Time flew quickly, and before anyone realized, five years had passed in the blink of an eye. Our Liu Dashao had gradually transformed from a naive teenager into a mature young man.
From Northeast China to the coastal regions, and then aboard a smuggling vessel to this British-administered Hong Kong, Liu Dashao’s wandering life had finally come to a temporary stop. Holding a recommendation letter from Da Guozha (the leader of a notorious tomb raiding group, detailed in Volume 5), Liu Dashao began his journey as a shop assistant when he knocked on the door of a certain store.
This was a feng shui shop run by a man surnamed Diao, with the given name De Yi. He had a sharp face, monkey-like cheeks, and rat-like eyes, clearly a shady character. Uncle Diao was a chatterbox, spinning tales so vividly that it seemed like the sky and earth were turning upside down, and day and night were indistinguishable. He even claimed his feng shui shop was a Sino-foreign joint venture, and that Liu Dashao, with his education, could eventually inherit this great enterprise. Liu Dashao wasn’t naive, of course, and didn’t buy into this nonsense. However, seeing that Uncle Diao had some expertise in the field, he figured it was worth learning a few skills, so he didn’t complain much.
In recent years, Liu Dashao had kept in touch with Fan Debiao. However, every time they logged on, the fat guy would only complain about his hardships, clearly not doing very well. Still, Fan Debiao had learned quite a bit from Da Guozha. When he spoke about his glorious exploits over the past few years, he mentioned having participated in tomb raiding a few times, though without much success.
Yesterday, Liu Dashao spoke with Fan Debiao on the phone, and the latter was overjoyed, telling Liu Dashao he had just landed a big job and would be going away for a while. He told Liu Dashao not to try to contact him for the time being. The way he spoke sounded genuine, so maybe he had indeed stumbled upon some good fortune.
Uncle Diao used to be a fortune-teller, and through years of experience, he gradually evolved from a small-time swindler into a major con artist, eventually opening his own store. However, Liu Dashao had heard whispers suggesting that Uncle Diao occasionally engaged in tomb raiding during his fortune-telling sessions, which explained his rapid rise to wealth. Whenever Liu Dashao asked if this was true, Uncle Diao would always avoid the topic, but judging by his insincere expression, he had definitely participated in tomb raiding.
Uncle Diao ran a feng shui shop, ostensibly handling feng shui business, but in reality, he was primarily involved in the trade of antiques. Although the store wasn’t large, it attracted many customers, including several regulars who always brought valuable items. Liu Dashao could tell with his eyes closed that these people were definitely tomb raiders; ordinary folks wouldn’t have so many antiques to sell.
Uncle Diao often told Liu Dashao that in this line of work, one might go three years without a single deal, but once a deal came along, it could sustain them for three years. Liu Dashao would always reply that, judging by the current situation, going three years without a deal was quite possible, but whether a single deal could support them for three years was questionable. Uncle Diao would always feel deeply moved after hearing Liu Dashao’s remarks.
These days had been unbearably hot, making people reluctant to go outside. Fortunately, Liu Dashao was used to staying indoors and could easily go a month without stepping out.
Liu Dashao had taken a chair and sat at the counter, reading his favorite “Investiture of the Gods” while enjoying the air conditioning—it was truly a blissful experience!
Opposite him was Bai Bing, a beautiful and well-endowed clerk hired by Uncle Diao. She was a year or two older than Liu Dashao, and being around her all the time created a somewhat awkward feeling. Sometimes Liu Dashao even felt too shy to look at her directly.
Speaking of this, Liu Dashao couldn’t help but mention Uncle Diao’s character. Uncle Diao was a bit of a lecher, often making advances toward Bai Bing, but deep down he was kind-hearted, albeit a bit mischievous. He talked to Liu Dashao like a close friend, and Bai Bing understood Uncle Diao’s nature well enough not to take offense, otherwise she wouldn’t have stayed for so long.
As previously mentioned, Liu Dashao had received a feng shui job, and it was a lucrative one. He already knew that the garden community was an upscale area where wealthy people lived. However, he never expected his client to reside in a villa! A villa in the city center, a two-family building, each with its own independent courtyard and a swimming pool. Adjusting his jaw, which almost dislocated from shock, Liu Dashao straightened his small handbag and pressed the doorbell with a dignified and scholarly air.
An elderly man opened the door. He was about sixty or seventy years old, exuding a scholarly aura and greeted politely: “Hello…”
“Hello, Uncle. My name is Liu Dashao. I’m here today to check the feng shui of this house,” Liu Dashao immediately introduced himself and showed the old man an ID he had fraudulently obtained from the Provincial Taoist Association.
The old man looked at the ID and smiled, saying, “Truly, great heroes emerge from the young generation. You’re so young!”
It seemed like the old man was somewhat skeptical, so Liu Dashao couldn’t afford to be careless. He summoned all his attention and followed the old man into the garden. Passing the small swimming pool, they approached the study door, which was a glass sliding door. The old man pulled open the glass door and invited Liu Dashao inside. Just by looking at the interior decorations, Liu Dashao could tell the homeowner was definitely wealthy. The room was filled with yellow pear wood desks, armchairs, and bookshelves, all of which must have cost a fortune. Looking at the antique displays on the shelves, they were also exquisitely old-fashioned. Although Liu Dashao was still a novice in the antique trade, after studying under Uncle Diao for a while, his eye had become quite discerning. Just by examining the wood, he could tell the price of these items was astronomical.
“May I ask your surname, Uncle?” It was time to get started, so he first needed to know how to address the homeowner.
“Oh,” the old man smiled, “my surname is Wang.”
“Alright, Uncle Wang. I’ll now begin my inspection of your home. When was this house built?”
“The year before last.”
“Could you please show me around the entire house to get a better understanding of it?”
After a full tour, Liu Dashao had a general idea. According to his knowledge, the house was well-ventilated from north to south, facing south with the back to the north. There were no obvious or harmful external influences outside the house. The house gathered energy, although slightly insufficient, but it wasn’t a major issue. The interior decorations did not violate the Tabernacle or activate any negative energies. In theory, the elderly person shouldn’t have any significant health issues.
“Let’s go to your bedroom to have another look,” Liu Dashao decided to examine it more carefully.
By the bedroom window, he observed carefully and suddenly noticed that on the opposite building, a family had modified their original window, expanding it to create a new window. One of the sharp corners of the new window was directly facing this window. Although the angle was very slight, Liu Dashao still decided to verify his observation.
“Uncle Wang, may I ask if you were born in the Year of the Dog?”
Seeing the sudden look of surprise in Uncle Wang’s eyes, Liu Dashao knew he had guessed correctly. With this confirmation, his confidence soared.
“Uncle Wang, the situation is like this: your house doesn’t have any major issues. The structure is healthy and shouldn’t bring any misfortune to you. However, this window is slightly affected by the expansion of the window on that building, which is why you feel uncomfortable.”
“Is that so?” The old man asked, somewhat doubtfully, “But why is my wife fine?”
“Uncle Wang, your aunt isn’t born in the Year of the Dog, is she?”
“Hmm, she was born in the Year of the Horse. What does that have to do with it?”
“Uncle Wang, the position of the expanded window is in the Chen position, which directly affects the owner of the house who was born in the Year of the Dog, the Xu position. That’s why I asked if you were born in the Year of the Dog earlier; I wanted to verify my academic theory.”
“Oh, I see!” Uncle Wang exclaimed in sudden realization. “Then how should we deal with it?”
“This is quite simple. When I practice feng shui, I prefer to work with natural solutions, meaning I don’t usually try to force changes unless they are unavoidable. Another principle is that unless something is harmful, it doesn’t necessarily need to be addressed. For the issue with your window, there are two solutions. One is to discuss with your neighbor whether they can remove the expansion. The other is for you to move to a different room, and the problem will be resolved. If you really want to stay in this room, it will be a bit more complicated…” He dragged out the last word, watching the client’s expression. If the client wasn’t afraid of spending money or going through some trouble, there would be a chance to earn a lot more!
Sure enough, Uncle Wang replied, “No problem, no problem. As long as it gets fixed, money isn’t an issue.”
“In that case, I will need to make some adjustments or set up some arrangements in front of the window. Don’t worry, I’m not like some feng shui masters who make unnecessary changes or additions just to charge more money. I always prioritize my clients’ best interests. Therefore, the solution I provide will be the one that best suits your needs and circumstances.”
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