This is a story that took place in the Ming Dynasty.
At that time, there was a divination gentleman, whose surname was Zhang Quanzhi, who was very famous in the capital, and could not only calculate the future political turmoil, but also calculate the life and death of a person. People call him Mr. Zhang.
One day, Mr. Zhang went to a family in the suburbs to tell fortunes. Passing by, three peasants dressed in coarse cloth were working in the fields.
It's the season of growth, and the roadside rice paddies are full of green rice seedlings, swaying gently in the breeze.
Three farmers were busy in the fields, sweating from the sun overhead. The old farmer was watering in the soil, he was in his sixties, his waist was bent like a crescent moon, and his white hair was shining in the sun.
The middle-aged farmer was weeding the ridges, hunched over and hoeing the ground with a wooden hoe, his back soaked with sweat.
On the edge of the ridge sat a child of about four or five years old, dressed in a coarse cloth coat.
When Mr. Zhang approached, the old farmer looked up, his face was full of wrinkles, and a piece of meat hung down from the corner of his eye.
Mr. Zhang smiled slyly and said, "Three, you are the third generation of grandparents, right?" When the old farmer heard this, he laughed with yellow teeth: "Mr. Zhang is really powerful, you can see at a glance that we are the third generation of grandchildren." ”
Mr. Zhang smiled and looked at the child sitting on the ridge, obviously judging the child's fate.
The old farmer couldn't help but get nervous when he saw Mr. Zhang staring at his grandson intently. This child has been in poor health since he was a child, and he can't do any work at all.
He has seen many doctors, but his health has not improved.
Mr. Zhang glanced at the old man sitting on the ridge of the field, shook his head and sighed: "Alas, it's a pity, this doll can only live to be 19 years old!"
After hearing this, the old man's face suddenly changed, and his face, which was still red just now, suddenly became like a blank piece of paper, full of despair.
His lips trembled, and he muttered, "Why, how can this be? He is the only child in our family..."
As he spoke, tears suddenly welled up in the old man's eyes, and tears crept down the wrinkles all over his wrinkled face.
He put down the work in his hand, walked to the edge of the ridge, hugged the child in his arms tightly, and choked his voice: "My good grandson, my good baby, how can you only live for 19 years..."
The middle-aged peasant was also heartbroken when he saw this, and he said to Mr. Zhang: "Sir, you must have a way to make amends! ”
Mr. Zhang shook his head helplessly, and said lightly: "This child's fate is destined by God, I can only get a glimpse of it, but I can't change it!"
When the old man heard this, he quickly knelt down and kowtowed, and said in a mournful voice: "Mr. Zhang, there is only one child in our whole family, if he only lives for 19 years, I still farm, what is the use of trying to live? As long as we can change the fate of this child, no matter what you want us to pay, we will definitely do our best!"
The middle-aged farmer also fell to his knees and wept silently: "Yes, this child is the hope of our three generations." Please, think of a way, we will do whatever it takes. ”
Mr. Zhang was entangled and could not get out, so he had to follow the three of them back to their humble hut and sit down. The old man took out a few taels of silver hidden at the bottom of the box and begged Mr. Zhang to try to let his grandson live longer.
The old man asked Mr. Zhang for help with a worried face, and Mr. Zhang felt very uncomfortable, but he still shook his head and persuaded him bitterly: "I really can't do anything, you might as well keep this money and enjoy life." "
The old man's family was unwilling to give up, begging hard, and Mr. Zhang looked at their sad appearance, and finally couldn't bear it.
Mr. Zhang hesitated for a while, and finally took the silver from the old man's hand: "What I can do is also limited, but I can tell you a method, whether it can work depends on the will of God." "
Mr. Zhang grabbed the silver tightly, squinted his eyes and thought for a while, and said: "On the seventh day of the eighth lunar month, you have to kill chickens and sheep, prepare good wine and food, let the children carry it, walk 101 steps to the southeast of the village, and then kneel down and pray. Maybe someone can help him increase his longevity. "
The old man's family was overjoyed when they heard this, and repeatedly kowtowed to Mr. Zhang to thank him, saying that he would definitely do the same.
Mr. Zhang told them to pray sincerely, and perhaps they could ask for help from the immortals. The elderly family was grateful and hoped to take this opportunity to save the child's life.
On the seventh day of the eighth lunar month, the old man's family got up early to kill chickens and sheep according to Mr. Zhang's explanation, and carefully prepared a lot of wine and food.
When the moon was in the middle of the sky and the stars were shining, the old man asked his grandson to take the wine and food and walk slowly towards the open space in the southeast of the village.
The grandson came to the clearing, laid out the food and drinks one by one, and then knelt respectfully beside him with his head bowed.
However, the grandson waited for a long time, but he didn't see a single figure, let alone any immortals.
But he didn't give up, and still knelt there respectfully, thinking to himself, maybe the immortals were watching him from heaven.
I don't know how long later, two white-bearded old men came in the distance, sat down and began to play chess.
Suddenly, the two old men smelled the fragrant smell of wine and food, put down the chess pieces in their hands, walked over, and then unceremoniously feasted.
The two were eating happily, while the grandson knelt quietly beside him and did not make a sound to disturb.
After eating, the two old men were about to leave, when one of the old men hesitated and said, "Wait, we have eaten these drinks and dishes without the permission of the master, we should do something." ”
After speaking, the two noticed their grandson kneeling beside him. The two old men glanced at each other and smiled kindly.
One of the old men walked up to his grandson, stroked his head, and said, "Son, you must have come here today because you have something on your mind." Come on, let us know, and see if we might be able to help you. ”
The grandson replied sincerely: "The two immortal elders, there is a fortune teller gentleman, who said that I will not live to be 19 years old, but I don't want to make my family sad, I hope to ask the immortals for help." "
The two old men sighed and said, "No one can change the longevity of life against the way of heaven. But for the sake of your filial piety, we can add some lifespan to your life book to make it ninety-nine years old, so that you can die without a disease, but at the cost that you must become deaf, are you willing?"
The grandson pondered for a moment, and finally replied firmly: "I am willing to be deaf." "
The two old men nodded in praise of their grandson's determination, then tapped on his forehead and slowly recited the incantation. After a few moments, his ears were buzzing, and all the sounds of the world were gone.
The two old men told their grandson to be kind to his parents and do more good deeds to accumulate virtue, so he turned into green smoke and disappeared without a trace.
The grandson bowed deeply, thanked the two immortals, and staggered home with the wine and food.
When the old man's family saw their grandson, they thought at first that their hopes had been disappointed, and they were a little disappointed.
When the grandson recounted tonight's experience, although the old man's family was saddened by his grandson's deafness, they were also grateful that the grandson could die without illness and from the torture of the disease, and believed with hope that the grandson would live to be 99 years old.
Since then, although his grandson is deaf, his heart is full of gratitude and calmness. He was filial to his parents, diligent and thrifty, actively did good deeds in the village, helped his neighbors, and lived his whole life.
On the other hand, because Mr. Zhang leaked the secret of heaven, the two immortals decided to teach Mr. Zhang a lesson as well - to deprive him of light and keep him in darkness forever.
However, although Mr. Zhang is blind, he still has many years of experience in face-to-face fortune-telling, and with his eloquence, he can still maintain the face-to-face business by word of mouth.