Chapter 1 Going Upstairs

On the second floor, Zhou Ze saw Miss Liu’s family. Strangely, there were no men, only three women.

One had snow-white hair and was in her twilight years; one was dignified and graceful, in her middle age; and the other was about the same age as Miss Liu.

When Zhou Ze entered, he found the priest was also there, speaking to the elderly woman, as if trying to comfort her.

The old woman listened, and the priest spoke. Everyone seemed to be fulfilling their duties, going through the motions. It would be a lie to say there was much of a sorrowful atmosphere in the room.

Of course, you couldn't fault the living for their indifference to the dead, because the living needed to face the question of how to continue living.

"Hello, may I ask if you are Liu Yanhua?"

Zhou Ze walked up to the middle-aged woman and asked.

"Hello, I am."

Madam Liu took out a handkerchief and wiped the corner of her eye.

Zhou Ze thought she was more likely wiping away eye gunk than tears because he couldn't see that she was truly crying.

The woman's collarbones were very distinct, and she was somewhat thin. Her brow bones protruded, giving people an uncomfortable feeling.

In fact, this was a face that spelled misfortune for her husband.

Culture is a carrier, a unit of one. In every era, all politics, economics, and even things like feng shui and physiognomy were influenced by culture.

For example, in ancient times, there was the saying of "cursing the husband," which typically treated women as appendages of a patriarchal society. This was a very unfair and erroneous assertion.

Zhou Ze originally didn't believe in this, even though he was a ghost.

But thinking about it,

three generations in a family,

not a single male,

it was kind of hard not to believe it.

Zhou Ze explained his purpose. Xu Qinglang had already communicated with her before and reached a preliminary agreement, but it hadn't progressed to specific prices.

"Mr. Zhou could attend my daughter's funeral. I thank you on behalf of my daughter. As for that shop, since Mr. Zhou has taken a fancy to it, please think of a price for the rent. As long as it's not too outrageous, I won't refuse."

So easy to talk to?

Zhou Ze was stunned for a moment. He was a doctor in his previous life and had never done business, so he was a little clumsy negotiating prices for the first time. But this Madam Liu seemed very generous.

Zhou Ze nodded and said a few more comforting, platitudinous words of condolence, then turned around and tactfully left. All that was left was to discuss a price with Xu Qinglang and send it over, and things would be settled.

Down the stairs, back at the corner, Zhou Ze walked to the metal door again, reached out, and pushed, only to find the door was locked.

Zhou Ze reached out and knocked.

No one responded inside.

Very helpless,

and very conflicted,

as a ghost messenger,

a door and a wall can stop you. This ghost messenger seems too embarrassing.

Unfortunately, Zhou Ze couldn't be like the little loli,

“biu,”

out he came,

“biu,”

back in he went.

Zhou Ze really couldn't open this door.

Returning to the hall, the guests who had come to offer condolences had mostly left, and the hall was being cleaned up. The coffin had also been carried away. As for Miss Liu, she would soon be sent to the crematorium to be cremated.

When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out, ultimately ending up as a mound of earth.

Funerals always bring out this kind of negative emotion.

Zhou Ze stopped a cleaning lady and asked, "Excuse me, do you know Chen Zesheng?"

"Ah, he was the previous owner here." The cleaning lady replied in surprise. "He's already dead. The funeral was yesterday."

"Oh." Zhou Ze nodded, then asked, "Can I ask who your boss is now?"

"It's the previous owner's younger brother. He just went to the basement." The cleaning lady replied, and then, worried that Zhou Ze wouldn't understand, she explained, "You know, by the stairs, the place specifically for tidying up the deceased's remains."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Zhou Ze walked to the metal door again.

He had to go in,

and catch that fool who, for some reason, was still jumping around after death and sending business cards to a ghost messenger.

But this door,

how should he open it?

He knocked on the door forcefully a few times,

but the door didn't move, and there was no response from inside.

The cleaning lady just said that their current boss had just gone in, which was obviously a bit strange. Of course, Zhou Ze wouldn't care if the current boss had an accident inside. He wasn't that kind.

Just as Zhou Ze was about to find a tool to try and pry open the door,

Zhou Ze found the door open,

and a young man stood inside, wearing a black suit and a white flower on his chest.

"Do you need something?" the young man asked.

This wasn't the one who gave him the business card. It should be the current boss, Chen Zesheng's younger brother.

"There's something I want to talk to you about, regarding your brother," Zhou Ze said, and he had already decided that if this guy couldn't communicate, he would knock him out first and then go in to find Chen Zesheng.

"Oh, okay, please come in."

The man seemed easy to talk to and directly gestured for Zhou Ze to enter.

Zhou Ze took a deep look at the man and walked in anyway.

The two steel beds were still in their original positions, and the freezer was also there.

"Where's your brother's body?" Zhou Ze asked.

"My brother's funeral was held yesterday. Sir, are you a friend of my brother's?"

"Sort of," Zhou Ze said perfunctorily.

"My brother's body was cremated yesterday."

Are you lying to a ghost?

Zhou Ze nodded, indicating that he understood, then turned and left.

The man in the suit looked at Zhou Ze's back, a hint of contemplation in his eyes.

…………

The evening breeze was cool, and the rapeseed flowers around the villa, under the moonlight, created a desolate atmosphere, like a grand funeral, and everything here was embellishment and foreshadowing.

The workers had all gone home. Accommodation wasn't provided here, even though it was very large and spacious. Of course, the workers didn't want to live here either.

The man in the black suit placed dishes on the round table in the hall. All were cold dishes, without a trace of warmth.

Then he poured wine into the glasses on the table. It was aged rice wine.

Immediately afterward, he walked to the stairwell and shouted upstairs:

"The banquet is ready."

Three women,

from young to old, came downstairs in order. They weren't polite and sat down directly.

The priest hadn't left either and stood by the table.

The man in the suit went to the basement again and pushed out a stretcher, covered with a white sheet. Then, a second, a third, and a fourth.

The hall began to fill with a strong smell of plastic and disinfectant.

The elderly woman began to cough.

The middle-aged woman looked displeased.

The young woman covered her nose and waved her hand.

"Why are there so many people?" Madam Liu asked unhappily.

"We have to invite Father and Mother to participate to make it official."

"Your family is truly perverted." The elderly woman muttered, "No wonder your brother instigated my granddaughter to jump off the building with him."

"This matter is not my brother's fault. My brother has always been managing the family business. He wasn't willing to die. It's your family that has always had a tradition of men committing suicide. My sister-in-law was influenced by her family education and took my brother to commit suicide together."

"Humph." The elderly woman was too lazy to argue about this and urged, "Hurry up and do what you need to do. I'm a little sleepy."

"Okay."

The man in the suit first lifted the white sheet on one of the stretchers, revealing Miss Liu's corpse.

He picked up Miss Liu and placed her on a chair, then used several plastic knots to tie Miss Liu there, making sure she maintained a dignified sitting posture.

Afterward, the man in the suit lifted the white sheet on his brother and picked up his brother, letting him sit in the seat next to Miss Liu.

However, his brother's sitting posture seemed to be maintained very well, and he didn't need rope to fix it.

The man in the suit was a little surprised but didn't think too much about it.

"These two poor children, why bother?"

The old woman squeezed out a few drops of tears, which was truly hard work.

Madam Liu comforted her mother,

Madam Liu's daughter comforted her mother,

The three women huddled together, crying, comforting, and talking.

This table of dishes was prepared for them,

but this table of drama had nothing to do with them.

"Don't open your eyes, don't disturb them too much."

Madam Liu saw that the man in the suit was planning to use tape to prop open the corpse's eyelids and immediately spoke to stop him.

.

The man in the suit was stunned for a moment but nodded in agreement.

Immediately afterward, the man in the suit shouted at another stretcher:

"Mom, please come and take a look too."

Saying that, the man in the suit lifted the white sheet, revealing the corpse of a middle-aged woman.

It was just that she should have died many years ago. Even the best preservation measures couldn't completely restore her image.

Deep within the skin, a green glow had already appeared. This was just a husk, a husk that had been given too much special treatment in order to maintain the appearance of her lifetime as much as possible.

He placed his mother on a chair, letting his mother sit next to the old woman.

The old woman shuddered in fright but didn't say anything.

Madam Liu glanced at her "in-laws" and dared not look a second time.

Finally,

the man in the suit said to the last stretcher:

"Dad, wake up…………"

"Hey."

Under the white sheet, a response came.

The man in the suit's body trembled, and a look of horror appeared on his face.

The three women at the table also began to tremble in fright. The young girl almost screamed, but quickly covered her mouth.

Even the priest raised his head suspiciously, not understanding what act this was.

The man in the suit didn't dare to reach out and lift the white sheet again,

but the person inside took the initiative to lift the white sheet.

Zhou Ze stretched lazily, moved his neck, and made some crisp sounds. He said apologetically:

"Sorry, my pillow was taken by a stupid woman today, so I borrowed your freezer for a nap.

Not bad,

but after living the good life for too long, sleeping in the freezer again makes my body feel a little stiff."