Street Stories: A True Account of a Group of Blind Men in the Underworld

Upon seeing it was her son, the old lady immediately glared at him: "I asked a fortune teller to tell my fortune, what right do you have to interfere!"

"Be careful!" the young man's voice rose, full of vigilance. "What if they're some bad guys? Get rid of them as soon as you're done!"

Lin Hai instantly became enraged, slamming the bowl heavily on the kang (a heated brick bed), his voice cold and angry:

"Brother, what nonsense are you spouting? In broad daylight, in this peaceful world, where do so many villains come from?"

The young man was taken aback by the retort and stammered, unable to speak.

Qiao Yang couldn't help but laugh out loud, and slowly spoke towards the man:

"Young man, the Japanese devils have long since surrendered, and Chiang Kai-shek's bandits have been driven away. Now that the new China has been established, how dare these bad guys act so arrogantly?"

The young man scratched his head, muttered "It's always better to be careful," and then slunk away.

The old lady sighed, leaned closer to Qiao Yang, and lowered her voice:

"Sir, I really want to have my fortune told, but my family is strapped for cash and I can't afford the money... Can I treat you to two meals?"

"Sure! Why not!" Qiao Yang and Lin Hai said in unison. Qiao Yang added gently, "Given Auntie's kindness, even if we don't provide a meal, we still have to give you a fortune reading."

Just as they were calculating, the curtain moved, and a middle-aged woman entered. She waved for the two to continue, and as soon as Qiao Yang fell silent, she said urgently:

"I heard you were here, so I came especially to have your fortune told for my son's future!"

Lin Hai replied, "I'll do it."

After the woman announced her birthday, he tapped his finger lightly on the kang mat, speaking at a measured pace:

"This child was born with a strong foundation at the age of three and will have good fortune at the age of seven. He is destined for nobility. If he studies hard after starting school, he will surely have a bright future."

The woman's eyes lit up: "Really? But what kind of future can a child from the mountains have?"

Lin Hai patiently explained, "Sister-in-law, great things can be accomplished even in the mountains. Such a large village needs someone to lead the way to prosperity and manage both internal and external affairs."

Besides, if this child is to study hard, he won't necessarily stay in the mountains forever. Now that the country is at peace, there will definitely be a need for more learned people in the future.

Hearing Lin Hai's words, the woman's eyes brightened considerably. She put down the fortune-telling money and walked out of the house with a smile.

The old lady then whispered to Qiao Yang and Lin Hai:

"Her family is from this village, and her husband's family is from the big village up ahead. Her husband is the village chief, and he's a righteous man. If you go over there, you can always ask him for help."

Qiao Yang and Lin Hai stayed at the old lady's house. Food was scarce in the mountains during the winter, so they ate only two meals a day. At noon, they had cornbread buns with cabbage, and in the morning and evening, all they had was corn porridge with pickled vegetables.

The next day, after telling fortunes for several households in the village, the two fortune tellers packed their bags and headed to Dazhuang.

They came to a small river, which had no bridge, only a few bluestone slabs. Qiao Yang led the way, and Ma Gan lightly touched the slabs, and the two carefully crossed the river step by step.

Just as they stepped onto the other side of the river, a clear, catchy melody suddenly rang out from the direction of the village entrance:

"When spring arrives, it arrives; spring arrives at the beginning of the sixth nine-day period..."

Qiao Yang stopped, a smile playing on his lips, and called out towards the source of the sound:

"Brother, are you one of us, also a wandering swordsman?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the clapper music stopped abruptly.

The next moment, a voice, tinged with a hint of mockery yet carrying an indescribable meaning, slowly drifted over:

"Blind fortune tellers, how dare you trespass on our ancestral land? You must be tired of living..."

"Who?! Who the hell has a death wish?!"

Qiao Yang and Lin Hai both changed color at the same time, their blind eyes turning towards the source of the sound, their faces filled with coldness.

Before he could finish speaking, the man had already run up to him with a big smile, behaving as warmly as if he were seeing a close brother.

"Gentlemen, please calm down! Please calm down! We're all in the same boat, let's look out for each other! I was just joking, don't take it to heart!"

Judging from his voice, he was just a young man in his early twenties, but he was very quick-witted. In just a few words, he grabbed the two men and pulled them towards the village, patting his chest and promising to help them find business.

Upon reaching the gate of a house, the young man shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Auntie! I've brought you a guest! Don't you always say you believe in fate? Today a fortune teller has come to our door, and I guarantee it will come true!"

In the blink of an eye, several villagers followed, all there to see the spectacle—they wanted to see for themselves just how skilled these two gentlemen were.

Qiao Yang had just finished calculating for the old lady in the room when the curtain was suddenly lifted and three more men squeezed in.

The old lady hurriedly got up and offered her a seat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed):

"Please sit down! These are all our village officials—this is the Party Secretary, this is the Village Chief, and this is the Security Officer; they are all very capable people!"

The village chief and the village party secretary sat down on either side of Qiao Yang. The security guard standing on the ground spoke first, his tone tinged with disdain:

"I've done the calculations a few times before, but they were all scams to swindle money; not a single one was accurate."

The Party Secretary calmly adjusted his felt hat and slowly replied:

"That's because you haven't met someone truly capable. Some of these gentlemen are accurate, and some are not."

Qiao Yang suddenly remembered that the village chief the old lady had been talking about yesterday was right in front of him! This was the perfect opportunity for him to make a name for himself!

A smile immediately spread across his face, and he reached out to shake the village chief's hand:

"How about I read your palm? It's the same principle as fortune telling. Whether it's accurate or not, everyone can see for themselves."

As Qiao Yang touched it, he muttered a few incantations under his breath, then suddenly raised his voice and said, word by word:

"Your palm indicates you are a person of great fortune. You have a virtuous wife who gave birth to a son for you, who is intelligent and clever."

You are a righteous person who helps anyone in need and is always willing to take responsibility. You are very popular in the village—am I right?

These words struck like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, and the room fell silent instantly.

Immediately afterwards, someone shouted out:

"That's so accurate! Our village chief is exactly that kind of person!"

The security guard was completely convinced, rubbing his hands together in amazement:

"To be able to predict even if someone has a son, that's quite impressive!"

The Party Secretary couldn't wait any longer and immediately reached out his hand:

"Sir, let me touch it too!"

"Stop calculating! Stop calculating!"

The old lady quickly stopped her, her face full of heartache:

"Gentlemen, you've been hungry all day, it's time to eat! We only have two meals a day here. Dinner is corn porridge and pickled vegetables, don't let it get cold. If you want to do the calculations tomorrow, I'll come and get you!"

After Qiao Yang finished reading the village chief's palm, everyone was amazed, and he felt momentarily smug. However, inside, he was as uneasy as if a rabbit was trapped in his chest.

If the village secretary really brings people to find him tomorrow, his rudimentary bone-reading skills will be exposed on the spot.

What's worse, he and Lin Hai didn't even bring any documents to prove their identities. These days, they'd better not be arrested as suspicious individuals.

The next morning, while the old lady was busy preparing breakfast in the main room, Qiao Yang lowered his voice and confided his unease to Lin Hai:

"I've only learned the basics of palm reading. If the village officials come to me for palm readings again today, I'm afraid I'll give myself away."

Lin Hai pondered for a moment, then spoke in a deep and clear voice:

"Your concerns are quite valid. This practice of bone reading and fortune telling is inherently shrouded in mystery; if a discerning person scrutinizes it closely, mistakes are bound to occur. In my opinion—"

Of the thirty-six stratagems, running away is the best. After breakfast, we'll find an excuse to leave. If we wait for the village officials to come knocking, it'll be difficult to escape."

Before long, the old lady brought in two bowls of steaming hot sorghum rice, followed by a plate of salted cabbage hearts, crisp and slightly salty. In this cold winter month when oil and salt were scarce, it was a rare treat to welcome guests.

"Gentlemen, please eat. The rice this morning was steamed soft and delicious."

The old lady's voice was full of enthusiasm. She was waiting for the village officials to arrive so that Qiao Yang and Lin Hai could show off their skills again and make her look good.

The two gentlemen quickly finished their meal, slipped back onto the kang (a heated brick bed), fastened their luggage securely, and picked up their horse poles leaning against the wall before thanking the old lady.

"Auntie, thank you for taking care of us. We have urgent business to attend to and must go now."

The old lady panicked upon hearing this and rushed forward to grab Qiao Yang's arm:

"What are you two gentlemen doing here? The village officials are coming to have their fortunes told soon! How am I supposed to explain this to them if you leave? Won't I get blamed?"

"Besides—" the old woman stamped her feet anxiously, "Mr. Qiao became famous yesterday for telling the village chief's palm. After they spread the word, the whole village probably knows! You two could stay in this village for three days and still not finish your readings, so why are you leaving already?"

One divination brings fame!

Hearing these four words, Qiao Yang felt even more guilty, but he could only harden his heart and make up an excuse:

"Please forgive us, sir. We have an appointment with our friends and time is tight, so we cannot delay. Please tell the cadres that we will definitely come back someday to calculate the details for them."

Having said that, the two dared not linger any longer. They shouldered their luggage, picked up their horse poles, and hurriedly left the courtyard.