Chapter 217 Shanghai Trip 6: Meeting the Long-Awaited Master
At nine o'clock in the morning, Sister Li and her husband came to the hotel to pick me up.
One Spring Festival, I met Sister Li's husband, whose surname was Wang and had a full beard. I called him Brother Wang. He got out of the car first, shook my hand, and said, "Welcome, brother."
After getting off the bus, Sister Li looked at me and said, "You've gained a little weight."
The three of us got in the car, and Sister Li sat in the back seat with me. She introduced herself to me along the way, saying that her father had come by plane last night and could have come this morning, but he was in a hurry.
I asked, "How is the old man?"
Brother Wang rushed to answer: "Not quite."
Sister Li said, "My body is fine, but my spirit is a little bit bad."
I knew the reason and didn't want to talk about the past, so I said, "It's the same when you get older. My parents often say one thing and forget the next."
We chatted all the way and arrived at a residential area.
At first glance, this neighborhood is quite old. When Sister Li got married, her master was at the peak of his career and must have given her a lot of money. But the little money earned in a small city, when thrown into a big city, you might think it's a huge sum, but in Shanghai, it won't make much of a ripple.
Come out of the underground garage and go directly to the 27th floor.
It is considered a relatively high floor. Real estate developers generally only build buildings below 33 floors, with a total height of no more than 100 meters. Otherwise, the fire protection requirements are higher and the cost is not cost-effective.
A few meters to the right, Sister Li opened the stainless steel door, and the inner door opened. Master stood at the door, looking at the stainless steel door outside. Sister Li stepped aside and let me go in first.
Without taking off my shoes, I ran over and hugged him at the door, my shoulders shaking.
Brother Wang and Sister Li stood in the aisle, waiting silently.
After a long while, the master said, "Don't cry."
I wiped my eyes, took the slippers handed to me by Sister Li, and sat on the small shoe cabinet in his house to change my shoes.
The master kept watching me take off and change my shoes, as if he was watching a child who had not yet grown up. When I stood up, he took my hand and walked into the living room.
Looking around, this is just the decoration of an ordinary family. It should have been more advanced at that time. The ceiling was very complicated, but now it is obviously outdated.
However, I just glanced at him casually and my eyes fell on my master, and I saw that he had lost a lot of weight.
He smiled and said, "It's hard to buy thinness in old age. Look, am I getting better and better?"
I nodded and said, "Much better. My belly is smaller, which is something many people aspire to. Some people try their best to lose weight, but just can't."
Sister Li served tea and Brother Wang placed fruits.
The master extended his hand and said, "Try some fruit."
I did whatever the master said. I didn't like snacks, so I picked up a few grapes, chewed them with relish, and said, "Delicious."
"If it tastes good, eat more."
Hearing Master say this, my heart trembled. He has always regarded me as a young man who has not grown up.
Brother Wang said, "Let's eat at home at noon and try the authentic Shanghainese cuisine. I'll cook."
Sister Li smiled and said, "Your brother-in-law cooks well. I'll help him. You talk to my dad."
The master picked up his tea and stood up. After years of following him, I could understand his every move. I picked up my tea and followed him into the other room.
This should be his bedroom, but there is no stool. I guess there is a small balcony behind it.
He opened the back door and found a long and narrow balcony with two sofas and a small coffee table in the middle.
Compared with the leisurely residence with a vast sea and sky, this is simply a snail's dwelling.
The master stood at the window, pointed outside, and asked me, "Is it very spacious?"
I thought to myself—is this what you call spacious? It's just that the building opposite is a little further away—and I immediately responded, "Climbing high and looking far into the distance is refreshing."
"Please sit down. Your wife and I often sit here and reminisce about our past lives."
This sentence made it impossible for me to continue the conversation.
Recalling the past only adds to the bitterness. Could it be that Master, ever so competitive and strong-willed, has finally succumbed to reality? Is he content just sitting here?
Did he consider the slightly open view ahead a blessing? Was it also a pleasure for the two old men to sit in this undisturbed little attic and chat about the past?
He picked up the cup and took a sip of tea: "I kind of believe in fate now."
I was shocked and couldn't help asking, "Didn't you believe it before?"
"I've learned a little, but I'm not proficient, so I won't teach you fortune-telling. When I was thirty, a fortune-teller told me I would have a calamity in my later years.
So, your wife becomes a vegetarian, worships the Buddha every day, and prays for his protection. I also try to do good things, but I still can't escape it."
I consoled him, "This isn't your misfortune, it's Big Brother's misfortune."
"Same, same."
I originally wanted to mention the new book "Master Hongyuan" and the filming of "The Taoist Priest Comes Down the Mountain", which will help his comeback.
Unexpectedly, the master’s next words made me feel like thunder exploding above my head.
"Shanhong, I'm living in Qinglong Temple to comfort you. In fact, I don't do anything here.
Just take a walk and nourish your body. Places like Shanghai have long entered an era of capital operation.
A person's desire to become famous, with the exception of a very small number of people, is mostly the result of capital manipulation. If I want to gain a foothold here, I must fight with my peers here. Without struggle, I will not be able to get ahead.
As for the struggle, there are countless abbots, chief monks, masters, and eminent monks, and each of them has a powerful force behind him.
Finally, he sighed, "Shanhong, your master is old, very old!"
Yes, Master is absolutely right. In such a bustling metropolis, no one comes to listen attentively to your talk of past glory. Beneath the civilized facade lies a cold heart.
It is impossible not to be indifferent. Everyone is in a hurry, trying hard to squeeze into the circle above his own class. Who will stop to listen to you and lend you a hand?
What's more, you come from a small city. Even if you were once famous, you are only a famous figure in a small place. In Shanghai, it is like a scholar coming to Beijing. When you go to the toilet, you may run into candidates from various provinces who come to Beijing for the imperial examination.
Talking to an old man about striving and making progress is like talking nonsense. In fact, even when Mr. Chen arrived in Shanghai, no one invited him to dinner except his son.
What's the point of his few dollars here? I thought he'd be staying in a presidential suite, but it turns out he's only staying in a single room.
Mr. Chen once joked with me, saying, Shanhong, don't spend money recklessly in Shanghai. We don't do "the poor helping the rich."
What can the master do when Mr. Chen is like this? He is like a fish thrown on the shore, his head and tail are moving, but he can't struggle.
So, he once told me that he just wanted to live in Youranju.
Yes, he was right, thinking ahead. That was his home base, where he was respected and felt at home.
I said, "When you're old, there's nothing else to worry about. A good body is better than anything else." I wanted to continue speaking, but I found that Wan Shanhong, who was always eloquent, couldn't find a word to comfort Master.
The master stood up and walked into the bedroom. After a long time, he walked to the balcony and sat down. He had a notebook in his hand and handed it to me.
I flipped through it and found it was a handwritten notebook. The front part was in traditional Chinese characters, and the back part was in simplified Chinese characters.
I looked at him.
He said slowly, "Shanhong, true gold fears no fire. After leaving Wuxiang, your wife and I both felt the same way. You are a sentimental person. Your care for us in every little detail, those insignificant details, warms our hearts."
I'm old and have nothing else to give you. This is my final gift. The front of this notebook was written by your grandmaster, Daochang Hongyuan, and the back is my collection. They're all prescriptions. These prescriptions have all been tested. Feel free to treat patients.
I asked your sister Li to make a copy for her to keep. But I still want to pass on the true scriptures to you, and I hope you can continue to write more prescriptions.
There are no gods in the world, only real medicine."
I got up from my seat and knelt, saying, "It's been a long time since I kowtowed to you."
After saying that, he kowtowed.
He said, "Get up. We in Taoism emphasize medicine and Taoist medicine. You can't cure or persuade the rich people to suffer from their illnesses.
If you give a poor family or ordinary people in this world a medicine, it can cure their illness and save their life."
At this time, Sister Li came in and said that it was time to eat.
During the meal, Master asked Sister Li to open a bottle of red wine. He raised the glass and said, "I wish Shanhong and her family happiness."
I said, "Sister Li, please take some photos for us. My parents want to see Master."
Sister Li took my phone and took several photos, including me and my master, me and Brother Wang clinking glasses. She handed the phone to Brother Wang,
Brother Wang took a group photo of the three of us, and then took a group photo of me and Sister Li.
Before leaving, Master and I hugged each other tightly for a long time. Master patted me on the shoulder and said, "We must say goodbye. Come and play next time."
Sister Li took me back to the hotel.
When we were almost at the hotel, I said, "Sister Li, I have a card that I wanted to give to your father in person. But I'm afraid he won't want it. Please give it to him."
After saying that, I put the card in the bag she placed beside her.
Sister Li asked, "How much?"
"A little gift from you. The password is on the back of the card."
Sister Li didn't say anything. After a long moment, she said, "He often talks about you. He says you and Mr. Deng are the two people he's never been wrong about."
After saying that, her eyes became moist and I handed her a napkin.
After getting off the car, I stood at the hotel gate and waved to her.
I knew she couldn't possibly see me waving.
The cars in front of the hotel gate were queuing up like water for people to get off. She had to leave quickly to comply with the rules of this big city - like a civilized person.
I waved my hand to the car in the distance, the car that didn't look back.
The doormen looked at me like I was an idiot. They must have thought: Where did this country bumpkin come from?
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