Chapter 1 New Beginning

The new shop opened, filled with joy.

For Zhou Ze, the renovation, rent, and every other expense imaginable were not actually paid for by him.

Xu Qinglang paid half, and the other half came from the money made from Bai Yingying's burial goods.

Of course, Xu Qinglang was preparing to "semi-retire," planning only to sell coffee and snacks in the bookstore, living a life of health and leisure.

Earning money was up to Zhou Ze.

Fortunately, no one doubted Zhou Ze's ability to make money. The new shop was located on South Street, which had a large flow of people, and probably a lot of ghosts too.

As long as Boss Zhou promoted the spirit of fearing neither hardship nor staying up late, constantly sending these ghosts who came to his door to hell for reform and rehabilitation, earning piles of hell money shouldn't be a problem.

Then everyone could squat together in front of the bookstore burning paper money and waiting for people to drop their wallets; even the bank service fee would be waived.

The overall tone of the bookstore was soft and dark. The bookshelves inside were not placed too densely. Newspapers and magazines that were updated quickly were in a separate row, novels were in another row, and more serious books were in a separate area.

As for educational materials, Zhou Ze didn't bother stocking them anymore.

The bookstore had a second floor, which was divided into three rooms and a bathroom, serving as everyone's living area.

The first day of opening was simple and peaceful, without fireworks, firecrackers, flower baskets, or salutes.

The old Taoist tactfully cleaned up with Bai Yingying, while Zhou Ze sat behind the bar, savoring the cocktail that Xu Qinglang had just mixed.

After taking a sip, he put down the glass. The little monkey picked up the glass, secretly took a sip, and then found it extremely unpalatable, sticking out its tongue repeatedly.

Tang Shi was alone in her bedroom upstairs. She was a homebody. If she had nothing to do, she could stay in her room all day and not feel bored.

Everything was cleaned up and ready to welcome guests by dusk, when the sky had already darkened.

Bai Yingying lifted the plaque with one hand, hung the "Midnight Bookstore" sign, jumped down, patted her hands, and smiled contentedly after confirming that she had hung it straight.

Afterward, she followed the boss's instructions and hung up and secured the two couplet plaques, "Gū Wàng Tīng Zhī" and "Rú Shì Wǒ Wén" on the left and right sides respectively.

These were the signs brought back from the old store.

Bai Yingying had asked Zhou Ze the meaning of "Gū Wàng Tīng Zhī" and "Rú Shì Wǒ Wén," and Zhou Ze explained that they simply meant stories he had heard himself, told for everyone's entertainment.

They didn't represent his personal views, and everyone should just listen for fun and not take them seriously.

The bookstore still catered to the dead, with the living being just a supplement. After all, not far from South Street was "Tongcheng Bookstore," a large bookstore specializing in selling physical books. Competing with it would be unusually difficult, and there was no need for it at all.

Zhou Ze remembered that "Tongcheng Bookstore" was the most influential bookstore in Tongcheng people's hearts when he was a child, but in recent years, with the continuous compression and downturn of the physical book market, Tongcheng Bookstore had also reduced its business area, appearing much more shabby than its former heyday.

It could only be said that the popularity of mobile phones and screen reading had made most people slowly forget the habit of reading with the scent of ink and paper.

Everything was completed and on the right track; now all that was left was to wait for business to come.

In fact, business came quickly. Since officially opening at seven in the evening, several groups of guests had already arrived, but they were all living people who ordered a cup of coffee or other drinks, sat there to rest their feet, and chatted.

Since living people came, Zhou Ze simply didn't move. Instead, Xu Qinglang kept greeting them and mixing drinks, busy as could be.

By the time these guests had left, it was already nine-thirty. Xu Qinglang took a sip of water and looked at Zhou Ze, who was rocking back and forth in a rocking chair, feeling very unbalanced!

"Old Zhou, I think we can hang a sign, 'Living People Not Allowed,' what do you think?"

"And then the Administration for Industry and Commerce will come knocking the next day." Zhou Ze rejected Xu Qinglang's suggestion without hesitation.

"But I feel like this is more tiring than opening a noodle shop." Xu Qinglang looked resentful.

Before, when he opened a noodle shop, not many people actually went to the shop to eat. Most orders were through takeout apps. If he wanted to rest, he could simply turn off the takeout app. But now that the guests were coming in, you couldn't just push them out, could you?

"Look, here comes one."

Zhou Ze looked outside the door.

It seemed that it really was the location. Today's real business had come very quickly.

Entering the door was an old woman, leaning on a cane, thin and slightly shriveled, with a pair of eyes that were wide open, as if she hadn't died peacefully.

The old woman had some faint resentment on her body, which meant that she still had some obsessions, so she hadn't gone to hell or entered reincarnation.

But her bit of resentment was far from turning into a vengeful ghost; she was still a "harmless" kind of ghost.

"Prepare the dishes." Zhou Ze said to Xu Qinglang.

This time, Xu Qinglang didn't complain. In fact, preparing dishes for those about to be sent to hell was a suggestion he had made.

He felt that Zhou Ze's previous act of directly sending ghosts to hell was too simple and crude, without any foreplay at all, too dry and lacking in service quality.

Therefore, he suggested that before sending people to hell, they should prepare some food and drink to send them off, so they would leave behind more hell money.

It was like how movie theaters had a large income from selling Coke and popcorn in addition to the major income from movie tickets.

The dishes were also very simple: a dish of dried radish, a dish of peanuts, a bowl of rice with chopsticks stuck upside down, and a glass of old yellow wine.

They were all ready-made things, just needing to be plated, not troublesome at all.

The old Taoist set up the small table, prepared the small stool, and also pulled up the curtain, isolating the outside view; otherwise, if other customers came in and saw this scene, they would probably be frightened.

This could be considered a small private room, specially prepared for ghosts.

Zhou Ze walked over with the teacup in his hand and said to the old woman, "Please."

The old woman hesitated. You could see that she was a little afraid, but she feared Zhou Ze even more. Immediately, she sat down tremblingly.

Xu Qinglang handed a bottle of cow's tears mixed with talisman water to the old Taoist, who smeared it on his eyes and also saw the old woman.

Honestly speaking, the old Taoist hadn't encountered this kind of thing of welcoming ghosts at the door since he left the Underworld shop. For a moment, he felt a little emotional and couldn't help but think of the boss who was still in Rongcheng.

However, it would be soon.

The old Taoist had already sent a notification to his friends in his livestream room, where he hadn't streamed for several months, that he would reopen the livestream on April 1st at dawn, which was around 12:20 AM on March 31st.

That day was the day the boss said he would return.

Bai Yingying also sat over with a small stool. The old woman was a little shy, surrounded by a zombie, a ghost messenger, a Xuan cultivator, and an old Taoist.

The old woman said she felt a lot of pressure.

Her bit of resentment was really insignificant surrounded by this pack of wolves.

"Eat, eat well and be on your way."

Zhou Ze urged.

The old woman smiled, lowered her head, and began to eat.

It was like how a tiger was terrifying, but the tiger in the zoo was like a kitten to the zookeeper.

If the old woman went out and someone accidentally caught a glimpse of her, it was estimated that they would be frightened sick or faint, but at this moment, she could only eat obediently.

"Auntie, how did you die?" the old Taoist asked at this time.

The old Taoist was an active person; even though he was old, the older he got, the more he talked.

He usually talked to the little monkey, saying how he had subdued demons and devils five hundred years ago and suppressed a great monkey under the Five Finger Mountain;

The monkey also supported him. As long as the old Taoist bought a little snack, the monkey could sit there and listen to the old Taoist brag for an afternoon, and would often wave his hand to indicate:

"Tell it well, wow!"

"Sān pèng sī lǐ."

The old Taoist was at a loss. He knew the old woman was speaking a dialect, so he looked at Zhou Ze.

"She died of illness." Zhou Ze translated.

The Tongcheng dialect was very different from Mandarin.

"Auntie, this won't do. Even if you're a ghost, you can't forget to learn. We have to learn Mandarin well, otherwise when you get to hell.

Think about it, there are so many people on the road to the Yellow Springs. It's hard to find someone who speaks Tongcheng dialect. Then you won't even have anyone to chat with on the road. How boring would that be?"

The old Taoist kindly reminded her.

The old woman was a little embarrassed and could only lower her head to eat.

"Do you have children?" the old Taoist asked again.

"Yú guǒ ó tè."

The old Taoist looked at Zhou Ze again, meaning, quickly translate.

"She has a daughter." Xu Qinglang translated.

"Then your daughter must have burned a lot of paper money for you, right?" The old Taoist rubbed his hands.

The old woman paused and smiled bitterly, "The family is not well-off." (Xu Qinglang translated)

"The family is not well-off?" The old Taoist was not discouraged and continued, "It's okay, paper money isn't expensive anyway. As long as your child has you in her heart, there will be more paper money."

"Lying in bed, no money for treatment." (Xu Qinglang translated) As the old woman spoke, she put down her chopsticks and wiped her tears.

"That's pitiful." The old Taoist wiped his tears along with her.

Bai Yingying also pouted, feeling a little uncomfortable in her heart.

"My daughter asked me on the hospital bed whether to continue spending money on treatment. I was lying in bed at the time, unable to speak or move. She cried and said to me that if I didn't want to continue treatment, I should blink my eyes. If I didn't blink, she would sell everything to give me treatment."

"This daughter is not bad." The old Taoist said, "What did you do?"

"I blinked, and then I went home from the hospital, and then I died." The old woman continued to wipe her tears.

"It's not easy. You were also thinking of your children. You're really great. It's not easy for anyone. Children also have to live." The old Taoist grieved along with her.

In fact, there were many such things in reality, especially when facing some terminal illnesses, which meant constantly throwing money into them, and many families couldn't afford this kind of money-throwing treatment.

"Auntie, you're very great." Bai Yingying said.

"Let me pour you another glass of wine." Xu Qinglang said.

On the side, watching everyone around her with teary eyes, Zhou Ze didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He pointed to the old woman's eyes, which had been wide open since she entered the door, and asked:

"How did you blink?"

The old woman heard this,

Stopped crying,

And said fiercely:

"She asked me,

Mom, I'm asking you, if you don't want to be treated anymore, blink your eyes. If you don't blink, I'll sell everything to give you treatment.

Then,

After waiting for five minutes,

I really couldn't hold it anymore,

So I blinked.

She immediately began to wipe her tears and said:

Okay,

Mom,

I know what you mean,

Let's not treat it."