"It's okay, don't worry about me." Master Jiu said, waving his hands to indicate that we don't need to worry about him.
"What's wrong with him?" Seeing Master Jiu like this, I asked Xiaopang.
"I don't know." Xiaopang said, also looking worried.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for the old man to recover. He sat there with a pale face. Ms. Zhao invited Master Jiu to the villa, and we did not follow him.
Because of some rules, we followed Master Jiu's instructions and did not take away the brazier immediately within two hours. Instead, we turned another brazier over and placed it upside down, waiting for the thing to cool down completely.
After coming down, I carried it and the ashes into the car.
That night, Ms. Zhao calculated the money for us and also treated us to a meal at a famous local restaurant on the ninth floor.
The meal was sumptuous and high-end. During the meal, we confirmed that, just as we imagined, the pink shirt was indeed his boyfriend.
Because I have always wondered where the cactus came from, and even more curious about why there were so many dark red blood stains in the cactus pot. Of course, the strangest thing is how on earth such a potted plant turned into what it looked like.
So, while everyone was happy, I asked politely, but unexpectedly, as soon as I said this, another story emerged.
Ms. Zhao said that the cactus was raised by her grandfather.
The old man comes from a family of officials and was a prominent local family during the Republic of China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the entire family as a landlord class quickly declined, and several of his sons were left homeless. It was not easy for them to earn a living.
Ms. Zhao's grandfather is the youngest of the children in the family. He was also an old man during the reform and opening up. However, such an old man turned out to be one of the first batch of powerful people to go into business by relying on his ancestors' connections. After several times,
After many twists and turns, he became rich overnight. During this period, he experienced many legendary things, which few outsiders know about.
After retirement, the old man believed in Buddhism and said nothing about the past. At this time, he had been living a simple life like a layman and rarely interacted with outsiders.
Except for a few pairs of children who come back to visit occasionally, only Ms. Zhao, the granddaughter who grew up beside him, knows more about his life.
Not long ago, Ms. Zhao, who was still working out of town, suddenly learned that an old man who had been fasting and chanting Buddha for more than ten years suddenly passed away. As one of the heirs of the old man's property, Ms. Zhao and her family members came all the way back to complete the funeral arrangements.
, everyone has gained a lot of benefits.
Inadvertently, Ms. Zhao discovered a batch of flowers raised by the old man. Since no one wanted them, they were placed there casually.
Ms. Zhao saw that those things looked strange and precious, so she randomly picked two pots and moved them back on a whim. However, she did not expect that most of the flowers died of illness, and only this cactus grew exceptionally lush.
Ms. Zhao is usually very busy and has no time to take care of it. She has been leaving it on the balcony to fend for itself. Who would have thought that something like this would happen over time.
"How long did your grandfather live?" After hearing these words, Master Jiu asked.
"When I died... I must have been over ninety." After thinking about it, Ms. Zhao said.
"Fuck..." When I heard this, I was stunned. I wasn't sighing at how old he was, but I was wondering if his granddaughter was my biological child.
But this is not necessary. There are many successful people who are old and young. I can only say that these three generations are really energetic. From the Republic of China to the present, they have lived for nearly a century!
Seeing that we were stunned and in disbelief, Ms. Zhao smiled, then put down her wine glass, wiped the corners of her mouth with a tissue and said softly: "It's strange. I'm also curious about why he is so healthy. Maybe it has something to do with his diet and mentality. I
I heard that the old man left without any warning, so he probably died at the end of his life."
"Oh, that's really good. Many people are in pain before they die." Xiaopang said with a silly laugh.
"Yes." Ms. Zhao nodded politely after hearing this.
"Is he from the Taoist sect?" Master Jiu asked, giving Ms. Zhao a meaningful look.
"No, no, but...he often reads books in that field. Moreover, as far as I know, grandpa has many old friends who make alchemy and collect medicine. Those people are quite weird. I haven't seen him much in the past few years.
Passed." After thinking for a while, Ms. Zhao said, "Why are you asking this? What, do you think there is any problem here?"
"No, no, no." Master Jiu said, waving his hands quickly, then clasping his hands to his mouth and saying with a smile, "If I'm right, he must have been to Nanyang."
"Hey, how do you know?" Ms. Zhao's eyes lit up when she heard this, and then she told us a little-known legendary story about the old man.
During the conversation, we got a general understanding of her grandfather. According to Ms. Zhao’s introduction, the old man had indeed been to Nanyang, and the most glorious period of his life was also spent in the South China Sea.
As mentioned earlier, after the reform and opening up, the old man became the first batch of businessmen to go to sea. For some reasons, the old man chose to do business in the coastal areas. At that time, Shenzhen, Guangdong was not as prosperous as it is now, but there was always no shortage of opportunities.
, what exactly he was doing at that time, even his own family members couldn’t tell clearly.
All I know is that Mr. Zhao did not have a smooth life in the first two years. He lost all his money on several transactions. Later, all the business partners had no choice but to work together and rely on ship transportation to survive.
Spend the day.
This incident started on a sunny morning. On that day, a group of people suddenly came to him to rent a boat, and the price they offered was quite high.
When Mr. Zhao heard the price, he felt that there must be something wrong here. Sure enough, as soon as he came out of the cabin, he saw a foreigner in a black suit and a dozen men who looked like fishermen standing on the dock arguing.
He couldn't understand what those foreigners were saying, but he could see their restlessness and uneasiness.
There was a local sailor in the crowd who had known Mr. Zhao for a long time. The two said hello and walked together. Mr. Zhao asked the man what these foreigners wanted to do. Hearing this, the man hesitated and said no.
Come up with a reason.
Although Mr. Zhao didn't have much money, he was very cautious by nature. When he saw this, he became suspicious, but he was reluctant to part with the big deal in front of him, so he asked again and again with some embarrassment.
The sailor was not a passionate person, and no matter how much he asked, he couldn't get any results. At this time, a foreigner with blond hair who looked like a translator came over. Hearing the inquiry, he said to him with gestures and winks: "Hey guys, go,