Chapter 9: The inner layout and minor taboos

So I chatted with the old man’s granddaughter all the way back to their house. During this period of time, I had to help design the interior layout of the house, so I had to stay here for a while.

When they arrived at the old man’s house, the first thing they discussed was the cost of selling the house, buying the land, and building the house. No matter how they calculated it, it was always a little short. At that time, 20,000 yuan was not a small amount of money, and everyone in the house was worried about the 20,000 yuan.

The reason I was able to get so many clues from Master Liu was also thanks to the information provided by the old lady. The so-called understanding can be big or small, and this is also my karma. So the next day, I casually found a reason to leave for a while and went to a small city bank near the county to withdraw 20,000 yuan. When I returned that night, I handed it over to Master Xiang.

“Little Master, you… you have already done us a great favor by designing the feng shui for our home. How can we accept your money?” The old man was a little agitated, and his grandchildren were also a little disbelieving.

They have seen fortune tellers and feng shui masters make money, but never give money away. How could they give away 20,000 yuan?

I forced the money into the old man’s hands and said, “This is not a favor, it’s karma. We Taoists believe in karma. These 20,000 yuan are the karma I owe for doing the feng shui. So don’t refuse.”

Perhaps it was my serious expression, perhaps it was the word karma that had a calming effect on the old man, or perhaps it was the strange dream that had occurred to him. In any case, in the end, the old man accepted the 20,000 yuan, but he couldn’t help but get teary-eyed and said, “Blessings from the ancestors.”

This made me very strange. Is this the sudden spiritual awareness of ordinary people? The words “blessed by ancestors” are very correct.

I stayed in the county seat for a week, and during that week, I helped the old man’s family draw up a layout plan. The layout plan is basically the arrangement of the rooms, their sizes, the functions of each room, and the placement of furniture.

The positioning methods used in the interior design are more varied, and each school has its own unique methods. When I handed the drawings to the family, I also explained some of the finer details: “It is a basic rule that the main door should not face directly towards the windows and balcony. If it does, the air flow will be straight in and straight out, it is not easy to gather the qi, but a house also pays attention to hiding the wind and gathering the qi, so the qi must be able to circulate. Here, there is no way to design it without being opposite, because the layout of the building has already been decided, so here, use a door curtain to block it, and set up a partition between the door and window of the second floor hall.

“How do you make this partition?” The old man didn’t quite understand.

“It’s actually very simple. You can either make a shelf for the multi-treasure pavilion, or you can make a decorative piece of glass. Look, the bedroom layout here, the bed must be placed according to my design. First, don’t install a mirror or anything outside the bedroom door, as this will affect the relationship between the people living in the same bedroom, such as the relationship between husband and wife. In addition, the head of the bed cannot face the door, and even less so the mirror, as this will bring about some illness. This is the bathroom, which also has a shower function. This door cannot face the bedroom under my design, which will also bring about illness. Oh, when you build the house, you must be careful that there are no beams on the ceiling of the bedroom. This will oppress the people in the bedroom. If you have to have a beam, remember to cover it with a certain method. Do you understand?” I explained some of the details of the bedroom.

The old man nodded frequently.

“And this study is mainly for your great-granddaughter, and later your great-grandson will also use it. In the business world, the desk should be placed in a prosperous position because businessmen seek wealth. I designed your desk here, which is a good position. I believe you want your children to study well. This position has the meaning of studying hard. In addition, it has the meaning of stability. This position is conducive to learning.

“The location of the toilet I designed for you is fine. Many of the toilets in the city have problems. It is also very bad to be in the front of the bright hall of the house. In general, things with earth attributes, such as stone, are used to suppress it, because the toilet belongs to water. If a foul aura is created, it will have to be dealt with in a special way. In short, there is no problem with the location of your toilet, so don’t worry about it.”

As for the hall, put a pot of green plants here because this is a lucky position and it is very good to have green plants here. I can’t tell you specifically how to judge this lucky position because it involves some knowledge. However, there is a simple way to do it. Look from the front door to the end corner of the living room at a 45-degree angle, but this is not definite. Just judge it like this. Old man, you have to remember that the plants placed in the lucky position should be broad-leaved plants, so that it is easier to accumulate wealth. On the balcony, you can put some plants with pointed leaves, which can block some evil spirits to a certain extent. Cacti are fine, but they must not be placed indoors. As for your taboos, don’t plant ferns and vines on the balcony. After all, you live in a relatively remote place, and they grow too well, which is more likely to attract evil spirits.

“Finally, the kitchen, which is a fire element, is also in a suitable location that I have designed for you. The most important thing is for the health of the woman in the family. It is best not to have beams in the kitchen. In short, if there are beams, you should find a way to make them invisible to the eye.”

“In summary, no door should be opposite the main door, and it is best to hide all the beams in the room. For harmony, if you want to decorate the ceiling of the hall in the future, it is best to bring some round shapes, which are more harmonious, such as round chandeliers. This… there are many rules for decorations. Basically, for houses with a heavy yin energy, you should put peach wood or sunflower decorations, and paintings like “high mountains and flowing water” should not have the water flowing outwards. Also, don’t hang pictures of animals, especially cats, vultures, etc. Finally, it’s also good to have a boat or something, but remember to face the bow of the boat towards the house.

Here, I have explained some basic common sense to the old man. In my personal opinion, I hope to be perfect, and I don’t want to ruin the perfection of Feng Shui because of some small decorations, although Feng Shui cannot be absolutely perfect.

The old man was very excited with the design and said to me, “Little master, I don’t know how to thank you.”

I said to the old man, “There is no need to thank me. Feng shui has an effect, but it will not be so great as to affect one’s character. You have to know that changing one’s fate and luck is difficult for others to do, but relatively simple for oneself to do. And one’s fate, luck and feng shui are all related. Old man, you must always remember that ‘a family that does good deeds will have blessings’. Between feng shui and the kindness of the human heart, I believe more in the kindness of the human heart.”

After I finished speaking, I should also bid farewell to the old man. The old man was deep in thought, and when I was about to leave, he suddenly woke up and suddenly stood up and said to me, “Little master, you are right. I am already a 90-year-old old man, but I have decided to set a family rule for the rest of my life. If I have a prosperous future, I will never forget to do good deeds everywhere, accumulate more virtues, and will not be arrogant and waste the blessings of my ancestors.”

I shook his hand and said, “Grandpa, your idea is very good. This way, you won’t be rich for generations, but at least you can be happy and healthy for generations. Thank you for your persistent pursuit of goodness.”

The old man and his family saw me off to the bus station in the county seat, and only left after seeing me get on the bus. I was happy to have finally achieved a good result. Many years later, I happened to pass by here again.

I quietly asked about the situation of the family of the old man. His descendants have done business and are considered to be moderately wealthy. They have also had twins, and his great-grandson has excellent grades and is a model student at the county middle school. Most importantly, the family has done various good deeds and has a good reputation in the county.

It is a pity that the old man has passed away.

This was a long time ago, and after I got on the bus to the county seat that day, I arrived home three days later. When I got home, I opened the door and was surprised to find someone there, waiting for me.