Chapter 4 If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening. ...
Lu Xiaoqi didn't even have time to ask any questions, and rushed to the local police station without washing up.
Along the way, all sorts of thoughts raced through her mind. One moment she thought Yuwen Kai's identity had been exposed and he had been captured for research; the next she thought he had been hit by a car; then she worried that he might have gotten into a conflict with someone over various etiquette rules, like being forced to kneel before him...
When he arrived at the police station, panting, he saw him sitting leisurely in a chair, with a middle-aged man standing next to him, who was very respectful.
“Listen to me, and change the location of that gate.” Yuwen Kai stroked his beard, looking like a detached hermit. “Your construction site gate is facing a three-way intersection, which is an inauspicious sign. There is also a tall building to the right front. In the afternoon, the sun shines on it, creating a glare that is like a sharp sword. Naturally, it is not stable.”
The middle-aged man looked as if he had suddenly realized something, as if he had heard some profound teaching from a master. His face showed admiration and utmost respect: "Master, you are right. I feel a chill in the air there every afternoon, and I feel uneasy all over. The workers feel the same way..."
Lu Xiaoqi stared in disbelief: ? ? ?
What the heck is a "master"?
What exactly happened?
At this moment, a police officer walked in carrying case files and banged on the table impatiently: "If you keep promoting feudal superstitions here, we'll really have to arrest you."
The middle-aged man immediately smiled obsequiously and said, "No, it's all a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding. We've troubled you, Officer."
The young police officer, barely in his twenties, slapped his face hard.
Lu Xiaoqi rushed over to ask what had happened. She was still completely confused.
After asking, she learned that Yuwen Kai had been so engrossed in watching the construction site from his hotel room that he tried to sneak in to take a closer look when no one was around in the early morning. However, he was caught red-handed by the foreman who was on night duty.
Lu Xiaoqi twitched her lips: "...Your skills are quite good."
Yuwen Kai cleared his throat, looking somewhat embarrassed.
The foreman thought he was there to steal steel bars, so he grabbed him and called the police, which is why they are at the police station now.
Unexpectedly, once they sat down at the police station, the two started chatting. Yuwen Kai said something that made the foreman think he was a reclusive feng shui master. Upon hearing that his surname was Yuwen, the foreman became even more respectful.
In his words, "This sounds like a reclusive master!"
“Miss Lu, this is all a misunderstanding. If Master Yuwen had said earlier that he was here to inspect the feng shui…” The middle-aged man, who was also the foreman, lowered his voice under the police officer’s gaze, “I would have been too happy to give him a warm welcome, how could I have made such a mistake?”
"Hurry up and sign it and leave." The police officer rolled his eyes, then sternly warned, "No feudal superstitions allowed!"
Yuwen Kai frowned: "Feng shui and geomancy are..."
Lu Xiaoqi quickly interjected, "Okay, okay, I'll definitely remember. Officer, he's just playing a feng shui master in the film crew recently. He's really into the role, he's not doing any superstitious activities."
Superstition is something that officials won't investigate unless the people complain. It can be practiced vigorously as a folk custom in private, but it can never be openly discussed.
Seeing this, Yuwen Kai, though still somewhat confused, wisely kept quiet.
Seeing her good attitude, the police officer softened his tone: "In short, don't be so reckless next time. Construction sites are not easy to navigate. If you accidentally fall into a pit or bump into some machine, it will be a matter of life and death. Besides, it's not good to cause any misunderstandings."
"Okay, I'll definitely have a good talk with him when I get back."
After signing the papers, the group left the police station. Lu Xiaoqi thought to herself, "That was close! Luckily, the system had already prepared an ID card for Yuwen Kai, otherwise we would have been exposed today."
Oh, she's having such a hard time!
The middle-aged man was reluctant to part with Yuwen Kai and wanted to invite them to dinner, but Lu Xiaoqi quickly declined. He then wanted to add Yuwen Kai on WeChat.
Lu Xiaoqi: "Teacher Yuwen doesn't have a phone yet, how about... you add me?"
They're both in the construction industry; maybe they'll keep in touch later.
The middle-aged man looked as if he had just realized something: "I understand! Teacher Yuwen is a master; he certainly doesn't need such a mundane thing as a cell phone!"
Lu Xiaoqi: ...Wait, what exactly are you imagining, bro!
Finally, the foreman surnamed Liu added Lu Xiaoqi on WeChat, asked for Yuwen Kai's address, and said he would invite a master to check the feng shui as soon as possible before respectfully leaving.
After he walked away, Lu Xiaoqi looked at Yuwen Kai with admiration. Truly a dragon among men who has left his mark on history books! He'd gained a devoted fan in just one morning.
"Is there really a feng shui problem at his construction site?" she asked Yuwen Kai curiously.
Yuwen Kai nodded: "It's not a big problem, but if we make the adjustments as I suggested, things should improve."
He wasn't exactly an expert in Feng Shui, but he had dealt extensively with the Imperial Observatory during the city's construction and had learned a few basic things. Yuwen Kai was exceptionally intelligent, and in the process of using Feng Shui, he gradually realized that rather than Feng Shui being the talk of ghosts and gods, it was more about the influence of the environment on people's emotions and psychology. A house that is noisy and damp will inevitably make the people living in it unhappy.
The same applies to the construction site.
He waited at the police station with the foreman, overhearing the foreman take a phone call saying that several more workers were planning not to come, and a few others had gotten into a fight and ended up in the hospital. The foreman cursed and said he was really cursed, that everything was going to happen on this construction site.
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Kai had an idea and gave the foreman some small suggestions.
"The construction site gate faces a three-way intersection, with people and vehicles coming and going, making a lot of noise. In the afternoon, the sun shines on the building opposite, bright and dazzling, which naturally makes people feel uneasy."
He now knows that the exterior walls of those buildings are made of glass, but he still finds it incredible.
Lu Xiaoqi took him to a breakfast shop downstairs from the hotel. The hotel wasn't far from her home, and there was a well-known pan-fried bun shop downstairs. Fortunately, the morning rush hour was over, and there were still empty seats available.
She ordered a plate of pan-fried buns, a basket of chicken soup dumplings, two bowls of pickled mustard greens and shredded pork noodles, and two bowls of soy milk: "Anything else?"
Yuwen Kai: "Young friend Lu can handle it as he sees fit."
The food was served, filling the entire table.
Lu Xiaoqi smiled shyly: "I like to eat more in the morning and less at night."
The bottom of the pan-fried buns was golden brown with a hint of caramel, and each bite was incredibly crispy, while the top was soft and tender, soaked in the delicious broth. Since it was early spring, the owner had also mixed some bamboo shoot pieces into the meat filling, instantly filling the mouth with the fresh scent of the early spring mountains.
Lu Xiaoqi squinted her eyes, looking quite pleased with herself.
On the other side, Yuwen Kai was eating noodles with pickled mustard greens and shredded pork. Although his movements looked slow and deliberate, the noodles disappeared very quickly, and the bowl was empty in no time. It seemed that the noodles were indeed to his liking.
Yuwen Kai put down his chopsticks, looked at the not-so-luxurious shop and the busy owner and his wife, and asked hesitantly, "Young friend Lu, can ordinary people in this world also have a full meal like we are now?"
Moreover, it's made from fine white flour, without any impurities.
Lu Xiaoqi was taken aback, then laughed: "This is just the most ordinary food, and I'm just an ordinary person. In today's world, you may not be rich and powerful, but ordinary people can still have enough to eat and wear."
Yuwen Kai narrowed his eyes, his expression inscrutable. He recalled the laborers he had once seen, struggling to survive in the filthy river mud of Jiangnan, in the biting cold snow of Goryeo, and in the sunless ditches of Chang'an and Luoyang, silently watching their bodies rot and wait to die, perhaps never having eaten a full meal from birth to death.
Such things happen all the time.
After a long while, he lowered his eyes and sighed, "It's really nice."
Lu Xiaoqi's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly remembered the comment on his card: "Skillfully building the imperial city, lamenting the people's suffering."
Rumor has it that Yuwen Kai was a man who was extremely harsh on laborers and artisans for the sake of his own political achievements, disregarding the lives of ordinary people, but she doesn't think that seems to be the case now.
She coughed lightly and changed the subject: "Teacher Yuwen, would you please stay at the hotel for now? I'll bring you some history books and a cell phone."
Yuwen Kai nodded: "Agreed."
After what happened that night, he realized that he needed to brush up on his knowledge of the past thousand years and familiarize himself with modern things first, otherwise he would arouse suspicion when dealing with people.
Yuwen Kai didn't really care about what others thought, but he didn't want to cause trouble for Lu Xiaoqi.
After dinner, Lu Xiaoqi took him back to his hotel and stopped by the Xinhua Bookstore next door to buy him "Five Thousand Years of Chinese History", "A General History of China", and books on modern history. She also bought him a cheap cell phone.
Just before leaving, she remembered: "By the way, Teacher Yuwen, what is your wish to be fulfilled?"
I almost forgot again!
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Kai's demeanor was completely different from his depressed and sorrowful appearance when he first arrived. He pondered for a moment, his eyes growing brighter and brighter: "Speaking of wishes, this old man would like to see how these buildings were constructed? Why can they be built so tall without collapsing? And also..."
He gestured outside, his eyes growing brighter: "How is this huge city managed? How are water diversion and drainage handled? Where are the open and covered channels located? And how is the garbage disposed of?"
"With so many vehicles, why isn't it chaotic? With so many people, and the market no longer existing, why is everything so orderly?"
He spoke at length, his tone even carrying a hint of excitement.
If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening.
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