【Serial】The Growth Story of a Chemical Engineering Designer-51

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(51) There is an old man named Chen living in the east part of the village; he used to teach there, and almost everyone in the village was once his student. In some families, three generations have been taught by him. He holds considerable respect in the village. He is now in his seventies, but still in good health. However, a few years ago, he lost one eye due to cataracts. He was also at the table today; after hearing everyone’s discussions, he tapped his chopsticks on the plate and said, “What do you know?” What Wen Hui creates is different from what Xiao Cui makes; it’s high-tech. If you don’t understand it, then don’t guess randomly. Back then, Xiao Cui’s father didn’t listen to me. If that girl had the same opportunities as Wen Hui, she would have achieved great things by now. ” Everyone at the table laughed. One auntie said to Grandpa Chen, “Uncle, don’t you know how to read fortune?” Let’s calculate it for Wen Hui as well. ”Those at the table all started to make noise as well. Ye Wenhui found it strange; after retiring, Grandpa Chen loved to go to the market to play chess. He had never heard that Grandpa Chen was good at fortune-telling. Grandpa Chen was an excellent chess player, with almost no rivals in the village. Whenever he had time, Ye Wenhui’s father would often play chess with Grandpa Chen, and that’s how their families became close friends. It was only after Ye Wenhui asked that he found out that since Grandpa Chen was such a good player at chess, no one wanted to play against him. You should know that playing chess in such gatherings always involves stakes; usually, the person who loses has to pay ten yuan to the winner. If he keeps winning like this, how can others tolerate it? Simply put, when he wanted to play chess, no one paid attention to him; they could watch from the side, but no one played chess with him. As a result, Grandpa Chen lost a great source of enjoyment. At the fair, in addition to those who sold chess sets, there were also those who read fortunes; when he felt bored, he would sit next to them and listen. After listening for some time and finding it quite interesting, he bought a pack of cigarettes and, with some boldness, asked the fortune-teller for some tips. The fortune-teller gave him a few books, and after studying them at home for a while, he actually set up a fortune-telling stall in the market. Grandpa Chen is a familiar face at the market; everyone there knows exactly how much he charges. He’s been selling there for over ten days, yet no one has come to settle accounts with him. It could be said that Grandpa Chen had good luck one day – a stranger passing by happened to see him, an old fortune-teller who was blind in one eye. As the saying goes, “Deaf people interrupt, blind people read fortunes.” ”Grandpa Chen had been a teacher for decades, and he had an air of wisdom and elegance about him. With a casual attitude, that person went to Grandpa Chen to have his fortune told. This calculation is quite remarkable. Grandpa Chen said that he has been having bad luck lately and would encounter various disasters; he advised him not to go west but instead to head east. He also told him that it would be only after a certain date that he could engage in business activities. The locals are actually very aware of this. The town where Ye Wenhui comes from is located on the border of Qilu; there is a river to the west, and the county town is to the east. If he wanted to go west, he wouldn’t be able to do so, so of course he had to go east. The man was skeptical, gave ten yuan as a fee for the fortune-telling, and then left. To his surprise, about ten days later, that man arrived at the place where Grandpa Chen gave fortune-telling readings, driving a luxury car; there were also several people in stylish clothes with him. Everyone there thought that Grandpa Chen had made a mistake, so others came to hold him accountable; they gathered around, laughing. To everyone’s surprise, as soon as the man got out of the car, he handed Grandpa Chen a large sum of money – over a thousand yuan. While giving the money, he said that last time he had failed to recognize Grandpa Chen’s greatness and had treated him poorly; now he had come specifically to express his thanks, and he had brought another boss who also wanted Grandpa Chen to do some calculations for them. Since no one understood what was going on, they all asked what the matter was. He explained that he did business in Texas and was passing by here that day, preparing to return there. After consulting Grandpa Chen for advice, he was told that he should not go west but instead head east. Since Texas is to the west of here, going west meant he couldn’t go to Texas. Coincidentally, a client in Dongying wanted him to go there for some discussions, and since Dongying is in the east, he immediately decided not to return to Texas but to go to Dongying first. To my surprise, it rained heavily in Texas on that very day; several cars got trapped under the bridges leading to Texas, and some people even died after remaining trapped in their vehicles. If I had gone back that day, I might have faced the same fate. It was thanks to the old man that I was able to escape such misfortune. After arriving in Dongying, he reached a business deal with the client there, who asked him to pay an advance payment promptly. He then remembered what Grandpa Chen had said about being able to access funds only after a certain date, so he patiently waited for a few days. It was during those days that he found out the client was a scammer and had just been arrested; if he sent the money, it would be lost forever. After saying this, he exclaimed that Grandpa Chen was like a living immortal, with an uncanny ability to predict events. He had even have a banner made for Grandpa Chen, on which the four characters \"Unparalleled Predictive Ability\" were written. After this incident, Grandpa Chen’s reputation as someone who could predict events with great accuracy spread far and wide. People from nearby villages all liked to come to him for fortune-telling, and many of those who consulted him agreed that his predictions were accurate. As a result, Grandpa Chen bought an electric bike. In addition to selling at the markets in the nearby area, he also set up a stall near a temple that was located further away; his business was very successful, and this has been going on for many years now. After hearing everyone’s explanations, Shufen said in delight, “Grandpa Chen, you’re really amazing! Please calculate it for me.” ” Grandpa Chen laughed heartily and refused to calculate anything for Ye Wenhui and Shu Fen. He said, “Those who come for fortune-telling all have some matters on their minds; you two don’t have any issues, so there’s no need to calculate anything.” ” One aunt said, “Really, Old Chen? Are you afraid that Wen Hui won’t pay you for reading the fortunes? Haha…” Grandpa Chen stroked his beard and said, “What do you know? I’m doing this for their own good; don’t go reading fortunes randomly.” ” In private, Ye Wenhui asked Grandpa Chen, “Grandpa Chen, can you really read fortunes?” ” Grandpa Chen said, “What do you think?” ” “Hehe… I don’t know; anyway, I don’t believe it ” Grandpa Chen said with a smile, “Hehe… It’s fine if you don’t believe it; there are those who do. Don’t you love reading books?” There is a book called \"The Eight Great Sects of the Martial World\"; you’ll understand once you read it. ” Ye Wenhui said, “I have indeed read that book you mentioned. It says that fortune-telling isn’t real at all, so why do so many people still believe in it?” ” Grandpa Chen said, “You don’t understand. It’s like Jiang Taigong fishing – those who are willing will get caught in the trap. Divination has existed for thousands of years, and there are many techniques involved in it. What do you think we ordinary people believe in?” ” “What thing? Believe in ancestors? The Three Bonds? Four terminals? The P5? ” “Those are all superficial things. What we truly believe in is to avoid making mistakes, to live a peaceful life without disasters or troubles. Knowing this makes it much easier to read fortunes. I can’t tell you any more; if I did, it would reveal the secrets, haha… “Come on, Old Chen, at least teach me one trick.” ” Grandpa Chen said, “Hehe… Okay, let me teach you. Don’t you work in design?” It’s actually similar to fortune-telling: one needs both skill and tactics. Skill is the foundation, while tactics are the edge; as the saying goes, \"With edge within skill, one is remarkable; with skill within edge, one is like a deity.\" Having both ensures that one need not fear anything. ” “Haha... really something you would do, I’ll remember that! By the way, I met an old man who read fortunes in the old district of Quancheng; his name is Hong Xiaojun, and he claimed to be a contemporary geomancer. Do you know him? ” Upon hearing this, Grandpa Chen’s face immediately changed color, and he said excitedly, “What? You really met him?” ” “Yeah... I’ve seen him. Do you know this person? Who is he? He also claims to be a contemporary geomancer. ” Grandpa Chen clasped his hands together, looked up at the sky, and trembled his lips as he said, “This man was a geomancer from a past generation; it is said that he has been dead for decades…” Ah! Ye Wenhui’s hair stood on end all over his body as he felt a chill of horror.