Chapter 41: Snake-Holding Case

Everyone opened their mouths half-open. I stood in the middle of the room, clapped my hands three times, and turned around to look around.

The whole room was so quiet that it was shaking. I glanced at Lao Liu. Such a strong man actually stood up and was ready to run away at any time.

Two large snakes, one in front and one behind, crawled over the threshold of the side hall and came in. Everyone was so frightened that they hid in the corners around them. They were terrified, like frightened birds.

I saw that Lao Liu looked terrified, and I was overjoyed.

I clapped my hands and said, "Don't be afraid, folks. Since I can call it, I can subdue it. There's no need to be afraid."

After saying that, I chanted something and tapped the snake's head, and the two snakes stopped moving.

I coiled the snake into a pile of feces and placed it under the chair I was sitting on. I said, "Everyone, sit down. There's really no need to be afraid. This is the guardian snake of the Shen family compound. Without it, this yard would have been eaten clean by rats long ago."

The brave ones sat down, the timid ones stood. But no matter who they were, they had lost their ability to resist me. They knew that only I could subdue this snake.

I said loudly, "Now judge the case."

At this moment, a woman came running in from outside, looking very fierce and cursing: "I want to see how you judge it. If you don't judge it well, you won't be able to leave this courtyard."

Lao Liu yelled at the woman, "What happens between men is none of your business. There's a snake down there, get out of here!"

The woman suddenly saw two big snakes under my chair and was so frightened that she ran out of the door screaming, "Oh my God!"

It made everyone laugh.

I said with a serious expression, word by word, in a low voice:

"Gods above, both of you, please be conscientious and write down the figures for your fish ponds truthfully. For example, if you, Old Lin, only have 10,000 catties of fish, write 10,000 catties, and if you, Old Liu, only have 20,000 catties, write 20,000 catties. That's the first rule. Second, the pond can't be shared between two people; it can only be contracted to one person."

Everyone said in unison: "Yes, give it to one person."

Secretary Shen interjected, "I originally shared this opinion, but the figures they wrote differed greatly, and each thought the other's were astronomical."

I sneered, "Old Liu, Old Lin, let me make it clear to you, anyone who doesn't write down the truth will suffer. My method is: you two each write down a number. For example, you, Old Liu, want to write 40,000 catties, and you, Old Lin, want to write 20,000 catties. That's fine. Then, when you're done, the total is 60,000 catties, right?"

Everyone nodded.

I continued, "I'll write two more pieces of paper, one with the word '包' on it, and throw them on the ground. You two go pick them up. Whoever picks up the word '包' gets to buy both fish ponds, which hold a total of 60,000 kilograms of fish. Lao Xiao has already contacted the city's largest fishmonger and has them drained immediately."

If you still don't understand, the fishmonger wants 60,000 catties of fish anyway. If you find the one with the "bao" character, you are responsible for giving the fishmonger 60,000 catties of fish. There are only 30,000 catties in the pond. So you go buy 30,000 catties yourself, understand?"

Everyone burst into laughter, Secretary Shen took the lead in applauding, and everyone applauded vigorously. I knew that this time it was sincere and the applause came from the heart.

Anyone who wrote a larger number would be at risk. The two men went out and each found a place to write the number.

After a while, Lao Lin and Lao Liu came in and were about to hand the paper to me. I said sternly, "Wait."

After that, I pulled a snake out from under the chair, blew on it, muttered to myself for a while, turned around and sneered at them:

"I've cast a spell on it. Now, it bites people. Who will it bite? Those who are panicking.

Once people start to panic, their body temperature rises immediately. So, don't take chances. I'll give you one more chance to write a conscientious number."

Both of them swore that the numbers they wrote were based on conscience.

I walked around them with the snake in my hand, and they were both sweating profusely and trembling with fear, fearing that the snake would be really smart and would pounce on them and bite them.

I patted the snake's head and put it under the chair. They both let out a long sigh and handed me the note.

I read out to the crowd, "Old Lin's fish pond has 12,000 catties, and Old Liu's fish pond has 19,000 catties. That's a total of 31,000 catties."

It seems that when it comes to the eunuchs, they have all been obedient. This is similar to what Lao Xiao told me. I nodded at the snakehead and whispered, "Go back the way you came and protect the courtyard well."

The two snakes seemed to understand human nature, moving one in front and one behind. The brave ones followed them and watched them go out the door, down the patio, and into the sewer.

I threw the paper ball to the ground. Old Liu checked the word "bao" and smiled. He reached out and shook Old Lin's hand, saying, "Thank you, brother. The number you wrote is fair."

Then he held my right hand with both of his own, shook it a dozen times, and said, "Thank you so much, Mr. Wan."

Lao Lin also came over to shake hands: "Thank you, thank you, it's fair, it's fair. It saves us from becoming enemies and having to go through all the trouble of litigation."

People crowded around to shake hands, and one said, "I didn't realize it. I wanted to see you make a fool of yourself, but you made the right call. This method is amazing. You're so smart."

Secretary Shen was the last to come up and shake hands. He said sincerely, "Mr. Wan, as the saying goes, the young are to be feared. I admire you. Your judgment is very pleasing to everyone. Thank you, thank you!"

When the crowd dispersed, I could hear them talking about me all the way.

Lao Lin took us to his house for dinner. He was very excited:

"Mr. Wan, I really want to thank you. With this verdict, I've probably made a few hundred kilograms of profit from the fish. I think if I were the one who took over, Lao Liu would also make a few hundred kilograms. This is acceptable to both parties. If a lawsuit really goes to court, no one will be able to manage the fish pond, and both sides will suffer greater losses."

As a "quasi-" master, I waved my hand with the spirit of "climbing Mount Tai and looking down on the world", saying: "It's over, let's not talk about it anymore."

We had dinner soon. It was a sumptuous meal. I don't like drinking much, but I was happy today and had a few more.

Under the influence of alcohol, I forgot everything:

"Lao Lin, I estimate you will have to move within two to three years."

Lao Lin put down his wine glass, looking puzzled.

"Fuck, just talking."

Lao Lin and Lao Xiao insisted that I explain what was going on. I smiled and said nothing. Master once said that a smile can hold a hundred meanings.

Many things don't need explanation. The explanation is like a drop of ink on a white shirt, the more you wipe it, the darker it becomes.

We drank heartily and ate our fill.

Lao Xiao said sincerely, "Mr. Wan, you have been very helpful. Take a break. Lao Lin's neighbor is very good at catching turtles. He can catch a few for you and the Taoist priest."

I said excitedly, "That's great. I won't rest. I want to see how to catch turtles."

The three of them went outside and saw Lao Lin's neighbor sticking a bamboo pole into the pond. He rolled up his trousers, walked around the shallow water, clapped his hands three times, and then squatted on the shore.

After a while, bubbles began to appear nearby, one in a bunch. The neighbor stretched out his scoop and caught one with every scoop. In ten minutes, he caught five turtles.

I really wanted to learn, but Lao Lin's neighbor wasn't Lao Xiao, so we weren't close enough to talk about art. He and I hadn't reached the point where we could even ask for his advice.

I was itching to do it, but I couldn't suppress the desire to learn.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, we set off for home.

After driving three or four miles, Lao Xiao timidly asked, "Lao Lin asked me to ask, when you said he wanted to move, were you implying that his house in Tangjiao has bad feng shui?"

I laughed and said, "That's not what I meant. Tell him that I absolutely didn't mean that, so he doesn't get too excited."

Lao Xiao was even more puzzled: "Then..."

My face darkened. "My master taught me that it's useless to talk about it. Don't ask me. Anyway, everything is going smoothly for the Lin family."

The car drove into the city as slow as a snail. Lao Xiao cursed as he drove, but I was too lazy to talk to him.

When the car arrived at Youran Ju, I introduced Lao Xiao to my master.

The master shook Lao Xiao's hand and said, "You are so polite. You gave me so many things."

Lao Xiao took the turtle to the kitchen and left.

At this moment, the neighbor's older sister came running in, her face full of joy: "Uncle Hong, I really won a first prize. It really was named 'Fengqing Lake'."

The master was very calm and just smiled.

I was surprised. As the company grew bigger, it became bolder and dared to use its own brand name to name the lake.

"Give half to Master." I said with a smile.

The neighbor lady said generously, "Okay."

The master smiled and said, "It's not worth talking about. Don't tell anyone else. I figured it out for you, that's all."

The neighbor lady seemed to have realized something and said: "Okay, I will give you a big gift." After that, she left.

The master said, "The foundation stone of Fengqing Lake was laid on New Year's Day, and Mr. He is here."

"What is he doing here?"

“I want to invest here.”

“Oh,” I responded, thinking to myself, Mr. He must have asked the master to calculate for him whether he can invest.