Chapter 17: You're convinced

When he arrived in the house, Li Qingquan hurriedly asked the two to sit down. He was so flattering that he really got home, and even gave up his chair. He respected Chen Wanrong very much, but he had never given up his chair to Chen Wanrong to sit. There was still a difference in the closeness and distantness.

Zheng Jianqiu's sitting posture is much more elegant. He puts his hands on his knees and sits straight, like a primary school student who is listening attentively. He does not sit or stand or stand, and is half lying and half leaning like Li Qingquan.

Chen Wanrong thought of a word "being polite and courteous". Zheng Jianqiu, a person who has been to the Imperial College, has rules for sitting, lying and walking, and even sitting, there are rules for sitting. Dealing with such people will make people restrained. Chen Wanrong didn't have this idea, but Li Qingquan was already restrained and did not have casualties with Chen Wanrong.

Li Qingquan sifted a cup of tea for Zheng Jianqiu, served it with both hands, moved a chair and sat next to Zheng Jianqiu, like Zheng Jianqiu, with his hands on his knees and his waist straight.

Although Chen Wanrong was not influenced by Zheng Jianqiu, he had to pay attention to his appearance in this situation and followed Li Qingquan's footsteps. It was really awkward to sit in a straight posture, so he could not sit around casually. He was always glad that Zheng Jianqiu did not go to the Chen family, otherwise Chen Laoshi, who had been casual all his life, would not know how restrained he would be.

Zheng Jianqiu picked up the teacup, took a sip, opened his eyes and savored it. After a while, he said, "Qingcheng is good, a great cave tea, after leaving, the fragrance remains the tongue, carry the Qing flavor and make the heart flowers, and the fairy tea comes from the immortal family. What a good poem! Brother Chen, a good poetic talent!"

It was obvious that he admired this poem very much and did not allow Chen Wanrong to be humble. He then said: "The immortal tea is from the immortal family, it is absolutely true! If Jianqiu was not entangled with common things, he would have been in the Taoist sect long ago, hiding in Qingcheng Mountain, sucking the clear dew and eating the morning glow, which is the joy of life!"

There is a lot of regret in the words, and more life is unsatisfactory. Chen Wanrong finally understood why he likes Qingcheng Xueya. Rather than saying that he likes this tea, it is better to like the green and elegant tranquility of Qingcheng Mountain. He originally had a heart of being born, but he was attached to the world and had to stay in the world.

Li Qingquan's face was moved and he hurriedly comforted Zheng Jianqiu: "Old man, this practice does not have to be in the famous fairy mountains and rivers, as long as he has a heart, it's enough."

The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was surnamed Li, and he believed that the descendants of Lao Tzu, the ancestor of Taoism, respected Lao Tzu and praised Taoism. Therefore, Taoism was prosperous in the Tang Dynasty. The alchemist was very popular, and even the powerful people were surrounded by such scammers. Ordinary rich people were even proud of raising alchemists. Zheng Jianqiu was not only rich, but also the art of Huang Lao got closer to the alchemists.

The magical Taoist "Immortal Arts and Taoism" is even more admirable. Many people have the ambition to become a monk and study Taoism. Zheng Jianqiu is such a wise man, and sighed: "Mr. Li, you must know how precious Taoism and Taoism are. If you have success in learning Taoism, you can summon immortals and accompany immortals. What a blessing it is!"

Chen Wanrong's eyes were shiny, and he wanted to convince Zheng Jianqiu. Isn't this an opportunity? He coughed and laughed: "Old Master Zheng doesn't know that the Taoist magic and immortal techniques are just frauds, used to cover people's ears and ears."

Zheng Jianqiu had twelve respect for Taoism. When he heard this, he was quite amazing. It was almost like digging his ancestral grave. His affection for Chen Wanrong was gone, his face was stern, and his tone was very stern: "Brother Chen, you are a stinky person, you don't know the stories of the immortals, you don't know the magic of the immortals, you don't know the magic of the immortals, and you can't ramble!" He came to meet Chen Wanrong in a special way, and scolded him like this, you can imagine the anger in his heart.

Li Qingquan was so anxious that he hurriedly tried to smooth things over: "Old man, Wanrong is young and has never seen the magic of immortals. Don't go to your heart, don't go to your heart!" He couldn't wink at Chen Wanrong, meaning that Chen Wanrong should admit his mistake immediately.

To put it bluntly, the Taoist magic method is a chemical reaction. Chen Wanrong is an ancestor and doesn't care at all. He smiled and said, "If you don't believe it, what kind of magic method do you want to learn? I will pass it to you now."

"You... are so sarcastic! Don't talk nonsense." Zheng Jianqiu didn't believe that Chen Wanrong had the ability to be a god and scolded him angrily.

Chen Wanrong calmly and said with a smile: "Old man, do you want to see the fried evil spirit, the snake demon possessed, the cotton thread is used to make money, or do you want to see the bloody handprint?"

These are common tricks of the world. People with ulterior motives use the methods used by people with ulterior motives to deceive the people and cheat money. After all, they are a little superficial chemical reaction. The reason why they succeed is that the people have no knowledge of chemicals.

Li Qingquan was so anxious that he wanted to hit the wall. He hurriedly reached out to cover Chen Wanrong's mouth, but he grabbed Zheng Jianqiu. Zheng Jianqiu looked at Chen Wanrong in surprise: "Do you really know these immortal techniques?"

He knew the names of these scams, but he told them magically to the "godly people" he knew. It seemed like the magic of the gods in heaven. The secret skills were treasured by themselves, and the idle people didn't show them, and they only occasionally "showed their skills", which made Zheng Jianqiu stunned. He heard that Chen Wanrong said these names like he had known them. How could he not be surprised?

Chen Wanrong looked at his half-believing and half-doubted, and couldn't help but smile: "Old man, this is not a Taoist magic, it's a chemical reaction, it's worthless. If the old man doesn't believe it, I'll tell you, you can do it yourself and you will soon understand the truth."

The charm of Taoist magic and immortal techniques was very great for the ancients. Not to mention Zheng Jianqiu, even the extremely smart emperors like Qin Emperor and Han Wu were fooled. Zheng Jianqiu couldn't help but feel moved when he heard this and was eager to try: "Fried evil spirits, fried evil spirits! I saw that fellow Taoists caught the ghost and put them in the oil pan and fry them so hard that they were screaming."

Li Qingquan's words to him made his face change color, as if there were really ghosts, as if there were evil spirits entering the house, the wind was so terrible that he kept moving to Chen Wanrong. If he was scared again, he would definitely hold Chen Wanrong to let go.

Chen Wanrong had no choice but to comfort him, "Please rest assured, Mr. Li, there are no ghosts in the world, and ghosts are in their hearts, they are scaring themselves." Li Qingquan was still half-believing and half-doubted. Chen Wanrong continued, "You are asked to give me some vinegar, oil, pot, and a pot of fire."

"What do you want to do?" Li Qingquan stuttered.

Chen Wanrong was half-joking: "Old Master Zheng wants to see the fried evil spirit, so I, Chen Banxian, will show my magic skills!"

Li Qingquan leaned against Chen Wanrong, and he didn't even dare to answer the words. The superstitious thoughts of the ancients were much more serious than those modern times, otherwise those priests in the world would not be rampant. Chen Wanrong knew that he was so scared that he had to find these things by himself. Fortunately, he met Xiao Linzi as soon as he left the house. After saying what he wanted, Xiao Linzi did not dare to disobey Chen Wanrong's words, and did as he did, and moved the things to Li Qingquan's house.

Chen Wanrong raised the fire and put the pot on the fire. Then he said to Zheng Jianqiu: "Old man, you can do it yourself, pour the vinegar into the pot first, and then pour the oil on it. When you see the steam coming out of the pot, grab it in the air a few times, and just think it's grabbing the evil spirit, put it in the pot, and whisper a few more times. This is the fried evil spirit."

The fried evil spirit that Zheng Jianqiu saw was almost the same as this. It seemed that Chen Wanrong was the "Fellow Daoist" who caught the ghost. He was even more surprised and kept looking at Chen Wanrong. Finally, he couldn't help but be curious. He poured half a bowl of vinegar into the pot as he said, and then poured a bowl of sesame oil into it.

Suddenly, hot steam came out of the pot, and the oil pan was already hot. Chen Wanrong urged him: "Old man, grab it in the air a few times and put it in the pot to fry it!"

The oil pan was tumbling and it was already boiling. If I had put down my hands now, it would have been a fried chicken foot? Li Qingquan didn't believe it at all and hesitated: "Chen Wanrong, don't talk nonsense, can you let go?"

"Yes, that's to practice Taoism!" Zheng Jianqiu still did not forget the immortal magic and Taoism when he agreed.

Chen Wanrong knew that he would not believe it if he didn't set an example: "You see, please." After putting his right hand in the pot, Li Qingquan screamed in shock, unable to bear to look at it anymore, so he hurriedly covered his eyes.

Zheng Jianqiu was shocked and suspicious. Chen Wanrong lifted his right hand from the pot, gently threw off the oil, and stretched it in front of Zheng Jianqiu: "You are right, have you hurt me?"

After a closer look, it was just a little red: "What's going on?"

Li Qingquan no longer covered his eyes and looked straight at Chen Wanrong's right hand. The imagined "fried chicken feet" did not appear, and his eyes were so shocked that they opened their eyes wide.

"Vinegar is heavier than oil and will sink to the bottom of the pot. Once it is burned on fire, bubbles will appear, causing the oil pan to roll, as if it is boiling, but it is not hot. Old man, you can try it." Chen Wanrong finished explaining and encouraged Zheng Jianqiu to try it himself.

Zheng Jianqiu hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help curiosity. He lifted his right hand, gritted his teeth, and put it in the oil pan, but it was a little hot and there was no painful burning pain. He put the whole right hand in it and stirred it a few times in the pan, but it still felt good. He lifted his right hand, grabbed it in the air for a few times, and then put it into the pan. His lips were closed, but he made a chirping scream, as if the ghost was so angry that he couldn't stand it, and he screamed before he died.

Li Qingquan originally believed that this was a scam, but when he heard this shrill ghost cry, his face was ashamed and he couldn't help trembling. Chen Wanrong didn't want him to be too scared and smiled and said, "Old Master Zheng, okay, if you continue to blow it up, Old Master Li can't stand it."

Then Zheng Jianqiu lifted his right hand, stopped learning to scream, and sighed: "This is the magic? I have seen it, I have seen it!" The words were infinitely lonely, as if the idol was broken.

I have believed in Taoism and immortal techniques for my whole life, but when I am old, I find that it is all lie. It feels really uncomfortable, and it is even more uncomfortable than knocking over the Five Flavors Bottle.

Chen Wanrong understood his mood and comforted him, "Old man, where are the gods and immortals in the world? There are no ghosts and monsters at all. They are all lies that are used to deceive people, and they cannot believe it."

Zheng Jianqiu remained silent, and Chen Wanrong said: "I have read the "Tao Te Ching" and it is a very good classic. The ideas advocated in the book can be pleasant. Working hard for a day, relaxing, and reading "Laozi" for a leisurely time is also a good way to cultivate one's own self-cultivation. As for the pursuit of Taoism and immortal methods, it has passed."

Zheng Jianqiu was silent for a long time before asking: "Dare you ask Brother Chen, how did you do the blood handprint?"

Almost trustworthy, Chen Wanrong is naturally a good person to do it to the end, and he will answer all questions: "The problem lies in that piece of paper. Except for the hand that will make it look red when patting it on that piece of paper, it won't make it look red when patting it any other place..."

Zheng Jianqiu nodded and said, "Yes! This is exactly what I am strange about, and I can't figure it out."

Chen Wanrong continued to explain: "There is a thing called litmus lichen. It grows in a high mountain facing the sun. It is collected and mashed. After adding water, filter it with a cloth to remove the stems. Then soak the paper in water, then dry it, and store it properly. Whenever you want to use the method, secretly apply a little vinegar on your hands and pat it on the paper and it becomes a bloody handprint."

In modern society, this blood handprint trick uses phenolphthalein and alkali. This trick in the Tang Dynasty uses the principle that litmus is red under acidic conditions, and after all, litmus lichens can be found.

"No wonder whenever you use blood handprints, it smells sour, but they say it's a ghost who hasn't taken a bath for a long time. It smells so bad that it's really a death-deserving death!" Zheng Jianqiu sighed and sat down on the chair dejectedly.

After a pause, Zheng Jianqiu said in infinitely desolate words: "Where does the ghost come from in the world? Where does the gods come from? They are all lies!" He was deceived for a lifetime and was extremely angry, but he was well-educated and unwilling to swear.

He stood up and knelt in front of Chen Wanrong: "Brother Chen wakes up the dreamer, please accept Zheng Jianqiu's bow!" He touched the ground with his head, and he really kowtowed.

The reason why Chen Wanrong wanted to impress him was because he had something else to ask for. He didn't expect him to kowtow. He hurriedly went aside and said that he did not dare to accept his gift. He pulled him up: "Mr. Zheng, don't, don't."

Li Qingquan didn't expect that Zheng Jianqiu would kneel down to Chen Wanrong and come to help him. Zheng Jianqiu sighed to the sky, patted Chen Wanrong's shoulder a few times, and sat down: "Brother Chen, although you are young, your knowledge is far better than me. I think I have read more than ten thousand books. When I was young, I traveled all over the world. I have a broader understanding, but I haven't been able to benefit much from listening to my little brother Chen's words!"

This was convinced. Chen Wanrong had achieved his goal and comforted him with a smile: "My old man is so serious. I am a junior boy. I can only do these things. If you want to talk about poetry and books, I am not your opponent. I also have to ask for more benefits from the old man."

Decades of pursuit were shattered once, and the blow to people was very big. No matter how broad the mind was, it could not be calmed down in a short period of time. Zheng Jianqiu made a move at Chen Wanrong with his right hand, lying on the chair weakly, and sighing.

Every sigh seemed to hit the heart with a heavy hammer. Li Qingquan couldn't help but jump, and he didn't dare to disturb him. Chen Wanrong was very clear about his feelings, and sat silently and let him sigh.

Zheng Jianqiu is a person with strong self-control. After a while, he had almost calmed down. He sat up and returned to his erect sitting posture with his hands on his knees. He smiled at Chen Wanrong: "Brother Chen, I'll meet you today. I have something to discuss with you. I have used your soap. It's a good thing. Can you make a lot of it?"

Just as he was about to use the Zheng family’s old house to make soap, Chen Wanrong had not mentioned it yet, so he spoke first and took the initiative to deliver it to the door. Chen Wanrong said with great hope: "The old man doesn't know that it's not difficult to make this soap. It can be made in large quantities, not as small as pancreas."

"Okay, that's good!" Zheng Jianqiu smiled and said, "Brother Chen, you sold it to Mr. Li for eight guan. I will pay ten guan. How much do you have and how much do I want."

Soap is a business that makes a lot of money. Anyone with a little business acumen will not miss it. Chen Wanrong was not surprised at all. He smiled and declined, "I appreciate Mr. Zheng's beauty, but the soap cannot be sold to you."

Before Zheng Jianqiu could speak, Li Qingquan said first: "Wanrong, you are not as good as you can. This is all Mr. Zheng is happy."

Chen Wanrong explained with a smile: "It's not a matter of price. I'm going to tell you, I sold nearly 300 yuan in Qujiang, Changan on March 3rd. It took me less than an hour to sell it. The soap is indeed easy to sell. The Majia Store and Gaojia Store in Changan have already established a document with me and want to be a proxy for the soap."

"Agent?" Although Zheng Jianqiu's knowledge was extraordinary, he was still unclear when he heard about this new term.

Chen Wanrong knew that he didn't understand, so he chose to explain the agent to him. As soon as Chen Wanrong finished speaking, Zheng Jianqiu praised him: "Miaosi and Miaoguo! The agent is very beneficial to Mr. Chen, it is much bigger than selling it to me directly. Mr. Chen, I have several shops in Chang'an. If possible, Mr. Chen can be an agent for me." In order to reassure Chen Wanrong, I added: "Everything is yours."

For Chen Wanrong, he didn't have to spend money to raise an agent, but he just shared the money with them. Naturally, the more the better. There was no reason to refuse, and he smiled and said, "If the old man doesn't dislike it, there will be no problem. It's just that there is already a Majiadian and Gaojiadian in Chang'an. The old man should think about it." This is to remind him that there is no need to hide this kind of thing from him.

Zheng Jianqiu nodded and agreed: "I know that Majiadian and Gaojiadian are the two largest shops in Chang'an. In addition to several shops in Chang'an, there are also several in Luoyang. Since there are two Gaomadians in Chang'an, it must be almost the same. I mainly do Luoyang. What do you think?"

The western capital Chang'an, the eastern capital Luoyang! Since the founding of Duke Zhou, Luoyang has been an important city in China and has been the capital several times. Although the Tang Dynasty established Chang'an, it still did not forget to manage Luoyang and used Luoyang as a supporting capital. Wu Zetian even consciously strengthened Luoyang and set up some imperial departments in Luoyang, making Luoyang more prosperous.
Chapter completed!