Director: Zhang Jie

Synopsis

The Cupping Immortal says life is like running a supermarket: you should learn as much as you can. So he keeps learning all kinds of trades, picking up whatever he sees others making money from. In the first half of his life, he worked as a wedding photographer, ran a teahouse, did massage and cupping, sold insurance, worked in sales, drove a tricycle and told fortunes, but all of these ended in failure. Now nearly 60, he is still learning traditional skills: ear cleaning, long-spout and short-spout teapot pouring, Jinqianban clapper storytelling, and face-changing and fire-breathing. In recent years he has made a living mainly by cleaning ears near the old Guanyin Pavilion teahouse in Pengzhen, occasionally performing face-changing and fire-breathing. In 2013, more and more ear cleaners came from elsewhere and competition grew; feeling under threat again, the Cupping Immortal set out once more to learn new things.