Song Tan's Notes

Online shopping is so convenient.

Just two days after I selected the item, Brother Zhang from Fengfeng Express brought the package over:
"Let's open it and see. The seller not only mentioned insurance, but also said the shipping fee would be paid upon delivery."

It's not that they simply don't want to pay the shipping fee; they just want to add an extra layer of protection for the package during transit.

Young Zhang didn't know much about jade; he just thought the white and green colors were quite nice, then sighed slightly.
"Because it's raining, fewer packages are being sent out."

Of course! There's really no other way. Fruits and vegetables that have been soaked by rain are simply not suitable for transportation anymore.

But he doesn't actually lose money, because the small quantities of pickles and the like, which are only available in limited quantities every day, are still being snapped up.

Sure enough, Brother Zhang sighed a couple of times and drove off to the mountain to pick up more goods.

Song Tan looked at the gift box wrapped in layers of boxes, inside which was a string of 4mm emerald green rice beads, translucent and lustrous.

In terms of price, it's even more expensive than the last one, so much so that Song Tan held the long, thin chain and dangled it in mid-air, his brow furrowed in distress.
Burying this stuff in the ground increases the cost of building construction.

Then I looked at the gift I was going to choose for that Taoist priest—an ordinary lotus flower plaque, its color a rather vibrant apple green.

This shows that they never even considered matching the Taoist priest's aesthetic.

But Song Tan also had something to say: once she properly nourishes it with spiritual energy, the quality of this jade will improve several levels. If someone had a million, would they complain that the million-dollar bill wasn't brand new?
Next up was Lu Chuan's choice.

A pair of ordinary peace and safety pendants, not particularly expensive, but the colors perfectly match the white and blue of the Song Dynasty sandalwood bracelet. The white is warm and clean, and the blue is fresh and tender like spring willow, with a very natural transition.

She didn't know much about these things; at this moment, she was only pleased to find that she could appreciate this beauty, so she didn't hesitate to keep both of them.

"I'll give it to you after I've had it rested for a while."

Meanwhile, Lu Chuan and Zhan Zhuan talked to a few friends and managed to get in touch with the Taoist priest.

only……

"Do you have time next week? We need to go to the capital."

"Invite him in person?" Old Master Song was unwilling to give up.

Lu Chuan sighed helplessly, "It's easier for outsiders to chant sutras. Go ahead, after all, only you can explain the details of that place clearly. However, the Taoist temple isn't very big, and the Taoist priest isn't pretentious at all. You should like his personality."

Okay, if we're going to invite people anyway, it'll sound more impressive if the boss does it personally.

Putting everything else aside, ever since the news spread that she was going to go through a lot of trouble to ask a master to come and look at the feng shui, the villagers who had never had any opinions about the houses in the town started to gather around in twos and threes to inquire, eager to know the price so they could make careful preparations.

Even more so, although fewer people come to the village when it rains, there are always a few customers who come to buy groceries or see a doctor, and they chat with the idle aunties in the village—wow!
There were quite a few questions from people from other places, including those in the city.

Is that right?!

This made Song Tan feel very depressed.

But... "Who did you go through all this trouble to ask for help from?" Could it really be a leader?

“No,” Lu Chuan explained, “There are people in all walks of life who deeply believe in this. I know a writer who is quite famous. He also believes in this very much. Every year on the first day of the lunar new year, he spends a lot of money to be the first to offer incense. Even in his hometown, he tries to be the first to offer incense every year on the first day of the lunar new year.”

"Whether it's a temple or a Taoist temple, these are all big clients. Asking someone to convey their intentions shouldn't be a big problem."

Song Tan: ...She really went down the wrong track!

Although my skill in spirit writing is not very good, it cannot be said that it is inaccurate.

Whether you went into metaphysics or jade gambling back then, the prospects for making money were clearly very bright!
If all else fails, why not start a live stream and teach people how to cultivate immortality?

Let's not talk about cultivating immortality, let's talk about meditation. Regardless of whether ordinary people can achieve it now, it's basically no problem to improve physical health.

Why isn't it considered a "plus version" of a certain piece of martial arts?

Choosing to farm in such a simple way shows that no one can ever truly neglect their own appetite.

Time is also fate!
In short, since things have come to this, let's pack our bags and head to the capital.

Ulan was still a little regretful: "There aren't many days left before Xiao Yang starts school, otherwise I would have called Qiao Qiao back and taken her to see the temple and pay my respects."

"No rush," Song Tan said.

“Going to a Taoist temple is complicated, and even if the Taoist priest has time, he can’t always focus on seeing Qiaoqiao.”

She said this through gritted teeth, but seeing the expectant looks on Old Song's face, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and say:

"Once the people are invited, we'll arrange for them to stay with Lu Chuan for ten days or half a month. There will be plenty of time to talk things over and observe carefully."

Oh my, this made Ulan overjoyed.

Meanwhile, she couldn't help but mutter, "Qiaoqiao has been gone for so many days, I wonder if she misses home."

Song Tan pointed to her phone: "Don't we video chat every night? He said he missed you yesterday. And he's back so soon, isn't he?"

After all, although they had initially agreed to accompany Yang Zhengxin to school, it was only now that they realized that the important thing about accompanying Yang Zhengxin to school was not just accompanying him, but bringing lots and lots of local specialties!

If Qiaoqiao doesn't come back, how can we carefully select local specialties?

Surely the young man wouldn't feel comfortable asking Song Tan to personally arrange all this again?
In short, the two of them really need to come back and pack again before the start of the semester.

However, when this was mentioned, Song Tan became curious and inquired further:
"Didn't you say you were going to hire a shaman? Why didn't you mention it when you got back?"

The couple exchanged a glance, neither of them daring to speak.

They found the sorcerers they had asked around for: one in a village next to Song Tan's grandmother's, and the other in another village in their Qingxi Town.

Song Sancheng went up to them first.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, he was afraid that if he opened his mouth to talk about building a house, he would be laughed at, so he humbly and vaguely said that he had a piece of land at home and wanted to build a house there, and would like to ask a master to take a look.

"Okay!"

Masters love this kind of work—it pays well, is easy, and is close to home.

But how much money one can make depends on their connections and methods.

So he sat there enigmatically, asking about the birth chart, scrutinizing every detail, chanting a low incantation, and finally saying in a deep voice:
"Your life is just...tsk."

The other person shook their head fiercely: "Throughout your life, you've had no relatives to rely on, few benefactors, and you can't depend on anyone else for anything; you have to rely on your own hard work. The worst part is, there are always petty people holding you back."

That harsh remark immediately stunned the couple.

Ulan and Song Sancheng looked at each other in bewilderment.

If you can't rely on any relatives, then there's really not much you can do with them. They're all farmers, what else can you rely on?

There are few benefactors; how many benefactors can one encounter in a lifetime of farming? The daughter is truly remarkable.

As for the petty people dragging us down—sigh! Ulan slapped his thigh:
“Isn’t Song Dafang a despicable person? When our family was selling vegetables at a stall, his family caused trouble and dragged us down.”

If Mao Li and her mother-in-law were here, they would probably cry foul.

They went through all that trouble, but they didn't gain anything from the end.

I went back to my hometown intending to eat and take some home, but ended up bringing back a huge pile of lettuce. I spent the whole day preparing it but didn't get to taste a single bite, and it even got soaked in the rain. Who really got dragged down here?

It would be an immense injustice to tell anyone.

But the fortune teller, with a mere glance, had already made a judgment about this family.

Looking again at the brand-new car parked outside, and then at Wulan's big gold bracelet and permed hair, the other party understood what was going on. He then said to Song Sancheng again:

"Your fate is such that money comes in with one hand and goes out with the other; it's hard to hold onto. Living expenses are high; you have to spend money here and there. Whenever you have a little money, there's always some big expense... And besides, you've had bad luck these past two years."

Nonsense! If he were truly so pleased with himself, why would he bother coming all this way to have his fortune told?
As for the matter of calculating the house, there are many more interpretations of that. If you don't first subdue the person, how can you get things done later?

But this made Wulan half-believing and half-doubting, because Song Sancheng really didn't keep any money; he was also very generous and would give away things that weren't always available.

At home, the elderly couple doesn't manage the finances anymore, except for the money their daughter gives them each month.

Those millions or tens of millions, aren't they all in their daughter's account? She does whatever she says. The two of them happily save up 100,000 or 200,000 yuan a month.
Believe it or not, in just a year and a half, I've saved up more than I did in the first half of my entire life.

This doesn't seem to match what the master said, does it?

She was wary and quickly asked, "Master, could you tell me how many stories this house we're building should have?"

"Your fate..." The master calculated on his fingers again:

"If it were anyone else, I'd say a single-story or two-story house would be fine, but for you, it has to be three stories to suppress it. But the area shouldn't be too big, otherwise the person's fate won't be able to handle it."

He thought he had laid a good foundation and was just about to ask Ulan another question before getting to the point.

But to everyone's surprise, this simple yet common rural woman slowly stood up and tugged at her silent husband beside her:
"It seems this isn't suitable for us. If we can only build small buildings, then the 600 acres of land that were specially approved will be useless, right? That would be a huge financial loss! No way!"

Pulling and tugging, the two quickly got into the car, ignoring the master's wide-eyed stare behind them.

Once in the car, Wulan snorted, "Look at the person you found, what is he saying? It's all inaccurate."

Song Sancheng said aggrievedly, "When he first started talking, didn't you say it was quite accurate? It all matched up."

The couple bickered for a while, and then went to find the family that Ulan had contacted.

The other person was probably doing better than the previous master; even though they were both in a mountain village, they had built a beautiful three-story house.

Song Sancheng glanced at the car parked in the yard and realized it was worth almost 10 yuan more than his own!

If you can make money like this, you must have some skills, right?

Ulan straightened her back and strode inside.

The master didn't preemptively strike; as soon as Ulan opened his mouth, he said, "You are blessed. You had a hard time in your early years, but things gradually became more stable in your middle age, and you will have great fortune in your later years."

"I just like to interpret things for people who are blessed with good fortune."

Whoops!

These words really resonated with Ulan!

That's for sure. Before, we were practically drowning in bitterness, with no end in sight.

Now, everyone knows that they will be enjoying their future—no, they are already enjoying it.

She sat down with a smug look on her face, unilaterally believing that this master was quite accomplished.

But before he could finish speaking, the other person said, "You look rather pale; you seem to have some worries about your children."

Driving a brand new car worth 20 yuan, with a gleaming gold bracelet, and bearing the marks of a hard-working rural person on his face, he just happened to come knocking on the door again.
That makes no difference; they're basically all for their children.

This saying is absolutely true.

However, before Ulan could even get comfortable sitting there, she was bewildered upon hearing this and thinking about it for a moment: She had been working in the fields all summer, so it was normal for her face to be a little tanned. Why was she bringing up her children's worries?
Although Tan Tan never mentioned marriage, she was a little worried. But when she thought about her life now, it was something she never dared to dream of before, so why was she so worried?
Thinking of this, she lowered her eyes and tentatively asked, "Master, I came here to ask about my house. My daughter wants to build a house, and I just want to ask if she should be allowed to build it?"

The master frowned:
"Your children will each have their own destiny. Your good fortune will depend on your son. If your daughter builds a house, then your children will definitely cause trouble in the future."

"Who?" Ulan pointed at herself with her hand back: "My son? My children causing trouble?"

This time, without him having to say anything, Song Sancheng, who was always a bit clumsy with words, snorted first: "Still making fun of me? Aren't we just the same?"

In short, the couple returned home dejectedly.

At this moment, Song Tan specifically pulled Lu Chuan over to ask about this matter, and they looked embarrassed and ashamed.
"Whether those two are capable or not, this matter still depends on Xiao Chuan's abilities and the powerful people he knows."

But after praising him, he added, "It's not that he has no skill at all, just that it's not deep enough. What they said about your dad at the beginning, and what they said about me at the beginning, were quite accurate."

Lu Chuan immediately burst into laughter.

They write novels, so they research all sorts of information.

Opening the browsing history reveals a string of posts that are either antisocial or serial killers, not to mention anything about metaphysics.

He didn't even need to go back and look up information; he already understood one principle:
"These fortune tellers have their own routines. When talking about a man's fate, they first frighten him and then flatter him; when talking about a woman's fate, they first flatter her and then frighten her. If they come with great enthusiasm, their past life must have been full of hardships; if they speak arrogantly, their recent fortune is not bad."

After saying that, he suppressed a laugh and concluded, "You two are just being too polite, which is why you seem to have some worries lately."

The two were immediately depressed.

Then Song Tan delivered the final blow from behind: "Did you pay for this fortune telling?"

Of course I'll give it to you!

Whether it will work out or not, you have to ask before you can even begin.

It wasn't much, just 20 and 30 yuan each. But spending those 50 yuan was such a bummer!

The two of them were even more frustrated.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Song Tan wanted to laugh too: You guys just believe in outsider monks!

He then comforted her, saying, "News travels fast in our area. The fortune teller who didn't make a sale to you two will definitely be asking around, just in case he can't do it again next time."

"After asking around, I found out that your daughter has taken 600 acres of land to build a house and asked a master to take a look."

"Just think about it, what a huge business this is! They might not make a sale for three years, but this one sale will feed them for three years. They must be regretting it to death!"

Then there were Taoist priests invited from other places.

Putting everything else aside, how can their low-level, unregulated activities in the countryside compare to those who actually obtain proper certificates?

Wouldn't that make you even more regretful?

After such reassurance, the couple felt a little better.

Ulan was filled with burning fighting spirit:

"I'm going to find someone to chat with right now!"

She wouldn't be a true rural woman if she didn't spread this news to other villages today! (End of Chapter)