Chapter 450: Accurately state his occupation
Arrived at Lingyun Inn.
Ling Yun and a few friends stood by the road to greet us. Mr. Dong got out of the car and someone accompanied him up to the second floor.
Lingyun got into my car, drove around a circle, and directed me to park the car in the inner yard from the back.
After getting off the car, I looked around and said, "Wow, what a huge place."
Ling Yun said, "The three floors facing the street are mainly teahouses and restaurants. The three floors in the backyard are all accommodation."
After that, he led me up to the second floor from the backyard.
The second floor is entirely made up of tea rooms separated by glass. He took me through the corridor. What's interesting is that there are signs on the glass that say "For face reading, fortune telling, and divination, turn right."
After exiting the corridor and turning right, there is a house with "Zhouyi Research Laboratory" hung on the door.
“Is this your studio?”
"Yes, it's also where my friends and I usually get together. Because my B&B is quite large, guests from all over the country come here to stay, and those who are interested also come here to have their fortunes told."
Entering the inner room, the two who arrived earlier, except Mr. Dong, stood up. Ling Yun introduced us to each other.
A man named Zhang, who is about sixty years old and wears glasses and is thin, is a retired teacher.
The other man had a full beard, was about fifty years old, his surname was Wang, and he was a doctor.
Ling Yun said: "They both studied the I Ching with me. There's no need to introduce Mr. Dong, as we often meet.
Although Mr. Wan is young, he has been studying Chinese characters, fortune-telling, and the Yijing School for over a decade. He is considered a young veteran. He currently studies with Mr. Dong.
Today we have such a great opportunity, let's learn and communicate together. "
I said, "My master hasn't spoken yet, so I'll speak first. You're all older than me, and calling me Teacher Wan makes me blush. My name is Wan Shanhong, so everyone can just call me Shanhong."
Mr. Dong said, "Okay, call it Shanhong, that's more casual."
Lingyun brewed a cup of tea, and everyone exchanged pleasantries. Since they were all in the same field, they quickly became familiar with each other. They chatted about all sorts of things.
After chatting for a while, Teacher Zhang asked, "Shanhong, we mainly do fortune-telling here. Almost no one does character reading.
Could you please tell me how you do fortune-telling? Do you use the Six Yao fortune-telling technique or other methods?
I smiled and said, "I learned from Master Hongyi, and I use the oracle bone script method to determine the meaning of a character. Specifically, we need to find the original meaning of the character. Oracle bone script is better, but if not, we can look for bronze script or seal script."
Zhang, Wang, Ling and the other two responded at the same time: Oh——
Mr. Dong said: "Many commonly used characters nowadays do not have their original meanings, but rather extended meanings. Shanhong's method of fortune-telling analyzes and predicts from the original meaning, which is original."
I explained, "The ancients had a pattern when creating characters. For example, the character '王' (king) is associated with jade: yu, qiong, fan, jin, min, yao...
Words with four water drops are all related to fire, such as: Lie, Jian, Ao... So, I mainly look for the origins and commonalities of the words."
Everyone was very interested. Teacher Zhang asked, "Can you tell me about the word 'yun' in destiny?"
I nodded. "The original meaning of the word 'yun' is just one: transfer or migration. For example, luck comes and goes. The word 'yun' is our extended meaning, referring to fate, not its original meaning."
Teacher Zhang asked: "If it is a marriage test, how do you test it?"
"If you are not married, it indicates that you may get married. If you are married, it indicates that you may get divorced."
"What if I test my career?"
"It's impossible to determine whether a career will develop well or not. All I can say is that his career will change location or direction. Friends often ask me to use this character for predictions on WeChat.
Divination is a form of communication. You can't get all the information from just one character; you have to ask about the relevant circumstances. For example, if you're changing careers, what kind of career do you plan to change to? If you're changing locations, where do you plan to move to?
Teacher Zhang nodded and said, "That makes sense. You need to consider your own situation before you can come up with any advice."
As he was speaking, a man came in. Seeing several people sitting inside, he wanted to leave.
Ling Yun said, "Old Zhou, come in and sit down. These people are all my friends."
Lao Zhou walked in.
Ling Yun introduced us to Lao Zhou, a friend of his who had stayed at his shop for half a month last year. He then introduced everyone present to Lao Zhou.
Lao Zhou clasped his hands together and said, "Hello, masters." Then he found a seat on the north side and sat down.
Ling Yun said, "Shanhong, tell Lao Zhou a fortune to see what he does."
Everyone laughed, and Lao Zhou was puzzled.
Ling Yun explained to him: "Teacher Wan is a fortune teller with superb skills. As long as you write a word, he can tell what you do."
When I heard it, I realized Ling Yun was testing me.
Any place where strangers from the same profession gather is a testing ground. Although Ling Yun and the others warmly entertained me and spoke to me politely, they were actually skeptical of my fortune-telling skills.
In this case, I can only accept the challenge.
Lao Zhou looked at me and asked, "Can you test your career?"
I was already at the end of my rope, so I had no choice but to stand firm. With a smile on my face, I said, "Give it a try. It might not work."
"Just a random word?"
"Yes. You can write whatever you want."
When Ling Yun asked me to test Lao Zhou's career, I paid attention to Lao Zhou's behavior.
First, I recalled how he had just come in—he hadn't sat on the sunny south side. It was early winter, and it would have been warmer to sit by the window in the south. But he glanced at me and took the initiative to sit on the north side. The north side was relatively cold.
Secondly, he recalled that when he took Lingyun's teacup, he did not hold the handle of the cup, but pinched the two sides of the cup's rim with his thumb and index finger.
It was impolite to receive tea in this way. It seemed that he was just like Lao Xiao, used to it.
As he wrote, I observed his fingers: they were thick and strong, with scars on them. He gripped the pen tightly, writing each stroke individually, without any connection between them.
He had already written it, it was the character "Zhou".
He smiled at me and handed me the paper.
Everyone looked at me.
This is indeed a difficult question. One cannot determine a person's occupation from a single word. One can only determine his occupational habits by observing his work habits.
Ling Yun was testing me, as were Teacher Zhang and Doctor Wang, which all made sense. However, my master, Mr. Dong, didn't even interrupt them when they were testing me—in other words, as a master, he had no intention of changing the subject for me.
With his status, he could have easily smoothed things over for me or given me a hint, which would have completely resolved the awkwardness.
Thinking of this, I understood. Teacher Zhang and Doctor Wang were not, as Ling Yun said, studying the I Ching with him. Instead, they were both in the same research group with Mr. Dong.
Today, Mr. Dong will be the main judge, and the other three will be deputy judges to see if I am qualified to join.
There are 72 trades, and I had to figure out which one Lao Zhou was in, without any delays. This was a test I had never experienced before.
The fact that Lao Zhou used two fingers to hold a cup in social situations proves that he is used to working with two fingers. It is impossible for him to be a pickpocket like Lao Xiao. Pickpockets nowadays have no business anymore.
He habitually chose to sit in a darker spot. Scars still marked his fingers. The two fingers gripping the pen showed considerable strength. Furthermore, the character "周" (Zhou) also hinted at something. These key features gave me confidence.
So, when he handed me the paper, I took a quick look at it, immediately put it on the coffee table, crossed my arms, and laughed.
Everyone looked at me.
I said two words with absolute certainty: raising snakes.
These two words were like a sudden thunderclap in the darkness, a flash of lightning that illuminated the earth, and then the lightning disappeared in an instant, and darkness returned. It was chilling.
After a moment of silence, three lonely and loud applause finally rang out.
The applause came from Ling Yun, who raised his thumbs and said, "I admire you. I really admire you. No one knows Lao Zhou's profession except me."
Mr. Dong smiled smugly. Teacher Zhang and Doctor Wang couldn't stop grinning. Old Zhou looked me up and down, his eyes filled with horror.
After looking me over, Lao Zhou asked, "How did you know I raise snakes?"
Of course, I can't say I learned this from observation. They called me a fortune teller. I laughed and said, "Because you wrote the character 'Zhou'."
Everyone asked in unison, "Is the character Zhou related to raising snakes?"
I stood up as usual, full of confidence. I said, "It's not only about raising snakes, but Lao Zhou should be called the King of Snake Breeding. He made a fortune by raising snakes."
Ling Yun: "Tell me quickly."
Lao Zhou: "Tell me quickly, no one has ever guessed my occupation."
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