Chapter 244: Subduing the Chen Clan
After dinner, I asked Mr. Chen, "Do you have a projector at home?"
Mr. Chen said, "Yes, I have two living rooms on the second floor. One has karaoke. It has a projector and a laser pointer."
I said to Chun Yazi, "Please help me connect the handheld device. Help me debug it."
He nodded and went upstairs.
Seven o'clock in the evening, in the small living room on the second floor of the Chen family.
There were two sets of T-shaped sofas, each with a large coffee table in front of it, laden with fruit and cigarettes. The leading members of the Chen clan arrived one after another.
Chun Yazi was in charge of logistics, pouring tea and handing out cigarettes to everyone who came. Lao Xiao was understanding and went to Mr. Chen's house to chat.
Mr. Chen introduced each guest to me. In about half an hour, everyone was there. Including Mr. Chen, there were seven of us.
I took a quick look and saw two key figures here. One was the village chief, whose surname was Chen. If the man surnamed Chen lost, he would lose face.
Another man, called Eighth Master, was a famous earthly immortal in his seventies. He was the most opposed to building a road in front of the Chen family's ancestral tomb.
Mr. Chen told me in advance that Mr. Ba has read a lot of books and sometimes speaks in a lot of nonsense.
As for the others, some run businesses and some open shops, which should be relatively easier to deal with.
Everyone sat down, and Chun placed a cigarette in front of each person. No one was surprised, and they just put the cigarette on the sofa behind them.
Mr. Chen took a sip of tea, coughed a few times, and was about to speak when Mr. Ba waved his hand at him and asked, "Yousheng, what meeting is going on today?"
When I heard this, I realized that he was asking a question even though he already knew the answer.
Mr. Chen smiled and said, "Call together the prestigious members of the Chen clan, that is, you, to discuss the road construction."
The Eighth Master pointed at me and asked, "What's your name?"
Mr. Chen felt that Mr. Ba had come with bad intentions, so he said with a smile, "I just introduced him to you. Do you want me to introduce him again? Okay, his last name is Wan Shanhong, and he's the cultural consultant for my company."
"Since the meeting is being held by people surnamed Chen, what is he, a person with an outsider surname, doing attending this meeting?"
Mr. Chen's face darkened for a moment, then he smiled and said, "A good man needs three helpers. Can anyone with the surname Chen conquer the world? He understands Feng Shui, so I asked him to give me some advice."
"Oh - Master." Mr. Ba pretended to wake up.
I kept quiet and just sat there drinking tea.
Mr. Chen said, “Let’s start the discussion now.”
Mr. Ba was the first to stand up. Although he was over seventy, he was still in good spirits. He said:
"The road passes under Woniu Mountain, and I'll be the first to oppose it. Whoever builds it, I'll block their work. When the bulldozers come, I'll lie under their wheels."
Some supported him, others smiled softly. One person asked, "What if the police want to arrest you?"
The Eighth Master said passionately, "Just lock him up for a few days and then file a complaint."
Mr. Chen said, "Without saying such harsh words, what do you think is the biggest problem in Feng Shui?"
"Their Qi is broken. The people of Woniu Mountain drink water from the river. If we repair them, their Qi will be cut off and they won't be able to drink water. The descendants of the Chen family will be bullied by the Wang family in the future."
Everyone nodded.
At this time, someone said, "We must repair it. We will contribute people and money. Mr. Chen has more money, so we can contribute a lot and fight the Wang family to the bitter end."
Mr. Chen frowned and looked at me.
I stood up, clasped my hands together, and bowed to them.
Everyone looked at me, an outsider, with indifference.
"My last name is Wan Shanhong. Mr. Chen just introduced me to you. I work for him. Although I'm an outsider, Mr. Chen has been kind to me. We may have different surnames, but we are connected in spirit."
If Mr. Chen's family has trouble, I have trouble. If Mr. Chen is unhappy, I am unhappy. If Mr. Chen's family wants to fight the Wang family, I want to fight the Wang family. I am willing to help."
This opening statement was beyond everyone's expectations. Everyone applauded except Mr. Ba. Mr. Chen glanced at me with satisfaction, and even Chun Yazi, who was standing by the door watching, clapped his hands vigorously.
I continued, "Mr. Chen has never spoken to me about his family. Not a single word. I swear to heaven, I know nothing about your Chen clan.
However, I can conclude that in the past two hundred years, your Chen family has produced some notable figures."
"Yes, yes, yes." Everyone nodded.
"However, every time a figure emerges, they rise first and then fall. Their rise is quick, and their fall is even faster."
Everyone turned their eyes to Mr. Chen.
Mr. Chen stood up, patted his chest and said, "If I tell Shanhong even a single word, I swear in front of everyone—heaven and earth will punish me." I was also very surprised to hear him say this.
Mr. Ba asked, "You haven't even been to Woniu Mountain. What's the basis for your statement?"
I didn't answer Mr. Ba directly.
"I have been learning geomancy from my master for almost five years. At the beginning, like Master Ba, I used my naked eyes and a compass to observe the direction of the mountains and the ups and downs of the terrain. I have done geomancy for many families.
But the world is changing at a speed far beyond our imagination, and civilization is advancing at a pace beyond our imagination. So, many years ago, I traveled to Hangzhou to study satellite star maps, using the Sky Eye as a proxy for the naked eye, to see more realistically and accurately.
I don't need to go to Woniu Mountain to describe it clearly and distinctly. If you don't believe me, please look at the screen."
Chun Yazi helped with the operation, and I rotated the cursor. The entire village appeared on the screen, and then Woniu Mountain appeared.
I pointed a laser pointer at the cow's mouth and said, "This spot of light is a good place. If you bury it, it will bring prosperity to the next generation. If you don't, it will disappear."
Everyone was talking about it, and the village chief said, "Teacher Wan, you're right. This is the ancestral tomb of my great-uncle's family. He was the commander of a ragtag division of the Kuomintang, and later fled to Taiwan. His descendants are not very strong."
I took my turn and arrived at a spot near the top of the mountain. I shone the laser pointer, pointed at the spot of light, and said, "This is also a good place. If you bury the grave here, the business will be big, but the next generation will not be able to survive."
No one dared to laugh. Mr. Ba said, "You're right. This is my ancestral tomb. We once ran a cloth business in Nanjing. When the Taiping rebels came to town, our business collapsed."
With such accuracy, everyone's hostility towards me gradually subsided, and they even began to admire me. The village chief asked, "What's the reason for this?"
I said categorically: "The cow on Woniu Mountain has no mouth."
Everyone was shocked.
I zoomed in on the mountain and asked, "Can you help me find where its mouth is?"
Everyone's eyes bulged out. The cow was clearly a cow, but they couldn't find its mouth.
The village chief laughed and said, "We originally thought that the small ditch below was its mouth, but when we looked at it on the screen, it really wasn't a mouth, not even a whisker."
Everyone laughed.
I said, "Now let me explain the two tombs I mentioned earlier. One belongs to the village chief. It's too close to the water, where the water plants are lush and insects and mosquitoes are breeding. Although the tomb is good, it won't last long. The other belongs to the eighth master's ancestor. It's like a lying cow without a mouth, unable to draw water. Although it's a top-notch tomb, its wealth won't last more than two generations."
Now, I agree with the idea of building a highway. The terrain itself isn't suitable for human modification, but reducing its excesses and repairing its deficiencies is better than having no mouth at all. This highway is the mouth of Woniu Mountain."
I bent down, held my hand forward, and using drawing software, drew a line under the cow's nose. Everyone was shocked. The mouth, the nose, the ears—the cow was alive. Lying there, it seemed to be chewing grass.
The famous earth immortal, the highly respected Eighth Master of Huating Village, who always looked down on Wan Shanhong, did not speak out his objection.
I had to surprise them one more time: I zoomed out and moved the image to the right. I drew a circle with a laser pointer and asked, "Do you see this clearly?"
"Ah? There's another cow?" everyone exclaimed.
"This is also the Chen family's Feng Shui treasure land."
Mr. Ba was muttering to himself, and suddenly he screamed and called out "Teacher Wan" for the first time.
"Teacher Wan is right. Now that you've explained it, it all becomes clear to me."
Everyone asked, "Why?"
Mr. Ba said, "The older generation always called that place 'Shuangduzi Mountain', but to us it sounds like 'Shuangduzi'."
I asked Mr. Chen what frost seeds were. Mr. Chen said it was a dialect and a kind of fruit that only ripens when frost comes.
Everyone gestured on the coffee table and said in unison: "Yes, it should be read as 'Shuang Du Zi', which means two cows."
I closed the map and said, "If you think I'm right, then build the road. I've also learned fortune-telling, so I'll give you a lucky charm."
Everyone looked at me.
I typed the character for "cow" on my laptop. I said, "Building a road is like adding a horizontal line underneath the character for "cow." I then typed the character for "life."
Everyone nodded. I turned off my phone and said:
"Two cows represent two lives. I wish the Chen family endless life and prosperity."
After saying this, Mr. Chen stood up, and everyone else stood up and applauded.
The meeting continues.
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