Chapter 11

Hexian Town was quite big. Grandma Yun went to the largest vegetable market. Since they did not have a stall, they could only sell the vegetables in the open space in front of the vegetable market. There were many people from nearby villages who came to sell vegetables. Some of them sold home grown vegetables while others sold vegetables taken from distributors. Grandma Yun’s vegetables were not large, but looking at the dewy vegetables, she set the price of the vegetables to be the same as those in the market. She actually felt that it was a bit cheap as she felt that the taste of the vegetables were really good.

Yunyu could not stand still, so she informed Grandma Yun before walking around the town.

There were quite a lot of breakfast restaurants, other small restaurants as well as large hotels in town. Of course, there were no three, four or five star hotels but there were many small hotels.

Housing prices had risen, and more and more housing communities had been built. There were also rumors that a small villa community would be built nearby.

Sitting on the bench in the shopping mall, Yunyu thought, ‘Building so many houses, can you stay in all of them?’

There were not many places to go shopping in the town, and she did not like the pedestrian street, so she hid out in this shopping mall for a while. Remembering that Song Jingjing called her the night before, Yunyu took out her mobile phone and sent a text message to ask Jingjing why she called her yesterday. Song Jingjing quickly dialed the phone and Yunyu picked up, hearing Song Jingjing’s voice from her phone, “Xiao Yu’er, is Mother Yun okay?”

Yunyu smiled and said, “It’s okay. She will get better after a few months of physiotherapy.” She had used her spiritual spring water to massage Mother Yun every day. After the left leg regaine some consciousness, she will use silver needles together with the spiritual spring water to treat her. Mother Yun’s legs may have the possibility of recovering, but it would be long process.

“It’s good that everything is alright. Help me say hello to Mother Yun. I’ll head over with Shanshan to visit Mother Yun and Grandmother Yun one of these days when we are free.” Both Song Jingjing and Pang Shanshan had been to Yunyu’s hometown.

Yunyu agreed then asked about Shanshan’s situation.

Song Jingjing sighed, “She’s alright when she goes to work during the day, but at night, she hides under the covers to cry. I’ll stay with her for a while, and will go back when she’s better.”

“It’s always a process.” After all, they had been in love for three years. WHo would have known that the gentle and handsome boyfriend was actually a gentle scum.

The two chatted for a while before Song Jingjing hung up the phone, needing to work.

Yunyu had nothing to do, so she bought a marker from the stationery store, found a small wooden board, trimmed it neatly, before writing two big letters “Fortune Telling”. She wrote using regular script (T/N: 楷书字体 kǎishū – Newest of the Chinese script styles and is the most common style in modern writings) and had a beautiful handwriting. The area was the rest area of the shopping mall and there were still a lot of people sitting. Most of them were old people who were taking their grandchildren out for a walk during the warm weather. When they saw the simple fortune-telling booth in front of a little girl like Yunyu, they all laughed and shook their heads. An old lady teased Yunyu. “Little girl, do you really know how to tell fortunes? How much is a reading?”

Yunyu glanced at the little doll (T/N: Little kid/ baby) in the old lady’s arms and said, “It’s up to you.”

The old lady was probably a little moved. There was an old man by her side tugging at her.

“Granny Liu, are you really planning to get your fortune read? Why don’t you go to the temple to find someone divine instead? What does this little girl know? Looking at her age, she is probably out to fool people.”

Yunyu was not angry. She looked at the old man with a smile, “Grandpa, you can’t talk nonsense. You can’t deny my ability just because I’m young. As for whether I have the talent to tell fortunes, shouldn’t you wait until I’ve read your fortune before deciding?”

Grandy Liu thought about it before taking out 50 yuan from her pocket, “Why don’t you help calculate my grandson’s fortune?”

The fortune-teller near the temple would start at 200 to 300 yuan for any calculation. To get one’s fortune read for 50 yuan was really cheap.

Yunyu did not mind the lack of money. She took the 50 yuan and stuffed it into her pocket. She glanced at Granny Liu’s grandson’s face, “There should be a sister in front of the child right (T/N: A sister borned before the kid aka an elder sister)? This child was born in the summer, in mid-July. He has a weak and sickly body and tends to cry at night without being able to be coaxed. If I’ve guessed right, the child should be born on a cloudy day and has a water character in his name, right (T/N: Should be something relating to water, with either “氵shuǐ” (water) , “冫bīng” (ice) , “雨 yǔ” (rain) in the characters of his name ie “漫”, “凝”, “露” )? There are no major problems; no serious illness nor minor illnesses, and he will not have a smooth childhood but when he grows up, I will slowly get better. En (T/N: Sound of agreeing/ acknowledgment), there would be no catastrophe.” It was just that he would not accomplish much, and he was not very filial when he grew up. The sister should be a good one.

Of course, Yunyu would not say the following words.

The family preferred sons to daughters. No matter how she divined, he really had no success in life.

Granny Liu was stunned, and the old man next to her smacked her lips, “It’s quite accurate.” He and Granny Liu were neighbors, so he naturally knew about the situation of the child.

“Girl, can my grandson’s situation be improved? I’ve looked at a few masters, but it’s no use. He still cries at night, and is not willing to drink milk and always falls ill.” Granny Liu was a little anxious. The child would not eat or sleep well. He always got sick and had a thin and weak body. This grandson was obtained through painstaking efforts and was what Granny Liu’s family had been looking forward to for a long time. They would definitely hope to see the baby growing white and plump. The baby’s situation would only get better when he grew up. How can Granny Liu not feel anxious?

Yunyu looked at the child and said, “Give me the child’s eight characters (T/N: 八字 bā zì – birthday) and name.”

Granny Liu whispered the child’s birthdate and name to Yunyu. The child was born during the Ghost Festival in the seventh month and was named Liu HeAn (T/N: 刘河安 Liúhé’ān – the 河 means river). Born in yin, and the name still carries water which is also yin (T/N: 阴 yīn – cold, cloudy, negative/passive, ghost. The child was born in the ghost month hence, is born in yin and his name has a water element in it and water is considered yin), it would be strange if he was healthy. More importantly, the child had a little yin on his face. Yin energy and evil energy were different. Evil energy was ominous while yin energy was due to encountering dirty things (T/N: aka ghosts). There were definitely dirty things in this world. On normal days there wasn’t much but there was a possibility that there would be more during the Ghost Festival. People with very bad luck and young children may encounter them.

“Grandma, of course this can be solved.” Yunyu got up and stretched out her hand to tease the child, “The child has to change his name, and I would also have to go to your house to have a look.” She had to see how the child’s body was stained by the yin energy. Was there something at home or did the child accidentally bump into it outside. The solution to this problem can be improved by changing the name. However, towards the child’s current situation and also his future prospects, it relates to his parents’ education and had nothing to do with her.

Granny Liu’s eyes lit up, “Then, I’ll have to trouble you.”

Yunyu smiled, “It’s easy to say, but the price needs to be made clear first. The reward for solving these kinds of problems is 10,000 yuan.”

She felt that the price was really cheap. It was just that her reputation had not yet risen, and this was an ordinary family in the county town. They would not be able to afford it if the asking price was too high.

“What?” Granny Liu was shocked. “10,000 yuan? That’s too expensive. Girl, how can you ask for a price like this? Other masters only ask for 2,000 yuan. Also, how do I know if you are real or not? Whether or not it is solved, it’s not something you can see immediately. What if you run away after I’ve handed over the money?”

“Grandma, the price is not expensive.” Yunyu did not show any anger, and she still looked very kind.” After solving the problem of crying, the child can sleep well and eat well which can allow him to have a strong body. It’s hard for the child to endure this every day. Are you willing to allow him to suffer through crying through the night? I am afraid that adults can’t stand it.”

Granny Liu hesitated, “Is it really possible to ensure that the child grows up without illness and disaster after that?”

Yunyu wanted to laugh, “Even gods cannot guarantee that. Besides, there is no one who doesn’t get sick and face no disasters in this world.” She paused, preparing to get up and leave.

“Grandma, I have something else to do. If you are not willing then, I’ll go home.”

Granny Liu grabbed Yunyu’s clothes, “Don’t go, girl. Then, can we only pay after the matter is resolved, and when we can see the effect?”

Yunyu nodded, “Of course you can.”

Granny Liu led Yunyu home with her skinny grandson in her arms. There was no one at home, so the old lady put the child in the stroller and went to pour Yunyu a glass of water.

“Drink a glass of water first. The child’s sister is at kindergarten and his parents are still at work. There are only two of us at home. I have no money, so I can only wait for his parents to come back for lunch at noon. You can look around. I’m going to cook first. Stay for lunch later.”

“It’s okay, grandma. You go ahead with your work. I’ll take a look around first.” Look for the reason behind the trace of yin on the child’s forehead.

Granny Liu went to the kitchen and Yunyu looked around the room. There were no big problems with the Feng Shui. It was a normal room layout with three bedrooms and two halls. She turned around and did not find anything special. The yin energy was very weak, and she could solve it with a wave of her hand, but it was better to wait for the parents of the child to come back. Otherwise, they would think that she did not do anything.

Yunyu spoke to Granny Liu and went out to buy some things.

She went to a shop that sold prayer goods to buy some yellow paper and cinnabar, and walked around again. It was only about 12.30 pm before Yunyu decided to return to Granny Liu’s house. Liu HeAn’s parents had already returned, and they looked like ordinary people. But, when Yunyu saw his mother, she knew where the yin energy on the child came from.

Prayer goods shop; Yellow paper and cinnabar (the red stuff)

[T/N: Shop that sells all the prayer goods ie paper money, paper house, incense, joysticks used for rituals]

Granny Liu had already told the matter to Father and Mother Liu, and the two of them looked at Yunyu with suspicious eyes.

Finally, Mother Liu asked, “Little girl, are you really willing to wait for our family’s Xiao He to get better before receiving payment?”

Yunyu nodded, “Naturally.”

Only then did Mother and Father Liu agree to let Yunyu take a look. Yunyu took out the cinnabar and dipped her index finger in the cinnabar. After mummering some sort of mantra, she said the final word, “Go!”

The cinnabar touched Liu HeAn’s forehead and the trace of yin energy dissipated. Yunyu wiped her hands, “Replace the ‘He’ (T/N: River) in the child’s name with something that relates to fire then it’ll be alright.” She gave a few words at will and the child’s parents chose the word Cheng and changed his name to Liu Cheng An.

Father Liu, who was a rather muscular man, frowned, “Little girl, it’s solved just like this?”

He thought that it was too simple.

“Naturally, it’s resolved.” Yunyu finished speaking and glanced at Mother Liu’s. “Xiao Cheng’s mother, it’s better to believe in some things. When you were discharged from the hospital after giving birth, it happened to be the Ghost Festival. Did you do something disrespectful to the gods and ghosts along the road?”

Mother Liu’s face changed drastically. That time, she stayed in the hospital for a few days after giving birth. When she was discharged, it was in the evening. She was in a bad mood after breastfeeding and when she saw some people burning paper money on the side of the road, she scolded them saying that they were bringing bad luck and spit in their direction. How did this little girl know about this?

Granny Liu’s face also became ugly, and she nagged, “Didn’t I say before, it’s better to believe in these kinds of things, than not to. You can endure being disrespectful to ghosts, but Xiao ChengAn is so young. How can he stand it? It is the child who suffers in the end.”

Yunyu ignored their family quarrel and found a pen to write down her account number, “This is my account number. The child will not cry tonight. After he stabilizes in a few days, you can transfer the money to my account.”

Father Liu’s eyes flickered, and Yunyu said slowly, “It’s not expensive to solve this matter. Do not screw over your child again.” It was a reminder to the parents not to think about defaulting on the debt.