Chapter 435: Revised: Chapter 435 Escape to Ascension
The second floor of the shop was quite luxuriously decorated. Not only were various potted plants placed in the hallway, but many traditional Chinese paintings also hung on the walls, giving it a rather old-fashioned charm.
Zhou Yong introduced it proudly: “How about it? Not bad, right? The previous owner was running a teahouse here.”
“But now more people drink coffee than tea, the rent was too high, and he couldn’t keep up, so he gave up the lease. Luckily, the second floor hasn’t been dismantled, so we don’t need to renovate it again!”
Zhang Dadan, hearing this, pushed open the door of a private room and took a careful look around. The size of each compartment wasn’t small, so there was basically no need for re-planning.
This shop wasn’t just located in a bustling part of the county, but the decoration on the second floor also wasn’t torn down. The rent shouldn’t be too low!
“It’s really nice… Just perfect for us to open a restaurant! But… how much is the monthly rent?” Zhang Dadan asked.
Seeing how satisfied he was with the shop, Zhou Yong said, “I’ve talked with the owner, the monthly rent is around thirty thousand. The second-floor decoration and furniture will cost twenty thousand!”
“Twenty thousand? That’s quite reasonable! Just these chairs and tea tables alone are probably worth that much!” Zhang Dadan laughed.
The two of them walked around the second floor and then returned to the first floor, considering the kitchen arrangements, placement of tables, and so on.
Zhang Dadan was very satisfied with the shop and decided, “Alright! This is it! If there are no other problems, you go ahead and sign the contract with the owner!”
“Alright! I’ll find the owner tomorrow to sign the contract, then hire people to renovate the first floor!” Zhou Yong agreed.
Having seen the shop, it was already close to six o’clock. If Zhang Dadan didn’t leave soon, he might miss the last bus, but Zhou Yong insisted on bringing him to his home for dinner.
Helpless, Zhang Dadan had to use the excuse of treating patients to successfully escape.
However, when he took a taxi to the bus station, he still missed the last bus back to Stone Town.
Zhang Dadan hurried to the bus station, but the ticket seller told him the last bus had already left. Sometimes life is just so ironic, making one laugh and cry at the same time.
He had resolutely refused Zhou Yong’s invitation, and now the last bus was gone, and he couldn’t go back!
The cool evening breeze hit his face, but Zhang Dadan felt his cheeks burning, as if he had been slapped hard.
Although he and Zhou Yong were as close as brothers, if he were to go back and shamelessly stay at Zhou Yong’s home for the night, it would be so embarrassing! Zhou Yong would probably mock him for a long time!
As for Bai Jie’s home, that was even more out of the question. Although Bai Lexin and Bai Jie would definitely not refuse him and would even welcome him warmly.
But he intentionally kept a distance from Bai Jie, and would not dare provoke her. If she got her hands on him, what could he do?
After long consideration, Zhang Dadan finally decided to spend some money and take a taxi straight back to Stone Town.
After all, he was now a millionaire; spending a hundred or so yuan wasn’t too extravagant.
The easiest places to get a taxi in the county were either the First Middle School, the train station, or the bus station.
Zhang Dadan walked down the steps of the bus station and headed for a taxi across the street. He knocked on the driver’s window and asked, “Mister, do you drive long distances?”
The taxi driver, hearing this, immediately perked up and smiled warmly, “Sure! Get in!”
Seeing how willing the driver was to take a long trip, Zhang Dadan said nothing more and got into the back seat.
He settled in the back seat, adjusted his clothes, and said to the driver, “Mister, to Stone Town!”
Upon hearing that he wanted to go to Stone Town, the driver’s face changed instantly. He glanced at Zhang Dadan warily and said timidly, “Sorry, buddy! I’m not going to Stone Town!”
“Not going to Stone Town? You just agreed to drive long distances. Stone Town isn’t even that far, why did you change your mind?” Zhang Dadan complained, slightly annoyed.
The driver looked at him again through the rearview mirror, hesitated for a moment, and firmly refused.
Seeing the driver’s determined attitude, even a bit forceful, Zhang Dadan became more dissatisfied and frowned, “Mister, I’m paying you, so why not?”
“Buddy, I’m really sorry! It’s night time, and I don’t dare take passengers to Stone Town!” The driver shook his head.
Generally speaking, taxi drivers are keen on long-distance trips since the farther the distance, the more they earn.
But this driver refused to take a passenger to Stone Town, which made Zhang Dadan suspicious. Could there be some hidden reason?
Zhang Dadan leaned forward and asked calmly, “Mister, why don’t you dare go to Stone Town at night? Did something happen in Stone Town?”
The driver, confirming that Zhang Dadan was truly unaware, sighed and explained, “Stone Town is haunted!”
Haunted? Zhang Dadan snorted at the thought. Who spread such rumors? How come he didn’t know about it?
Seeing his disbelief, the driver lost interest in further explanation and simply said, “Buddy, please get out! No matter what, I’m not going to Stone Town!”
Zhang Dadan took out a twenty-yuan bill, shoved it into the driver’s hand, and smiled, “Don’t be like that! Tell me what’s going on?”
“I’m from Stone Town, and I haven’t heard anything about ghosts. Could it be a baseless rumor?”
Accepting the bill, the driver reluctantly smiled and said, “This happened just last night, so you probably haven’t heard yet!”
“Last night, one of our fellow drivers took a passenger to Stone Town. On the way back, he encountered a large group of dead children!”
Zhang Dadan, listening, found it even less believable and laughed, “Dead children? What nonsense is this?”
“Don’t take it lightly! That driver was so scared he fell ill and is still in the hospital!” The driver said seriously.
Having encountered such things before, Zhang Dadan, hearing this unbelievable story, was even more intrigued.
After listening to the driver’s embellished story, he roughly understood the sequence of events.
Last night, a driver took a passenger to Stone Town. On his way back, he encountered a group of children like walking corpses.
These children had expressionless faces, their feet off the ground, and followed the taxi. When the taxi sped up, they did too.
They chased until the town’s boundary, then they suddenly disappeared. The driver, though managing to drive back to the county, was scared into having a heart attack.
Fortunately, he had a fellow driver with him when he collapsed; otherwise, he might have died in the car.
If the driver wasn’t lying, he might indeed have encountered something unclean.
Feeling conflicted, Zhang Dadan got out of the car and flagged down another taxi. Upon learning he wanted to go to Stone Town, this driver also firmly refused, citing the same haunting reason.
After trying several times, Zhang Dadan had no choice but to believe the rumors about Stone Town being haunted were true. If someone hadn’t actually encountered it, these drivers wouldn’t be so scared.
Since Zhang Dadan inherited the skills of Emperor Longevity to catch ghosts and demons, he couldn’t ignore this matter and let it harm people.
After much hesitation, Zhang Dadan called little Li at their shop directly, “Little Li, I heard there was a haunting in town yesterday?”