Step Down, Let Me Come!

Chapter 35: Back to Business (2)

“Shopkeeper”.

She tied her motor in front of the bookstore, then trotted in. The shopkeeper was just doing calculations. When he heard a clear young voice, he raised his head, seamlessly swept his gaze around, and bowed his head once again, making noise with his abacus. He asked faintly: “What book do you want to buy?”

Shen Tang pointed at a notice outside the door.

They accepted artworks at high prices.

“Shopkeeper, do you receive sketches here? How much?”

When she said that, the shopkeeper's fingers froze as he calculated with the abacus. The “pop” sound of the beads colliding with each other stopped abruptly, with a lingering noise.

He raised his head. Firstly, he wanted to confirm something from her face, then he smiled meaningfully: “The guest wants to sell paintings?”

Shen Tang nodded: “Yes, I want to try”. 

Who knew the shopkeeper would shake his head: “Customer, I’m afraid you won’t be able to give us the paintings that we want, how about going to a different store to look around”.

“I paint, you buy, is it inappropriate?” 

The shopkeeper laughed involuntarily and thought that Shen Tang was too young to understand, so he gave her a tactful excuse: “For this job, small shops usually look for older married painters. If their painting skills are not enough, as long as they can catch the eye, it’s okay, but age, and experience are the most important”. 

Shen Tang still hadn't thought it through, but when she heard the reminder that “age and experience are the most significant”, her expression turned weird.

She frowned, and hinted back gently: “Oh, so that's what it means. Ahem, I understand what the shopkeeper means, but sometimes age and experience really doesn't matter. I believe that knowledge and insight are essential.

Shopkeeper choked: “You understand?” 

Shen Tang asked in reply: “Why would I not?” 

Anyway, according to Qi Shan, she was also a “rich kid” who “visits prostitutes, is promiscuous, dissolute, and unrestrained, and also plays with people”. If she didn’t understand, wouldn't she have to be sorry for Qi Yuanliang's messy character design? Shen Tang felt that she lived in the world of a Mixitu (Japanese erotic comic). 

As everyone knew, before transmigrating she was an ordinary painter, an otaku, and she depended on her work to live.

In her sparse memories, her scope of business was quite broad – from cheap private profile pictures to more expensive commercial manuscripts, drawing emoticons, and making fan pictures. Regardless of whether it was a knowledgeable person or a high-profile person, they were all her clients.

In terms of painting skills, she couldn’t compare with those big masters who made people want to kneel for them, but with her skills, it shouldn't be difficult to make a living.

She had some confidence in her professional skills.

The shopkeeper stared blankly, could it be that he made an error in judgment?

Then, he recalled that he hung this announcement a few days ago and still no one came, but the clients were rushing him. It was rare for someone to come at this moment, so he might as well let him give it a try. Anyway, he could hand in the drawing first and then settle the money. If the drawing was bad or unsatisfactory, he wouldn't suffer a loss anyway.

The shopkeeper muttered something, he decided to let Shen Tang give it a try.

He had to say some unsightly things first, such as the method of settlement, and the content requirements of the painting. This time, the Mixitu picture requested by the client had specific requirements. The client was the number one servant of Moonlight Building, and he requested to use him as the main character to draw a set of Mixitu portraits with passion, but the image shouldn’t be too intimate. 

Shen Tang temporarily didn’t notice the content. 

She only heard “Moonlight”—wasn’t it a coincidence? That was the place where Mister Chulao was working. 

“Moonlight Building?”

She used fingers to form a pen, dipped them in tea and wrote the words “Moonlight Building” on the wooden table. The words were flamboyant, like a dance of phoenixes with a heroic spirit assaulting the senses, wild but not chaotic, the overall look was pleasing to the eye.

The shopkeeper’s eyes lit up, and his expectations immediately soared. 

If his handwriting was like this, his painting would probably also be impressive.

“Yes, it’s truly Moonlight Building”. 

There was only one Moonlight Building in Xiao city.

Shen Tang asked again: “Portrait Mixitu is not a problem, the requirements are also okay, only – I have never seen that person”. 

The shopkeeper waved his hand: “You don’t have to worry about that”. 

Under normal circumstances, the owner of the portrait would meet with the painter. If he wasn't very famous, he would dress up as a model for the painter, just to make the painting look nice.

It was necessary to know that asking an artist to draw Mixitu wasn’t something that all the people in that kind of business could do. It was usually the treatment that only the top card or quasi-top card of commercial entertainment areas could get, and this was also because of their fame.

It was to consolidate popularity and attract potential patrons.

If the Mixitu painting sold well, then with time, they could rely on painting to earn even more money.

To sum up - 

It resembled a personal portrait. 

The reality wasn’t the point, the point was to highlight the beauty of the characters.

Shen Tang understood: “Then I will come back later?” 

The shopkeeper: “What are you going to do? Going now is better”. 

Shen Tang was flabbergasted, she turned her head to look at the bright sun outside.

“Now? Daytime?” 

Even if she didn’t remember much, she still knew that daytime wasn’t appropriate. 

The shopkeeper broke into laughter: “That person is a celebrity, if the young lady goes there at night, he won't have time to entertain you, let alone to let you paint. That kind of place is really messy, it's not suitable for a young lady to set foot at night. Now is the most suitable time”. 

Shen Tang didn’t doubt that.

Only - 

“Are you familiar with Moonlight Building?”

The shopkeeper blurted out: “I’m not that familiar with it, after all, there are so many famous venues in Xiao City, and they have all been cooperating with each other. It’s just that Moonlight Building is famous and easy to contact”. 

Shen Tang pondered, then asked: “If… I want to buy an odd-job man from Moonlight Building, how much would it cost?”

The shopkeeper noticed that she was asking seriously, and after a little brainstorming, he imagined the ethical drama of “the younger brother and sister who were deeply in trouble, when the poor painter stepped forward to buy them”. After all, apart from such reasons, normal people would not spend an unreasonable amount of money to buy handymen working in such places.

“This, generally, it depends on the sex and age of the worker; with different conditions, the price would also be different”. Hiring a painter could improve his relations with customers. The shopkeeper was in a happy mood and didn’t mind Shen Tang's questions. “Only all the people from entertainment venues know, besides white skin, these people are all black inside, so the price could be steep. They wouldn’t let go of meat easily. Even a handyman can charge three to five times the normal price”. 

Shen Tang muttered: “Yes, if you want to get out of a place full of greedy people, you really have to take off a layer of your skin”.

She had a bold thought.

If Mister Chulao was willing, she would buy him.

Qi Yuanliang, this “guide NPC” would fly away from her, so couldn’t Mister Chulao take his place? 

She didn’t know Mister Chulao’s address, but if she went to his workplace, she would definitely be blocked by people, and she would end up like a monk who couldn’t escape the temple.

Shen Tang thought that the shopkeeper was exaggerating the amount of that kind of avenues in this city and absolutely didn’t expect that it was the truth. In the central area of Xiao city, there were five long streets with these kinds of businesses. 

Only in the daytime, the streets were empty.

She was speechless: “This, so much?”

The shopkeeper didn’t wonder at the strange sight. 

“The county encourages… building?” 

Shen Tang turned stupid. 

The shopkeeper led Shen Tang to stop in front of a brand-new building. He asked her to wait outside, then went alone to announce them, and came out after a while and said: “He just woke up, and he will come after putting on makeup. Let's go to the tea shop facing the street to wait.”