“You, setting up a stall here to earn some spare change from others is one thing, but how could you even think of making money from us poor folk?”
“How terribly unkind!”
The scholar beside him, hearing He Xiuyuan’s words, immediately darkened his face and then said grumpily.
He looked at He Xiuyuan holding the fortune-telling flag and naturally thought it was He Xiuyuan’s trick to make money and a living; he had never been curious about or believed in the art of fortune-telling.
Seeing that He Xiuyuan actually wanted him to have a fortune told, he immediately shook his head in refusal.
The others all nodded in agreement at this moment, “Exactly, if you want to make money, then seek out the rich, make them happy, and you’ll naturally have plenty of silver.”
“But to set your sights on us, isn’t that a bit too much!”
He Xiuyuan listened to these words, knowing that these people did not believe him and thought he was a Jianghu swindler.
“How about this, I’ll tell your fortune first, and if it’s accurate, then we can talk about money?”
He Xiuyuan thought for a moment and decided to demonstrate his fortune-telling skills first, and also see how accurate his predictions were.
However, as soon as He Xiuyuan said this, the surrounding crowd shook their heads one after another, “Let’s not, your words are nothing more than saying you’ll encounter some bloody disaster, and if you don’t take action, you’ll face a life-threatening danger.”
“Although we don’t believe such words, hearing you say them inevitably makes us feel uneasy, and then we spend money for peace of mind or something.”
“So, it’s better not to listen to those words.”
The others, hearing this, also quickly shook their heads; they all knew He Xiuyuan’s next line of patter, which was why they didn’t want to listen.
After all, hearing those words would inevitably make them feel somewhat uneasy.
He Xiuyuan listened to these words and was immediately dumbfounded; it seemed these people simply didn’t believe him, and even if he offered to tell their fortunes first, they were unwilling.
Since these people were so reluctant, He Xiuyuan couldn’t force them.
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan shook his head and said helplessly, “If my divination is extraordinarily accurate, wouldn’t all of you be missing out on a great opportunity?”
“If your divination is so accurate, why does Your Excellency still need to beg for a living here? Your Excellency should now be among the wealthy, or perhaps a marquis or prime minister, surrounded by countless servants when you travel.”
Listening to He Xiuyuan’s words, the scholar who was copying books beside him glanced at He Xiuyuan and replied very calmly.
“Exactly, Your Excellency, please don’t say that after learning this fortune-telling art, one cannot use it to accumulate wealth, after all, Your Excellency is also going to collect divination fees here, aren’t you?”
Everyone echoed him at this moment, and He Xiuyuan found himself unable to refute.
Seeing that the crowd didn’t believe him, He Xiuyuan said no more, merely smiled, then sat down on the ground, waiting for a fated person to come to him.
The sun slowly climbed to the top of the sky; there were many pedestrians coming and going in front of He Xiuyuan, but not a single one stopped in front of him.
Even if one or two did stop briefly in front of He Xiuyuan, they left after seeing how young He Xiuyuan was.
By the time the sun set in the sky, He Xiuyuan hadn’t seen a single customer all day.
The scholar beside him had already packed his things and was preparing to go home; seeing He Xiuyuan’s fruitless day, he couldn’t help but shake his head.
He wanted to offer He Xiuyuan a word of advice, but after thinking about it, he swallowed the words that had reached his lips.
Never mind, everyone has their own way of life; if the other party wants to make a living in this Dao, it has nothing to do with him.
Thinking of this, he quickly packed his things and turned to go home.
He Xiuyuan himself was quite calm; seeing that there was no business all day, he immediately picked up his divination flag and walked towards a nearby restaurant.
All day today, he had been smelling the aroma of the dishes from this restaurant, which had really whetted his appetite.
“Waiter, bring me one of your signature roasted chickens.”
After entering the restaurant, He Xiuyuan glanced at the sign hanging above the counter and then ordered the roasted chicken there.
All day today, he had heard no end of talk from within this restaurant about how famous their signature roasted chicken was, and the aroma was also rich.
“Alright, honored guest, please take a seat, the roasted chicken will be right there; do you need anything else?”
The waiter responded briskly, then immediately led He Xiuyuan to a nearby table and began wiping it for He Xiuyuan.
“No need, only your roasted chicken here has the strongest aroma; I’ve been smelling it all day, and it’s made me quite hungry.”
He Xiuyuan replied after sitting down.
Hearing He Xiuyuan’s words, the waiter immediately responded, “Our restaurant’s roasted chicken is absolutely a must-try in Tianxin Prefecture, it definitely won’t disappoint you, honored guest!”
With that, the waiter quickly went off; he didn’t ask a single question about He Xiuyuan’s attire, nor did he look at him much.
A moment after the waiter left, a steaming, golden-brown, fragrant roasted chicken was brought up.
He Xiuyuan saw this, rubbed his hands, and immediately prepared to tear off a roasted chicken leg.
The waiter’s expression changed in surprise, “Honored guest, this roasted chicken just came out of the oven, I’m worried it’s hot….”
Before the waiter could finish his sentence, He Xiuyuan’s hand had already landed on the roasted chicken, and then, with a crisp tearing sound, a chicken leg was pulled off.
Seeing that He Xiuyuan was not scalded at all, the waiter was stunned, then left with a “Honored guest, please enjoy” before retreating.
He Xiuyuan now looked at the chicken leg in his hand, took a light bite, and then his eyes widened slightly.
“Absolutely incredible!”
“I didn’t expect the roasted chicken in this restaurant to be so delicious.”
He Xiuyuan looked at the roasted chicken in front of him; just from the crispy skin he felt when tearing off the chicken leg, He Xiuyuan had already realized that this roasted chicken must be extremely delicious.
The skin was roasted to an incredible crispness, yet not burnt, and with a gentle pull, it sounded like shattering glass, and the way the skin cracked.
Upon tasting it, the rich chicken flavor, that umami, was beyond words for outsiders.
After taking a bite, He Xiuyuan couldn’t help but pick up his gourd and take a sip of peach blossom wine, then another bite of roasted chicken, and immediately felt completely refreshed.
Compared to this, He Xiuyuan still felt that the Mortal Realm was excellent.
Although Biluo Temple was good, it was ultimately not as lively as this Mortal Realm, nor did it have so many delicious foods.
He Xiuyuan took a sip of peach blossom wine, inhaling all of its fragrance.
Thus, only the wine aroma around He Xiuyuan was extremely rich; he didn’t let the aroma spread out, otherwise, it would attract a lot of attention.