Chapter 46 Oh no, back to the underworld again

  Lan Jingqiu and Lan Yutong's tears suddenly enveloped the room in an atmosphere of awkwardness and sorrow, Qian Xiaohong and Dugu Jinzhong were present on the scene, looking a bit out of place, but it was not good to just walk out like that.

  The office was extremely quiet. The silence was so awkward that everyone present was at a loss for what to do.

  Suddenly, Qian Xiaohong's mobile phone rang, breaking the silence of the room. Everyone heard the ringtone and trembled slightly to come back to their senses. Qian Xiaohong hastily took out her phone from her bag, and as soon as she saw the number, her face changed with several emotions in an instant: from surprise to embarrassment, from embarrassment to blissful intoxication.

  It turned out that the call was from her boyfriend Zhang Mingyu, who might be thinking of her and showing his concern. She had been looking forward to this call every day, so when she saw the phone number, she felt happy, at least she thought Zhang Mingyu was missing her now, how happy it is to have someone miss you; but also feeling guilty, for the company's affairs, she hadn't called Zhang Mingyu for several days, neglecting her love for her boyfriend, compared to herself, how foolish. So she rushed out of the house to answer the phone.

  As soon as the phone was connected, Zhang Mingyu kept saying "I love you" into the phone, repeating it over a dozen times, and even gave the phone a few kisses. The receiver on the other end of the line let out a buzzing noise. After this cheesy display went on for a while, Zhang Mingyu finally said that he had something going on at work and wouldn't be able to meet up with her for a while. He apologized, saying that was the reason he called. Then, he added that he was currently short on cash, having invested all his savings in a business venture with friends, and asked if Xiaohong could lend him some money to tide him over if she had any spare cash.

  Qian Xiaohong heard that her boyfriend was having trouble, let out a deep sigh, and a thread of guilt crept onto her heart. Now that it came to money, she was also powerless. The day before yesterday, for Lu Xiao Ying's brother, she had lent all the money to Lu Xiao Ying. After hearing about the situation at home from Lu Xiao Ying, she didn't have any intention of asking Lu Xiao Ying to return this sum of money.

  "I don't have any money now?" Qian Xiaohong said into the phone, "Recently, the company has been having some issues and hasn't had money to pay salaries for a long time. I'm really sorry, will you be angry?"

  "What's the matter?" Zhang Mingyu said on the phone, "Why would I be angry? What's it to you if your company has trouble? You just need to ask them for salary when you go to work - but do you really not have any money?"

  "There really isn't," Qian Xiaohong said, "If I had some, wouldn't I give you some?"

  "You just gave me 20,000 yuan a little while ago. Didn't you say you still had 8,000 yuan at the time?" Zhang Mingyu said, "That was what you yourself said."

  "I've already lent it to Xiaoying, and she's been having a tough time lately too." Qian Xiaohong explained hastily.

  "Lend it to her?!" Zhang Mingyu seemed surprised, although his expression couldn't be seen over the phone, but his tone of voice could imagine him with his mouth agape and eyes wide open. "You lent her money? Will she pay you back? That's 8,000 yuan! I think you should ask for it back, can you do that? If not, I can help you ask her. However, I'm just suggesting, it's your money, I have no right to interfere."

  "Don't say that, I won't take the money from Xiaoying, nor do I expect her to pay me back, after all she's having a hard time. - Hey! Hey!" She hadn't finished speaking when the other party possibly got impatient and hung up the phone. Qian Xiaohong looked at the phone, sighed, turned around and went back into the house again.

  At this time, Lan Yutong was not kneeling on the ground, he had stood up and sat down with Lan Jingqiu and Du Guozhong to discuss how to save the company. It seemed that they had already discussed it well. Qian Xiaohong saw Lan Jingqiu and his son reconciled, and even if her boyfriend hung up the phone for no reason just now, she wouldn't show a hint of sadness in her heart.

  After discussion, the only way to save the company is to produce the company's products as soon as possible. As for the funding issue, Lan Jingqiu can discuss with He Jucai's father to see if he can help or transfer some shares to Old Man He.

  As for product agents, Qian Xiaohong and Lu Xiaoying tried their best to negotiate with customers. After all, they had met those clients before, and it was because of their non-stop drinking and singing that they had brought in those clients in the first place. Now, bringing back clients depended on these two women alone. Lan Yutong also didn't idle around; she would join Qian Xiaohong and the others to find clients and act as salespeople.

  Everyone works hard to create miracles.

  Everything was arranged and it was late at night when several people returned home respectively.

  Lan Jingqiu returned to his residence, only to find that the power was out. He lit a candle and, exhausted from the day's events, stretched and lay down on the bed, drowsy.

  Just as he was about to fall asleep, the curtains on the wall fluttered gently, and a faint breeze blew in from outside the window, causing the red flame of the candlewick on his bedside table to flicker constantly, making a hissing sound. After a while, the flame leaned to the left, as if blown by a gentle breeze, and was slowly stretched out. Then, the red flame turned purple, followed by green light.

  Lan Jingqiu watched the change in the flame and immediately got up and sat on the bed, saying to the window: "Come in!"

  He had barely finished speaking when the curtains moved slightly, and in the dimly lit room, two extremely ugly figures appeared faintly, one white and one black, floating in mid-air, and the room was instantly shrouded in a chilling atmosphere.

  "Are you again?!" Lan Jingqiu looked at the shadow and said, "Hei Bai Wuchang, made another mistake?"

  It just so happened that Hei Bai Wu Chang was present, and upon hearing Lan Jing Qiu's words, Bai Wu Chang slowly made his figure slightly clearer. "Old brother, from the tone of your voice, you seem quite unhappy to see us."

  "Hehe," Lan Jingqiu chuckled and said, "Anyone who sees you won't be happy."

  "But you're not human, are you?" said Hei Bai Wu Chang.

  "Why must you say something that hurts people?" Lan Jingqiu said, "What instructions do you have for me this time? You're not here to take my soul away again, are you?"

  "No!" said Bai Wuchang, "We two are on a business trip, you know that. This time we came to the human world, Yan Wang asked me to inform you seven people to return immediately, it seems like there is an important meeting in hell."

  "What does their meeting have to do with us?!" Lan Jingqiu said with a careless pout.

  "It doesn't matter to me," said Hei Bai Wu Chang, "Yan Wang has called us to inform you, it's up to you what to do. We need to go and fetch his soul now, that person has been dead for a long time. It is said that there are many things to be brought to the underworld, we not only have to fetch his soul but also do business. Nowadays, express companies are not just us two, Niu Tou Ma Mian has quietly set up an express company at some point, if we don't go now, the business will be snatched away by Niu Tou Ma Mian."

  Hei Bai Wu Chang finished speaking and turned to leave, the curtains moved slightly again, Hei Bai Wu Chang had left. After he went out, the candle wick on the bedside table became red again, a straight flame jumping and burning on the candle, occasionally making a "crackling" sound. At the same time, the electricity in the apartment came back on, the lights shone brightly, and everything was bathed in light.

  Lan Jingqiu lay on the bed, her soul floating out of her body, then floated out of the house and into the air.

  In the sky, Huo Jucai, Chen Zhenhua, and Ouyang Qing followed from behind, while in front of them, Dugu Zhong, Lu Xiaoying, and Qian Xiaohong chatted and laughed. Everyone floated along with the wind like they were going to a fair, just like the gathering of immortals at the Peach Festival five thousand years ago.

  Before long, they arrived at a place filled with thick smoke. Then their souls descended and landed on the ground. Along the stone slab road, they ran quickly to the Naihe Bridge. The group of old women were still shouting and peddling their "Meng Po Soup", but when they saw them, those selling soup were no longer so enthusiastic.

  After crossing Naihe Bridge, Lan Jingqiu's first thought was to go see his own repair shop.

  Others also said they wanted to see how his business was doing, so everyone came to his repair shop and saw many people lining up waiting for car repairs, some changing tires, some repairing engines, some replacing windows, in short, the masters of that repair shop were busy until their waists couldn't straighten up.

  Seeing his business going well, Lan Jingqiu smiled complacently, believing that this exclusive repair shop would make him the richest man in the underworld.

  After visiting the repair shop, he took a look at his other facade and handed it over to the car repair master to take care of before leaving. He asked him to rent it out. So soon after he left, a business-minded ghost came to inquire about it. After intense negotiations between the two parties, it was finally rented out. A few days later, a supermarket opened in the underworld with great fanfare, selling crutches, wheelchairs, and even diapers and sanitary napkins.

  "Nowadays, the underworld is getting more and more in line with the world of the living." Lan Jingqiu thought to herself.

  After inspecting their own business, several souls floated towards the Yama Temple. They passed through the Yellow Spring Road, tread on the Yin Official Road, and went through layers of black fog, soon arriving at the gate of the Yama Temple.

  At this time, the Yama Temple was still as bustling as when Lan Jingqiu had just arrived. Those ghosts were going in and out of the black lacquered gate of the Yama Temple, like a certain department handling certificates in the mortal world.

  "It's been a long time since I've been back, and this underworld has changed a lot," said He Jucui, looking around. "Look, the Naihe Bridge and the Yellow Spring Road have been widened a lot, and there are many more houses on both sides of the road. Now that there are more dead people, and more shops opening up, if we add some streetlights, wouldn't it be just like the cities in the world above?"

  "Change is big," Chen Zhenhua said.

  "Look," several people were sighing, but Qian Xiaohong pointed forward on the road to Huangquan, "it seems like there's a fight over there."

  "Let's take a look at the past," said Huo Jucai.

  Everyone rushed forward to take a look, at the intersection of Yinsi Road and Huangquan Road, several people in uniform and several people carrying baskets with steelyards were fighting intensely.

  Huo Jucai recognized the uniformed men and knew why they were fighting. The fight had started in the mortal realm and continued into the underworld, showing no signs of stopping. The bamboo basket carriers wielded their staffs, while the uniformed men swung their fists. Those holding the steelyard weights exchanged blows with the uniformed men, who gritted their teeth. Surrounding them, a group of idle onlookers cheered and jeered without anyone intervening to stop the fight.

  He Jucui and Lan Jingqiu looked at each other for a while, feeling bored, and returned to the Yama Temple and walked in.

  The Qing Dynasty scholar who was brutally killed by the bandits came out to greet them. After a few pleasantries, the scholar led them into a spacious room. The room was also filled with spider webs and dust accumulated in every corner, but it was still spacious. The room looked like a conference room, maybe it really was one. Because the scholar said that Yan Wang would hold a meeting here.

  When they arrived at the house, there were already many ghosts sitting inside, some of whom were even gods from heaven, but these gods were not well-known in heaven, so they didn't recognize them, and hadn't even heard their names.

  The house was packed with ghosts, so the interior was very lively. Everyone gathered in groups here and there, discussing things, but after all, they were just ghosts, so even if they had high-sounding discussions, it still sounded like a mournful wail.

  "This scene is really worthy of being called a ghostly wail." Ouyang Qing couldn't help but laugh and say.

  "Yama is coming!"

  He was smiling when the judge on the podium in front of the house suddenly let out a loud roar, and the whole courtroom fell silent.