Chapter 278: Chatting and Laughing in Front of the Wine Bottle
At 5:30, Lao Xiao, Qing Ruo, Chen Xiaoxia, and Shiyu all arrived. I introduced them to each other since I was not familiar with any of them.
Mr. Chen said humorously: "To sum it up, it's three masters and a group of fans."
Everyone laughed.
Qing Ruo and Xiao Xia both said that it was a great honor for them to be able to communicate face to face and have a meal with masters like Master and Nanxi.
Qing Ruo said, "It's really Mr. Chen's care that allowed me to meet Master. I never thought I could have dinner with you."
Chen Xiaoxia said: "When I received the call, I was stunned for a long time, thinking that Secretary Ma had dialed the wrong number."
At this moment, I saw Master's mood and demeanor, and he had returned to the Youranju era. He was so kind and friendly, confident and heroic, with a mysterious smile on the corner of his mouth.
I haven't seen him smile like this in a long time.
Only then did I realize that what Zhang Mouli, the professional emperor actor, said was true.
He said: "I originally didn't have the temperament of an emperor, but when rows of actors knelt at my feet and shouted "Long live my life", my imperial temperament came out, and the aura of a king ruling the world emerged spontaneously.
Yes, it’s the same with Master. In this familiar land, facing his fans who truly worship him, his kingly demeanor comes naturally.
The master smiled and said, "This is all because Mr. Chen cares about me. He invited a few more young people here so that I can feel your youthful energy. In a lifetime, you can only name a thousand or so people. In this vast sea of people, meeting each other is fate."
His words sounded both humble and appropriate. Qing Ruo said, "Then how about we all learn from Master Wan and call you Master?"
The master smiled and said, "The name is just a symbol."
Everyone gathered around the master and complimented him. If everyone asked the master to tell fortunes, and it didn't meet Mr. Chen's expectations, Mr. Chen would have to have a long talk with the master and bring up Brother Nanxi. I said:
"Master, needless to say, I would like to solemnly introduce Brother Nanxi here. His family has been fortune-telling for ten generations, and he is also an expert among experts in the field of numerology."
Mr. Chen asked: "Which shi are you talking about?"
I said, "It's not the 'world', it's the 'ten' with two horizontal and vertical strokes."
Everyone was stunned. Ten generations? One generation is twenty years, ten generations is two hundred years? If one generation is thirty years, wouldn't that be three hundred years?
Nanxi nodded: "Yes, for more than two hundred years, fortune-telling has been passed down from generation to generation."
The master frowned and asked, "Is Mr. Chang Tiesuan Shoushan your ancestor?"
Nanxi nodded.
The master said, "Mr. Shoushan's skills are incredible."
This sentence aroused everyone's interest, and they all asked Mr. Moriyama what was so magical about it.
I said, "Nanxi, tell me about it."
Nanxi shook his head. The master said, "Shanhong, tell me, it's impolite for him to address the ancestor by name."
My master once told me this story, so I cleared my throat and said:
"During the late Qing Dynasty, Zuo Zongtang had a nominal commander named Chen Chunwan under his command. The so-called nominal commander was just a title without any real job.
At that time, there were more than 800 nominal admirals nationwide. To put it bluntly, because you had military merit and there were too few positions, you were given an honorary title and it would be difficult for you to get a real job in your lifetime.
Mr. Chen said: "It's like having a certificate of honor."
I said, "Yes. And Chen Chunwan's dream of getting a real job is even more unrealistic. He is illiterate. There were many such people in the Hunan Army back then, who could not read but knew how to fight."
Chen Chunwan had completely given up on becoming an official. One day, while strolling down the street, he ran into Mr. Shoushan and asked him to tell his fortune and read his face.
Chen Chunwan didn't care, so he just did the math. But after Mr. Shoushan did the math, he glanced at him and said, "Congratulations, sir! You can be promoted to the second rank."
Chen Chunwan roared to the sky, laughed, kicked over Mr. Shoushan's fortune-telling stall, and cursed: Get out of here as soon as possible, if I see you next time, I will chop you to pieces with a knife.
As a result, within a year, Chen Chunwan was indeed appointed by the imperial court as a Second Rank General. How high was this official rank? While not as high as Zuo Zongtang's, he was not under Zuo Zongtang's control and could directly report matters to the emperor.
After this appointment was issued, not only was everyone shocked, but even Chen Chunwan himself was confused. He searched everywhere for Mr. Shoushan, and finally found him after several years.
Everyone was no longer interested in Mr. Shoushan's fortune-telling, and they began to ask why Chen Chunwan became a second-rank official.
I continued to introduce: In order to appease this large number of figurehead generals, the imperial court would recommend a group of people every year to fill some real positions among them.
The first page listed the key candidates, while the rest were just supporting roles. Emperor Tongzhi flipped through the roster and, just as he was turning to the last few pages, he picked up his red brush and a drop of red ink landed right on Chen Chunwan's name. So, he made the best of a bad situation and appointed Chen Chunwan as the general commander of Suzhou Town (now Jiuquan).
Everyone was amazed, saying that Mr. Shoushan was truly amazing. They also began to admire Nanxi greatly, and they all asked him to tell their fortunes later.
At this moment, the waiter leaned over and whispered something in Mr. Chen's ear. Mr. Chen stood up and said, "Master, Mrs. Xiaoli, Mr. Nanxi, please take your seats."
Everyone walked into the restaurant. A row of waiters stood inside. As they saw everyone coming in, they moved chairs and asked everyone to sit down.
Originally, the table was set up with a single host, and seating was arranged, but Mr. Chen insisted that the master sit in the number one seat, so it became a dual host system.
The seating arrangement was rearranged. Fortunately, everyone understood the rules and was seated quickly.
At a banquet, soup is served first. The waiter brings the first large soup and announces the name of the dish as "Tom Yum Goong Soup". Then the waiter ladles the soup for everyone.
Mr. Chen introduced to the chef, "The hotel has hired a chef who worked in Thailand. This soup is made by the new chef. It's called Towyum, which translates to 'Tom Yum Goong Soup' in Chinese. It's made with lemon leaves, lemongrass, prawns, and other ingredients. It's sour and spicy and very appetizing."
The master took a sip and said, "It's a good soup, slightly sour and spicy, it whets the appetite."
Next came the main course.
The first dish was braised prawns, the second was Wensi tofu, and the third was squirrel mandarin fish. When the three dishes were served, Mr. Chen stood up, raised his glass, and said:
"Welcome Master and his family, Mr. Nanxi, to Rising Sun. This is a blessing for Rising Sun, for our friends, and for everyone present. Cheers!"
Next came the boiled chicken, braised lion head, Buddha jumps over the wall, Peking duck, Dongpo pork, fish-flavored shredded pork, and boiled cabbage.
The master smiled and said, "Mr. Chen is too polite. Please follow the State Banquet Menu No. 2."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Chen knew that the master had seen the world and stopped introducing the dishes to him. During the meal, when everyone toasted the master with wine, he only took a symbolic sip.
Mr. Chen also talked about the development of Bainiao Lake, focusing on how I killed the snakes and then the snakes crossed the river and retreated.
The master's face suddenly became serious, and he said to Mr. Chen, "Shanhong is truly loyal to Xu Ri. For your career, he gave up his martial arts."
Mr. Chen and the others were puzzled and asked what this was...
The master explained that if he didn't behead the snake, it wouldn't leave the island. He'd never be able to call snakes back again, he'd sworn an oath when he learned the art.
When Mr. Chen heard this, he stared at me. Qing Ruo and Xiao Xia couldn't close their mouths for a long time. Lao Xiao sighed, "Other martial arts can be wasted, but this one is wasted. What a pity."
Mr. Chen raised his glass and said, "Everyone at Rising Sun, let us toast to the loyal Shanhong."
After finishing the cup, I smiled at my master and said, "There are few snakes in the city. Besides, if I continue to play snakes with high-ranking people like Mr. Chen and Mr. Xiao, my level will be too low. So, I am wasting my time on my own."
The master smiled and said, "That's a good point."
Everyone praised us as the best master and apprentice in the world.
We drank very civilized during the meal. After finishing a bottle, we started eating.
At the hotel table, Master truly had the demeanor of a master. His words and actions were like those of his leisurely home. He was a completely different person from when he was in Shanghai.
Dear Master, this is your true self, I thought to myself. I will call my brother-in-law later and ask him to write the great man’s poem into a calligraphy work and give it to Master.
After the meal, Qing Ruo asked Mr. Chen if he could stay and listen to the "Summit Forum" between the CEOs and the masters.
Mr. Chen spread his hands and said, "Okay, we don't have any secrets."
I know they want to ask a master to read their fortunes and ask Nanxi to tell their fortunes.
I walked to the small living room and called my brother-in-law, asking him to write a seven-character poem into a work. I only remembered a few lines of it, so I asked him to search for the details on the Internet.
I recited the four lines I remembered: The wind blows away the waves from the Oasis, the rain comes up the mountain from the green fields, the people are still chatting and laughing in front of the wine cup, the trivial matters outside the country are pitiful.
My brother-in-law said, "I know. I'll write it right away."
When we got to the living room, everyone was chatting. I knew what Qing Ruo and Xiao Xia were thinking, so I said, "Ask the waiter to open the next room and ask Master Chang to tell your fortunes."
Lao Xiao also recognized my voice, and the four of them went out.
Mr. Chen stood up, and so did Master. They went to the small reception room. I went over to make them some tea. Mr. Chen unexpectedly said, "Shanhong, you sit here too."
As soon as I heard this, I knew that Mr. Chen had nothing private to do with the master.
The three of them sat down, and Mr. Chen wrote the character "宁" (Ning) and asked the master to analyze it for him.
The master asked, "Which aspect should be analyzed?"
Mr. Chen said, "Shanhong is not an outsider. You can say whatever you want. Just stick to the words and the matter."
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