Chapter 17: The First Immortal in History to Look for a Part-time Job
A month may not be a big deal for ordinary people, but for a master in the fetal stage, if he calms down and learns, one month is absolutely worth several years of ordinary people. For example, Zhang Huban's English is now very fluent, because Zhang Huban thinks that New York English sounds more pleasant to the ear, so he has been insisting on imitating and learning New York English. Now he can speak a fluent American New York English, if it weren't for everyone knowing that Zhang Huban is indeed from Wudangshan Shiyan City, I would really suspect that he is an overseas student who returned from studying in the United States.
Hangzhou is located in the southern wing of the Yangtze River Delta, at the western end of Hangzhou Bay, in the lower reaches of the Qiantang River, and at the southern end of the Grand Canal. It is an important central city in the Yangtze River Delta and a transportation hub in southeastern China.
Hangzhou has a subtropical monsoon climate with four distinct seasons, mild and humid, with sufficient sunlight and abundant rainfall.
The West Lake in the center of Hangzhou is a historic and world-famous scenic tourist destination, with numerous ancient relics, beautiful mountains and rivers, and picturesque scenery. The original surface area of the lake was 5.66 square kilometers, including the islands in the lake, which total 6.3 square kilometers, and the shoreline is 15 kilometers long.
The average depth of the water is about 2.27 meters, with a maximum depth of over 5 meters and a minimum depth of less than 1 meter.
West Lake has scenic spots everywhere. In addition to the "Qiantang Ten Scenic Spots" and "West Lake Eighteen Scenic Spots" in history, the most famous ones are the "West Lake Ten Scenic Spots" named during the Southern Song Dynasty and the "New West Lake Ten Scenic Spots" evaluated in 1985. Within the 60-square-kilometer garden scenic area centered on West Lake, there are more than 40 scenic spots and over 30 key cultural relics. In summary, the main scenery of West Lake is characterized by one lake, two peaks, three springs, four temples, five hills, six gardens, seven caves, eight tombs, nine creeks, and ten scenic spots. In 1982, West Lake was designated as a national scenic area, and in 1985, it was evaluated as one of the "Top Ten Scenic Spots in China".
West Lake is a poem, a natural painting, and a beautiful moving story. Whether it's people who have lived here for many years or travelers passing by, everyone is overwhelmed by this unparalleled beauty. In the third month of spring, swallows fly and grass grows long. The Su and Bai causeways are lined with peach and willow trees. On both sides, the water ripples and waves, boats dotting the surface, while in the distance, the mountains are shrouded in mist, with lush greenery. At this time, walking on the causeway, you'll be amazed by the scenery before your eyes, even intoxicated and bewildered, wondering if you've entered a paradise on earth.
Since studying, Zhang Sanfeng has come to West Lake with Ho Chi Minh and others several times, and also came alone several times. After all, this is the place where Zhang Sanfeng was raised. Every time he comes to West Lake, Zhang Sanfeng always feels endless melancholy. Although he is over a hundred years old and is considered a god-like figure in the eyes of the world, thinking about his unknown origins always fills him with boundless regret and inexplicable sadness.
Today is Saturday, and Zhang Huban is walking alone on South Mountain Road again. Although the weather is sunny, the autumn wind blowing in his face still makes him feel a bit chilly. With Zhang Huban's cultivation, he has long been immune to the cold and heat, but in order not to stand out, he is still wearing a very casual sports outfit. Of course, today's Zhang Huban is no longer the silly immortal who first came out of his thatched cottage, those rustic clothes were given to the beggars on the side of the road under the repeated persuasion of Hu Zhiming and others. Everyone has a love for beauty, and Zhang Huban is no exception. Moreover, every week he has to attend two English classes, facing two campus beauties recognized by everyone, one of whom is even a foreigner. And because of Zhang Huban's excellent English level, the Scottish beauty now favors him greatly, while Zhao Liya still refuses to give up and sticks to him. In this situation, if Zhang Huban doesn't pay attention to his image, he will be killed by the gaze of all the male students, because they think Zhang Huban is losing face for men! So, under the influence of his own vanity and the pressure from his classmates, Zhang Huban had no choice but to wear Nike, Adidas and other top-notch brand clothes that are considered supreme among university students.
Autumn West Lake is undoubtedly very beautiful and intoxicating, with the gentle autumn breeze blowing in, ruffling the waves, and bringing the fragrance of osmanthus flowers that delights the heart. The South Mountain Road is also a very beautiful and serene landscape line of West Lake, with tall Chinese parasol trees and dense leaves making people feel the air is particularly fresh and cool when walking underneath. However, Zhang Huban didn't come to enjoy the serenity and freshness of South Mountain Road; he came here to find part-time work. After spending 10,000 yuan on buying train tickets, clothes, tuition fees, books, audio equipment, updating his wardrobe, and treating others as the newly-promoted "Old Master", Zhang Huban was left with only a little over 1,000 yuan in his pocket. Although Zhang Huban had long surpassed the realm of eating and drinking, to live a normal life in today's world, one has to spend money. Therefore, Zhang Huban, who is considered a celestial being by others, reluctantly started looking for part-time work. Of course, Zhang Huban could have asked his disciples for money, but he thought it would be beneath him and, more importantly, believed that experiencing ordinary people's lives could broaden his horizons and improve his mental state. Otherwise, Zhang Huban could have become a wealthy merchant by selling elixirs directly.
Choosing to find a job on Nanshan Road, on the one hand, I heard that there are more cafes and bars here, operating mainly at night, with relatively high income. On the other hand, it is far from school, not often meeting acquaintances, and places like bars are a very complex social microcosm. Zhang Hupan thinks that integrating into life here, observing the lives of various people, can have a doubly effective secular cultivation effect.
Perhaps it's because of autumn, the evening is crisp and refreshing, many people like to come out for a drink in this season, so many bar entrances have a recruitment notice. Zhang Huban looked at a bar called Western Paradise on Nan Shan Road, which looks very American West-style from the outside, but whether they would hire him or not was still an unknown number.
Western Paradise is a two-story, independent villa with a pointed roof, covering an area of nearly 200 square meters. The entire wall surface uses the trunks of ancient trees in the original forest as its background, giving off a rough and rustic feel from afar. The small door is made of raw wood, and the decorator deliberately used tree trunks to decorate the door surface, making people feel like they've arrived at some remote roadside bar in the woods.
Here is the translation:
Zhang Huban rang the doorbell, and a lazy woman's voice came from inside, "Please come in." The door wasn't locked, so Zhang Huban pushed it open after hearing the voice. As he entered, he quickly took in his surroundings. The decoration of the bar was consistent with its exterior style, with wooden tables that had been stained to a brown color reminiscent of original forest wood. The lighting in the entire bar was a bit weak, perhaps due to this reason, the owner had turned on some lamps. To the left of the door was the stage, and to the right, against the wall, was the bar counter. A mature woman with a charming air sat lazily on a high stool behind the counter, calculating and checking accounts under the light. Zhang Huban estimated that this beautiful mature woman should be the owner of the bar, and just as he was about to approach her, he felt someone tugging at his pant leg. He turned around to see a four or five-year-old girl wearing a princess dress, with pigtails and bright big eyes. The little girl looked up at Zhang Huban with a shy yet curious gaze, and asked in a sweet voice, "Big brother, are you here to find my mom? My mom is busy right now, earlier I went to play with her, she said she was very busy and didn't have time! Why don't you play with me first, and then go see my mom when she's free?"
Liu Zhenxi is the female boss of this bar. Five years ago, she studied in New York, USA, where she met a handsome and elegant overseas Chinese rich young master. They quickly fell in love, but unfortunately, Liu Zhenxi did not expect that this rich young master was actually a very promiscuous playboy. In a fit of anger, she returned to her hometown of Hangzhou with two months of pregnancy and opened a bar with a unique atmosphere on Nanshan Road. Due to the decoration and layout of the bar reflecting the strong American Western small-town style, while promoting healthy drinking culture business concept, the bar gives people a different feeling in terms of cultural taste and guiding healthy consumption, deeply welcomed by customers, who flock to it, becoming a well-known bar on Nanshan Road.
The little girl who was pulling on the pant leg of a boy by the lake was named Liu Feifei, and she was the daughter of Liu Zhenxi. Because she grew up in a single-parent household and her mother was always busy running a bar, she had very limited time to take care of her daughter, which made Liu Feifei introverted and unwilling to talk to strangers. As for this symptom of autism in her daughter, Liu Zhenxi also felt extremely guilty, but as a single woman who had to support herself and her daughter, it was indeed not easy, and she didn't have much extra time to care more about her daughter. Today, her daughter's behavior greatly surprised Liu Zhenxi, and she couldn't help but pay attention to the boy in front of her, carefully sizing him up from a distance while slightly scolding: "Feifei, don't be naughty, let big brother come over, big brother has something to discuss with mom!"
If analyzed carefully, Liu Feifei's behavior is not strange at all. Little kids have a very pure heart, their souls are extremely clean, and the way they judge things often doesn't go through their brain but only their intuition, sharp intuition tells them who is bad and who is good, just like little dogs can clearly tell which stranger has good intentions towards their master and which one doesn't.
Zhang Huban grew up in the Xuanwu Immortal Realm from a young age, untainted by worldly thoughts, with a heart as pure as an infant's. He also cultivated the unique Heavenly Dao from a young age, understanding the profundity of heaven and earth, and being closely connected to them. His body naturally emitted an aura that made people feel close to him. Although he had sealed his own magical powers, having grown up in the Immortal Spirit Land for a long time, he inevitably picked up some lingering spirits, returning to nature, with an unadorned and simple temperament. This was also one of the reasons why Zhao Liya inexplicably did not resist sitting at the same table as Zhang Huban, otherwise, relying on Zhang Huban's appearance, even if it were true that Hu Zhiming's plan was ingenious, as the Heaven's Proud Daughter, Zhao Liya would not have sat beside Zhang Huban every time for a month.
For the innocent Liu Feifei, this stranger in front of her, at first glance, is a very good person who will not bring any harm to her. He has a kind and gentle aura about him that makes people feel comfortable around him, which only a little girl like her can sense strongly. After being lonely for a long time, Liu Feifei suddenly found such a big brother and couldn't help but muster up the courage to pull on Zhang Huban's pant leg, hoping he could play with her. However, after hearing her mother's words, Liu Feifei looked at her mother with some disappointment, then looked at Zhang Huban with eyes full of strong hope and said: "Big brother, will you play with me after you're done talking to mom?"
