The two chatted until past five in the morning. Yu Daochen, covering his mouth and yawning repeatedly, said, "It seems there won't be any more customers. Let's rest."
As Zhou Fu was tidying up their bedding, Yu Daochen was about to close the door when he saw a Volkswagen driving over.
Yu Daochen's eyes lit up. It looked like business had finally arrived.
The car slowly stopped, and a middle-aged man in his forties, with a face full of flesh and a particularly prominent dark circle around his eyes, stepped out. The thick gold chain around his neck was as thick as his little finger, and the large gold ring on his finger was exaggeratedly big.
Looking at the greasy man's attire, Yu Daochen thought he was a spitting image of a compressed version of Biao Tao.
The greasy man walked towards the shop. Yu Daochen took a closer look and noticed the deep dark circles around his eyes and that he reeked of alcohol.
"Little brother, is this the Midnight Spirit Shop?" the greasy man asked.
Yu Daochen nodded. "That's right, this is the Midnight Spirit Shop. Do you have something you need help with?"
The greasy man nodded. "I'm here to see Gu Ye."
"I am the owner of this Midnight Spirit Shop. Let's talk inside," Yu Daochen said, leading the greasy man into the shop.
The greasy man wasn't surprised to see how young Yu Daochen was, as if his family matters had already made him frantic.
The greasy man sat down at the tea table, took out a cigarette from his pack, lit it, and took a puff.
Zhou Fu glanced at him and then sat down silently beside them.
Seeing that the greasy man wasn't in the mood for small talk, Yu Daochen got straight to the point. "Tell me about the situation first."
The greasy man took a deep drag of his cigarette, then slowly exhaled and began to speak.
The greasy man's original name was Zhu Futing. His family had been in the fish farming business for three generations, and by his generation, they had made fish farming flourish.
Because he was always busy with his career, Zhu Futing and his wife hadn't had children. It was only two years ago that Zhu Futing and his wife finally had a chubby little boy.
Just as life was getting better and they had a child, Zhu Futing suddenly proposed divorce to his wife.
Zhu Futing sighed as he reached this point. "Once a man has money, he starts to despise the wife who struggled with him."
After Zhu Futing said this, Yu Daochen could roughly guess that Zhu Futing had found a mistress.
Zhu Futing slowly exhaled smoke and continued.
Once a person has money, they indulge in debauchery, and Zhu Futing was no exception.
A year ago, Zhu Futing met a university girl in her early twenties. Zhu Futing was as if his soul had been captured by her, visiting her every few days. In this way, Zhu Futing kept a mistress outside, behind his wife's back.
Originally, this wouldn't have been a problem, as long as his family wasn't disrupted. But the young girl, in her early twenties, wanted to marry him, and Zhu Futing, as if possessed, actually agreed.
Three months ago, Zhu Futing divorced his wife and brought the young girl home.
Perhaps retribution had arrived. A week ago, Zhu Futing's two-year-old son fell into the fish pond and drowned.
When Zhu Futing's wife learned of this, she insisted on an explanation and was now by the fish pond threatening to end her life. Now, all his relatives and friends were saying that the vixen had caused the death of the two-year-old son.
But the dead cannot be brought back to life. Zhu Futing had intended to salvage the body, but three people who had gone down consecutively had not returned.
According to the older generation, there were water ghosts at the bottom of the water eating people, and it was Zhu Futing's retribution.
Zhu Futing had also invited a master to perform rituals to retrieve the body, but not only did they fail to retrieve the body, they also lost their own lives.
Zhu Futing's expression turned grim as he said this. "Later, a friend introduced me to someone called Gu Ye here on Old Street, who is said to be very powerful."
Yu Daochen's brow furrowed after listening. Elder Guan had mentioned that he would encounter a flood in the next few days. It seemed this was the matter.
"Have you tried draining the fish pond?" Yu Daochen asked.
Zhu Futing shook his head and sighed. "If it could be drained, I wouldn't have gone to such great lengths. That fish pond is connected to a river, and it simply cannot be drained."
Yu Daochen sighed. What's coming will come, and you can't avoid it if you try.
To be honest, Yu Daochen really didn't want to take this on, but he couldn't help it. Since he couldn't avoid it, he had to face it head-on.
Yu Daochen explained the rules of the Midnight Spirit Shop. "My rule here is that I only recommend people who can handle such matters. As for the price, that's for you to discuss with the person who handles it. I only charge a referral fee."
Zhu Futing quickly nodded. "Yes, yes. As long as the body can be retrieved, the price is irrelevant."
Seeing Zhu Futing agree, Yu Daochen looked at Zhou Fu beside him. "Zhou Fu, go to the third drawer and get a ginkgo leaf."
Zhou Fu nodded, stood up, walked to the drawer, and took out a ginkgo leaf.
Yu Daochen placed an empty teacup in the middle, then took the ginkgo leaf and placed it in the teacup.
Zhu Futing looked at the black and purple ginkgo leaf in the teacup. To be honest, it was his first time seeing ginkgo leaves being used for tea, and he had never seen ginkgo leaves that were black and purple.
Yu Daochen stood up, picked up the teapot, and poured the boiling hot water into the teacup. "If you can drink this cup of tea, I will accept this job."
Zhu Futing looked at the tea in the cup, which was dark purple. He had heard that Gu Ye's place was about fate, and some things couldn't be forced.
Zhu Futing picked up the teacup and took a small sip. His face suddenly froze, and then he drank it all in one go.
Yu Daochen knew he had to take this job, but rules were rules, and the process had to be completed.
Yu Daochen picked up the kettle again and poured another cup. Although Zhu Futing was confused, he still picked it up and drank it all in one go.