"Creak~" Fang Ming pushed open the shop door and looked at the items inside. This trip out had lasted more than a week, and dust had already settled on the paper figures and funeral wreaths.
"Time for a big clean-up again."
Fang Ming looked a bit glum, but there was no way around it. It was his shop, and he had to clean it even if he had to cry.
"Wangcai, go get the broom from the backyard."
Fang Ming kicked Ba Yufang. Ba Yufang looked confused. A broom? It had never heard of that.
"Never mind, I'll get it myself." Seeing the dog's bewildered expression, Fang Ming guessed what was up. He placed his backpack on the counter and walked to the backyard alone.
"Keep an eye on the shop," Fang Ming reminded it, his back disappearing into the yard.
It was Ba Yufang's first time in the human world, and it curiously observed Fang Ming's small shop.
Spotting a funeral wreath whose color it quite liked, it trotted over and knocked it down, then proceeded to tear at it. It then set its sights on a bundle of paper money, hopped onto it to test its softness, which was quite satisfying. However, it wasn't comfortable lying in a pit, so it started working on it with its mouth.
Just then, a man with a haggard appearance walked in.
His name was Sun Dashan, but he was commonly called Old Fourth because he was the fourth among his sworn brothers.
A few days prior, they had gone to a mine to secretly dig for gold. Before they even found any, the eldest, second, and third brothers had all perished inside. Only he and the two guarding the entrance, Old Fifth and Old Sixth, had escaped.
As for what he had seen inside, he never wanted to recall it again. He could only say that there were truly unclean things in there!
Old Fourth, having escaped, was uneasy every day. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the bloody figures of his three elder brothers. After a few days of torment, he became mentally and physically exhausted, and his health deteriorated further due to the shock.
Unable to help himself, he sought the help of a fortune teller. The fortune teller told him to burn more paper money and candles for his brothers, suggesting burning three catties of paper money and half a catty of white wax daily for seven consecutive days.
Old Fourth was skeptical but decided to follow the fortune teller's advice. He came to a nearby funeral supplies shop to buy some paper money and candles.
However, the shop door was wide open, but the owner was nowhere to be seen. Only a strangely-looking dog was tearing at a pile of paper money.
Seeing a stranger enter, Ba Yufang immediately jumped off the pile of paper money and glared fiercely at Old Fourth.
"Holy crap, is this... is this thing going to bite me?" Old Fourth felt a bit cowardly seeing its strange appearance.
"Boss... Boss, are you here?" Old Fourth called towards the backyard.
Suddenly, his gaze fell upon the backpack on the counter, and his heart skipped a beat.
He muttered to himself, "This isn't an antique, is it? But looking at the material, the more I look, the more it seems like one?"
The reason Old Fourth suspected the authenticity of the backpack was mainly because Fang Ming had carelessly left it on the counter. Who would normally do something like that?
Muttering to himself, Old Fourth closed his mouth, stopped calling out for Fang Ming, and cautiously stared at Ba Yufang while inching his way towards the backpack.
Ba Yufang showed no intention of attacking. It just stared at the man, not allowing him to touch the items, because Fang Ming was worried he would cause trouble. He had warned it on the way not to hurt anyone unless absolutely necessary.
He didn't want to live a life of tense escape.
Finally, Old Fourth was within arm's reach of the backpack. However, he didn't make a move. He just examined the backpack, his shock growing with every glance.
It was actually an antique! Coincidentally, he had seen the same model in a museum! Its value was at least two hundred million!
Two hundred million!
Thinking of this, Old Fourth felt his mouth go dry. He even considered snatching the bag and running, but seeing Ba Yufang's watchful gaze, he suppressed his impulse and decided to come back for it tonight.
At this moment, Fang Ming walked over from the backyard with a broom and a rag. Seeing a customer in the shop, he quickly put down the cleaning supplies by the wall and went to inquire. However, as he approached, he sensed a strong sense of resentment emanating from the man, which Fang Ming found odd but didn't ask about.
"Brother, what can I get for you?"
Old Fourth's mind was consumed with how to make his move that night, and he had almost forgotten the purpose of his visit.
Called by Fang Ming, he suddenly snapped back to reality.
"Oh, oh, um, give me twenty-five catties of paper money and four catties of white candles." Old Fourth quickly said.
"One moment." Fang Ming walked to where the paper money was stacked and looked with a darkened expression at the top layer, where a large pit had been chewed by some unknown creature, rendering at least four stacks of paper money unusable!
"Wangcai! Is this your doing?" Fang Ming was somewhat angry. This shop might not be large, but Fang Ming treated it like his own son, even cleaning it multiple times if dust settled.
Hearing this, Ba Yufang immediately realized it had done something wrong. It drooped its head and remained silent.
Seeing that the dog likely didn't understand, Fang Ming consoled himself, thinking there was no point in getting angry. After a warning, he began to move out the paper money from underneath.
A few minutes later, Fang Ming had prepared twenty-five catties of paper money and four catties of candles and handed them to the man.
"That'll be 236. You can pay 230."
"Here." Old Fourth paid the money and left absentmindedly, carrying the paper money and candles. As he left the shop, he couldn't help but look back.
Fang Ming watched his departing figure, feeling puzzled. Where on earth had this guy picked up such strong resentment?
However, that was his business, and Fang Ming, as an outsider, couldn't possibly ask.
He chased Ba Yufang to the backyard and spent over an hour cleaning the entire shop. Only then did he prepare to close the door.
He didn't plan to open for business today; he intended to get some much-needed rest, as he hadn't slept properly for days.
As he reached the doorway, he saw several people in uniform approaching.
"Hello, are you Mr. Fang Ming?" the person in front asked.
"Yes, what can I do for you?" Fang Ming asked, confused.
"This street has been selected by the municipality for demolition and urban renewal. This is the demolition compensation contract. Please take a look, and if you find it suitable, sign it directly. We will then spray a mark on your door."
Fang Ming took the contract. When he had returned last time, he had heard that this street was slated for demolition, and now it seemed to be true.
He reviewed the contract's contents: one thousand yuan per square meter as compensation. For demolition areas larger than fifty square meters, residents could opt for resettlement housing of equivalent area. The price offered was reasonable.
Although Fang Ming had developed an emotional attachment to his property, the trend was undeniable, and he didn't want to be a holdout. His shop plus the backyard would likely yield three to four million yuan in compensation, and this was actual cash, unlike the antiques in his bag.
"No problem." Fang Ming signed his name and returned the contract to the staff. The staff left one copy for Fang Ming and then sprayed "拆" (demolish) on the door before heading to the next house.
Closing the door, Fang Ming took his backpack to the backyard, instructed Ba Yufang to guard the entrance, and returned to his room to fall into a deep sleep.
As night fell.
Nannan and Qingmian left Fang Ming's body and returned to their original forms. Nannan snuggled with Fang Ming under the covers for a nap, while Qingmian left the room and went into the yard to admire the sky.
"The outside world is so free. No wonder No. 1 always wanted to leave the eighteenth floor." Qingmian lay on a branch of the peach tree, somewhat understanding No. 1's past thoughts.
Although he had left the eighteenth floor a few times before, his current state of mind was completely different. Now, it was a feeling of unrestrained freedom, which had lightened his heart considerably.
Ba Yufang, lying under the peach tree, listened to Qingmian's incessant chatter. This guy, usually so aloof, became quite talkative when he was alone.
A "wangcai-style" disdain.
Just because I can't speak human language doesn't mean I don't understand, it thought, mentally labeling Qingmian as a closet talker.
The starry sky outside was beautiful, but a few murmuring voices shattered the tranquility.
"Be careful, everyone. After this job, we'll be set for ten lifetimes!" Old Fourth, along with Old Fifth and Old Sixth, quietly approached Fang Ming's backyard wall. The three of them were sneaky, carefully surveying their surroundings.
"Old Fourth, is there really an antique worth that much appearing here?" Old Fifth was somewhat skeptical. This run-down yard, if sold, wouldn't fetch much. How could it possibly contain an antique worth two hundred million?
"Why would I lie to you? Even if it's not genuine, it's at least a high-quality replica. It'll sell for hundreds of thousands with ease."
A few minutes later, a peeking head emerged over the courtyard wall. Seeing no activity inside, the person climbed over the wall and jumped into the yard.
The other two followed suit.
Qingmian and Ba Yufang saw the three of them enter but remained silent. They wanted to see what these three were up to.
The three had a clear objective, heading towards the two rooms in the backyard and the shop respectively.
Two chapters today~