Chapter 8: Customized (Part 1)

Because of the story of the Qing Dynasty's divine ears told by the nameless Taoist, Zhu Daodong had been most concerned about his eyesight these past few days. He was afraid that he might suddenly go blind at any moment. For this reason, he specially bought a vision chart from Xinhua Bookstore and hung it in his dormitory. Whenever he had time, he would test himself, fearing that his eyesight would gradually deteriorate like Nie Ye's, eventually leading to blindness.

However, what Zhu Daodong did not expect was that his eyesight not only did not get worse, but it actually improved. Originally, he had 200 degrees of myopia in college, but now, without glasses, he could see the 1.0 mark on the vision chart. This made him very surprised and pleased. It was all thanks to the nameless Taoist, who had scared him quite a bit. As a Chinese major, he had forgotten that good hearing and good eyesight go hand in hand. Only with good hearing can one have good eyesight.

The improvement in his eyesight greatly lifted Zhu Daodong's spirits. Yesterday was the midterm exam, and he spent the whole day grading papers at school. Since it was the 15th of the month, he thought the nameless Taoist wouldn't be hungry, so he didn't go to the Sanqing Taoist Temple. After school today, he bought some wine, two pounds of flatbread, and one pound of braised tofu and went to the temple. Although Zhu Daodong was a government employee, his salary was not high, and he couldn't afford to eat meat every day.

Speaking of the midterm exams, a few words must be said. Although Zhu Daodong did not fully dedicate himself to the class, he was responsible during his lessons. Moreover, due to his enhanced hearing, he could monitor the class's activities from his dormitory. Whether the students were whispering or misbehaving, he could hear everything clearly. Afterward, he would identify the culprits and scold them. At first, the students were不服 (unconvinced), as they were clever and knew when no one was paying attention to them. However, Zhu Daodong could repeat their words verbatim and describe their actions as if he had seen them with his own eyes. After a few times, the students were thoroughly intimidated.

Gradually, his class became the best-disciplined in the entire school. Good discipline led to good academic performance. In this midterm exam, although the top three students in the grade were not from his class, his class had the highest average score. The exam not only tested the students but also evaluated the teachers. The fact that his class had the highest average score earned Liu Tao's praise at a meeting and put pressure on the other teachers. Liu Tao said, "College graduates are college graduates; not only do they maintain good discipline in their classes, but their academic performance is also excellent."

For example, there was a student named Hou Tianming. When Zhu Daodong first took over the class, Hou Tianming's scores in Chinese, math, and English were far from passing. However, after half a semester, his scores were now hovering around the passing line. At this rate, he would soon catch up. For a new teacher like Zhu Daodong, it was not a pity to have no top students, but it was truly gratifying to have no underperforming students.

When Zhu Daodong brought the wine to the side room, the nameless Taoist was not there yet. He was not surprised and arranged the items, especially opening the wine bottle to let the aroma waft out, then waited for the nameless Taoist to arrive.

Soon, Zhu Daodong heard a series of quick footsteps approaching, getting faster and closer. A smile immediately appeared on his lips as he imagined the nameless Taoist's eager expression upon smelling the wine.

"Here you are!" Before the nameless Taoist even entered the room, Zhu Daodong called out from the next room.

"Are you a ghost? You know it's me even before you see me." The nameless Taoist was shocked. To get a drink of the old white spirit, he had moved much faster today, including his facial expressions.

Zhu Daodong was not surprised that he could hear the footsteps, but he was amazed that the nameless Taoist could be identified from over ten meters away.

When he saw the cotton balls stuffed in Zhu Daodong's ears, he was even more shocked. Damn, he could hear his footsteps so clearly and even identify him, it felt like seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

"I am actually a ghost. I used to only come to drink with you at night, but now my powers have greatly improved, and I can come during the day too." Zhu Daodong suddenly got playful, staring blankly with his eyes rolled up, looking straight at the nameless Taoist.

Seeing the white sclera and the lifeless eyes, the nameless Taoist, who always claimed to know everything from astronomy to trivial matters, felt a chill. Although catching ghosts was a Taoist's job, he, a wine-drinking Taoist, seemed to lack this skill...

"You... you don't scare me, I can catch ghosts." The nameless Taoist, who usually spoke confidently, now stuttered.

"Ha, scared you, didn't I?" Seeing the nameless Taoist's frightened face, Zhu Daodong couldn't help but feel triumphant, getting even for the scare.

"Little brother, scaring people can be deadly. Although I have profound Taoist skills, I am not immune to fear." The nameless Taoist, seeing Zhu Daodong return to normal, quickly sat down and took a big gulp of wine, as if to drive away his fear.

"Then why did you scare me last time? Let me tell you, my eyesight not only hasn't gotten worse, but it has improved. I don't even need glasses anymore." Zhu Daodong was even more pleased when he talked about this. Although 200 degrees of myopia was not severe, he sometimes had to wear glasses. Now, he could say goodbye to glasses forever.

"Congratulations, congratulations. This calls for a drink." The nameless Taoist was genuinely happy for Zhu Daodong, even though he didn't even know his name. They had become the best of friends.

"Although my eyesight has improved, my ears have brought me a lot of trouble, especially at night. Even with cotton balls in both ears, I can still hear the sound of rats moving outside. If this continues, I might go insane even if I don't go blind." Zhu Daodong sighed. Imagine trying to sleep when someone suddenly shouts in your ear; you wouldn't be able to sleep. Now, even with cotton in his ears, the sound of rats moving outside was still clear to him.

Only in the early hours of the morning, when he was extremely tired, could he勉强 (barely) sleep for two to three hours. Fortunately, he was still young and could endure it, but if this continued, his body would eventually give out.

"You can't even sleep at night?" The nameless Taoist was surprised by the extent of Zhu Daodong's troubles. Now, when he looked at Zhu Daodong, he felt more pity than admiration. For the nameless Taoist, there were only two major things in life: drinking and sleeping. Drinking, of course, meant drinking alcohol, and sleeping meant getting a good night's rest. Now, Zhu Daodong couldn't even get a good night's sleep, which was truly tragic.

"Indeed, even with an extra large cotton ball in each ear, I can still hear everything." Zhu Daodong had tried everything, but with his current conditions, stuffing cotton balls seemed to be the only solution.

"This is indeed a problem. Let me think of a way to help you." The nameless Taoist held a piece of flatbread, biting it while closing his eyes and thinking, his head moving back and forth. If he were cleaner, he would look quite profound...