Say Some Auspicious Words

“The Zhao family is really good people. Since the young master of the Zhao family, Zhao Ruifeng, came back home, he set up porridge stores every spring and Mid-Autumn Festival and gave out white porridge for free. They are really kind people! Zhao Ruifeng is such a good man, I hope God can bless him with happiness, health, a happy family, and many children!” In front of the porridge shop, a white-haired old lady put her hands together and prayed to God.

Zhao Ruifeng, who happened to pass by, heard the old lady’s words and felt depressed. Zhao Yingying snickered at the side and whispered to Zhao Ruifeng, “Brother, these commoners definitely wouldn’t know how simple our request is. We don’t ask the heavens to bless you with many children or a happy family. We only hope that the heavens will open their eyes and not take care of us too much.” The more the heavens paid attention to them, the more unlucky her brother, Zhao Ruifeng, was.

Jiang Xi stood silently at the back of the line to receive the porridge. She saw the people around her muttering ‘Amitabha’, saying that the Zhao family was a good family and that they hope the heavens would bless Zhao Ruifeng with more children and blessings. She also remembered these two sentences in her heart. It seemed that the more good words one said, the more porridge one would receive.

Jiang Xi waited in line for half an hour before finally reaching her place. However, when the person holding the congee found that Jiang Xi’s hands were clean and empty, he was stunned for a moment and then waved at Jiang Xi impatiently. “Go, go, go. Go home and get a bag or a bowl. Do you want to get porridge without preparing anything? Are you crazy?” After saying that, the congee man was about to call the next person to come forward, but he found that Jiang Xi was standing still and looking at him with a pair of big, watery eyes.

Mental patients were very persistent. If they wanted to do something in their minds, there was only one thing in front of them.

“Brother, big brother! It’s the girl who drew a lot of top-top lots last time! Someone, go and bring more food to that girl, and then let her say a few auspicious words. Tell her that the more auspicious words she says, the more food she will be given.” When Zhao Yingying recognized Jiang Xi, she immediately became excited. This was the person who was blessed with great fortune every time he drew lots!

Zhao Ruifeng followed Zhao Yingying’s gaze and recognized Jiang Xi in the crowd at a glance. How should he put it? He could only say that Jiang Xi seemed to be a person of her own.

After hearing Zhao Yingying’s instructions, someone immediately went to do it. The person in charge handed Jiang Xi a big sack and went to the kitchen to get a lot of chicken, duck, fish, and other things. The people in the line behind Jiang Xi were all shocked. The man handed the things to Jiang Xi and said, “Young lady, our Young Miss said that if you say something auspicious, she will give you one thing. The more you say, the more you will get.”

Jiang Xi did not say anything when she heard this. The people in the line behind her became anxious and asked the person in charge, “Is what you said true? Just by saying a few auspicious words, she would get something? I’m telling you, I can make your Zhao family suffer.” The others also looked at the person in charge excitedly. It was as if they were waiting for the person in charge to nod and they would be able to say all the auspicious words in their minds.

The staff was anxious and quickly suppressed the excited crowd. “No, no. Everyone, listen to my explanation. Only auspicious words that were spoken by this lady count. This lady is given special treatment because she’s the 888th person in the line. Our Young Miss thinks that this is an auspicious number.” This person’s brain worked quite quickly, and he quickly found a reasonable excuse.

The people in the queue sighed with regret when they heard the staff’s words. Everyone looked at Jiang Xi enviously and urged Jiang Xi, “Little girl, you’re so lucky. Hurry up and say something. Say more nice things and take more things. This is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity!” Everyone cheered for Jiang Xi to speak up. Other than envy, they did not have any other bad intentions. After all, Happy Town was famous for its simple and honest people.

Jiang Xi pursed his lips and his mind went blank. Auspicious words? What were auspicious words? How should he say auspicious words? She thought for a while before repeating the words she had heard when she was queuing up, “May the Zhao family have many children and many good fortunes. If a son is what they want, then a son they will get. If a daughter is what they want, then a daughter they will get. May they have many children and grandchildren. May they enjoy endless wealth and glory.”