Daomu Biji

Hey, so let me start off by saying that I, in no way, know Chinese. I've used three different translation sites, context clues, information from the first 6 books that are published in English, and my imagination. I've never done anything like this before, but after watching the shows and reading the books, I wanted to know what happens next. And I know I'm not the only one, so I figured I'd give it a try. Sorry in advance if the translation sucks (lol) but I'm doing the best I can. I'm sure I've butchered some of the Chinese idioms and there are some thing I just couldn't figure out so if anybody has any better ideas, let me know and I'll fix it.

Also fun little tidbit I discovered… the original Chinese version vol 5 contains the content of vol 6 of the English translation + the first 11 chapters of the Chinese vol 6. So I won't be trying to translate the Chinese vol 7 first as that would confuse everyone (Lord knows it took me an embarra.s.sing amount of time to figure that out).

******************* Two weeks later, Poker-Face was discharged from the hospital. I went to Beijing to meet him and Fatty and discuss what happened next.

The most difficult thing for me after I came back was how to deal with the mess left by my uncle.  The events of the past year, although vigorous, were all done in secret. My family has no idea of the drastic changes that have taken place on my side. My uncle is really missing now and may never appear. How to explain the events on this side is one thing.

On the other side is the Poker-Face. Now he has become a dead weight. As his memory recovers, I must face the problem of how to get to know him again.

He has no relatives, left no trace in this world, and he doesn't know where he lived. He asked many people but has heard no news. As he said, he has almost no connection with this world. All his carry-on luggage was left in the basin. He had no money and no doc.u.ments. At this time, he was left alone. I'm afraid he has no choice but to go to the side of the road to be a tramp.

Fatty did quite well and opened a hall in Liulichang.  We met at his new store. We haven't seen each other for several months. Poker-Face has regained his former complexion. Apart from the furrow between his eyebrows, the other things give me a familiar feeling, which makes me feel more or less relieved.

When I saw him, he leaned against the window and did not look at me. His eyes were like a mirror, paler than before, as if his mind had already ceased to exist in the world.

I said some conventional remarks at first, but he did not respond. I asked Fatty how he was and what the doctor said.

Fatty shook his head: “It is not like that. They said that he recalled some fragments. The doctor said that he had been strongly stimulated and that he had to be mentally stimulated to get better, otherwise it would be useless to stew pig's brain every day.”

I sighed and didn't know what happened in the meteorite at the last minute to make him like this.

“Do you have any plans?”  After saying something boring, Fatty asked me, “I only have more than 40 square meters here, but it's really cramped. If you want him to live here, I don't even dare to find a lover.  When people see me hiding such a pretty face, they think I'm a pimp.”

“You really have no conscience. He's saved our lives on more than one occasion. What are you worried about?" I wasn't angry.

“He doesn't live at your place, and of course it doesn't hurt for you to stand up and talk. You want me to pay to find a house for my brother, say the word.  He wants to live in a courtyard? I'll take him down. But he can't live with me, it has nothing to do with saving my life or not.”  Fatty said, “how about this, I will pay for rent and you will pay for a babysitter. Let's settle him in the neighborhood and give him good food and drink. We'll visit him on the weekends.”

“You son of a b.i.t.c.h. You're acting like a golden house.” I said, “He's not a fool. You have to ask him what he thinks.”

So Fatty looked at the Poker-Face and said, “Brother, what do you say, what are your plans for the future?”

Poker-Face closed its eyes and seemed to be thinking. It took a long time before he said, “I want to go somewhere.”

I said, “Go for a walk?  Where to, do you have a destination? “

“I don't know,” he said calmly, ” I'll go to the places you're talking about, Changsha, Hangzhou, Shandong, and see if I can remember anything.”

My heart thumped, this is the last thing I want to hear-he wanted to remember something to start with, now his mind is blank, his past is a huge puzzle, but the bigger the puzzle, the less the torture. However, if his memory starts to recover during his travels, the emotional fragments that emerge in his mind are extremely tempting to empty people, and a little hint will become all kinds of thread ends, making him miserable.

I understand that for those who have lost their memories, the whole purpose of life should be to find their past.  This cannot be avoided in any way, but I really don't want him to take that old road again.

Seeing my face change, Fatty knew that there was a knot in my heart and patted me, reminding me: “let nature take its course, we agreed, and it is unrealistic for you to keep him here.”

I sighed, if so, the only way to implement the second plan is to think about these things with him and look after him. After all, we have been there, and there are many things that can prevent him from going to extremes.

I have also thought about his thoughts. I had a plan to take him to Changsha for others to see, but now the situation in Changsha is chaotic and I don't know who to look for.  At that moment, I suddenly thought of one thing and asked Fatty, “Didn't you say last time that you had a way to know the background of this little brother, why didn't you hear from him?”

“Don't mention it, it makes me sick.”  Fatty said, “I planned at that time to find those information brokers to ask, they have a lot of information since they're middlemen. Since this little brother can be contacted by your uncle, he must have left some information with the brokers. We can do it through this. “

I listened and in my heart though that this is a good way, so how is it disgusting?  Fatty continued, “I didn't think all of these people would shake their heads and say nothing. You said that this group of people engages in the procuring business. At this time, they pretend to be saints and gentlemen. “

I snorted, that's obviously the case, there are rules so you can't blame them. These people may be counting on this information to eat, but once it is revealed, they may not only be unable to survive, but may also be killed.

“These people are extremely hard. This road is also a dead end.”  Fatty said, “How about you?”

I sighed and said that if my uncle were here, I might be able to find out something else. The people I am in contact with are not qualified enough. Those old vultures are eccentric in character and are now watching the situation on my side. If I want to get close to them specially, and not give them any food… that's not something people like me can do.

“Then don't think about it, let's do as little elder brother said, let's sign him up for a tour group, prepare some money, and let him go out for a walk,” Fatty said, “why don't we just ask for a marriage for him, give him to a rich woman. With little brother's beauty, I estimate that we can still make money, and later he can look into the past on his own. What do you think?”

This is bulls.h.i.t, my heart says, shaking my head and not saying a word. Thinking about what Fatty said before, I thought that it was a good idea. When Fatty didn't think of an idea, he thought of a person: “No, you just find a way to contact the broker, maybe it is not a dead end.”

“How?”

“The brokers refused to say anything, just because they were afraid of offending people, or because they didn't know it, or because they were afraid of revealing it. But there is one person who doesn't have this concern. Maybe we can start with this person.”

“Who?”  Asked Fatty.  Poker-Face also turned his head.

“When I went to Changbai Mountain, it was a man named Brother Chu who took over the arrangements for my uncle. Do you remember?”

“You mean the bald one?”

I nodded, Bald Head Brother Chu is the boss of the underground bank in cooperation with Uncle Three. After being bought by Chen Ah Si, he was arrested in Lei Zi, but I didn't know which prison he was sent to.

He had contacted Poker-Face and Fatty before, and certainly knew their information. Moreover, he is in prison now and has no worries. I just don't know how to find him and how to make him speak. After all, he said he didn't have any worries, but he didn't have any worries either.

Fatty gave a high five: “Oh, that's true.”  He nodded and understood my thoughts, saying, “I didn't expect that.  However, if we go to him, what if he reports us? “

“This kind of person is very shrewd. He has a lot of information in his hands. If he wants to spit it out, Changsha will fall down. He can't bear to say it because he knows that it is in his interest not to say it.”  I said, “He is in trouble now and there are many places to ask for help. I don't think it's hard to find a way out.”  With that, I already know what to do. Other things can't trouble Pan Zi, but it is not a sensitive matter so we can entrust him to ask the situation.

So it was decided to help Poker-Face check it out, and our intervention is better than letting him run around. However, I can't do this alone. I'm extremely busy here and the situation is chaotic. I can't let Poker-Face follow me everywhere. I can't control him. In case he suddenly remembers something and runs away again, I won't know where to look, so I have to drag Fatty into the water.

After discussing with Fatty, he had to agree. “If nothing else, it is best to find a place for my brother to live, then we can save a lot of energy.”

So it was agreed, I went to ask Pan Zi to handle our business, Poker-Face and Fatty would live together first, and we will discuss the rest of the situation together later.  Anyway, with three people involved, this matter can't be tossed aside, so it's better to handle it yourself, and it can be regarded as a favor to Poker-Face.

As the saying goes, good words are hard to persuade the d.a.m.ned ghosts. This decision is followed by right and wrong.

When I returned to Hangzhou, I called Pan Zi and explained the whole story. Pan Zi was also a loyal person and promised that he was very efficient. Three days later, I received his call.

I thought he had the answers and asked him how he was doing.

He sighed and said to me, “I ran into some trouble. I asked him. He did know what you want to know, but he refused to say it without something in exchange.  He has conditions.”

“What conditions?”  I asked.  This is an expected thing, and I would make conditions in his situation.

“He wants 100,000 yuan and wants you to meet him. He wants to talk to you in person.”

“See me?”  I paused, a little surprised, and said in my heart: money is easy, but what do you want to see me for? It sounds a little inappropriate.

“Isn't it because he wants to draw me out to redeem himself?”  My heart was cold and I heard the sound of iron chains at my ear.

“I also think it is possible.”  Pan Zi tutted, “However, he asked me to bring you something. He said that if you look at it, you will definitely see him.”

“What is it?”  I wonder.

“It's an old photo.”  Pan Zi paused. “A very old photo; a black and white photo of people from my generation when they were young.”

I suddenly got goose b.u.mps.  My first reaction was to think of the group photo of my uncle at Xisha before he went out to sea. That bulls.h.i.t photo was a mistake for me.  Then I was thinking, does Brother Chu also know the secret of this matter?  However, it is rather late for him to use this matter to talk about conditions.

Thinking about it, I asked, “What's the picture of?”

Pan Zi said after a long time, “I'm not sure. I feel that it should be a ghost.”

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