Casa de la Dama

Capítulo 7

Jin Ming glanced at her suspiciously, reluctantly put down his spoon, and answered the phone.

He remained silent, listening intently as the person on the other end of the phone spoke, his expression growing increasingly grave. He kept glancing at Qi Qi, who was intently savoring her chicken soup. Finally, he uttered one sentence: "Have Qi Zhi come over here immediately, immediately!"

He put down his phone, stopped drinking the chicken soup, closed his eyes, and leaned back in the wide back of the mahogany armchair.

Qiqi has already served the second bowl of chicken soup.

It seems to taste really good.

Jin Ming didn't open his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "I didn't realize you, a little girl, had some skill."

Qiqi smiled but didn't answer, continuing to drink her soup.

Less than half an hour later, the stairs creaked and groaned, and two people emerged from behind the screen.

The man in front of me was in his forties, bloated, with an oily face and sweating profusely.

Behind him was a tall, thin man in his fifties, dressed in a black silk Chinese-style outfit, with delicate eyebrows and eyes, holding a folding fan, and exuding composure.

Jin Ming looked directly at the thin man, bypassing the fat man, and stood up in surprise: "Oh, Teacher Lai, what brings you here? If I had known you were coming, I would have driven to pick you up myself!"

The skinny man surnamed Lai held up his folding fan upside down, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, and said, "Not at all, Mr. Jin, you're too kind. It's been several months since we parted in the capital. I hope you're doing well?"

Jin Ming sighed and said, "You told me not to think about making money for the next few months and to lay low. I didn't listen, and now look what's happened, I'm in a real mess. It's so good that you're in Shanghai! Let's sit down and talk."

The waiter added two more sets of bowls and chopsticks.

Jin Ming introduced to Qi Qi and You You: "This is the famous Master Lai Yixian from Beijing! If you don't ask him to take a look before planning a villa area or a high-end residential community, it won't sell in the future! Similarly, if a property is not selling well, Master Lai will give it a push, and in less than half a month, buyers will be lining up!"

Lai Yixian smiled calmly: "Mr. Jin, you flatter me. I'm just making a living by relying on the kindness of all my good friends."

He was modest in words, but judging from his tone, he didn't think Jin Mingyan was exaggerating and accepted it quite calmly.

Qi Qi said, "He is a descendant of Lai Buyi, a famous geomancer from the Song Dynasty. He has been a prominent figure in the real estate industry in the capital for twenty years and has a long-standing reputation."

Lai Yixian raised a thin eyebrow: "This young lady actually knows about her ancestors?"

Jin Ming said, "That's normal. She's your colleague, from Shanghai Xianzhi Company."

Lai Yixian's eyes lit up with surprise: "Ah! Could it be a descendant of Yang Gong, Qiqi?"

This time it was Qiqi's turn to be surprised. How could this big shot in Beijing's feng shui world know about him?

Lai Yixian clearly noticed Qi Qi's surprise and explained, "I have a good-for-nothing apprentice named Yunmen. He once tried to steal your business, but after losing, he found out about your family background... Hehe, he's young and arrogant, so don't mind him."

Cloud Gate...

Qiqi immediately remembered the name!

That aloof young man who was about the same age as me.

Just a month ago, the company sent her to look at the feng shui of a large construction contractor for the Zhaoxiang Villa project. This "good job" fell to the Zhuque Department because Qin Ge and Xi Shu from the Qinglong Department went to Europe for vacation and the other went to the United States for a meeting.

As a result, in front of the large iron gate outside the villa, Qiqi's white Beetle was stopped by a Hummer.

A young man dressed entirely in red, with red hair, red sneakers, and slightly red eyes jumped off the bus.

He shouted as he tried to open Qiqi's car door. Qiqi was terrified, thinking she had been robbed. Luckily, a security guard came out of the villa. He seemed to recognize the young man and called him "Master Yun" to persuade him to leave.

Upon entering, a large artificial hill, clearly made of Taihu stones, stands prominently in front. Unlike ordinary villas with their small courtyards, this one is nestled among trees. Beyond the iron gate lies a long, narrow driveway and a vast garden, where a gardener is mowing the lawn. The villa has four floors and an estimated area of over 1,000 square meters. In Shanghai, villas of this size are extremely rare, almost reaching the level of an estate.

Guo Yu, the big construction contractor, greeted her in the living room on the first floor of the villa, praising her beauty in an exaggerated way.

Qiqi suggested taking a walk around the villa first, and as a result, she ran into that young man surnamed Yun again in the back garden.

For some reason, Qiqi gave him the nickname "Burning Clouds" in her mind at that moment, and almost laughed out loud.

The young man had no manners at all when speaking to the girl, glaring at her and warning her to leave quickly to avoid embarrassing herself.

Qi Qi could tell that Guo Yu knew him and was quite wary of him.

If it were based on Qiqi's usual personality, she would have simply let the matter drop and withdrawn.

However, this time was different. This was a rare villa order for the Zhuque Division. Zhou Haisheng repeatedly instructed that it must be done properly and that a good report must be written to show Vice President Shang the strength of the division and to make the US headquarters pay more attention to the Zhuque Division.

So Qiqi prepared to meet the challenge.

Guo Yu awkwardly explained that the man surnamed Yun was called "Yunmen" and was the company's "feng shui consultant." He then introduced Qi Qi, saying that he had only invited Qi Qi to come and sit for a while.

Yunmen said unhappily, "I don't care whether she comes to 'just sit for a while,' but I handled everything about this villa, from site selection to planning. I also created several auspicious layouts to attract wealth. If other feng shui masters see it, won't they steal my ideas?"

Qi Qi originally thought that Yunmen was just being protective of his resources, fearing that Guo Yu would neglect him after employing a new feng shui master. Now it seems that Guo Yu basically doesn't want to offend him, and Yunmen's reason for fearing that someone would steal his skills is simply an insult to him!

However, Qi Qi was never one to show her anger. She simply retorted, "Mr. Guo, I'm sorry, but I've also decided not to watch it. I have my own set of special methods for attracting and boosting wealth. If someone else learns them, the losses will be huge."

Yunmen was furious and almost attacked Qiqi, but was stopped by Guo Yu.

Yunmen jumped up and down and roared, "Don't you even know how many feng shui arrangements I've set up for the villas of Shanghai officials and tycoons? You little brat, you dare to steal my business!"

Qiqi remembered hearing Xishu talk about Yunmen at the regular meeting, saying that he was from Beijing, had a strong background, and had snatched many big orders from the Qinglong Department.

The crux of the problem now lies with Guo Yu. Since Yunmen is his company's feng shui consultant, why would he secretly ask his own company to re-evaluate the feng shui of this villa behind Yunmen's back?

Perhaps Yunmen had also thought of this problem at the same time. He stopped jumping and coldly asked Guo Yu, "Boss Guo, is there some feng shui arrangement of Yunmen that you are not satisfied with, but you are too embarrassed to tell me, so you invited an outsider to help adjust it?"

Having said that, Guo Yu could no longer play dumb, and stammered, "No, it's just—after I moved into this villa—"

"Didn't you make a fortune as I predicted?" Guo Yu shook his head: "It's double the amount of engineering contracts I had last year."

"Is there a problem with your health?"

Guo Yu shook his head again: "My frozen shoulder and heart disease haven't recurred."

Yunmen laughed: "Boss Guo, what else do you want?"

Guo Yu became even more flustered and could not explain himself clearly.

Qiqi interjected, "Boss Guo doesn't want to keep getting into legal trouble, nor does he want his youngest son to get sick and need surgery again, causing him to lose sleep at night."

Guo Yu looked at Qi Qi in surprise and said repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes!"

Cloud Gate raised his voice and said, "Is that so? Oh, did you tell this little brat beforehand?"

Qi Qi said, "This is my first time meeting Mr. Guo today. No one has told me anything about him before. However, I just glanced at the living room and of course I know all this."

Yunmen looked at her disdainfully and said, "Tell me, what's wrong with the layout of my carefully designed living room?"

Qiqi said calmly, "It's very well arranged. This house faces south, which means it sits on the Kan side and faces the Li side, making it a Kan house. For a Kan house, the life-giving directions are the Qian and Dui stars. In 2009, the Qian and Dui stars flew to the Kan position in the north and the Kun position in the southwest, respectively, and goldfish were kept in both of them."

Yunmen couldn't help but look at Qiqi with new respect: "Wow! You little brat actually know the flying method of the Nine Purple and White Stars?"

Qi Qi changed her tone: "Unfortunately, in 2009, the Nine Purple Star entered the central palace, and the Five Yellow Star, an inauspicious star, flew to the Kan Palace, which is a taboo. The Heavenly Stem cannot be activated! Furthermore, the Six Heavenly Stems flew to the Kun Palace and the Seven Dui Palace, both of which belong to the metal element. When two auspicious stars meet, it violates the 'Same Palace Killing' rule, turning it into an inauspicious one, and it also cannot be activated! You have committed two major taboos!"

Yunmen was startled and argued, "Then what should we do? If neither of the two wealth positions is usable, should we just give up? I also know that those two positions are not good, so I activated the 'Feng Shui Wheel' in the Dui Palace."

Qi Qi shook her head: "The Dui Palace is indeed a place where metal generates water, but unfortunately, this year the Second Kun Illness Star arrives, so while you're trying to attract wealth, you're also attracting illness!"

Yunmen blushed deeply.

Qi Qi continued, "Once you see the annual Flying Star chart for this year, you should know that Mr. Guo's fortune is not good this year. Not only should he not make money, but he should also be careful of getting into trouble. You should be thinking about helping him avoid disaster, not forcing him to make money!"

Yunmen shouted, "If you want to get rich, you can't hesitate. You always have to pay a price. Lawsuits, illnesses, and the like—just make more money and settle them with money!"

Qi Qi said seriously, "A feng shui master should do 'avoid misfortune' for clients, not 'bring good fortune' to please them or make more money. Bringing good fortune requires looking at the annual luck, the house's fortune, and whether the client's birth chart is compatible. If you force it, it's irresponsible!"

"That's so well said!" Lai Yixian exclaimed in admiration.

He vividly recounted to everyone the scene of his argument with Yunmen in Guo Yu's villa courtyard on the day of Qiqi, which everyone listened to with great interest.

His words showed no favoritism and he praised Qi Qi's words and actions.

This made Qiqi a little embarrassed.

Upon hearing that even Lai Yixian's top disciple was no match for Qi Qi, Jin Ming couldn't help but think more highly of Qi Qi.

Jin Ming became interested and asked, "Then how did you determine that Guo Yu's son needed surgery? That's amazing!"

Qi Qi glanced at Lai Yixian, who then gestured for her to speak.

So Qiqi said, "Actually, it's very simple. It's because of the artificial hill that's right in front of the villa when you enter."

Jin Ming asked in confusion, "What's wrong with artificial hills? Many villas have them."

Qi Qi explained, "In feng shui, artificial hills are not a good thing. They are called 'White Tiger Exposed Bones,' which signifies surgery. This is especially true when the location is wrong. This artificial hill is located at the entrance of the villa, which already obstructs the flow of qi, making it inauspicious. This year, the Five Yellow Star, an inauspicious star, happens to be located in the position of the artificial hill, so it will definitely bring misfortune."

"Then why was it Mr. Guo's son who performed the surgery, and not Mr. Guo himself?" Jin Ming was still very puzzled.

Qi Qi continued patiently, "A bad omen in feng shui doesn't necessarily happen to the homeowner; it depends on the individual fortunes of the people living there. Also, it depends on whether their zodiac signs clash. For example, the artificial hill in Mr. Guo's house happens to be located in the 'Mao' position. When it brings misfortune, it will clash with the 'You' zodiac sign, which is the Rooster..."

Jin Ming immediately exclaimed, "Yeah, yeah, that kid Guo Xiaosi was born in the Year of the Rooster, hahaha."

Jin Ming then explained, "I'm very familiar with Boss Guo, including his children. So I know that Guo Xiaosi was born in the Year of the Rooster, and I give him a birthday present every year. I also introduced him to the Fenghe Shuiyuan project."

"Guo Yu has already fled."

The fat man, who had been standing nearby and whom Jin Ming hadn't had a chance to introduce yet, muttered something.

"What!? When did this happen!?" Jin Ming was shocked.

The fat man stammered, "He left the morning after the incident... I heard he transferred 50 million in cash and entrusted everything in the company to the vice president. Now, the vice president is in police custody, and the company has suspended all operations. I was planning to confirm again tomorrow morning before telling you..."

Jin Ming slammed his hand on the table.

However, he quickly calmed down.

Lai Yixian said, "The feng shui of Fenghe Water Garden was chosen by my disciple Yunmen. Now that something has happened to Fenghe Water Garden and he has disappeared, I, as his master, cannot sit idly by! So, I came from the capital to see what happened and offer some advice."

Qi Qi couldn't help but feel a deep respect for Lai Yixian.

If someone wants to make a name for themselves in a certain industry and achieve a dominant position, it's not enough to just have excellent skills; the key is to be responsible and not run away from problems.

Jin Ming said gratefully, "With Master Lai here, we feel much more confident. To be honest, even now, I still can't believe it—how could such a perfectly good building just collapse! It's an unbelievable phenomenon!"

Lai Yixian said, "To get to the bottom of this, we need to be open and honest. Is there anyone here who doesn't want to talk?"

Jin Ming only glanced at Qi Qi.

Qi Qi tactfully stood up and said, "Please continue your conversation, everyone. I have something to attend to, so I'll take my leave first."

Lai Yixian stretched out his hand and said, "Miss Yang, please sit down."

Then he said to Jin Ming, "I heard from my apprentice Yunmen that his Fenghe Shuiyuan has been fighting with Tianyuan Apartment behind it. And Miss Yang—I heard from Mr. Qi that it was Qianqiu Real Estate that hired her to survey the feng shui of Tianyuan Apartment, is that right, Miss Yang?"

Qi Qi guessed that the fat man surnamed Qi was someone connected to Fenghe Shuiyuan, and most likely someone from the developer. So it wasn't surprising that he inquired about matters related to Tianyuan Apartments and learned that he was in charge of this deal.

So Qiqi didn't shy away from it and nodded in agreement.

Actually, she really wanted to stay and listen to the feng shui stories of Fenghe Shuiyuan, which might be helpful for the Tianyuan Apartment project she was dealing with.