Chen’s mother hadn’t swiped her card to enter the security gate when she saw a young man carrying fruit walking out while talking on the phone. “Master Sun, you’re finally at home today. My younger sister asked me to thank you no matter what. If you hadn’t read her fortune and predicted her marriage, she would probably still be single now. I didn’t believe it before, but people in the urban village say you’re amazing. Now I’m convinced. It’s exactly as you said.”
“Wait for me. I’ll be right there,” the young man said again.
Chen’s mother didn’t know why, but she inexplicably stopped the young man. “Young man, do you live in this building too?”
Zhou Jianguo turned around and looked at Mother Chen. He nodded politely and said, “Yes, I just moved here recently.”
When Mother Chen heard that Zhou Jianguo lived in the same building as her daughter, she became even more enthusiastic. “My daughter also lives here. It’s such a coincidence. I just heard you mention a master around here on the phone?”
“Yeah, everyone in the urban village knows him. But if you ask around, they won’t tell you. This master is very busy. You have to wait in line for half a month if there are too many people,” Zhou Jianguo replied.
“Is he really that amazing?” Mother Chen asked.
Zhou Jianguo perfunctorily nodded his head and said, “Auntie, if you don’t have anything else, I’ll leave now. This master is about to go on a long trip again, and I still have to thank him for my sister.”
After he finished speaking, he walked away. Mother Chen didn’t have time to care about cooking anymore and hurriedly followed him, “Young man, can you take me there? I want the master to make a calculation.”
Zhou Jianguo waved his hand in a hurry, “You’d better not come with me. The master’s temper is not good, and you’re considered cutting in line. It’ll be a waste of your time.”
“I’ll go with you. If the master doesn’t want to calculate for me, I won’t blame you. Young man, we’re neighbors. Can’t you take me there?”
Zhou Jianguo raised his eyebrows, “Are you not afraid that I’ll cheat you?”
Mother Chen looked at Zhou Jianguo. Although people shouldn’t be judged by their appearance, most people still do judge by appearance.
Zhou Jianguo’s appearance was quite deceptive, since he looked like a rich young master who was out of touch with the world. Both his appearance and temperament did not seem like those of a swindler.
Moreover, she was just an ordinary middle-aged woman from the county, and she didn’t have any money on her. Who would cheat her?
Mother Chen believed that she was good at judging people, and immediately said, “No, you live in the same building as my daughter. You’re neighbors. How could a neighbor cheat me? You don’t look like a swindler, young man. Besides, I only have a hundred or so yuan on me. Swindlers probably wouldn’t even bother with me.”
Luo Bei saw Zhou Jianguo talking to Mother Chen downstairs from a distance and walked over with a puzzled look. “Do you know each other?”
Mother Chen took Luo Bei’s hand and said, “This young man is your tenant, right?”
Luo Bei nodded, “Yes.”
Mother Chen was more relieved.
As they were acquaintances, how could he be a swindler?
Zhou Jianguo asked Luo Bei, “Who is this tenant? Why haven’t I seen her before?”
“This is Ms. Chen’s mother, the grandmother of Xiao Jingzhou next door.”
“Oh, Auntie, why didn’t you say earlier that you are Ms. Chen’s mother?” Zhou Jianguo immediately became familiar and held Mother Chen’s hand. “I have delivered water and takeout to Ms. Chen twice. She is a very kind person and always pours me water to drink. Okay, let’s not talk too much. Auntie, I will take you there now.”
Luo Bei who was left behind felt confused and lost in the wind.
What was Zhou Jianguo doing?
Just as she was trying to make sense of it all, her phone vibrated with a WeChat message from Zhou Jianguo, “The plan is officially launched. You cooperated well just now.”
Luo Bei replied with a black question mark emoji, expressing her confusion.
But Zhou Jianguo didn’t reply to her message.
Zhou Jianguo led Mother Chen on a walk for nearly twenty minutes, making several turns until they arrived at a somewhat rundown apartment building. They took the elevator upstairs and waited for a while before someone slowly opened the door.
The man who opened the door looked to be in his forties or fifties, wearing wire-rimmed glasses and loose-fitting Zhongshan suit, holding a yellowed book in his hand.
Zhou Jianguo immediately respectfully called out, “Master Sun, I hope I didn’t disturb your rest.”
Master Sun frowned as soon as he saw Mother Chen, and his tone was not very friendly. “Why did you bring someone with you? I told you I wouldn’t do any calculation today.”
“She is my neighbor’s mother. She insisted on coming with me, and I couldn’t stop her,”
Mother Chen quickly explained. “Master Sun, I know you’re very busy and people have to wait in line to get a calculation from you. I don’t want to break your rules, but I’m going back to my hometown in a few days, and I’m in a hurry. That’s why I asked Xiao Zhou to bring me here. Please don’t be angry.”
Master Sun was silent for a moment. “Come in. Since you’re sincere, I’ll do a calculation for you today.”
Mother Chen thanked him repeatedly and followed Zhou Jianguo inside. However, she immediately thought of a more serious problem and pulled Zhou Jianguo’s sleeve, whispering, “Xiao Zhou, I bet this master charges a lot of money for a reading. I didn’t bring much money with me. Can you lend me some? I’ll pay you back when we get home.”
Zhou Jianguo hadn’t said anything yet.
Master Sun suddenly turned his head and said sternly, “I am not a fraudster on the street. Who said I must be paid for my calculations? If you treat me like a swindler, you can leave right now.”
Mother Chen was taken aback. She didn’t expect the master to hear her words, and she didn’t expect him to say he doesn’t charge for his calculations….
After hearing these words, Mother Chen immediately became respectful, which was a lot more respectful than before. She had met many fortune tellers, but they were mostly scammers. It was the first time she had heard of someone who did not charge for fortune-telling. However, come to think of it, people who have real skills would not care about such a small amount of money, would they?
Immediately, Zhou Jianguo whispered in Mother Chen’s ear, “Fortune tellers make money from wealthy officials and nobles. If we are sincere, he won’t charge us anything.”
Before they even began the fortune-telling, Mother Chen had already believed in most of it.
Zhou Jianguo couldn’t help but think that he had good eloquence and acting skills. Working as a brick mover on a construction site was a waste of his talents. He thought carefully, maybe he used to be involved in pyramid schemes? Otherwise, how could he be so good at speaking, and even think of such a cunning trick?
Even if he used to be involved in pyramid schemes, he had already turned over a new leaf. It didn’t matter if he used a little trick, as long as it was to save someone’s child…
“What do you want to know?” Master Sun asked in a rather indifferent tone.
Chen’s mother knew that she had offended him, and that Master Sun had a temper, so she cautiously said, “I’m here to inquire about my daughter’s marriage.”
“Then write down her bazi1.”
Master Sun handed her a paper and pen. After Mother Chen wrote down her daughter Chen Lan’s bazi, Master Sun took a look and his sharp gaze made Mother Chen involuntarily shrink her neck. “Did you conceal something?” Master Sun asked in a cold tone.
“What?” Mother Chen was also stunned.
“Looking at your daughter’s bazi, she is still unmarried but already has the fate of having a child. Why didn’t you tell me about this beforehand? Don’t you trust me?” Master Sun threw the paper on the table. “Xiao Zhou, take her away. I won’t do the calculation today.”
Mother Chen was completely frightened and convinced!
Yes, Xiao Zhou may know that her daughter is unmarried and has given birth to a child, but from just now until now, Xiao Zhou has not had a private conversation with Master Sun, and he did not mention it either. Therefore, Master Sun completely inferred her daughter’s situation from the bazi!
At this point, Mother Chen didn’t need any more acting from Zhou Jianguo. She almost rushed over and anxiously pleaded, “Master, it was not intentional. I didn’t doubt you. Please give me a calculation. My daughter has bad luck in life, and her marriage is still uncertain. I’m also anxious. Master, please don’t lower yourself to my level!”
Mother Chen learned from her daughter that she was almost ready to get married to her boyfriend recently. Frankly speaking, she didn’t care about her daughter’s boyfriend’s good conditions such as having a house and a car. As long as he was a steady person who could live a stable life, that was enough. During the Chinese New Year, her daughter even went to the boyfriend’s hometown. This was the most enjoyable year she had ever had. Thinking that her daughter was going to get married soon, the heavy stone in Mother Chen’s heart was about to move.
But it was not even fifteen yet2, and my daughter said she broke up with that guy!
How can a mother not feel heartache and anxious?
When her daughter said she would send Xiao Jingzhou back to her hometown after she confirmed with her boyfriend, she agreed without hesitation. She never expected this to happen. She came here this time to persuade her daughter to go back to her hometown with her child. Although it’s not easy to find a man while taking care of a child, it’s not impossible to find a divorced man. In her hometown, she and her husband can take care of their daughter. However, her daughter is proud and unwilling to go back. She insists on staying in the big city…
Just now, when she was at the market, she heard someone say that she had thought about taking her grandson back to her hometown and letting her daughter find someone slowly in this city. However, she is still hesitating. After all, she understands her daughter’s temperament. If the child goes back to her hometown, she may be alone in the city, without a foothold, and unable to settle down until she is old. For Mother Chen, it is best for her daughter and grandson to go back to their hometown, and only with her grandson by her daughter’s side can she possibly force her daughter to go back home.
The master glanced at Mother Chen mother and said, “I can only tell you that your daughter’s child has a bright future ahead of him. However, their mother and son have fate but not a relationship. Forcing them to stay together will only ruin each other’s future. Is their relationship not good?”
Mother Chen was surprised and nodded.
“That’s it. Take good care of your grandson. He is a lucky person. Don’t let the mother and son stay together anymore. They are enemies in their previous life but mother and son in this life. Fate will naturally be fulfilled if there is affinity and fate. However, these two people are naturally incompatible. Don’t ruin their fortune.”
“Also, take good care of your grandson and cultivate him well. He has a source of wealth on him and is a rare talent in the future.”
After Master Sun finished speaking, he closed his eyes, waved his hand, and said, “You may go now.”
- bazi, also known as the Four Pillars of Destiny, is a Chinese astrological system that uses someone’s birth year, month, day, and hour to calculate their destiny or fate. ↩︎
- I’m not sure what this is referring to, but based on my shallow knowledge, Chinese New Year is traditionally celebrated up to the fourteenth day, so Mother Chen might mean that the festive season is not over yet but her daughter has already brought a bad news. ↩︎
Mother Chen is so gullible. I’ve read an old manga [The Black Swindler]. So, in my eyes, all the way from the moment she talked to the auntie when she’s grocery shopping till the last word of this chapter… It reeks of swindling. Fortunately, ZJG and co. weren’t there to cheat her money or do something immoral. Quite contrary, they’re trying to save her grandson.
Mother Chen’s idea of bringing CL home might be the best plan for her IF CL was filial daughter and a normal mother. The pressure (supervision) from her parents and responsibilities as a mother might choke some sense into her head. But, it seems that Mother Chen didn’t know CL well after years of separation.
Now is a high time to save CL and FJZ. Logically speaking, FZJ is younger. It means he has longer future expectations and more malleable for moral education. Regardless, even facing the risk of the whole family’s ruination caused by CL, her parents might still chose to bring her home for reeducation. Choosing to save them both. After all, risk has NOT happened yet and no one can guarantee what would happen in future. So, Master Sun’s “divination” became an important persuasion for them to choose FJZ. Anyway, CL is already an adult and no one–not even her parents–can force her to think and/or do things in certain ways.