Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 340: Family Dinner (1)

Dragon Raja 3

Lu Mingfei started to sense that something was off in his life.

Too many good things were happening between him and Erii, as if all of Tokyo was conspiring to bring them together.

He took Erii to visit Sensoji Temple, and when they passed by a roadside art stall, a painter suddenly jumped out and stopped them. With shining eyes, the painter exclaimed, “May I paint a portrait of the two of you? You two walking together are like a beautiful scene! It’s like when Van Gogh encountered the sunflower that made him famous. I would love to paint you both. Could you grant me this small request?” Lu Mingfei thought, I’ve seen this kind of scam before! We have street artists who pull the same trick back in China. But seeing how earnest the painter seemed and since he had some money in his pocket, Lu Mingfei figured he didn’t mind helping the guy out.

He initially thought it would be just a simple cartoonish sketch, but when the painter unfurled the canvas, Lu Mingfei was stunned. The canvas was two meters tall and one meter wide, fit for a royal portrait. The painter bit down on one paintbrush while holding another in each hand, his strokes flying across the canvas. Soon, a crowd gathered, pointing and murmuring about Lu Mingfei and Erii, making Erii a little nervous and Lu Mingfei quite embarrassed. After two hours, the painting was complete, and when Lu Mingfei looked at it, he thought it should be titled “Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and his Empress, Princess Sissi.” In the painting, he was dressed in a German aristocratic military uniform, while Erii wore a low-cut gown with a hoop skirt, standing in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. They looked as if they had just gotten married and were receiving the blessings of countless citizens as they walked out of the church.

What the hell? Lu Mingfei thought. Is this a scam? How much is he going to charge me for this enormous painting? He angrily pointed at the painter and said, “This painting isn’t realistic! I’m not that handsome! I can’t pay for this!”

The painter smiled slightly and replied, “I don’t intend to charge you. This is art, and as artists, we sacrifice for our craft. Talking about money cheapens it. The painting is too large for you to carry around, so I’ll mail it to your home. Could you leave me your address?”

Now it was Lu Mingfei’s turn to feel embarrassed, so he reluctantly gave the address of the college. The painter carefully rolled up the portrait into an aluminum tube that looked quite high-end. His assistant attached an address label and ran off to the post office. It wasn’t until Lu Mingfei and Erii had walked quite far that he realized he hadn’t even paid for the postage. These Japanese street artists really take the idea of sacrificing for art seriously, he thought, impressed with their free shipping.

After wandering around Sensoji Temple for a while, another Japanese monk mysteriously approached them and asked, “Would the honorable guest like a fortune stick? It’s free.” Lu Mingfei thought, Even Japanese monks are pulling these little money-making tricks?

His aunt and uncle had a similar experience once. A few years ago, they went on a trip to Yunnan. The tour guide took them to a temple, saying, “I’m a devout Buddhist. There is no charge for entering our temple, but please follow Buddhist etiquette and maintain a sincere heart.” Hearing that there was no charge, Lu Mingfei’s aunt and uncle felt they owed the temple something, so they bowed respectfully at every Buddha statue they encountered. Indeed, no fees were charged along the way. But when they reached the Guanyin Hall, a monk casually mentioned, “The local fortune sticks are known to be very accurate. It’s ten yuan to draw a fortune, but only if you wish to.” Lu Mingfei’s aunt and uncle thought, Well, since the entrance fee was waived, ten yuan is nothing. Besides, the monk had an air of nobility and didn’t seem to care about the money, so they each drew a stick.

Aunt’s fortune read: “Why worry, my lord? The fish is in the depths, the crane is among the pines. Yet neither can be captured—no net for the fish, no bow for the crane.”

Uncle’s fortune read: “Alas, destiny does not favor you. Why hunt in this place? Not a bird’s call in the mountains for days. I suggest you move your net to another hill.”

Aunt was stunned and said, “Master, this is too profound for me. I don’t understand.” The monk calmly replied, “No need to worry. There happens to be a Dharma session today, and you can ask a master to interpret your fortune.” Immediately, two young monks appeared and led Aunt and Uncle to separate rooms for fortune interpretation.

The solemn atmosphere of the fortune reading scared Aunt. She was surrounded by bright yellow curtains embroidered with Buddha images, incense smoke swirling around. An elderly monk sat within the smoke and said gently, “You have a special connection with Buddha.” Aunt, moved, exclaimed, “Wow! Will my son be able to study abroad?” The monk replied, “Great wealth and fortune await you, far beyond mere overseas study.” Just as Aunt was about to bow in gratitude, the monk handed her a scripture book, saying, “You must show reverence to Buddha. I, as a monk, do not handle money. It should not pass through my hands.” Only then did Aunt realize that “great wealth” required money. Her thrifty housewife instincts kicked in, and she lied, saying she had already donated in the front hall. The monk smiled slightly and said, “Then that will suffice. You may burn three sticks of incense to pay your respects to Buddha.”

Relieved, Aunt hurriedly followed the young monk to the exit, where she was handed a book and asked, “Which incense would you like? We have regular high incense for 300 yuan, Grandmaster’s incense for 500 yuan, and today you’re in luck—it’s the birthday of our coiling dragon grandmaster, so you can purchase the premium incense for 1,200 yuan, discounted to 1,000 just for you!” Aunt realized that burning incense wasn’t going to be a cheap affair either. But for the sake of Lu Mingze’s chance to study abroad, she gritted her teeth and bought the 500-yuan Grandmaster’s incense.

So there she was, carrying incense over a meter tall. As she put it later, she looked like Sun Wukong carrying his staff, walking toward the incense burner with the young monk. The monk kept praising her for her insight, saying that the Grandmaster’s incense was both affordable and effective, the perfect choice for someone with a connection to Buddha. Aunt was trying hard to convince herself that she hadn’t been scammed when, from across the courtyard, she heard someone laugh loudly: “I’m a man who loves the best of everything! The best is the best, worth every penny!” Turning around, she saw Uncle carrying three of the top-tier coiling dragon incense sticks, looking just like Pigsy carrying his rake.

With that experience in mind, Lu Mingfei was naturally wary of being scammed again. Just as he was about to leave, the Japanese monk quickly blocked his path, saying, “Honored guest! It’s really free!” Lu Mingfei smirked and asked, “Is the fortune free, and the interpretation free as well?” The Japanese monk scratched his bald head and replied, “We have Chinese fortune sticks, no interpretation needed.”

“No way! You guys have Chinese fortune sticks? Let me see one,” Lu Mingfei said. The monk gleefully brought over the fortune cylinder, and Lu Mingfei casually drew a stick. Sure enough, it was in Chinese, and the fortune was incredibly simple and straightforward: “White clouds clear after rain, birds frolic together.”

The interpretation printed on the side was equally concise: “Spring brings new feelings, auspicious clouds rise. People will gather in harmony, bringing joy and satisfaction.”

And at the very top, the three largest characters: “Best of Luck!”

What the heck? Lu Mingfei thought. Is this for real? It’s way too direct! Couldn’t it be a little more subtle? Subtlety adds depth, you know! No wonder this one doesn’t need an interpretation. The meaning is as obvious as the phrase ‘Socialism is great!’