Ning City is one of the largest ancient cities in China, with a long history and profound cultural heritage. It is said that long ago, this place often suffered from natural disasters, and the local people lived in misery.
Later, when the new emperor ascended the throne and learned of the situation, he removed his imperial robes, bathed, burned incense, and knelt in devout prayer, beseeching Heaven to bless the town.
Subsequently, the emperor personally wrote the character "宁" (Ning), hoping that this character would bring peace and tranquility to the town.
Strangely enough, after the emperor bestowed the name, the place truly became peaceful, and disasters gradually decreased. The local people, grateful for the grace of Heaven and the emperor, renamed the place "Ningcheng," and the name was still engraved on the ancient city wall of Ningcheng.
Today, Ningcheng still retains many ancient buildings, making it a famous tourist destination in China.
Xie Ming came to Ningcheng not for sightseeing, but to tell fortunes.
Once he arrived, he found a spot on the antique street and set up a stall.
This time, he was very well prepared, with a table, chairs, a Bagua diagram, a red cloth tabletop, and so on. The banner at the back even had the four characters "Face Reading and Fortune Telling" written on it. The entire setup cost him over 500 yuan, and his stall was just as impressive as the others.
After all, this time he was facing the cameras of a television station, so he had to be careful.
Xie Ming usually sat behind the stall, wearing a blue long robe and cloth shoes, carefully browsing through a bundle of bamboo slips, and occasionally taking a sip of tea from a ceramic cup, looking very relaxed and content.
This time, he set his sights on a popular entertainment variety show called "Idols Fight for Love".
Each episode of the show invites 12 guests to be divided into 4 groups. Each group of guests will be randomly matched with 10 impoverished children who need help. They will travel to different cities to start businesses.
At the beginning, the director will give you initial supplies for starting a business. It might be scissors, a few bundles of thread, or even just a piece of paper. The props are all kinds of strange and wonderful.
The tasks kept coming up one after another; the show seemed determined to mess with every guest.
Each episode of the show has a 30-day filming schedule. The group that earns the most money through their entrepreneurial endeavors will receive financial assistance for all the children they support from childhood to adulthood. The losing group will only receive tuition assistance from elementary school to university.
Xie Ming noticed that the program was broadcast live around the clock for the sake of authenticity, and except for sleeping, no one was filmed; everything else was done under the camera.
Having had successful entrepreneurial experience, he felt he could also participate.
Unfortunately, Xie Ming hadn't made a single sale even after setting up his stall for several days. Even the little black dog that passed by arrogantly walked past him with its head held high, not even bothering to give him a second glance.
This was really a bit of a letdown. He was a little annoyed. Was his outfit not eye-catching enough? Weren't fortune tellers supposed to be all ethereal and otherworldly?
Looking at the elderly women and men sitting around the nearby stalls, he fell silent.
"Sir, have you not made any business yet?"
The speaker was a young man in his thirties, the owner of a shop next to Xie Ming's stall selling handmade items such as raincoats, straw hats, and palm brooms.
When Xie Ming arrived, he had nowhere to set up his stall, so he asked if he could use this open space. Unexpectedly, the man readily agreed and gave him the spot by the entrance.
"Young friend, are you going out for a stroll?"
Xie Ming had a good impression of the young man and exchanged pleasantries with him politely.
"Yes, a relative asked me to make a palm wood bed, so I went out to look for suitable wood."
"Oh my! These days, not many people are willing to learn this, but you are like that~" Xie Ming gave the young man a thumbs up.
"You flatter me. These are all family heirloom techniques; it would be a real shame to lose them! I'm telling you, you can't display them like that. People around here are shy around strangers. You won't get any customers unless it's a holiday!"
The two didn't usually talk much, but Xie Ming was surprised that the young man would be so helpful in reminding him, which made him feel even more favorably toward the young man.
"Thank you for your frankness, young friend."
It was my own carelessness; they were all old acquaintances, so it's perfectly normal for them to have guests. I've really lived in vain, forgetting even the most basic social etiquette.
"Please don't be so polite, sir. I'll come over and take a look at this bed once it's finished."
"Young friend, this is a sign of turning adversity into opportunity; you will surely turn misfortune into good fortune."
Xie Ming smiled as he watched his face slowly change.
"Haha, thank you for your kind words! I'll be going now." The young man was overjoyed.
"Okay, we'll chat again later~"
The young man, Xie Ming, stared at the departing figure with a meaningful expression.
He wasn't in a hurry anymore, and sat calmly waiting for customers to come in. If customers didn't like his stall, he could always offer to serve them for free!
Two days later, the recording team that Xie Ming had been looking forward to finally arrived, and two groups of people were deployed to Ningcheng.
Arriving at the ancient city was their first stop in Ningcheng. The task for the program was to find a top figure in the antique street, with no information about their profession or other details provided. The reward for successfully completing the task was the ability to pause the work of any other group for half a day.
The antique street occupies about one-third of Ningcheng, making it a city within a city. Visiting each shop would take at least two or three days.
After receiving a clue in the previous city competition to enter the antique street, the first group of guests began searching around. Knowing they had a general direction, the other group followed closely behind.
The first group wasn't stupid either. They knew their opponents were following them, so they didn't want to expose their position. Therefore, they used a trick to lead the other group on a stroll.
Realizing they had been tricked, the second group quickly gathered to discuss a plan before dispersing again to begin a thorough search.
Qu Shangjun, who was in charge of running around Area A, had been walking around for half a day without any results. After taking out his phone to report the progress to his teammates, he closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and entered the shop he had previously avoided.
After leaving the incense and paper offering shop, he looked a bit dejected, and his hair had lost its previous flowing quality.
Fortunately, his fans are determined and think that their idol is handsome no matter what.
Arriving at a handicraft shop with its doors closed, Qu Shangjun looked at the fortune teller blocking the entrance and asked, "Master, can I ask you something? When will the owner of this shop be back?"
After saying that, he took out a rubber band from his pocket and tied his bangs into a bun. Qu Shangjun was asking Xie Ming, who had been sitting there watching him for a long time.
Xie Ming wiped away his bitter tears: "After walking around all morning, you've finally seen me."
"Ask the owner of the straw raincoat shop? He's not coming back for the time being." Even though he was suffering inside, he still put on a "wise man" act.
"Oh, thank you!" Qu Shangjun said with disappointment and prepared to leave.
"Young man, why don't you sit down and chat for a bit?"
"No, I have something to do." He said, pointing to the cameraman and assistant who were following him not far away.
"Hehe, do you want to know where the person you're looking for is?"
Where?
Xie Ming pointed to himself.
This move immediately sparked comments on the live stream screen accusing the production team of blatant cheating and fans of paying for inside help.
Qu Shangjun, who was completely unaware of the situation, looked at Xie Ming, who was dressed as a "charlatan," with suspicion and disbelief.
He thought to himself: This doesn't seem right. Is the face reading industry in China really that developed? And is there even such a thing as the highest level in the industry?
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