Picture courtesy of Master Howard Choy or Cai Hong...
'阴阳地理山家卦，总是闲言话。 更加山头指拔砂，都是眼前花。'
Another 2 weeks passed by without any news from the old fortune teller and Ah Shan was getting annoyed by now. He then then decided to pester the fortune teller every day in the morning by calling him before he go to work but was always told that the latter was not around. By then, it was September when he finally managed to get a message from the assistant who had taken his call. The latter told him that the master had said that he will be back in two month's time from an overseas assignment and that perhaps Ah Shan can seek advice from another master if he cannot wait. Ah Shan had then complained to his father and asked if he could seek another master to pick the date but as expected, the father told him to wait.
One evening while he was with Ah Feng and complaining about how he don't understand why his father was so superstitious that the day to get married must have the approval from the fortune tellers. Then Ah Feng bought up a request which gave him another headache.
Ah Feng: ' Ah Shan, I am thinking that since your father is so conservative, it is best that we have our own home after getting married. As they said absence makes the heart fonder and we would have less frictions in our relationships. It would be good to have our own home too.'
Ah Shan: 'All-right, I will speak to my father about it as this fortune telling stuff have already got onto my nerves. Don't know whether we will encounter more of this if we will to live together.'
Ah Shan after reaching home, started to think of how to approach his father on this matter as he is the only child in his family and have never left home. He remembered how his plan to study abroad was aborted after his mother was unwilling to let him go alone overseas. However, for the sake of pleasing Ah Feng, he had to think of a way as choosing the wedding date was already creating unhappiness.
The next morning, Ah Shan while having breakfast with his father, with the usual rice porridge with fried bread sticks, a popular Hong Kong morning food, told his father about his intentions of living on his own after marriage.
The Father: ' Is it Ah Feng's idea that you thought of living on your own?'
Ah Shan: 'Oh, it is not as I have thought that it would be good for me to prepare early to start a family as later on with kids, we would need more living space.'
The Father: 'Well I see, I have no objections as I think it would be good for you to learn to be independent on your own after you get married. Secondly, I think that as Hong Kong is doing well now and it will be good to invest in a property now.'
The Father then continued: 'Anyway, with your present salary, you should be able to afford a comfortable residence and I won't have to worry about whether you can maintain it. Well, if you have problem servicing the loan later, let me know and I would help you with it. But I want you to consult Ah Chong about the Feng Shui before you purchase it.'
Ah Shan was glad when he hear this as he was worried that his father was going to make things difficult for him again. Ah Shan was less worried about the Feng Shui part as Ah Chong is his cousin who had became a Feng Shui practitioner some years back and believed that it would be much easier to handle than that old fortune teller. However unknown to both Ah Shan and his father, Ah Chong was the usual run of the mill types of Feng Shui practitioner. Ah Chong had came upon this art when he had engaged a Feng Shui Master to audit his house some years back. Ah Chong was then in good luck cycle in his bazi chart (Wealth luck) and had thought that his good luck was due to the Feng Shui done on his home. He had then paid the master a hefty sum of money to learn the art. What he had learn was a watered down Eight Mansion Feng Shui or Bazhai Feng Shui, a simplified version of Feng Shui which divided people based on their year of birth into two groups (Basically East group and West group) and the types of houses based on the sitting position, also into two groups. So one group, e.g. East group of people would be suitable to live in East group of houses while the other in the West group. Back then, little was known about Feng Shui as the Communist had taken over China and banned Feng Shui. As Ah Chong was in good luck cycle, and naturally after learning the art, most of his customers who he audited for were also in good luck cycle see positive results and he had thought that it was the art that he had learned and his skill that had make the favorable changes for his customers. He had then grown proud and the worse part was that he was the mediocre type and had not seek to improve his skill by researching or reading up more about the art. When Ah Shan was told to seek consultation from Ah Chong, the latter had just started to go into his bad luck cycle. Well, in life it is fair as every individual would have his fair share of good and bad luck, only that it depends on the individual to weather the bad cycle and get out of it.
'有福能自然来,有祸也躲不开'
So while waiting for the old fortune teller to give him a date for the wedding, Ah Shan and Ah Feng spend most of their time looking for their new home. Finally, they found one after looking at several apartments, a cosy and quiet place just outside of the Kowloon City. However, Ah Chong the Feng Shui Master rejected it saying that as the property belongs to the West Group but Ah Shan and Ah Feng are East Group of birth which do not match. Then one day, the assistant of the fortune teller Master Ze De called Ah Shan and say that there is a letter from the fortune teller for Ah Shan and whether he can go by and collect it. Ah Shan was so happy that he took a day off from work and went straight to the old fortune teller house to collect it.
However, after reading the letter, he do not know whether to be glad or angry. The letter had started with:
'Dear young master Zhang,
I am honoured that you have been patient waiting for my reply despite of the delay and though that you have the choice of looking for another master to pick your wedding date. It is with regret that I have to let you know that despite checking the almanac thoroughly all this time, I have been unable to find a suitable auspicious date for your wedding which is the reason for the delay. The only best time would be after this coming Chinese New Year in the Mao month of Spring which also signifies a new phase of life and the date, I would leave it to your father to pick for you. At the same time, I would like to convey my regards to your father through you.
Thank you.'
Ah Shan was glad that he finally can get the date to get married but frustrated that he still have to wait until after the coming New year. But anyway, he thought, might as well as he still have yet to get the right place to live after his marriage with Ah Feng. But he thought that it was strange or coincidental that Xiao Jin, an amateur could foretell so confidently that he would not get married in that year. Actually, Xiao Jin had seen from the Ah Chong's Zi Wei birth chart that none of the three stars that symbolises marriage or childbirth had appear in his spouse palace and neither was the spouse palace enhanced by any positive transforming star (Hua Lu, Hua Ke or Hua Quan) for that year. Rather, the spouse palace was negatively clashed from the opposite palace by Hua Ji, the negative transforming star in Zi Wei Astrology which was why he was so confident that Ah Shan would not get married that year.
Two days later, Ah Chong the Feng Shui master recommended a place that a relative wanted to sell to Ah Shan as it match the East group of birth people. It was next to a highway flyover, a novelty then in bustling Hong Kong and Ah Chong felt that the vibrant energy from the new highway would be good feng shui. The watered down version of Bazhai feng shui that Ah Chong had learned do not place much emphasis on External Landforms influence on property was also one of the reason that Ah Chong the feng shui master had ignored that the highway flyover could be a Killing Sha or have negative effects. Worse as the apartment was on the same level, facing the flyover, which logically would creates noises and dusts into the property, feng shui or no feng shui sense.
Ah Shan had then purchased the property after informing his father who had no objections as he had wanted Ah Chong to be consulted. Actually, Ah Feng did not like the property and had no choice but to go along with it as she do not want any confrontations with her in-laws even before marriage. She was thinking that very most, they could change to another property if she really could not bear with the highway noises and pollutants later on which would be easier after they were married without going through Ah Shan's father' s approval then.
After everything was put in place for his coming marriage with the date chosen by his father in the Mao month after the coming Chinese New Year, Ah Shan had then arranged to meet Xiao Jin as he wanted his advice on Ah Feng birth chart after seeing that he was so accurate in his prediction. They then met in an uptown chinese restaurant for tim sum, a popular Hong Kong tea time preoccupation for the Chinese.
Ah Shan: 'My friend, I must address you as Master Jin in the future, seeing that you are so accurate in your forecast.'
Xiao Jin: 'Ah, jokes aside. Not really, it is from the knowledge that our ancestors have passed down and anybody well versed in it would be able to do so.'
Ah Shan: 'This is Ah Feng's birth data, We would have to trouble you to give us some advices on our future after our marriage.'
Ah Feng who had felt an affinity with Xiao Jin on seeing him for the first time also added in : 'Hope you do not mind as this is only our first meeting and having to trouble you on my fate.'
Xiao Jin: 'Not at all, it would be a pleasure as I needs to practise my skill, being a non commercial practitioner. Ah Shan, just carried on with your conversation with Ah Feng and ignored me while I checked her astrology chart. '
Xiao Jin then started to convert the birth data into a Zi Wei Astrology chart. After a while, from his eyebrows, one can see that he was frowning at some unseen objects and shaking his head as what the old fortune teller, Master Ze De had done when looking at their charts the last time. Ah Shan noticed this and asked: 'How is it?' at which Xiao Jin did not answer as he was still preoccupied analysing the chart. In a while, Xiao Jin looked up and said with a forced smile: 'Well, not too bad except that she have to be mindful at the end of the year as the Zi month is not favorable to her. But that is life, there are bound to be good and unfavorable luck period.'
Ah Feng then told Ah Shan that she needs to make a phone call home to tell her mother that she is with Ah Shan and that she might be home late and not to wait for her to be back. After she left, Xiao Jin immediately said: 'Ah Shan, you need to be extra careful for her in the Zi month this year as she might meet with a mishap. It would be good to go to a temple to ask for blessings and get an amulet or if she is of other religion to get a protection talisman to wear. I do not want her to worry unnecessarily or for her to take it lightly as I don't know what she thinks of this fortune telling stuff which is why I am telling you instead.'
To be continued.......
Cheers, have a great weekend!!!
