Chapter 0019 Ms. Ma's Fate
I remembered what Frank Fang had told me, and now I realized my friend's good intentions. Fortunately, the loss was minor. I considered it a lesson learned with money: just don't do business with Uncle Xie in the future. Unless he tries to steal money from my pocket, he won't get through. Thinking this way, I felt much better.
Positive-energy Amulets were easy; I always carried a few whenever I returned to Shenyang, just in case. The next day, I took a random 1,000 RMB Somdej Amulet and called Uncle Qian. He said he was at the securities company across the street from the neighborhood, so I delivered it to him on the way.
The company was called Southern Securities. There were about seventy or eighty stock investors in the hall, all looking numb, pale-faced, as if they had just lost a loved one. The stock market display screen showed more green than red, indicating another drop that day.
Uncle Qian was sitting with a few other investors on the right, all smoking and chatting. When they saw me enter, a few investors stared at me with blue eyes, as if I were an enemy. Uncle Qian quickly pulled me out. At the hall entrance, he complained, "Why are you wearing a green shirt again?"
I looked down at my clothes and said it was a red T-shirt. There was no green. Uncle Qian said, "Yes, there is! Look at your shoelaces!"
Looking closely, I realized the shoelaces on my black Kappa sneakers were green. I smiled bitterly. "You can't expect me to take off my shoes, right?"
Uncle Qian said, "Take them off, take them off! Leave your shoes at the entrance, no one will steal them!" Before I could say anything, Uncle Qian bent down, forcibly pulled off my shoes, and threw them at the door. I had no choice but to walk into the hall in my socks and hand the amulet to Uncle Qian. He excitedly told the other investors, "This is a Thai amulet! They say it's incredibly powerful and can change financial luck! This is my nephew Tian, my neighbor, who specializes in selling these things in Thailand."
A few investors burst into laughter. One person said, "Can this thing make the stock market jump from 2,000 to 6,000 points? If so, we'll each buy a hundred!" I smiled, unable to say anything to these people, and left.
About ten days later, I still couldn't put the Ms. Ma couple out of my mind. Although they hadn't called to curse me again, I still felt anxious. So, I sneaked over to Ms. Ma's university gate again, waiting for students to finish class. A group of students walked out, chatting and laughing. I quickly approached them and asked about the very unique and passionate Teacher Ma.
The students all had strange expressions, didn't answer my question, and quickly walked away, seeming to avoid something.
I asked two more students who had just left the campus. A male student said, "Everyone's been saying that Teacher Ma bought an amulet from Thailand, something with magical power that was consecrated, and she hasn't been quite normal since. During the school health check-up last week, the doctor said she might have delusional disorder and suggested she seek psychiatric treatment. She immediately had a breakdown, calling her husband to argue with the doctor. Then, somehow, the argument escalated, with both of them claiming the doctor was trying to steal her amulet. Several school security guards couldn't stop them, and her husband actually punched and blinded one of the doctor's eyes. Afterward, Teacher Ma was apparently put on unpaid leave and taken home to be monitored by her family, and her husband was detained for aggravated assault."
I was astonished. I wanted to ask more, but the male student didn't want to answer and quickly left on an excuse.
This outcome was extremely unexpected, yet also reasonable. Ms. Ma was already predisposed to prejudiced thinking, which was severely aggravated by the influence of the Negative-energy Amulet, eventually leading to full-blown delusional disorder. However, this meant the Ms. Ma couple could no longer trouble me, which allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief. I admit that was my immediate thought—to avoid disaster if possible, even if I was responsible for the cause. Such is human nature, and I was no exception.
Uncle Qian, the convenience store owner, was easygoing and cautious. Perhaps due to his middle age, coupled with the stereotypical laziness of many Northeasterners, Uncle Qian wasn't passionate about anything. Every time I went to his store to buy something, I always saw him doing one of two things: playing "Liu Chong" poker with others or drinking alcohol with a few simple side dishes.
Uncle Qian now wore the amulet around his neck all the time. When I went to buy ice cream, two beautiful and fashionable young girls were drinking soda in the store. Uncle Qian's wife, Aunt Qian, muttered while tidying up, "Spending a thousand RMB on a copper necklace! You must have drunk yourself silly!" I knew she was talking to me, but I kept quiet.
When the two girls paid, they saw the amulet Uncle Qian was wearing. Their eyes immediately lit up. One girl couldn't help but ask, "Uncle, is that a Thai amulet? Where did you buy it?"
Uncle Qian pointed at me and said, "He sent it to me from Thailand! This kid lives in Thailand and specializes in selling this stuff!"
The two girls looked at me, then picked up the amulet on Uncle Qian's chest and kept looking at it. Uncle Qian was very proud. He never expected this thing to be so popular, and he probably never had the chance to be so close to such young, pretty girls in his life. Uncle Qian asked, "Are you interested in amulets too?"
One girl said, "Absolutely! My cousin failed the civil service exam three years in a row. Last year, she went to Thailand and brought back an amulet that supposedly changes luck. When she took the exam two months later, she came out saying she failed and had no chance. But when the results were announced, she actually passed! Now she's gone back to a Thai temple to fulfill her vow!"
The other girl pulled out her phone and asked for my number, saying she'd contact me later. I gave them the address of my Taobao shop and amulet store. After the girls left, Uncle Qian looked at the amulet on his chest with delight. Aunt Qian was also surprised and looked at me differently.
From then on, Uncle Qian completely changed. He was much more energetic than before and showed enthusiasm in his words and actions, like a young man. Once, I went to buy soda, but Uncle Qian was out buying stock, and only Aunt Qian was inside. When she saw no one around, she quietly asked me if the amulet had any effect on male potency. I nearly spat out my soda and seriously replied, "Thai amulets are classified in detail. There are specific ones to enhance male sexual function, but Uncle Qian's is not one of them. However, a Positive-energy Amulet can make a person more vibrant and confident, and when the mood is good, that function can also increase."
Aunt Qian was overjoyed. She was extremely stingy; in the past, she would chase me daily even if I owed her two empty beer bottles, but today, she didn't charge me for the bottle of Coke.
A few days later, I went downstairs to the convenience store to buy something and found Aunt Qian scolding Uncle Qian. The gist was that he shouldn't have sold all his stocks, resulting in a net loss of over 40,000 RMB. Uncle Qian was unfazed. "You old woman, what do you know? The stock market is currently depressed. Who knows how many years until the bull market returns? I'm cutting my losses now so I can switch to other stocks as soon as possible and have a chance to recover!"
Several neighbors sitting nearby said Uncle Qian's idea was too naive. How could he know which individual stock would rise? Then he'd be a psychic. Uncle Qian ignored them. I thought, The Positive-energy Amulet's effect is showing again? Selling stocks despite losing money—most people wouldn't have that courage. I figured Aunt Qian would be furious every time she saw me from now on, so I should visit her store less to avoid getting blamed.
After that, my father often told me that every time he visited the store, he saw Uncle Qian reading the newspaper, analyzing national policies, and learning about finance, looking very serious. Before, he knew nothing about these things. He got into the stock market only by following the crowd, seeing others making money.
About half a month later, Uncle Qian called me, asking me to meet him at the securities company because he had something important to discuss. I wondered what important matter he could have. When I arrived at the securities company, wow, dozens of investors were surrounding Uncle Qian, asking him questions and treating him like a celebrity. I asked around and found out that ever since Uncle Qian cut his losses, he invested all his remaining capital into a stock that was not generally favored. However, this stock rose steadily, increasing by 30% in less than a week. Uncle Qian immediately sold it and switched to another, with the same result. In less than a month, the 30,000 RMB Uncle Qian had left had grown to over 50,000 RMB.
He instantly became the "Stock God" of the securities company. Investors flocked to him for advice, and he attributed all the credit to the amulet. These investors demanded that Uncle Qian introduce me to them. I was delighted. Although I didn't know how Uncle Qian became so powerful, I had at least gained dozens of potential customers.
I praised Thai amulets and Guman Thong to the skies, and three people immediately expressed their intent to purchase. They followed me home, where I sold them three Positive-energy Amulets, and they happily left.
A few days later, during dinner, my father asked me, "Did you get Uncle Qian downstairs an amulet or an amphetamine? He's like a different person lately, full of energy. Usually, he wouldn't even pick up an oil bottle if it fell over at home, but this afternoon, he actually helped Old Wang from the garbage station push his cart!"