A Prophet - Chapter 26 (Part 5)
Chapter 5 - The Mega Financial Fraud Case and the Feng Shui Formation
"How did they pull off the scam? By fortunetelling? And their pricing was that outrageously greedy?" I asked.
Zhao Yilong chuckled: "Of course it wasn't that simple, but feudal superstition is a method, and once people take the bait, they don't easily suspect anything..."
Zhao Yilong continued talking all the way, and we listened quietly.
It turned out that over the past two years, Guangdong had been engaging in investment attraction, and several Hong Kong businessmen had rushed over. One boss, one female secretary, and a Zhouyi master in his fifties formed an investment delegation to invest in a certain city in Guangdong.
The main backbone leaders of the municipal party committee's three major bodies turned out in force to welcome them. Hong Kong businessmen were no laughing matter—they wore suits and ties, carried leather briefcases, and spoke with slightly exotic, heavily accented Mandarin, exuding the professionalism and erudition of capital and the market from inside and out.
This group claimed they wanted to contract a government guesthouse in the city and transform it into a star-rated hotel combining dining and accommodation. It was said that this single investment could create 300 job opportunities and contribute 400,000 in annual tax revenue to the government.
The vice mayor in charge of the economy was overjoyed: "The government will give you its full support!"
During the negotiations, the Hong Kong businessmen frequently sought the opinion of the Zhouyi master: "Let's see what the feng shui is like around this guesthouse."
The Zhouyi master spun his luopan compass a few times and said, "You only need to move the main entrance of the guesthouse to face south, and with Ding and Ren sitting in the Li palace, wealth will pour in overwhelmingly!"
The Hong Kong businessman laughed heartily: "Now I can rest easy."
The vice mayor and his secretaries were dumbfounded: "The boss even believes in feng shui?"
The Hong Kong businessman said in broken Mandarin: "Of course. We Hong Kong people value feng shui the most. I have numerous chain hotels in Singapore and Malaysia, and every single one of them had their feng shui checked by a master, and every single one of them made a fortune. Do you think I believe it or not?"
At that moment, the female secretary beside the boss spoke up: "Our President Wang comes from a scholarly family, has deeply loved traditional Chinese studies since childhood, and treats various high-level experts with great courtesy. Master Liu is President Wang's personal feng shui consultant and is very famous in Hong Kong."
The vice mayor listened, half-believing and half-doubtful.
Facts speak louder than words. President Wang contracted the guesthouse for 200,000 yuan, gave it a thorough renovation, and changed the main entrance from facing west to facing south. As a result, business was booming, and customers came in an endless stream. The dishes were also shockingly cheap. The crowd of municipal committee members pondered: With dish prices this low, how on earth could they make a profit?
"This is what we call a steady stream of small trickles; rather than letting ten thousand people eat once, we'd rather one person eat ten thousand times. Once our reputation is established, everything will be OK! Besides, with my master holding down the fort, nothing can go wrong!" President Wang said with utter confidence.
Sure enough, by the second year, the guesthouse was making crazy profits, and people started turning green with envy.
At this point, President Wang began dropping hints again: "I want to turn the restaurant into a shareholding system. Everyone can share the wealth—what's the point of me making so much money all by myself?"
"What kind of shareholding system?" the vice mayor asked.
"It means anyone with money can invest, and anyone can hold shares. When the time comes, we'll go public together and make tens of millions overnight. By then, everyone will be a millionaire..."
The vice mayor was tempted and mobilized officials across all levels of the administration to raise 500,000 yuan in capital in the government's name to buy shares.
President Wang smiled and said, "Since you're putting up 500,000 yuan, I'll put up 3 million yuan, and we'll strive to go public in three years!"
Three million yuan—such audacity and such a massive stroke instantly stunned everyone.
No one expected that this President Wang was playing the game of capturing a wolf with empty hands. Back when the reform and opening-up policy had just begun, in order to revitalize the market, banks used to provide interest-free loans—and even unsecured loans—to people starting businesses. Such an incredible-sounding thing by today's standards actually happened in reality back then.
The government wanted to activate the dead money sitting in banks and racked its brains to encourage people to take out loans and start businesses. A fraction of daring folks truly started from scratch with empty hands, while most others lacked the guts and wouldn't dare take the money even if the bank gave it away for free.
President Wang used the 500,000 yuan raised by the government as collateral, instantly sucked 3 million yuan out of the bank, slapped it down on the table, and said, "Respected leaders, my 3 million yuan has arrived!"
In their wildest dreams, none of them imagined this 3 million yuan had been extracted using their own 500,000 yuan as collateral. Everyone raised their glasses: "President Wang has true vision; let's achieve prosperity together!"
"No problem at all! My master has already calculated everything. We'll start expanding immediately, and in three years we'll definitely rake in tens of millions!"
"Brilliant, truly brilliant." Everyone gave him a thumbs-up.
Halfway through the drinks, President Wang suddenly asked, "Shall we have the master take a look at the fortunes of the leaders present?"
Everyone at the table laughed and said, "No need, no need." But each person secretly yearned to have the master read their fortune.
The master smiled: "You don't need to be so polite, everyone. Just treat it like a game." As he spoke, he leaned over to the vice mayor's side: "Shall I read the mayor's palm?"
The vice mayor half-heartedly yielded: "Shall you?"
"Let's take a look."
Master Liu smiled, took the mayor's hand, and said, "The mayor is a very filial son."
"Correct. Hehe."
"The mayor has a hasty temper."
"Also true. Hehe."
"The mayor has two daughters."
"Spot on!"
"The mayor has cholecystitis!"
" Divine! Master, stop talking, haha, you're making my heart race with suspense, hehe."
Later on, the two of them secretly went outside, and the master said to the vice mayor, "Mayor, what is your birth date?"
The vice mayor answered truthfully.
The master pinched his fingers to calculate: "Mayor, your fortune-transition period has arrived."
"Fortune-transition?"
"That's right. In human life, a major fortune cycle lasts ten years, and a minor cycle lasts five years. If you transition smoothly into a major cycle, you'll have ten years of smooth sailing; if you transition into a minor cycle, you'll have five years of auspiciousness. If you don't transition well and your fortune clashes, things will turn bad."
"How bad can it get?"
"Mildly speaking, you lose your official post; severely speaking, you face the disaster of imprisonment."
According to ancient destiny analysis, there is a concept of fortune-transition. Each cycle lasts ten years, and during the transition period, one must pay special attention to several things: you cannot meet people whose zodiac signs clash with yours, you cannot cover yourself with quilts of colors whose five elements conflict with yours, and you cannot witness weddings or funerals. Otherwise, once the major fortune cycle clashes, you will have ten years of misfortune.
Of course, many scholars of the I Ching throughout history have criticized this, considering it superstitious rhetoric.
Given the master's previous miraculous accuracy in fortune-telling, the vice mayor was tempted: "How should I undergo this fortune-transition?"
"Starting tomorrow at the Hour of Chen, you must not see any strangers. Stay at home, avoid all meat and fish, and eat vegetarian food. You cannot come out until seven days have passed," the master said.
"What constitutes a stranger?" the vice mayor asked.
"Anyone outside of your immediate blood relatives is a stranger."
"Then... I'm just going to hole up at home for these eight days?"
"Well, it's for transitioning fortune—trading seven days for ten years. Do you think it's worth it?"
"That makes sense."
The next day, the vice mayor called in sick and stayed at home.
It wasn't until five days later that the municipal party secretary called him: "Everyone has run away! What are you still cooped up at home for?!"
"Who ran away?"
"The Hong Kong businessmen who invested here have all vanished!"
The vice mayor in charge of the project practically had to check in on the guesthouse every single day, but trapped by the master's "fortune-transition" scam, he had unwittingly carved out five solid days of escape time for this gang of fraudsters.
In the end, it was a report from local citizens—saying the restaurant inside the government guesthouse had closed down, no one was cooking anymore, and the place was completely deserted—that finally made the local government realize something was seriously amiss.
"That female secretary by President Wang's side is also named Huang Farong," Zhao Yilong concluded.
We syndicate bosses felt our hair stand on end listening to this: "This is a massive scam. If they're caught, they'll face the death penalty. These Hong Kong folks are truly formidable."
"According to our investigation, these individuals are not from Hong Kong at all. Their Hong Kong identities were forged, and the materials provided to the government were all fake. They are a mainland fraud syndicate. This case has been listed as a provincial-level priority case, and the public security organs are currently tracking them down. That's why I've asked my uncles here to help."
After hearing this, Fourth Bahtou said, "First, I dare say with absolute certainty that this woman is not Huang Farong. Huang Farong is my ex-wife, as the two brothers present know—she died decades ago. Even if she were alive today, she'd be in her seventies or eighties; she wouldn't be this young. Second, why this woman is committing fraud under Farong's name, I do not know. Why she told Zhou Yulang the inside secrets of the old 'River and Lake Syndicate,' I also do not know. But what I can be certain of is that this person impersonating Huang Farong definitely has deep ties to the 'River and Lake Syndicate.'"
Zhao Yilong said, "I've also heard my father mention matters concerning the 'River and Lake Syndicate.' It's said that Grandfather personally sent the members of all four major eastern, southern, western, and northern halls to prison back then. Could there still be fish that slipped through the net?"
We looked at each other: "No. Absolutely not!"
"Alright, let's stop here for today. Sorry to have troubled you all. If anything else comes up, I'll notify you."