Chapter 42: Bai Boan (Part 3)

Lin Qingyin left Bai Boan’s house after setting up the formation. At the same time, a man in an old-fashioned community, a few kilometers away, was thinking about Lin Qingyin.

His face was gloomy and he seemed to be thinking about something. He walked quickly towards a small shop with a plaque ‘Book of Changes’. The man yelled as soon as he entered the door: “Old Huang, are you in there?”

In fact, this shop was actually a storage room in the past. The storage room in the old house was 7 to 8 square meters in size. This shop occupies a part of the yard, so they added a new one, which they slightly decorated inside and out. The room outside had bookshelves, coffee tables, and sofas. The bookshelves have some mysterious books. The inside room was a place for fortune-telling, and it’s neatly packed.

“I’m here!” Old Huang took off the reading glasses and put them on the book aside, then walked out wearing a cotton vest: “What brings you here? Did you come to visit me for a drink?”

“When are we going to have a drink? You really have a big heart.” Li Kang sat on the sofa with a big grin, picked up the automatic heating teapot on the tea tray, and poured himself a cup of tea: “Recently, a little girl was doing fortune-telling in the public park. Have you heard of it?”

Old Huang snorted: “When did a little be able to do fortune-telling? Does she even understand the book of changes?”

“It doesn’t matter whether she understands it or not, she now has attracted a large number of believers.” Li Kang took a sip of tea and continued: “I heard two old ladies say on the bus just now, that the little girl is only 16 or 17 years old. Everyone calls her Little Master. No matter what, the starting price is 1,000 yuan. You have to pay extra if you want to jump in the line. It seems that this 1,000 yuan is just the price of the first appointment, and the next appointment will cost 2,000 yuan.”

Old Huang was stunned when he heard it: “1,000 yuan? An appointment cost 1,000 yuan?”

“That’s what I’m saying!” Li Kang said with a gloomy face: “When do fortune-telling for 300 yuan, some people say it’s too expensive. But there are dozens of people lining up to her. What kind of crazy thing do think is this?”

Old Huang took out a bright gourd from his pocket and held it in his hand, then said with a thoughtful expression on his face: “Even with such a high price, there are still so many people rushing to it. Is it because her skill is highly effective?”

“What highly effective?” Li Kang glanced outside the door, and said with a cold and loud voice when he saw no one passing by outside: “To put it bluntly, we do this business by relying on our pair of eyes to observe and a mouth that can tell a story. Plus, we read the “Book of Changes”, “Book of numerology”, “Study of Four Pillars” and so on several times, and used them according to the situation of the victim. In fact, we, ourselves, can’t tell if it is effective or not, let alone a little girl.”

Old Huang didn’t comment on these remarks. He has been studying the Book of Changes and numerology for so many years. He was also the director of the Qicheng Fortune Teller Association. He thinks he was much better than Li Kang. At least in terms of using the hexagram.

Old Huang rubbed the gourd in his hand and said with deep eyes: “Fortune telling is not something easy to do or speak of. Let alone for a half-grown little girl. Is there someone supporting behind her?”

“That’s what I am saying! The more I listened on the bus, the more I felt wrong. I pretended to be interested in that little master’s fortune-telling skills and asked them for the contact information to make an appointment.” Li Kang took out his mobile phone and showed it to Old Huang: “Guess who is helping her take care of this? It’s Fatty Wang, who set up a fortune-telling stall in Naner Lane at the back of Xinhua Bookstore. That fellow hadn’t even read the Book of Changes, but he dared to set up a fortune-telling stall, just by relying on the broken book from his grandfather. So he has been beaten all year round.”

“It’s him!” Old Huang couldn’t help but slow down when he rubbed the gourd, and his facial expression relaxed a bit: “He is a fortune-teller, but he is relying on this crook ways? It’s much better to read some more books if he has so much time!”

Li Kang said indignantly: “Old Huang, you said he didn’t even understand fortune-telling, so why did he pick up that little girl? Don’t tell me that little girl really has a skill? I won’t believe it even if you kill me!” The more he talked, the more get angry. It seemed that if Fatty Wang was in front of him, he would punch him in the face: “Why does Fatty Wang always block us!”

 


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3 thoughts on “Chapter 42: Bai Boan (Part 3)

  1. Can’t really defend Fatty Wang on this one, it is true that he is or was a swindler. And he did it as a hobby. That said, these guys seem not to be any better if not worse, despite knowing more than Fatty Wang. In terms of character, I think Fatty Wang is better.

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