Pan Sanjin, of course, was unaware that his wife was criticizing his stinginess back home. Clutching the slender chicken foot, thinking of the half-section of meat left in the kitchen, and that one piece of chicken rump, he walked towards the end of the village with a sense of self-satisfaction.

Hehe, he had one more piece of meat than the Spirit Medium!

No loss, no loss.

Old Yu the Spirit Medium lived at the very end of Bajiao Village. There was an old temple there, quite aged. It wasn’t a large building, maybe only eight or nine square meters.

Though small, the structure was quite intricate: vermillion walls, wooden windows with octagonal lattice patterns, and a hip-and-gable roof adorned with several small statues of immortals and running beasts.

However, during the tumultuous times a few years back, this old temple had been vandalized. The relief carvings on the vermillion walls had been smeared with yellow mud, making it look dilapidated and dirty. At the eaves, the leading immortal had lost its head, and the running beasts behind it were missing legs or arms.

It presented a rather desolate appearance.

Moreover, a large banyan tree grew behind the old temple. According to the older generation, it was over a hundred years old.

Its canopy spread like a giant umbrella, its gnarled branches sprawling horizontally, casting a huge shadow. Just approaching it gave one a sense of gloom.

Normally, if there was no particular reason, people didn’t like to come here.

“Spirit Medium, Old Yu the Spirit Medium… don’t sleep! Be careful, if you sleep too much during the day, you won’t be able to sleep at night… Hey, I have something important to ask you, that’s why I came without calling first.”

“Come and take a look for me.”

The weather was hot, and the sun had baked the house, making it like a steamer on a large fire. To catch a bit of cool breeze in the summer, the doors of Old Yu the Spirit Medium’s old temple were wide open. Pan Sanjin saw the thin, short old man on the bamboo bed at a glance and strode inside.

Hearing the noise, Old Yu the Spirit Medium opened his eyes and glanced over.

“Nonsense! I wasn’t sleeping.”

Pan Sanjin curled his lip, unconvinced.

Seeing Pan Sanjin’s disbelief, Old Yu the Spirit Medium narrowed his eyes, and his voice dropped.

“I was meditating, cultivating my inner energy, nurturing my mind and spirit. It’s greatly beneficial for cultivation, unlike you lazybones!”

Old Yu the Spirit Medium was also called Old Yu the Half-Blind. He was born in 1919, making him sixty-five this year. When he narrowed his eyes like that, his drooping eyelids staring at you, it really was, to say the least, the whites of his eyes were bigger than the pupils, it looked a bit frightening.

Pan Sanjin: “…Right, right, right, don’t hold it against me, Spirit Medium.”

Old Yu the Spirit Medium grunted.

Pan Sanjin, seeing his expression, silently scoffed.

Meditating, my foot! He was clearly like a horse thief posing as a Buddha, a complete fake! He’d seen and heard it, the old spirit medium had just been snoring with his mouth open.

The sound was really loud!

Pan Sanjin placed the meat he was carrying on the table with a flourish. “I’m not asking for nothing. This is a rooster killed just yesterday. Look at this meat, firm and fresh. Whether it’s stir-fried or made into soup, it’ll be both fresh and fragrant.”

He dragged a small stool from the corner and sat down with a plop.

“Spirit Medium, take a look for me.” Pan Sanjin looked around, lowering his voice, “Did I encounter something unclean?”

Old Yu the Spirit Medium poured Pan Sanjin a cup of cold tea, unhurriedly asking, “What happened?”

Pan Sanjin accepted the tea, holding it in his hands without drinking.

He thought back for a moment, recounting his recent dream to Old Yu the Spirit Medium in detail.

It was strange, really. He rarely remembered his dreams after waking up.

This dream was different. He remembered everything clearly, even the feeling in the darkness of being watched by malicious eyes.

“…Later, the moon fell from the sky, like a ball of light rushing towards me… and then, and then I was woken up by Aihong.”

“The moon?” Old Yu the Spirit Medium repeated.

“Yeah,” Pan Sanjin nodded.

What else would be hanging in the sky? Seeing that faint light, and the sky was still dark, it had to be the moon!

Old Yu the Spirit Medium frowned, extending his right hand and making some seemingly meaningful calculations.

After a moment, he put down the large palm-leaf fan he was holding, stepped into his black cloth shoes, and bent down to rummage through a cluttered corner for a book. He licked his finger to get some saliva and then flipped open the book, squinting to read carefully.

Pan Sanjin craned his neck to look. It was an old book, the paper yellowed and brittle, bound with hemp string along the side. Probably to prevent it from falling apart, the top and bottom edges were wrapped with coarse cloth.

He had attended literacy classes, so he could recognize some characters. He immediately saw the two large characters written on the faded blue cover: Dream Interpretation.

“This book is quite old, huh? It’s really not easy to keep it in such condition.”

Pan Sanjin commented, then prepared to drink the water in his cup. He lowered his head, and his eyes immediately widened.

Damn it!

This old spirit medium was so stingy! He’d poured him tea, but it was only half full…

No, no, looking at the tea in the cup, it was probably a mouthful less than half of a half!

Pan Sanjin was a meticulous person. He didn’t drink the tea right away. He frowned, his expression a mixture of deep sorrow and indignation, and carefully, thoroughly, inside and out, with the same earnestness he used in the spring to check daily whether the rice seedlings had grown, he examined the cup of tea.

That’s right! It was definitely half of a half, minus a mouthful!

Before Pan Sanjin could get angry, his gaze swept over the half-section of chicken placed on the side, and his eyes froze. He instantly deflated.

Alright!

Old Yu the Spirit Medium was subtly hinting at him for that piece of chicken rump!

The summer breeze blew in through the wooden window, rustling the pages of the book in Old Yu the Spirit Medium’s hand.

Old Yu the Spirit Medium frowned, about to turn back the flipped page of the ancient book, when suddenly, his gaze caught something. His half-closed eyes lit up.

“Found it!”

Pan Sanjin craned his neck. “Where, where?”

Old Yu the Spirit Medium chuckled, “Here.”

He pointed with his finger. “This breeze is really something. It blew several pages ahead, right to the one I was looking for. Otherwise, I would have had to search for a while.”

Pan Sanjin was a little anxious. “What does it say? What does it say?”

He leaned in to look, but was immediately put off by the characters on the page.

No way, no way. These were traditional characters, written vertically, and with that “则啊也啊” (“ze a ye a”) classical language, it was beyond the comprehension of someone like him, who had only attended a few days of literacy classes.

Old Yu the Spirit Medium looked closely, and just as Pan Sanjin was about to urge him again, he finally spoke.

“This is a pregnancy dream.”

“A pregnancy dream?” Pan Sanjin was dumbfounded.

“That’s right, it’s definitely a pregnancy dream.” The more Old Yu the Spirit Medium spoke, the more certain he became.

“Let me explain it to you. The moon, since ancient times, has been a symbol of beauty, of home, of hope, of all things good… Look, in those ancient poems, isn’t the moon always described as exceptionally beautiful?”

Pan Sanjin nodded hesitantly.

That was true. He could still recite, “Before my bed, the bright moon shines.” ^[1]A line from a famous Tang Dynasty poem by Li Bai.

…But his dream really didn’t seem like a pregnancy dream. A pitch-black sky, and it even collapsed in the end. It was pretty terrifying.

Old Yu the Spirit Medium ignored Pan Sanjin’s inner doubts. He stared at the yellowed paper of the old book, made some calculations with his fingers, and continued.

“A bright moon hanging high, a quiet night sky… It has a sense of solitary loftiness and coldness, but if you think about it carefully, such a scene also holds a vast emptiness filled with warmth.”

Pan Sanjin: ??

Warmth?

Was this old spirit medium serious?

Pan Sanjin shifted his gaze to the table, looking at the chicken foot pointing towards the sky, and he hesitated.

He felt like even that slender chicken foot was mocking him. Asking the Spirit Medium about this matter, he’d really done something foolish.

Meeting Pan Sanjin’s distrustful gaze, Old Yu the Spirit Medium didn’t get angry.

Although every family has its own difficulties, they were all from the same village, and they’d weathered storms together over the years. He knew Pan Sanjin’s family situation.

It’s said that people desire what they lack. When Sanjin was born, it was the most difficult time for the country, with wars everywhere. It was a time of shortages of both clothing and food.

Sanjin’s parents’ most basic wish for him was that he would have enough to eat and grow three jin of flesh.

Old Yu the Spirit Medium recalled.

At that time, he was still a young Daoist priest in his twenties. Although he was also poor, he had followed the old Daoist priest in his studies and had learned to read and write.

Sanjin’s parents brought a few sweet potatoes and asked him to write a name for their son. He had suggested that “Three Jin” was not as good as “Three Gold” (Sanjin).

Sanjin’s parents looked at each other, slapped their thighs, and agreed. That’s right, how could Three Jin be better than Three Gold? Three Gold meant lots of gold, which could buy a lot of meat and grow many jin!

From then on, Sanjin (Three Jin) was called Sanjin (Three Gold).

However, reality is often crueler than wishes. Sanjin had no gold, nor did he have many jin of meat to eat.

He had suffered hardship since childhood. When he was young, he dredged sand in the river, carried stones… he did all kinds of work. He wasn’t sure if he had injured his body, but now, at forty-two, he still had no children.

And Sanjin’s wife, Aihong…

Old Yu the Spirit Medium thought for a moment. He wasn’t entirely sure, but she should be around forty, too.

For this couple to have a child at this age… Old Yu the Spirit Medium consoled him, “It’s not too late. Good things take time.”

“You know Zhang Shitou’s family in the neighboring Xiaoliu Village, right? He has three grandsons, he’s already a grandfather, and a few months ago, he had another son. Now he’s a father again.”

“Right, I remember he’s over fifty.”

Old Yu the Spirit Medium had a reputation, and he wrote well, so people liked to ask him for help with weddings and funerals. That’s why he knew things particularly clearly.

Finally, he stated definitively, “That’s what you call an old clam producing a pearl. Your situation isn’t that extreme.”

Pan Sanjin: …

“Is it really a pregnancy dream?” Pan Sanjin was both hopeful and disbelieving. He stammered for a while, but finally asked Old Yu the Spirit Medium with bright, expectant eyes.

Old Yu the Spirit Medium: “It’s real! Guaranteed! Don’t you trust me? What’s my name? I’m the Great Immortal, the Spirit Medium.”

He explained it carefully to Pan Sanjin.

“Look, you said the sky was especially dark, right? Doesn’t that correspond to your past days, without children, your heart filled with bitterness and sorrow?”

Pan Sanjin nodded continuously.

Yes, without a child in the family, his heart was heavy, it was a pitch-black gloom.

Old Yu the Spirit Medium was pleased. “See, doesn’t that match up?”

“The moon is your child. This is a pregnancy dream. When it appeared, the darkness receded, meaning all your unhappiness is gone. And then, you said it leaped down and rushed towards you. That’s the child coming to you, its father.”

Father…

Hearing the word “father,” Pan Sanjin was so excited he almost chuckled.

“That’s right!” Old Yu the Spirit Medium became serious.

Pan Sanjin immediately sobered up. “What is it?”

Old Yu the Spirit Medium: “This moon, you caught it in the end, right?”

“I… I think so…” Pan Sanjin replied hesitantly.

Honestly, towards the end of the dream, the light was so bright that he was blinded.

“It can’t be ‘I think so.’ You either caught it or you didn’t. This is your child, it’s a pregnancy dream. Catching it means the child has settled firmly.” Old Yu the Spirit Medium’s tone was serious.

“I caught it, I caught it!” Pan Sanjin nodded like a chicken pecking at grain.

Of course! This was a pregnancy dream, it was his child. Even if he hadn’t caught it, he had to have caught it.

Pan Sanjin thought to himself, if need be, he’d go back to sleep and try to dream it again, focusing on the scene from his midday dream.

“If you caught it, that’s good. You can rest assured. Since you’ve had the pregnancy dream, the child has definitely settled in your family. Wait another ten days or half a month, take your wife to the health clinic for a checkup. I’ll be waiting for your good news.”

Old Yu the Spirit Medium shooed him away. “Alright, you can go now. I need to rest… cough, meditate. I won’t see you out.”

Pan Sanjin was so caught up in the joy of becoming a father that he didn’t notice the slip of the tongue from Old Yu the Spirit Medium.

He said goodbye to Old Yu the Spirit Medium and walked home happily.

…

Bajiao Village, the Pan household.

“Hong’er, I’m back!” Before he even reached the door, Pan Sanjin called out in a loud voice.

His voice arrived before he did.

“You’re back. What did Old Yu the Spirit Medium say?” Zhou Aihong was also concerned and pulled Pan Sanjin aside to ask quietly.

“It’s good news!” Pan Sanjin was excited.

“Good news?” Zhou Aihong’s eyes were filled with confusion. How could that nightmare be good news?

“It is good news!” Pan Sanjin hadn’t even spoken yet, and he let out a “hehe” laugh first. “I’m going to be a father.”

Zhou Aihong’s eyes widened: “What!”

Seeing Zhou Aihong’s face first show surprise, then confusion, then a frown, and finally a red-faced, furious glare – it was clear she wasn’t shy but burning with anger – Pan Sanjin came to his senses and realized there was something strange about his words. He quickly said.

“Wrong, wrong, it’s not that I’m going to be a father, uh, uh, no, I am going to be a father, hey hey, don’t be angry yet, I’m going to be the father in our family, not an outside father… Hong’er, I absolutely have no other intentions, I swear to heaven!”

Pan Sanjin’s hands and feet were flailing, and his mouth was babbling, the more he flailed, the more confused he became.

“Pregnancy dream… I’m talking about a pregnancy dream!”

Zhou Aihong crossed her arms and frowned as she listened to Pan Sanjin recount what had happened at Old Yu the Spirit Medium’s place.

She didn’t have much hope for the whole pregnancy dream thing. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in such things, it’s just that she’d been disappointed too many times. She’d accepted it.

Pan Sanjin: “Hong’er, aren’t you even a little bit excited?”

Zhou Aihong responded perfunctorily: “Excited, excited.”

Pan Sanjin: … So dismissive!

“Forget it, forget it. In another half a month or a month, we’ll go to the town health clinic for a checkup. Then we’ll know for sure.”

“Hehe, I’m going to go back to sleep and see if I can see our Panpan again.”

The child wasn’t even born yet, and Pan Sanjin had already given the little one a nickname. The moon does not know of its youth, so I will call it a white jade plate. The moon in his dream, that was his family’s Panpan.

It was perfect, he was surnamed Pan, and Pan was a homophone for “pan” (plate). Fate, this was fate, hehehe!

Zhou Aihong twisted Pan Sanjin’s earlobe. “Pregnancy dream? I think you just want to be lazy.”

“Ouch, ouch, ouch, Hong’er, be gentle.”

…

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed. Pan Sanjin, a penny-pincher to the core, stubbornly dragged Zhou Aihong along to the health clinic.

An hour and a half later, Pan Sanjin emerged with his head hanging low, a stark contrast to his high spirits and excitement when he’d entered the clinic.

Zhou Aihong saw his dejected appearance, and her heart ached a little.

She herself was also disappointed, but she’d had many disappointments over the years, and she’d gradually come to terms with it.

“Forget it, we’ve already agreed. It’s not bad living like this. Not having children is less of a burden!”

“Like the village committee has been saying these past few years, what is it, um… ‘Have fewer children, plant more trees; raise fewer children, raise more pigs; having only one child is good, the government will take care of your old age’… We’ll get a piglet, raise it well, and sell it next year for money.”

Zhou Aihong recalled a few slogans. Pan Sanjin listened mournfully. How could a piglet be the same as a child?

One would call him “father,” the other would only grunt and root.

“Forget it, forget it. This is all fate.” Pan Sanjin had also come to terms with it.

There was no point in not accepting it. No matter how much he thought about it, it wouldn’t magically create a child. He’d only be making himself miserable.

“Humph…” Pan Sanjin snorted, “That old spirit medium is really hateful. He doesn’t know how to interpret dreams, and he still made up that nonsense.”

“No way, when we get back to the village, I’m going to go find him and at least get back that half-section of chicken missing its rump. I can’t let that old guy get away with it!”

Zhou Aihong: …

…

It was a distance from the town to Bajiao Village. The two of them walked towards Bajiao Village, facing the setting sun.

It was summer, and there had been little rain. The dirt road was dry and dusty, and the wind blew dust all over their faces.

By the time they reached Bajiao Village, Pan Sanjin and Zhou Aihong were covered in dust, which matched their mood.

“Sanjin, you’re back?”

“Yeah.”

“What important business did you have, going to town on such a hot day? Tsk, come to my house later for a bowl of mung bean soup. I made it today, and it’s been chilling in the town well. It’ll cool you down.”

“Thank you, Auntie.^[2]婶儿 Shěn er – Auntie, a respectful way to address an older woman.”

The speaker was Auntie Agui from the village. Pan Sanjin thanked her but didn’t say what they had been doing today.

This uncertain matter, of course, was not something to tell others, especially something as superstitious as a pregnancy dream.

Pan Sanjin was glad. Fortunately, he hadn’t told anyone before. Otherwise, everyone would have something to say, and wouldn’t that be like rubbing salt into his and his wife’s wounds!

“Oh, right.” Just as they were about to leave, Auntie Agui stopped Pan Sanjin again. “The mailman came to the village today. There’s a letter for your Aihong. I saw you weren’t home, so I took it for you.”

Auntie Agui, as she spoke, pulled out a folded envelope from a small pocket in her clothes. “Here, it’s here. It’s a little wrinkled because I put it in my pocket, but I didn’t open it.”

“A letter for Aihong? Thank you, Auntie.” Pan Sanjin took the letter and exchanged a look with Zhou Aihong, both a little surprised.

They glanced at Auntie Agui, who was walking away slowly with her hands behind her back. They knew she was always nosy; she was walking slowly, hoping to eavesdrop on the contents of the letter.

Zhou Aihong grabbed the letter and pulled Pan Sanjin, walking quickly towards their home.

Seeing that the couple didn’t open the letter on the spot, old Mrs. Agui pursed her lips. “Stingy!”

Then, she strolled away, planning to go somewhere else to find some excitement.

…

Bajiao Village, the Pan household.

Zhou Aihong looked at the envelope and frowned. “It’s from Little Sister.”

Pan Sanjin curled his lip. “Why is she writing?” That one never came unless there was trouble.

“I don’t know, let’s see.”

They opened the letter, unfolded it, and scanned it quickly. The more Zhou Aihong read, the tighter her frown became. Finally, she slapped her thigh and exclaimed loudly.

“That foolish girl!”

Pan Sanjin quickly leaned closer to look. As he read, a strange expression appeared on his face.

“This, this, your sister says she wants to give Lai Di to us?”

One’s own flesh and blood, how could she give her away? How could she bear to do that!

Zhou Aihong was furious. “She’s really outrageous! How can you give away your own child? No way, where’s our pen? I have to write her a letter and scold her, scold her severely!”

“She deserves it. We’re like her parents, and if the younger siblings don’t listen, they need to be disciplined.” Pan Sanjin was gloating.

He had never liked this sister-in-law. Hearing that she was going to be scolded by Aihong, he didn’t add fuel to the fire; that was his generosity.

“Oh, wait!” Suddenly, Pan Sanjin seemed to think of something and quickly stopped Zhou Aihong.

His expression was strange, and he stared intently at the envelope, as if he were trying to stare a flower out of it.

Zhou Aihong was startled. “What is it?”

Pan Sanjin slapped his thigh. “The pregnancy dream! My moon! Our Panpan is suffering at her house! Quick, quick, we have to go get her.”

Alright, the old spirit medium was off the hook. He wouldn’t demand the return of that section of chicken missing its rump from that old guy!

Now, Pan Sanjin only wanted to denounce his sister-in-law.

Lai Di, Lai Di… How could she give his family’s Panpan such an awful name?

Infuriating!