Seeking Fortune at the City God Temple
Knowing his mother’s temperament, Jiang Yi got up early the next morning and rode his little electric scooter home.
A few years ago, during the real estate slump, Jiang Yi’s father, Jiang Wanxiang, had recognized the appreciation potential in the property market and used his idle cash to purchase a 60-square-meter apartment. A few years later, the real estate industry boomed, and what had been an unwanted property became prime real estate.
Jiang Wanxiang had originally wanted to rent out the small apartment, but after Jiang Yi graduated from university and became an online writer, he had gotten used to writing at night and sleeping during the day. Worried that his reversed schedule would inconvenience his parents, he moved out of the family home and into the small apartment.
From a distance, Jiang Yi spotted Xiao Wenya standing at the building entrance. His heart sank a little, afraid his mother would take out yesterday’s blind date incident on him. He slowly pushed his little scooter up to Xiao Wenya, his mouth stretching into a wide, ingratiating smile. Before he could get any flattering words out, Xiao Wenya’s pretty face darkened as she pointed at the panda-shaped electric scooter beside him and said, “Where’s your car?”
“Mom, you don’t know—it’s impossible to drive in Z City. From Zhongyuan Bridge to Wanda Plaza, that short distance, if you hit traffic, you can’t get through in less than an hour. Riding an electric scooter isn’t like that—I can get there in ten minutes guaranteed. Nowadays everyone talks about environmental protection, green transportation. We citizens should all lead by example and reduce emissions.”
“Don’t give me that nonsense. Tell me! Where’s your car?”
Clearly Xiao Wenya wasn’t buying Jiang Yi’s explanation. Her beautiful eyes glared at him—she wouldn’t be satisfied until he gave her a proper answer.
“When Dad bought the apartment, he didn’t think to buy a parking space. There’s nowhere to park the car in the complex. I parked on the street and got ticketed five times in one month. No amount of money would be enough to pay all those fines!”
Seeing her son beat around the bush and refuse to tell her the truth, Xiao Wenya’s pretty face became frosty.
“Jiang Yi, you’ve got some nerve, trying to dodge me. I’ll ask you one more time—where’s the car?”
Seeing he couldn’t hide it anymore, Jiang Yi had no choice but to confess.
“I sold the car.”
Xiao Wenya clenched her teeth, poking Jiang Yi’s forehead with her jade-like finger, saying in exasperation, “You… you went on yesterday’s blind date riding this broken scooter?”
Seeing Jiang Yi tacitly admit it, Xiao Wenya turned livid with anger. “What am I supposed to say about you? You’ve written yourself stupid! No wonder that girl wasn’t interested in you. Look at yourself! You don’t know how to dress up, you could at least keep a car to maintain appearances, but you actually sold it. Are you really that short on money?”
Jiang Yi hung his head and muttered in a small voice, “That car needed maintenance, and with all the expenses, it cost more than supporting a wife. What did I need it for!”
“I don’t believe you’re that short on cash. It’s true what they say—scholars are useless at everything. I told you not to write novels, but you just wouldn’t listen.”
“Ms. Xiao Wenya, I don’t appreciate that comment. As the saying goes, ‘In books there are houses of gold, in books there are beauties like jade, in books there are—'”
“Stop!” Xiao Wenya really couldn’t stand her son’s rambling and said helplessly, “Leave this broken donkey here and take my car!”
“Mom, your car is too flashy, and the traffic is terrible…”
Before Jiang Yi could finish, he was frightened into sheepish silence by Xiao Wenya’s murderous glare.
As Jiang Yi drove, he asked curiously, “Mom, where are we going?”
“The City God Temple!”
“What? Mom, since when did you start believing in Buddhism?”
“You wretched child, it’s all for you!”
Jiang Yi had an ominous feeling, and sure enough, after a pause, Xiao Wenya said, “I heard the fortune sticks at the City God Temple are very accurate. Today happens to be the fifteenth, so we should go pray. Maybe the City God will open his eyes and find you a wife. You could get married this year, and by this time next year I could be holding a grandchild!”
Xiao Wenya was already dreaming of being surrounded by children and grandchildren, completely ignoring the bitter expression on Jiang Yi’s face beside her.
On the first and fifteenth of every month, people could offer incense and make wishes at the City God Temple. Today being the fifteenth, it was packed with people, comparable to the Spring Festival travel rush.
Looking at the mass of dark heads in the crowd, Jiang Yi clicked his tongue and sighed, “Chairman Mao taught us that feudal superstition is unacceptable!”
Smack—he got a knock on the head.
Jiang Yi looked resentfully at his mother beside him and said with a pained expression, “Mom, why’d you hit me?”
“Stop your nonsense and go buy some incense over there. I need to pray to Buddha and make some wishes.”
Xiao Wenya’s tone was forcefully unyielding. How could Jiang Yi dare disobey? He scampered off to buy a bundle of incense.
Xiao Wenya knelt on the prayer cushion in the front hall, devoutly murmuring, “Lord City God, you must arrange a good match for my son! He’s already thirty years old and still doesn’t have a girlfriend. You must put in extra effort up there in heaven—incense offerings are no problem at all!”
Jiang Yi was trying hard to suppress his laughter at his mother’s mystical babbling, thinking to himself: Mom, you’re praying at the wrong temple and to the wrong god! Isn’t the red thread of marriage managed by Yue Lao? What does this have to do with the Lord City God? It’s completely outside his jurisdiction!
As Jiang Yi was thinking this, he felt someone nudge his elbow twice. He turned his head to see Xiao Wenya giving him meaningful looks. “You wretched child, hurry up and pray, say some nice words to the Lord City God. Who knows, if the City God is happy, he might send a wife down for you.”
“If the City God sends someone down, could she be an ordinary person? We’re not worthy of an immortal, and we can’t handle a spirit!”
Seeing the daggers flying from his mother’s eyes, Jiang Yi quickly wiped the playful expression off his face. Although he sneered at Xiao Wenya’s feudal superstitious behavior, with the mindset of treating a dead horse as if it were alive, he still bent down and kowtowed properly.
As he bowed, he didn’t forget to mutter quietly, “Lord City God, although marriage isn’t under your jurisdiction, please take pity on this lonely bachelor. Ideally, let me end my single status before the Qixi Festival. Ms. Xiao Wenya said incense offerings are no problem at all.”
After praying to the City God, naturally the next step was to draw fortune sticks.
Jiang Yi held the fortune stick container and shook it lightly a few times. A bamboo stick fell out.
Xiao Wenya picked it up, and her face, full of hope just a moment ago, instantly stretched as long as Changbai Mountain.
Looking at his mother’s face frozen like thousands of miles of ice, Jiang Yi knew this fortune couldn’t be good.
He looked over—it was the worst possible fortune.