Liao Tingyan, a new disciple who had just started and had the lowest rank, got to be near the terrifying great Shizu of Gengchen Xianfu, which caused a lot of discussion.
Shimei Liao: How did you do it?
Liao Tingyan: … Rely on the instinct of salted fish?
(Salted fish: people who have no intention of doing anything.)
(One frequently used term is 咸鱼 (xiányú), or “salted fish.” In Cantonese, a salted fish is a metaphor for a corpse, but can now mean people who have no intention of doing anything.)
