Chapter 561: Fold it in half eight times! This is Chinese culture.

At around five o'clock in the afternoon, Zhan Chai and Sasha came back.

After entering room 001, Chunlai made tea and Sasha counted the purchased items with me.

What makes me most satisfied is that Sasha purchased a new product called "moxibustion lamp". It is different from traditional moxibustion.

The lamp head of this moxibustion lamp is like a flashlight. You can put the moxa sticks into it and light them. You can hold it by hand or put it on a vertical stand and use it on the acupoints.

I smiled and said, "You are so thoughtful."

She said, "Look carefully, this is made in China."

Upon closer inspection, I saw that the instructions were all in Chinese.

Then, I asked Chunlai to check the Chinese medicine. Chunlai took a look and said, "Yes, it is indeed a pharmacy run by Chinese people. The processed aconite root is in a separate package."

Zhan Cai asked: "Why is the processed aconite packaged separately?"

Chunlai said: "Processed aconite is poisonous. You have to boil it in water first, throw it away, and then boil it together with the Chinese medicine."

At this time, Shasha put forward her own ideas to us:

"Mr. Wan, with this moxibustion lamp, you can do both acupuncture and moxibustion all at once in the afternoon. You just need to pierce the acupuncture points, and I'll use this lamp to do the moxibustion on the acupuncture points. What do you think?"

When I heard this, I gave a thumbs up and said, "Hey, your suggestion is quite good."

Chunlai and Shasha set to work, following the instructions, and began assembling the "moxibustion lamp." It was finished in a short while.

I said, "You guys went to Dana's room to do an experiment."

After the two of them left, Zhan Cai took a sip of tea and said:

"Mr. and Mrs. Chalun had a conversation with me after you gave Dana the acupuncture treatment and asked me to seek your advice."

I nodded.

He said: "Because of the epidemic, you can't go out on the streets. In order to make your life not too monotonous, they will hold some small activities."

I laughed and said, "This should be Mrs. Chalun's suggestion, right?"

"right."

After saying the word "right", he suddenly stared at me and asked:

"How do you know it was Mrs. Charon who proposed it?"

"I know a little about physiognomy. Mr. Chalun is a man of great accomplishments, and people who accomplish great things don't pay attention to small details. His wife is a thoughtful person. She pays close attention to other people's feelings. People who pay attention to other people's feelings are particularly kind-hearted."

Chanchai said, "How could I be so stupid? Mr. Chalun introduced you to many mysterious Chinese Kung Fu techniques. Oh, I forgot the topic again."

Mrs. Charon said that she would hold an outdoor food party in their yard and invite some friends to cook together.

Also, he owns several nightclubs and would send a small performance team to perform.

I also suggest that the teachers at our Chinese language training school come together to organize an idiom chain activity. If you agree, we can hold a different type of activity every week."

I thought, if I have money, everything will be good, so I said:

"As the Chinese saying goes, 'The guest should obey the host.' Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Chalun, for your thoughtful consideration."

Chanchai said, "One more thing. Last time, you mentioned that every seven years brings about changes. Mr. Chalun was very interested. He said you only gave Western examples. He hoped you could explain the significance of 'seven' in Chinese culture. I can translate it clearly."

I laughed. "It seems Mr. Chalun is a very persistent person. But you may not be able to explain it clearly. It involves a lot of ancient Chinese history and ancient works."

"I can ask you questions I don't understand."

"Oh well."

As they were talking, Sasha and Chunlai came back. Zhan Cai made a gesture for silence, then pressed his hand down, indicating that they should sit down.

"The saying 'Every Seventh Year Will Bring About Change' first comes from an ancient Chinese work called the I Ching."

Unexpectedly, Zhan Cai said, "I know this book is very difficult to read, but also very magical."

"Yes. The I Ching has 64 hexagrams, and each hexagram has six lines. After the sixth line, we enter the next hexagram. This is called 'every seventh line brings about change.'"

After hearing this, Chunlai and Shasha realized that Zhanchai and I were discussing academic issues. At this time, Shasha stood up and said, "Teacher Wan, you guys are busy, I have something else to do."

It seems she has no interest in such academic matters. I waved to her and continued:

"For example, the process of human growth, development, and aging is described in a Chinese medical text called the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, which also uses multiples of seven to indicate direction. Every seven years, changes occur.

For example, women enter menopause after age 49. Of course, some experience it earlier, others later, but the vast majority follow this pattern.

Zhan Cai nodded.

"So, Chinese culture follows the number 'seven'. For example, there are seven levels of official rank, with the lowest being the seventh rank, such as the seventh-rank county magistrate or the seventh-rank sesame official."

I didn't expect Zhan Cai to continue the conversation. He said, "Ranks below the seventh rank are no longer called officials, they are called clerks."

I gave him a thumbs-up: "You really are an expert on China."

He asked, "Anything else?"

"Also, for example, the five senses of the human body—a mouth, two nostrils, two eyes, and two ears—are called the seven orifices. The emotions that arise from them are called the seven emotions. Chinese music has seven notes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. The rainbow in the sky has seven colors."

"Anything else?"

In front of Chinese culture, Zhan Cai is like a sponge, eager to absorb it all at once.

I looked into his eyes that were full of curiosity and stood up laughing.

He was confused.

I walked to the desk, tore off a piece of paper from the notepad, and threw it into his arms.

He was even more surprised and kept scanning me up and down.

I said, "Let me tell you something universal. Even scientists can't explain it. Fold this piece of paper seven times. You won't be able to fold it any further. You absolutely cannot fold it eight times."

If you can fold it in half eight times, the next Nobel Prize winner will be named Zhan Cai."

He looked at me, afraid that I was lying to him, and then he lowered his head and began to fold the paper in half. Indeed, after the seventh fold, he could no longer fold it.

He raised his head and smiled mysteriously: "Mr. Wan, it's just that this piece of paper is too small."

I threw my head back and laughed.

"Indeed, there are countless people like you who have come to the same conclusion as you. So, go home and fold it. You can always find bigger and bigger pieces of paper."

Zhan Cai actually said: "Okay, I'll go back now."

After saying that, he really left.

Chunlai listened silently. Then he asked:

"Teacher, is it really only possible to fold it in half seven times?"

I said with a fierce face: "Do you think I like to joke?"

He said, "That's not what I meant. I just can't figure it out."

I said, “Then you try it.”

After that, I walked outside. I wanted to take a walk.

He walked all the way to the front yard of Zhalun's house. He saw several servants setting up a colorful tent. Since they couldn't speak the same language, he didn't ask.

The servants were quite polite to me. Thinking I was going to come in, one of them immediately went to get slippers. Thais always change shoes when entering a house.

I didn't know about this custom the first time I came, nor did I know about it the second time. I only learned about it recently. Maybe because I'm a distinguished guest, they were too embarrassed to point it out.

I shook my hand to indicate that I would not go in.

Walking into the garden, I saw several servants setting up parasols. What were they doing? Were they building a fishing platform so I could go fishing?

After taking a walk for a while, I returned to the room, sweating profusely.

He shook his head, looking helpless: "I really can't fold it eight times."

I laughed and said, "Our ancestors long ago stipulated that every seven years, something will change. After folding it in half seven times, it becomes something else. At least there's no way to solve it on Earth, so we can only try another planet."

Smile when spring comes.

There was a hint of unwillingness in his smile. I expected him to do what Zhan Cai had done, find a bigger piece of paper, and sneak into his bedroom to fold it.

I said, "Spring is coming, and our lives will be colorful."

"Yeah?"

"Go outside and see if you can set up tents or umbrellas."

Chun said, "Putting up a tent? I've done that with my classmates before. The biggest disadvantage of living in a tent is that you can't sleep."

"Afraid of snakes?"

Chunlai blushed: "The girls' tents are set up together with our boys' tents."

I laughed and said, "You must be thinking, how nice it would be to sleep in the same tent with female classmates."

This touched Chunlai's thoughts, and his face turned red.

I said, "This is called 'asshole'. Let me tell you the origin of the word 'asshole'.

(I guess after reading this chapter, everyone will find a piece of paper and try to fold it in half 8 times. Forget it and go to bed. Don't waste your time.)