In my opinion, what Uncle Qi said was all hindsight. He knew the whole story and then pretended to be profound and made up a bunch of weird and bizarre statements.

To put it nicely, this is a means of attracting people; to put it bluntly, it is a method of deception.

"Uncle Qi, let's not talk about the mysteries of Feng Shui for now. What should we do with this cracked tree trunk? At this rate, the wood will soon break into pieces," I said.

"I've also encountered this situation before. Two pine and cypress trees planted on my grave inexplicably cracked, and the cracks quickly spread all over the tree. From the outside, it looked like the entire tree had been bitten to pieces."

"If that's the case, then tree cracking is a common phenomenon? Why is this happening? Could it be that they are eaten by insects?" I said in surprise.

"Of course it wasn't worm-eaten. What kind of insect could damage such a strong pine tree like this?" Uncle Qi laughed, and then said, "This principle can be explained clearly with Su Dongpo's famous quote."

"Which one?"

"The ducks are the first to know when the river water warms in spring." After reciting this inexplicable line, Uncle Qi came down from the ruins and led us back to Xiaojing's house. He pointed at the cracked tree trunk and said, "Ducks are the first to sense changes in the river water temperature because their bodies are immersed in the river water. If the earth's energy changes, the wood will definitely feel it first, because trees grow in the soil. So any cracks in the wood must be due to the influence of the earth's energy."

I said, "Could this be related to the earth's energy I saw that day? Why did I see such obvious earth's energy?"

"Specifically, earth energy is actually a kind of energy. The purpose of feng shui layout is to generate or accumulate earth energy, thereby achieving a goal. For example, raising a house ghost. After the capitalist's son moved into the alley, he gambled all day and squandered his family's money. Despite repeated warnings, he refused to change. Later, a master taught him to raise a house ghost to protect the house. The method was to cut off his son's right hand and bury it in the northwest corner of the house."

"The purpose of raising a house ghost is to generate a new type of earth energy in his house to offset the influence of the feng shui pattern of the sword through the hall. The construction company was unaware of the mystery here and accidentally dug up the mud urn, thus breaking the feng shui eye of the house ghost. The earth energy that has been accumulated there for many years naturally broke out. The white smoke you saw and the strong wind that broke open the door are actually caused by the earth energy leaking out."

The more I listened, the more ridiculous it seemed to me. I wanted to remind him to stop playing tricks and treating me like a fool, so I said indifferently, "It's a pity that we can't meet that capitalist and his disabled son. Otherwise, we could listen to their stories."

Uncle Qi smiled slightly and said, "Actually, you don't need to meet to know the effect of raising a house ghost."

"This requires the use of divination to predict the outcome, right?" I said.

"Since this old house is still there, that means you know the whereabouts of his family and descendants, right?"

"Yes, their family is in the United States. They must have plenty of money and don't care about the demolition of the old house at all," I said.

Uncle Seven nodded and said, "If his son continues to gamble excessively, will he be able to keep his wealth?"

I was stunned by his question. It seemed to make sense, but I quickly thought of a rebuttal and said, "How can he gamble without his right hand?"

Uncle Qi smiled and said, "This shows that you don't know enough about gamblers. Gambling addiction is as difficult to quit as drug addiction, alcohol addiction, and smoking addiction. For example, even if you lose both hands, you will definitely continue to gamble, let alone your right hand." Uncle Qi was right. Two years later, I repaired a grave for a gambler who gave up his life easily because of gambling. The gambler's persistence is comparable to that of the most severe obsessive-compulsive disorder patient.

I clapped my hands and said, "Oh right, that capitalist's son was said to be dead after his hand was cut off, and then he possessed the capitalist and strangled him to death."

“How many sons does the capitalist have?”

"There is only one." This was said by Xiaojing, who had been following us.

"Since he only had one son, where did his current family and descendants come from after his death? Did they fall from the sky?" Xiao Jing was speechless after being asked by her seventh uncle.

Uncle Seven chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "That's why they say rumors stop at the wise. Some things are just rumors. If house number 37 really was so strange , the capitalist's descendants wouldn't continue to own it, even if they gave it away. So this house must have special meaning to their family. Otherwise, they wouldn't move to America and keep a shabby old house. What's the point?"

I have to say that after Uncle Qi's detailed analysis, I have gone from being completely skeptical to being half-believing and half-doubting.

"And how many risks did they face as capitalists to survive that era? Ultimately, they were able to escape danger and move to the United States. How many capitalists in Shanghai could have been so lucky? Now, the family has taken root and lived in the most developed country in the world..." At this point, Uncle Qi asked Xiao Jing, "Among the many families in Sanfen Lane, who else has such a good fortune?"

"No, everyone's life is not so good. Our family is relatively better off. The poor families really have to eat porridge every day. They can hardly eat dry rice for a few meals a year, let alone meat."

Uncle Qi said, "Yes, that's why raising a house ghost is very effective. It can save you from temporary pain and bring you long-term peace."

Regardless of whether others believed it or not, I believed it anyway, so I said convincedly: "Uncle Qi, do you have a way to prevent the trees from cracking further?"

He smiled and said, "I'm not sure your Seventh Uncle won't come." Then he took out a roll of golden thread from his pocket and handed it to me, saying, "Just wrap it around the center of the tree."

I was completely stunned and asked, "Can such a thin line hold a cracking pine tree in place?"

"You'll know if it works after you try it on." Even though he was questioned by me, Uncle Qi still said with a smile.

I had no choice but to listen to him, so I wrapped gold threads around the four trees.

I was busy with this when I heard footsteps as someone entered the house and asked, "Xiao Jing, how did you repair the pillars in your house? My master said to tear the house down and rebuild it, using cement pillars this time."

Without waiting for Xiaojing to answer, Uncle Qi said, "I'll give you some gold thread. Take it back and wrap it around the tree." The man suddenly fell silent. He looked at Xiaojing in surprise. It seemed that Xiaojing was not very confident and looked helpless.

After standing there for a moment, he smiled awkwardly and said, "Thank you. I'll just demolish the house. We've already agreed."

Uncle Seven didn't try to persuade him, but just smiled and said, "It's up to you."

After everyone left, Uncle Qi warned Xiao Jing, "The game is over. I'm sure the tree won't crack again. But from now on, no dirt or iron tools are allowed near these four wooden pillars. You'd better move all the iron tools out of the house, just in case."

I still feel unsure. Isn't it a bit too much to just use a small piece of string to tie up a cracking tree trunk?

But Uncle Qi's method was the only one I could rely on. That evening, I hosted a welcome dinner for the two of them. After three rounds of drinks, while Uncle Qi was in the restroom, Luo Tianbao said, "My uncle is the best tomb-reader of our generation. He can tell if a grave is a dragon's lair or a haunted house with just one glance."

I had no idea what a "grave divination master" actually did, so I just followed along and said, "Okay." Then I heard Luo Tianbao say, "Xiao Zhen, your Fangtou was once the most powerful earth spirit in the family. Do you really not understand feng shui at all?"

"I must really not understand, otherwise why would I bother you?"

He nodded and said, "That's true. It's a pity that no one has inherited the Third Old Master's Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils."

I poured him a glass of wine and said, "Second brother, tell me about our old grandfather. As a descendant, I should also know about the glorious deeds of my ancestors."

Luo Tianbao said, "What I know is limited. It's said that his eyes can see through things, and he can even tell if there's a coffin buried in a patch of grass . The Third Old Master can also clearly see the changes in the local Feng Shui and geomancy with his naked eyes. There's a saying in our industry that old graves control the fortunes of the living, and Feng Shui controls the fortunes of old graves. Therefore, the most important thing when building a grave for someone is tomb divination. Being able to locate the true dragon's lair is the key to building a grave."

"That's really strange. Since my ancestors were so powerful, why don't the descendants make a living in this field?"

"This is just gossip, don't take it seriously. Just listen to it and forget it."

"It's okay, second brother, just tell me."

"The Third Old Master was known as the Old Thief, meaning he was incredibly cunning. It's said that he took the Second and Fourth Brothers on a treasure hunt, but they ended up uncovering a coffin. The other two brothers died instantly, and the Third Old Master lost both of his eyes. With such a huge loss, he definitely won't be able to continue his career."

"What does 'wrapping the coffin' mean?" I asked puzzledly.

"A wrapped coffin is also called a judgment of life and death. It means that the coffin is covered with human skin. This is a cursed coffin . Once it is unearthed, anyone who digs it out with their own hands will not have a good death." Uncle Qi walked across the aisle behind me and sat back in his chair.