Chapter 31
Several people were standing at Xu Gui's stall; roughly speaking, there were about seven or eight of them.
Upon closer inspection, they were all dressed like anglers, each wearing a fishing hat, a light-colored work vest, and carrying various fishing gear. They looked very elite and professional.
Someone noticed Xu Gui's arrival, and with a shout of "Master is here!", a group of people rushed towards Xu Gui.
Xu Gui: ?
Seeing a group of people rushing towards her, she quickly reached out to stop them: "Stop!"
A group of people stopped in front of her, looking at her with extremely eager eyes. Xu Gui felt their gaze and a few questions slowly appeared in her eyes—so, what are these people doing?
Just then, a man who looked somewhat familiar to Xu Gui emerged from the crowd and exclaimed, "Master, it's me!"
Xu Gui looked closely and recognized the man: "Grandpa, it's you... What are you all doing here?" She pointed to the others, who were dressed the same as the old man, so they had obviously come together.
When Xu Gui asked this, the old man's expression turned somewhat unpleasant, as if he were angry or ashamed. However, before he could speak, someone next to him had already moved closer to Xu Gui, pushing the old man behind him, and enthusiastically introduced himself to Xu Gui.
“Hello Master, we are all friends of Lao Wu!” the other party said, shaking hands with Xu Gui. “My name is Wang Defa. Lao Wu and I have known each other for many years.”
Hearing this, Old Wu couldn't help but roll his eyes and sneer, "Who's your friend?" Although they had indeed known each other for many years, they had never gotten along.
"We are also Lao Wu's friends. My name is He Deneng!"
"My name is Qi Baozhu!"
The others also crowded around to greet Xu Gui, pushing Old Wu to the back, which made Old Wu so angry that he cursed them in his heart as "beasts".
Meanwhile, Xu Gui's live stream room had already become incredibly lively after the group of fishermen rushed in, because...
[Wow, I think I see one of our retired professors in this group!]
[I think I saw him too. He Deneng is a top expert in our field. He's the kind of person whose research so groundbreaking that our textbooks have to be revised overnight! I actually saw him in Xu Gui's live stream?!]
I've been meaning to say this before: that old man fishing looks a lot like one of our professors. He was the one who researched something.
That guy, he seems to be a professor in our department too. I heard he has a nickname, "Deadly Yama," because he's extremely strict and can fail you on the spot. But he's really capable; several of his former students are now big names in our field.
"The 'Deadly Yama' you mentioned, could it be this old man with a face full of wrinkles, grinning at Xu Gui right now?"
[I've already tagged my friend to see this. Professor X is his most respected teacher. He dreamed of studying under Professor X for graduate school, but unfortunately, Professor X retired just as he entered university. He was devastated.]
[Click on my friend to see this +1, I'm really looking forward to seeing their expression when they see this, hahaha]
Wow, are there really this many college graduates from prestigious universities in this live stream? I'm trembling with fear, coming from a no-name university...
[I told you this livestream was amazing, right? It's absolutely fantastic, there's something new every day!]
...
However, at this moment, the "professor" and "expert" mentioned by netizens were all smiles in front of Xu Gui, showing no trace of his usual dignified demeanor.
Xu Gui first set up the stall, and Wang Defa and the others came over to help. Only after Xu Gui sat down did he have time to ask them why they had come.
“We’ve all come here to have our fortunes told, Master!” Wang Defa said enthusiastically.
"You want me to tell your fortune?" Xu Gui glanced at Old Wu, who was squeezed in the back with a somewhat aggrieved expression, and asked in a subtle tone, "You don't mean you want me to tell your fortune, do you? Which fishing spot are you going to catch fish?"
Wang Defa clapped his hands and exclaimed, "The master is indeed a master; his calculations are accurate every time!"
Xu Gui thought expressionlessly: No, I'm just judging people by Wu Lao's standards. You and Wu Lao are friends, so in some ways, you should be the same.
As it turned out, she was absolutely right. These people really did have the same intentions as Old Wu, which made Xu Gui both laugh and cry – she never expected that her first batch of loyal fans would be a group of fishing enthusiasts.
Wang Defa said, "If we had known that there was such a person as you, Master, we would have come to you long ago... It's just hateful that some people know that you are so powerful, Master, but they are selfish and keep it to themselves, secretly coming to you to have their fortunes told behind our backs."
Wang Defa got angry just thinking about it. He had actually believed that Wu Yongfa had caught the fish through his own abilities. If it weren't for what happened yesterday, which forced him to tell the police the truth, they would all still be kept in the dark.
Old Wu, who was practically being called out by name, was indignant: "...Who's selfish? The master is right here, none of you have met him, but I'm the only one who has. This means I'm destined to meet the master, but you aren't!"
Wang Defa spat and cursed, "I don't believe your nonsense!"
The two were arguing, when Old He plopped down in front of Xu Gui and said, "Master, ignore them, just do my fortune telling first..."
Upon hearing this, the two who were still arguing suddenly turned around and glared at Lao He. Lao He smiled and looked at them, saying, "Thank you for accommodating us. You two can continue arguing. There are still several of us here."
The two: "..."
...
Thanks to Old Wu and his eight fellow fishermen, Xu Gui had already earned four thousand yuan just by opening her stall today, a fantastic start that made her incredibly happy.
"I think I'm going to have a really good day," she said confidently as she followed the camera.
Today's luck is definitely on her side!
*
Before long, Xu Gui welcomed his ninth guest of the day.
This person was a chubby little guy, fair-skinned and plump, with small eyes that became even smaller when he smiled. However, his features were quite striking, so even though he was chubby, he didn't look ugly. Instead, he had a blessed and auspicious appearance.
He was dressed in a simple T-shirt and shorts, but around his neck hung a jade Buddha of excellent quality, exuding an air of wealth and status.
The other person stood in front of Xu Gui, but did not sit down immediately. Instead, he extended his hand and greeted him in a warm tone: "Master, hello, my name is Zheng Fulai, you can call me Xiao Fu."
His tone was very friendly.
Xu Gui glanced at him curiously and gently shook his hand: "Hello."
Zheng Fulai said happily, "I've been watching your live stream these past two days, Master. You're really amazing, you're simply... what's so great about you..."
"A flawless plan," the cameraman whispered a reminder.
Zheng Fulai suddenly realized and said, "Yes, yes, yes, it's 'calculated without fail,' 'calculated without fail'! Brother who follows the camera, you're really cultured, you could even guess that."
The person filming chuckled.
Zheng Fulai said a few words and then explained his purpose to Xu Gui. He said with distress, "...There has been some unrest in our family recently, so I would like to ask you, Master, to take a look."
Xu Gui: "What exactly is going on?"
Zheng Fulai said, "At first, it was the fish in our pond that all turned belly up overnight. After we scooped them out and put a group of them back in, they all died within two days. Then, it was the trees in my yard, especially my money tree, that started to lose leaves and withered and died within a few days."
"Oh, right, and my grandpa too. Lately, he keeps saying he hears a woman crying in the middle of the night, so pitiful and miserable, which makes him unable to eat or sleep."
Zheng Fulai clearly had a good relationship with his grandfather. When talking about the previous events, his expression and tone remained unchanged, but when he talked about his grandfather, a look of worry appeared on his face.
He looked at Xu Gui and said sincerely, "So, I would like to ask Master Xu to come to my house and see what exactly is going on."
Before Xu Gui could speak, he added, "Master Xu, don't worry, I know the rules of the underworld. I promise you, if you can resolve my family's matter, I'll give you a million, how about that?"
He said apologetically, "I could have given you more, but this is all the pocket money I have left."
One million?
Xu Gui's ears perked up instantly, and his eyes lit up.
She had said that her luck had been very good these past two days, and that getting into the top thirty was a sure thing. She just didn't know where her luck was. Now it seems that her luck was here... Her gaze fell on the chubby boy in front of her, and she immediately stood up.
"Okay, let's go now." She felt that even the slightest hesitation would be disrespectful to the million.
At this moment, Xu Gui couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. After all, it was a million dollars! With a million dollars, she could do a lot of things. First of all, she could have the surgery right away at the winter solstice. She was still young, and it was known that the younger the patient was when the surgery was performed, the fewer the postoperative complications would be. So naturally, the sooner the surgery was performed, the better.
So, whether it's because of the show's elimination system or because of Dongzhi's surgery, Xu Gui felt she absolutely had to get that million. Therefore, anyone who stood in her way to getting that million was her enemy.
"Shall we leave now?" She looked at Zheng Fulai with great enthusiasm, her eyes brimming with fighting spirit.
Probably not expecting her to be so proactive, Zheng Fulai was taken aback for a moment, then quickly stood up and said, "I have a car, it's parked outside, let's go by car."
Xu Gui and the photographer followed him toward the car he mentioned. When they saw the blue and white car, Xu Gui glanced at it and exclaimed, "Your taxi is quite unique. It looks more expensive than other taxis."
Other taxis looked dilapidated and cheap, but this taxi was different. Of course, Xu Gui couldn't quite put her finger on what was different, since she didn't know much about cars. She just felt that the car in front of her looked brighter, more shiny, and prettier.
In the sunlight, the car looks like it's practically sparkling.
Xu Gui, who was genuinely praising the fat man, didn't see the man's hesitant expression. He muttered to himself, "This is a luxury car, a luxury car indeed."
When Xu Gui saw the driver get out of the car, she was even more surprised. She looked at Zheng Fulai in astonishment and said, "Your taxi even has a personal driver?"
She seemed thoughtful: "Your hobby is quite unique, isn't it?" Is this the lament of the wealthy?
Zheng Fulai: "..."
The viewers in the live stream were absolutely laughing their heads off when they saw this:
[For your information, this is a new car from the well-known luxury car brand FLA, and one of them costs around eight million...]
【What the heck? This car looks exactly like a taxi in City A, and you're telling me it's a luxury car? And worth over eight million?!】
[Hilarious! Xu Gui's reaction is so funny. It's like a hallucination between me and my ex-boyfriend. Every time my ex-boyfriend sees a luxury car, he shouts, "That's such-and-such a car! How much is it worth?" And my reaction is, "What? This piece of junk is a luxury car?"]
People who don't know much about cars really can't tell the difference, and some wealthy people have very unique tastes. If you weren't particularly knowledgeable about food, you might think they were just ordinary cars you see everywhere on the roadside.
...
Xu Gui and the photographer, who knew nothing about cars, got into the car. They sat in the back seat, while Zheng Fulai sat in the front passenger seat.
"Uncle Zhou, let's go home," Zheng Fulai said to the driver.
As Uncle Zhou drove the car, Xu Gui suddenly remembered something and asked, "I forgot to ask, Mr. Zheng, we are filming. You shouldn't mind, right? But everyone in the video except me has been blurred out."
—Although Zheng Fulai seemed to know a lot about her situation, she still asked a question.
Sure enough, Zheng Fulai said, "It's alright, I know you're filming a show, Master." So before coming, he had already prepared himself for being filmed, and...
"It's my first time on a TV show, and I'm a little excited," he said shyly.
Xu Gui: "...I'm glad you don't mind."
*
The Zheng family's place was quite a distance from where Xu Gui set up his stall. It took them about two hours to reach their destination.
Their destination turned out to be a mountain. The mountain road wound its way up, and the mountain was covered with lush green trees, with scattered white villas dotting the landscape, exuding an air of luxury.
Xu Guihe followed the two uneducated country bumpkins who were peering out of the car window. They were particularly surprised to see that there was a gate access card down the mountain. Both of them had an "eye-opening" expression.
Poor Xu Gui, as a member of the Xuan Turtle clan, spent the first twenty-three years of his life in an orphanage and had never witnessed the lives of wealthy humans. However, Xu Gui himself didn't seem to care.
Fortunately, the camera lens was pointed outside, so no one saw their pathetic expressions. However, this meant that not only the two of them were surprised, but also millions of netizens in the live broadcast room.
Wow, this is the legendary rich neighborhood? I finally see what a rich neighborhood looks like!!
[This is the "mountain" in Dongcheng, right? I heard that rich people live up there, but the access control is very strict. There are security guards at the foot of the mountain, so ordinary people can't get in at all. They can only look at it from the outside, so basically no one knows what it looks like inside.]
So, can we now see what a wealthy district head looks like?
Wow, that villa is so beautifully built!! The little red villa looks so exquisite!
...
The car drove up the mountain and finally stopped at a Chinese-style courtyard about halfway up the mountain.
Xu Gui and the others got out of the car and were led to the reception room by Zheng Fulai. On the way, Zheng Fulai introduced them to their family situation, while the cameraman kept watching and the lens couldn't help but fall on the scenery around Zheng's house.
The Zheng family's house is a traditional Chinese courtyard house, but it's not purely Chinese; it also incorporates features of modern architecture. Therefore, it doesn't look old-fashioned, but rather possesses a modern yet classic beauty.
Netizens couldn't help but exclaim: "I knew rich people were happy, but nobody told me they were this happy! They don't even need to travel because their homes are tourist attractions!"
In short, the Zheng family perfectly exemplified what it means to be "overwhelmed by wealth and status."
Zheng Fulai led Xu Gui and the others to the reception room, but before they even went in, they heard sounds coming from inside. Zheng Fulai was a little puzzled—were there guests at home?
When he pushed open the door, he found that there was not just one guest, but many guests. The reception room was not exactly full, but he could see several people in the room.
Zheng Fulai's cousin, standing at the head of the table, was speaking. He said, "...As long as you can solve the strange things happening to our family, money is no problem. There will be a generous reward for you!"
"Mr. Zheng, please rest assured, whether it is a vengeful ghost or a villain causing trouble in your household, I will definitely be able to resolve it."
"We are too. Mr. Zheng, you can just leave this matter to us. As for the other people, Mr. Zheng, you don't need to hire so many people. The two of us, master and apprentice, are enough."
"I should be the one saying that. I heard that Master Lin once performed an exorcism for a family's child, but it resulted in the child hanging himself and dying tragically. Master Lin's abilities are probably questionable now."
"What did you say?"
After a few words of conversation in the reception room, the atmosphere of tension had already spread throughout the room.
Zheng Fulai's cousin, Zheng Feiran, said in a calm tone: "I don't care who among you can solve this problem, but whoever handles it well will get the reward! Everyone, it all depends on your abilities."
The group glared at each other, then with a cold snort, they left the reception room to check on the situation.
Zheng Fulai looked at the group of people dressed as Taoist priests, monks, and even ghost hunters, and he understood what was going on. He was a little dumbfounded.
As the departing people passed by Xu Gui and his group, they couldn't help but glance at them, their gazes especially falling on the camera in the hands of the person following them—the person following them always felt their exposed skin burning, as if they were being stared at.
After these people left, Zheng Feiran saw Zheng Fulai standing at the door of the reception room. He immediately frowned and asked, "Fulai, what are you doing here?"
Zheng Fulai snapped out of his daze, strode over, and asked with a glimmer of hope, "Brother, what do those people do?"
Zheng Feiran said, "Of course, we specially invited him. He's a master who can exorcise evil spirits and catch ghosts. You know that things haven't been peaceful at home lately, and Grandpa's mental state has been a bit off, so naturally we have to find a way to resolve this matter."
His suspicions came true, and Zheng Fulai forced a smile that was more like a grimace. He stammered, "But...but I also consulted a master..."
Upon hearing his words, Zheng Feiran subconsciously glanced behind him and was met with a dark camera.
"What is this?" Zheng Feiran asked, pointing at the camera.
Zheng Fulai turned his head and glanced at it, then honestly replied, "It's a live streaming camera. Master Xu is participating in a reality show, so he's going to be live streaming."
Zheng Feiran: "...Who is Master Xu?"
"It's me." Xu Gui peeked out from the side, revealing a bright and beautiful face. She said, "Master, it's me."
Zheng Feiran looked calmly at Zheng Fulai and said, "Fulai, we're just joking with you... Since these two are your friends, you should treat them well, lest others say that our family is not hospitable."
Zheng Fulai became a little anxious and said, "Brother! Master Xu is truly a master. I specially invited her to help. She is really amazing! You have to believe me."
Zheng Feiran sighed and said, "Fulai, even if you're going to act recklessly, there's a limit. This isn't the time for jokes!"
Zheng Fulai said angrily, "I'm not joking, I'm serious. I spent a million to hire Master Xu to help me!"
One million?
Zheng Feiran looked sharply at Xu Gui and said in a cold voice, "Zheng Fulai, I think you are really spoiled, so spoiled that you have lost your basic judgment... Even if the family has money, it is not for you to squander like this."
Xu Gui: "Do you think I'm a liar?"
Zheng Feiran retorted, "Otherwise what?"
He looked Xu Gui up and down and said, "I don't know how you managed to fool Fu Lai, but if you think I'm as easy to fool as he is, then you've miscalculated!"
Zheng Fulai quickly stepped in front of Xu Gui, looking angrily at Zheng Feiran, and said, "Brother, how can you let so many masters speak up? I've already told you, Master Xu really is a master, maybe even more reliable than those people you've found!"
Zheng Feiran was amused and nodded a few times, saying, "Fine, since you put it that way, then I'd like to see just what kind of skills this Master Xu you've invited really has!"
He stared coldly at Xu Gui, his gaze as if he were looking at a swindler who had corrupted his good child.
“Alright then, Master Xu, since my brother speaks so highly of you, I’ll make a bet with you!” he said. “Let’s bet: who will solve my family’s problem first, you or the master I’ve invited… how about it?”
Zheng Fulai said anxiously, "No, brother, you're clearly targeting Master Xu on purpose! There are so many of you, but Master Xu is all alone. This isn't fair!"
Zheng Feiran raised an eyebrow and said, "Didn't you say that Master Xu is more capable than all the masters I invited... Or is it that Master Xu himself lacks confidence?"
He looked at Xu Gui with a defiant gaze.
Xu Gui's eyes were clear, but he said, "Since it's a bet, there should be some reward, right?"
Zheng Feiran gave her a deep look and said, "Of course, I just don't know what Master Xu wants to bet on?"
Xu Gui's first reaction: "...Money?"
She's so short of money right now that she dreams about money all the time. Sigh, this is probably what people mean when they say she's "reeking of money."
She's become a money-grubbing bastard.
When Zheng Feiran heard her words, he laughed, a laugh filled with disdain and contempt.
“Alright!” he agreed immediately, saying, “If Master Xu wins, I will give you another million on top of the one million that Fu Lai promised you!”
"But what if you lose, Master Xu?"
Xu Guicai was shocked by the "one million" he mentioned. As soon as he heard him say that, his expression immediately became wary.
"I have no money!" she said quickly, then added, "...and I won't lose."
She's a fortune teller, how could a fortune teller lose?
“Since Master Xu doesn’t have any money,” Zheng Feiran thought, “how about this: if you lose, Master Xu, you shout three times into the crowd, ‘I’m a fraud, I shouldn’t have lied to people’… How about that? That shouldn’t be too difficult, right?”
He smiled gently and spoke very politely, but occasionally, a hint of disdainful malice would flash in his eyes when he looked at Xu Gui, revealing his truest thoughts.
Xu Gui felt that this bet was more acceptable than one million, so he nodded directly: "Okay."
Zheng Feiran laughed and said, "Then I look forward to your good news, Master Xu. I hope I can cash out this million."
After saying that, he turned and left, his demeanor as elegant and composed as ever.
His attitude towards Xu Gui was actually impeccable from beginning to end. He spoke to Xu Gui with reason and politeness, but the subtle disdain and sarcasm he showed towards the person in front of him was enough to cause any person with a strong sense of self-respect to have an emotional breakdown.
Xu Gui seemed to be deep in thought.
"Master, I'm sorry." Zheng Fulai looked at her with teary eyes and said, "I didn't know my brother had consulted so many people, and I never expected him to be so rude to you... I'm sorry."
Xu Gui suddenly exclaimed, "Your brother is really a good person!"
Zheng Fulai, who was crying: Huh??
Xu Gui looked at him with bright eyes and said, "He gave me a million, and with the million you gave me, I can earn two million today!"
"I had a feeling that my luck might be good recently, and I thought it would happen to you, but now it seems it should happen to your brother too!"
Although she couldn't foresee her future, she had a vague sense of how lucky she was.
Ever since she absorbed some of Mr. Lu's luck that day, she felt that her luck would be good these next few days, and now it seems that it really is.
She couldn't help but sigh to Zheng Fulai again, "You're a good person, and your older brother is a good person too!"
Zheng Fulai asked blankly, "My brother treats you like this, aren't you angry?"
Xu Gui countered with a question: "If someone were to speak rudely but then offer you money, would you be angry with that person?"
Zheng Fulai thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "...Probably not? He was going to give me money."
“That’s right!” Xu Gui thought so too. She said, “Your brother is offering me money right now, so why would I be angry with him?”
—As a fortune teller, Zheng Feiran made this bet with her? Isn't this just forcing money into her hand?
However, she was very curious about what Zheng Feiran's expression would be like when he realized he had lost... It should be quite interesting, right?
A mischievous glint flashed in Xu Gui's eyes. She rubbed her hands together, already feeling a little impatient.
"Come on, let's go check on the problem area in your house first!"
Although she already knew pretty much what was going on with the Zheng family's problems, she felt she had to make her guests feel that the two million was well spent, so she needed to "make a good impression" next.
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