Chapter 50: My parents left my hometown, it’s hard to describe
When the dishes were served, we were all dumbfounded. They were all served in big shells, just a little bit at a time. Then some small plates were served, also just a little bit at a time.
But there were over twenty varieties of dishes. They were so bizarre, many of them hard to name. My sister glanced at me and whispered, "Why so many? This must cost a lot of money."
I chuckled and said, "What are you afraid of? We can handle it together."
While eating, someone sang at the door: Dance
Two beautiful women entered, their makeup and wide robes adorned with slender waists and painted eyebrows. They began a flying dance, sometimes playing the pipa with their backhands, sometimes twisting their waists to play the qin.
After dancing for a while, one woman sat down and played the flute, while another woman sang:
Willows are dark on Wei Wang Dike, oh dike, my heart is confused, my heart is confused.
After singing two lines, the voice suddenly rose:
Peach blossoms and spring water are clear, clear and clear; mandarin ducks bathe on the water, bathing and bathing——
Then he lowered the key and sang with deep emotion:
I gaze at the setting sun with hatred, thinking of you, but you don’t know. You don’t know——
Finally, he sobbed sadly:
The spring in Luoyang is beautiful, but the talented people from Luoyang are getting old in other places.
The sweet voice, the graceful and tortuous longing, the endless sighs, the eternal love pain, all made people intoxicated by the longing of the Song Dynasty singer for her lover.
My dad asked, “What song is this?”
My brother-in-law quickly replied, "This is 'Bodhisattva Man. Beautiful Scenery in Luoyang City' by the Tang Dynasty poet Wei Zhuang." The original meaning was to express Wei Zhuang's dissatisfaction with his life's circumstances. But in the Song Dynasty, the singing girl interpreted the lyrics to mean she missed her guests.
The meaning is, the guest must accept my love and marry me while the spring is beautiful, otherwise, you, a talented man, will grow old day by day. The meaning of today's song is to express my feelings for Shanhong, saying Shanhong, please take me away as soon as possible.
Even the waiter laughed when he heard it.
My mother said, "I'm afraid Shanhong is not worthy of them. They are all like fairies."
As we were talking, Xiao Liming came in to offer a toast. Everyone had already eaten. He kept saying sorry, sorry, so my brother-in-law and I drank, and the others clinked their teas. He said, "Eat slowly—"
The singing girl leaves the stage and sings at the door: Bring on the cake—
My mother asked, "Why is there no pork in this dish?"
My brother-in-law introduced: "This is the aristocratic banquet. The nobles of the Northern Song Dynasty did not eat pork, but only mutton."
My sister took a bite of the cake and said: "This Song Dynasty cake is still the best."
My brother-in-law said to my sister, "The Song Dynasty was an era of foodies. Wu Mengliang's Menglianglu records more than 110 kinds of snacks."
The female entrepreneur's face immediately paled. My brother-in-law had taken all the limelight. She said sullenly, "More than a hundred varieties, they're just different fillings wrapped in flour."
My mother suddenly asked me, "How much does this meal cost?"
I held up two fingers.
She asked tentatively, "Two thousand?"
I paused before saying, "Twenty-eight thousand eight."
She was so shocked that she put the crab cake that was about to be delivered to her mouth back on the plate: "Is it food or money?"
My sister looked at me in surprise, as if asking, "Who's going to pay for this?"
I whispered, "This seat was given to me by the director just now."
My mother let out a long breath, picked up the pancake and took a big bite.
I've discovered that whenever money is discussed, only my dad and my brother-in-law remain calm. Because neither of them cares about money at home. My dad barely says a word. My brother-in-law only talks about academics. Only my sister, who eats like Gong Linna in "Tante," is so overwhelmed by the disparity in her moods that it's electrifying.
After eating, my father said: "Shanhong, I am happy with my meal. You are better than your father."
My sister deliberately said, "Eat well, and then you have to eat a bowl of noodles when you get home."
My mother is a "protective freak" and she said to my sister:
"You're lying. You'll be full if you eat two of those pancakes. There's so much crab meat."
After eating, everyone stood up. At the door, they sang: Farewell, Mr.
The ten women stood in two rows again, bowed and greeted them, saying: "Master, Madam, Mr. Wan and his party, take care."
As we entered the elevator, my mother kept saying, "Delicious, delicious."
My sister said, "It's free, right? Who would come to a place like this if it cost money? The five- and six-tiered dishes are just as delicious, and only cost a little over a thousand or two."
The next day, the master invited our whole family to dinner at Youran Ju. During the meal, my parents kept thanking the Taoist priest, saying that Shanhong was in this place because of the master's care and teaching.
The master said: "The mountain red is good, it is spiritual."
The next day, my family hosted a banquet for Master and his wife and Aunt Chen. This time, my mother was in charge of the cooking. Master praised my mother as a gourmet and a skilled cook.
After the Lantern Festival, my brother-in-law sent the two elders home. The three of us took the high-speed train back. My brother-in-law stayed with them in their hometown for about ten days before returning to the city.
My brother-in-law told me that my mother talked to the neighbors every day about her experiences in the city, and the most she mentioned was that she spent 28,800 yuan on a meal.
At first, some people listened and asked detailed questions, but later no one listened anymore. Later, some people who were supposed to pass by my house took a detour.
I said to my sister, "We need to bring our parents to the city."
My sister asked in confusion, "It's only been less than a month since we sent him back, and you're bringing him back again?"
I replied, "Didn't my brother-in-law tell you about my parents?"
My sister said nonchalantly, "I told you, those people are just jealous of our family."
I said sadly, "Because of jealousy, they will be isolated. Because they are isolated, they will be extremely lonely. Because of their loneliness, they will not live long."
When my sister heard this, she said, "You do make sense."
Soon, my brother-in-law became the special envoy to welcome my parents into the city. He returned to our hometown and brought them out. From then on, my family began to separate from the village where we had lived for decades.
My brother-in-law said, "When I left the village, people greeted me with a few words, smiled, and said, 'Let's go to the city and live a good life.'"
One night, my brother-in-law and I were talking, and he said that the phrase "simple, unsophisticated, and honest" should no longer be included in Chinese textbooks.
I asked, why?
My brother-in-law said, "The next generation won't understand its specific meaning. How can they understand what simplicity and honesty really mean if they can't find it?"
I smiled and said, "Brother-in-law, I'm not that pessimistic. Perhaps our society is in labor pains. Everything that exists has been the same throughout history: good and evil coexist."
Time passed quickly, and it was April of the third year of my apprenticeship. Dongzi reminded me that it was time to sign up for the Feng Shui class.
Five days after registering, I left my city and went to Hangzhou to attend the "Human-Heaven Induction Feng Shui Software Application Training Course".
I swore: I must master this high technology. Even if there were a few white-bone demons in my class, I couldn't go out and play with them.
Those who accomplished great things in ancient times were no more than those who were able to resist two things.
I won’t write it out anymore, you know what I mean.
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