Chapter 1

My name is Li Chuyi, and I am exactly twenty years old. I live with my grandfather, and we run a funeral wreath and mourning clothes shop in a small county in the north. Our shop is in our own house, a two-story building. The first floor is where we live and where our mourning clothes shop is located, while the second floor is rented out to four tenants.

Because our business deals with the dead, the second-floor apartments have never rented for a good price. Many people who come to rent the apartments turn around and look elsewhere when they see our funeral wreath and mourning clothes shop on the first floor. Therefore, the people who rent from us are usually financially struggling and have no other options. For example, the young network administrator in the eastern room of the second floor hasn't paid rent for two months. Today, I plan to go and collect the rent. If he doesn't pay, I'll ask him to pack up and leave.

Of course, the other tenants, though financially struggling, pay their rent on time.

This morning, when I heard the network administrator return from his night shift, I went through the back door of the mourning clothes shop into the yard to ask him for the rent. I was prepared to get angry and show a fierce landlord's face.

The network administrator is a bit overweight, wears glasses, is about 1.65 meters tall, and is nineteen years old, one year younger than me. He loves online games but, due to a lack of money, he took a job as a network administrator, which supposedly allows him free internet access.

His face is round and his features are fairly regular, but unfortunately, he doesn't have a prosperous destiny. He is destined to never have much money, and even if he occasionally gets a windfall, he will quickly squander it, or he will face great misfortune. If you ask why I know this, it's not a guess. I learned the art of physiognomy from my grandfather. Although we run a funeral wreath and mourning clothes shop, my grandfather used to be a fortune-teller, known as a divine physiognomist. Unfortunately, he offended some people through his fortune-telling, which indirectly led to the death of my parents. After that, my grandfather never helped anyone with fortune-telling again and started the funeral business.

Although my grandfather no longer reads fortunes, he didn't want his skills to be lost, so he secretly taught me. However, he told me that while he is alive, I am not allowed to make a living from fortune-telling. After he dies, he won't be able to control me. So, until today, I have never officially read anyone's fortune or physiognomy, and I don't know if I am accurate or not.

When I intercepted the overweight network administrator in the yard today, I was slightly surprised and said, "Oh."

The network administrator was also startled when he saw me, probably guessing that I was there to collect the rent. Before I could speak, he asked me to give him one more day, promising to pay me tomorrow morning.

I waved my hand and said, "It looks like you're about to make a small fortune?"

I said this because I noticed a round red bump on his forehead and nose.

According to physiognomy, for a nineteen-year-old, the forehead indicates the current year's fortune. If the forehead is full, the year's fortune will be good. If it is flat, the fortune will be average. If it is sunken or twisted, the fortune will be poor. The network administrator's forehead was previously sunken, with a wrinkle indicating poor fortune at his age. However, today, a red bump appeared on his forehead, suggesting a turn in his fortune, bringing him a few days of good luck.

I concluded that he would make money because there was also a red bump on his nose. The nose represents the financial star, also known as the Wealth Palace, which governs financial luck. I previously determined that the network administrator would never be wealthy because his nostrils were upturned and large, similar to a pig's, which is the worst financial luck according to physiognomy.

However, today, the red bump on his nose caused some redness and swelling around the nostrils, reducing their size, indicating the ability to accumulate wealth. This means he is about to make money.

So, when I said this, the overweight network administrator was surprised and asked, "How did you know?"

I continued, "Not only do I know you will make money, but I also know why."

The network administrator asked me to explain, and I, intrigued, continued, "It's simple. You played a game and got a good item, and you have already set a price. You are going to sell it tonight, right?"

The network administrator clapped and praised, "Landlord, you are amazing! I did get a good item. To be honest, the sword I got can sell for over 4,000 RMB, not game currency. It's equivalent to three months of my salary. By the way, how did you guess?"

I knew this kid would definitely pay the rent tomorrow, so I didn't ask him to leave. I told him to go back and rest, and to remember to bring the rent tomorrow. He was grateful for the extra day and quickly went upstairs to his room.

As for how I figured out he made money from playing games, it's quite simple. He loves playing games, and being a network administrator is his only job. He once boasted to me about making money from playing games.

Additionally, the red bumps on his face are a symptom of staying up late and overworking, which is common for someone who plays games. If he only worked as a network administrator, he wouldn't be so overworked. He told me that he could sleep if he didn't play games at night. Therefore, it's not hard to deduce that he made money from playing games.

Actually, fortune-telling is like this. As long as the big trends are correct, much of the rest is guesswork. If the big trends are wrong, the guesses will be wrong, and people will call you a fraud.

After the network administrator went back to his room, I returned to the mourning clothes shop through the back door. My grandfather was sitting in a rocking chair, watching a small black-and-white TV. The drama playing wasn't interesting to me, so I organized the goods for a customer who was coming to pick them up.

The customer's mother had passed away, so he needed to buy two wreaths from us. I had already folded the wreaths and prepared the mourning couplets, placing them in a bag, waiting for him to come and pick them up.

After organizing for a while, my grandfather said, "You did a good job reading the kid's fortune, but you missed one thing."

I asked what it was, and he said, "You forgot that he is someone who can't hold onto money. You should have asked him to pay several months' rent in advance after he pays this month's rent. Otherwise, he will spend all his money next month and won't be able to pay the rent. This is good for both of us."

I nodded in agreement. I didn't want this kid to owe rent again next month. The money I earn is for my future wife, to help me get married.

After that, I continued to organize the wreaths in the shop, occasionally checking the door to see if the customer had come to pick up the goods. He had paid a deposit but hadn't paid the balance yet.

After a while, I went back to the shop, and my grandfather said, "Don't wait. He won't come today. When he came yesterday, I read his face and saw that he would face a crisis today. He might be in legal trouble or in the hospital. So, we get to keep the deposit, and we don't have to give him the goods."

Hearing this, I put the wreaths away, as my grandfather is always right.

I subconsciously asked my grandfather why he didn't warn the man yesterday to be careful. My grandfather closed his eyes, a bit angry, and said, "Did you forget the solemn vow I made? I won't help anyone anymore. I can read faces, but I keep it to myself or discuss it with you. If I tell the person, I will die. Do you want me to die?"

I waved my hand and said, "If you don't want to say, that's fine. Don't get angry. It looks like there won't be any business today. I'm going to see my girlfriend. Her mother invited me to have lunch at her house to discuss our relationship. If she agrees, our relationship will be official, and you will have a granddaughter-in-law."

My grandfather smiled and said, "Oh, go ahead."

My girlfriend, Cai Xiaohua, is a decent-looking girl, though she is a bit short, under 1.55 meters. She works in a mall in the county, selling clothes. I met her when I went to buy clothes, and we started dating. However, because my grandfather and I don't have much money and can't afford to buy a house in the county, our relationship has been strongly opposed by her mother.

I am not bad-looking, but I dropped out of high school after two years and have no degree. Besides working at the mourning clothes shop, I have no other income, and my family has no money. So, finding a girlfriend is not easy, and I am determined to defend my love for Xiaohua.

However, Xiaohua's attitude towards me has recently become cold. To win her favor, I spent over 500 RMB last week to buy her a dress, even though my own clothes are from street vendors.

Fortunately, the money wasn't wasted. Xiaohua finally convinced her mother to let me have lunch at her house.

Before going, I need to dress up and present my best side to Xiaohua and her mother. Of course, I also need to go to the mall in the county to buy some decent gifts for Xiaohua and her family.