Chapter 10: Your Child Is in Danger

Lin Xi raised her hand, “Line up, don’t push, I’m doing five readings today.”

An old woman asked, “Master, why only five readings today?”

Lin Xi coughed lightly, “Master’s rules.”

In reality, the purple energy on her body was fading, and her fortune was dwindling; she couldn’t make that much money in a day.

Lin Xi’s dream of becoming a rich woman hadn’t even begun before it shattered.

She planned to secretly bite Fu Jingyao once the purple energy was completely gone.

This time, she had to make a plan.

First, knock Fu Jingyao unconscious, then bite him, and apply some ointment to erase the marks, ensuring he wouldn’t notice.

Lin Xi straightened her expression and continued with the fortune-telling.

Ma Cuixiang got the first spot.

Hearing that a new master had arrived on Antique Street, who had helped Old Man Li find his long-lost daughter, she came to queue before dawn.

She frequently got her fortune told, so she could tell if the master had real skills.

Ma Cuixiang pulled her grandson forward, “Master, my grandson is taking the college entrance exam this year, can you tell if he’ll get into university?”

Beside them, Xu Ze’en looked impatient, “Grandma, you don’t know my grades? Don’t believe in this mumbo-jumbo, Dad said it’s all a scam.”

Ma Cuixiang patted his head, “What do you know, kid? This isn’t superstition, this is carrying forward excellent traditional Chinese culture.”

She straightened her back, “Besides, I’m paying with my own money, that brat dares to have an opinion?!”

Xu Ze’en couldn’t argue with his grandmother, so he stood in front of Lin Xi with one hand in his pocket, looking up at the sky.

Ma Cuixiang smiled apologetically, “Master, the child is impolite, please don’t mind.”

Lin Xi waved her hand, “It’s alright, young people…”

Xu Ze’en was speechless, who exactly is the child?

This master seemed younger than him; his grandma was really senile.

Lin Xi spread out paper and pen, “Write a character.”

Her master said, varying the fortune-telling methods would make the onlookers more interested.

Character reading was also a form of fortune-telling.

The grandpas and grandmas put on their reading glasses, widening their eyes to look, they had never seen fortune-telling like this before, it was really rare.

Xu Ze’en grabbed the pen and wrote the character “佳” (jia – good, excellent), his tone very impatient.

“Then what?”

Lin Xi glanced at it, “Your grades are among the best in school, getting into university is no problem.”

Ma Cuixiang’s hanging heart settled.

Xu Ze’en proudly raised his chin, “I’ve been the top student since I was little, if I can’t get into university, who can? A thousand yuan for just this one sentence, this money is too easy to earn…”

Ma Cuixiang grabbed his ear, “Shut up!”

“Ouch! Grandma, it hurts, it hurts!”

Xu Ze’en covered his ear and stood silently aside.

Ma Cuixiang asked, “Master, what does this character ‘Jia’ mean?”

Lin Xi said calmly, “It has two meanings.”

“Jia, the left is fire, the right is earth, Kun below Li above is the Jin Gua, signifying the rising sun, this is a lucky hexagram.”

“Your grandson’s grades are excellent, he will get into his ideal university, his future is limitless.”

Ma Cuixiang smiled so much her mouth wouldn’t close, “This child has no other skills, he only knows how to study since he was little.”

Xu Ze’en’s chin raised even higher, “I admit, what you said is correct.”

The onlookers were envious, “Old Ma, are you here to show off your grandson?”

Ma Cuixiang looked proud, “Don’t interrupt.”

She continued, “Master, what’s the second meaning…?”

Lin Xi smiled mysteriously, “Jia, also refers to a beautiful woman, a couple, a joyful event in life.”

“What?!”

Ma Cuixiang understood and grabbed Xu Ze’en’s ear, twisting it hard.

“Little brat, you’re in a relationship!!”

Xu Ze’en!!

His relationship was unknown to classmates and teachers, how did this woman know?

It’s over! His ears were not safe.

Xu Ze’en hung his head, crying out in pain, “Grandma, it hurts, it hurts, stop…”

Ma Cuixiang stood with her hips akimbo and angrily said, “Instead of learning other skills, you learned all the tricks of early dating from your father.”

Xu Ze’en: …

Grandma, you just said I only know how to study, now you say I only know how to date.

Xu Ze’en looked at Lin Xi for help, “Master, we’re in true love.”

Ma Cuixiang picked up her cloth shoe, “What do you know about true love at your young age?”

Lin Xi spoke to stop her, “Madam, let young people solve their own problems, interfering will ruin his fortune.”

Jia, also has a third meaning, the person Xu Ze’en likes has Jia in their name.

However, she didn’t say it, giving the child some face.

Ma Cuixiang had been getting her fortune told for years, she understood immediately, “Master, I wonder if this girl is Xu Ze’en’s destined one.”

Destined one, fated person, the person they will spend their life with.

Lin Xi nodded, this child’s fate was very good.

Xu Ze’en’s face was full of gratitude, “Thank you, Master, you are truly amazing.”

Woohoo, the master saved his ears.

Ma Cuixiang thanked her and dragged Xu Ze’en home.

In the crowd, a young man rolled his eyes, feeling that his opportunity had come.

He walked up to Lin Xi and wrote the character Jia.

The man, Wu De, shouted, “Can I also see if I can get into university?”

He sneered.

The same character “佳,” let’s see how you explain it.

If you can’t explain it, Wu De can complete the task that Master Qian assigned to him.

Lin Xi glanced at his physiognomy, her smile unchanged, “Are you sure you want to check your studies? Are you sure you want to write this character?”

Wu De impatiently urged, “Hurry up, can’t you figure it out?”

Lin Xi replied, “Then as you wish, pay first.”

Wu De tossed out a thousand yuan, disdainfully huffing, “Don’t give me a spiel, I’m not that easy to fool.”

Lin Xi shook her head and sighed, “You have no talent in your studies, you’ve been at the bottom since childhood, and you dropped out after middle school.”

Wu De retorted stubbornly, “With the same character ‘佳,’ you say the last person had excellent grades, but I have poor grades, do you look down on me?”

Lin Xi remained unfazed, “The stroke at the top of your ‘佳’ is crooked.”

“The last customer wrote a ‘佳,’ and you also wrote ‘佳,’ that’s like adding a ‘又’ to the left side of ‘佳,’ which is…”

“It’s the character ‘难’ (nan – difficult)!”

The onlookers learned to answer quickly, while Wu De still looked bewildered.

Lin Xi nodded with satisfaction, “Correct, it’s the character ‘难.’”

Wu De still didn’t understand, “What’s wrong with the character ‘难’?”

Lin Xi replied lightly, “‘难’ not only hints at your studies, but also your fate.”

“Looking at your physiognomy, you lost your father at three, your mother at six, and your grandfather at sixteen. Since then, you dropped out and entered society.”

“Your experiences in society aren’t good either; you’ve been doing odd jobs, always looking for small gains, doing some bad things like fighting, threatening elementary school students, stealing eggs from neighbors, and so on.”

“Your life will be aimless and lonely, old and homeless, ultimately ending up on the streets…”

Wu De broke down, “Stop talking, I don’t want to calculate anymore!”

He had been stealing since childhood and dropped out to work at sixteen.

He had done everything from carrying bricks to screwing bolts and collecting scrap.

It turned out, his life was so miserable.

Wu De completely forgot about the task that Qian Fugui had given him.

He stared at Lin Xi, “Master, I don’t want to live such a miserable life, what should I do?”

Lin Xi said, “Fate is set, but luck can be changed. The bad deeds you’ve done will gradually ruin your luck. So, be a good person and stop doing bad things.”

“Master, I will remember your teachings.”

Wu De ran away, crying.

The master is so kind, not trying to trick him into buying a fortune-changing talisman but teaching him to be a better person.

Forget Qian Fugui and his stupid task, let them all go to hell!

Wu De had an epiphany; from this moment on, he would be a good person and change his name to Wu Qide.

Lin Xi calculated three more readings and ended her day at the stall.

The grandpas and grandmas reluctantly left.

At the master’s place, the sunflower seeds and peanuts tasted much better than usual, and she could eat a few more bowls of rice at night.

The grandpas and grandmas asked, “Master, will you come again tomorrow?”

Lin Xi waved her hand, “Same time tomorrow, don’t be late.”

“Master, see you tomorrow.”

As the crowd dispersed, Lin Xi packed up her stall to buy some delicious food.

She stopped in front of a braised food stall, following the aroma, “Boss, give me a pound of pig ears, a pound of vegetables, a pound of chicken feet, and three pounds of pig trotters.”

“Alright!”

Zhou Yun was quick and soon packed the three dishes, “Master, you don’t need to pay, thanks to you, business has been much better these past two days.”

“Before, the foot traffic was over there, but now the grandpas and grandmas pass by here on their way home; it’s all the fortune you brought.”

Lin Xi looked at her.

With a wide face, big nose, and thick lips, she was a hardworking and honest person, but a faint black aura surrounded her children’s palace.

Lin Xi frowned, “Boss, you should pack up and go home quickly; your child is in danger!”