Furniture Shopping

In a private room at a small restaurant called Dongting Lake, four grown men were drinking with boisterous enthusiasm.

"Come on, bottoms up! It's been ages since the four of us got together." The speaker was He Junming, the one who'd demanded that Shen Qiong tell his fortune for ten thousand yuan a reading.

"Tell me about it! In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed. It's not easy for us college roommates to get together," Li Junwen, a bespectacled man with a refined air, said with a smile.

Old classmates felt especially close when they met again. They'd also been college roommates, and the four of them had always gotten along well. Even though work and family kept them from meeting often, they chatted up a storm in their WeChat group.

"Lao Si, you said you have a big project to discuss tomorrow afternoon, right? Then take it easy on the drinks," Zhang Dehua, the oldest of the four, reminded him.

The youngest of them, Lao Si, was Xiao Chengzhou. He smiled. "It's fine, Big Brother. As long as you're having a good time."

He Junming was Second Brother, and he could hold his liquor better than the others. He raised his glass and drained it in one go. "Come on, I'm happy today, so I'll finish mine. Drink as much as you like."

After drinking half a glass, Li Junwen, Third Brother, turned to Xiao Chengzhou and asked, "You guys were really lively in the group chat the other day! Lao Si, what was that big project you said you'd landed?"

Xiao Chengzhou took a sip. "I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse, to be honest. My older brother introduced me to a business owner who said he could sell me a batch of computer motherboards for thirty percent less than the market price."

Zhang Dehua thought that sounded like a good deal. "What are you worried about? Getting them for thirty percent less means you'll make a fortune!"

Xiao Chengzhou lowered his voice. "I suspect the batch is stolen goods. Otherwise, there's no way he'd offer them to me so cheaply."

The others understood that stolen goods had an unknown origin and could easily lead to trouble.

"Then... what do you think?" He Junming asked, blinking.

Xiao Chengzhou smiled bitterly. "I'm still on the fence. My wife told me to go. Stolen goods are usually fine quality-wise; I'm just worried there might be trouble later."

Zhang Dehua was a cautious man. He fell silent for a moment before saying, "I think you should give this careful consideration. Getting them would be great, but the risk is a bit too high."

Li Junwen had a different opinion. He smiled and said, "That's business for you. The bold get rich while the timid go hungry. I think you should give it a shot."

Xiao Chengzhou picked up some braised eggplant and placed it in his bowl. "I'll go check out the goods tomorrow. They're over on Hongqiao Street, which isn't far. I'll take a look before deciding."

He Junming perked up. "Hongqiao Street? Isn't that near Shili Street?"

"Yeah, nearby. Why?" Xiao Chengzhou looked at him.

He Junming smiled. "I was back in my hometown the other day and passed an old fortune-telling shop. People nearby said it was incredibly accurate—every reading came true. I'd wanted to give it a try, but I got turned away."

The other three burst out laughing. "No way! Tell us about it, Second Brother."

He went on, "The master wasn't very old, but he was stubborn. He only read fortunes for people he considered fated to meet him. I even offered him ten thousand yuan for a reading, but he still wouldn't agree."

The others were amazed. That really was something.

"That master sounds pretty willful. I've never heard of anyone turning down money before," Zhang Dehua said with a laugh.

"Exactly! I was stunned too. I even searched for the master online and found some information on Weibo."

He Junming drank half a glass and continued, "The Weibo post said you had to make an appointment to get your fortune told at that shop. There were lots of comments. The strange thing was, many people called it a scam and said it was fake, even though none of them had ever been there. Meanwhile, quite a few people who said they'd visited claimed the readings were really accurate."

Xiao Chengzhou asked curiously, "Didn't anyone say they'd gone and been scammed?"

He Junming looked up and grinned. "Actually, there was one person. The only one. He's in prison now."

"Damn, that's something! The master must have some serious connections!" the others exclaimed.

"I don't know if he has connections or not. But if you're really going tomorrow, Lao Si, you could try asking that master first. You might learn something," He Junming said with a smile as he picked up a peanut.

Xiao Chengzhou was intrigued. It sounded pretty mysterious, but there was no harm in trying. "All right. Send me the address later."

Li Junwen teased him, "You're going? Don't you have to make an appointment?"

The four of them burst out laughing...

After they'd finished getting together, Xiao Chengzhou really did drive over to Shili Street. Following the location He Junming had given him, he found Shen Qiong's little shop.

Xiao Chengzhou stopped at the entrance and glanced at the notice board standing by the door. He smiled. "You really do need an appointment!"

Just then, a man came over from nearby with a cheerful smile. "Sir, are you here to have Master Shen tell your fortune? You don't look familiar, so you must not be from around here. Let me tell you, Master Shen's readings are incredibly accurate."

Xiao Chengzhou froze. Could this guy be a shill? Why did someone come over to pitch the place as soon as I stopped here?

The man saw his expression and realized he'd misunderstood. He quickly explained, "Actually, I'm the owner of the shop next door. We take photos and print them quickly. To make an appointment here, you need to put a photo in the appointment box."

Only then did Xiao Chengzhou understand. Once he did, he became even more curious about Master Shen. A simple appointment system had brought business to the surrounding shops too. That was pretty impressive!

After getting his photo taken, Xiao Chengzhou wrote his name and contact information on the back and dropped it into the appointment box. He even took a walk around the area before leaving.

He didn't believe in fate, but because he took this deal seriously, he had no choice but to follow the notice's instructions and stay near Shili Street to increase his chances of getting an appointment.

Whatever. I've done what I can. I'll go home and wait for news.

Meanwhile, inside the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, Shen Qiong stretched. Ever since he'd introduced his new rules for fortune-telling, business hadn't dwindled; it had actually picked up. What was more, customers came to ask about health and Luck Value, which were practically effortless for him to divine.

Shen Qiong knew how important new customers were, so he checked the box for first-time appointments several times a day. After all, the people who appeared among People nearby were only there for a limited time. The system refreshed every ten minutes, showing seven people each time. With the shop open for eight hours, he could find several hundred people a day, as long as he didn't count duplicates.

Xiao Chengzhou's decision to linger on Shili Street hadn't been in vain. Just before Shen Qiong closed up, Xiao Chengzhou appeared on the final list of the day. Shen Qiong noted down his contact information and sent him a text asking him to come by the next morning.

With their text exchange, it would be easy to find him in the "People I've greeted" list the next day.

After closing the shop for the day, Shen Qiong made a special trip by bus to a chain supermarket in the city to buy new appliances.

"Not having a car is such a hassle. I need to replace everything at home, and once I've saved up a bit more, I'll have to buy a car," Shen Qiong murmured as he sat on the bus.

When he arrived at Jia Jia Fu Shopping Center, Shen Qiong first bought a new air conditioner, then spotted an LCD television. He didn't watch much TV, but the old one at home bothered him just to look at. He really ought to replace it.

Shopping was addictive. Browsing when you had no money was one thing, but once your wallet got a little fatter, you wanted to buy everything you saw. Shen Qiong wished he could replace every appliance at home.

After an hour of shopping, Shen Qiong had already spent eighteen thousand yuan on his card. Spending money was a moment of bliss; earning it was backbreaking.

Shen Qiong gritted his teeth. He still had to buy what needed buying, so he steeled himself and went back through the furniture section, purchasing a computer desk and a dining table. The most expensive item was a sofa set that cost twelve thousand yuan. When he paid, Shen Qiong felt his heart bleed.