Chapter 617
Night Chat
Chapter 617 Night Chat
After a brief period of emo, Qin Huai transformed back into the beloved "Bao Bao Brother" of the orphanage, immersing himself in the tense, exciting, and tedious task of making steamed buns, a process that also allowed him to slack off and gossip.
Seeing that Qin Huai had returned to normal, Director Xu, who had been quietly observing Qin Huai, finally breathed a sigh of relief and discussed the donation plan with Dean Qin in the afternoon.
Instead of donating a specific amount, Director Xu covered the surgery and subsequent treatment costs for a child with a cleft lip at the welfare home.
If conditions allowed, Director Qin would have liked to organize the children of the welfare home on the spot to draw a thank-you picture for Director Xu and present it to this newly minted philanthropist.
That evening, Qin Huai and Qin Luo stayed at the orphanage. Qin Congwen brought them a change of clothes and some snacks for Qin Luo. Qin Luo generously kept a few bags of her favorite potato chips and gave the rest to the children at the orphanage, becoming their "snack sister."
The volunteer rooms at the welfare home are all double rooms.
Qin Huai secretly applied to Dean Qin, who then secretly arranged for Qin Huai and Zhou Hu to be in the same room.
Those with good memories may recall that the reason everyone gathered in Qiuxian County for the Spring Festival this year, making the welfare home on the eve of the Lunar New Year and Qinjiacun Village lively and bustling for some time to come, was because of Zhou Hu.
Qin Huai needed a plausible reason to get close to Zhou Hu and then extract the mission from him.
In theory, Zhou Hu should have been the main character during this Lunar New Year, but this theoretical protagonist had no presence during this period and barely even appeared by name; he was just a background character.
This is disrespectful to Master Zhou. Besides his main business of funeral planning, Zhou Hu also has side businesses of feng shui, face reading, and fortune telling. Moreover, according to Qin Huai, since Luo Jun's funeral ended and he paid the final payment to Zhou Hu, Zhou Hu's funeral planning company has closed down, and Zhou Hu has simply given up on his main business.
To give back to his loyal customers from his side hustle, Zhou Hu not only sent gift boxes of noodles and fruit to 100 of them, but also spent a fortune ordering over 300 New Year's gifts (snacks, fruits, etc.) and sending them to all his loyal customers from his side hustle on WeChat.
This led many regular customers to believe that Zhou Hu was short of money, and they were prompted to come over for a fortune telling and to buy some talismans.
Just as Zhou Hu was delivering New Year's gifts, it was close to the Spring Festival, a time when his side business was booming and both new and old customers gathered together. This caused Zhou Hu, who originally wanted to retire from the business, to become even more successful.
The rule in Zhou Hu's line of work is that you have to charge a little something for every fortune telling. Although Zhou Hu doesn't really believe in the things he tells, he's learned them so well that even though he doesn't believe, he still has a little bit of faith in his heart. But he doesn't want to rip off his regular customers, so he lowered the price of his fortune telling from 50 yuan per reading to 15 yuan per reading.
His intentions were certainly good, but things didn't go as planned.
Regular customers who originally planned to have one divination session changed their minds and ordered three sessions after hearing about the big price reduction. Career, love, family, friendship, marriage, children, health... they asked about everything they could think of. If they couldn't think of anything to ask about and felt that 15 yuan per session was really cheap and it would be a pity not to ask something, they even asked about their own pet cats, dogs, and even chickens, ducks, and geese raised in the countryside.
There are also calculations about funds, stocks, and whether you can win the lottery tomorrow.
Using a 15-yuan divination to predict a 10-yuan scratch-off lottery ticket—it just goes to show how unpredictable Zhou Hu's long-time customers are.
This booming business before the Lunar New Year directly led to Master Zhou, who originally planned to retire from the business, earning even more.
Although the workload has increased, so has the revenue. Moreover, Zhou Hu doesn't have a regular job this year, making him more relaxed than in previous years, allowing him to work full-time as a fortune teller.
According to Chen Huihong's analysis, Zhou Hu agreed to come to Qiuxian County earlier probably to avoid his regular customers. After all, if Zhou Hu stayed in Shanshi for a few more days, his fortune-telling would no longer be a part-time job but a full-time one.
This information came from Chen Huihong, who sat next to Qin Huai while he was making steamed buns that afternoon. She didn't make many buns, but she talked a lot of gossip.
It's very useful and crucial.
Qin Huai had to admit that he had grown estranged from Zhou Hu during this period.
That's just how it is. If two people don't interact and can't see each other regularly, even the best of friends will grow distant. Not to mention, Qin Huai and Zhou Hu weren't really friends to begin with; their relationship was purely that of client and service provider.
If they don't find a way to establish some connection, they won't even be considered acquaintances who like each other's posts on social media—Zhou Hu basically doesn't post on social media when he's not working.
Now that Qin Huai knows about Zhou Hu's current situation, and through some underhanded means, he manages to sleep in the same room with Zhou Hu at night. He feels it's time to take advantage of this precious opportunity to get closer to Zhou Hu and, incidentally, extract the next side quest from him.
Of all the spirits discovered so far, only Zhou Hu remains unawakened. There's still one spot left in the encyclopedia. Discovering new spirits requires a trigger, and until that trigger comes, Qin Huai can only pursue the existing mission objectives.
The lights in the welfare home are turned off very early, at 9 p.m.
Furthermore, the soundproofing between the rooms in the welfare home isn't very good, and the staff have to get up early every day. This means that the children go to bed at 9 pm every night, and the adults also go to bed before 10 pm. There are no nighttime entertainment activities, and even when they're in bed playing on their phones or watching short videos, they can't play the sound out loud.
However, it's okay to chat quietly in the room; the soundproofing in the orphanage isn't that bad.
"Master Qin, may I turn off the lights now?"
Qin Huai finished washing up earlier than Zhou Hu. After Zhou Hu finished washing up and returned to his room, he saw Qin Huai sitting on the bed playing on his phone and quietly asked him if he could turn off the lights.
"Of course," Qin Huai nodded.
With a snap, the room plunged into darkness, leaving only the faint glow of two cell phones.
Qin Huai and Zhou Hu lay on their respective single beds, each playing on their phones.
Zhou Hu was scrolling through short videos, while Qin Huai was lost in thought, or rather, deep in thought, pondering how to bridge the distance between them.
Logically, Qin Huai should start the conversation by mentioning fortune-telling. Zhou Hu no longer plans funerals; his current job is actually fortune-telling, and his obsession is most likely related to it. Starting the conversation from this angle would be a better way to uncover the side quest.
But Qin Huai didn't intend to do that; his intuition told him that Zhou Hu didn't really like bringing this up.
But what else can we talk about if not fortune telling?
Funeral planning?
Zhou Hu is currently on leave. No working person likes to talk about their past profession, let alone the fact that this topic was started by his former client.
Let's talk about family?
Zhou Hu's family background is quite interesting: an early-deceased mother, a father who is in prison, a family tradition of tomb raiding, and the inability to take the civil service exam. It seems that after only a few words, Zhou Hu would leave in anger and return to Shanshi overnight to continue his full-time fortune telling.
Talking about feelings?
As far as Qin Huai knew, Zhou Hu was also single, and because of his family background, Zhou Hu had never been in a relationship. Although Qin Huai only learned today that he missed out on a romance during his university years—a romance whose female lead's name he couldn't remember—Qin Huai had indeed dated during his university years, a normal campus romance that ended before graduation.
Shall we talk about our hobbies?
Qin Huai doesn't know what Zhou Hu's hobbies are, but Qin Huai's hobby is making pastries. Forcing a conversation with Qin Huai doesn't seem like a good idea; it just feels like an attempt to get close to her.
Although Zhou Hu's emotional intelligence wasn't as high as Gong Liang's, Qin Huai felt that Zhou Hu's eloquence and deception skills were superior to his own due to his years of work and the natural interpersonal observation abilities honed by the fortune-telling profession. He thought trying to get close to Zhou Hu through the art of language was simply like showing off his limited skills before an expert.
In Qin Huai's view, his conversation with Zhou Hu had to be sincere first and foremost.
But they couldn't find anything to talk about sincerely. Qin Huai turned over in frustration.
Perhaps because Qin Huai's turning over was a bit too loud, Zhou Hu thought that the sound of his short video being played softly had disturbed Qin Huai, so he quickly paused it and apologized in a low voice: "Master Qin, did my phone disturb you? I'm so sorry, I forgot to bring my Bluetooth headphones this time."
"No, no, it's just that I haven't lived in the orphanage for so many years, and I'm a little uncomfortable not sleeping in the orphanage's bed," Qin Huai casually made up a lie.
Unexpectedly, this question immediately piqued Zhou Hu's interest. He stopped scrolling through short videos, put down his phone, turned to face Qin Huai, and whispered, "Master Qin, were you really unpopular when you were in the orphanage as a child?"
Qin Huai honestly said, "Although I may actually have really bad interpersonal relationships, I have never felt that way since I was a child. I have always thought that I have pretty good interpersonal relationships."
"What's wrong?"
"Do you remember the fortune I told you at the hospital?" Zhou Hu asked.
"I remember some." Qin Huai really only remembered some things. His memory wasn't bad, but he didn't bother to remember many things he didn't care about, which meant that he hadn't actually remembered many things from the beginning.
When Qin Huai went to the hospital to have Zhou Hu tell his fortune, it was purely to get closer to Zhou Hu. Qin Huai only vaguely remembered that the result Zhou Hu gave that time was very outrageous.
It's said that he had a good relationship with his parents, one of whom has passed away and the other is still alive. This outcome doesn't apply to his biological parents or adoptive parents.
Thankfully, the fortune telling was free; it was just a casual conversation between friends. Otherwise, Master Zhou would have been in serious trouble.
"Actually, after you left, Master Qin, I secretly did another reading for you," Zhou Hu said somewhat embarrassedly.
Qin Huai: ?
“Last time I did your reading, I probably didn’t do a good job because I was in the hospital. I said your parents were very compatible, but one of them had passed away… I’m really sorry. I didn’t know you were an orphan back then, and I didn’t mean to curse your aunt and uncle. I believe they will definitely live to be a hundred years old.” Zhou Hu explained with a slight panic, “In most cases, my readings wouldn’t be this outrageous. It’s probably because I deliberately speak vaguely.”
"I don't know how to explain this to you, Master Qin. Maybe my skills are not up to par, or maybe your destiny is quite unique. I just can't accurately predict your relationship with your parents and relatives, so I made a slight adjustment to your interpersonal relationships."
"This counts?" Qin Huai was genuinely curious.
"I can calculate it, I can calculate everything. Theoretically, I can even calculate tomorrow's stock market trend, but I can't be sure." Zhou Hu's words were like those of an old swindler. "The result I calculated... Master Qin, you have a lot of friends."
“There are many people who genuinely love you, treat you well, and even treat you unconditionally well. I know this sounds like a general statement, but it is actually very rare, especially from the perspective of friends. It is almost impossible to achieve such a good result even when considering parental ties.”
"Because the result was quite good, and I believe you, Master Qin, can also feel your popularity, so I didn't tell you afterwards. This morning, I was in Dean Qin's office, and after hearing what Dean Qin said... I guess my skills really aren't that good."
"Although I don't believe in these things myself, I always genuinely thought my skills were pretty good, until..."
Qin Huai understood, until he met himself, and after one mishap, he mishaped again.
Qin Huai smiled and said, "It's nothing. I don't really believe in these things. My grandparents might believe more, but they only believe in good things. Fortune telling is just for peace of mind. You want to hear some nice things to make yourself happy. Zhou, you're so lucky to have so many friends. I'm more than happy to have so many good friends."
"Lend your auspicious words."
Zhou Hu was silent for a while, then said, "Actually, after calculating your interpersonal relationships, Master Qin, I felt that the result was a bit outrageous, so I secretly calculated yours again."
Qin Huai: ?
Dude, why are you calculating this so many times behind my back?
Are you really that passionate about fortune telling? Even when you're not doing your regular job and have nothing else to do, and nobody asks you to tell fortunes for free, you still secretly insist on doing it at home?
"What... have you calculated?" Qin Huai's tone was hesitant.
Zhou Hu remained silent for an even longer period.
"Well, I usually do more career and marriage predictions. For marriage, I usually help people match their birth charts. As for career predictions, everyone thinks I'm quite accurate."
"So I naturally chose the direction I'm better at, and I specifically calculated your career path, Master Qin."
Qin Huai adjusted the angle of the pillow, preparing to hear compliments.
Is there even a need to calculate this? Since he inherited Luo Jun's 79 billion yuan fortune, is there any other answer to his career prospects?
"Your career luck is quite strange."
Qin Huai: ?
"Your career prospects are good, but there's no room for growth."
You are destined for great wealth, but you won't be able to keep it.
"You've never lacked money in your life, but you don't seem to have become extremely wealthy or powerful; you've even had a somewhat laborious life."
Qin Huai: ? ? ?
Master Zhou, no, Zhou Hu, I'll give you three seconds to reorganize your words, use your part-time fortune teller's eloquence, and reorganize your words.
I just paid the balance to you a while ago. Say it again: who has no career development, who can't keep their money, and who is destined to be a hard worker.
Zhou Hu's voice was full of confusion: "After doing that calculation, I started to wonder if I was being punished for taking too many orders from Mr. Luo, and that I had lost the ability to do this kind of calculation and started doing it randomly."
"So I didn't actually plan to take any orders before the Lunar New Year, but I really wanted to test my skills, and ended up taking too many orders."
"Based on feedback from others, my skill level shouldn't have declined; it might even have improved. Anyway, everyone was quite satisfied with my readings. Of course, it's also possible that the satisfaction stems from the price reduction from 50 yuan per reading to 15 yuan per reading."
"This time I brought a compass, copper coins, talismans, and many other things with me."
"Master Qin, are you sleepy right now? If you're not sleepy, could I do another divination for you, just about your career?"
"Transfer me 15 yuan so I can see if the strange result is because I didn't receive any money."
Qin Huai: ...
For some reason, Qin Huai only had one thought in his mind right now.
That damn scammer, he's really good at lying, going to such lengths for just 15 yuan.
(End of this chapter)