Chapter 32: Going to Blind Mo's House to Challenge
Three days later, at Lao Xiao's invitation, I went to visit the Dahongpao Teahouse he opened.
After driving for twenty miles, we arrived at the west of the city.
The west of the city is the old city area, with large areas of old factories forming an industrial zone.
Unfortunately, most of these factories have closed down.
However, tens of thousands of laid-off workers still live there, growing vegetables, setting up stalls, and running small shops to supplement their family income. Some even spend their days playing mahjong, after all, they have pensions.
Compared with the new city area, the consumption here is not high and it is quite lively. It is a place full of the flavor of life.
Mr. and Mrs. Xiao took me to visit his teahouse, which was full of private rooms.
I have a clue in my mind.
Lao Xiao found a large private room with luxurious decoration and sat down to discuss with his wife, who served tea.
I looked at Lao Xiao sharply and asked, "Who suggested you open a teahouse?"
"Master Mo." Lao Xiao said.
His wife was furious: "Master Mo, that's the blind fortune teller Mo."
Oh...haha...haha...I get it.
"He lives in this area?"
"Yes. Everyone in Xicheng District is looking for him."
"Why did he suggest you open a teahouse?"
"He said that adding three water drops to the character xiao makes it the 'xiao' in 'xiao sha' (unrestrained), and that means you don't have to worry about anything for the rest of your life."
Haha, haha... I laughed even more wildly.
Mr. and Mrs. Xiao were confused by my bursts of laughter.
"Shouldn't we open a teahouse?" Lao Xiao became cautious.
I asked, "Did he also check the feng shui of the front door?"
Lao Xiao nodded.
His wife said, "Yes, Blind Mo said that the size and orientation of our teahouse's door should be based on the door size of the century-old pharmacy on the street."
I said, "Let's go visit Master Mo."
Lao Xiao, unaware of the feud between Master Mo and I, said, "That's fine too. Let's listen to his advice. If you two masters come together, it'll be like a straw hat with a brim - perfect."
The old Xiao couple led me to Blind Mo's house.
Good blind Mo, you just manage the business in the west of the city, I'm in the east, you come to challenge me. Today I caught you in a weak spot, so I'll give you a try.
Several luxury cars were parked in front of a small Western-style building. Mr. and Mrs. Xiao hurried inside to report. When I walked into the living room, Blind Mo stood up and looked at me in surprise.
I clasped my hands together and said, "Mr. Mo, I, Wan Shanhong, am here to visit you."
He also clasped his fists and said, "I'm sorry for not welcoming you in person. What brings Mr. Wan to this humble room?"
"Haha, thanks to you for suggesting I open a teahouse. Business is languishing, so I came to ask for advice on the door dimensions. I heard you decided on it?"
These words shocked not only the customers present, but also the Xiao couple.
"A century-old shop, enduring, so what's wrong with its size? As for its stagnation, it's just a matter of business principles. It's impossible to open a thousand shops and make money from all of them. How can you blame me? That's nonsense! Didn't your master teach you to respect the elderly and love the young?"
"Haha, hahaha..." I laughed out loud towards the sky.
Everyone looked at me, puzzled.
I said word by word:
"A century-old pharmacy is one that makes everyone who walks in drink a bowl of water from it and never comes back. That's how it thrives for a century."
And what about the teahouse? If you let people enter this door, drink this bowl of water, and then never come back again, how can it prosper and where will it make money?
You're so old-fashioned and you just copy what others have done. If I were Lao Xiao, I would have destroyed your shop long ago. All my years of hard work have been wasted."
When everyone heard what I said, they also thought it made sense.
Blind Mo was so angry that he was fuming. He pointed at me and said, "You, you, you..."
I said, "If your knowledge is too low, don't give advice to others."
People around him thought Mo Xia would be furious, but they didn't expect him to be unable to find words for a long time.
"Lao Xiao, let's go. Don't be fooled by him again." After saying that, I laughed out loud again, and the laughter made Mo Xia tremble.
The old Xiao couple followed me out, saying as they walked, "So he was the one who harmed me."
I said, "It's not that he intended to hurt you, it's just that his skills are too poor."
Lao Xiao let out a long sigh and said, "I'm glad I asked you to come and take a look."
Back at Lao Xiao's Teahouse, he slowly analyzed it for him:
"This is the old city, with tens of thousands of laid-off workers. After being laid off, they start small businesses. Or some just do nothing and live on their pensions. As for the children of factory workers, the young people have all left. Therefore, your teahouse can only focus on quantity, not quality."
Lao Xiao asked: "How to measure it?"
I said, "Take down all the private rooms on the second floor and turn them into a chess and card room. Considering that other people are also opening chess and card rooms, you can set up a storytelling room on the first floor. Hire a storyteller and have him hold a storytelling session for a few hours every day."
Old Xiao's wife interrupted, "That's a great idea. It turns out that Mr. Qing, the union chairman at the copper mine, is the best storyteller. If we invite him to tell the story, there will be a lot of people listening."
I said, "In addition to the story that Mr. Qing tells as you said, the story I'm telling has another innovation."
Lao Xiao leaned forward and asked hurriedly, "How to innovate?"
"Every one of these tens of thousands of workers has a story. So, Mr. Qing is both a storyteller and the host. He invites the audience to come on stage and tell their own stories, and each person who does so will receive a five-yuan reward."
Lao Xiao clapped his hands and said, "Good idea."
Her wife also clapped her hands and said, "I can even go up and speak."
"Second, replace the main gate immediately. Replace it with an eight-arch gate."
Lao Xiao was very grateful to me and invited Mr. Qing to join him for lunch. Every word Mr. Qing said made people laugh, he was really a great entertainer.
I said, "Old Xiao, this way, you have the right time, right place, and right people. You have it all. Master Qing's eloquence will surely delight you to the core."
Everyone toasted non-stop and ate until they were full. When we parted, Lao Xiao gave me a red envelope. I refused, but he forced it into my pocket, saying, "The rules of the underworld don't go unpunished."
I accepted it.
When I returned to Youranju in the afternoon, I told him the whole story of meeting Lao Xiao. I only omitted the part about going to Blind Mo's house. Master stroked his white beard and nodded slightly.
"You did a good thing. I don't know this thief, but he was reported in the newspaper that year."
My curiosity was piqued by Master's words, and I asked, "How was it reported back then?"
The Master slowly recalled:
"There was a township next door to us, and at that time, many residents' money disappeared, but their door locks were not broken.
Some people put their money in the most unexpected places. It's like putting money in two suitcases. The money in the new suitcase disappears even though the new suitcase remains untouched.
Someone put money in a book and left everything else alone, but the money inside the book disappeared. So the media called him a 'master thief.'"
I sighed and said, "I can't believe it! You don't know what he looks like now. He looks like a completely honest old man."
The master sighed to the heavens: "Some people, if you strip them of their robes, they'll be a dog if they were born in the Year of the Dog, and a sheep if they were born in the Year of the Sheep. It doesn't matter if they were a wolf or a tiger before. But now, if this old Xiao opens a teahouse and gets it right, he can have a good business for five to eight years."
Five to eight years? I don’t know how Master calculated that.
The master pointed his finger and said, "When those state-owned factory workers who are now in their fifties grow old, this former factory and mining area in Xicheng will become an empty nest. Once the older ones leave, the current generation will gradually be unable to move. The children of the factory and mining workers will all go out to work. People are constantly changing, and the world is full of changes."
I said, “You have a vision.”
As the two were talking, a tall, thin man came in, wearing a Tang suit. After greeting the master, the two went straight into the study.
I went in and made some tea, and the master waved at me, motioning me to go out.
This was the first time I encountered such a situation, so I had to retreat and close the door.
What secrets does the master want to discuss with the visitor?
About ten minutes later, the master came to see the guest off, and he walked the whole way out to the yard.
When we returned to the living room, he said nothing and I didn't feel comfortable asking.
Suddenly, there was a strong wind outside, the sky suddenly became dark, and soon it started to rain heavily.
Between heaven and earth, there was only the sound of wind and rain. Unable to do anything, the two of them could only listen to the rain in the living room.
He suddenly asked, "Did you go to Lao Mo's house to reason?"
I was surprised and asked after a while, "How did you know?"
The master said leisurely, "He called to complain. However, I responded to him righteously."
"I'm just a little angry, so..."
The master interrupted me and said, "Let me tell you about my past."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
