Short, Light, Free

I lowered my head helplessly before exiting her bedroom with the book in my hands .

She followed behind and locked the room .

I walked toward the courtyard and turned to Granny"s side of the house .

I tried pushing the door open but it was locked .

I went over to the windows but they were also tightly shut .

Just as I was feeling lost and vexed, Wu Su pointed at her door, saying, "Whenever she forgot her keys, she would flip the carpet over . "

I turned toward her . "Thanks…"

She replied coldly, "It might not be there anymore . "

I bent down and lifted the carpet .

There was a single yellow key .

I picked it up happily and unlocked the door .

The house was extremely messy . It wasn"t messy in the sense that it hadn"t been tidied in a long time, but rather in a very cluttered way .

I felt a sudden urge to get movers to clear this place .

The place contained everything from ancient wooden pieces of furniture to modern bean bag sofa .

On the European-styled table was a purple sand tea set .

I knew that these weren"t bought by granny .

She was a h.o.a.rder, collecting everything she could find .

She only brought things home but never the other way round .

I shifted the bean bag sofa and plopped down on it .

I opened the book once more, going through the first and second page .

There were three words on the second page –"Sincerity begets actualization . "

The further I get with it, the more pictures appeared instead of words .

Completely baffled, I tried piecing Granny and Wu Su"s words together .

I started questioning the book .

I had initially thought of learning from it to be able read my own fortune just for fun, but it seemed that it was going to take a few years .

I flipped through the pages, discovering that the content just becomes increasingly more difficult . The final few pages, however, were simple .

There were big blueprints identifying the scope of value for both sides of the four copper coins .

Only a tortoisesh.e.l.l that was separated from the tortoise for more than a year could be used . The four coins had to be from a certain manufacturing year .

I closed the book and left the house to scour a flea market about three kilometers away .

I found the sh.e.l.l, its appearance startlingly older than it was . It was definitely more than a year old and it was commendable that the owner had actually dared to take it out to sell it .

Finding the coins, however, was extremely difficult .

Brand new coins were cheap but I didn"t dare to purchase those .

The damaged and old ones were exorbitantly priced at 500 a coin . Four coins were going to cost me 2,000 .

Frustrated, I went home to think of other solutions .

When I arrived at the door, I realized that I only had the key to my house and not the main gate .

After a few knocks on the door, Wu Su came out .

She took one look at the things in my hand and rolled her eyes . She said disdainfully, "You"re really going into that stuff?"

"Granny"s orders . I can"t be unfilial, can I?"

Wu Su forced a smile .

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Do you still have your dad"s fortune telling coins? I can"t find them anywhere . "

"Yup . "

"Can you lend them to me?"

"I can, but you"ll have to return the coins and the book to me once you"re done with them . "

"Why? I thought you don"t want them?"

"You"re still young and I don"t wish for you to follow in my dad"s footsteps . Keeping those things away from you is all I can do . "

I nodded . "Alright . I"m just satisfying my curiosity anyway . "

Wu Su returned to her room and came out with the coins .

"Do these really work?" I asked, eyeing the coins .

"That"s what your grandmother believes . "

I nodded and brought them back into my house .

Wu Su followed and stopped by my door .

"Do you want to come in?" I offered .

"Nah, too stuffy," she declined .

I plopped back down onto the bean bag sofa and started reading the book .

The instructions on the first page stated that knowing a person"s name was enough to read his or her fortune . I thought that that was too sloppy, but I still gave it a try .

I repeated my name in my head, shaking the tortoisesh.e.l.l with the coins in them .

The coins fell out and I read them according to the chart .

"What is it?" Wu Su asked .

"It says that I can earn millions . "

"Lol . "

"Let me try it again and I"ll see if it"s accurate," I said before putting the coins back into the sh.e.l.l .

The outcome seemed different but reading the chart gave me the same end result .

I tried yet again and received the same reading .

"Three times . That"s incredible," I mumbled .

"Forget it," Wu Su snorted .

"How about I read it for you once?" I suggested .

Wu Su reached her hand out . "Give them back to me, I"ll keep them . You need to stop this nonsense before it ruins your future . "

"Fine . I don"t believe in it anyway," I said before gathering the items .

I moved forward a few steps and was tripped by a water bucket .

　
The coins came falling out and a yellow piece of paper, seemingly the last page, slipped out from the book .

"Are you alright?" Wu Su exclaimed .

I saw the coins rolling under the table . I muttered, "Sorry, sorry . "

"It"s fine, don"t apologize," Wu Su said, bending down to pick up the piece of paper .

The next thing I knew, she was covering her mouth and crying .

"Why are you crying?"

She handed the piece of paper to me .

The words on the paper were as illegible as Granny"s .

I read it aloud with much effort, "Su Su, I don"t know when you"ll be able to read this letter . You hate me so pa.s.sionately, so I guess never? The items in the house are real . I"ve never lied to anyone . Your grandfather read my fortune the moment I was born . I have what they call a 5-yuan life, which is why he made sure I live off them forever . I will die if I earn more than five yuan . I"m writing this as you"re going off to university . Your mom"s in an accident and theoretically speaking, inheritance isn"t considered a profit but she actually had an insurance payout of about 250,000 .

"You needed the money for school, however, and I had to be the one signing the paper . Our family"s fallen into a difficult situation ever since your grandfather"s death . I had no choice but to sign the paper with my 5-yuan life on the line . I got this house with the money and left it for you . I don"t see this as a wasteful death, but I just hope that you won"t see me as a liar your whole life . I"ve calculated your fortune and I am not worried since you"ll lead a millionaire life . Love, Dad . "

Wu Su was bawling her eyes out and I didn"t know what to do .

Three years later, we got married .

Millionaire life? Both of us? It must be our destiny .

I took care of her in every way possible, and our married life was great .

We had a boy, but because Wu Su burned the book, I wasn"t able to read his fortune .

My job paid 4,000 a month and so did Wu Su"s .

No matter how I looked at it, it seemed unlikely that we were meant to be rich .

After some thought, I concluded that we were at least going to live long and gain some easy money along the way .

Things weren"t that simple, evidently .

Inflation rose ridiculously, and a bowl of plain noodles no longer cost 10 yuan but 100, and then 1,000 .

Similarly, in 30 years" time, my pay rose from 3,000 to 300,000 a month .

It was only a matter of time before we started earning millions and millions .

I lowered my head helplessly before exiting her bedroom with the book in my hands . She followed behind and locked the room . I walked toward the courtyard and turned to Granny 39 s side of the house . I tried pushing the door open but it was locked . I went over to the windows but they were also tightly shut . Just as I was feeling lost and vexed, Wu Su pointed at her door, saying, Whenever she forgot her keys, she would flip the carpet over . I turned toward her . Thanks She replied coldly, It might not be there anymore . I bent down and lifted the carpet . There was a single yellow key . I picked it up happily and unlocked the door . The house was extremely messy . It wasn 39 t messy in the sense that it hadn 39 t been tidied in a long time, but rather in a very cluttered way . I felt a sudden urge to get movers to clear this place . The place contained everything from ancient wooden pieces of furniture to modern bean bag sofa . On the European styled table was a purple sand tea set . I knew that these weren 39 t bought by granny . She was a h.o.a.rder, collecting everything she could find . She only brought things home but never the other way round . I shifted the bean bag sofa and plopped down on it . I opened the book once more, going through the first and second page . There were three words on the second page Sincerity begets actualization . The further I get with it, the more pictures appeared instead of words . Completely baffled, I tried piecing Granny and Wu Su 39 s words together . I started questioning the book . I had initially thought of learning from it to be able read my own fortune just for fun, but it seemed that it was going to take a few years . I flipped through the pages, discovering that the content just becomes increasingly more difficult . The final few pages, however, were simple . There were big blueprints identifying the scope of value for both sides of the four copper coins . Only a tortoisesh.e.l.l that was separated from the tortoise for more than a year could be used . The four coins had to be from a certain manufacturing year . I closed the book and left the house to scour a flea market about three kilometers away . I found the sh.e.l.l, its appearance startlingly older than it was . It was definitely more than a year old and it was commendable that the owner had actually dared to take it out to sell it . Finding the coins, however, was extremely difficult . Brand new coins were cheap but I didn 39 t dare to purchase those . The damaged and old ones were exorbitantly priced at 500 a coin . Four coins were going to cost me 2,000 . Frustrated, I went home to think of other solutions . When I arrived at the door, I realized that I only had the key to my house and not the main gate . After a few knocks on the door, Wu Su came out . She took one look at the things in my hand and rolled her eyes . She said disdainfully, You 39 re really going into that stuff Granny 39 s orders . I can 39 t be unfilial, can I Wu Su forced a smile . Hey, can I ask you something What Do you still have your dad 39 s fortune telling coins I can 39 t find them anywhere . Yup . Can you lend them to me I can, but you 39 ll have to return the coins and the book to me once you 39 re done with them . Why I thought you don 39 t want them You 39 re still young and I don 39 t wish for you to follow in my dad 39 s footsteps . Keeping those things away from you is all I can do . I nodded . Alright . I 39 m just satisfying my curiosity anyway . Wu Su returned to her room and came out with the coins . Do these really work I asked, eyeing the coins . That 39 s what your grandmother believes . I nodded and brought them back into my house . Wu Su followed and stopped by my door . Do you want to come in I offered . Nah, too stuffy, she declined . I plopped back down onto the bean bag sofa and started reading the book . The instructions on the first page stated that knowing a person 39 s name was enough to read his or her fortune . I thought that that was too sloppy, but I still gave it a try . I repeated my name in my head, shaking the tortoisesh.e.l.l with the coins in them . The coins fell out and I read them according to the chart . What is it Wu Su asked . It says that I can earn millions . Lol . Let me try it again and I 39 ll see if it 39 s accurate, I said before putting the coins back into the sh.e.l.l . The outcome seemed different but reading the chart gave me the same end result . I tried yet again and received the same reading . Three times . That 39 s incredible, I mumbled . Forget it, Wu Su snorted . How about I read it for you once I suggested . Wu Su reached her hand out . Give them back to me, I 39 ll keep them . You need to stop this nonsense before it ruins your future . Fine . I don 39 t believe in it anyway, I said before gathering the items . I moved forward a few steps and was tripped by a water bucket . The coins came falling out and a yellow piece of paper, seemingly the last page, slipped out from the book . Are you alright Wu Su exclaimed . I saw the coins rolling under the table . I muttered, Sorry, sorry . It 39 s fine, don 39 t apologize, Wu Su said, bending down to pick up the piece of paper . The next thing I knew, she was covering her mouth and crying . Why are you crying She handed the piece of paper to me . The words on the paper were as illegible as Granny 39 s . I read it aloud with much effort, Su Su, I don 39 t know when you 39 ll be able to read this letter . You hate me so pa.s.sionately, so I guess never The items in the house are real . I 39 ve never lied to anyone . Your grandfather read my fortune the moment I was born . I have what they call a 5 yuan life, which is why he made sure I live off them forever . I will die if I earn more than five yuan . I 39 m writing this as you 39 re going off to university . Your mom 39 s in an accident and theoretically speaking, inheritance isn 39 t considered a profit but she actually had an insurance payout of about 250,000 . You needed the money for school, however, and I had to be the one signing the paper . Our family 39 s fallen into a difficult situation ever since your grandfather 39 s death . I had no choice but to sign the paper with my 5 yuan life on the line . I got this house with the money and left it for you . I don 39 t see this as a wasteful death, but I just hope that you won 39 t see me as a liar your whole life . I 39 ve calculated your fortune and I am not worried since you 39 ll lead a millionaire life . Love, Dad . Wu Su was bawling her eyes out and I didn 39 t know what to do . Three years later, we got married . Millionaire life Both of us It must be our destiny . I took care of her in every way possible, and our married life was great . We had a boy, but because Wu Su burned the book, I wasn 39 t able to read his fortune . My job paid 4,000 a month and so did Wu Su 39 s . No matter how I looked at it, it seemed unlikely that we were meant to be rich . After some thought, I concluded that we were at least going to live long and gain some easy money along the way . Things weren 39 t that simple, evidently . Inflation rose ridiculously, and a bowl of plain noodles no longer cost 10 yuan but 100, and then 1,000 . Similarly, in 30 years 39 time, my pay rose from 3,000 to 300,000 a month . It was only a matter of time before we started earning millions and millions .