"For example, there was an old man who suddenly fell ill, and his family was not at ease, so they came to me and said that his father-in-law would help him figure it out." Grandpa said for example, because most of the people who came to him were people surnamed Ma in the neighborhood, so people did not call him "Master Ma" in general, but "Father Yue".

"So I took my turn to count the knuckles, if it was pinched in the east, then it was a word, laughing, it was okay, and the illness would soon be cured; If it is pinched in the south, then it is a Chinese character, then you have to play the gong, maybe the disease will be tossed, but in the end the disease will still be good, and there is no big problem; If it is pinched in the north, then it is the word Que, you know, see Yama, it is estimated that this old man will end his life, and there is no way. Grandpa finished looking at me with smiling eyes.

I hurriedly asked, "Grandpa, you still have a direction that you haven't said a word." What if you pinch a bad word in the West? ”

Grandpa is really old, and his memory is like a funnel. He patted his head, smiled apologetically, and said, "yes, there's another West to forget." But this is very easy.,The bad word in the West is to see monsters.,Then it's this old man who touches something unclean.,Please your grandfather and I'll go there.,Hehe.。 "I don't know if grandpa forgot the word intentionally or unintentionally.

I asked, "Is it enough to count for hours?" No matter what day? I think some people have to ask about the day. "When I was in junior high school, I occasionally saw people ask crooked Taoist priests some questions, and the crooked Taoist priests first asked the date and time of the incident, and then counted them.

Grandpa patted his head again and hurriedly said, "Oh, oh, by the way, you still have to know the days." Pinch to calculate from three. ”

"Do you want to count from three? What do you mean? I asked.

"That is to say, it can only be counted from the third, thirteenth, and twenty-third days of junior high school."

"What do you mean?" I still don't understand. Grandpa's words are like a ball of yarn full of broken heads, pulling a paragraph here, pulling a paragraph there, there is no coherence.

Grandpa explained: "From the third day of the month to the twelfth, it must be counted from the third day of the first month; Thirteen is not counted as the third day of the first month, but it must be counted as thirteen, until twenty-two; But from the twenty-third to the second day of the next month, it must be counted from the twenty-third. Grandpa paused and asked, "Got it?" Then he said in an affirmative tone: "You have good grades in school, and you will understand as soon as I say it." ”

But in fact, I was confused.

At this time, my uncle happened to pass by us, and he interjected: "Your grandfather is talking nonsense, you just need to count the days of the third year after the third year of junior high school, until the twelfth; and when it reaches thirteen, it shall be counted as thirteen, until it reaches twenty-two; When it reaches twenty-three, it is counted as twenty-three, and it is counted until the second day of the first month. This is the principle of counting from three. After the uncle finished speaking, he went to his own house again.

In this way, it sounds much easier. I nodded repeatedly. However, I still don't understand how to start counting from the knuckles, in what order, or by what formula.

Seeing me nodding, my grandfather thought that I understood everything, and immediately began to tell me about the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. He said, "Look not only at the hours and days, but also at the five elements. You know the five elements, right? Jinmu, water, fire, and earth know, right? ”

Before I could nod or shake my head, my grandfather started talking directly: "Tuwang in spring, Muwang in summer, water in autumn, and fire in winter." You need to know this. ”

I had to follow my grandfather's thinking for the time being, and said smartly: "Is it good to pinch the soil in the spring?" It's all good to pinch wood in summer, pinch water in autumn, and pinch fire in winter? ”

Grandpa immediately shook his head.

I asked, "Why?" Isn't it good to be prosperous? ”

"Not really. Wang is not necessarily good! Grandpa said.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Think about it." Grandpa looked at me meaningfully and said.

But where did this remind me, I secretly complained in my heart. It's not good to pinch to Wang, is it better to pinch until it's unlucky? Grandpa didn't say a word, as if he was waiting for me to think carefully about the reason, just like the teacher in the classroom is not in a hurry to tell you the answer, and must wait for the students to think carefully and reveal the final mystery.

I had no choice but to obediently pretend to be thinking with one hand on my chin. After waiting for a few seconds, I pretended to shake my head and said slowly, "I didn't come up with it." "Actually, it's not that I didn't think about it, I didn't think about it at all.

Grandpa slapped his right hand on his thigh and said with a smile: "Bullying the old and praising the young and scolding the middle-aged, haven't you learned it in books?" ”

I almost got angry at the time, what is it, bullying the old and praising the young and scolding the middle-aged? I've never heard of it, let alone go to school. It seems that my grandfather thought that the things learned in the ancient private school were the same as the contents of modern elementary school textbooks.

Later, how many times I saw my old grandfather, I always felt that he was out of place in this era. The modern world has changed dramatically, and he is still living in the world he saw in ancient books. Whenever this happens, I feel a burst of sadness and sadness. Did their generation leave this society on their own initiative, or did society abandon them? Either way, it's a bit cruel. But my grandfather and his generation don't feel as uncomfortable as I do. It's like when we see others sleeping with their bodies lying up, we always feel that the posture is uncomfortable and should be stretched, but others still sleep soundly and sweetly.

"I didn't learn it in the book, so I should have taught it in class. Sir should know that. "At that time, my grandfather was still used to calling the school a school and the teacher a teacher. Later, under my repeated corrections, he slowly changed his way. It was as if the old lady who had been wrapping her feet for many years suddenly let go of the footwrap, and it was difficult to get used to it for a while, so she had to adapt slowly.

"There are no teachers as many teachers as before, and these things are also missing. Teachers, they don't even know that. I said.

Grandpa shook his head and said, "Your teacher has read so many books, which is equivalent to the original Xiucai, you must know this." They don't tell it because they don't want to tell you. It must have been scared of the four olds during the Cultural Revolution. ”

I knew it was useless to argue with him, so I had to assume that our teacher knew but wouldn't tell us.

"When the four olds are broken, the old books and ancient books have to be burned, and the original books of my grandfather have to be handed over. I want to keep two copies, and it turns out that your grandma knows. Your grandfather snatched the book and slapped me twice, making me dizzy and my ears buzzing. Grandpa recalled, "Actually, I decided to keep two copies at that time, I was a poor middle peasant, so I was afraid of these!" ”

I was afraid that my grandfather would take the topic away, so I hurriedly asked, "What does it mean to bully the old and praise the young and scold the middle-aged?" ”

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