Zhang Decai told Zhou Shi everything, from beginning to end, about their son meeting an old man while playing by the sea.
Zhou Shi was greatly astonished.
"Husband, do you think our son met an immortal? Last time, he met an old man selling pumpkins, and afterward he could talk. This time, he met an old man catching fish, and now we can eat white rice and meat!"
Had Zhou Shi not mentioned it, Zhang Decai really would not have thought of it. At her words, realization dawned on him, and he murmured, "Our family really has met an immortal!"
"No! I have to find that old immortal and properly thank him for his great kindness!" After a moment's thought, Zhang Decai spoke as though waking from a dream.
"Where would you look? Do you know where the old immortal lives?" Zhou Shi asked.
"Uh, well... then what should we do?"
Zhou Shi said, "How about we set up an ancestral tablet for the old immortal at home, make offerings every day, and pay our respects?"
"That's a good idea. Let's do that!"
"But what should we write on the tablet? We don't even know the old immortal's name!"
Zhang Decai thought for a moment and said, "How about writing 'Spirit tablet of the Fishing Great Immortal'?"
"If we make offerings to a tablet like that, will the old immortal know?"
"He will! Doesn't the old saying go, 'When the heart reaches out, the gods know'? As long as we silently think of the old immortal when we bow, he'll naturally know!"
"Mm, but we still shouldn't call him the Fishing Great Immortal! That makes it sound as though catching fish is all he can do!"
Zhang Decai pondered for a moment and said, "The old immortal wore a bamboo