The Fate of Lacking Money: The Young Master Descends

On a bustling street, Chau Chau, a sharp-witted girl not yet five years old, stood amidst a buzzing crowd. Her large, bright eyes shone with a confidence that belied her simple, slightly worn Daoist attire. She had just completed a minor act of divine intervention for a wealthy man.

“Older brother, don’t be afraid, the bad guy has gone to meet the King of Hell,” Chau Chau declared, her voice as clear as a silver bell but with the gravitas of a seasoned practitioner. “Thank you, Chau Chau, for solving this problem. Here is your pocket money.” The man happily placed some bills in her hand. Chau Chau squeezed the money tight, celebrating inwardly: “Thank you, older brother. I’m almost escaping my fate of lacking money!” She was oblivious that this very “money-shortage fate” was the root of all her troubles.

Meanwhile, in a dilapidated ancient Daoist temple on the mountain, Chau Chau’s Master—Daoist Priest Yuan Ming—looked down the path with a mix of pity and exasperation.

“I beg you, Master, please don’t send me down the mountain. I can’t bear to leave you,” Chau Chau had pleaded days earlier. Daoist Yuan Ming sighed heavily, stroking his thin beard. “Fool! I told you to go down the mountain to earn money and accumulate virtue! You must fix your destiny of lacking money.”

Inwardly, he groaned: “If only I had known, I wouldn’t have fought with that bald-headed Master next door for this disciple. Born with a ‘Heavenly Money-Shortage Fate,’ in just one year, she’s eaten the entire temple clean!”

Chau Chau swallowed hard, her eyes pooling as if she were about to cry: “I’m already a big girl! I’m not even five yet! I swear, from now on, I won’t eat in secret anymore!” “You’ve said that 800 times already!” Yuan Ming couldn’t help but pinch her cheek. “Tell me, you eat five meals a day, eight bowls per meal. With your appetite, all your senior brothers working outside wouldn’t be able to feed you. If you don’t leave, everyone in the temple will truly have to go down the mountain and beg for food tomorrow.”

After a final, desperate plea, Chau Chau bowed her head. “Is there truly no room for negotiation… Alright, even if I starve to death on the streets, I won’t implicate my Master. When I turn into a spirit body, I can still return to your side.” “Stop talking nonsense!” Yuan Ming was startled. He quickly gave her the Cosmic Mirror and the small Alchemy Cauldron. “I’ve arranged with your Uncle-Master Ming Thong down the mountain; he guarantees you’ll always have food.”

Chau Chau’s eyes lit up with sudden joy. “Thank you, Master. I’m going down the mountain to eat delicious food!” “You’re going to train!” Yuan Ming yelled after her, but it was too late. He watched his disciple’s receding figure, a chill running down his spine. “This naughty disciple, I was meant to drive her away… but she is also a tiny, caring warm coat.”

“My dear disciple, the heavy responsibility of restoring the temple is entrusted to you. Go for it, Master believes in you!” he whispered, holding back his sorrow. “Master, don’t worry! I will definitely earn a lot of money so the Ancestor can manifest his golden body again!” Chau Chau called back, full of determination. “If the temple truly wasn’t bankrupt, I wouldn’t have the heart to send her away.”

Carrying her fervent desire for delicious food, Chau Chau left the mountain. The moment she set foot in the town, she ran into an urgent situation. A desperate cry rang out: “Doctor! Doctor! Please come and save our Madam!”

A noblewoman had fainted in the street. The butler was frantic: “If anything happens to the Madam, the young master and old master will flay me alive!”

Chau Chau frowned. “It’s clearly a heart ailment flare-up. People down the mountain are too timid.” She pushed through the crowd, ignoring the butler’s protests. “Which brat is this? Get away!”

Chau Chau wasted no words, quickly taking out a tiny pill and placing it in the woman’s mouth. Miraculously, the woman woke up. “She’s awake, she’s awake!” the butler cheered. Madam Tan, the revived woman, grimaced: “I just saw a very ugly toad that made me dizzy.” Nonetheless, her life was saved.

Just then, a distinctive foul odor hit Chau Chau’s nose. “Ah, that stench! It must be Uncle-Master Ming Thong!”

Uncle-Master Ming Thong was working as a fortune teller under an overpass, looking disheveled but quick with his words. He was trying to sell a “Soul-Tie Talisman” to a young woman. “Your fate and your boyfriend’s match perfectly, a destined pairing, but unfortunately, there is a disaster ahead. If you cannot overcome it, you might be soul-mates without a destiny.”

Chau Chau rushed over, declaring loudly: “This talisman is useless! Sister, your full nose and the movement of the ‘Hong Loan Star’ already indicate a perfect marriage.” Ming Thong was enraged: “Don’t interfere, little child! If you ruin her destiny, can you bear the consequence?”

Chau Chau immediately stated the truth: “She clearly has the sign of marrying far away; how can she not be happy? You will marry far away, but it’s not a disaster. Your boyfriend is from the South, right? You are about to meet his parents, right? You fear living with your in-laws. In fact, they are very kind; it’s just a language barrier. Moreover, your ‘Heavenly Palace’ is sunken; recently, you should be wary of close friends or relatives, as you might face financial loss due to investment.”

All her predictions were accurate. The woman instantly paid Chau Chau and left Ming Thong. Ming Thong was stunned: “So you came to ruin my business! Who is your Uncle-Master? Wait, how do you know my name is Ming Thong?” “It’s me, Uncle-Master. Don’t you recognize me? I am Chau Chau. My Master sent me to you for care.”

Ming Thong recognized Chau Chau, the “money-shortage” disciple Yuan Ming had sent. “It’s a small matter. What’s hard about raising a child? Just feed her until she’s full.”

Ming Thong took Chau Chau for vegetarian noodles. “Egg noodles, matsutake potato noodles, preserved vegetable noodles—three bowls of vegetarian noodles. I’ll eat two bowls.” Ming Thong told her to eat as much as she wanted. Chau Chau, savoring her newfound freedom to eat, ordered the fourth, fifth… “One more bowl, two more bowls. Ten bowls!”

Ming Thong returned, nearly fainting at the sight of the towering stack of bowls. She had eaten twelve bowls in total. “Did you eat all of this?” And then, she ordered two more! Uncle-Master Ming Thong did not have enough money to pay. They were both forced to wash dishes.

Chau Chau scrubbed the dishes, muttering: “The Head Master couldn’t feed me, Master Yuan Ming couldn’t feed me, and now Uncle-Master Ming Thong can’t feed Chau Chau either.” She decided to resort to begging.

But just then, Madam Tan and Old Master Tan appeared. Madam Tan had been searching for her, remembering the key detail: “A toad, a very big and ugly toad” on her waist.

At the noodle shop, the Tan butler scolded the owner: “How dare you force my little benefactor to wash dishes! You have a lot of nerve!” He quickly found Chau Chau begging. “Little benefactor, I finally found you.”

At the Tan family’s grand feast, Madam Tan insisted that Chau Chau eat to her heart’s content. Chau Chau, with her innocent soul, devoured 18 bowls of rice and a huge portion of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. Madam Tan asked the price for the life-saving pill, intending to pay handsomely. Chau Chau only dared to say: “Two dong is enough.” Tan Lie’s assistant, the Madam’s youngest son, had to interject: “My intention was clearly 5 million.”

Madam Tan pulled out a sparkling black card. “Little benefactor, you saved my life. Please accept this as a token of my gratitude.” It was a Global Limited Edition Black Card. Uncle-Master Ming Thong, who had followed them, explained: “This child, karma must be resolved with an equivalent value of merit and virtue.”

Upon returning to Ming Thong’s stall, something strange had occurred. The Ancestor statue, which was previously gray and dusty, now had a brightly shining golden thumb. “What happened to the Ancestor statue?” Uncle-Master Ming Thong realized the shocking truth. The gold on the Ancestor statue was the conversion of incense money and accumulated virtue. And Chau Chau, with her money-shortage fate, had sucked the spiritual energy out of the temple.

“Wait, the money in that black card… it all turned into incense smoke, flowing directly to the Ancestor statue. Is this not a Wealth Boy? This is clearly a Money-Shredder!” Terrified, Uncle-Master Ming Thong immediately resolved to send Chau Chau away.

Madam Tan returned, finding Chau Chau crying (it started as a fake cry to soften Ming Thong, but she cried genuinely when she realized everyone was rejecting her). “Chau Chau, don’t be afraid. Can you come home with me?” Madam Tan accepted her destructive fate. “The one thing my family doesn’t lack is money. If you can truly spend all our wealth, then you have great talent.”

Madam Tan adopted Chau Chau and forced her youngest son, Tan Lie (Mr. Tan), to take her as his daughter. “If Chau Chau couldn’t be registered under my household, and your two brothers already have children, this blessing wouldn’t have fallen to you.”

Tan Lie, a cold CEO, was forced to accept a daughter. “Dad! Stop right there, Dad!” Chau Chau hugged his leg. “Big Brother said you must never let go of the one who provides food.”

Tan Lie was exasperated, but looking at the little girl, he couldn’t be completely indifferent. He secretly ordered an investigation into her background but bought her a table full of breakfast food. Chau Chau, observing Tan Lie, noticed a problem. “Dad clearly has a fate of wealth and nobility; his luck should be excellent. Why is he so unlucky?”

Tan Lie took Chau Chau to the company. While he was in a meeting, Chau Chau sat down to draw talismans.

“This isn’t right; this is Dad’s spiritual energy.” She noticed the decline of spiritual energy around Tan Lie. “That’s why he looks noble but is always unlucky. Someone is stealing his fortune.”

She marched into the office of Tan Rui—a suspicious cousin. Tan Rui looked kind but had a heavy incense smell mixed with a foul stench. In the room, Chau Chau discovered a Fortune-Changing Talisman and Tan Lie’s hair.

“This is a Fortune-Changing Talisman. It uses a personal item to steal the opponent’s fortune. The victim will become increasingly unlucky. Eventually, they will be injured or die.” Tan Lie was deeply shocked. He didn’t believe in superstitions, but every unfortunate event had started since Tan Rui’s arrival.

“Dad, this is a protective talisman. Please wear it to stop your fortune from being stolen. This isn’t urgent. Fortune affects wealth. If Dad doesn’t have money, who will feed me? The meal ticket must be secured.”

That night, Tan Lie attended an important banquet with Mr. Liu (Liao). Mr. Liu was distressed because his son, Xiao Yu, was missing. Chau Chau intervened. “This Uncle has the sign of losing a child.”

Ignoring the protests, Chau Chau asserted: “There is only one hour left; if we don’t save the little brother, it will be too late.” She provided Xiao Yu’s exact birth date/time and described the kidnapper: a slightly fat, outwardly kind but evil former maid, Fang Meilan, who “often comes into contact with water.”

“Let’s go, I’ll lead the way.” Chau Chau guided Tan Lie and Mr. Liu to a hidden landmark. They found Xiao Yu in critical condition, abandoned in a smoke-filled area. Chau Chau saved Xiao Yu but was herself choked by the smoke. She only managed to utter: “Dad, I’m dizzy too.”

The business deal was secured. Mr. Liu was immensely grateful. He gifted Chau Chau a large reward (another black card). “Little girl, this is a thank you gift.” The moment the black card was given, the Ancestor statue shone brighter still. More merit was accumulated.

Chau Chau gave Mr. Liu a “soul-stabilizing talisman” for Xiao Yu. “The bad person is about to be caught; they won’t harm the little brother anymore.”

Returning home, Tan Lie was still skeptical but much gentler with Chau Chau. Chau Chau, with a remorseful face, confessed: “Dad, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put a truth-telling talisman on you.” Tan Lie was stunned. He suddenly understood all the innocently “truthful” and endearing things she had said. He asked about the 10 million he had given her. Chau Chau honestly replied: “Uncle Liu gave me exactly five hao. The card Grandma gave me had two yuan (2 dong), which was just enough to buy a lollipop.”

Tan Lie was aghast: “Wait, didn’t I give her 10 million? Why is there only five hao left?” Chau Chau explained the Ancestor statue’s merit conversion.

Chau Chau knew that Tan Rui was about to face disaster because the Evil Spirit he worshipped was turning back to devour him. She needed an object with spiritual energy as bait. “Dad, has the jade pendant you bought arrived? We must deal with that bad person.”

Tan Lie produced a jade pendant. Chau Chau used it as a lure, protecting Tan Lie with a more complex spiritual energy gathering formation. “Dad, I need your cooperation to draw him out. We can’t miss this good opportunity.”

Tan Lie finally placed his full trust in her. He waited. Tan Rui, in his desperation, was drained of his last bit of life force by the Evil Spirit he had worshiped. Just then, in Tan Lie’s room, Chau Chau sensed the presence of dark spiritual energy. “It’s here,” she whispered. A distorted, dark shadow appeared, accompanied by an awful stench. It was the Evil Spirit that Tan Rui had used to steal the fortune. “It stinks,” Chau Chau wrinkled her nose, tightly gripping Tan Lie’s hand.

Chau Chau stood firm, taking out the jade pendant, preparing the formation. Her mission, from seeking a full meal to protecting her long-term “meal ticket,” had led her to this moment of confrontation.

Tan Lie looked at the tiny girl shielding him, a feeling of protection and love swelling in his chest. He had been a cold man, focused only on work. Now, he had a daughter, who had brought him both bad luck and great fortune, and above all, a new purpose.

“Dad, don’t be afraid, Chau Chau will protect you,” she said, her eyes firmly fixed on the distorted darkness approaching.

The enemy had arrived. The “money-shortage” prodigy, Chau Chau, had to use everything she had learned on the mountain to destroy the Evil Spirit and reclaim the destiny of her reluctant father. The battle for her eternal “meal ticket,” and the peace of the Tan family, had just begun.