Mr. Li's expression seemed somewhat broken, and that expression said enough.
"...You didn't actually cook that rice for us, did you?" Mr. Li asked, clinging to his last hope. "That rice was contaminated with pesticides, you wouldn't do that, would you?"
But as soon as he asked the question, there was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.
Mr. Li took a deep breath, telling himself to calm down, but two seconds later, he couldn't help but speak.
"Mom, are you crazy? You dare to feed us rice that's been contaminated with pesticides? Aren't you afraid of killing us?" he questioned.
The main problem was that she not only cooked for them, but she ate it herself; she was the first person in their family to have nightmares and suffer from vomiting and diarrhea.
"Oh dear." The elderly mother was clearly displeased by her son's words. She said, "It's just a little pesticide, it's nothing serious. Didn't we wash the rice before cooking? It's clean, what could possibly be wrong?"
Mr. Li retorted angrily, "If it were really okay, why would our whole family be vomiting and having diarrhea?"
The elderly mother replied, "Didn't we already say we're possessed? We just need to find a master to exorcise the evil spirits!"
Mr. Li said, "Go and throw away the rest of the rice right now..."
"Such a big vat of rice!" The elderly mother's voice was reluctant. "Didn't we wash the rice before cooking? Even if there were pesticides, we washed them all clean. What could possibly be wrong?"
Mr. Li's lips twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but say, "Our whole family is vomiting and having diarrhea, and you call that nothing wrong?"
The elderly mother said, "Didn't we say we're possessed?"
Mr. Li: Well, we're back to square one.
"...Wait until I get back and I'll tell you." Mr. Li said this and hung up the phone.
He turned to look at Xu Gui behind the fortune-telling stall, then plopped down on the folding stool in front of it.
"Master, you're truly amazing!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with surprise and excitement. "You predicted everything perfectly! My mother really did put pesticide in the rice jar!"
Before making the call, he thought Xu Gui was making things up and talking nonsense; after the call, he felt like a master bowing in gratitude.
He'd been praised!
Xu Gui's lips curled up, and she raised her head high, saying proudly, "Of course! I'm a fortune teller; whatever you want to know, I can calculate it for you!"
Mr. Li exclaimed, "I really thought my family was possessed before, but it turns out you were just my mom accidentally spilling pesticide in the rice jar..."
The viewers in the live stream couldn't help but discuss among themselves:
[Wow, sure enough, judging from Mr. Li's reaction, I guessed Xu Gui was right again. She seems to really have some kind of magic.]
[Pesticide spilled in the rice jar... This story sounds so familiar! I feel like I've heard it somewhere before? Did I time travel?]
[Time travel my ass! You think it sounds familiar because a similar incident was on the news before, but that old lady spilled rat poison in the rice jar, resulting not only in her whole family being hospitalized, but also causing the entire village to have a day trip to the hospital.]
[I know that news!!] When I first saw it, I thought it was fake news, but after checking, I found it was true. So, this is the fundamental reason why AI can't replace humans, right? After all, who can be more abstract than humans? ]
[So now this is the pesticide version after the rat poison story? ]
[Hmm, I'm getting a little strange here. Not sure, I'll see.]
*
Mr. Li chatted with Xu Gui for a few minutes, then rushed home to deal with the rice in the rice jar—judging from his mother's tone, he was really afraid she wouldn't be willing to throw it away, and might end up wasting the family's rice again.
"...Can I come with you?" Xu Gui suddenly asked.
Mr. Li: "Huh?"
He glanced at the cameraman next to Xu Gui and suddenly realized, "Oh, I know! Master, you think my family's situation is news that everyone is interested in, so you want to film it, right?"
Xu Gui opened her mouth, wanting to say that she didn't mean it that way, she said, "I just simply think that you might need my help later..."
"I understand!" Mr. Li had an expression that said, "I understand, I understand, you don't need to explain further."
Xu Gui was exasperated: "...What do you know?"
Mr. Li continued, "I certainly wouldn't allow it from anyone else, but Master, you're not just anyone. If you hadn't reminded me, I would have thought our family had won the lottery. So, Master, film however you want!"
Xu Gui: "...Fine, whatever makes you happy."
"But these days, even fortune tellers in your industry are doing live streams, chasing trends?" Mr. Li said with great interest, giving Xu Gui a thumbs up. "Master, your line of work is keeping up with the times, very trendy."
Xu Gui looked at his silly expression and didn't say anything: "...Let's just say that."
She packed up her stall, skillfully asked the old man to watch it for her, and then called the cameraman and Mr. Li to leave.
Old man: "...Wait, why am I being asked to watch your stall again?"
*
Mr. Li lived nearby, and he led Xu Gui and the other person home, talking to Xu Gui as they walked.
"I genuinely thought my family was possessed by an evil spirit; I never even considered the possibility of poisoning…" Mr. Li said. "My mother wasn't usually this careless. Perhaps she's been in a bad mood lately, which is why this accident happened."
Xu Gui casually asked, "Has your mother been in a bad mood lately?"
"Yes," Mr. Li nodded, "Although she didn't say anything, I'm not blind, how could I not see?"
Xu Gui then asked, "Have you asked her why she's in a bad mood?"
"Yes," Mr. Li nodded again. "But she won't say. When I ask, she says she's not in a bad mood and that I'm overthinking it… But the way she looks clearly shows she's in a bad mood."
Mr. Li sighed, "Maybe it's because she's getting old, going through menopause?"
Hearing this, Xu Gui's eyes flashed, and she pointed out a fact: "Mr. Li, you and your mother seem to have a very good relationship."
Mr. Li smiled and said matter-of-factly, "My mother raised me from a young age, so of course we have a good relationship. You don't know, when I was little, I would get sick in the middle of the night, and she would carry me from the village to the town to seek medical treatment. She has really sacrificed a lot for me!"
Mr. Li's tone was quite emotional at the end.
Xu Gui seemed thoughtful: "I see…"
The three of them arrived smoothly at Mr. Li's apartment complex. Mr. Li lived on the top floor, and there was a large terrace upstairs. Hearing this, the paparazzi couldn't help but ask, "…Do you guys ever have sex on the balcony?"
Mr. Li looked puzzled and said, "No… Why do you ask that?"
"Nothing!" The paparazzi chuckled dryly, determined not to say why he had asked such a question.
He thought to himself, "Isn't this just because you're afraid your family will raise chickens, and your mom will turn around and feed them rice that's been contaminated with pesticides, causing your whole family to be wiped out again?" After all, this actually happened before.
...Clearly, the person filming had also watched the news carefully.
Xu Gui and the others followed Mr. Li to his house. Mr. Li opened the door with his fingerprint and stepped aside to invite Xu Gui and the others in: "...This is my house, Master, please come in."
As he spoke, he called into the house: "Dad, Mom! Wife...I'm home."
Xu Gui and the others took two steps inside, then stopped.
Because Mr. Li and his family of four had all eaten rice that had been sprayed with pesticides, the whole family was vomiting and had diarrhea, their faces were green. So when Xu Gui and the person filming entered, they were met with three other pale green faces.
Xu Gui: "..."
"...Goodness," the paparazzi muttered, "Anyone who didn't know better would think they'd got a green light on their head."
When guests arrived, the Li family, though feeling unwell, still managed to stand up and greet them: "Hello, please sit down!"
Mr. Li's mother, a woman with gentle eyes and a tired expression, looked at Mr. Li expectantly and asked, "Ah Jun, did you find a master to exorcise the evil spirits for us?"
Mr. Li was speechless for two seconds before saying, "You're still talking about that? Didn't I say we're not possessed, we're poisoned... How could you cook rice that's been sprayed with pesticides for us?"
"...What? Rice sprayed with pesticides?" Mr. Li's wife caught on, looking at his mother: "Mom, what did you cook for us?"
His mother looked embarrassed and guilty, avoiding his gaze.
Mr. Li also asked, "Xiao An, what did you mean by that? What's with the rice sprayed with pesticides?"
His mother didn't dare speak. Mr. Li glanced at her and could only tell her what his mother had done. After he finished speaking, the Li family's living room fell silent.
"So, we've been possessed these past two days because you cooked us rice laced with medicine?" Mr. Li laughed angrily. His
wife, Ms. He, murmured, "It's my fault. I only thought the vegetables in the fridge might cause food poisoning; I never considered that the rice could be the problem!"
But who would think that rice could cause such a problem?
Mrs. Li, listening, retorted stubbornly, "Whether we're poisoned or possessed, we're still not sure."
Ms. He remained silent, only letting out a cold laugh.
Mr. Li felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly said, "Mom, let's get rid of that rice quickly… He Yun, find a bag; let's empty the rice container and throw it away."
He Yun agreed and went to the cupboard to find a bag for the rice.
Mrs. Li followed her into the kitchen, reluctantly saying, "So much rice! How much money is going to be wasted…"
Their family had a habit of stockpiling grain, usually buying several bags of rice and storing them in the rice container to eat slowly, resulting in a considerable amount of rice stored there. Now, all of it had to be thrown away.
"How could it be poisoning?" Mrs. Li said. "I always wash the rice thoroughly before cooking, it's definitely clean. Ah Jun, why don't you find a master to take a look?"
Mr. Li, who was rummaging through the rice bin, stood up and said, "Didn't I already invite a master? Our family members are poisoned, not possessed. It was the master who told me. Look, that's the master over there."
Mrs. Li turned her head to look behind her.
"Oh, you must be the master!" She walked quickly over, her figure passing Xu Gui who was standing there, and went straight to the paparazzi. Then she grabbed the paparazzi's free hand and said enthusiastically, "Master, you really look well-maintained and young and accomplished!"
Paparazzi: ? ? Ah, are you calling me?
"Mom, this isn't the master!" Mr. Li hurriedly stepped forward to stop Mrs. Li, pointing somewhat awkwardly at Xu Gui, "This is the master I found."
Mrs. Li looked at Xu Gui blankly, her face saying: …Ah, her?