Chapter 222: What has been popular for thousands of years is not the truth, but it is close to the truth

The next day after returning to the company, I went to Taiyi Temple.

Shiyu greeted him at the door.

We entered the dormitory and a young Taoist priest came in to pour tea.

Shiyu introduced the progress of work in the past ten days, including the recruitment of three new young Taoist priests and the training of the Taoist priests in the evening.

I thought for a moment and said, "Today is the 23rd. From now on, I will come to teach on odd nights. I will teach for ten nights first."

Shiyu said, "That's the best."

At this time, Wei Yiming called and said that he had collected a lot of physical objects through the "Alliance of Brokenhearted" group. He had sorted them out and asked me if I had time to take a look.

I said, "Okay."

As soon as the word fell, a woman came in and asked who was Taoist Master Honghui. Shiyu pointed at me.

I said to Wei Yiming, "I'll contact you later."

Putting away my phone, I looked at the other person. He was about thirty years old, with an above-average appearance, and looked very lonely.

When Shiyu saw that the other party called for me, he made a cup of tea and placed it in front of the woman, then left the dormitory and closed the door.

The woman smiled bitterly and asked, "Master, does life have meaning?"

I was stunned for a moment and asked, "What do you think?"

"Whenever I lie in bed, I often think about this question, and the more I think about it, the more horrified I become. I feel that life is meaningless. No matter how long a person lives, they will eventually die.

Once you die, you can never return to this world.

I don’t know what happened to this world in the future, how far technology has advanced, or anything else. I’ve been here, but it’s like I haven’t been here at all.”

I smiled brightly: "You hope to live forever."

"Yes. Even if I have to be a beggar, I'll do it."

"As far as I know, your wish began with Qin Shi Huang, who sent five hundred boys to the sea in search of the elixir of immortality.

Later, we Taoists continued to work hard, and generations of Taoists continued to refine elixirs, hoping to create an elixir of immortality.

Unfortunately, the elixirs we have refined so far have had no effect in prolonging life, other than poisoning a few emperors."

"If I live longer, and human technology advances, will we invent a medicine that will allow us to achieve immortality?"

I laughed out loud.

"Not only are humans not immortal, scientists are even divided on whether the Earth will exist forever. Some say it will one day explode and turn to dust."

She sighed deeply and said, "According to what you said, even the earth would explode. Life would be meaningless..."

I said, “Whether it’s humans, animals, or plants, they all know that they cannot live forever. The meaning of their existence is to continue their offspring, allowing future generations to watch the world change.

For example, the reason why plants grow fruits is to attract birds to peck at them, so that the seeds fall to the ground earlier, regenerate roots and sprout, and continue life.

Take animals, for example, lions. A lion king may have six wives, who give birth to a large number of children. Whenever a male lion cub is born, the lion king will either kill the cub or drive it out of the group when it grows up.

They fear inbreeding, which would weaken the vitality of the group and eventually lead to its extinction. This ruthless behavior also serves to prolong life."

For example, the same was true for humans in the early days. Due to low productivity and insufficient food supply, in order to prolong life, people generally died around the age of 36.

The age limit is 18. For example, a father can have a son at 18, but when his son turns 18 and can reproduce, he will die.

"Why?"

"Because he's become a grandfather, his life has been extended. And food is limited."

"Then why can people nowadays live to be 70 or 80 years old?"

"Thanks to technological advancements, food availability, and improved medical technology, we can now treat illnesses. In fact, after the age of 36, our lives are artificially extended."

She nodded.

“The growth, division, decay, and death of every cell are irreversible.”

She suddenly realized: "No wonder others say that it is difficult to pass the 36-year-old stage."

"Yes, what I'm saying is to tell you not to dwell on those vague things. Live in the present, cherish the present, give birth to and raise your own children well. They are the continuation of your life. As for how the world will become in the future, let the carrier of your life see it."

She said, “Thank you for your guidance.”

After this woman left, I broke out in a sweat. It’s better not to ask me such complicated questions. My knowledge in this area is really limited.

Shiyu came in, and I asked, "What is the meaning of life?"

He touched his head and shook it.

I said, "We need to study these difficult questions. The person just asked a philosophical question."

"Did you answer her?"

"The answer is rather forced. We will study the standard answer later."

Shiyu smiled and said, "There are relatively few psychopaths like this."

I said seriously, "As long as there's one, we must come up with a plan that's both popular and convincing. Many people come here seeking salvation. Our duty is to save souls."

After finishing the explanation, I called Wei Yiming:

"Little brother, when you called me last time, I was in Jiangxi. Now I'm back. Please send me your location."

He said, “I’ve been waiting for you to come.”

After a while, he sent the location map,

I drove down the mountain.

Half an hour later, I arrived at No. 229, Chengnan, Dongli Town.

Wei Yiming guided me to park the car and then led me into the yard. His parents looked very honest. Since Wei Yiming had introduced them to him long ago, Old Wei respectfully offered me a cigarette, his back bent like a shrimp.

I stood in the yard, then walked out, clasping my hands and looking out. The family followed closely. Wherever I went, they followed.

I saw a tree at the left corner of the courtyard, only half of its trunk was left. I asked Lao Wei, "Did your house catch fire a few years ago?"

They already admired me a little, and when I asked this question, Lao Wei and his wife rushed to answer, saying that there was a big fire five years ago, so they had to build a few simple houses to live in.

After looking around, I went into Wei Yiming's house.

The hostess made tea, the host passed out cigarettes, and Wei Yiming served fruit.

The whole family sat around me.

Old Wei smiled and said, "Master Wan, is this idea you gave Yiming feasible for business?"

Lao Wei's wife then asked, "Will anyone watch this?"

I didn't answer.

This is how the world works: the more you explain to people, the less they believe you. The more detailed your explanation, the more they think you are a liar.

My name is Wan Shanhong, and people call me Master Wan. A master is an idol, someone who gives people confidence and strength.

I didn't answer, and they didn't dare to ask.

"Yiming, let me see what you collected."

The family put two tables together and Yiming brought in a lot of things.

Tell me the history of each item.

Yiming took out a train ticket and said: This is a girl from Xinjiang. She took a train for more than 3,000 kilometers to Chongqing. She wanted to meet her ex-boyfriend, but her ex-boyfriend refused to meet her, so she donated this train ticket to me.

I said, "Take a notebook and pen and write down my thoughts."

Yiming found a notebook and held a pen.

"I traveled three thousand miles just to see my boyfriend. This train ticket is full of ruthlessness." Talk to her again and fill out the rest of the story.

"This is a secret love diary written by a boy whose girlfriend is married to someone else."

I said, "I don't want to pretend anymore. It's you I love."

"This is a silk scarf her boyfriend gave her. They were in love for eight years, and she always followed his lead, but in the end, they didn't end up together."

I said, "Love does not need to be humble. I want to be an oak tree."

"This couple was in love for ten years, but was prevented from getting married by the girl's parents because she was from a high-class family. They eloped, but broke up two years later due to different lifestyles. This is the hair they returned to their relationship when they broke up."

I said, "Remember this: marrying someone of equal social status has been popular for thousands of years. Popularity isn't the truth, but it's at least close to it."

Yiming continued to talk, and I summarized the theme of each story for him.

His parents went to cook.

I said, "Follow my idea and summarize each story in one sentence. With the owner's consent, write down the story and make it into a display board."

After lunch, I said to Lao Wei, "You should support Yiming and stop overthinking. He likes to have wild ideas, so let him do it. I will always help him get this done."

Mr. and Mrs. Wei nodded repeatedly.