Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1113 - 538: Master Zhou (Part 2)

Because he was a smart kid, Zhou Hu knew from a young age that his family's money had an unusual source.

Although Zhou Hu's dad loved to indulge in eating, drinking, and gambling, quickly squandering all the family's wealth, leading to Zhou Hu's childhood being a constant cycle of poverty, Zhou Hu always felt that the family's money seemed insufficient for his dad's extravagant spending.

Zhou Hu believed theoretically the family shouldn't be in poverty; they should be buried under a mountain of debt. Yet, the family's dilapidated house was never repossessed by debt collectors, so the astute Zhou Hu keenly perceived that his dad had other inexplicable income sources.

Back then, tomb raiding novels and dramas weren't popular, so Zhou Hu had no clue what tomb raiding was. He simply assumed his dad committed some fraud while fortune-telling.

Therefore, even though Zhou Hu learned fortune-telling from a young age, he was very resistant to it, thinking it was just a scam.

He felt his dad was truly unscrupulous for tricking the neighbors out of money to fund his own indulgences.

Thus, Zhou Hu learned Feng Shui Bagua while always being in a contradictory state. On one hand, he was very talented, learned quickly, and often received praise from his dad; on the other hand, he strongly resisted it, yet he was indeed learning quite well.

Originally, Zhou Hu planned to outwardly comply but inwardly resist, intending only to learn but not to practice, merely studying without ever becoming a Feng Shui fortune-teller. He aimed to work honestly, walk the right path, earn money properly, and be a clean person.

Then his dad ended up in jail.

At the same time as his imprisonment, all of the family's assets were confiscated, leaving them owing a substantial fine. Zhou Hu's childhood was poverty-stricken, and when he attended university, he was directly saddled with debts. Upon graduating from university, Zhou Hu even considered committing a minor crime to get jailed for a few years, as it would provide more stability—at least he would have a guaranteed meal every day.

Then, during this time, his skills brought him food to eat.

As mentioned earlier, the Zhou family's clientele was very stable. The Zhou family had amassed a vast client base for fortune-telling starting from Zhou Hu's great-grandfather's generation. Although clients didn't require fortune-telling services every day, there were always clients with such needs.

Groundbreaking, moving soil, matching eight characters, predicting relationships, careers, studies… While the money wasn't much, every little bit helped, and could ultimately feed Zhou Hu.

With the trust of old clients, Zhou Hu got through the toughest times and successfully built a career—funeral planning.

Originally, Zhou Hu planned to retire from fortune-telling after securing a legitimate job. He actually did retire for a year and a half.

Then he bought a house.

The income from funeral planning was decent but unstable; big clients like Luo Jun, with deep pockets, are rare finds. The competition in this industry has been fierce these past two years, and the client base for funeral planning is even more unstable than that for fortune-telling.

Under the immense pressure of mortgage payments, Zhou Hu could only bow to reality, returning to the world to earn some money through small side hustles when he was tight on funds and unable to pay the mortgage.

This is why Zhou Hu only kept old clients; he really didn't want to develop new ones, feeling guilty about it.

"So, you feel guilty but still sold over a dozen Lucky Charms for 500 a piece?" Qin Huai asked with a soul-searching query after hearing about Zhou Hu's inner journey, while eating a spoonful of shaved ice.

Zhou Hu confessed, "I didn't want to either, but at the beginning of the year, the business was sluggish, only three orders a month, and none were big orders."

"My company, although small, with only five employees, still had considerable monthly payroll expenses. That month I couldn't even cover the mortgage, let alone pay my employees' salaries."

"The mortgage on the school district house is truly expensive!"

"Master Qin, I swear, once I sold enough charms to pay the mortgage, I stopped. I rarely sell charms normally, at most just Lucky Charms or Peace Charms. If I wasn't desperate for money, I wouldn't have sold Lucky Charms for 500 apiece; normally, when pressed for funds, I sell Peace Charms for 100 apiece."

"My job inherently involves sales; I understand the psychology of customers like Xu Tuqiang. Often when they ask for fortune-telling, they're not looking for an answer, but rather a reassurance, wanting us to say what they want to hear, affirm their beliefs. The same goes for Feng Shui consultations."

"Many times, when I visit clients to check Feng Shui, it's just to make their homes look brighter."

"But I didn't expect Mr. Xu to truly believe in it!"

"His current status is truly dangerous. I've advised many clients who were nearly conned out of tens of thousands by other fortune-tellers; Mr. Xu fits all these clients' traits, and he's the wealthiest."

"If he can't buy a Lucky Charm from me, he will definitely go to other fortune-tellers eventually, and then it might be tens of thousands per charm."

"That's the situation I least want to see, which is also why I don't want to pursue this side hustle—genuinely feeling guilty. I have no other way but to fulfill their needs at the lowest possible price through other methods, avoiding deeper deception."

Qin Huai was touched by Zhou Hu's sincere words. Although Zhou Hu occasionally stepped out to earn money through deception, he sounded truly honest—a sincere con man.

"So, Master Zhou, what other outrageous requests have you fulfilled before?" Qin Huai sat up straight, addressing him with newfound respect.

Zhou Hu: ?

Master Qin's focus is truly unusual.

Zhou Hu thought for a moment: "There are too many."

"There was a case of a child whose grades suddenly dropped, wanting to place a Wenchang Tower. I staked out at the child's school for half a month and discovered the child sneaked to the convenience store after school to rent a phone for gaming. I reported the store, and without a phone to play with, his grades improved again."

"Someone wanted to win back their ex and insisted on buying a Love Charm. I secretly combed through all his ex's social media accounts, found clues that their ex had been playing multiple lines and had already cheated, then organized the evidence clearly, anonymously sent it to him with a fake account, making him realize and give up on reconciliation."

"Of course, there are many requests I can't fulfill. For those, I simply chat, comfort, and advise more. Over time, most are willing to be persuaded."

"If it weren't for the 30-year mortgage to pay off, I truly wouldn't want to do this fortune-telling side hustle."

Qin Huai was indeed tempted, wondering where to find such a cost-effective fortune-teller, no wonder Xu Tuqiang and others have complete confidence in Zhou Hu's business capabilities.

Master Zhou has silently contributed so much behind the scenes, truly not easy!

Now Qin Huai thinks there's a 99% chance Zhou Hu's a spirit; normal people don't pull off things like this.

Qin Huai looked at Zhou Hu with sincere eyes and casually asked like in a usual chat: "Master Zhou, do you have any wishes?"

"Huh?" Zhou Hu was dumbfounded.

"I mean, do you have any regrets, wishes, things like that, just chatting, feel free to say."

Zhou Hu: ? Chatting about this?

Seeing Zhou Hu pause for a while without speaking, Qin Huai planned to continue on the topic of Xu Tuqiang. He wasn't expecting to directly ask anything, just a casual mention; when trying to complete game tasks, it's best to cast a wide net—you never know what you might get.

Saying things offhand, at worst, he'll be seen as crazy, Qin Huai's used to it.

Moreover, given Qin Huai and Zhou Hu's current relationship, even if Zhou Hu thinks Qin Huai is crazy, he'll still have to interact with him; the tail-end payment from Luo Jun's side needs Qin Huai to settle.

The world may be big, but settled payments are bigger.

"Leave Mr. Xu's matters to..."

Before Qin Huai could finish speaking, a game notification suddenly rang in his mind.

"Ding, congratulations to the player on finding a new side mission [Zhou Hu's Wish], please check in the game panel."

Qin Huai: !

Fox, you're straightforward; just asking gets results.

Master Zhou truly lives up to being a master—a respectable con artist, not only wholehearted in servicing clients but also generous in offering side missions, asking yields results.

"Master Zhou." Qin Huai's tone turned ingratiating, "Do you have any other wishes?"

Zhou Hu: ???

He was wondering if Master Qin's questions weren't about missing the point but rather showing signs of mental instability.

Is this how inheritors of massive fortunes behave?