Chapter 211 The whole family discusses my marriage
The candlelight is bright and the smoke is curling.
There was fruit on the table, and three ancestral tablets framed with red paper stood there.
I first took Mr. Shu as my teacher.
We both knelt on the mat, and he held three incense sticks in his hand and chanted:
"Master Guo Xiang, Grandmaster Huangfu Mi, I now teach the Wan family's Shanhong bone-setting and acupuncture techniques. Heaven and earth bear witness to my healing and life-saving abilities. I hereby report this with a clear, auspicious, and orderly manner."
We kowtowed three times. Mr. Shu stood up, picked up his wine glass, and poured it on the ground: "I teach my skills to help others, and I will never pass them on to others."
Then he became my disciple.
I held three sticks of incense and chanted, "Master Sengchou, I now teach Shu the art of immobilization. Heaven and earth are my witnesses. This is for self-defense only. I hereby report this to you, and it will last for eternity.
We kowtowed three times, and I stood up, picked up the wine glass, and poured it on the ground: "I will never pass on my skills to anyone except myself."
Now let’s cast our fortunes. Mr. Shu will do it first.
I placed a chopstick horizontally over the bowl of water, and he chanted, "Heaven and earth are witnesses, the gods are above, the three hexagrams will be effective."
He casts the hexagrams, I pick them up. The union of yin and yang brings prosperity and success. The hexagrams are transformed and the hexagrams are effective.
After the divination, he taught me the formula of bone setting in detail:
Gather and press to connect, restore the sunken parts, squeeze and reposition them, rotate and press to connect, stretch and press to restore, hook, lift and press, press and stretch to restore, rub and push to return to the original position, separate first to close, separate and then reconcile.
After reciting it, he said, "Wan Shanhong, please stand up and take over."
I stood up, took the prescription with both hands, and said, "Master Xie Shulin, please give me the prescription."
He said, "I'll teach you acupuncture later."
I will tell the fortune and he will pick up the numbers.
After the divination, I unfolded a piece of paper and read:
"10 grams of Dongqizhai, 5 grams of Xiguofen, 10 grams of Nanfenteng, and 5 grams of Beihanguo, dry them in the sun and grind them into powder. Mix them with rice wine, then dry them for two days and put them in a cloth bag. This is the original medicine.
Take 7 grams of Huatingzi, 7 grams of Weizi, 7 grams of Fenglingzi, and 7 grams of Quisqualis fructus. Dry them and grind them into powder. Mix them with rice wine and dry them in the sun for seven days. This is the antidote.
The names of the herbs you recite are all pseudonyms. Purchase the herbs according to the prescription. Memorize this paper thoroughly and burn it after ten days."
Elder Shu said, "Thank you, Master Wan, for the recipe."
After that, I told him that I was going to Shanghai the next day. Mr. Shu said, "You are busy, so I won't treat you to dinner."
After leaving Shu’s hometown, I went to the bank’s parking lot to pick up the car and rushed home.
When I walked in, my mother looked puzzled: "What takes so long to save some money?"
I said, “I learned a skill.”
"What technology?"
"I'll give you an experiment."
"Tell me about the technology first."
I told him how Mr. Shu taught me the bone-setting technique.
My mother raised her hand and slapped me: "You're using me as an experiment. I have a healthy hand, and I want you to set the bones?"
I said, “Let’s actually do an experiment.”
Her face darkened: "You are crazy."
I smiled and said, "Let me check it out."
"What if it's taken off?"
"Not in case."
My mother stared at me.
"I promise it won't hurt."
My mother thought I wouldn't harm her, so she looked at me for a few seconds and then reached out her hand.
I pulled and dislocated my wrist. I pushed and the joint snapped back into place.
She couldn't close her mouth and stared at me for a long time without saying anything.
I smiled and said, "I guess I didn't realize it."
She asked, "You learned it so quickly?"
"Who am I? My name is Wan Shanhong."
She picked up the broom and hit me twice on the legs. She cursed, "If you go to the train station to beg for rice, people will give you a little extra."
I didn't react for a moment and asked, "Why?"
"You can break both of your hands. Your name is Wan Shanhong. You are amazing."
I laughed so hard I yelled "Ahhh" and said, "You're funnier than that Dandan."
She put the broom away and said seriously:
"I'm telling you the truth. You're full of skills now, like listening to words, freezing the body, fishing, magic tricks, and bone-setting. Don't be so arrogant. There are many masters in the world.
Besides, don’t show off your skills in public. Girls nowadays like guys like you, who are rich and likable.
If any girl falls head over heels in love with you, I will break your legs.
Xiaolin is such a good girl. You should get married within this year. Her family doesn't have any special requirements. You keep putting it off. Do you have other ideas?"
I said, "As you wish."
"Don't give me that. Let's discuss this tonight."
My mother did what she said and asked me to call immediately and ask my sister and brother-in-law to come back.
During dinner, my mother announced the topic of the meal.
My brother-in-law said, "Wan Shuixiu should come back too." After that, he called my sister.
When my sister came back, the whole family sat down. My mother said:
"Shanhong and Xiaolin's wedding should be held. It's June now, so they need three months of preparation and will be married in October."
My sister said, "Let's just schedule it during the National Day holiday. Everyone has time. We might be a bit busy, but it's not like we're in Wuxiang right now. Without Gao Xu and me, the store will still be running."
I said, "Okay."
My mother turned to Xiaolin and said, "Xiaolin, keep it simple. Your family doesn't need to send any dowry. Life is good now, and you can buy it in the provincial capital. Just drive a few buses and pick up the relatives."
Xiaolin smiled and said, "My family will definitely not come empty-handed."
My mother said, "Empty-handed or not, that's what some people care about, but we don't care, you are just like my daughter."
My father said, "Let's just settle it. We don't have any close relatives back home anyway. As for the Yifan family, we'll reimburse their round-trip travel expenses."
"A person must be loyal to love and live together until old age." My mother said to me.
Others didn't get the meaning of my mother's words, but I knew she didn't like my father hanging out with those seductive women in the senior band. I wanted to laugh, but I didn't dare. I stood up, pretending to add more tea, and walked away.
My sister didn't understand what was going on and actually said, "Mom, after you came to the provincial capital, I noticed that your speaking skills have improved a lot. You talk about being loyal to your love and you talk about growing old together."
"Am I wrong?"
My sister nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes."
My father said, "Xiao Lin, Shanhong will be under your care from now on. You can learn from your mother-in-law, she is good at managing the household. A harmonious family is the key to success."
Xiaolin nodded.
I didn't dare sit down. I was the only one who understood what my parents said. I was afraid I would burst out laughing.
The family meeting was almost over when my brother-in-law stood up and said, "Shanhong, you have a long way to go."
I said, "What's the big deal? As long as we have money, we can leave it all to the wedding company and just book a good hotel."
My brother-in-law smiled mischievously: "You guide others to give birth to boys, but you yourself gave birth to a girl and you failed miserably."
My mother stood up and said, "He's not a god. Besides, he can have two or three children. I'm willing to take care of them no matter how many there are."
My sister winked at Xiaolin and said, "At most, you can have two children. Xiaolin is not a reproductive machine."
My mother waved her hand and said, "You two should leave as soon as possible. Once a woman is married, her parents will be responsible for her affairs."
My brother-in-law stuck out his tongue and said with a smile, "Okay, let's go."
(Preview of the next chapter: Discussing folk taboos in the car, released at 6 pm)
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