Chapter 155: Why Is My Brother So Stupid?
The boy initially practiced divine abilities, using qi to influence weather changes. Whenever it rained heavily, he would go out for a smoke and cast a spell. Before he got off work, the rain would stop, and only after he got home would it start again.
Or perhaps the weather has been a bit hot recently, and he wished for rain to fall these past few days.
You might say it was a coincidence, but he succeeded every time.
For example, if the Wang Fei was about to go out, and it was pouring rain, the boy would calmly communicate with the energy. By the time the Wang Fei went out, the rain would have turned into a drizzle or stopped completely.
At first, the Wang Fei didn’t believe it; who could control the weather just by sitting at home? After more than ten times, she even actively asked the boy to help make the rain lighter. When it truly did, she had no choice but to believe.
The two of them went out to play together. The weather forecast clearly stated there would be no rain all week, but the boy said it seemed like it might rain today. When they went out, it inexplicably rained for a while, and yet the weather forecast still showed clear skies.
Or perhaps it was too hot. The boy looked at the clouds in the sky and told the Wang Fei, “See that big one? I’ll pull it over to block the sun for us.”
After saying that, the boy stood in place, calmly forming a mudra. A moment later, they continued to walk casually.
That cloud then floated over their heads and stayed for a while before drifting away.
The Wang Fei said, “Why did it leave? Now it’s hot again.”
The boy laughed, “Hahaha, if it didn’t move, it would be stuck there, wouldn’t it cause problems? All the other clouds are drifting along, and it came over our heads for a bit before leaving, that’s already very considerate. What more can you expect? Hahahaha, contentment leads to lasting joy. Others don’t even get this kind of treatment!”
Afterwards, the boy repeatedly told the Wang Fei not to speak of these matters to others or to brag. How could people other than those close to them possibly know about such things?
Even those close to them, if they hadn’t personally witnessed it more than ten times, how could they believe it?
At that time, he even wanted to go and see where it was dry and try it out himself, yahahahaha.
However, the boy stopped practicing later because he found it boring. He felt he was just playing and interfering with natural laws, which held no meaning.
Whether it rains or stops, there are benefits to both. Why bother interfering?
And when the rain wasn’t too heavy, the Wang Fei would hold an umbrella for him, but he wouldn’t use it. He just enjoyed getting rained on, finding it fun. He no longer deliberately interfered.
In his words, “Wind and rain in my heart bring freedom; without regret, I help all living beings. Rain comes by fate, and wind comes by fate as well.”
If there was a strong wind and heavy rain, then he would quickly run home or find shelter somewhere, hahahahaha.
…
Someone asked the boy, “Master, I accidentally killed a fly. Have I created bad karma?”
The boy replied, “Did you intend to swat it, or did you do it incidentally without thinking? Did you swat it on purpose?”
“I didn’t think about it; I just did it incidentally. I don’t want to kill life.”
“Then it doesn’t count. Repent, recite some sutras, and be careful not to do it again in the future.”
“What if there are too many flies? Thousands upon thousands endlessly in my house, what should I do?”
“Huh? Holy crap~! Has your house become a garbage dump? You should clean it up!”
“No, no, I was just using that as a metaphor. What if it really happened like that? And I can’t change houses, so it’s just a huge swarm.”
“That depends on you. If you can accept it, then accept it. Just don’t get irritated.”
“What if I can’t accept it?”
“If you can’t accept it, then find a way, you idiot. Burn some incense. It’s not about killing flies, but about negotiating with them, asking them to leave.”
“What if they say they won’t leave?”
“Then they won’t leave. Let them play there for a while. Why obsess over killing or not killing?”
“But if I don’t kill them, they’re annoying, buzzing and biting me.”
“Why would you want so many flies? My goodness, you’re quite imaginative~! If all else fails, just raise flies. Become a fly king or something, train them to come and go at your command, just play, hahahahaha.”
“Master, will that work?”
“What’s to say if it works or not? Fish can be trained to come when you clap. Loaches can be trained to swim into your hand. Flies are nothing special, are they? You’re just bored and thinking nonsense.”
“Master, what would you do if you encountered this situation?”
“Me? I’d tell them to leave, and they’d leave. If they occasionally don’t, I’d play with them, let them land on my hand and tease them.”
“What if they don’t land?”
“Then they don’t. Let them fly wherever they want.”
“Didn’t you say earlier that if you can’t accept it, you should swat them? Why are you saying not to swat them now?”
The boy was speechless. “I was telling you not to obsess over swatting or not swatting. I don’t even kill ants, so how could I swat flies? You’re an idiot.”
“Master, don’t be angry. I understand. I won’t think nonsense anymore.”
“I’m not angry. Don’t think useless nonsense like a little idiot. Your mind is just flying all over the place; save it for useful thoughts.”
…
After being asked about swatting flies, the boy remembered that before he attained enlightenment, he went out with friends. A super large ant crawled on him. He reached out, caught it in his hand, then crouched down and gently placed it on the ground.
His friends saw this and were very surprised, joking, “Holy crap~! Why is this guy like Tang Sanzang? An ant crawled on him, and he put it on the ground with his hand.”
After attaining enlightenment, whenever he recalled this incident, the boy would unconsciously laugh. It turned out his roots of goodness had been planted long ago, hahahahaha.
…
One day, Gouzi called the boy, wanting to ask for his successful methods.
The boy said, “I won’t bore you with cultivation talk, you wouldn’t understand anyway. Big Brother will give you the practical stuff directly. No matter what you want to accomplish, just follow this pattern.
Humans are beings capable of continuous learning, whether they put effort into it or not. Those who learn with effort learn faster, and those who learn without effort learn slower.
For example, if you want to learn to cut vegetables, find an environment where you can practice cutting vegetables, and cut them every day. After initially learning with effort, over time, even if you don’t think about it, you can cut without looking at the knife.
Make this into your instinct, a habit, a pattern, and you will have acquired this skill. Do you understand?”
“No.”
“Damn~! For example, if you learn to swim, you learn it diligently at first. Once you know how, you don’t need to think about how to swim; if they throw you in a river, you’ll swim without thinking. Or, for example, if you learn car repair, after a few years of repairing cars, when the car starts, you can tell what’s wrong just by listening to the engine sound, without needing to take the car apart to check.
This is the pattern for doing anything. Do you understand? If you want to sing, think about it every day, research it, learn it, and after a few years, you’ll know how.
Still don’t understand? Just tell me what you want to do.”
“I want to learn short video editing and selling goods.”
“Research it, think about it, discover the patterns, keep learning, and after a few years, you’ll know how.”
Gouzi asked, “I see people who have been doing it for years and haven’t made money. What’s going on there?”
The boy said, “They’re stuck in a rut. They take what they think as truth and refuse to accept anything that differs from their own ideas. They’re blocked! Think about it from the opposite perspective! Does one sell goods first or become popular first?
Those who want to become popular first should focus on researching how to make videos popular. Master that, and then research selling goods. Don’t just think about selling goods and making money right away!”
“What do you mean? Are you saying I should become an internet celebrity first? But I just want to sell some goods?”
“Why are you so stupid, younger brother? You want to open a supermarket and make money, but you don’t open a supermarket and just want money? Is that reasonable? You want to sell goods through short videos, but you don’t research how short videos become popular, and just focus on selling goods. Is that reasonable? Damn~!
You need to first focus on getting your videos recommended and increasing traffic, and then you can sell goods. If you don’t have traffic for your short videos, what the hell can you sell? If people who want to buy can’t see your videos, what can you sell? Why don’t you understand?
You need to make good short videos first before you can sell goods, not just try to sell goods directly, you idiot.”
“Then how do I make short videos popular?”
“Research the characteristics of popular videos, and then research the platform’s recommendation mechanism. No matter what, first thoroughly understand how to become popular. If you really can’t figure it out, then use the principle of ‘the movement of the Tao is through reversal.’
Do something that looks opposite to what ordinary people do. Others promote their products by talking about how good they are; you talk about the bad aspects. What you want is traffic. With traffic, you can then sell products.
Or, do things that others want to do but don’t have the time for, create videos about them, and resonate with the masses. Then, you can sell goods. That’s all I can help you with, my father’s son. If you still don’t understand, Er Bai, I’m not teaching anymore, damn it~! Can’t you figure it out by researching patterns and playing according to the rules? Why are you so fixated on wanting to make money right away?”
“No, I understand what you’re saying, but how do I do it?”
“Oh my god, as long as it’s not illegal, do whatever you want, you’re so stupid! There are elderly aunts who dance around in dirty clothes, singing and yelling nonsense! You need to let go of your pride first before you can make money. You’re afraid of this and that, and you haven’t even taken the first step before scaring yourself!
All successful people first start doing what they want to do, producing a lot of messy work, and then learn, modify, and grow as they go. It’s not that they were inherently skilled. If you’re too lazy to even learn and just want success, how is that possible?
Even if you were thrown into a job, wouldn’t you learn as you go? Isn’t it all the same? First, activate your brain, habitually look at problems from the opposite perspective, find the key points, find the methods, and act according to the patterns. What can’t be accomplished then?
Didn’t that great Archimedes say, ‘Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world’? This means that when you do something, you need to find methods and patterns, not just do the thing itself. If you find the knack, you can move that matter. Do you understand?”
“Hmm, alright, Old Ghost. I’ll think about it.”
Well, the boy spent a lot of effort, and it might have been in vain again. Patterns, oh patterns, the Tao, the Tao is the pattern! If you arrange that pattern for yourself to follow, you can attain the Tao! Attaining the Tao means getting it! Oh my heavens, why is my brother so stupid…
