Chapter 17 Priceless
Sure enough, Mr. Deng said, "There's a piece of land in Xicheng that I'd like. I just feel the feng shui there is not good, so I'd like to ask a master to take a look."
The master took a sip of tea, stared at Mr. Deng, and asked, "What about the land in Fengyan Pavilion in Xicheng?"
President Deng nodded and said, "Yes, yes."
The master squeezed out a laugh from his throat, which was very explosive - I was used to his kind of laugh, a laugh that could see through people's hearts.
From this laugh, I knew that Master did not agree with Mr. Deng’s statement. That piece of land was not only not bad, but also a top-quality piece of land.
But, to my surprise, the master actually said:
"Yes, the feng shui of that piece of land is extremely bad." At this point, he added artistically, "If you invest in it, nine out of ten times you'll fail."
Mr. Deng's smiling face was full of reverence. He raised his thumbs and said nothing, keeping a lovely smile on his face.
The master said, "Come, have some tea. This tea is not Longjing, but it's better than Longjing. It's roasted by Chen Shierdie at the South Gate. It goes through twelve steps: drying, kneading, roasting, cooling, pressing..."
"Dad Chen Shier could have been very wealthy, but his character determined his fate. He still makes tea by hand."
The master said, "From a business point of view, you are right. He does not see any guests in the morning, no matter who they are. But he does make very good tea."
President Deng paused and said, "I admire Master Chen very much. In Chinese history, from Qu Yuan to Li Bai, Du Fu, and Cao Xueqin, without this kind of pride, how could they have been recorded in history?"
The master laughed heartily: "Boss Deng, you worship everything except yourself. You worship red, green, and black."
Mr. Deng was embarrassed for a moment, then immediately said, "Report to the master, the black ones don't worship."
The two men spoke ordinary words, but they were full of wit and subtlety. Then, as if forgetting their business, they started talking about food.
At this time, the master looked at me and I immediately refilled the water.
The master glanced at me again, and I had no idea what he meant.
Master said to me, "Go to the kitchen and ask Mr. Deng to come here for dinner."
President Deng waved his hands repeatedly: "You have a lot of things to do."
The master's face darkened. "Do you think I'm rushing you to leave? I still have something for you to resolve."
President Deng leaned forward and said, "What did the ancients say? I'm willing to serve you like a dog or a horse."
The master said casually, "Someone gave me a car as a gift. I want to build a bridge over the lotus pond next to it and open a door from the side. You go and take care of this."
President Deng burst out laughing. "I was ready to jump off the building for you. You asked me to jump in from the window. Isn't this a piece of cake? Help the master to complete all the formalities and repair the bridge."
After saying this, he stood up. The master asked him to stay, but he said he had a meeting to attend.
Before leaving, he shook his master's hand and said meaningfully, "The Feng Shui of Fengyan Pavilion's land is indeed bad, Master. I came to you to ask for confirmation."
The master also said something with a hint of meaning: "I knew that the feng shui of that piece of land was bad before you came."
President Deng threw his head back and laughed: "You are indeed a master, a genius, a genius!"
After seeing Mr. Deng off, Master was still sitting in his study. I called him, and he seemed to wake from a dream. Then he waved, "When did you learn to drive?"
"After the new Foshu store opened, they used my old Buick as their training car. Strangely enough, I was born with a knack for cars. I could drive after just a few days of practice, and later passed the driving test."
The master nodded: "As long as you can drive, that's good. In the past, Long Yazi always drove me when we went out."
After saying this, the master seemed to be thinking about something: "Now let's go to the west of the city and look at the land at Fengyan Pavilion."
I was so happy that my master finally took me to look at Feng Shui for the first time.
We arrived at Fengyan Pavilion. We got off the car, and Master walked ahead, not saying a word. We reached the foot of a mountain, and without a word, we just kept climbing. The mountain wasn't high, but it rose abruptly from the flat ground, looking a bit steep.
After climbing to the top of the mountain and standing in an open area, the master said:
"To the south is the Chunshui River, and to the west is the Qiushui River. The two rivers merge into one, and it's called the Chunqiu River. It's the mother river of our city. What do you think of this place?"
I said, "You haven't taught me Feng Shui yet."
"Based on your intuition, how do you feel?" The master stared at me.
I said, "It's a good piece of land."
The master sighed, "This is the place where two waters meet. The spring water flows gently, and the autumn water flows slowly. The two waters intersect. This is called the eternal spring and autumn, which will never change."
I looked at Master in surprise and asked, "Didn't you tell Mr. Deng that this was a poor piece of land?"
The master threw his head back and laughed heartily: "My disciple, I have done many things against my will in my life. However, I left a little tail. I said that nine out of ten investors in this piece of land will fail, but there will always be one who will succeed. This is to leave me a way out, so that others will not say that my feng shui predictions are worse than shit."
All of a sudden, something clicked for me.
It turned out that this afternoon's meeting was full of traps. Mr. Deng, through his teacher, was trying to dissuade others from investing in this piece of land.
The master sighed, "Anyone with foresight would be willing to invest in this place, because it's not currently conspicuous. Mr. Deng took the initiative and is afraid that others will snatch it away. He's using me as a pawn."
I was a little dissatisfied: "You have such a high prestige, you don't have to listen to him."
The master shook his head. "You're still young and don't understand the ways of the world. He's just pretending to be stupid. He looks like a pig, but he's actually a wolf. If I don't do what he says, how can I survive here? So, we, master and disciple, must come together and say that this place has bad feng shui."
Driving back, I felt a little depressed. I thought Master was respected by everyone, but I didn't expect that Master's life was also tiring.
As expected, the government had hinted that it was planning to sell the Fengyanting site. Many people were vying for the land. And real estate developers all had a common problem: they were extremely devoted to feng shui.
There is a constant stream of people coming to see the master.
They only care about one thing: whether the Fengyanting location is worth investing in.
This is a great opportunity for me to learn from my master how to tell lies against his conscience.
One day, a man came and after exchanging greetings, he asked whether Fengyan Pavilion was worth investing in.
The master smiled and said, "It depends on fate. Some people can vote, some can't. Just write a word."
The man wrote the character "上", which means whether the project can be launched.
The master smiled and asked, "At the moment, you are just an idea, right?"
The man nodded: "Yes, it's just a thought in my mind."
The master shook his head: "No. My heart is not a good sign. It's a sign of anxiety."
Another day, another person came and wrote the character "cheng" (Success). He asked if the project would be successful.
The master said, "Cheng, Wan Ge, the word 'Wan' means ten thousand difficulties. Ge represents fighting. Not only will this be difficult to accomplish, it will also lead to disputes and fights, and even lawsuits."
The third person asked, write the word "fire".
The master said, "It may be possible in other places, but here two waters meet, and water and fire cannot coexist. I advise you not to waste money on water."
A few days later, rumors spread that Master Hongyi had said the Fengyan Pavilion's location had extremely bad feng shui. This rumor spread rapidly. In short, everyone was willing to believe Master Hongyi's words rather than disbelieve them.
Everyone's interest in this land gradually cooled.
Soon, it was reported that President Deng was going to take over the land. President Deng said to others:
"I have great respect for Master Hongyi, but what he said isn't necessarily the truth. You don't want it, but I do. So you won't invest in remote areas? We private entrepreneurs also have to share the government's burdens."
So, the land came into the name of Mr. Deng.
Everyone laughed, saying that the master hadn't made a mistake and that President Deng was just obsessed with money. Others said that President Deng, with only an elementary school education, could manage tens of billions without any problem, but if he managed hundreds of billions, he would be doomed.
I was shocked by everyone's IQ, because from the land acquisition for the lotus pond to the construction of the bridge, Mr. Deng did not show up. Even the construction team was hired from hundreds of miles away and left as soon as the repair was completed.
After this incident, I finally understood why my master hesitated to accept me as his disciple. So-called fortune-telling is more than just writing on paper and chatting at the table.
If the Taoist priest could really predict everything in the world, could he figure out why Mr. Deng gave him a nanmu bookcase?
This nanmu bookcase is not easy to live with.
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