Chapter 11: A Detailed Discussion on Character Interpretation

The teacher told a story about a fortune teller who interpreted dreams.

He said that one day, a fortune teller was sitting quietly at home when a man came and said that he had dreamed of a pig squealing and asked the fortune teller to interpret his dream.

The fortune teller said: "Today you will be invited to dinner." As expected, the man was invited to dinner.

An hour later, another man came and also said that he had dreamed of a pig squealing, and asked the master to interpret his dream.

The fortune teller said, "You must wear new clothes today." Sure enough, the man's wife returned from a business trip and brought back a new dress for her husband.

An hour later, another man came and said he had dreamed of a pig squealing and asked for an explanation of his dream.

The fortune teller predicted: Today you will have a fight with someone and get beaten up.

The man didn't believe it. He drove off, then around a corner. A car came from the opposite direction, and neither of them gave way. The other car, one of the Thirteen Guardians of the City, forced the man to reverse. The man tried to reason with the other car, but the other car aimed a punch at his face.

After hearing this story, I asked, "Why is this so? What criteria were used to interpret the dreams of these three men?"

The Taoist priest said, "Just follow common sense. For example, when we heard a pig squealing for the first time, we assumed it was hungry, so we fed it and it had food to eat.

When we heard the pig squealing again, we thought it might be because of the cold weather, so we packed a bunch of straw for it to keep it warm and have new clothes to wear.

The third time I heard the pig squeal, I became annoyed. I had already eaten and given it straw, but if it squealed again, I would pick up a stick and hit it twice.

"Oh - the so-called fortune-telling can be inferred based on common sense." I seemed to understand something.

The Taoist priest nodded. "That's basically it. You asked about Brother Shi, what industry is he in? I was mainly trying to figure out the word 'Shi', but then I thought, 'factory' and 'mouth' are the two elements, so according to common sense, I put him in the catering industry..."

Speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrived, and suddenly someone outside the door shouted: "Brother Shi is here."

As soon as Brother Shi entered, he brought a few braised pork trotters and placed them on the coffee table, explaining that he had long since decided to make braised dishes. He had been undecided, but the Taoist priest's words, "The truth will come out," suddenly made him feel clear-headed. He came today to express his gratitude.

Shi Ge sat for a while. He explained that he enjoyed cooking and was a refined foodie. He was particularly good at making braised dishes. After retiring due to illness, he'd been thinking about getting into the braising business. So, that day, he came specifically to ask for advice. The master said it had to be water-related, but in the end, there had to be no water. Shi Ge clapped his hands and said, "Isn't this exactly the same as how I make braised dishes?"

The Taoist priest smiled and asked, "How do you make your stewed dishes?"

Shi Ge said, "It's different. First, take the best pig skin and beef bones and boil them in a large pot. Add star anise, cinnamon, five-spice powder, fennel beans... and a few other ingredients I won't mention.

The soup should be cooked until it is thick enough to be scooped and pulled apart. Then, place the blanched pig's feet, head, heart, lungs, and other offal into the broth for half a day. Add water and simmer over low heat until the pot is completely free of water. Remove from heat. The pig skin and beef bone broth will have absorbed all the flavors of the stew.

I thought about it carefully, and the truth came out. It was quite vivid. Braised dishes need to be simmered in broth first, then dried out. While we were talking, a guest arrived, and Shi Ge bowed and said goodbye.

Two guests entered. One was fat, the other thin. Judging by the way they looked around as they entered the courtyard, it seemed they weren't there specifically for fortune-telling, but simply came in out of curiosity.

When the two men saw the Taoist priest, they nodded and smiled.

The Taoist priest was used to seeing people like this. He was walking on the street outside when he suddenly saw a sign of "divination and character reading" hanging on the gate of the courtyard. He sneaked in, but after entering, he was too embarrassed to leave, so he curiously read a character.

This is exactly the case with these two.

The Taoist priest didn't ask them to sit down, but the thin man was sensible and asked, "Sir, do you specialize in fortune-telling?"

The Taoist priest smiled and said, "I don't work hard, I don't know the difference between grains, I just make a living this way."

The thin man said, "Let me test one."

The Taoist priest smiled. The thin man sat down, and I pulled out a piece of paper for him. The fat man stood nearby, curiously watching the thin man write.

The thin man wrote the word "立" in a flamboyant manner and said, "Predict your future."

I felt a little nervous. The Taoist priest had used this word to tell a woman last time, and it was half of the Chinese character "辛" (hard work).

The Taoist priest took the paper, glanced at it, and asked, "What's your name?"

The thin man said, "Xiao Liming."

The Taoist priest nodded slightly and said, "Congratulations, sir, on your promotion within a year."

The thin man smiled and said, "Is there such a good thing? If it is true, I will definitely come to thank you."

The fat man standing nearby also became interested. He put his bag on the sofa and sat down to the left of the thin man. He wrote the character "也" (also). He was also asking about his future.

The Taoist priest looked at the paper and said, "There's no future to speak of at the moment. I'll be lucky if I can just hope for the best and live a stable life."

The fat man forced a smile and said, "Master, can you analyze this for me in detail? Otherwise, I don't know the whole story."

The Taoist priest smiled faintly. "The method of fortune-telling is nothing more than addition and subtraction. Adding water to your character '也' makes it '池', adding soil makes it '地', adding a lifting hand makes it '拖', and adding a single standing figure makes it '他'. The only difference is that adding the character 马旁 makes it '驰'. It's a pity that you're sitting with your legs together, not open."

The fat man was a little unhappy: "So this is how fortune telling works?"

The Taoist priest said, "Yes, that's right. Besides, if you look up the word '也' in the dictionary, it means a woman's perineum. Just as life offers many choices, you chose this one, and I have no choice."

The fat man smiled awkwardly. The thin man advised him, "Let's go, it's just a game of words, a game of words. Why bother with it?" while asking me how much it cost.

The Taoist priest waved his hand and said, "You two are not serious about fortune-telling. I just want to have fun. I also take it as a joke. But if you are upset by speaking frankly, then forget the money."

The thin man refused and insisted on asking the price. The Taoist priest said, "It has no price."

The thin man took out two bills and said to the fat man, "Let's go."

After they left, I asked the Taoist priest, "The last time that woman came, she also wrote the character 'Li'. Why did you predict that she would suffer for half her life? This time..."

The Taoist priest said, "Everything in the world depends on each other and transforms into something else. That woman came alone, all alone. This thin man also wrote the character 'stand'. Don't you see the fat man standing next to him?"

I still didn't react.

The Taoist priest wrote a word on the coffee table with his hand: Position.

I slapped my head and said, "That's right. Standing next to the character 立 means a person, which means position, or superior position."

The Taoist priest said: "Things in the world cannot be named, they are just things in the present moment. For example, this mobile phone, when you encounter a criminal, it is not called a mobile phone, it is a brick. No matter if it is worth thousands or tens of thousands, at this moment, its value is only a brick.

For example, this table. When an earthquake strikes, it's not called a table, it's called a shelter. If you crawl under it, even though the table is worth very little, it's worth a fortune.

I nodded repeatedly: "Teacher, you are so knowledgeable."

The Taoist priest taught me, "Living in an Arab country, with oil all under your feet, is called high welfare. Living in a poor, mountainous and desolate place, where you can't even leave the mountains for a day, is called a hard life. Many times, it's not that a person doesn't work hard. It's that their efforts don't make much difference."

Following the Taoist priest, I became more and more motivated to learn and made great progress, until one day, he decided to take me out to set up a "game".