Chapter 14: Playing Both Sides
After returning from Shennongjia, I couldn't sleep for several nights.
In just one "game," the teacher pocketed over 100,000 yuan. And along the way, someone else paid for all the food, drinks, and entertainment. This money came easily!
But what happened next left me even more stunned.
Half a month after returning to Youran Ju, I received a call from Mr. Lan’s nephew Lan Shaoling. He said that Mr. Lan would come to visit the Taoist priest in three days.
I told the teacher, and he nodded and said to me seriously, "Say only half of what you should say, and don't say anything you shouldn't say."
I knew he was afraid I would slip up and accidentally let out the news about going to Shenlongjia, so I nodded seriously and said, "Student, I'll remember it."
He then said to me, "Call Brother Shi and ask him to be the chef that day."
Then I realized that Brother Shi is actually a good cook.
…
Three days later, at ten o'clock in the morning.
A Rolls-Royce stopped in front of the gate, and the Taoist priest took me out of the gate.
President Lan traveled light and only brought Lan Shaoling with him.
The Taoist priest welcomed them into his study. I put up a sign in the hall outside saying "No guests allowed," went in, brewed the guests some fine Longjing tea, laid out some fruit, lit a stick of Indian incense, and sat by their side.
Mr. Lan smiled and said, "We met by chance on the train, having not seen each other for half a month. I was in Lanzhou, but I was eager to return. I asked a few friends and learned that I was very lucky to meet the famous Master Hongyi on the train. Forgive me for being blind and neglectful that day."
The Taoist priest laughed heartily and said, "No, no, a person can only remember a few hundred complete names in their lifetime. The fact that a big entrepreneur like Mr. Lan could remember my Dharma name can only be described in four words: You are too good!"
Mr. Lan said sincerely, "What a fate! The master is famous all over the world, and I didn't even know him. This shows that I am obsessed with money and lack culture."
The Taoist priest shook his head slightly. "I'm a lazy person, and I don't know how to distinguish grains. I can only find a job as a fortune teller to support my family. I'm far from being world-famous. I'm only a little known within this area of a hundred miles."
President Lan looked around and saw that the bookcases were all made of nanmu. He smiled and said, "To support a family like this is the dream of one billion Chinese people."
Seeing Mr. Lan glance at the bookcases, the Taoist priest said, "Even though we may not have fish to eat or a car to drive, we still need to keep a few books. Two years ago, I did a fortune-telling for Mr. Deng of 'Nanjia Private City,' and he thanked me by giving me a set of Burmese nanmu bookcases."
Mr. Lan immediately said, "Although I am not as good as Mr. Deng, I have Burmese nanmu to give me. I can still give the master a car for transportation." Then he said to Lan Shaoling: "Give the car you ordered last time to the master."
Lan Shaoling immediately went out and made a phone call to confirm.
The Taoist priest laughed loudly: "No merit, no reward, forget it."
Mr. Lan disagreed: "I've given away more than one car, and I'm still short of this one, Master. It's just that we met too late, and I gave it to you too late. As the saying goes, it's never too late to mend."
The Taoist priest wanted to refuse again, but Mr. Lan changed the subject and asked:
"I always feel that the master didn't explain it clearly last time in the car."
The Taoist priest suddenly remembered something and said to me, "Why don't you go get some cigarettes?"
I immediately went out. When I came back, Lan Shaoling was also sitting inside.
I put two packs of high-end cigarettes on the table. Mr. Lan smiled and said, "I've been holding back because I'm afraid the Taoist priest can't stand the smell of cigarettes, so I haven't brought any cigarettes in."
The Taoist priest said slowly, "I smoke one with others occasionally."
So, Mr. Lan handed one to the Taoist priest and took a big sip of it himself.
The Taoist priest said, "In the car, I did have some concerns. We met by chance, so it's not appropriate to talk too much. Now that I'm here, I'll explain it to you in detail."
The Taoist priest wrote the word "smoke" on the paper. He slowly analyzed:
"Your divination is about 'smoke'. I discussed your wife palace, which is very important. I won't go into details here, but let's talk about the things you need to pay attention to."
When the Taoist priest said this, he glanced at Lan Lisheng.
President Lan understood and said, "It's okay, just tell me. You don't have to avoid my nephew."
The Taoist priest pondered for a moment and said, "I'm analyzing this character you wrote based on handwriting. You wrote the character 'fire' very quickly, with shallow strokes and many connected strokes. The last character 'cause' was written very slowly, with few connected strokes, and each stroke was written with great force.
This shows that you have a lot of ideas and are very enthusiastic. Whenever you encounter a project, you think it is an opportunity and jump into it immediately. In the end, you have to slowly wind it down and return to your main business.
Lan Lisheng was stunned by this statement. After a long pause, he said, "Master, you're absolutely right. My main business is machinery manufacturing. A few years ago, I followed the advice of an expert and set up a mobile phone division specifically to get a piece of the pie. As a result, the mobile phone division kept losing money and had to be closed down a few years ago."
The Taoist priest smiled faintly: "Didn't the experts tell you that every time the speed of human communication methods increases, it is an opportunity?"
President Lan clapped his hands. "Yes, he said that from woodblock printing to movable type printing, from movable type printing to mechanical printing, then to laser typesetting, and from laser typesetting to the Internet. Every time cultural dissemination accelerates, it's a good opportunity to make money. He told me to make a mobile phone as soon as possible."
The Taoist priest shook his head and said, "Just focus on your main job. It's better not to listen to the experts."
I noticed that Lan Shaoling actually gave the Taoist priest a look of gratitude. I guess this nephew must have been trying hard to dissuade Mr. Lan from making mobile phones.
President Lan said, "I wish I had met you earlier. However, even though I lost money, I'm glad it didn't hurt the company."
The Taoist priest nodded and continued, "There's one more thing I want to remind you about this word 'smoke'. You need to take care of your health."
"Body?" Lan Lisheng has always been confident about his body.
"Yes, this character has very few purely horizontal strokes. It's basically made up of dots, vertical strokes, left-falling strokes, left-falling strokes, and hooks. Anyone who writes this kind of character has a latent illness. You should go back and get a comprehensive physical examination."
The Taoist priest's voice was steady and powerful.
When Lan Lisheng heard this, his face turned pale and he asked hurriedly, "Is there going to be any serious problems?"
At this time, the Taoist priest laughed loudly and said, "Don't be nervous. I am just reminding you that you have a latent disease. It is still in the early stages. If you treat it in time, you will be fine."
Lan Lisheng bowed with both hands and said, "Thank you so much, Master. I'm busy 365 days a year, and I've never been to the hospital because I want to stay healthy."
I listened from the sidelines, wondering if the Taoist priest had truly determined that Mr. Lan was ill, or was he just trying to scare him? If he could truly tell that he was ill, that would be quite a feat.
If it's just to scare people, it's also a very clever way to calm people down. Who can withstand a hospital examination? Once you go in, they will find out everything about you.
While we were chatting, Aunt Chen came in and said, "It's time to eat."
The master's wife and Aunt Chen like to eat vegetarian food, so as usual they did not join the table.
The Taoist priest introduced Mr. Lan, "This Mr. Shi is a teacher by profession, but his skills in stewing dishes inherited from his ancestors are amazing. You should try some."
I poured red wine for everyone, and everyone toasted the Taoist priest, or toasted each other. We drank happily. As for the dishes cooked by Brother Shi, they were really delicious.
The steamed meat is fat but not greasy;
The steamed meat is crystal clear;
The meat fried with garlic is full of aroma.
The elbow is full of collagen. The more you chew the tendon, the more you unleash the wisdom of the Three Kingdoms. The broth is delicious, as if it has melted the tenderness and freshness of the Twelve Beauties of the Red Chamber.
President Lan smacked his lips and said, "I've eaten at restaurants all over the world, but the Master's family banquet is the best for me."
The Taoist priest said, "It was braised by Mr. Shi himself."
Mr. Lan said, "I'll order a batch and give some to important clients and leaders."
Shi Ge toasted Mr. Lan three times. It seemed that he was not good with alcohol. He was drunk after a few drinks. He patted his chest and said, "Let me show you something. I used to be a member of the art propaganda team. I will sing a song to liven up the atmosphere."
Everyone applauded. Shi Ge sang:
"The blue-faced Dorgon stole the jade horse, the red-faced Guan Gong fought in Changsha. The yellow-faced Dian Wei, the white-faced Cao Cao, and the black-faced Zhang Fei all shouted...
While listening to Brother Shi singing, I thought: My teacher’s face - both the red face and the white face can sing very well.
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