My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 293 Son's Fortune Telling
Is he a herb gatherer?

Chen Ling couldn't help but glance at it a few more times.

He had only heard about this form of herb gathering from other people, but had never actually seen it before.

Compared to the herb-gathering he and his father-in-law did before, their previous trips into the mountains were nothing.

The cliffs and steep walls are not even in the same league.

"Amazing! Gathering herbs in such high mountains, they must be a group of people with extraordinary skills."

Chen Ling ultimately failed to see the figure behind the thick fog again, and could only sigh to himself.

At such a height, rare medicinal herbs are extremely difficult to find, and the cliffs are often shrouded in mist and clouds, making them very slippery. If you step on a loose rock, you could fall to your death at any moment.

To risk one's life to traverse and gather medicinal herbs on such precipitous cliffs requires courage that commands respect.

"That's not surprising. There are many medicine vendors near Yaowang Temple. Their prices are fairer than elsewhere, and they have a good reputation. Many villages and even farmers who live directly in the mountains sell their medicine to them."

Gao Xiulan also looked out the car window and said, "In this way, we can make a fortune every autumn until winter. However, people in this line of work can't get rich. They risk their lives every year."

This is how Wang Cunye used to collect herbs when he was young. The old lady naturally knew the dangers involved better than anyone else and was used to it.

These seemingly ordinary words sent a chill down the spines of Chen Ling and his wife. Thinking of Wang Cunye's broken leg, they could already imagine the level of danger involved.

There was a moment of silence in the carriage.

As the car drove uphill, the view rose, revealing a valley with rising mist and dense vegetation at its bottom. Below, the water flowed gently, revealing the very same turbulent river from before.

This is indeed a beautiful view.

It makes one wish they could sprout wings and fly to those high mountains and cliffs, to those deep valleys to have some fun.

Seeing Chen Ling's delight, his mother-in-law said, "If you like coming, come again next year. When Rui Rui is older, the three of you can come by yourselves."

Upon hearing this, Wang Susu turned around happily: "Great! Next year we'll come and pick you and Dad up. Our whole family will come by boat from Fenglei Town."

Chen Ling shook his head and laughed, "Why take a boat? If we don't take a boat, we'll get a car next year. Then it will be convenient to go wherever we want."

"Pah, you're just bragging."

Upon hearing this, Wang Susu glared at him and said to her son in her arms, "Rui Rui, look at your father. All he does is talk big, just like a landlord."

It's no wonder Wang Susu didn't believe it. Cars aren't easy to buy these days. Even the cheapest one costs around 200,000 yuan, let alone a good one.

Although my family earns money relatively quickly, we're not rich enough to afford a car.

Wang Susu said a few words to her son, but the little guy completely ignored her. His eyes were fixed on the scenery moving backward outside the car window. His big, bright, black grape-like eyes were filled with joy as he watched the scenery along the way.

This immediately made her extremely angry.

"Alright, we've arrived at Yaowang Temple. Let's drive the car into the village."

Gao Xiulan called out, "We've arrived at Yaowang Temple ahead!" There were more people on the road than before.

"Oh, so this is how you get to Yaowang Temple."

Chen Ling then realized that to get to Yaowang Temple on the mountain, he had to pass through two small villages.

First, there's Xuanyangyu in Baiheling, and then there's Xialongkou Village.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, many people came to Yaowang Temple to offer incense.

Some came by bicycle, some on foot, but most came on foot, some even taking mountain paths instead of main roads, crossing mountains and valleys to get here.

They were all herbalists, herb gatherers, or family members of herb dealers or pharmacy owners. Herb dealers and pharmacy owners prayed for prosperous business, while herb gatherers and herb farmers prayed to the Medicine King to protect their family members' lives while gathering herbs.

The simple mountain people rarely see cars, so when Chen Ling drove into the village, they watched for a while.

Chen Ling had no choice but to park his car at the village committee office and pay the village secretary to look after it before taking his family up the mountain.

Yaowang Temple is located on the mountain west of Xialongkou.

After crossing the river and climbing the mountain, when you reach the mountainside, you will see a smooth platform on a flat area. This is the medicine drying platform.

The drying platform for medicinal herbs here is a natural structure.

It is a flat, straight rock with no other mountains to block the sunlight, and the locals call it "sunshine from sunrise to sunset".

Legend has it that Sun Simiao, the "King of Medicine" during the Tang Dynasty, dried 100,000 catties of medicine here and transported it to Chang'an via the ancient Qin-Chu road using mules and horses, curing thousands of patients.

The Medicine King Village where my father-in-law lives, and the medicine drying platform in front of the village, also originated from this place. They were respectfully "invited" back from here by burning incense and worshipping the Medicine King.

There are several related historical sites near Yaowang Temple, all of which are associated with Sun Simiao, the Medicine King.

The most famous is naturally Yaowang Temple, but it would be more accurate to call it Yaowang Temple rather than a temple.

However, this temple is large and ancient, with a history of over a thousand years. Over time, the locals have come to call it Yaowang Temple, which actually has nothing to do with Buddhism.

After lingering for a moment on the drying platform, Chen Ling felt that this thing was very similar to the white jade-colored boulder he had seen in the valley when he was collecting dendrobium in the mountains.

Continue forward, hurrying up to the top of the mountain; Yaowang Temple is located at the summit.

The ancient temple, which has been renovated several times, has been preserved intact. Due to its remote location and its position on a mountaintop, it has not been damaged in modern times, which is truly a blessing.

The Drying Platform for Herbs and the Medicine King Temple stand facing each other from afar, one above the other.

It is said that in the past, there was only a drying platform on the mountainside where Sun Simiao would dry the herbs he collected; he had no fixed residence. In the nearby village of Xialongkou, there used to be a large iron bell, known as the Dragon's Mouth Bell, which would often ring without being struck, its sound carrying for miles.

When Sun Simiao died, this large bell actually flew to the top of the mountain on its own.

Locals say this is a manifestation of the Medicine King, so they built a temple here to commemorate this generation of Medicine King.

After arriving at Yaowang Temple on the mountaintop, Wang Susu and her daughter went to offer incense at the temple dedicated to the Medicine King.

Chen Ling carried her son and wandered around the yard.

Before long, they wandered from the courtyard to the outside. On the open ground at the top of the mountain, there were many vendors selling medicine packets, medicine pillows, various herbal medicine books, and even those claiming to have miraculous cures for all diseases by using the name of Sun Simiao.

Chen Ling looked around and walked to a painting stall. What attracted him was a landscape painting. In the painting, in a mountain valley, there was an old man with a cane and a medicine basket on his back. The old man had white hair and a youthful face, and had an otherworldly air. Naturally, the painting depicted the Medicine King, Sun Simiao.

There are two lines of inscription above: "Brush away the white clouds to gather herbs, borrow the bright moon to refine elixirs of immortality."

The painting and calligraphy were both excellent. Chen Ling was delighted and bought the painting after inquiring about the price. He also looked at the other paintings, but none of them suited his taste.

"Young man, judging from your face, you are a blessed person. Since you bought my painting, I will give you a fortune reading."

The owner of the painting stall was a thin old man with a goatee. He was not tall, probably no more than 1.6 meters.

Then, in a very mysterious tone, he spoke to Chen Ling.

"Give me a fortune telling? It's free?"

Just as Chen Ling rolled up the scroll and was about to leave, he heard this and looked up at the old man.

"Of course I won't charge you. I told you it's a free gift."

The old man's expression turned serious. He tapped the calligraphy and paintings behind him with a short-handled whisk. "I usually only sell calligraphy and paintings, not fortune telling. Today, I see that you have a wealthy and noble appearance, so you are a destined person."

Chen Ling laughed when he heard this. He had heard similar things many times before and no longer believed them.

But since there was nothing else to do at the moment, he asked, "How do you do fortune telling?"

The old man said, "I can do character analysis, palm reading, and birth chart reading. You can even just draw a few cards from a deck of cards and I can still tell your fortune."

Wow, that's quite a boast.

Hearing this, Chen Ling became interested. He pulled a stool from beside the stall, sat down with his son in his arms, stretched out one hand, and said, "Then tell me your palm."

He was initially nonchalant and playful, so he didn't take it seriously at all.

But after the old man held his hand and looked at him with a furrowed brow for a while, he gave a general account of Chen Ling's family situation.

That is, the father died, the mother went missing, and he was an only child, exactly as described.

That alone is scary enough.

Chen Ling immediately asked, "Is my mother still alive?"

"It's still there, just far away from you. Don't go looking for it; it won't bring any good news." The old man's eyes held a deeper meaning.

I don't know if "far away" refers to physical distance or something else.

"Can this be seen from palmistry?" Chen Ling was so surprised that he lost his composure and asked a rather unprofessional question.

Unexpectedly, the old man nodded and said, "Yes, your palm lines show that you were separated from your father and mother..."

"Can you see anything else? What will my future fortune be like?" Chen Ling, who possessed the miraculous Sun and Moon Grotto, was willing to believe in some extraordinary people and events, so he continued to ask.

"You are destined for wealth and high office, with a prosperous life ahead of you."

"Anything else? Is there anything else you can tell?"

"You are wealthy and powerful, and have a lot of romantic luck; you are destined to attract many suitors."

"..."

After asking several questions, Chen Ling became increasingly disappointed, thinking that the old man probably only knew how to handle family matters.

He could describe his family situation in great detail, but everything else was a complete mess.

So instead of asking myself, I decided to have my child's fortune told since I had the child with me.

"How much does it cost to have my fortune told, sir? Can you do it for my child?"

The old man seemed to sense the change in Chen Ling's attitude, and was no longer as dignified as before. He quickly turned around, took a sip of water, coughed lightly twice, and said, "Even a little kid can be told. Just give him his birth date and name."

Chen Ling wrote it down on the paper and handed it to him.

The old man cast a divination, and the reaction was much greater than when he divined for Chen Ling. He exclaimed, "Your child is extraordinary! He's born with the Kui Gang star, capable of fighting ghosts and cursing the King of Hell. He'll definitely be a prominent figure in the future!"

"Huh? What does this mean?"

Chen Ling was completely bewildered by these words. Couldn't these fortune tellers have been a little clearer?

"That is to say, children like this will grow up with strong yang energy, fearless of heaven and earth, and even ghosts and gods will avoid them. In the past, they would have been great generals who charged into battle."

The old man shook his head and said.

"Yeah, that's right. This name isn't very good. It's associated with the Kui Gang star in one's destiny, so it's not good to use this name. If you can change it when you get back, then do so."

(End of this chapter)