Near evening, Tang Li and Bai Fu rode their horses to the Minjiang Pier outside the south gate of Chengdu. The wharf was extremely busy with people coming and going.
Several large ships had just docked, and a group of porters were busy unloading. They then used poles to lift sacks weighing a hundred kilograms onto their shoulders, walked up the long bluestone steps, and walked into a rice shop near the pier.
There were also older girls and younger daughters-in-law coming out of the boats, chirping and chatting about the customs and customs of Chengdu, then boarding the oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages parked at the pier, and headed back to the city.
Tang Li took Bai Fu and walked to the restaurant next to the pier. The restaurant was very grand, with azure wine flags fluttering in the wind. On the restaurant's gold-lettered signboard, three big characters "Exiled Immortal House" were written with flying dragons and phoenixes. The signboard has been worn for many years.
The smoke turned it into a pitch black mass, but the three gold characters were shining brightly. The aroma of wine and meat wafted out from the building, and the sound of the cook's knife and spoon and the shouts of the waiter were all heard together.
As soon as Tang Li entered the restaurant, shopkeeper Wang greeted him and said, "Mr. Tang, I have prepared the Minjiang carp you asked for yesterday."
After hearing this, Tang Li became interested and said with a smile: "Shopkeeper Wang, you mentioned carp. Let me tell you. After I asked you to prepare fish yesterday, that night, I dreamed that I turned into a carp, and it is rare.
Six-tailed carp. I was swimming freely in the Minjiang River. Suddenly, a big fishing net covered me. A fisherman caught me and threw me into a basket. After the fisherman landed, he sold me this fish to you. It weighed seven kilograms.
Twenty taels. You used a straw rope to pass through my gills, causing me great pain. One day later, guests came, and you used the back of your knife to hang off my fish scales, chop off the fish head, and make fish in sour soup. Chop it.
The moment my head hit me, I woke up from my dream, sweating profusely..."
Shopkeeper Wang was stunned when he heard this: "Oh my God, the scene you dreamed about is exactly the same as mine yesterday. The Minshan carp I bought is the rare six-bearded carp, weighing seven pounds and two taels. I'm waiting for you to come over today and make it.
Fish in Hot and Sour Soup."
In order to prove that this statement was true, Shopkeeper Wang walked to the window. Several awning boats were docked at the pier. Shopkeeper Wang said to one of the boatmen who was playing with the fishing nets: "Old Zhangtou, are there any good goods today?"
The dark-skinned boatman's voice was loud and he replied: "Shopkeeper Wang, the Fujiang crucian carp that just came out of the water is so strong and tight that the soup is the most delicious. I also caught a lot of Minjiang silver carp today. They are big and tender, and one fish is enough for three people."
Eats for five people.”
Shopkeeper Wang pointed his head at Lao Zhang and said, "I bought the six-bearded carp from him yesterday."
When Tang Li saw it, his hair stood on end, and he exclaimed in shock: "I was caught by this fisherman yesterday!"
All three of them were shocked!
Shopkeeper Wang was extremely frightened and said: "This carp is probably a carp spirit, let's release it immediately?"
A middle-aged man next door heard this and laughed loudly: "There is no such thing as carp essence. But it doesn't hurt to eat it! I have also encountered similar things.
Three months ago, I returned to Sichuan from other places. I was eager to return home, so I walked all night. I walked more than ten miles away from home and passed by the inn where I usually rested. It was getting late, and the inn was brightly lit, with people singing and laughing.
. I was very curious, and when I got closer, I saw dozens of people drinking and having fun inside. My wife was among them. I was angry with her for being unruly, so I was about to rush into the inn and scold her face to face. Unexpectedly, the inn had windows but no doors. Why?
She couldn't get in either. I was so angry that I picked up a tile from the ground and threw it in to hit her. It hit her on the forehead, causing her head to bleed. Then the people inside dispersed in a rush, and no one could be seen.
In anger, I galloped my horse and whip to rush home as soon as possible and blocked my wife outside the house. When I got home, my parents, children, and my wife were all sleeping soundly. When I came back, my wife sued me because she had just dreamed
In her dream, she participated in the Kasuga Poetry Club and was reciting poems in the inn. Someone threw a tile from outside and hit her on the forehead. Her head was broken and blood flowed. She woke up from the dream with a shock.
At this time, it was already broad daylight. I carefully inspected my wife’s forehead. It was intact and there was no trace of any scar!
Now that I think about it, that day I broke into my wife's dream. Today, shopkeeper Wang and the fisherman broke into your dream. Zhuang Zhou dreamed of butterflies, or butterflies dreamed of Zhuang Zhou. Reality and dreams are both real and illusory, false and real.
"
At this time, the diners in the restaurant were all sitting around the middle-aged man, listening to him vividly interpret this bizarre story.
When he finished speaking, an old man who looked like a private school teacher stood by the window, twisting two broad beans, sipping a small drink, and commented unhurriedly: "It is recorded in the book that dreams are not nothingness, but tangible things. Folks call them nightmares.
Ghosts are called ghosts in Taoism. Ghosts can not only live in one person's dream, but can also travel in the dreams of different people. Under certain stimulation, they can even jump out of dreams and come to the world..."
Just when everyone was sighing, there was a noise on the pier...