Aunt Wang sat in the courtyard, casually chatting as she watched Dai Qing busy with her chores.

“I figured you worked the late shift yesterday, so I thought you’d be up by now,” she said.

After a quick wash, Dai Qing put on a crisp Dacron dress, carried two glasses of water, and joined Aunt Wang in the courtyard.

“Auntie, what brings you here in such a hurry?”

“Oh, Xiao Qing, you’re really something! My old friend believed your advice. She went straight to her son and managed to get some of the money back before he could spend it all. Her daughter and son-in-law are indeed having issues, but despite all the shouting about divorce, they haven’t taken any real action. You know how it is with kids involved.”

Earlier that morning, Aunt Wang’s old friend had brought over some canned peaches to thank her. Dai Qing had listened to her vent for hours before sending her off.

“Here, these two cans of peaches are from Aunt Zhao. I brought them over for you. She really should be thanking you, the ‘little fortune teller.’”

Dai Qing shook her head, looking at the canned peaches on the table. “These are Aunt Zhao’s thanks to you, not me. I didn’t do much.”

Her deal with Aunt Zhao was simple: five yuan, no strings attached.

“You’re the one who helped solve her problem. I’m just the middlewoman. I only brought her to you because I felt bad for her.”

Aunt Wang chuckled softly. This girl had a good character—never taking undue credit.

“That’s why you’re the benefactor in Aunt Zhao’s eyes. It’s only right she thanks you.”

Dai Qing didn’t take things that didn’t belong to her. Eating them would create unnecessary complications.

“You’re too kind, child… but I understand. I know your line of work has its rules, and I don’t really get it. But I came here for another reason today,” Aunt Wang added, leaning in with anticipation. “A colleague of mine has an uncle who was one of the first entrepreneurs to dive into the business world. He opened a big hotel, and for a while, business was booming—he became a millionaire early on. But over the past year, things haven’t been going well. No matter what he tries, business keeps declining.”

“Businesspeople always believe in feng shui and fortune-telling, so he’s been asking around for a skilled master. He’s willing to pay handsomely to anyone who can solve his problem. You’re the best fortune-teller I’ve ever seen, so I wanted to ask if you’d be interested.”

Aunt Wang looked at Dai Qing eagerly, her face creased in a hopeful smile.

Dai Qing didn’t hesitate. She had always planned to pursue the path of a fortune-teller, and since business had come knocking, why not accept it?

“If they believe in me, I’m happy to take a look. I’m off work the day after tomorrow, so I can go then.”

“Great! That’s settled then. I’ll let them know, and the day after tomorrow, we’ll go check out the hotel. They’ve been saying bad feng shui might be part of the problem,” Aunt Wang said, slapping her thigh before hurrying off.

Dai Qing smirked. Fortune-telling, though? She hadn’t quite mastered that yet.

Her grandfather had always said, “A great face reader can also be a feng shui master, fortune-teller, or diviner—but it doesn’t work the other way around.” So, for now, she was focusing all her energy on face reading.

Seeing it was getting late, Dai Qing grabbed her basket and headed to the market to buy groceries for lunch.

At noon, the market was bustling. There was a wide variety of vegetables, and the stalls offered plenty of chicken, duck, fish, and meat. After walking around, she picked up some green onions, celery, and a block of fresh tofu. She also bought a carp to make tofu soup.

While waiting for the fishmonger to clean her fish, she overheard an argument between a mother and daughter at the neighboring meat stall.

“Mom, I want to eat meat,” the daughter whined.

“You greedy girl,” the mother scolded.

“We haven’t had meat in ages! I’ve lost weight. Plus, Dad and my brothers are working. They need some meat to keep their strength up.”