Chapter 317 You Need a Tripod
After returning to Shangzhou, I followed my father's instructions and began to pay New Year's greetings to people. If they were ordinary friends, I would invite them to Wanyutou for a meal. If they were special friends, I would visit them in person.
The farthest Lao Xiao and I went was to Mr. Chen's hometown, where we stayed overnight.
The seventh day of the Lunar New Year arrived in a flash. I said to my brother-in-law, "Lead the way. Let's go visit your landlord, Mr. Li."
My brother-in-law said, "You don't have to go, right?"
"Go, why not? I went last year, and I have to go this year. This is called a sustainable strategic partnership."
My brother-in-law burst out laughing and took me to Teacher Li's house.
Teacher Li runs more than a dozen stores and has endless money to spend.
When we entered, he was admiring a bronze artifact.
His daughter is still abroad, and he is alone at home. He doesn't even hire a nanny. He said he doesn't trust a nanny. He can move around on his own.
About a year ago, I hired a part-time cleaner, and the house is now spotless.
He was very touched by my visit, because I thought his calligraphy was good—which was more valuable than any gift—so he brought out the best fruits, brewed some top-grade Longjing tea, and praised me as a person of great affection and righteousness.
Finally, he asked me to see the bronze
From what I could tell, it was impossible for him to own a genuine bronze artifact. This was a replica. But as I looked at it from side to side, I began to doubt whether it was the real thing.
Teacher Li asked, "What do you think of it?"
I said, "It's fake, but it seems real."
Old Li laughed heartily and said, "It is indeed fake. But it is so fake that experts say it is real."
“The experts can’t recognize it?”
Teacher Li said: "Once, someone tried to take these counterfeit items out of the country, but they were seized at customs. Although the carrier repeatedly explained that they were counterfeits, customs officials were still worried and invited experts to identify them.
Experts unanimously identified it as a bronze artifact from the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Later, following clues provided by the bearer, the forger was found. It turned out to be a complete misunderstanding.
Because the counterfeiter has already explained to the buyer that what he is making is a replica.”
"There are still such masters?"
"Yes, this master was originally a farmer. Now, he leads all the villagers in making bronze artifacts, and everyone in the village has become rich. This place is called Yanjian Village, Luoyang, Henan."
My brother-in-law and I both searched on Baidu on our phones, and sure enough, there is such a place.
Teacher Li said, "If farmers can create realistic bronze artifacts, then it shouldn't be difficult for a teacher like me to become a calligrapher in the future, right?"
I smiled and said, "You are already a calligrapher."
Teacher Li said, "Where there is a will, there is a way. The 120 Qin passes were eventually conquered by Chu. Heaven rewards those who work hard. 3,000 Yue soldiers were able to conquer Wu. So, I bought this bronze artifact to motivate myself."
After leaving Teacher Li's house, I said to my brother-in-law, "Teacher Li is right. If a farmer can become an expert, it will be a great encouragement to us. I'll talk to Yifan and Xiao Shitou about this when I get home. You must be persistent. As long as you focus on something, you will definitely succeed."
My brother-in-law said, "We'll buy four of them online too. One for you, one for me, and one for Yifan. Let's put them on our desks to motivate ourselves."
“There are only three,” my brother-in-law reminded me.
"There's another one, and I have a use for it."
After leaving Teacher Li's house, I said to my brother-in-law, "Let's go visit the History Department."
My brother-in-law didn't know him very well, so I explained to him how I met Shi Ting, without saying anything I shouldn't.
After making a phone call, I learned that Shi Ting lived in a community called "Biyun Shanshui".
Parking is available in the complex. Mr. Shi personally came downstairs to greet us.
I introduced my brother-in-law to Mr. Shi.
On the eighth floor, Mr. Shi led us inside. His wife was surprised to see us, two strangers. Mr. Shi introduced me to her and my brother-in-law.
His wife had heard of me, the abbot of Taiyi Temple, and was very polite to me.
I respectfully wished Shi Ting a happy new year, doing it for his wife to see. When people are at their lowest point, they always long for some mysterious power to change their current predicament.
Therefore, for people in my industry, they think that a certain sentence I say has some special meaning.
After sitting down and chatting for a while, I said to Shi Ting, "Your house is well decorated, but it's missing one thing."
This sentence made the couple take it very seriously. They probably attributed their bad luck in recent years to what I said.
Before Shi Ting could ask, his wife asked, "Master, what are you missing?"
I picked up the cigarette that Director Shi handed me and was about to take out the lighter when his wife immediately grabbed the lighter on the table and handed it to me, saying, "Mr. Wan, here's the lighter."
Don't speak too fast. If it's important, make sure people have something to look forward to.
I lit the cigarette, took a deep breath, and exhaled.
Shi Ting's wife kept staring at my face and never looked away for a moment.
Only then did I say, "We're missing a tripod. One that's made of bronze."
This statement shocked them both. They thought, how could a bronze tripod be acquired by a private individual? His wife exclaimed, "That's a cultural relic, rare even in museums."
I slowly said, "There are imitations, the legitimate ones, the kind that are allowed to be bought and sold. How about this, after the New Year I will give one to you.
Then place it in the living room to suppress the four directions, drive away evil, establish righteousness, and bring prosperity to all things."
His wife clapped her hands and said, "Excellent! The master's words are so true."
At this moment, I would never stay even a second longer. This is a skill. Staying a second longer shows that I want to get some good words from the host. Only by standing up and leaving immediately can my words appear to have weight and power.
I stood up and said goodbye.
Mr. Shi's wife disappeared in an instant. While I was saying polite words to Mr. Shi, she gave me a red envelope and insisted that I accept it.
I didn't refuse.
Sometimes, you have to refuse.
Sometimes, you must not refuse - when someone asks you for something, you must accept it without hesitation.
She gave my brother-in-law another red envelope, and my brother-in-law pushed it back and forth.
I signaled him with my eyes and he accepted it.
Shi Ting walked me downstairs. We shook hands again. I said, "May everything go well in the New Year."
He understood what was said and clasped his hands together: "Thank you for your words, Master."
After leaving Shi Ting's house, my brother-in-law was very puzzled as to why the Shi Ting family was so polite.
He said, "You don't hang out with him much."
I don't explain.
My master taught me that one should not reveal all of their true colors. It's safest to keep people from understanding you.
My brother-in-law is also a smart man. He asked a question, but when he saw that I didn’t answer, he didn’t ask any more questions.
In the next few days, I went to Brother Yu's house, Captain Gu's house, and Sister Yu's house.
I even went to the home of Secretary Wei in Weijia Village.
Secretary Wei was surprised by my arrival. I joked, "From now on, I'll be visiting your territory more often. If I don't visit Secretary Wei and you don't let me into Weijia Village, who will I go to when I have to argue?"
He laughed heartily: "Teacher Wan is so interesting."
I said, "I'm interesting, and you're interesting too. It would be great if we could both be interesting people. People should live interesting lives."
After dinner, I asked him to take me to visit the branch secretaries of the other three villages.
He said, "You are so polite."
I said, "I sincerely want to make friends with you all. I proposed the Bamboo Township and set up a model in the four villages of Raohu. If you can do it, the Bamboo Township will gradually succeed.
You succeeded. The class I taught in the Dongli Town Conference Room was called "The Staff Leads the Chief"
, farts are loud—otherwise, isn’t it just a waste of time?”
Secretary Wei burst into laughter again. "Chief of Staff, please come in," he said.
He and I set out on the road of visiting again.
I spent the entire Spring Festival feeling very peaceful and, although a bit busy, it was a very meaningful time. Next, all I had to do was meet Zhang Xiaoxuan.
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