Chapter 28 The Strange Strange Woman

The art of calling snakes is just a medicinal skill, but the art of listening to words is a technique.

Whenever I had time, I would close the door and practice until my hands became numb and my fingers couldn't bend.

In less than a month, I had become an expert.

One afternoon, I called Poppy and said:

"Sister Yu, please help me replace my coffee table with a long table. The coffee table is too empty and it will drain money."

Sister Yu listened to my words and asked, "Brother Wan, do you have any other instructions?"

"There aren't that many instructions. I'm just making a small request for the sake of mutual prosperity and win-win."

She smiled and said, "I'll do it right away."

"I'll come check it out in half an hour. Make sure it's tight."

"Why don't you come over for dinner? I have something I want to ask you." Her voice was delicate and it seemed that she really had something to ask for.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, I asked my master for leave and soon arrived at "Wind, Flowers, Snow and Moon". Yu Meiren led me to the second floor.

Entering the fortune-telling room, I found a long table. After a careful inspection, I realized that no matter who sat across from me, they wouldn't be able to see my movements.

"With the Skynet project now underway, you didn't install cameras in my fortune-telling room to monitor me, did you?"

Yu Meiren chuckled: "Who dares to monitor the master? But there are cameras in the corridors and halls."

I laughed and said, "You're right. If you install a fortune-telling room, I guarantee your business will be ruined by the New Year."

After a while of chatting and laughing, the meal was served, and they ate and talked. Yu Meiren said, "Brother Wan, do you think there is any hope for Fengyan Pavilion?"

"Are you planning to move the store over there?"

"The store won't move. There are many people and businesses in the old town."

I immediately understood: "You have a lot of money on hand, so you go there to stock up on a few houses and wait for the price to go up."

She glanced at me coquettishly and said, "You're making me, a righteous sister, sound like a profiteer."

"Which speculator isn't righteous? They all say they're trying to boost domestic demand, buying five or ten units at once, and even brazenly calling it helping the country.

Yu Meiren turned her chopsticks upside down and tapped me on the head: "Are you planning to switch to crosstalk?"

I felt a little unbalanced. There are many rich people like Yu Meiren in this city who have been involved in real estate speculation. People who really need a house to live in cannot afford it. I took out my cell phone and called Dongzi.

Dongzi said, "What a coincidence! I was just about to call you when you said the 10th or 20th. I was able to get things done smoothly. Today is the 20th. I paid the advance payment in the morning, and in the afternoon the price went up by over a thousand per square meter."

Damn it! Okay, people like Deng Fugen. Celebrate the harvest, celebrate the harvest, so happy that he hides in the house alone to celebrate the harvest. After hanging up the phone, I said:

"It's up to you to decide. If you buy one set, I'll tell you a fortune. If you buy two or three sets, it's not a personal need, but an investment, and the fortune telling won't work."

She raised her eyebrows: "Why doesn't it work?"

"There are three principles for fortune-telling: one fortune-telling for each matter. Don't tell fortunes about long-term matters, don't tell fortunes about dishonesty, and don't tell fortunes about life and death. This is a long-term investment. If you can't sell it, it could be two, three, or five years, so there's no fortune-telling."

Poppy blinked. "Then buy a set. Test the word 'buy'."

"Then buy it quickly, or you'll suffer the consequences if you buy it late."

She asked, “Will it go up?”

I nodded. "Because the word 'buy' contains the character 'head', the sooner the better."

She said, “Let’s go tomorrow.”

After dinner, Yu Meiren left. I bet she'd definitely buy a few. The character for "buy" (买) is missing a dot from the top of the character for "home." So it's not for living. The "head" below contains the character for "big," purely to add value and make the cake bigger.

Around six o'clock, the weather turned colder, and the number of people visiting the teahouse decreased. However, in early winter, people who come to drink tea usually arrive at seven o'clock.

I went to the inner room, where they had set up a camp bed for me to rest in. So I lay on the bed, reading a copy of "A Compendium of Tang Poetry Appreciation".

This was the homework my master prescribed for me, so I simply left the book in the shop and kept it on my desk during my daily work. In a profession like mine, if I were a scholar, people would be more likely to believe that this was a spiritual gift brought on by culture, rather than some kind of magic trick.

After reading a few pages, maybe because I was lying down, I fell asleep.

"Mr. Wan, Mr. Wan..."

I heard someone shouting. I jumped up from the bed.

The waiter came in and smiled at me: "We have customers."

I said, "Wait a minute, I need to meditate for another five minutes."

I sat for five minutes, went to the bathroom to wash my face, and then slowly walked out.

A petite woman, not pretty, but not ugly either, had been sitting in the outer room. Seeing me come out, she stood up politely and smiled at me.

I looked at the woman and smiled slightly.

This kind of smile is not an ordinary smile. My master taught me to practice for half a year before I got the basic understanding. Later, I imitated him slowly and finally got the basic understanding.

This smile wasn't like the one a flight attendant uses to hold two chopsticks in her mouth, a formulaic one. That smile was simply sweet. My smile couldn't be sweet; it had to make the other person feel nervous, mysterious, guilty, and sweaty, as if I were a police officer and he were a thief.

But a smile is still a smile, and it also makes people feel kind. I feel that I have reached a certain bodhisattva level, and there is also a sense of mystery. Everything in the world is under my control. I can relieve his worries and sorrows and pull him ashore.

I use this smile, which is a mixture of mystery, intimidation and kindness, to deal with guests, and it works very well. They are both afraid of me and feel close to me.

In addition, a stick of Indian incense had already been lit in the room, and the curling smoke made people's heart beat faster.

The woman in front of him actually felt a little scared and her body trembled involuntarily.

As I looked at the woman, a strange image suddenly emerged in my mind—this is also a skill called associative memory. If you eat this bowl of rice, you need a good memory.

This woman's face bears a resemblance to both her father and her mother. It couldn't be wrong. Could she have changed her mind and decided not to marry a black man? While I couldn't be sure it was her, I was going to reveal her true colors in a few moves.

I smiled and said, "Here is some paper and pen. Go to the hall outside and write something."

She hesitated for a moment: "Want to go outside to write?"

I said, "Yes, write it and fold it in half."

She asked, "Just write anything?"

I deliberately said, "Just write in Chinese characters, don't write in English."

Only then did she burst out laughing, probably thinking I was quite humorous.

She came in after a long time and handed me the folded paper.

The moment I took the paper from her, I had already switched it. I could see her handwriting clearly. So, I simply placed the paper she had written on on the table and held it down with a wooden weight.

I was confident: "What are you testing?"

"marriage."

"Let me make it clear to you, I'm different from others. Others have to see what you wrote before they can test you. Now, the piece of paper you wrote is still on the table. I didn't open it, right?"

The woman nodded.

I said, "Please confirm once again that your piece of paper has not been moved, right?"

The woman said loudly, "Yes."

I said, "Okay, take the paper back and hold it in your hand. Pay attention, hold it tightly."

The woman came over, took the piece of paper, held it in her hand, and looked at me.

I spoke in a deep baritone voice that seemed to come from a distance, a bit like a divine revelation.

"You're at a crossroads in your life, and your relationship at home, especially with your mother, is very strained. Why is it so tense? It's because you and your parents have very different standards for choosing a partner."

The woman's body was obviously stunned, but her face remained calm.

I must use these few words to confirm whether she is Mr. Xiao's daughter. If not, I will cleverly salvage my story. I knocked on the table:

"Please answer me honestly, are the sentences you just said correct?"

The woman nodded quickly, fearing the gods' retaliation.

"You like tall, imposing men. I understand that. People always crave to supplement their own shortcomings in other ways. Do you think what I say makes sense?"

The woman nodded again.

I smiled faintly: "How I wish you would shake your head once."

She asked, "Why?"