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Additionally, note down the contact information of the shop owner. After a brief chat in the small shop, Bing Tianyi glanced at the time and, seeing it wasn't too late, hurriedly left with a few friends.
After strolling around the street for a while and bidding farewell to Pang Yu and others, he headed home.
Upon returning home, his parents were quietly sitting in the room, with the television still making noise. However, the atmosphere in the room was quite different from usual.
Sitting on a small stool nearby, Bing Tianyi pondered for a moment before speaking up, "Dad, I plan to help you both open a small shop."
Father Bing and Mother Bing did not respond verbally but simply looked up at Bing Tianyi.
Bing Tianyi stood up and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, which happened to be the receipt and contact information from the owner of the Rice Noodle Shop.
Upon seeing it, Father Bing's brows furrowed instantly. He looked up and stared intently at his son for a moment before finally asking directly, "Did you just go out looking for shops tonight?"
"Yes."
"Withdraw." Father Bing said decisively without any hesitation.
Seeing his father's expression, Bing Tianyi felt a jolt in his heart. In the past, he would have argued fiercely with his father; anything his father decided had to go through his parents' approval. But now, being in his twenties, after his father finished speaking, he simply wore a sincere smile and replied, "Dad, are you worried that we won't have enough money?"
In truth, Father Bing wished to help them open a small shop as well. It would mean stable business and no longer having to endure harsh weather every day while living in fear of city management or local thugs causing trouble.
However, he understood that Bing Tianyi was already in high school and would need to attend university in three years. At that time, tuition fees would require money, not to mention living expenses for his son. Following university graduation would come job hunting expenses, marriage costs, and buying a house.
In these places, one cannot even take a step without money. Now, with just over ten thousand dollars in savings, it means that they have managed to save nearly a hundred thousand dollars over the past three years by living frugally.
If they were to invest this money in a business and make a profit, that would be fine, but if they were to incur losses, then their son might not even be able to attend college.
Thinking of this, Father Bing had no choice but to abandon his idea of opening a store. However, he did not expect that his son would also develop such thoughts.
"What do you think?" Father Bing asked in response.
Bing Tianyi sat in a chair, smiled lightly, and then said directly, "Dad, actually we can find a way regarding the money."
"What kind of way? Are you suggesting we borrow money from someone again?" Father Bing said with a face full of frustration, sighing heavily.
Seeing the expression on his father's face, Bing Tianyi recalled scenes from his childhood when he had to borrow money from relatives because of his mother.
Since that time, he had heard his father say, "If I ever have to borrow money from someone in this life, then I'm not a man."
Given the situation, Bing Tianyi felt it was inappropriate to continue the conversation. He stood up and took the note from his father's hand, saying, "I'll go study for now."
"Remember to cancel the deposit tomorrow; it should still be possible," Father Bing said helplessly.
Bing Tianyi nodded in agreement. Once he reached his bed and pulled the curtain shut, he began to take out his book on the I Ching and read it seriously.
The next morning, after getting up and shouldering his backpack, Bing Tianyi went out onto the street. He headed to the usual spot—the steps on the west side of the square—where three old men were already seated.
When they saw Bing Tianyi arrive, two of the old men exchanged glances and smiled helplessly. "Let's go; we should eat first," one of them said.
After the two old men got up and left, only the old man who had always been at odds with Bing Tianyi remained in the place.
Bing Tianyi didn't pay much attention to him. As usual, he opened his backpack, lit three incense sticks, laid out a newspaper, and took out the copper coins he used for fortune-telling. He sat quietly and began to wait for customers.
Not long after, a few young people hurriedly approached.
Bing Tianyi's expression remained unchanged as he sat calmly. However, the old man beside him was still unwilling to accept what had happened that day and was ready to compete with Bing Tianyi.
As the group of young people came within ten meters of Bing Tianyi and the old man, the old man suddenly shouted loudly, "Various fortune-telling services, no charge if it's inaccurate."
The young people were startled by the old man's shout and stopped in their tracks, looking over at him. Bing Tianyi glanced at the old man beside him and smiled wryly.
The old man continued his strange tone and shouted again, "Various fortune-telling services, no charge if it's inaccurate."
Just as he finished shouting, a familiar voice emerged from among the young people. A girl with two beautiful dimples on her face stood out.
Seeing this, Bing Tianyi suddenly remembered the scene from Friday night when his friends congratulated him; that girl with dimples was exactly the one standing in front of him now.
"Dimples, it's you!" Bing Tianyi quickly got up and smiled at the approaching Dimples.
Dimples nodded and, before reaching Bing Tianyi, directly called out, "Brother Bing, I didn't know you also did this on the side!"
Bing Tianyi laughed and replied, "Didn't I tell you that day? When I have nothing to do, I come here to do a little business."
Dimples smiled back, but unexpectedly, the old man continued to shout in his strange tone, "Various fortune-telling services..."
Before the old man could finish his sentence, Dimples turned her head and glared. However, in an instant, Bing Tianyi noticed a strange expression on Dimples' face.
"Brother Bing, wait a moment," Dimples said as she turned and walked over to the old man.
Bing Tianyi knew that Dimples was up to no good. He quickly stood up and said directly to her, "Alright, don't go over there."
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man thought Bing Tianyi was trying to steal his business. He hurriedly said, "Young lady, don't go near that guy. He's a con artist. At his age, how could he possibly tell fortunes?"
Dimples smiled and nodded. She squatted down in front of the old man and asked, "Master, you can tell fortunes very accurately, right?"
"Of course! You can ask around in the county town; who doesn't know my great name as the Horse Diviner?" the old man said proudly.
Dimples smiled lightly and continued, "Since that's the case, please help me with a fortune-telling. If you get it right, I'll give you this!"
As she spoke, Dimples took out several Hundred-Dollar Bills from her pocket and waved them in front of the old man.
The old man thought he was about to break his record for earnings today and happily replied, "Alright!"
"But I need to make one thing clear: if you can't get it right, you shouldn't do fortune-telling here anymore; find another place," Dimples said clearly.
Upon hearing this, the old man's brow furrowed. The cheerful expression he had just moments ago turned serious: "Young lady, what do you mean by that? Is this place yours?"
"Of course not, but I find you a bit of an eyesore here," Dimples said with a mischievous smile.
Seeing this situation, the old man gasped and asked, "What do you plan to ask about?"
"I want you to count how many moles I have on my chest," Dimples said directly to the old man.
The young men following Dimples burst into laughter upon hearing her words. Annoyed by their laughter, Dimples scolded, "Shut up, all of you."
The group obediently stopped laughing after she spoke.
Bing Tianyi, realizing that Dimples was deliberately making things difficult for the old man, kindly said to her with a smile, "Alright, Yumeng, stop messing around. Do you have something to discuss?"
Dimples replied straightforwardly, "I'm here for fortune-telling."
The old man sat on the steps, his face turning red. After a few seconds, he stood up and began packing his belongings. Seeing this, Bing Tianyi hurried over to the old man and said, "Sir, please don't be angry. My friend is just joking with you."
The old man was now furious, his face flushed as he glared at Bing Tianyi and scolded, "You are too shameless. How can a young lady say such things to someone who is half-buried in the ground? Do you have no shame?"
Dimples was used to being reckless in society, and hearing the old man's words made her quite displeased. Without thinking much, she stepped forward and grabbed the old man's arm, asking, "Old sir, are you going to tell my fortune or not? Are you planning to run away because you can't figure it out?"
The old man snorted coldly and pushed Dimples away from him before turning to walk away.
The young men watching the scene were both amused and exasperated. They held back their laughter until the old man had left, at which point Dimples burst out laughing, prompting them all to laugh loudly.
Standing there, Bing Tianyi looked helplessly at these troublemaking friends of his. He raised his head and glanced at the old man who had already walked far away, feeling a sense of regret. He was already competing with several older men for business here, but now his friend had caused such a scene.
While Bing Tianyi was lost in thought, Dimples stepped forward and curiously asked him, "Brother Bing, what are you thinking about? Are you going to defend that old man?"
Bing Tianyi sighed with a bitter smile and said, "You guys are really something. Is it fun to bully an old man like that?"
Hearing this, Dimples laughed and said, "Don't say he's just a sixty-year-old man; I've bullied quite a few ninety-year-olds."
Bing Tianyi was completely speechless. Looking at Dimples in front of him, he shook his head and squatted on the steps, quietly asking, "So, what do you need? If there's nothing else, you can go back to your own business."
"Of course I came to find you for something. Help me read a fortune for this sister of mine and see if her father can turn his situation around." At this moment, the smile on Dimples' face abruptly vanished as he pulled out a young girl.
Bing Tianyi looked up and saw that the girl had tears in her eyes, her face filled with sorrow.
"What happened?" Bing Tianyi asked directly.
The girl stepped forward and said to Bing Tianyi, "My father was set up on the street the other day and was severely beaten by some city management officers. He's still lying in the hospital. I want to know if my father will recover."
As she spoke those last few words, the tears in her eyes could no longer be held back and flowed down her cheeks.
Hearing this, Bing Tianyi felt a surge of discomfort. Although he knew that some city management officers would beat people severely that day, he never expected it would be this girl's father.
"What’s your name?" Bing Tianyi asked.
"My name is Zhang Xiaotong," the girl replied straightforwardly.
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