The takeout arrived.
After downing two mouthfuls of *Bi An Hua* oral liquid, (Lycoris Radiata) Zhou Ze began to eat with relish.
In his previous life, Boss Zhou was busy with work and didn't pay much attention to his meals. In this life, eating was initially a chore, but now that he could enjoy the pleasure of eating, he naturally didn't care too much about what he was eating.
Of course,
it was all because the cook at home was sick.
"Life is not just the present misery, but also poetry and distant fields,
You came into this world empty-handed, without finding that sea at all costs..."
Singing came from the entrance of the bookstore.
Sang Xin's voice was slightly hoarse, filled with vicissitudes of emotion.
Not bad,
it sounded quite good.
Boss Zhou, holding his lunchbox, walked to the entrance of the bookstore and saw a busker standing by the roadside, playing and singing with a guitar. The young man was wearing a t-shirt, dirty canvas shoes, and ripped jeans, singing with great passion.
Soon, a lot of people gathered nearby.
As he sang, some people put money into the guitar case in front of him.
Boss Zhou, like a migrant worker,
sat on the curb,
taking two bites of his lunch,
then looking up at the singer,
before lowering his head again to continue shoveling in his food.
Perhaps this was life, with food, drink, and the leisure to listen to songs.
Yingying was playing games in the internet cafe across the street,
Old Xu, who had been poisoned, also had a way to detoxify,
and the old Taoist happily received his parcel.
He himself was enjoying his meal.
It was all very beautiful.
If it were the Zhou Ze of the past, he would probably have snorted disdainfully at his current self, expressing his contempt for this kind of unambitious life.
But the current him
enjoyed it immensely.
Qu Mingming came out of the bookstore, saw Zhou Ze squatting there, and squatted down beside him, taking out a cigarette and offering it to Zhou Ze.
Zhou Ze lit it, took a puff, and frowned slightly. The smell was strong, but it was quite satisfying to smoke.
"The tobacco is grown by myself and specially cultivated. Even the cigarette holder is designed by myself. Smoking this has the effect of *Qing Kai Ling* (a Chinese medicine for clearing heat and detoxification) or *Ban Lan Gen* (Isatis root, another Chinese medicine)."
"Smoking can also strengthen the body?" Zhou Ze picked up the lit cigarette and looked at it, then took another puff. "Do you have more? Give me a few boxes."
"Heh, not that much. Now medicinal materials are expensive, and the cost of this is already very high. Each cigarette is about two or three hundred."
"Not too expensive..."
"Pounds."
"Hiss..."
Zhou Ze asked curiously, "Is your family particularly rich?"
"Actually, my family isn't considered rich. Although we've had a family tradition since the Tang Dynasty, being a doctor isn't a particularly lucrative profession. It's just that money has become easier to earn in recent years.
My uncles and other elders make insoles that cure all diseases,
and fire therapy that can treat cancer.
These things may sound absurd to you, but the market is really good. However, I don't like that feeling.
I went to visit one of my uncle's companies once, and his company was holding a meeting. A group of elderly people were gathered together waving flags, like some kind of pyramid scheme."
Zhou Ze nodded.
"So, I think it's good now. If I like playing with Gu worms, I'll just play to my heart's content. If I like playing games, I'll open an internet cafe. Occasionally, I'll be responsible for giving a few dignitaries a diagnosis and helping them regulate their bodies. I don't lack money, and life is actually quite comfortable."
Two salted fish,
inadvertently,
found a confidant!
"By the way, I've already been cultivating the Gu worms. They'll be ready in another eighteen hours. We can start extracting the poison around midnight. Is your female employee a zombie? Are you too?"
Zhou Ze nodded.
"Today has really been an eye-opener." Qu Mingming had a breakthrough and actually took the initiative to hook his arm around Zhou Ze's shoulder.
Zhou Ze had always hated being physically touched by strangers.
People with mysophobia
couldn't stand this the most.
But he smelled a fragrance from Qu Mingming's arm, and his hands were very white, with clean, well-manicured nails. This was someone who understood cleanliness, truly like an ancient doctor in an illustration, with a transcendent aura.
Even if you have mysophobia,
it's really hard to be disgusted.
"I feel like my life has become interesting again. I've researched Gu worms in great depth. You've opened up a new topic for me."
"Actually, I feel quite guilty. In this world, you may have only seen the white side before. There's also a black side. Seeing too much of it isn't good."
"I know, I know."
"Today I, in the cold night, watch the snow drift past, drifting far away with a cooled heart, chasing in the wind and rain, unable to distinguish the shadow in the fog..."
After one song ended, the busker changed to another and began to sing.
"He sings pretty well," Qu Mingming said.
"He has a sense of vicissitude, at least that's how it sounds," Zhou Ze said.
"Vicissitude?" Qu Mingming smiled. "His shoes, his jeans, the guitar in his hand, all add up to more than ten thousand, right?"
Zhou Ze was stunned.
He had previously thought that the busker was out to make money, but it turned out he was just experiencing life.
At the same time, he felt a little embarrassed. Being next to a real rich kid, he felt like his own vision was being looked down upon.
"I'll go sing a song too."
Qu Mingming stood up, clapped his hands, walked to the busker's side. There was also a microphone hanging there, welcoming passers-by to sing along. He would provide accompaniment, but a small tip afterward was inevitable.
Zhou Ze watched from the side.
But, the moment Qu Mingming picked up the microphone,
Zhou Ze suddenly smelled a strange odor.
The smell was faint, but it was real.
Zhou Ze's eyes narrowed, he dropped the lunchbox in his hand, immediately covered his nose, and rushed back to the bookstore.
Qu Mingming, who was just about to sing, saw that Zhou Ze had actually left without listening to the song.
He seemed a little disappointed, put the microphone back, took out a few hundred yuan from his pocket, put it in the busker's guitar case, and walked towards his internet cafe.
After rushing into the bookstore, Zhou Ze pushed open the door and began to look around.
The smell,
that smell!
Yes,
it was in the bookstore,
getting stronger and stronger!
Something came in,
it really came!
"Squeak squeak squeak!!!!!!"
Hou Zha's (monkey) cry came from the roof. Zhou Ze looked up and saw the monkey standing on the beam, pinching its nose with one hand and holding the *Yin Yang Ce* (Book of the Underworld) in the other, looking very anxious.
When Hou Zha saw Zhou Ze enter, it immediately jumped down from above, directly pounced on Zhou Ze, and, for the first time, made a "hug" gesture.
As the monkey was in mid-air, a cloud of yellow smoke suddenly rose up and swept directly towards the monkey.
Hou Zha screamed and actually did a backflip in the air,
which could only be said to be the monkey's talent, something to be envied.
The monkey, having dodged the yellow smoke, landed on the counter, pointing in one direction and squeaking non-stop at Zhou Ze.
"Huff huff... huff huff..."
There,
a weasel was lying there,
and it was still sleeping.
If a person wanted to sneak into the bookstore, it would be difficult, but if it was a small animal, it would be really hard to prevent.
Moreover, the other party was definitely not an ordinary animal.
"Huff huff... huff huff..."
The weasel was still snoring, but the cloud of yellow smoke remained around it, condensed and not dispersing.
In many places in Northeast China, weasels are also known as Huang Daxian (Great Immortal Huang). The one in front of him should have become an immortal, and its purpose here was self-evident.
Zhou Ze didn't expect that the other party would come so quickly.
At the same time, he felt that the Eighth Aunt was so stupid. If she had endured it for a while longer, instead of coming out early to show off, the black cat wouldn't have cried, and he wouldn't have let Yingying take out the *Yin Yang Ce*, and Hou Zha wouldn't have been interested in taking it to look at as an illustration.
Just now,
the old Taoist wasn't at home, of course, it didn't make much difference whether the old Taoist was at home or not;
Yingying was playing games in the internet cafe across the street, and Old Xu was soaking in the bathtub upstairs, probably a little dazed from doing too much sauna,
and he was sitting at the door listening to music and eating lunch,
it would have been easiest for this weasel to sneak in and make a move. If the *Yin Yang Ce* hadn't happened to be in Hou Zha's hands, it might have really been stolen.
"Creak..."
The door of the bookstore was pushed open.
The busker pushed open the door and walked in. He had a warm smile on his face, a very sunny young man.
"Thump..."
The guitar case was thrown on the ground by him.
Inside were some of the money he had earned from busking,
and on closer inspection,
one could also find some wild ginseng and precious game inside, and even a piece of leather, it was not known what animal it was skinned from.
The busker bowed slightly to Zhou Ze,
saluting,
"Superior, we are here to take Eighth Aunt home. This is the fee for Eighth Aunt's disturbance here during this period. Please accept it with a smile."
To be honest,
these great immortals were all very polite.
The previous Eighth Aunt took the initiative not to conflict with Liu Chuyu,
and this one even brought a housewarming gift.
This made Zhou Ze feel like he had gone too far?
They were so sensible,
and she didn't have any hatred for him,
should he let her go?
Zhou Ze noticed that the young man's eyes had a yellow glow from time to time, and when he looked at the Huang Daxian sleeping in the corner, he understood.
This one was also possessed.
They originally wanted to steal things directly, but after failing, they could only be polite, changing their strategy.
"You're too kind," Zhou Ze said.
"It's only right," the other party bowed to Zhou Ze again.
Zhou Ze smiled and waved to the monkey over there, "Come, give me the thing, let her go home."
The monkey shook its head desperately.
Why!
Zhou Ze discovered that this monkey had really gone bad since following the old Taoist,
how pure and kind it was before and in its previous life,
now it was also a master who didn't want to suffer losses and only wanted to take advantage.
"They've come to your door and even brought gifts."
As he spoke, Zhou Ze took out a piece of old mountain ginseng from the guitar case.
"Three-hundred-year-old wild ginseng, not common now," the young man introduced.
"Here, take this and eat it."
Zhou Ze threw the old mountain ginseng directly to the monkey. The monkey caught the ginseng, and then reluctantly ran over and handed the *Yin Yang Ce* to Zhou Ze.
"She's inside."
Saying that,
Zhou Ze handed the *Yin Yang Ce* to the young man.
"Superior, you are generous, I thank you on behalf of all the immortals in the old mountain forest. If you have anything to do in the old mountain forest in the future, please let us know in advance, and we will definitely treat you well."
"You're too kind."
Zhou Ze bent down and continued to check the other gifts in the guitar case.
A yellow light flashed in the young man's eyes. He didn't care about those gifts. They were rare goods for ordinary people, but for them, they were just ordinary things.
The next moment,
he happily opened the *Yin Yang Ce*,
"Eighth Aunt, come out..."
Then,
he stopped moving.
Zhou Ze stood up, turned his back to the young man, and began to retreat,
after retreating to the young man's side,
he reached his hand back, not looking at the *Yin Yang Ce*, groped for a long time, and finally closed the *Yin Yang Ce*.
In his hand was the *Yin Yang Ce*,
on the cover, in addition to the black cat and a small snake, there was also a very angry weasel, obviously, it knew it had been tricked.
"Don't blame me, it's your own fault for being too stupid, right?"
The monkey nodded incessantly while gnawing on the precious wild ginseng.
Zhou Ze patted the *Yin Yang Ce* in his hand, wanting to laugh but holding back,
because he felt that he was like a villain in a movie,
but he couldn't help but say:
"Are there any more great immortals coming? I want to put together an animal world."