As a major county in Guliang Prefecture, Hongsui County once competed for the title of prefectural city. Now the war has not affected this place, and everywhere in this place is prosperous.
There are many teahouses and restaurants in the city, and there is an endless stream of people coming and going. Many people who escaped the war have moved here, making it more prosperous than before.
In a prosperous place, people are densely populated, and merchants are also prevalent there.
Ye Ming and Miss Shen rode an ox cart all the way to Hongsui County.
As soon as I entered the county town, I saw someone setting up a stage to sing an opera in the city. According to people around me, it was Mr. He who opened a new shop and was singing the opening opera!
Ye Ming asked again who Mr. He was.
Some people explained that this person was a strange person. When the imperial court was still there, he became a Jinshi and later became a county magistrate.
But for some unknown reason, after serving as county magistrate for several years, he resigned and instead started working as a merchant.
The way of merchants has been inferior since ancient times. It is really strange that this person is a merchant instead of being a good official.
However, this man's business skills are indeed extraordinary. Over the years, the wealth he has accumulated is second to none in the entire Guliang Mansion.
Just as he was talking, he saw a play on the stage finished, all the actors retired respectfully, and a middle-aged man in his forties, with a short beard, some culture, and a businessman's air came up.
When everyone saw this, they all called this man "Master He".
This is the largest merchant in Hongsui County, He Shichuan.
After Mr. He came on stage, he started to talk politely. In short, he still hoped that everyone could go to his newly opened restaurant to eat and drink.
After talking for a while, he said that it would be open today and all drinks and dishes in the restaurant would be 30% off.
After he finished speaking, Ye Ming said to Miss Shen with a smile:
"Thirty percent off, it seems pretty good. Let's try it too."
"Brother, is he rich?"
"No."
"How to get there?"
"I can tell fortunes. There are many people here, so I can just tell them a few fortunes."
Ye Ming smiled and led Miss Shen into the newly opened "He's Restaurant".
It opened today, and there were indeed many people. The first and second floors were full, and the third floor, which was specially prepared for people with status and status, was also filled with many people.
Mr. He personally led the local magistrate and squire to the third floor.
Seeing this, Ye Ming smiled and said:
"Look, as a shopkeeper, I didn't go to other restaurants to entertain guests, which shows that I am very confident in my own food and wine."
Miss Shen said:
"Brother, don't you want to tell fortunes? Now is the perfect time."
"Forget it, forget it."
Ye Ming smiled and magically took out a pile of copper coins, bamboo chips, pens, ink, paper and inkstones from his sleeves.
All these things were put on the table, and a "crazy calculation" flag was raised.
When all the guests saw this, they were all curious.
Seeing that he really looked like a crazy person, I couldn't help but believe it.
It's funny, no one would believe the nonsense of a madman.
But when this lunatic starts telling fortunes, everyone will subconsciously think that he is more accurate than ordinary people.
The people who could come here to join in the fun and dine were basically those with some spare money, so someone immediately stepped forward to let them settle.
In front of so many people, this person would not hesitate to ask about his recent fortune.
Ye Ming picked up the copper coins and calculated them repeatedly, then picked up a pen and wrote a bunch of messy and incomprehensible things on the paper.
After struggling for a long time, he finally revealed the opponent's recent fortune.
When the man heard this, he realized that everything that had happened in the first half was correct. Although the second half had not happened yet, it was really possible as Ye Ming said.
Seeing that this madman seemed to be really accurate, everyone came forward to ask for divination.
When the restaurant manager saw this, his eyes moved. Instead of chasing Ye Ming away, he asked the waiter to go outside and advertise that there was a fortune teller here.
The waiter did as he was told, and after a while, there were another group of customers in the store.
Seeing more and more customers, the restaurant manager smiled from ear to ear, and even specially arranged for the waiter to give Ye Ming a plate of peanuts and a bottle of wine for free.
Miss Shen has been helping Ye Ming.
After watching for a long time, she discovered that what this person was writing on the paper didn't seem to be a sophisticated calculation method at all. It seemed like it was just scribbling.
Moreover, this person used the copper coins very casually. It looked mysterious, but it just made her feel like they were throwing them away.
But the calculated result turned out to be correct.
This makes Miss Shen a little confused. No wonder they say fortune tellers are nagging and behave strangely.
Now it seems that it is indeed the case.
After a while, Ye Ming has already earned a lot of money.
Seeing that it was almost the same, he decisively closed the stall without taking any extra money.
Everyone was disappointed when they saw this, and some people were willing to pay double the price to ask him for another fortune telling.
But Ye Ming refused on the grounds that the secret had passed and no further calculations could be made.
Everyone also knows that fortune tellers have strange rules, and it’s hard to say anything if they see that they have money but don’t make any money.
Ye Ming looked at the money on the table and didn't take it. He just asked the waiter for the menu and the food and wine.
The waiter did the math and found out that this guy earned just enough money to pay for this meal, not a penny more, not a lot.
"Come on, little sister, sit down!"
Ye Ming pointed to the seat and motioned for Miss Shen to sit down.
Miss Shen sat down as instructed, still looking around.
Seeing this, Ye Ming smiled and asked:
"What are you looking for?"
“Find someone or something unusual.”
"Why are you looking for those things? They only add to your troubles."
"Since my brother brought me here, it's impossible to just eat and drink."
"Look, look, can there still be any trust between people?
In your eyes, no matter where I go, nothing will happen to me?
Do I look like the living king of hell? "
Ye Ming criticized this "little girl" for her unhealthy thoughts.
While he was criticizing, the steward of the restaurant suddenly came over respectfully and said politely:
"Sir, my master would like to have a chat with you upstairs."
Miss Shen, who was being criticized by Ye Ming, saw this and looked at him with a smile on her lips.
Ye Ming, however, didn't feel embarrassed at all and answered the manager's words naturally:
"Tell your master, my fortune-telling is over today and I can't do any more fortune-telling."
"My master doesn't know his fortune and just wants to ask for some advice.
Even if it is not convenient for you to have your fortune told today, you can still go up and have a few words with my master. "
The steward's attitude was very low, and he invited Ye Ming repeatedly.
Seeing this, Ye Ming stretched himself, stood up helplessly, turned to Miss Shen and said:
"Little sister, you've seen it too, things will always come to you and you can't hide from them!"
When Miss Shen heard this, she just smiled and then said:
"I'm going with my brother."
"Haha, that's great."
The two followed the steward upstairs and soon met Mr. He, the local magistrate, the squire and others.
When everyone saw them coming up, except for a few people who focused on Miss Shen, most of the others were paying attention to observing Ye Ming.
Miss Shen saw that several people were looking at her wrongly, so she moved slightly behind Ye Ming.
As his elder brother, it is only natural for him to share the pressure.
The steward was very reserved in front of this group of people. He knelt on the ground and said to bring the people here.
However, Ye Ming was completely indifferent to these so-called big shots and just said hello with a playful smile.
Seeing this, the magistrate and others frowned, a little disgusted with this unruly lunatic.
Seeing this, Mr. He laughed and invited the two of them to sit in the inner room instead of talking here.
Although he is a businessman, he is a Jinshi after all. His ranking was not low at the beginning, and he still has the honors now. The magistrate and others are not in trouble with him. Seeing that he may have private matters to talk about, they will not stay for a long time. They all got up to say goodbye.
One of the squires was quite reluctant to leave and looked at Miss Shen from time to time with disgusting eyes.
After he left, Mr. He smiled and said to the person next to him:
"Lao Chen has been having some free time lately, and his mind has become wild. Go and help him find something to do.
This person would be better off being busy. Even if he is thoughtful, he doesn’t have the time. "
When the people around him heard this, they nodded and left the room.
When the steward saw this, he stepped back, so there were only three of them in the room.
Seeing everyone leaving, Ye Ming smiled at Mr. He and said:
"Master He is very considerate, I will thank you on behalf of my little sister."
Miss Shen also bowed to Mr. He.
Mr. He waved his hands without any airs, he just smiled and said:
"After all, you have to ask for help from others, so you should be courteous to others."
Hearing this, Ye Ming sat down where the magistrate was sitting just now, and then stretched out his hand to signal Miss Shen to sit down.
I really don’t regard myself as an outsider at all.
When Mr. He saw this, he didn't take it seriously and didn't feel offended. Instead, he thought that there might be hope for what he asked for.
After the two parties sat down, they first exchanged polite words and exchanged names.
Then, Ye Ming smiled and asked:
"I don't know why Master He called me here. What's the point?"
"I would like to ask Mr. Shanyuan, do monsters also have their own destiny?"
"Everything in the world has a destiny, and there are also monsters."
Ye Ming replied casually.
When Mr. He heard this, he was a little disappointed:
"It seems like they didn't lie..."
Ye Ming smiled and said, "Master He hasn't said anything about himself yet."
Mr. He shook his head slightly and said: "Mr. Shanyuan said that monsters also have a destiny. That thing still has a destiny. What's the use of just saying it?"
"Master He knows that the monster is destined to die, so he must have asked many people."
Ye Ming judged with a smile.
"Yes, I have asked many capable people over the years, and they all said that the thing's destiny is not over, so it cannot be killed."
Speaking of this, Mr. He punched his thigh with some pain on his face.
Ye Ming didn't sigh, but just said:
"Master He said that. Then I am more and more curious about the origin of the monster. I would like to ask Master He to briefly explain it."
Hearing this, Mr. He sighed and chose to tell the story.
It's not complicated to say. When he was the county magistrate, he sent a letter to his hometown to bring his wife and mother here.
Unexpectedly, when passing by Sui Lake twenty miles away from here, they suddenly encountered a huge turtle monster.
His wife, mother and servants were all devoured by the monster.
He Shichuan was so grieved that he visited various Taoist temples and temples and asked experts to eliminate the demon and take revenge.
Originally, he had already hired people, but when the other party heard that they were going to deal with the turtle monster in Sui Lake, they regretted it and said they could not get rid of the monster.
He Shichuan was puzzled and asked repeatedly, and then he learned the reason.
It turns out that during the previous dynasty, there was a foolish king who liked to play. When he led people to travel to Sui Lake, he encountered a storm by chance.
Seeing that the ship was about to capsize, a turtle monster appeared. The monster helped Ping Bo hold the ship and rescued the faint king.
Then, the turtle monster asked Hunjun for a reward.
The foolish king is also unwise, hoping that this monster can live in Sui Lake forever and no longer need to worry about external threats.
No matter how faint the emperor is, he is still an emperor. He speaks of the Constitution of Heaven, and with just one word, luck will come to him.
From then on, this monster was blessed with good luck. As long as he did not leave Sui Lake, he had no fear of monks, Taoists, and gods.
In the beginning, the monster did good deeds, maintained his reputation, and won a good reputation. He was called the Good Turtle Lord by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
But later the monster discovered that even if he did evil at will, no one could control him, so he started to act wildly.
People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait hated him deeply and called him the Evil Turtle Gong instead.
He Shichuan repeatedly sought experts to eliminate the demon, but to no avail.
Distraught, he resigned from his job.
If he hadn't still had children to raise, he might have committed suicide in despair.
Later, in order to raise his children and not want to rely on his status as a Jinshi master to exploit the people, he thought of doing some business.
Unexpectedly, this business will grow...
To this day, when this matter is not mentioned, He Shichuan can still carry on as usual. Once it is mentioned, he still gnashes his teeth and beats his chest.
I just hate myself for being incompetent and unable to get rid of the monster that is doing evil willfully...
...
