I consulted a feng shui master in Hong Kong.

Thinking of this, Huang Shouzhou forgot all about being tired and had no intention of resting. He immediately got up and ran outside.

"I'm going to find the broker!" he said, turning around. "I know this area of ​​Sham Shui Po well. I've heard a bit about all the dilapidated houses and unprofitable shops. You wait, I'll bring you the middleman today."

Chen Qinghe nodded and said nothing more.

In the afternoon, Huang Shouzhou indeed brought back a middle-aged broker surnamed Liang. He was wearing a yellowish white shirt, but his leather shoes were polished quite well. As soon as he entered the door, he looked left and right at the dilapidated courtyard of the Sanxuan Temple, with a hint of surprise in his expression.

They probably never imagined that the "master who had the money to rent a large shop" that Huang Shou-chou mentioned would actually live in such a place.

"Liang Zhongren," Huang Shouzhou spoke up first, "Don't let the old location fool you, my junior brother here is a truly capable person. He's the one who handled the Huo family's affairs."

Liang Zhongren's eyelids twitched, and his politeness immediately increased.

The Huo family's reputation speaks for itself; someone like him, who makes a living by going door-to-door as a real estate agent, couldn't possibly have never heard of them.

"Master Chen," Liang Zhongren cupped his hands in greeting, "Master Huang said you're looking for a cheaper shop. There are some normal ones, but at your asking prices, it'll be hard to find one that suits your taste. But if you're talking about the kind that others wouldn't dare touch... there really is one."

"How big?" Chen Qinghe asked.

"It has three courtyards, facing the street, with a fairly large entrance and a courtyard at the back." Liang Zhongren's expression tightened as he spoke. "The only problem is that the place has a bad reputation. It used to be a cloth shop, which lost money. Then it was converted into a teahouse, which also failed. Later, someone bought it and converted it into a residence, but they moved out before three months had passed. The landlord doesn't want rent anymore; he just says that if anyone can stay there for three months, the rent is negotiable, and he might even pay them a little extra."

Huang Shouzhou felt a chill run down his spine: "Paying out of pocket?"

Liang Zhongren smiled wryly: "I've never seen anything like this before, but the landlord is really scared. He's had that shop sitting in his hands for years, unable to rent it out or sell it. Now, he'd be incredibly grateful if anyone was willing to take it over."

Chen Qinghe raised an eyebrow slightly.

There's such a good thing.

Seeing that his expression remained unchanged, Liang Zhongren was somewhat puzzled and couldn't help but add, "Master Chen, let me be clear from the start. That place is either a place where someone has died or where luck is terrible. It's rumored that anyone who goes there will be unlucky. If you want to do business steadily, you'd better choose another place."

"Let's go take a look first." Chen Qinghe stood up.

Liang Zhongren was taken aback: "Now?"

"Now," Chen Qinghe said.

The three of them came out of Fu'an Lane, turned two streets, crossed a slightly wider road, and finally stopped at a somewhat deserted street corner.

The shop was indeed quite large, with a storefront wider than the surrounding shops. The old signboard had long been removed, leaving only two rusty nails on the wall.

The wooden pillars on both sides of the door were blackened, and no light could see through the paper windows. Even though it was evening, the place seemed darker than the rest of the room when standing in front of the door.

When Liang Zhongren took out his keys to open the door, his hand was a second slow.

As soon as the door was pushed open, a stale, stagnant smell rushed out.

Huang Shouzhou stood at the door, only glanced inside, and couldn't help but shrink back.

"This place..." he said in a low voice, "is so eerie."

It was cooler inside the shop than outside. The tables and chairs had long been moved out, leaving only a few drag marks on the floor.

In front is a spacious hall, and behind it is an old door. Further in, you can see a corner of a small courtyard. The brick floor is covered in dust, and there is half a broken pottery jar in the corner.

Even though the sunlight could still shine in, the place felt strangely stagnant, as if the air didn't flow in when the door was opened, but instead all of it sank to the ground.

Chen Qinghe didn't rush to speak, but slowly walked in through the door.

He first looked at the door, then at the pillars, then at the connection between the roof beam and the short wall behind it, and finally stood in the hall, closed his eyes, as if listening to something.

Huang Shouzhou followed behind, and the more he looked, the more uneasy he felt.

"Junior brother," he said in a low voice, "is this place really okay? It doesn't look like a place that can open its doors to guests to me."

Chen Qinghe then opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the low wall in the hall that shouldn't have been there, and said calmly, "The feng shui of this house is problematic."

Upon hearing this, Huang Shouzhou breathed a sigh of relief.

Having problems is not scary.

The worst thing is not being able to see the problem.

After what happened with the Huo family, Huang Shouzhou became completely obedient to his young junior brother.

Chen Qinghe knew what was going on.

The shop has a wide storefront, which should be a good place to do business, but the street in front of it is not straight. A wide road on the left slopes diagonally across, and a narrow alley cuts out diagonally on the right. The two roads twist and turn in front of the shop, like a pair of half-open scissors, right in front of the shop.

This is called "cutting the road". There should be a way to let the energy in front of the door, but here there are two paths cutting each other. Before the energy can enter the door, it is cut off first.

When you stand at the doorway, your feet will instinctively feel anxious, and your heart will be restless. This is the worst thing you can do in a business setting.

As for the interior of the shop, the front hall was originally spacious. When the air enters through the door, it should turn back in the middle before walking to the back.

Unfortunately, someone built this wall in the middle of the hall, cutting off the flow of life from the very center.

The road outside is already narrow, and then walls are built to block it from the inside. No energy can get in from the front, so naturally, no one can stay in the back.

These changes were likely made by the previous tenant.

Chen Qinghe went over and asked.

Liang Zhongren gave Chen Qinghe a thumbs up: "Young master, you're right. This wall was built by the owner of the teahouse behind the house. Back then, people said the front hall was too empty, so they wanted to block the view to attract wealth and also to block outsiders' view. Later, the teahouse business didn't improve, the owner fell ill first, and then he closed the door overnight."

Chen Qinghe nodded; this was only to be expected.

Continuing along the shop layout, we circled around to the small courtyard at the back.

The courtyard wasn't large, but the brick floor was noticeably half an inch lower. The drain in the corner was dark and damp, and moisture seeped up the walls.

The worst part is that the alley behind the courtyard is lower than the shop, meaning that the breath that barely gets in through the broken wall of the hall is released out along the low slope behind before it can even stand up.

There's something wrong with this shop, but it's not too difficult for Chen Qinghe to resolve.

He patted Huang Shouzhuo on the shoulder, indicating that the house could be reserved immediately.

Then the rest is simple.

"The landlord said that if you're willing to rent this place, you only need to pay a one-month deposit."

"No rent for the first three months. If you can stay in business for three months, the landlord will return double your deposit!"

Huang Shouzhou hurriedly asked, "How much is the deposit?"

Five thousand yuan.

That's really not much.

Just around the corner from here is the most bustling street in Sham Shui Po.

Five thousand yuan a month in this place is considered a bargain.

"This is the place we'll stay," Chen Qinghe said.

Once the contract was drawn up, Huang Shouzhou signed his name.