Chapter 003: Striking It Rich

I looked at Liu Wenxuan and said, "In my shop, there are nothing but items for the deceased, and they are not worth much. What do you want these for?"

Speaking of buying furniture, I actually know someone in the county town. His name is Ning Haoyu, and he owns a shop in the furniture market at the eastern end of the county. He has a fair complexion, resembling a pretty boy. Many of the furniture in his store are antique pieces, and I have heard that some valuable items are made from coffin boards excavated from graveyards.

Usually, it is my grandfather who lies in that rocking chair; today, it is my turn. As for that small black-and-white television, I did not turn it on, as it can only receive two channels and is quite noisy.

I lay in the rocking chair with nothing to do, and began to think about the times when my grandfather was around. He once said that I must accomplish three things:

To be honest, I never worry about my grandfather, because with his skills in fortune-telling, he will avoid places that are unfavorable to him

Among these three matters, I believe I can manage to marry, but saving ten million is somewhat distant. Therefore, starting from now, I must be frugal; every little bit saved counts.

The first marriage is, in fact, something that every man should undertake

That night, there was nothing else to do. The next morning, before I even went to find the chubby network administrator, he came running to pay the rent with great enthusiasm. I also unceremoniously asked him for an additional three months' rent. This is also a favor to him, to save him from spending all his money and being unable to pay the rent.

Liu Wenxuan said that I was being too modest, and then asked me how much I wanted. I thought for a moment, those fortune tellers by the river charge about twenty or thirty. I am a bit more skilled than them, so I decided to round it up and ask for one hundred.

Seeing my resolute attitude, Liu Wenxuan had no choice but to take the pen and paper. I reminded him beside me: "Think about what you requested, then write three three-digit numbers on the paper, and hand it back to me along with the diagram and the book."

Moreover, my grandfather said that I must tackle these three matters one by one, without breaking the order; otherwise, I will never be able to complete the third matter, which is also the thing I most want to know in this life. I want to know what exactly happened to my parents when I was seven years old.

Liu Wenxuan shook his head: "I understand your rules. In that case, I will take all the goods from your little shop, and consider it as me taking care of your business."

These three matters seem completely unrelated to the subsequent one, yet I believe what my grandfather said: only by completing the first two matters can the latter be successfully accomplished

In my store, I only have a few thousand yuan worth of goods in total. If someone wants to buy something, I usually order it on demand and do not keep inventory. As a result, my store will end up empty.

I lay in the rocking chair and said, "I'm leaving!"

Liu Wenxuan shook his head and said: "No need for anything else, let's use divination. Senior Shen Xiang helped me through a crisis with divination twenty years ago, and it was because of that turning point that I achieved what I have today"

The middle-aged man was taken aback: "So sudden? What illness?"

Then, based on the eight numbers from 1 to 8 corresponding to the characters "Heaven", "Marsh", "Fire", "Thunder", "Wind", "Water", "Mountain", and "Earth", the hexagram is generated. The remainders of Liu Wenxuan's three sets of numbers are "5", "6", "6". The first two can be used to deduce the primary hexagram, which is the Wind-Water "Well Hexagram"

I smiled slightly, threw the pen and paper in front of him, and said: "Go ahead and write. If you don't want to calculate, you can leave right now."

I stood up, went to get a pen and paper, and asked him: "Oh, Mr. Liu, would you like to write down three three-digit numbers on the paper? I will calculate them for you briefly."

I couldn't bear to give them the rocking chair that my grandfather often lay on at hetushucom.com

Liu Wenxuan nodded and quickly wrote down three numbers: 165, 166, and 126. Upon receiving these three numbers, I calculated and deduced that Liu Wenxuan was seeking a hexagram, and that this changing line was the same as the original line.

I nodded slightly and continued, "I can perform a reading for you, but according to the rules set by my grandfather, face reading and divination are complimentary. I already showed you yesterday. As for the rest—palmistry, bone reading, aura reading, form reading, spirit reading, flesh reading, divination, and character analysis—you may choose one. I am proficient in all of these, but I am not very skilled in others. Of course, if you wish to try something else, I can attempt that as well"

This algorithm can actually be performed by those who possess some divination skills. The first group of three numbers is divided by "8" and the remainder corresponds to the lower trigram, which is the inner trigram. The second group of numbers is also divided by "8" and the remainder corresponds to the upper trigram, which is the outer trigram. The last group of numbers is divided by "6" and the remainder corresponds to the changing line

The reason I dare to say this is that I can infer from the flow of his fortune reflected in his facial features, as well as the five elements of his age, that his troubles are about to come to an end, and there is no need to expend much effort in divination.

With this intention, I began to search for the fortune-telling tools that my grandfather had used in the past. To my surprise, it seemed that he had taken all those items with him when he passed away. If I were to practice fortune-telling, I would need to acquire a set of tools for myself.

I say: "Your facial features reveal certain aspects, and aside from the kidneys, everything else in your changing lines is fine. It is not an issue with you personally; rather, you are naturally affected by external influences. When combined with your facial features, it is not difficult to deduce the situation."

According to the interpretation of the hexagram, Liu Wenxuan's recent fortune will be very good, and he will soon reap fame, with wealth also flowing in abundantly. However, it is necessary to release water at home; this water could be from natural heavy rain or from a burst pipe in his house. Additionally, the hexagram indicates that Liu Wenxuan has an excess of kidney water, insufficient kidney energy, and there may be issues with his kidneys.

I have given it some thought; to open a new store, some investment is necessary. Therefore, I plan to visit the second-hand furniture market to find some antique Chinese-style furniture, as this will create a more impressive atmosphere

After saying all this, Liu Wenxuan thanked me several times before leaving, leaving me alone holding this stack of cash, feeling at a loss. Have I struck it rich?

I said: "Not dead, just left. Where did he go? I don't know. He told me not to look for him. By the way, regarding your request for divination, I can help you fulfill it. Of course, if you don't trust me, you can leave right now."

The middle-aged man said, "My humble surname is Liu, Liu Wenxuan, and I am forty years old this year"

Liu Wenxuan exclaimed in surprise, "How did you know that my previous misfortune was related to my brother?"

Thirdly, to uncover the true cause of my parents' death, and then to avenge them

Your business is also developing in a positive direction. As for your half-brother, your relationship will never improve throughout your life. I advise you to clearly distance yourself from him as soon as possible to avoid being implicated in the future. Additionally, if you have a property near water, it is best not to stay there recently. If you do not have such a property, then you should check all the drainage pipes in your home, as there may be some minor accidents. Furthermore, regarding yourself, you have been overworked lately, and your kidney energy is insufficient, so you need to adjust it in a timely manner

He is indeed a person who is not afraid of bad luck

Upon hearing me say to calculate simply, Liu Wenxuan appeared somewhat displeased: "This matter is of great significance to me, how could it possibly be treated as a mere calculation like that of a book?"

I quickly shook my head and said I dare not, compared to my grandfather, I am still far from it

Just as I was thinking about these matters, the shop curtain was lifted, and the two middle-aged men from yesterday came again. Upon seeing me alone, the middle-aged man who spoke to me yesterday asked: "Where is the esteemed diviner?"

Liu Wenxuan said: "Better safe than sorry! I will send someone here to move the goods tomorrow"

If all three numbers can be divided evenly, then the remainder is indeed the divisor

Listening to me, Liu Wenxuan's attitude immediately changed dramatically as he respectfully said: "Master Xiao Li, I did not expect that you surpass your grandfather, truly a case of the student surpassing the master."

I then said, "Mr. Liu, you can just call me Li Chuyi from now on, there's no need to call me anything like 'Little Li the Fortune Teller', it feels quite awkward. Also, I really can't accept this money, I only need one hundred and that will be enough..."

On the following day, Liu Wenxuan indeed sent someone to clean out all the goods from our place. Once everything was moved, I still felt somewhat indebted to him, so I also gave them the small black-and-white television that my grandfather often watched.

Regardless of the circumstances, he can be considered someone knowledgeable in the field; I will ask him, and it will surely be correct

After a moment, I said: "Mr. Liu, this is what you should do. When you return, continue with your usual activities, and before long, fortune will smile upon you."

After collecting the rent from the overweight property manager, I went to have breakfast, and then opened the shop door to prepare for a new day of business

Liu Wenxuan said: "Xiao Li, this is your remuneration. I hope you do not find it insufficient. I will definitely trouble you again in the future, so you must accept this money."

I am patiently interpreting the hexagram here, and Liu Wenxuan is not urging me

The store was empty, and I was thinking of bringing in another batch of goods. Just as I picked up my phone to make a call, I suddenly had a brilliant idea: why continue running the funeral clothing store? Wouldn't it be better to open a small fortune-telling shop? Perhaps this way, I could even raise the rent for my second-floor space.

Grandfather has passed away, but life must go on, so I went ahead and opened the door to the funeral clothing store again. After waiting a whole day for business, the outcome was just as my grandfather had predicted; not a single person showed up, not even a ghost.

Upon hearing my words, the middle-aged man appeared somewhat frustrated, but he still took a deep breath and said to me: "Then I must trouble you, young man, to tell me my fortune. You are the grandson of a renowned fortune-teller, and yesterday you spoke so accurately about my matters. I cannot come here for nothing; please tell me my fortune."

In the evening, my grandfather called me to say that he had already arrived in another city and told me not to worry, assuring me to focus on safeguarding the family business.

The transformation of the line to "6" is the present line

I stood up from the rocking chair and asked, "What is your honorable surname, sir?"

I asked him when he would return, and he simply replied that he would naturally come back when the time was right

After receiving the money from Liu Wenxuan, I immediately closed the shop door and then ran to the bank to open an account, depositing all the money.

I was dumbfounded at that moment

This matter is certainly to be addressed. The conclusion given by the police regarding my parents' deaths was suicide, but every time this issue is mentioned, my grandfather's expression is always quite strange, clearly not in agreement with the police's statement. There must be significant implications behind this, so I am determined to find the true culprit who murdered my parents

As soon as I thought of it, I raised a finger. Without saying a word, Liu Wenxuan signaled to the old Qiu beside him to take out some money. The old Qiu directly handed me a stack of one-hundred-yuan bills.

The second is to save money, and the amount must reach ten million. He said there are many things he cannot tell me, and only when my worth reaches a certain level can I access things that I currently cannot.