Siheyuan: Started in 1950, third-level cook

The next day, early in the morning.

Chen Jun got up and went to the yard to wash up, and then heard his second aunt and the others chatting together.

Ok?

What are these middle-aged women chatting about instead of going home to cook?

Curious, Chen Jun listened for a few minutes and discovered that they were all talking about white ghosts.

"That's really weird. That ghost always hangs around the toilets, especially the entrance to the women's toilet."

"You bet! It scared me half to death yesterday. If I hadn't been quick on my feet, I might have been dragged away by that ghost."

"Wow, really? I didn't run into her last night?"

"That's because you're lucky. Anyway, no matter what, you can't go to the toilet alone at night, especially if you have a young daughter at home. You have to have someone accompany you."

Xu Damao's wife was among them; she was the first to encounter the white ghost last night, which kept her awake all night.

One or two might be a misjudgment, but after inquiring this morning, I found out there were actually four or five.

"Hey, everyone says there aren't any ghosts or monsters around, so we have to keep our voices down when we talk about this. We don't want it to get back to the neighborhood committee, or things will get really out of hand," the woman who hadn't encountered the white ghost yesterday warned.

In those days, the "Four Olds" were being destroyed, and discussions of feudal superstitions were forbidden. Jia Zhangshi was punished because she clamored to summon Old Jia.

In fact, being punished is already a lenient treatment. In serious cases, like Jia Dongxu, one would be tied up and subjected to public criticism and paraded through the streets.

After her reminder, the others quieted down considerably. Hou Guifang was worried that if they continued talking, something bad might really happen, so she simply went home to cook.

Actually, it wasn't just the backyard that was talking about this; people in the middle and front yards were also discussing it.

Moreover, the rumors became increasingly outrageous, even involving an accident from several years ago, in which the white ghostly figure was said to be haunted by lingering resentment around a public toilet.

Why was he loitering around a public restroom? Some people explained that restrooms are unclean places, and they made it sound very plausible.

Jia Dongxu, who was eavesdropping behind the window, saw that he had made everyone in the courtyard panic. He desperately covered his mouth, afraid that he would laugh out loud.

cool!

How cool!

He had never been so happy since his legs became disabled.

No one expected that Jia Dongxu, who initially only sought revenge against Xu Damao, would find his own source of happiness.

He derives immense satisfaction from watching the women tremble with fear and flee in panic.

Jia Dongxu even wanted to upgrade his equipment, to put something on the white cloth, or to create something that could make noises from the underworld.

Looking at Jia Dongxu, who was covering his mouth and chuckling, Qin Huairu thought he might be having mental problems.

What decent person would dress up as a ghost to scare people in the middle of the night?

Don't you know that people can scare each other to death?

Besides, what if we run into a real enemy in the middle of the night?

Are you even alive?!

"Dongxu, can you please stop scaring people at night? What if you frighten someone in the middle of the night and cause them serious harm?"

"Even if it doesn't scare people, what if you encounter someone with a bad temper who might rush over and hit you?"

Qin Huairu wasn't really worried about Jia Dongxu getting beaten up; she just felt that scaring people at the entrance of the women's restroom in the middle of the night was a very shameful thing to do.

If they were caught, both she and Bang Geng would be so ashamed they'd never be able to hold their heads up again.

"What do you know? I was just joking with them!"

Jia Dongxu glared at Qin Huairu with annoyance. He had finally found happiness, how could he just throw it away?

What's more, he also has to take revenge on Xu Damao!

"But what if you get beaten up?"

If you get beaten up normally, you can extort money from the victim, but if you get beaten up for pretending to be a ghost to scare people, you have to pay for your own medical expenses. Qin Huairu doesn't want Jia Dongxu to squander all the family's money.

With our current income, as long as we don't do anything reckless, we can still fill our stomachs every month, and occasionally we can even buy some meat.

Qin Huairu is quite content with this kind of life, provided nothing goes wrong at home. If something does happen, this balance will be broken, and they will return to a state of not having enough to eat.

"Who dares to hit me!" Jia Dongxu said dismissively, taking out the white cloth he had used yesterday and starting to upgrade his equipment.

On the other side, Xu Damao, who had just finished eating, was about to go to work when he glanced at Hou Guifang, who looked a little tired, and said, "Go get some sleep. You haven't slept all night. Don't tire my son out."

"But I can't sleep!" Hou Guifang pouted.

She was terrified last night; whenever she closed her eyes, she could picture that white, ghostly figure floating around.

"Hey, don't think about it. That thing is probably just some kid causing trouble." After a pause, Xu Damao comforted him, "Look, the evil spirits won't dare to come out during the day. You can sleep at home during the day, and I'll go check on things tonight."

After calming Hou Guifang down, Xu Damao went out.

As they passed the front yard, they saw Sha Zhu, Liu Lan, and Yan Jiecheng going to work together.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Damao pushed his bicycle and chased after them.

"Hey, did you guys hear? Someone was causing trouble at the entrance of the public toilet last night."

Yan Jiecheng nodded: "I heard about it. Yu Li was terrified when she heard it. She said that she insists on having me accompany her to the toilet at night."

"It's probably some scoundrel causing trouble," Sha Zhu casually remarked.

What ghosts? Sha Zhu didn't believe in such things at all. Even if he really encountered one, as the war god of the courtyard, he would dare to rush up and fight the ghost.

"Oh dear, my wife was so scared she couldn't sleep all night. She's pregnant now, and if something bad happens to her from this fright, we're doomed."

"How about this, the three of us stake it out tonight and see what it is," Xu Damao suggested.

Hou Guifang won't have a moment's peace until this thing is gone.

Xu Damao spent a lot of money and energy to have a child, so he had to figure out what that thing was.

How do I squat?

Yan Jiecheng was quite interested. If he could help Xu Damao resolve the matter, he wouldn't have to accompany Yu Li to the toilet anymore.

"Let me think about it, we'll talk about it after work." After saying that, Xu Damao glanced at Shazhu: "Do you want to participate? I heard He Yushui also ran into him yesterday."

"I'll be there!" Sha Zhu waved his hand.

Got it!

With two helpers by his side, Xu Damao felt at ease.

Especially for someone like Sha Zhu who's good at fighting, even if the other side really is something dirty, the three of them wouldn't back down.

In the evening, the group met at Xu Damao's house after work.

Xu Damao had already come up with a plan, and he even spent money to buy a lot of things for tonight's operation.

A chicken, a few apples, and a few sticks of incense.

"Xu Damao, what are you buying all this stuff for?" Sha Zhu didn't understand. He should have some nets, forks, or even rolling pins to grab things.

Buying food, are you offering it as tribute to ghosts?