Chapter 87: To subdue intellectuals, ruthless tactics are necessary
(Read this chapter slowly to appreciate the magic of Chinese characters)
My brother-in-law tactfully stayed in the living room to chat with Teacher Chen. The president ushered me into the small reception room on the second floor.
I glanced around calmly. The room was elegant and spotless. Bookshelves lined the east wall, floor-to-ceiling windows to the south, a pair of sofas to the west, and a painting hung to the north.
The painting shows a large eagle, its wings spread high in flight. I stood before the painting and read the inscription: "A thousand winds cannot hold back the sound, a sea of clouds fills the sky, the eagle's home."
He smiled and extended his hand for me to sit down. Then he walked around the coffee table, sat on the low chair opposite me, and made tea for me.
"Do you like painting too?" The president asked casually while washing the cup and filling it with water.
"I like to appreciate it, and I'm mainly interested in the inscriptions."
I don't know why, but whenever someone asks me for a fortune-telling or to answer a question, my kingly aura kicks in. President Song sits on a low stool, while I sit on a high-end mahogany sofa, feeling perfectly at ease.
"How about the inscription?" He picked up the tea leaves with tweezers and put them into the brewing cup.
Just tell me, otherwise, you will think I am a newbie. I smiled faintly:
"These two short sentences evoke a heroic spirit. They describe the great roc spreading its wings, unconcerned with the mountains and rivers. The sea and sky are its home, the places where it can achieve great things. But..."
Having said that, I deliberately paused.
The tea was boiling, the leaves tumbling up and down. He was about to pour the water out, but he stopped and said, "Go on, you've said it very well."
Then continue, I frowned slightly: "However, it is a little regrettable that this is not original, but adapted from Qi Baishi's inscription - Clouds are the hometown of cranes.
Of course, Qi Baishi wasn't original. He simply quoted it from a poem by Zheng Banqiao. Zheng Banqiao's original poem reads: "A room doesn't need to be large to be elegant, flowers don't need to be numerous to be fragrant. The sea is the dragon's world, the clouds are the crane's home."
When President Song heard this, he poured water on his head and then added water to make tea. He raised his head, raised his eyebrows and smiled: "It's more than enough to be a secretary general, and later on, vice president."
I waved my hand: "You are showing off your skills in front of the president."
The second batch of water was already boiling. He picked up the teapot, filled half a cup for me, and asked:
"I have a question I'd like to ask you. Before I ask, let me explain. During the Xianfeng era, this vast expanse of land in the western suburbs belonged to my family. Later, my family gradually declined.
Besides my family's situation, after 1949, a large number of landlords and wealthy businessmen fell into decline overnight. Could it be that their ancestors were buried in the wrong place? Why did their fates all deteriorate at the same time?
After hearing this, I knew that President Song wasn't trying to embarrass me, but simply didn't believe my story. No wonder, even though we lived in the same city, he was considered a cultured person, and Master was also a cultured person, they had no connection at all. I'd never heard Master mention him.
I laughed out loud. It had to be a laugh that was powerful, wild, and shocking, a laugh that made him feel like a complete idiot.
Sure enough, the smile had an effect. His hand, which was about to pick up the teapot and sift the tea again, stopped in mid-air, as if frozen there, his eyes fixed on me.
I asked, "President, can ants sense the presence of humans?"
He thought about it and shook his head: "It probably can't sense it. Its vision can't see the whole person, not even the instep of the foot."
I asked, "President, how much do we currently know about the vast universe?"
He immediately said, "Except for the United States, which claims to have landed on the moon, no one from other non-United States countries has ever been to the moon. We know too little about the universe."
I smiled and said, "That's right. Humans are like ants in the universe. When a human steps out and stretches out his feet, the ant has no way of knowing. When a human steps on a few ants, he doesn't know, and he doesn't care."
The president nodded and poured me a second cup of tea.
I concluded, "Humans have their own way, and Heaven has its own way. Heaven's way operates at its own pace, and we don't know when it will change. Therefore, when Heaven's way changes, all people of the same type will change."
The president raised his glass and said, "Come on, let's clink glasses. This is the first time I've heard you explain something clearly. The others either talk nonsense or are speechless and can't make any sense."
I knew the president's attitude had changed. Next, it was time for him to ask specific questions. So, I just drank my tea and didn't say anything.
As expected, he said, "I'm going to predict the word, 'Yu', which means stupid. I'm going to predict whether I can get rich."
I immediately replied: "You can make a little money."
He stared at me in disbelief.
I, Wan Shanhong, strive to never repeat a single word I have said.
He looked at me, and I picked up the cup and drank tea leisurely.
The president reminded me once again: "Stupid 'stupid'.
I won’t repeat myself, you’ve got the iron tongue and the golden tongue. I said “you can make a little fortune”, didn’t you have ears?
Until he was defeated first, he said: "Shanhong, then analyze it for me, how do you know that you can make a small fortune?"
Chairman Song is a scholar. If I analyze this character for him using the theories of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, or by breaking it down and adding or subtracting a stroke, he will think I am just talking nonsense.
In that case, let's try some real kung fu. Let's try some 1+1=2.
At this time, my master's temper came out. Without temper and personality, you can't get along in this industry: "President, please go find a pen and a piece of paper."
He stood up and found a pen and paper.
I said, "Don't drink from small cups anymore. Find two large cups and fill them with tea."
He also didn't know what I was going to do. Press my sieve to make the tea.
I said, "Come sit next to me. I'll write it for you. It's much more convenient for two of us to sit side by side."
Then he understood why I didn't want him to sit opposite me and make tea.
I wrote down a pinyin vowel on the paper: ü
Then write: 余, 育, 玖, 局, 予, 越...
He was confused.
I said, "In Chinese characters, even the pronunciation can express meaning. These characters all contain the same vowel 'ü', so they express similar meanings.
The pronunciation of the final "ü" usually means: 1. A little more, but not much more. 2. Partial. Then, I pointed to the words on the paper and explained them one by one.
Yu: A little more. For example, surplus food, but not a lot.
The extra part, such as development, will not become very large all of a sudden, but will grow little by little, like fetal development.
Corner, an observation post that protrudes a little outward from the ancient city wall, and does not extend much.
Local: Relatively speaking, not very large. For example, limited, local, etc.
Make some preparations in advance, for example, get ready, go - when you hear "get ready", lean forward a little bit, not a lot.
To exceed, to go beyond a little bit. For example, to go beyond. To go beyond the rules.
I paused here to let him digest it.
He recited it word by word silently. When he finished, he looked at me and thought I was incredible.
Suddenly, he pointed to the word "愚" in "傻". You haven't analyzed this word yet. Does it mean "a little more"?
I nodded earnestly. "Yu" means being a bit more stubborn than others, clinging to one's own ideas and unwilling to adapt. For example, in the story of the Foolish Old Man Who Moved the Mountain, he only knew how to dig, not how to move down the mountain and build a house somewhere else.
After hearing the last sentence, President Song burst into laughter. He stared at me and said word by word, "Mr. Shanhong, you are truly knowledgeable."
At this time, Teacher Chen came upstairs and said, "You two are really kindred spirits. You have been talking for so long. There are guests here."
President Song laughed and said, "You bought stocks, and I called you stupid. I just asked Shanhong to tell me the word 'stupid', and he said you could make a small fortune."
After saying that, he hurried downstairs to accompany the guests.
Teacher Chen clapped his hands happily and said, "Thank you, Master Xiao Wan. I can't leave at noon. I must eat here."
After saying that, she patted me on the shoulder, her eyes moving and her smile full of joy.
This look surprised me, and suddenly reminded me of the dance teacher who "walked with his feet turned outward".
I asked, "Teacher Chen, you have a younger sister, right?"
Teacher Chen's eyes widened, and after a long pause he asked, "Do you know everything about our family's situation?"
I shook my head. “No idea.”
"Then...how do you know?"
"Excellent genes have genetic advantages."
She said with a smile: "You are so mysterious. Gao Xu didn't bring you here earlier. Look, you are such a handsome and smart boy. I just met him today."
Hurry down and go downstairs. No man can bear this kind of dark, bright, and shimmering gaze. I extended my hand and said, "Teacher Chen, you go first."
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