizi Village.

“No wonder I saw Zhang Youping and his wife working in the field yesterday. Other families were busy chasing away snakes indoors. I thought they weren’t afraid of snakes, turns out there were no snakes entering their house at all.”

“How could Jiaohua, at such a young age, paint a talisman?”

“You don’t know this. Jiaohua is not an ordinary child. Last time, several kids who went to herd cattle with him got into trouble, but he alone escaped disaster by falling asleep. I didn’t understand what was going on before, but now I know. It turns out he has a master protecting him.”

“Then Jiaohua must have joined the Meishan faction.” (Joined the Meishan faction: Meaning he joined the Meishan school to learn the Meishan Water Method.)

“Why are you still talking? Hurry up and go to Youping’s house and let Jiaohua paint talisman for us!”

…

As a result, when Zhang Jiaohua’s family was preparing breakfast, they found all the villagers from the Meizi Village had gathered in their yard.

“What’s going on today, everyone? Why did you all come to my house? My pot is too small to cook so much rice.” Zhang Youping vaguely understood the villagers’ intentions. It wasn’t that Zhang Youping was selfish; he did want to help the villagers. However, the materials for making talisman were relatively expensive, and with their meager savings, they couldn’t afford it. Although they could ask the villagers to contribute some material fees, it would be difficult to explain when it came to money matters. Zhang Youping decided it was best to keep this matter quiet. Who knew that Yuanbao would spread the news in the village so quickly.

Zhang Dechun stood at the forefront, pointing at Zhang Youping and criticizing, “Youping, if your son’s talisman has this effect, and you secretly enjoy the benefits alone without telling the villagers, it’s somewhat unethical.”

“Yeah, Youping, what you did is really unethical. We’re all from the same village, whether it’s relatives or friends. You can’t just think about your own family.”

“Quickly take out the talisman and distribute one to each household. The villagers all appreciate your son.”

…

In an instant, the villagers criticized Zhang Youping one after another.

“Quiet!” Zhang Dechun and others vented for a while before saying loudly.

Zhang Youping’s face turned slightly red, and he smiled bitterly, “Uncle Dechun, actually, I only learned about the effect of this talisman yesterday. Previously, my wife’s nephew had some trouble. Jiaohua told me to buy some materials and he would paint a talisman to keep the house safe. Jiaohua placed the talisman on the altar and forgot about it. Who knew it would have this effect. Yesterday, when Teacher Gong came, I learned that talismans can actually repel snakes.”

“Is there any talisman left at home? Give one to each household in the village.” Zhang Dechun asked.

“No, there aren’t any left. The materials for making the symbols are quite expensive, so I only bought enough for a few symbols. They’re all gone. Where else would there be?” Zhang Youping shook his head.

“Then quickly go to town and buy the materials for painting symbols!”

“Yeah, hurry up and buy the materials. Let Jiaohua paint a talisman for each household.”

One or two people seemed to think that Zhang Youping had an obligation to provide them with a talisman, urging him impatiently.

Zhang Jiaohua came out and said, “Why should I paint a talisman for you? Do you think the materials for painting symbols are free? My master said that the symbols in the hands of the Meishan faction are our livelihood. There is no reason to give them away for free. If you want to take a symbol home, you have to pay respects and offer incense money.”

Zhang Jiaohua’s words stunned the villagers.

“Jiaohua, how much is the material fee for one symbol? Let’s all contribute the material fee.” Zhang Dechun quickly said.

“Yes, let’s all chip in for the material fee.”

Zhang Jiaohua pouted and said, “Teacher Gong wanted three talisman from me and gave me fifteen yuan. If you want me to paint symbols for you, each symbol will cost five yuan. My master said we should save money to get married.”

The crowd burst into laughter upon hearing this.

“I’m not joking with you. You have to give me the money first before I let my dad go to town to buy materials. I’ll paint as many symbols as I receive money for. You all looked down on me before, but now that you want talisman, you remember me?”

Zhang Jiaohua snorted coldly. Though he was young, he was well aware of the cold treatment he had received over the past few months. He never went to play in other people’s yards or talked to other children in the neighborhood during these months. For a child, this took a lot of perseverance.

Originally, Zhang Youping wanted to stop his son from charging the villagers for the talisman. But after hearing what his son said, he stopped in his tracks. Why should his son suffer so much disdain and cold treatment from others? Today, when something happened, why should he let his son give without receiving anything in return?

Liu Qiaoye leaned against the door, tears streaming down her face. She originally thought that her son didn’t understand and couldn’t feel the cold eyes of the villagers, but she didn’t expect her young son to be so sensible.

After this, no one spoke. What Zhang Jiaohua said was the truth. Ever since that incident, the villagers had been avoiding Zhang Jiaohua. Now that they needed help, they wanted others to help them for free. Where in the world could such a cheap thing happen?

“We’re all from the same village, how can we do this? What’s the cost of the talisman? We’ll contribute.” Zhang Benrui muttered among the crowd.

Old Carpenter Zhang Jiwang immediately said, “Then when you help the villagers pick up tiles (repairing house tiles), why do you always ask for wages?”

“I, I…” Zhang Benrui stammered, not knowing what to say. Picking up tiles is manual labor, but painting symbols is even more advanced, right?

Zhang Dechun took the lead, took out five yuan, and handed it to Zhang Youping. “Youping, you keep a record of who pays, and Jiaohua will paint a talisman for those who pay. Don’t bother with those who don’t pay!”

Zhang Youping stood there, unsure whether to accept Zhang Dechun’s money or not.

Zhang Jiaohua ran out, holding a workbook and a pen, “Grandpa Dechun, write down the names.”

Zhang Dechun chuckled, glanced at Zhang Youping, and said, “Look, Jiaohua is smarter. Go quickly to my house and ride my cargo bike to town to buy the materials needed for the talisman. The snake disaster in the village is so severe. Buy some extra materials. Is the money enough? If not, come to me for more.”

“It’s enough, enough.” Zhang Youping patted the hidden pocket on his trousers, which contained tens of yuan. Zhang Youping had planned to go to town today to buy materials for making a talisman.