Chapter 1 A Surprising Twist

After Xu Qinglang translated the old woman’s last words, the crowd, who had been deeply moved, were now utterly dumbfounded.

What the hell?

Where’s the heartwarming story about mutual devotion between mothers, sons, and daughters?

Why the twist?

Zhou Ze clapped his hands and asked, "Are you finished eating?"

The implication being,

Now that you're done eating, it's time to go.

The old woman shyly put down her chopsticks and said,

"I don't know how I ended up here. I don't want to go down. I still want to..."

Zhou Ze watched her silently,

A smile appeared on his lips.

The customer is always right.

You must listen to the customer's requests with a smile.

The old woman shuddered, startled,

And immediately said,

"I think it's better for me to go down sooner rather than later."

Zhou Ze thought he should put up some slogans in this small private room:

Confession brings leniency; resistance brings severity.

That sounds a bit too serious. Or maybe:

Repent sincerely and start a new life.

These thoughts only amused him. Zhou Ze stood up and opened the Gates of Hell. The old woman was still hesitating, but Zhou Ze grabbed her shoulder and tossed her in.

Just like that,

The first order for the new store was completed.

Next, Zhou Ze bent down and looked under the small table, finding a small stack of ghost money.

"Count it and see if there's more than before," Xu Qinglang urged.

"It seems like there is," Zhou Ze confirmed.

"That means the method works. I told you, the profit margin for additional services is the biggest. Can't we come up with other projects?"

Even with over twenty properties, Xu Qinglang's desire to make money remained as strong as ever.

No one would complain about having too much money.

"How about a massage? Or a spa?" Zhou Ze joked.

"That's a bit too much," Xu Qinglang frowned.

"Some funeral homes have that kind of service now, water therapy and massages for the dead. I've seen it before, in a glass enclosure. The family stands outside watching as the technician washes and massages the corpse, with a manicure as part of the package."

"You're disgusting," Xu Qinglang said, as if he couldn't stand Zhou Ze, and turned to start clearing the table.

Actually, none of the dishes had been touched, or at least it didn't look like they had, but they still had to be thrown away.

If it were offerings of food or fruit for family ancestors, people could still eat them after the ritual, since it was what their ancestors had eaten. It wasn't a big deal to share a dish with them.

But Xu Qinglang and the old woman were not related, so of course, he wouldn't eat her leftovers.

He put the ghost money in the cabinet, and Zhou Ze sat back in his rocking chair,

Rocking forward,

Rocking backward.

He liked this kind of comfort, and he enjoyed this kind of leisure.

Bai Yingying had gone upstairs to play on the computer, the old Taoist priest and the monkey had gone upstairs to watch TV, and Xu Qinglang had gone upstairs to rest.

Therefore, Zhou Ze was the only one left in the bookstore downstairs.

He picked up his phone and casually flipped through it, looking at the news or something. Unbeknownst to him, it had started to rain outside, and the rain was getting heavier, going from a drizzle to a downpour.

During this season, it could rain at any time.

He picked up his water glass and took a sip. When Zhou Ze stretched and looked up again, he saw a dense row of people standing in front of his bookstore.

Wow,

Is business this good today?

This was only the first night of the new store's opening. If it was like this every night, Zhou Ze thought he could not only quickly pay off the debt he owed his maid but also buy a nice car right away.

Well, Xu Le, that good-for-nothing, didn't even have a driver's license. He'd have to get one himself.

He walked to the door of the shop and was stunned. The people standing outside weren't people at all, but rows of clothes.

The people who had been selling clothes outside had moved their stalls to his storefront to take shelter from the rain. Some preconceived notions had made Zhou Ze mistakenly think that there were ghosts outside.

He opened the door of the shop.

Two young girls were standing outside the door, around their early twenties, each with a purse tied around their waist and wearing ponytails. They looked very fresh and capable.

"Boss, I'm sorry. We're blocking your business. We'll leave as soon as the rain lets up. Sorry, sorry," one of the girls bowed to Zhou Ze and apologized.

"Boss, do you have coffee? We'll buy two cups," the other girl was much more energetic. If they bought two cups of coffee, the owner would be too embarrassed to chase them away, right?

"It's okay. You can wait until the rain stops."

Zhou Ze wasn't that heartless, plus he made sure business could still come in, even with a metal sheet blocking the entrance.

"Thank you, boss."

"Thank you, boss."

The two girls thanked Zhou Ze again.

Zhou Ze returned behind his bar. The upgraded bar was indeed much more advanced and comfortable than the previous counter. The surround sound was on, playing soft music.

About fifteen minutes passed, and the rain still hadn't let up. One of the girls pushed open the bookstore door and walked in. It was one of the two young girls who sold clothes earlier.

The girl walked to the bookshelf, selected a few fashion magazines, and then walked to Zhou Ze's side to pay.

"Forty-eight," Zhou Ze glanced at the price tag and said casually, "Give me fifty, and keep the change."

"Okay."

The girl responded and handed Zhou Ze a fifty.

Zhou Ze took the money.

A moment later,

The girl was stunned.

Something,

Seemed off.

Zhou Ze continued to lean back in his chair. The girl didn't dwell on the two yuan and instead sat down on a small sofa in the store with the books.

One of her companions was watching the stall outside, while she was using a blank notebook to copy the clothes from the magazines.

Zhou Ze got up and poured her a glass of orange juice, bringing it to her.

"It's free," Zhou Ze said.

"Oh, thank you, boss."

"Studying design?" Zhou Ze asked.

"Yeah, we're students at Tongcheng University."

"College students setting up a stall to do business, that's pretty good."

Zhou Ze praised them twice. He wasn't some perverted uncle with ulterior motives, so he didn't chat any further. But as he walked to the door of the shop, Zhou Ze suddenly saw the girl who had stayed outside to watch the clothes talking to a man in black.

Behind the man in black were several other people. They looked a little cold, standing in the rain, shivering, but they didn't even think to move closer to the eaves to take shelter from the rain.

Zhou Ze pushed open the shop door and walked over.

The man in black looked up, saw Zhou Ze, and then immediately lowered his head.

The few people behind him in thin clothes suddenly became timid and didn't dare to meet Zhou Ze's gaze.

Zhou Ze walked up to the man in black, who was wearing a hat, with half of his face hidden. Then, Zhou Ze turned his head and saw that the girl who had handed over the clothes had a blank look on her face, her eyes hazy, and the money she had just received was a stack of old ghost money.

"That's a bit much," Zhou Ze said.

"We are all wandering souls, originally on our way back to our hometown. But it's raining, and my brothers don't have any clothes, so it's really cold. I beg you to make an exception." (Shang chai: respectful term for a yamen runner/government official)

"Wandering souls should just go to hell."

Zhou Ze's attitude was very blunt, and he clearly didn't intend to negotiate.

What a joke,

Wandering souls were also business!

Boss Zhou was preparing to boost his performance, and even mosquitoes had meat. He would never let them go.

It seemed that the choice to change shops was the right one. Look at how lively it was tonight.

The man in black slowly raised his head, revealing his scarred face, and said in a deep voice,

"Are you not planning to discuss this properly?" (Shang chai: respectful term for a yamen runner/government official)

"What is there to discuss with you?"

Zhou Ze reached out, first grabbing the girl's shoulder and pulling her back, then taking a step forward, standing in front of the man in black.

He reached out,

And gently poked the man in black in the chest,

"You can try to make up a pitiful story to soften my heart,

Oh, no,

Sorry, I forgot,

My conscience has been temporarily eaten by myself and I haven't found it yet."

"I will take them back to hell after I take them back to their hometown, you can rest assured!" (Shang chai: respectful term for a yamen runner/government official)

Although the man in black's face was covered in scars, he spoke with a resolute tone, as if he were the leader of this group of ghosts.

"Am I supposed to buy a plane ticket and visit your hometown with you? Sorry, I don't have time."

Zhou Ze's fingernails grew long,

And black smoke slowly swirled out.

At this time, the girl sitting in the shop looked outside and only saw her companion and the boss seemed to be chatting, completely oblivious to anything else.

"I can't give them to you now. I must take them back first!"

The man in black charged at Zhou Ze, full of momentum!

But the next second,

Zhou Ze simply flicked his arm,

And the man in black was sent flying, the sharpness of his fingernails causing his soul to become unstable.

"Heh heh."

Zhou Ze chuckled twice.

A mere ordinary ghost,

Dared to attack him, a ghost messenger.

The man in black charged again, but without exception, he was sent flying by Zhou Ze once more.

This time, the ghosts who had been standing there trembling immediately showed signs of instability.

Zhou Ze originally thought they would all come up to help their boss fight. That's what loyalty was!

Or,

These ghosts would hurry up and kneel down to beg him for mercy,

Even though begging would have no effect.

But they actually turned around and pounced on the black figure, whose soul was beginning to blur from being repeatedly hit by Zhou Ze.

They were furious, devouring and tearing at the black figure.

Zhou Ze stood to the side, watching the joke, and said,

"It seems like you've been exploiting your subordinates pretty hard."

Even though he was being torn apart, the man in black didn't scream and vehemently retorted:

"They are my prisoners. We died together in a car accident.

But even if we are dead,

I will drag them to the public security bureau to report the case!"