Chapter 526

Brother Ye, did your shop previously have a fire! After everyone sat down, I used my half-baked plum blossom numerology to calculate, then furrowed my brow and asked Ye Liang.

Ye Liang was pouring tea for me; hearing this, he also froze: "Brother, you…… how did you know!"

I didn't answer, but instead continued: "A fire did occur, but the fire shouldn't have caused loss to the restaurant owner. The restaurant owner instead turned misfortune into fortune, gaining a large sum of wealth. From this I infer he must have received a large compensation."

As soon as I finished speaking, Ye Liang nodded like a chicken pecking rice: "Exactly, exactly, exactly, that's how it was. When my elder brother was still running this restaurant, a wealthy young master caused trouble here. After getting drunk, he had someone set fire to the restaurant. But this young master's father was rich, afraid his son would go to jail, so he gave my elder brother a large sum of compensation..."

"Hey, wait, I say brother, how did you know!" Ye Liang, following along, recounted the restaurant's previous accident; halfway through he came to his senses, astonishedly looking at me and asking.

Hehe, I somewhat understand feng shui and numerology; I inferred it through form and calculation. I smiled, walked over, pointed outside the window and said to Ye Liang: "Look at your restaurant: there's a straight road heading straight toward it; ahead there's a factory, the top of which is similar to a triangular hammer-arrow. In numerology, three is the fire number. Moreover, the tip of that triangle is like an arrow, stabbing toward your restaurant. Adding that last year's cycle was fire, while your restaurant's position is metal, the two form a fire-overcomes-metal omen, so last year was the year when the preceding shape-overcame was strongest, causing the fire... Forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I explained."

Finally, I bluntly explained: "Simply put, the restaurant's layout is a situation where benefits and drawbacks coexist; a straight road faces the door, a fire-arrow attacks the body, but if the owner's fate is hard and suitable, it's possible to turn misfortune into fortune and become a wealthy person; however, it's also possible to be burned to nothing. Your elder brother's luck was good, he gained a large sum of money and wealth. But you……"

Saying this, I also hesitated.

"Oh my, it turns out you're a master, I have eyes but don't recognize Mount Tai, I've been rude to you." After Ye Liang finished listening to my explanation, before I could react, he hurriedly grabbed my hand, pleading: "Please, please help me; I've spent all my savings to lease this shop. I just wanted to scrape by with a couple meals a day, get by, but since opening this shop a month ago, I've been constantly shooing flies; just paying rent is already enough to make me choke…… Please, please help me, with things like cooking oil, I know how."

"Alright alright alright, Brother Ye, don't call me master, just call me by name; also, don't mention cooking oil." I waved my hand, cutting off Ye Liang's lament. In the end, I simply shouted it out.

Speaking from the heart, at the moment I sat down with Ye Liang, I already regarded him as a friend; I hope my modest learning can help him, and I have no intention of quarreling over any money or wealth. Don't think this relationship progressed too quickly; sometimes, for me, someone who can become a friend is merely because of four words: feeling and pleasing to the eye.

In my view, a friend's feeling should not change because of environment or each other's identity. I despise hypocrisy, and even more despise flattery. I look down on you, no matter how rich you are, how high your status, how great your achievements, I still won't respect you. By putting myself in your shoes and treating you as a friend, I hope that between us, whether poor or rich, regardless of status and identity, everyone can speak freely without reservation.

Since we are friends, mutual help is due; why should I lower myself because I need something from someone? So-called flattery, to me, is actually a thorn, making me feel I am gradually drifting away, losing a sincere feeling.

Perhaps I am naturally unsuited for this profession; I don't like being worshipped, I don't want to be surrounded all day by flattery. What I like is living in a corner, leading a life without fake smiles to greet people. Even if the stage attire is bright and surrounded by crowds. But actually, what I hope for is to have someone accompany me in that corner, quietly keeping me company while we chat, nothing more,

So, when Ye Liang flatteringly called me "master," I was unaccustomed to it. Because, I never intended to take any payment; I simply thought Ye Liang was kind, a good person. It was only natural for me to help him a bit, nothing more.

However, after Ye Liang learned I was a numerologist, no matter what he said, his tone always carried a hint of politeness, lacking the naturalness I saw when I first met him.

I suddenly recalled that story about the bathhouse, recalling the monkey and Maitreya Buddha in the bathhouse. I've already forgotten how many friends, after gaining power, became people from another world relative to me. I also forgot how many childhood friends, approaching me with caution and restraint…… Perhaps this is just life. Destined to move forward slowly in the realm of gains and losses, choices and sacrifices.

"Brother Hai Sheng, what do you say I should do with my restaurant, should I change the layout……" Ye Liang nervously grabbed me to ask; this was only after I'd struggled for a while that I managed to turn the title "master" into "brother."

"If it is…… but before that, you must prepare one thing" I held the teacup, another hand pointing to the restaurant's left corner.

In the upper left corner of the restaurant, there is a god vase; on the god vase stands a statue of Guanyin. This Guanyin is not merely for display; it has been genuinely consecrated, a spiritually potent statue. Beneath the statue is a large fish tank, in which several koi are kept.

"This statue, this is a statue of Guanyin, what's the problem?" Ye Liang was very puzzled, and he gave me a set of fallacious arguments, saying that this Guanyin Bodhisattva is the South Sea Guanyin, placing the Guanyin's vase above the fish tank corresponds to the meaning of South Sea Guanyin.

"First, I don't know where you learned this, but I dare say it's fallacious." I rubbed my forehead, extended a finger: "First, no matter what statue you place, even if it's not a wealth deity, statues shouldn't be too close to a fish tank. Because a fish tank is a moving object; as long as there is movement, it generates airflow, generates miscellaneous qi, especially since the fish tank is below, the miscellaneous qi rushes upward, which is especially severe. If you were to build a water feature outdoors and erect a Guanyin statue, that might not be a problem. But if it's a residence, concerning wealth luck, then you are completely wrong."

"Second." I continued: "Guanyin is compassionate, eats vegetarian, does not kill. Yet you run a restaurant with beef, pork, dog, mutton, all meats present, five qi in turmoil. Think about it from an understandable angle: letting Guanyin smell these five mixed qi all day, how could she be happy? A vegetarian who daily faces the trouble of these forbidden items, how could she possibly summon the spirit to bless you?"

I have always thought that feng shui numerology, mountain arts divination, are established from the perspective of human nature; they serve people, although they transcend life, they serve life. Therefore they shouldn't be too mysterious and occult; as a numerologist, I should explain things from the simplest, most plain angle to those who don't understand. So I don't like keeping secrets; I prefer to be close to life.

Through my explanation, Ye Liang gradually came to understand some principles; I advised him to pick a day to send away the Guanyin, then invite Lord Guan Er Ye to return and protect.

Afterwards, Ye Liang again asked me, how should we neutralize the triangular arrow atop the factory across the road?

I pondered for a while and told Ye Liang: "Actually, you don't need to worry about this. First, because this year's luck is no longer Geng Metal, and once the fire-clash pattern has been triggered, it will hide the sixty-year cycle. Moreover, when I just walked by, I saw the relocation notice there; this factory should be demolished soon. So the triangular hammer-arrow at the top, you can completely ignore it."

However…… the door facing the straight road is always a kind of sha; water coming straight ahead is most inauspicious, a straight road, a spear. The vicinity is all factories, with sparse population, so the White Tiger sha rushes toward the head; even if you don't bother with the opposite triangular arrow, you still need to block this incoming sha.

After a while, I finally figured out a practical and also feng shui sha-neutralizing method: set up a xuan guan, yes, that is to set up a xuan guan. Earlier, Yuan Qiu introduced me to a doctor who had encountered a rather pitfallsome feng shui master; without examining the fate trigram, he rashly used a xuan guan to neutralize sha.

The method is correct, but it's too rigid, not knowing how to adapt timely, and moreover overlooks that the foundation of feng shui is to serve destiny.

The term xuan guan is generally incomprehensible to laypeople, but I have already explained it before: xuan guan is just a screen; feng shui sha neutralization uses the screen to divide the airflow generated by the magnetic field, blocking it so the airflow flows away from both sides; it's a method very close to life and with a melodic quality.

Ye Liang's restaurant is called Xiang Flavor Manor; its interior arrangement and the style of its name originally follow a retro route. Installing screens inside to partition, adjusting the exterior layout and ceiling arrangement, not only causes no damage, but on the contrary can bring this retro style to its utmost expression. Of course, giving this suggestion is also premised on having learned Ye Liang's fate trigram.

After hearing my suggestion, Ye Liang propped his chin, thought for a while, then hesitantly said: "Brother Hai Sheng, this isn't bad, it's just that my restaurant follows a popular route, serves home-cooked dishes; if I make the tone so high, will people dare not come in?"

"High tone, but the price can be moderate." I patted his shoulder, struck a gun-holding pose, flashed a very dazzling big white tooth, put my arm around him and grinned, showing teeth: "Believe me, Sheng Brother, honesty walks the world, I won't cheat heaven and earth, I won't cheat you."

Before I finished speaking, someone suddenly slapped the back of my head hard. I winced in pain and turned around, seeing Han Duo looking at me with a cold stare,

This crazy woman, makes people not know any courtesy.

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