Chapter 2 Upstairs

Having gone up to the second floor, Zhou Ze saw Miss Liu's family. What was strange was that he didn't see any men, only three women.

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

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

The old lady just listened, and the priest just spoke, everyone acting out their roles, doing what was expected of them. If there was any real atmosphere of grief in the room, it was fake.

Of course, you couldn't blame 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 Madam 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 crust than tears, because he really couldn't see that she had actually cried.

The woman's collarbone was very distinct, and her figure was also a bit thin. Her brow ridge protruded, giving her an uncomfortable appearance.

In fact, this was a face that brought misfortune to her husband.

Culture is a carrier, a unit of one. In every era, any politics, economics, and even the lower nine classes like feng shui masters, are all influenced by culture.

For example, in ancient times, there was the saying of "bringing misfortune to the husband," which was a typical example of treating 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 think about it,

Three generations,

Not a single male,

It's hard not to believe it.

Zhou Ze explained his purpose. Xu Qinglang had already communicated with her and reached a preliminary agreement, but had not yet progressed to a specific price.

"Mr. Zhou is able to attend my daughter's funeral. I thank you on her behalf. As for that shop, since Mr. Zhou has taken a fancy to it, please think of a figure for the rent and as long as it is not too outrageous, I will not 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 before, so he was a bit clumsy when negotiating prices for the first time. But this Madam Liu seemed very generous.

Zhou Ze nodded and said a few more comforting platitudes, then turned and left tactfully. Next, he just needed to discuss a price with Xu Qinglang and send it over, and the matter would be settled.

Down the stairs, he came to the corner again. Zhou Ze walked to the metal door again, reached out to push it, and found it was locked.

Zhou Ze reached out and knocked,

No one responded inside.

Very helpless,

And also 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,"

Came out,

"Biu,"

Went back in.

Zhou Ze really couldn't open this door.

Returning to the hall, most of the guests who came to offer condolences had 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 extinguished, eventually returning to a mound of earth.

Funerals always bring this kind of negative emotion.

Zhou Ze stopped a female worker who was cleaning and asked, "Excuse me, do you know Chen Zesheng?"

"Ah, he was the previous boss here." The female worker 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 boss's younger brother. He just went to the basement." The female worker replied. Then, worried that Zhou Ze wouldn't understand, she explained, "You know, near the staircase, the place where they fix up the deceased's appearance."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Zhou Ze walked to the metal door again.

He had to go in,

And catch the idiot who, for some unknown reason, was still alive and kicking after death and even sent his business card to a ghost messenger.

But this door,

How should it be opened?

He knocked on the door a few times with force,

The door still didn't move, and there was no sound of anyone responding inside.

The female worker just said that their current boss just went in. This 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 planning to find a tool to try to pry open the door,

Zhou Ze found that the door was opened.

A young man was standing inside, wearing a black suit and a white flower on his chest.

"Is there something you need?" the young man asked.

This wasn't the one who gave him the business card. If he was right, this should be the current boss, Chen Zesheng's younger brother.

"There's something I want to talk to you about, about your brother." Zhou Ze said, and he had already decided that if this guy couldn't communicate, he would knock him unconscious 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 gave the man a deep look, but still walked in.

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

"Where is 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."

You're lying to a ghost?

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

The man in the suit looked at Zhou Ze's back, with 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 just embellishment and foreshadowing.

The workers had all gone off work. Accommodation wasn't provided here, even though it was big 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 cold dishes, without any warmth.

Then, he poured wine into the glasses on the table, it was old yellow wine.

Then, he walked to the stairwell and shouted upstairs:

"Dinner is ready."

Three women,

From young to old, descended the stairs one by one. They were not polite and sat down directly.

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

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

A strong smell of plastic and disinfectant began to fill the hall.

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 always have to invite my father and mother to participate for it to be official."

"Your family is really twisted," the elderly woman muttered. "No wonder your brother encouraged my granddaughter to jump off the building with him."

"This matter is not my brother's fault. My brother has always been in charge of the family business. He was reluctant 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, so she took my brother with her to commit suicide."

"Humph." The elderly woman was too lazy to argue about this and urged, "Hurry up and get it over with. I'm a little sleepy."

"Okay."

The man in the suit first lifted the white cloth from one of the stretchers, revealing Miss Liu's body.

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

Then, the man in the suit lifted the white cloth from his brother and picked up his brother, letting him sit in the position next to Miss Liu.

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

The man in the suit was a little surprised, but didn't pay too much attention to it.

"These two unfortunate children, why bother?"

The old woman squeezed out a few tears, it really was 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.

Then, the man in the suit called out to another stretcher:

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

As he spoke, the man in the suit lifted the white cloth, revealing the body of a middle-aged woman.

It was just that she should have died many years ago, and even the best anti-corrosion measures couldn't completely restore her image.

Deep within her skin, a green sheen had already appeared. This was just a shell, a shell that had undergone too much special treatment in order to maintain her appearance as much as possible.

He placed his mother in a chair, letting his mother sit next to the old lady.

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

Madam Liu glanced at her "mother-in-law" and didn't dare to look a second time.

Finally,

The man in the suit said to the last stretcher:

"Dad, wake up…………"

"Hey."

Under the white cloth, came a response.

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

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

Even the priest raised his head suspiciously, really not understanding what was going on.

The man in the suit didn't dare to reach out to lift the white cloth,

But the person inside took the initiative to lift the white cloth.

Zhou Ze stretched and moved his neck, making a few crisp sounds. He said with some apology:

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

Not bad,

It's just that I've lived good days for too long, and sleeping in the freezer again makes my body feel a little stiff."