Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1199 Master Hai Deng, Old Fan's Relative (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)

"The monk Haiteng, Fan Wubing?" Fang Yan was momentarily dazed.

Xiao Li nodded and said:

"Yes, it's him. Didn't you say before that you went to visit him in Xin'an Commune, where he was sent to work in Jiangyou, which is not far from Chonghua Town?"

Fang Yan then remembered that he had indeed mentioned this matter more than once before. (See Chapter 312)
He said:
"Oh, that's what happened."

“There was a thatched hut on the mountainside in the town called ‘Benyuan Hermitage’ where he lived. He wasn’t called Master back then.”

"Back then, farmers from the surrounding area would seek his medical treatment, and local young people would seek him out to learn martial arts. They called him the Taoist Without Illness or the Monk Haiteng."

Xiao Li nodded and said:

"Yes, yes, that's the person. He's coming today."

Fang Yan asked, puzzled:
"What made him decide to come here?"

Hai Deng, a monk, practiced martial arts from a young age and later became a Buddhist monk. From the 1940s to the 1960s, he spent a long time practicing in temples in Sichuan and Yunnan, while also teaching martial arts.

During this period, he had a certain reputation mainly in local areas, especially in Buddhist and martial arts circles, where he was known for his "Zen and martial arts integration" image, but he had not yet entered the national spotlight.

During this period, he served as the abbot of several temples and was skilled in martial arts, qigong, and "two-finger Zen," laying the foundation for his later fame.

He only became famous in 1979 when a documentary about him was filmed in Sichuan, which was then reprinted by People's Daily and Guangming Daily, and featured in numerous interviews, thus expanding his influence.

He'll be famous in several months.

Xiao Li said in dialect:

“He was practicing in Zhejiang some time ago, and he saw our movie, so he wanted to come and see us.”

Fang Yan suddenly realized that it was another butterfly effect caused by himself.

He smiled at Xiao Li and said:

"Is it mainly because I wanted to see you?"

Xiao Li scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said:

"Haha...yes."

"He contacted us through the martial arts team and said he would be coming this morning."

Fang Yan nodded and said:

"Alright, let's meet. We can have lunch and chat."

Just then, Fang Yan suddenly remembered something, and he slapped his forehead:
"Oh, right, Lao Fan is also a relative of his... I might as well call Lao Fan over."

Xiao Li realized that the dialect was referring to Fan Changting.

He naturally had no objection to this; with Lao Fan around, he could speak more naturally.

He said in dialect:

"I'll go call Lao Fan first, you go ahead and do your thing."

Soon, Fang Yan was able to borrow a free phone at the newly established police station.

Lao Fan has been staying in his dorm these past few days, mainly because he doesn't know what to do if he goes out.

Yuan Qingshan went back to his hometown in Maoshan, so he had no idea who to hang out with.

I called the guardhouse at the Xiehe dormitory and asked them to help me find Lao Fan. Lao Fan answered the phone the next second.

"Hey, Brother Fang! What's up?"

Fang Yan asked in surprise:
"You're working as a doorman again?"

Old Fan said:

"Hey, wait... I just got a call from Lao Meng saying the research institute is starting work tomorrow, why are you calling again?"

Fang Yan suddenly realized, and then got straight to the point:

"Your relatives have arrived."

Old Fan was a little confused and asked:

Are you making fun of me?

He said in dialect:

"Really?"

Old Fan asked with a doubtful tone:

"That kid Xiao Peng is back from Hong Kong?"

He said in dialect:

"No, Xiao Peng is at most your fellow villager, not a relative. I'm talking about Fan Wubing."

Old Fan was taken aback:

"Who?"

He said in dialect:

"The monk Haiteng, the Taoist Wubing, the one from Chonghua Town, Jiangyou, Mianyang."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone before Lao Fan said in surprise:
"Oh dear, what brings him here?"

He said in dialect:

"I watched Xiao Li's movie in Zhejiang and then came here to exchange ideas. I just arrived at the film set and got the news, so I borrowed a phone from the police station here to call you."

Old Fan said:

"Where is it? I'm coming over."

He said in dialect:

"He hasn't arrived yet, but he'll be at the film set soon, right here on Wong Fei-hung Movie Street."

Lao Fan agreed:
"Okay, I'll take the bus."

He said in dialect:

"Go to my house and find Sophia, have her drive you over." Old Fan agreed without hesitation.

He said in dialect:

"Okay, I'll wait for you."

After hanging up the phone, Fang Yan thanked the police officers at the local police station and returned to the film crew.

About half an hour later, Sofia arrived with Lao Fan.

"Where is he?" Old Fan asked Fang Yan as soon as he arrived.

"They're not here yet! You guys are fast." Fang Yan was helping his younger brothers with their lines and knowledge about traditional Chinese medicine when Lao Fan arrived.

Hearing that the person hadn't arrived yet, Lao Fan sat down again.

Fang Yan asked him:
"You seem a little nervous?"

Old Fan said:

“I studied under him for several years when I was a child, so our relationship was similar to that of your nephew.”

"Even if I don't call him Master, I still have to call him Uncle when I see him."

Fang Yan then suddenly realized:

"I see……"

At this moment, Xiao Li ran over and said to Fang Yan:

"Junior Uncle, Master Haiteng is here! Let's go together!"

"Okay!" Fang Yan nodded.

He greeted Lao Fan:

"Let's go, Lao Fan, let's go together!"

Old Fan hurriedly followed, his heart pounding with anxiety.

Passing through the entrance to the movie street, which was covered with scaffolding, I could see three people standing under the old locust tree at the street corner in the distance.

All three were dressed as monks, two of them were young, and the leader was a thin old monk.

His gray monk's robe was washed until it was faded, and the collar and cuffs were frayed, but it was starched and made neat. A simple cloth belt was tied around his waist.

He looked more like a wandering monk than the "master" he later became known as.

The other two monks beside him were dressed similarly, each carrying an old canvas bag, and were also looking around curiously.

The three people were looking at the film set lanterns hanging on the locust tree and talking about something.

Beside them were Fang Yan's second senior brother, Ding Jian, and Tang Maoqian, the successor of the White Ape Tongbei Fist.

They must have been brought here by Ding Jian and Tang Maoqian.

At that moment, upon hearing Fang Yan's footsteps, the group turned around simultaneously.

"Master Hai Deng!" Little Li was the first to greet Master Hai Deng as he walked ahead.

Then Fang Yan nodded slightly to Monk Hai Deng and addressed him:

"Master Haiteng!"

Master Haiteng clasped his hands together and nodded. Then, after looking closely at Fang Yan's face, he felt that Fang Yan looked somewhat familiar. Just as he was about to ponder this, his attention was immediately drawn to Lao Fan behind Fang Yan.

When Master Haiteng's gaze fell on Old Fan's face, his eyes, hidden in wrinkles, suddenly lit up, as if he had recognized something he hadn't seen for many years.

He took half a step forward and shouted in disbelief:
"Is it...Changting?" he asked, his Sichuan accent slightly hoarse.

"Uncle!" Old Fan called out, bending slightly at the waist.

After confirming that it was indeed his lay nephew, the monk Haiteng asked in surprise:

"Why are you here?"

He said:
“I was studying here, and I also worked at Peking Union Medical College Hospital with Fang Yan…”

The two hadn't been in contact for a long time, and there was almost no communication. Now that they met, they had to talk about many things again to find out. Lao Fan briefly explained his situation.

Then the monk Haiteng realized what was happening and said to Fang Yan:

"So you're my friend from the dialect school!"

"Does the master still remember me?" Fang Yan asked.

Upon hearing this in dialect, Hai Deng was taken aback:
"We've met before?!"

He said in dialect:

"Of course, I saw Master treating the villagers a few years ago in Chonghua Town, Jiangyou, Mianyang. I even came to see you, but there were too many people there, so you probably don't remember."

Hai Deng quickly put his palms together in prayer and uttered "Amitabha," indicating that he truly did not remember.

He apologized in dialect, saying:

“I really don’t remember, but I’ve heard the name ‘Fangyan’ many times in the past year. I didn’t expect that we had met before.”

"And you also know Changting..."

After saying that, he paused and continued:
"My first purpose in coming here was to see young friend Li, and my second was to see young friend Fang. I never expected to see both of them at once, and even Changting! What a coincidence!"

Fang Yan, hearing that the old monk actually wanted to see him again, asked curiously:
"I wonder what business you have with me, Master?"

Monk Haiteng turned his head and took the briefcase from the young monk accompanying him, saying:

"I have some medical books collected by cultivators. I copied some of them by hand and wanted to give them to you, young friend Fang, as I was passing by. Also... I would like to discuss some medical issues with you."

“There are many different opinions here. I’ve sent them to quite a few people, and I’d like to see if you, young friend Fang, have any new insights.”

Fang Yan was taken aback and looked at the handbag with curiosity, wondering if it was something from a Taoist doctor.

PS: After finishing this chapter, I still owe everyone 29000 words.

That's all for today, please come early tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)