Chapter 16 The female shop owner read my fortune for me

Journalist: “‘What interesting encounter did you have at the next stop?’

Mao: “During our journey, we encountered a beautiful young woman, the owner of an inn. She was quite interesting and even offered to read our fortunes. She came from a family of scholars, with her grandfather being a poet and her father an educated scholar. No wonder she knew how to analyze handwriting like tarrot, read fortunes, and predict good or bad luck. It was really fascinating to have our fortunes read by her. She asked for my surname, and I told her it was Mao. She immediately exclaimed, ‘Your surname is not very auspicious! Hong Xiuquan was called ‘Chang Mao’ (Chang Mao is referred to Long Hair, hair is pronounciated as Mao),’ Yuan Shikai was called ‘Monkey Mao’, and now you are another Mao. Oh no! Oh no!’ Her words made me feel a bit discouraged, and I said, ‘What does my surname have to do with my appearance? Please continue with the fortune-telling!’ I listened attentively.’

She said, ‘From your facial features, it seems that you may become a high-ranking official, a Prime Minister, or even a king of the mountains. Her words truly intrigued me, but then she continued. She said, ‘However, based on your surname, you may become someone like Long Mao or Monkey Maor. You have a high self-opinion, ambitious, but you lack any trace of warmth! You can calmly kill ten thousand or even a hundred thousand people without showing any emotions. However, you are very composed. If you can survive without being killed by enemies before the age of 35, then you will pass a major hurdle, and as you surpass 50 years old, your days will only get better. Around the age of 55, it will be a turning point, and everything will go smoothly for you. You will have at least six wives, but not many children. It is evident that you don’t get along well with your family, and you won’t stay in the countryside for long, nor will you have a stable family. ’

She seemed to possess some mystical insight as she outlined the trajectory of my life.”

Journalist: “The fortune-teller’s words are indeed interesting. Did she also say anything about Mr. Xiao?”

Mao: “I said to her, ‘Alright, now please take a look at Mr. Xiao!’ After examining Xiao, she said, ‘Mr. Xiao, your appearance is completely different from your friend. You remind me of Taoist hermits. It seems that you do not belong to the mundane world. You truly resemble a celestial being descending to earth! You are a person with deep emotions. Compared to Mr. Mao, who is like a strong liquor, you are completely like clear water. I can see that you will spend your life wandering, and the further you go, the more… ’

Xiao interrupted and said. ‘Do you think I’ll have six wives too?’ She replied, ‘No, but you will marry twice and have only one offspring, for hermits neither require a family nor a son … ’

The young woman’s statement seems quite reasonable! Did Xiao really marry twice? We find her quite interesting, so we asked for her name, and she is called Hu Ruying.”

Journalist: “The hostess mentioned that Mr. Xiao also speaks with great with!”

Mao: “Xiao continued jokingly, ‘If one day Mr. Mao becomes the Prime Minister or the King of the Mountains, he might write a letter to invite you to be his advisor!’ She laughed heartily upon hearing this and then said, ‘But he is a person without sentimentality. By that time, he would completely forget about me, even my shadow would be forgotten. This hostess has a good understanding of my character!’

Xiao asked for her address and kept it all this time, but he admitted to never having written her a letter because he hadn’t made much progress and had no good news to share with her. Nevertheless, I always remember her intriguing words.”

Journalist: “The female shop owner said you are someone who doesn’t hold onto past relationships, and it seems to have some truth! After leaving the inn, where did you two go?”

Mao: “We left the inn and encountered a flood in the Yuan River, which forced us to end our begging journey and take a boat back to Changsha. When we reached the West Gate, we remembered that on the first day, we owed the boat owner four copper coins. Xiao wanted to pay him, but I thought it wasn’t necessary. Xiao insisted earnestly, saying that now we have the money, we should repay him accordingly, otherwise, it would be unfair to him. I, on the other hand, believed that everything was in the past, let bygones be bygones, and we shouldn’t stir up trouble again.

Four copper coins may seem like a trivial matter, but small things reveal one’s true character. How we handled those four copper coins showed the difference between Xiao Zisheng and me in terms of dealing with worldly matters. He had compassion and sympathy for others, while I lacked sympathy and compassion for others, only using them for my own purposes. Once I was done using them, I discarded them without a second thought. This point is crucial and serves as a profound reason why Xiao Zisheng and I would eventually part ways. He had a conscience and a kind nature, while I was solely focused on the ironclad revolution, disregarding the life and death of the common people.”

Journalist: “Ah, the four copper coins reveal the true nature, highlighting the difference between you and Mr. Xiao.”

Mao: “With that, I walked ahead without caring, and Xiao had no choice but to follow me into the city. That’s how an eventful month-long journey came to an end.”

“Now, reminiscing about our old dreams, unforgettable were the days and nights we spent together, freely roaming. The beggar was the freest, unburdened by official duties. We went for a whole month without a penny, yet we returned well and alive, with so many interesting experiences. In the old age, we could beg and survive, but in the new age under my rule, it would no longer be possible. During the three years of Great Famine, I didn’t allow ‘blind drifters.’ Even if they starved to death, they could only be trapped in the villages. Therefore, the outside world had no knowledge of the starvation. But that’s a story for another time.”

Journalist: “We found your begging journey very interesting. Your benevolent behavior during that time and your later actions of killing and looting were completely different. It’s hard to imagine such a stark contrast!”

Mao: “Actually, I reluctantly went on that begging journey with Xiao Zisheng. I didn’t know what to do during the summer break, and I trusted Xiao, so I went along with him. All the planning and ideas came from Xiao; he was the director, and I was just a supporting actor. Without him, I would have never attempted such hardships.”

Journalist: “Your explanation makes it clear to us. We feel the same way.”