I consulted a feng shui master in Hong Kong.

It's not that I'm afraid of spending money.

In a place like Hong Kong, money is ultimately just a threshold.

The real problem is whether the place is worth building after the money has been spent, and whether it can be defended after it's built.

Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a long time, Huang Shouzhou cautiously approached him.

"How about... we don't think too big for now? Let's raise the threshold, patch up the leaks, unclog the drainage in the yard, and replace the incense table. Let's get the facade up first. Anyway, the neighbors know you're capable now, so the reputation of Sanxuan Temple is already half established."

Chen Qinghe shook his head.

"A storefront can sustain you for a while, but it can't sustain you in the long run."

He tapped the table twice with his hand, pushed aside the account book and the old paper, and turned to unfold the old Sanxuan score he had just brought back.

Huang Shouzhuo was taken aback.

"Aren't we supposed to be calculating money? Why are we looking at old scores again?"

"We need to consider the money, and we also need to assess the land." Chen Qinghe lowered his head and turned the pages, his voice calm. "Building a temple isn't like building walls. We need to consider the layout first, then talk about money. If the location is wrong, spending 200,000 is a waste."

The first half of the old manual records the old methods of the master's school, while the second half contains annotations left by Li Zhengfeng during his travels around Hong Kong over the years.

Chen Qinghe had previously only focused on the Yongchang Construction and Jinfulou line, but now that he had calmed down and was reviewing it again, he discovered that in addition to memorizing unorthodox methods, Li Zhengfeng had also scattered a lot of methods for "observing the land".

His hand paused when he turned to a crumpled old page in the corner.

The drawing on that page wasn't of a house or a shop, but of a very narrow alley.

The alley is narrow at the beginning, bends in the middle, and ends at a small courtyard with two marks indicating the remnants of a waterway.

Chen Qinghe stared at the picture for a couple of seconds, then suddenly pushed the booklet forward.

"Come and take a look."

Huang Shouzhou quickly leaned closer, squinted at it for a long time, and then hesitated before saying, "This... looks like Fu'an Lane?"

"That's Fu'anli."

Next to the picture is a line of very small characters, written by Li Zhengfeng.

"The alley is narrow and the air is tight; it can be used for shelter but not for guarding. A small courtyard is fine for hiding, but not enough for standing and observing."

After Huang Shouzhou finished reading, his face immediately fell.

"Oh no, even my martial uncle says so, then we really can't stay here any longer."

"It's not that we can't stay here, it's that we can't establish a foothold here." Chen Qinghe turned to the next page of the booklet. "Fu'an Lane is suitable for settling down, but not for opening a business here. It can hide people, avoid trouble, and allow Sanxuan Temple to catch its breath, but if we want to truly establish our reputation, we need to move to a different place."

Huang Shouzhou's eyes widened in surprise.

"Move to another location? Are you kidding me? Repairing the temple is already expensive enough, and you want to move it all over again?"

"We're not moving now," Chen Qinghe said calmly. "We're making two preparations first."

He picked up a pen and drew two new lines on the old paper.

The first step is to repair this courtyard.

The second step is to find a new place.

"In Fu'anli, we need to fix the most critical parts first: the threshold, drainage, front hall, and back courtyard. We need to contain the negative energy so that if anyone wants to keep an eye on this place, they can't just step through it. At the same time, we need to find a suitable site. Once we find a place where we can build a temple, we'll decide whether to expand the temple or relocate it."

Huang Shouzhou felt a tightness in his forehead as he listened.

"Easy for you to say, it's not that easy to find. The kind of place you're looking for can't be too remote, nor too noisy, and it has to be spacious in front and stable in the back, with no negative influences nearby. Land prices in Hong Kong are changing daily, do you think we're going to find a bargain?"

Chen Qinghe didn't respond, but just kept looking down and flipping through the old scores.

After turning a few more pages, Li Zhengfeng wrote a note in a blank corner.

"The purpose of a site should not be to compete for prosperity, but for the gathering and retention of auspicious energy. It should be near the market but not on the street, where people can be seen but not in the noise, with a support behind and a turning point in front, where water can be collected on the left and there is no pressure on the right. If it is a redevelopment of an old granary, ancestral hall, or courtyard, it is better than building a new building on flat ground."

Chen Qinghe's eyes flickered slightly when he saw this.

"Old granary, old ancestral hall, old courtyard..."

Huang Shouzhou hadn't reacted yet: "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, you don't necessarily have to buy vacant land." Chen Qinghe closed the booklet halfway, looked up at him, and said, "Buying land is the most expensive option. Buying existing old houses or warehouses might actually give you a chance."

Huang Shouzhou was stunned.

"But who would sell a place like this?"

"I will sell," Chen Qinghe said calmly. "As long as the owner is in a hurry to get rid of it, I will sell it."

Huang Shouzhou was about to say that it was too much of a coincidence, but he suddenly stopped and his eyes slowly lit up.

"Wait, that old dye shop on the back street?"

Chen Qinghe looked at him.

Huang Shouzhou suddenly perked up and forgot all about the roast goose leg.

"In the alley behind Fu'an Lane, turn west and you'll find an old dye shop that's been abandoned for two years. It has a shop front and a whole courtyard in the back, with a dry well in the courtyard. The place originally belonged to a family surnamed Liang, but they went bankrupt due to gambling debts, closed the shop, and ran away. Now it's in the hands of a brokerage firm. The neighbors all think the place is unlucky, saying that someone died there before, so no one dares to take it over."

Chen Qinghe raised an eyebrow.

"Has someone died there?"

"It's not a murder case, just that a colleague died of illness." Huang Shouzhou quickly waved his hand. "Anyway, the rumors got more and more bizarre, and eventually nobody wanted to touch it. But aren't you the least afraid of these rumors?"

Chen Qinghe did not speak immediately.

The old dye house, with a backyard and a well, is not far from Fu'an Lane. It's an old courtyard house that the owner is eager to get rid of.

These conditions are already quite satisfactory.

Have you been to that place?

"I peeked at it from the entrance during the day, but didn't go inside." Huang Shouzhou said, then shrank back, "Mainly because that well by the entrance was pitch black and looked rather creepy."

Chen Qinghe simply closed the old score.

"Let's look at that one first."

Huang Shouzhou was taken aback: "Now?"

"Tomorrow morning."

He bent down and pulled the ledger on the table back over, quickly writing down a few items in the blank space with his pen.

How much cash?

How much articulation is possible?

The favors from the Huo family can no longer be used for the time being.

The money sent by Su Yulian and Huo Qingtang can only be used for temporary purposes; we can't expect them to keep paying for it indefinitely.

We still need to keep an eye on Gu Chengyue's line, but we can't rush things.

After writing down each item, Chen Qinghe felt more at ease.

Being poor isn't the most troublesome thing.

It's troublesome when you have no connections.

At least we have a plan now.

Huang Shouzhou stood by and watched for a while, then couldn't help but ask, "What about the rest of the old score? Didn't it say that my uncle's death was related to those people? Aren't you going to continue reading?"

Chen Qinghe turned to the last few pages of the old score, his gaze falling on the few lines of fragmented characters.

"Yes, we should look. But let's not go down that line yet."

Why?

"Because my uncle was too hasty back then."

Huang Shouzhou immediately shut up.

Chen Qinghe pressed his finger against the edge of the paper that had been torn in half, his voice very faint.

"He investigated Yongchang Construction, Linwen, and found out who was behind them. But by then, Sanxuan Temple had already fallen, and he had no one around him and no power. Even if he found out, he couldn't protect himself."

"I cannot follow in his footsteps."

This statement, though made lightly, carries great weight.

Huang Shouzhou stood there, speechless for a long time.

After a moment, he asked in a low voice, "So, right now... should we focus on making money, repairing the temple, and finding a suitable location?"

"right."

"and then?"

Chen Qinghe carefully wrapped up the old score and placed it back in the safest spot under the desk. He then looked up at the mottled old plaque outside the door.

"Then, when they realize that the Sanxuan Temple is just a worthless old signboard, they will put the signboard back up."

"We'll look for that line when it can block the wind and also weigh people down."

It was completely dark outside.

The lights at the alley entrance lit up one by one, and the calls of vendors selling late-night snacks could be heard in the distance. The courtyard wasn't big, and it still felt empty when the wind blew in.

Chen Qinghe walked to the door, glanced at the courtyard wall and the narrow patch of land squeezed out behind it, and began to plan how to inspect the old dyehouse tomorrow, which side to measure first, which water outlet to check first, whether the well was still usable, and whether the back wall could be demolished.

The troubles remain.

But the troubles are no longer the kind where there's no way out.