In the height of summer, it's not very hot under the big locust tree, and it's even cooler in the mornings.
Yuan Qi was well aware of this, but since there was no air conditioning in this world, and the morning was so cool, it was a good time to sleep. She wouldn't waste such a good time to set up a stall.
She slept until the sun was high in the sky before going outside. As usual, she lazily sat under the big locust tree and changed the fortune-telling and face-reading sign to ten coins per divination, three divinations a day.
Ten taels for a divination is far too expensive; even poor people can't afford it.
Now that she has plenty of money, she naturally wants a lower price; she lacks merit.
Seeing that she was casually changing the price, Zhang Liu came over and asked, "Ten coins for a divination is about right, ten taels for a divination is a bit too expensive."
Yuan Qi sighed softly, "I used to be short of money, but I'm not short of money anymore."
Zhang Liu said, "Then only doing three divinations a day is a bit too few. You don't know how famous you are in this area now. Even the poor know you. If you change this, people will flock here, and you won't be able to keep up with your business. Why don't you change it to more?"
Yuan Qi pouted reluctantly: "No, too much business will be too tiring."
Zhang Liu clicked his tongue twice, then didn't continue.
Yuan Qi pondered for a long time, thinking of changing the water sign to one tael for one divination, but then thought better of it. A poor person could spend one tael of silver for more than half a year, and she didn't lack that little bit of silver.
Sure enough, the cheaper the price, the more business there is.
Before an incense stick had even burned, a man sat down opposite Yuan Qi and slammed a copper coin onto the table in a very arrogant manner.
The man had a stubble beard, wore a coarse cloth outfit, and had rough, dark skin with black dirt under his fingernails.
He grinned, revealing a set of large, yellow teeth, and asked, "Do you have any opinions?"
Yuan Qi could tell at a glance that he carried a menacing aura. Although it wasn't strong, it was quite obvious. Judging from his appearance, he was a widower with both a son and a daughter. He also smelled of alcohol, so he must have been drinking early in the morning. She didn't have a good impression of him.
But with all sorts of people from all walks of life, how could she possibly encounter only kind and good people every day? She would talk to whatever kind of person she met.
"Look, but consulting a fortune teller and fortune telling are not the same price."
The man was clearly disappointed, and the bluish-black discoloration under his eyes was even more pronounced. He only had ten coins on him today, and no more. He wished he could buy on credit.
"How much does it cost? Can I pay on credit?"
Yuan Qi patiently replied, "It depends on the size of the matter. I usually resolve things for my master. You can give me whatever you think is appropriate; one tael is not too little, and ten thousand taels is not too much."
The man was delighted. The other party didn't specify a price, which was great. He chuckled and said, "Then I'll ask you to take care of it."
Yuan Qi saw a hint of relief in the other person's eyes: "Go ahead and say it."
The man touched his messy hair: "My name is Ma Wu, I'm twenty-seven years old. I got married when I was seventeen and became a father when I was eighteen, hehe! My wife gave birth to a big, healthy boy the first time we had a baby. Aren't I lucky?"
Yuan Qi chuckled. She really couldn't believe he was only twenty-seven; he looked more like thirty-seven or forty-seven.
"Well, you are quite lucky, but your wife doesn't seem to have much luck; she died young."
Ma Wu quickly denied it: "Little girl, you're about the same age as me, don't talk nonsense. I treat my wife very well. All the money I earn outside goes to her. She doesn't have to do anything, just give birth to my babies. A year later, my wife gave birth to another baby girl, but this time she hurt her body. The doctor said she wouldn't be able to conceive easily in the future. But it doesn't matter. I have both a son and a daughter, and that's enough."
Ma Wu was still immersed in happiness: "My wife and I have been living a good life these past few years. My wife is also hardworking and knows how to sew. She usually works as a tailor to earn some money to supplement the family income."
Yuan Qi raised an eyebrow slightly: "Really? You've never hit your wife?"
Ma Wu was a little flustered and didn't know why. Even though the little girl in front of him was about the same age as his child, he felt nervous.
He looked around, but no one was watching him. The surrounding vendors were busy with their own businesses, and no one was paying attention to his antics.
He then relaxed a lot: "I do have a habit of hitting my wife. I'm not a bad person. When I don't drink, I'm pretty good to my wife. I give her whatever she wants. When I earn money outside, I buy her some good food to take home."
Yuan Qi directly called him out: "Do you drink a lot?"
Ma Wu chuckled sheepishly: "That's my only quirk. I like to have a drink. As long as I have money, I'll have a couple of sips every day. I don't drink much, though. I only have so much money, I can't drink more even if I wanted to."
Yuan Qi hated men who hit women: "Does he drink every day and then beat his wife after drinking?"
Ma Wuzhuang was stupid and pretended not to understand that Yuan Qi was being sarcastic. He gave Yuan Qi a thumbs up and said, "Little Taoist priest, you have good eyesight. I do like to fight when I'm drunk, but I don't hit her hard. I just messed around a bit too much at night and hit her a few times, but it didn't hurt. It really didn't hurt."
He confidently declared, "I don't usually hit women. I just get into trouble when I'm drunk. I'm actually not a bad person, really."
I don't believe you for a second!
Yuan Qi said with disdain: "The beatings don't hurt, but every time he beats his wife until she's bruised and swollen, with not a single good spot on her body."
Ma Wu's lips twitched, somewhat annoyed, and he scolded fiercely, "How can you talk like that, little girl? I'm your customer, shouldn't you be more polite? Aren't you afraid I'll take the money and leave without ever asking you for help again?"
Zhang Liu looked on with concern and became worried about Yuan Qi's safety, staring anxiously at the scene.
Yuan Qi rebuked him: "You still say you treat your wife well, but you beat her every day. What's so good about your wife?"
Ma Wu still didn't admit his mistake: "Where did I treat her badly? I treated her very well. I gave her all the money I earned. I didn't ask her to give me ten or eight sons, nor did I ask her to dress up like a beautiful woman. I didn't complain that she spent too much money and wasted all the money I earned. I didn't complain that she was ugly. Look at other people's wives, how beautiful they are, how brightly they dress?"
"Don't you know why she doesn't dress nicer?" Yuan Qi was speechless; this man was utterly scum.
Ma Wu snorted: "She's just plain old-fashioned and doesn't know how to dress up."
Yuan Qi was a little angry: "That's because you're poor. You don't have money to buy your wife nice clothes and good cosmetics!"
Ma Wu defended himself righteously: "Impossible. I earn fifty copper coins a day, and she earns twenty or thirty copper coins a day. She can't possibly spend them all. How could she not have money to buy clothes or cosmetics? She's just greedy. She secretly buys food behind my back and doesn't leave any for me. My mother said it. My mother saw it with her own eyes."
"Isn't your mother dead?" Yuan Qi had already realized that Ma Wu's parents were no longer alive.
Ma Wu explained, "Yes, she is dead. I'm talking about what happened before my mother died. My wife is just greedy and selfish."
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