Chapter 76: The Facial Diagnosis Techniques of the I Ching

  The moon in foreign lands is not necessarily better than that of China, but the moonlight in this mountainous region with clouds and water is indeed much brighter than that in cities.

  On the fifteenth of August, a jade disc had already climbed high into the sky, shining down on the Fragrant Dew Lake, casting a silvery glow that seemed to emanate from everywhere, enveloping the entire Cloud Water Mountain area in an ethereal white light, making it difficult for one to distinguish whether they were still in the mortal realm or had ascended to the heavens.

  Appreciating the moon and watching the jade rabbit, piling up laughter with Chang'e, listening to mom's stories about past events...... is more festive than watching CCTV's Mid-Autumn Festival gala. However, the polluted city sky has obscured the moonlight, and people's restless mood no longer allows them to sit down quietly to savor a piece of moonlight, cast a shadow, inject a touch of sweetness, and experience a peaceful atmosphere.

  In this industrialized society where material desires are rampant, people would rather cry in a BMW than sit on the back seat of a bicycle with their arms around their loved one, enjoying a pure and simple romance. People's true hearts have been covered with thick armor, but they've abandoned the most precious thing - purity...

  Like the ancients, quietly appreciate the moon, listen to the old generation talk about those past events that may be incomprehensible or even ridiculous to young people. Sometimes it really takes a little wisdom, some insight, and an understanding of life.

  The usually quiet Jianma Lake has become unusually noisy at this moment.

  The Fengshui spirit, beautiful legends of Yunshanshui all revolve around the 30,000 mu lake; if the mother river of Chinese civilization is the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, then the essence of Jianma Lake nourished this land and its spiritual heritage. Therefore, every Mid-Autumn Festival, families would set up boats of various sizes on the lake to admire the moon and worship the Moon God together.

  Yunshui Village, Shangxia Zha Village, and Liulilouzi Village have over a thousand households with seven or eight hundred fishing boats. At this moment, they all hang big red lanterns on the bow and stern of the boats, place incense burners for worshiping the moon on the bow, and set up tables, chairs, and benches on the deck. The whole family gathers together, waiting for the moment when the moon is high in the sky at midnight.

  The outsider, Zhou Yi, was also invited onto the boat by Li Yuanfang early on. Including the two drunkards and Li Yuanfang's old father, as well as Li Yuanfang's son who had rushed back from town, there were six people in total. After they sat down, the second drunkard pushed off with the fishing boat and headed into the lake. Only when he saw the boats gathered around the dock at Yunshui Village did he find a spot to drop anchor. The nearby boats immediately threw over wooden planks, incorporating Li Yuanfang's boat as well.

  In this way, every village and household's fishing boat is connected by wooden boards, not only can they facilitate the exchange of friendly families, drink wine, but also ensure safety; in case there are waves on the lake, hundreds of boats gather together, and they can be as stable as a flat ground.

  Zhou Yi sat on the boat, and had already seen all he could see, fortunately he didn't impulsively buy a ticket to fly to France, otherwise he would have missed this rare and lively scene.

  At this moment, the lake surface is illuminated, and many fish are attracted by the light, gathering at the bow and stern of the boat; The children laugh and throw handfuls of rice into the water, instantly attracting thousands of fish to rush forward and compete for food; Some impatient ones even jump out of the water... At this time, adults will not scold the children for wasting food, but just smile and encourage their own children to throw more, see who can make the fish jump out of the water.

  Two silly men stirred up their cleverness, each holding a fishing net in his hand. Whenever they saw fish jumping out of the water, they would cast their nets and catch seven or eight grass carp in no time. Mrs. Li took them over with a smile, quickly scaled and cleaned them, and then put them into the pot. This was truly fresh fish cooked fresh, using the same technique as Zhou Yi's, stewing lake fish in lake water.

  At this moment, on the deck of every fishing boat, three large pots were lined up in a row. One was used to display moon cakes, one was used to display red meat and vegetables, and the other was specially used to display lake fresh food. Mountain people can't afford abalone, shark fin, and fish maw, but they have big meat and lake fresh food. The meat is from their own live pigs, and the fish are freshly caught wild fish. Just these two things, no matter how much money you spend in the city, you may not be able to eat the real thing!

  After Li Jiabao's wife had stewed the braised pork and lake fish, she started to arrange the incense table. The mountain people have a tradition of "men not worshiping the moon and women not sacrificing to the stove", so the men on the boat just drank tea and chatted, letting her busy herself; Zhou Yi couldn't bear to watch, so he went over to help, but was slapped on the back of his hand by Li Jiabao's wife, who gave him a white eye and said: "Go stand aside! What do men worship Chang'e for? Be careful that in the future you can't find a daughter-in-law, and even if you do, she'll eventually leave you alone to chase the moon..."

  In this superstitious remark, there was a hint of rustic flavor that made Zhou Yi pause for a moment before bursting out laughing: "What, can't men worship either?"

  "Of course not, little brother, come and have a smoke..."

  Li Yuanfang rarely didn't take his pipe today, and with a pull, he pulled Zhou Yi back to the table, lit a cigarette and handed it over, saying: "In our mountain village, we think that worshiping Chang'e is unlucky. Look at this goddess, she's locked up on the moon! That's because she was unfaithful to her husband... Our women here worship her, but also remind themselves to be loyal to their husbands, or they'll end up like her. What are you doing, following a woman and making a fuss? Be careful that the little vixen in the moon doesn't hook your soul away, ending up like Tianpeng Yuanshuai..."

  "Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

  The fortune teller's words made him laugh and cry at the same time. Behind this custom, he sensed discrimination and superstition against women, which he couldn't agree with; however, it also reflected the villagers' simple and honest nature, who hated evil and wouldn't tolerate any deceit. Yet, this also made them seem lovable, making it difficult for him to judge whether this was a bad habit or a good custom...

  After all the women in every family finished worshipping Chang'e, the lively scene really began.

  Every household brought out a dough board, and the old and young masters and wives all worked together. Some kneaded the dough, some cut the fillings, and others adjusted the seasonings. They wrapped up round mooncake embryos and pressed them into molds with a "click". The mooncakes were then ready to be cooked in pots. When the moon was high in the sky, it was time to eat the freshly baked hot and fragrant mooncakes while admiring the moon and having fun. The whole village, young and old, enjoyed themselves together.

  Zhou Yi couldn't help but feel itchy hands, and he snatched the dough to knead. At first, Mrs. Li was worried that he would mess it up, but when she saw his technique, she suddenly let out a cry of surprise: "Ah, big brother, your technique is really fancy! It's even more skilled than Old Man Hong... You must often play with the chopping board at home?"

  Zhou Yi unknowingly showcased his god-level white-clothed kung fu. The dough in his hands flew around like a silver plate, and with a flick of his wrist, the dough stretched out flat in mid-air, just like a silver plate. He casually scooped, pulled, tore, pinched, kneaded, and flung it around, as if performing magic tricks. With skills like this, not to mention Li Jia's wife, even a master noodle maker with over a decade of experience would be left speechless...

  P.S: Thanks everyone for helping me brush off that crappy reader's impression, thank you very much:)

  Thank you to fellow readers 'Lost Bird', 'wdid007', 'Dark Lightning', 'Heavenly Abandonment' and 'Fundamental Solution' for their rewards:) Thank you to brother 'Heavenly Abandonment' for his five-star evaluation vote:) Thank you to brother 'Left Hand Writing Love' for his update ticket:)

  Continue to ask for clicks, recommendations and collections, thank you everyone:)