Chapter 16: Old Man Jiang’s Farewell

“Have your wife prepare a meal, meat and liquor. I will eat one meal and then I am leaving.” Seeing my father standing there in a daze, Old Man Jiang casually spoke.

“Leaving? Where are you going?” My father did not react in time and asked instinctively, “Where is Master Hui Jue?”

“He went back a few days ago.” Old Man Jiang answered very directly, without responding to the other question for the moment.

“Master Jiang is here?” My mother came out at that moment, holding the padded jacket. She suddenly saw Old Man Jiang’s outfit and froze. She even felt too embarrassed to hand over the jacket.

Old Man Jiang did not mind at all and said, “Is that jacket for me?”

“Yes.” My mother was a bit dazed.

“Then bring it over. Why are you hesitating to give it now?” Facing my parents’ shocked reactions, Old Man Jiang remained far more at ease.

There was no helping it. A man demanding meat and alcohol first thing in the morning was probably only someone like Old Man Jiang. My parents, of course, would never be negligent toward him. After a flurry of preparations, by around nine or ten o’clock, they had prepared a few dishes.

Old Man Jiang picked up his chopsticks and began eating. He drank with a loud Slurp sound, eating with such enjoyment that even when my father pulled my mother away, he did not mind.

In the kitchen, my father complained like a child reporting grievances, hurriedly saying to my mother, “Master Jiang says he is leaving!”

Only then did my father fully grasp the situation. In his heart, he had already, without realizing it, treated Old Man Jiang as a kind of guardian of our family. Hearing that he was leaving, he immediately felt unsettled.

“What? Is he angry with us?” My mother also lost her composure.

After thinking hard for a long while, my father finally said, “Old Man Jiang is alone in the world. He is really quite pitiful. I have been thinking, why not adopt our son as his godson? Let him accompany him on the mountain. That would not be impossible. I do not want Master Jiang to leave. I would even be willing to support him in old age.”

“I think that works!” My mother fully agreed with this idea. Then she added, “But does Master Jiang even look old to you? I am afraid it will not be our turn to support him in old age.”

The two of them discussed it in the kitchen for a while. When they returned to the main room, Old Man Jiang was still eating and drinking heavily, occasionally using the sleeve of his wool overcoat to wipe his mouth. My mother’s heart twitched at the sight. How could he treat such good clothes like that?

She quickly brought a cloth towel for him to use instead.

After another cup of wine, Old Man Jiang sighed and said, “I have had no other hobbies in my life. I only care about eating. Flying in the sky, running on the ground, swimming in water, what does it matter? Even things climbing in trees, as long as they taste good, I will not miss them. Tasting all the world’s delicacies is my greatest pursuit in life.”

My father responded from the side, feeling that his pursuit was truly extraordinary, while also thinking about how to bring up the topic of keeping him.

Unexpectedly, Old Man Jiang set down his cup and spoke directly, “I came today to say goodbye to your family. I am leaving. After this departure, I do not know if I will come back, and I do not know when I will return.”

As soon as those words fell, my father became agitated and stood up immediately. “Master Jiang, are you angry with our family? Please do not leave. My wife and I have already discussed it. Our third son will be adopted by you as a godson tomorrow. He can accompany you on the mountain and learn from you. If he dares not support you in old age, I will break his legs myself! Please do not leave!”

Old Man Jiang looked at my parents with a somewhat moved expression. He picked up the wine bottle as if to pour himself another drink, but my father quickly grabbed it and poured for him instead. After drinking three cups in a row, Old Man Jiang finally stopped.

He said, “My relationship with your third son is a master and disciple fate, not a father and son fate. Fate is something that arrives when it arrives. Unless destiny is forcibly changed, it cannot be avoided. The reason I am not accepting him as a disciple now is simply because the time has not come. It may also be that we are fated to meet but not fated to be together. Why would I be angry with you?”

My parents quickly agreed. It made some sense. Just like Widow Zhou meeting Old Man Jiang, and that connection leading him to help our family, and then helping us further. That was fate, something that could not be untangled.

“I am leaving because everyone in life has a responsibility written into their fate. It is not about whether you want to do it or not. It is something you must do. I do not like it, but I cannot avoid it either. So I must go. I follow the principle of letting things take their natural course. What will happen between me and your third son in the future will depend on fate. Whether it becomes a master and disciple bond or ends as nothing more than a brief encounter, I will accept it.”

Old Man Jiang’s words were too vague. My parents could only understand them in fragments, but they did grasp one thing clearly. He was leaving, and they could not stop him.

The Daoist way emphasizes nature, and nature emphasizes following the natural order. Thus, fate is something practitioners value deeply. Having fate alone is not enough. There must also be a bond to make it real. Otherwise, it is only an illusory connection, like many people who pass through one another’s lives, briefly intersecting before disappearing into the crowd.

Once one sees through it, there is no need to sigh in helplessness. It is simply a case of fate without connection.

After saying this, Old Man Jiang no longer spoke of it. No matter how much my parents tried to persuade him, he gave no further response.

After finishing the meal and drinks, he took out a steel pen and a small notebook.

First, he wrote down a string of phone numbers. This was still a novelty at the time. My father stared at it for a long time without understanding what those numbers meant.

“This is a telephone number,” Old Man Jiang explained.

My father immediately thought of a time he had once gone to the township office. At that time, he had seen a black telephone. That was the only time in his life he had ever seen such a device. In his eyes, it was extremely mysterious. He had heard that most official instructions were transmitted through it.

“The tiger claw I gave your third son goes against the natural order to some extent. After all, his fate is full of hardship. With the tiger claw, some of what he was destined to experience may no longer fall on him. However, the cycle of cause and effect does not disappear. If it is not borne by him, it may fall on your family instead. If in the future you encounter problems that cannot be resolved, you can call this number and ask for Jiang Lichun.”

Only then did my father learn that Old Man Jiang’s full name was Jiang Lichun. He still looked troubled. “I do not know how to use a telephone. Where would I even find one?”

“You fool, why are you suddenly so dull at a time like this? Bring some good meat and liquor and ask someone for help. Are you afraid you will not be able to use a phone? People will teach you how to use it. Do I really need to explain even this to you?” Old Man Jiang pointed at my father and scolded him. That rough, roguish demeanor appeared again, making my father shrink back and not dare to respond.

Next, Old Man Jiang wrote another name on the paper and handed it to my father.

“When you come looking for me in the future, report this name and say you are the father of this person. Do you remember?”

My father opened the paper and could barely recognize the first character and the last one, but could not recognize the middle one at all. His literacy was only at the level of basic schooling.

It was simple enough to recognize a surname. That first character was his own surname. How could he not know it?

“Master Jiang? Who is this Chen something Yi? Why am I his father?” my father asked, still somewhat confused.

“Chen Chengyi! Why can you not be his father? Is your third son not your child? This is the name I have given your son. How can you be so foolish?” Old Man Jiang rolled his eyes in frustration. After explaining, he slammed the table, picked up his snake skin bag, and walked out.

My parents wanted to stop him but did not dare to. And so, on this late winter morning, they watched Old Man Jiang drift away, leaving behind a figure like that of a high ranking official, never once looking back.