Chapter 1 New Store Opening

New store opening, filled with joy.

For Zhou Ze, the decoration, rent, and all the other expenses you can think of for the new store were not actually paid for by him.

Xu Qinglang provided half, and the other half came from the money exchanged for Bai Yingying's burial goods.

Of course, Xu Qinglang was now preparing to "semi-retire," planning only to sell coffee and snacks in the bookstore, living a life of wellness.

Earning money was now up to Zhou Ze.

Fortunately, no one really doubted Zhou Ze's ability to make money. The new store was located on South Street, a high-traffic area, and the ghost traffic should be substantial as well.

As long as Boss Zhou promoted the spirit of being unafraid of hardship and staying up late, continuously sending these delivered ghosts to hell for reformation and a new life, earning a pile of hell money shouldn't be a problem.

Then everyone could squat at the entrance of the bookstore, burn paper money, and wait for people to drop their wallets. No need for bank fees.

The overall tone of the bookstore was soft and dark. The bookshelves inside were not placed too densely. Newspapers and magazines that were updated quickly were in a separate row, novels in another, and more serious books in a separate area.

As for teaching materials, Zhou Ze did not restock them.

The bookstore had a second floor, which was divided into three rooms and a bathroom, serving as everyone's living area.

The first day of opening was simple and quiet, without fireworks, flower baskets, or salutes.

Lao Dao (Old Daoist) tactfully cleaned with Bai Yingying while Zhou Ze sat behind the bar, tasting the cocktail that Xu Qinglang had just mixed.

After taking a sip, he put down the glass. The little monkey picked it up, secretly took a sip, and found it so terrible that he kept sticking out his tongue.

Tang Shi was alone in her bedroom upstairs. She was very withdrawn. If there was nothing to do, she could stay in her room all day without feeling bored.

When everything was tidied up and they were really ready to welcome guests, it was already after dusk, and the sky had darkened.

Bai Yingying lifted the plaque with one hand, hung up the "Late Night Bookstore" sign, jumped down, patted her hands, and smiled contentedly after confirming that she had hung it straight.

Then, as the boss instructed, she hung up and secured the two couplet plaques, "Gu Wang Ting Zhi (Just Hear It)" and "Ru Shi Wo Wen (Thus I Have Heard)," on the left and right sides.

These were the signs brought back from the old store.

Bai Yingying had asked Zhou Ze what "Gu Wang Ting Zhi" and "Ru Shi Wo Wen" meant, and Zhou Ze explained that they were simply stories he had heard and was telling to everyone.

It didn't represent his own point of view. Everyone should just listen for fun and not take it seriously.

The bookstore still mainly did business with the dead; business with the living was just a supplement. After all, there was a "Tongcheng Bookstore," a large bookstore specializing in physical books, not far from South Street. It would be unusually difficult and completely unnecessary to compete with it.

Zhou Ze remembered that when he was a child, "Tongcheng Bookstore" was the most influential bookstore in Tongcheng, but in recent years, with the continuous compression and downturn of the physical book market, Tongcheng Bookstore had also reduced its business area and looked much more shabby than in its heyday.

It could only be said that the popularity of mobile phones and screen reading had made most people slowly forget the habit of reading with the fragrance of ink and paper.

Everything was completed and on track. Next was waiting for business to come.

In fact, business came quickly. Since officially opening at seven in the evening, several groups of guests had already arrived, but they were all living people who ordered a cup of coffee or other drinks and sat there to rest and chat.

Since living people came, Zhou Ze simply didn't move. Instead, Xu Qinglang had to greet them and mix drinks, working himself to the bone.

After seeing off these groups of guests, it was already nine-thirty. Xu Qinglang took a sip of water, looked at Zhou Ze rocking back and forth in the rocking chair, and felt very unbalanced!

"Old Zhou, I think we can put up a sign, 'Living People Not Allowed,' what do you think?"

"Then the business administration will come knocking on our door the next day." Zhou Ze rejected Xu Qinglang's suggestion without hesitation.

"But I feel like this is more tiring than running a noodle shop." Xu Qinglang looked aggrieved.

Before, when he ran a noodle shop, not many people actually ate in the shop. Most orders were on takeout. He could just turn off the takeout app when he wanted to rest, but now that customers came in, you couldn't just push them out, right?

"Look, here comes one now."

Zhou Ze looked outside the door.

It seemed that the location was really the reason. Today's real business came quickly.

The person who entered was an old woman, leaning on a cane, thin and a bit shriveled, with a pair of eyes wide open, as if she had died with unfinished business.

The old woman had some faint resentment on her body, which meant that she still had some obsessions, so she hadn't gone to hell or been reincarnated.

But her bit of resentment was still far from turning her into a vengeful ghost; she still belonged to the "harmless" kind of ghost.

"Prepare the dishes." Zhou Ze said to Xu Qinglang.

This time, Xu Qinglang didn't complain. In fact, it was his suggestion to prepare dishes for those about to be sent to hell.

He felt that Zhou Ze's previous actions of directly sending ghosts to hell were too simple and crude, without any foreplay, too dry and lacking in service quality.

Therefore, he suggested preparing some food and drink before sending people to hell to send them off, and they would leave more hell money.

It was like how movie theaters, in addition to the main revenue from movie tickets, also had large revenue from selling coke and popcorn.

The dishes were simple: a plate of dried radish, a plate of peanuts, a bowl of rice with chopsticks stuck upside down, and a glass of old rice wine.

They were all readily prepared items that could be plated, so it wasn't troublesome.

Lao Dao set up the small table, prepared the small stool, and also pulled up the curtain to block the outside view; otherwise, if other customers came in and saw this scene, they would probably be frightened.

This was also a small private room, a small private room specially prepared for ghosts.

Zhou Ze walked over with his teacup and said to the old woman, "Please."

The old woman hesitated. She was a little scared, but she was more afraid of Zhou Ze. At the moment, she could only sit down cautiously.

Xu Qinglang handed Lao Dao a bottle of cow's eye tears mixed with talisman water. Lao Dao smeared it on his eyes and saw the old woman.

Honestly, Lao Dao hadn't encountered this kind of thing of opening the door to welcome ghosts since he left the Underworld Shop. For a time, he was a little sentimental and couldn't help but think of the boss still in Rongcheng.

But it was coming soon.

Lao Dao had already sent a notification to his followers in his live broadcast room, where he hadn't streamed for several months, that he would reopen the stream at dawn on April 1st, which was around 0:20 on March 31st.

That day was the day the boss said he would be back.

Bai Yingying also brought a small stool to sit over. The old woman was a little shy. A zombie, a ghost messenger, a xuanxiu (mystic cultivator), and an old daoist.

The old woman said she was under great pressure.

Her bit of resentment was really insignificant surrounded by this pack of wolves.

"Eat, and then be on your way."

Zhou Ze urged.

The old woman smiled, lowered her head, and began to eat.

It was like how a tiger was terrifying, but a tiger in a zoo was like a kitten when facing its keeper.

If the old woman was seen unexpectedly when she was out and about, she could probably scare someone sick or faint, but at this moment, she could only obediently eat her food.

"Auntie, how did you die?" Lao Dao asked at this time.

Lao Dao was an active person. Even though he was old, the older he got, the more he talked.

He usually talked to the little monkey, telling him how he had subdued demons and monsters five hundred years ago and suppressed a great monkey under the Five Finger Mountain, etc.

The monkey also supported him. As long as Lao Dao bought him some snacks, the monkey could sit there and listen to Lao Dao brag for an afternoon, and from time to time he would wave his hand and signal:

"Tell it well!"

"San peng si li (three touch die inside)."

Lao Dao was confused. He knew that the old woman was speaking a dialect, so he looked at Zhou Ze.

"Died of illness." Zhou Ze translated.

The Tongcheng dialect was very different from Mandarin.

"Auntie, that won't do. Even if you become a ghost, you can't forget to study. We have to learn Mandarin well, otherwise when you get to hell.

Think about it, there are so many people on the Yellow Springs Road. It's hard to find someone who can speak the Tongcheng dialect. You won't even have anyone to chat with on the way, how boring."

Lao Dao kindly reminded her.

The old woman was a little embarrassed and could only lower her head to eat.

"Do you have children?" Lao Dao asked again.

"Yu guo o te (I have a daughter)."

Lao Dao looked at Zhou Ze again, meaning, translate quickly.

"I have a daughter." Xu Qinglang translated.

"Then your daughter must have burned a lot of paper money for you, right?" Lao Dao rubbed his hands.

The old woman paused when she heard this and smiled bitterly, "The family is poor." (Xu Qinglang translated)

"The family is poor?" Lao Dao was not discouraged and continued, "It doesn't matter, paper money is not expensive anyway. As long as your child has you in her heart, there will be more paper money."

"Lying in the hospital bed, no money for treatment." (Xu Qinglang translated) The old woman said, putting down her chopsticks and wiping her tears.

"That's pitiful." Lao Dao wiped his tears along with her.

Bai Yingying also pursed her lips, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"My daughter asked me on the hospital bed if I wanted to continue spending money on treatment. I was lying in bed at the time, unable to speak or move. She cried and said to me, if I didn't want to continue treatment, blink my eyes. If I didn't blink, she would sell everything to treat me."

"This daughter is not bad." Lao Dao said, "What did you do?"

"I blinked, and then I went home from the hospital, and then I died." The old woman continued to wipe her tears.

"It's not easy, you are also considering your children, and you are really great, it's not easy for anyone, and children also have to live their lives." Lao Dao grieved along with her.

In fact, there are many such things in reality, especially when facing some terminal illnesses, which means constantly pouring money into them, and many families cannot afford this kind of money-burning treatment.

"Auntie, you are very great." Bai Yingying said.

"I'll pour you another glass of wine." Xu Qinglang said.

On one side, Zhou Ze was a little dumbfounded, looking at the teary-eyed people around him.

He pointed to the old woman's eyes, which had been wide open since she entered, and asked:

"How did you blink?"

When the old woman heard this,

She stopped crying,

And said fiercely:

"She asked me,

Mom, I'm asking you, if you don't want to continue treatment, blink your eyes. If you don't blink, I will sell everything to treat you.

Then,

Waited for five minutes,

I really couldn't help it,

And blinked my eyes.

She immediately started wiping her tears and said:

Okay,

Mom,

I know what you mean,

We won't treat it anymore."