Chapter 2: A Strange Occupation

  After I signed the contract and stamped my handprint, the old man took over this paper contract with satisfaction, carefully tucked it away, and then said to me: "Ge Dong, let's go! I'll take you to your workplace now."

  As he spoke, the old man took me out of the wooden house and walked towards the north mountain village.

  As I walked alongside him, I asked the old man: "Old man, what's your name? I still don't know your real name until now?"

  To be honest, although I've had a few dealings with this old man, I really don't know what his name is.

  At my question, the old man smiled and said: "My surname is Yin, I'm the sixth child in my family, everyone who knows me calls me Yin Lao Liu. If you don't mind this old rascal, just call me Grandpa Yin!"

  Mr. Yin? I don't know why he lets me call him that, but somehow the title makes me feel a bit uneasy...

  I don't know how far Yin Laoliu and I had walked, when we arrived at the crossroads at the head of the village, Yin Laoliu stopped with me.

  What I find strange is that right in the middle of this crossroads, there's a small three-room wooden hut. What's even more unbelievable is that the orientation of this little hut is all wrong!

  In our village, the normal house orientation is generally north-facing and south-facing, but these three small wooden houses are east-facing and west-facing!

  This orientation is something I've never seen before, according to the elderly, houses with this orientation are generally inauspicious...

  Just as I was gazing at the three small wooden houses in the very center of this intersection, Yin Laoliu spoke to me again: "Ge Dong, do you see those three small wooden houses? That's where you'll be working from now on."

  "I... where I work? You're not going to have me play matchmaker here, are you? I'm telling you, Uncle Yin, this is the village head of Beishan Village! It's not even the center of the village. I'm stuck guarding this small wooden hut, all alone at the center of this crossroads. Who am I supposed to play matchmaker for? And who would come all the way here to ask me to play matchmaker?"

  Seeing me like this, Yin Lao Liu smiled mysteriously and said: "This is not necessarily the case! Although the roads connected to this intersection are all dirt roads in the village, they can be considered as four-way and eight-reach. In a place like this, it's more convenient for someone to come and propose a marriage!"

  What does being a matchmaker have to do with being eloquent? The more I listen, the more confused I become. But I'm too lazy to care. As long as I get paid 8,000 yuan a month, I'd rather not have anyone come to me asking for matchmaking services. That way, I can just enjoy some peace and quiet.

  After finishing the small wooden house, Yin Lao Liu didn't directly take me in to have a look. Instead, he handed me a key: "This is the key to the small wooden house. From now on, you'll be in charge of it. Starting today, you'll work here. I need to remind you that your working hours are from midnight to 4 am, just four hours, very relaxing, and......

  "What? Wait a minute!"

  Before Old Six finished speaking, I immediately interrupted him: "What are you talking about? From midnight to 4 am, is this a night shift? Running around in the middle of the night to be a matchmaker for someone else? What kind of matchmaker is that? And what's more, it's the middle of the night, and I'm alone in this small wooden hut. Even if I had the courage, what if something unexpected happens and scares me out of my wits? Can't we work during the day?"

  "It's not allowed, it's from 12 o'clock to 4 o'clock in the morning!" Old Yin Liu said categorically to me.

  "I said, Old Master Yin, are you kidding me? Coming here in the middle of the night to play matchmaker for someone else? What a load of nonsense! I'm not taking this job!"

  As soon as I said I wasn't going to do it, Yin Lao Liu suddenly burst out laughing slyly at me. Then, he held up the contract I had signed and pointed to the words on it, saying: "It's clearly written in the contract that if you breach the contract, you'll have to pay me a hefty penalty! And..."

  As he spoke, Yin Lao Liu leaned in close to my ear and whispered a few words to me...

  When these words entered my ears, I shuddered all over.

  "Go on or not?" Old Six Yin smiled at me again, with a sly look as if he had just concocted a clever plan.

  "I...I...I give up!" Grinding my teeth, I finally compromised.

  "This is the way it should be! Isn't this just work after midnight? Not only can you dispel the evil spirits, but also make a lot of money. This business is great! However, there are some taboos that I must tell you."

  "What's forbidden?" I frowned at Yin Laoliu. For some reason, the more I looked at him, the angrier I became.

  "That's this small wooden house, don't open it for the rest of the time. Only after 12 o'clock at night can you enter, remember, before 12 o'clock, you must not enter! Also, after 4 o'clock in the morning, no matter whether your work is finished or not, don't drag on, you must leave the small wooden house before 4:01, if something happens later, don't blame me for not reminding you!"

  As soon as he said that, I suddenly felt a chill run down my back for no reason at all...

  "Also..."

  "What else?" Hearing Yin Lao Liu say there was more, my nerves all tensed up.

  "And also, the key to this small wooden house I'm giving you, you must take good care of it yourself and never give it to anyone else! Otherwise, the consequences will be more than you can bear!"

  After being instructed by Old Yin Liu, I became a completely different person. I felt that this job was so strange and unusual. Not only did we start work after midnight, but there were also many taboos, which made me feel a little scared afterwards. But thinking of the whispers Old Yin Liu had just told me in my ear, I could only agree...

  "After Old Six finished telling me all these things, he said to me: 'Do you need to make any preparations? If not, go to work today. Oh! If someone comes to ask for your hand in marriage, just let them register and that's it. Listen more, speak less, got it?"

  I nodded at Yin Lao Liu, indicating I understood.

  That afternoon, I went back and told my parents about it. I told them that I was going to work for Yin Lao Liu, just to see how they would react, but I didn't expect that they wouldn't object at all, and instead were very supportive of me staying with Yin Lao Liu, which made me feel quite surprised...

  Since it's not too far from my home to the village head of Beishan Village, I can get there in 40-50 minutes on foot. So at 11 o'clock that night, I took a flashlight and brought the key to the small wooden house given by Old Yin Liu, starting my new job on the first day, or rather, the first night...

  The countryside after eleven o'clock is really quiet and pitch black! Unlike the bustling metropolis, there are no night scenes or lights here. Once it's evening, you can hardly see a few households with lights on.

  A person holding a flashlight walked on this dark rural road, to be honest, I was a bit scared. But I kept hinting to myself in my heart, I'm a big man, what's the big deal about walking at night? What's there to be afraid of?

  However, my intuition seemed useless as I walked faster and faster, feeling like someone was following me. In the dark of night, I felt a pair of eyes watching my back, making me feel uneasy and my heart racing with every beat.

  At last, at around eleven fifty-two, I finally arrived safely at the small wooden hut facing east and west at the crossroads.

  As I arrived in front of the small wooden house, I originally intended to open the door and walk in directly. However, at this moment, I remembered what Old Sixth Yin had said to me during the day. He warned me that under no circumstances should I open the door of this small wooden house before midnight. Thinking of this, I could only stand in front of the small wooden house and wait.

  I raised my wrist and looked at the very cheap watch on it. This watch was bought by that girlfriend who just passed away, she said to me with a naive tone back then: "A man should have a good watch, when we have money, I'll buy you a good one too."

  To me, this watch has a different significance, it's the only thing my girlfriend left me with memorial value before she died. Every time I lift my wrist to look at the time, I think of her. To this day, I still can't understand why heaven wants to punish me like this, why did my girlfriend have to die in an elevator...

  After a brief trance for several minutes, I borrowed the scattered light of the flashlight to take another look at my watch on my wrist, only to find that it was already two minutes past twelve.

  After passing twelve o'clock, I picked up the key in my hand and prepared to open this small wooden house.

  "Crack——"

  With a crisp sound, the lock of the small wooden house was opened by me like this.

  But the next moment, just as I had just stepped in, a person suddenly appeared from behind me and followed me into the wooden house... The noble gathering hall is shrouded in ominous fate.

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