Chapter 42: Bai Boan (Part 4)

“Fatty Wang is not good in fortune-telling, but he has a good life.” Old Huang took a sip of his tea and said with a sigh: “People like us, you, me, Hualao San, Yi Ming, including those from our association. Regardless of being the president, the vice president, or the directors, we all depend on fortune-telling to eat. But Fatty Wang does not, he can eat enough with the rent on his apartment. Say, isn’t it irritating?”

“I thought he would quit after playing a few tricks. I didn’t expect he would come up with another trick.” Li Kang tentatively looked at Old Huang, while saying those words half-jokingly: “You are our eldest brother. You have the biggest name among us. Don’t you want to come out and fix this matter?”

Old Huang was an old bottle, so naturally, he won’t get involved even if he was excited. However, he won’t also be so indifferent. Qi City was a small and only fourth-tier city. Most of them were local permanent residents. There were only a few foreigners and migrants. The economic development of the city basically depends on locals.

The same was true for their fortune-telling market. There were only a few people in Qi City, but the market for fortune-telling was so big. If one more fortune-teller joins in, they will get less share of the pie.

Besides, most victims who want to do fortune-telling like to inquire in advance if there was any effective fortune-teller. They can’t control people’s minds. In fact, many people who asked for divination cannot tell whether they were effective or not because while in the process, they only ask what would be their fortune like.

Throughout the year, most of the business would only ask for an auspicious day to be lucky. Although a single business only costs 300 yuan, it can be done in 10 minutes. Some were willing to add 100 yuan after giving divination about their fortune. The remaining half of the business was usually based on Feng Shui reading like home feng shui and office feng shui. Usually, this business starts at 1,000 yuan. And because the price was not cheap, this kind of business was relatively rare. Sometimes you cannot even receive such business in a month.

As the director of Fortune Telling Association, Old Huang’s business was still good. He can make at least 2000-3000 yuan per month. If it was in peak season, he can make at least 4000-5000 yuan.

But the Qi City was not a big city after all, so the market for fortune-telling was also limited. The sudden rise of a person’s reputation will definitely affect other colleagues.

It’s possible to let it go, but it still has to be managed.

Old Huang continued rubbing the gourd that he almost rubbed off his skin. Seeing him like this, one can tell that he was not at ease: “Have you inquire about it? When does she doing fortune-telling there?”

Li Kang became even angrier when he thought of this: “I asked. The two old ladies said that it depends on her mood. I have never seen such a fortune-teller.”

Old Huang stopped moving his hand: “If this is the case, you don’t need to panic. This must be the marketing strategy she learned from people who do business. The rare she shows herself, the more people will follow her, and the more she can raise her price! This kind of thing is nothing to worry about. The more she does this, the more it shows that she is just putting on airs.”

After talking and pondering for a while, Old Huang seemed to have another idea: “You have to line up to get divination from her?”

“You can also jump in the queue.” Li Kang said aggrievedly: “But now the price of jumping in the queue is 2500 yuan.”

Li Kang stopped talking immediately. Generally, the date asking for an auspicious day must be at least half a year earlier. This time happens to be the off-season. At the end of the month, he only made 2056 yuan. If he used this money to jump in the line, it’s not worth it.

“Let’s just wait!” Li Kang gritted his teeth and said: “It will be the holiday season soon starting this November. She will definitely come out and set up a fortune-telling stall. We don’t need to spend a dime!”

A gleam of regret flashed in Li Kang’s eyes, and soon he looked up nonchalantly: “Then when she is doing fortune-telling, are we just going to watch her steal our customers?”

Old Huang picked up his teacup and smiled softly: “Isn’t there a police station near the park? Just make a phone call and report that someone is doing feudal superstition activities in a public park. Let her make a fool of herself in front of her followers. At that time, let’s call several people to say that she is a fake. After that, do you think those who follow her will believe her?”

The two looked at each other and laughed. Old Huang then took a sip of his tea. He lowered his eyes to hide the calculation in his heart. When that time comes, he will give away his business card. As the director of the Fortune-Telling Association, he will definitely be able to attract a large number of customers.

 


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7 thoughts on “Chapter 42: Bai Boan (Part 4)

  1. The only defence I can think of is valid for this bunch is that they rely on fortune telling and such to feed themselves but aside from that, pretty rotten, at least as far as this two seems thus far. Not sure if there are any good eggs with the rest of them.

  2. These two under estimate the aunties and uncles at the park lol…I’m pretty they’re going to protect the little master.

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