Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

Two young men carrying shoulder poles asked Zhang Dabiao a few questions. Of course, they had to ask a few questions when a "high-class person" in a suit and tie suddenly appeared in the village.

Zhang Dabiao immediately pulled out his little notebook, looking at the notes inside while trying to figure out how to answer. "Me? Oh, I'm Zhang Da... Zhang Yaoyang, just returned from America."

"I bought a house here, and I'm back to live here now." [I'm Roy Cheung, I just came back from Tai Piao Liang. I bought a village house here, so naturally I'm coming back to live here.]

"Zhang Yaoyang? There's no such person in our village. Which family are you related to?" [Zhang Yaoyang? There's no such person in our village. Which family are you related to?]

But the young man next to him suddenly narrowed his eyes: "Hey, Ah-Kin, is he talking about that...that haunted house? The village house that was sold the year before last?"

"The fruit stand?!" [That house?!]

The young man who had been asking the question finally realized something was wrong: "Quickly, call Old Man Chen over here!"

(For ease of reading, most of the following text has been changed to Mandarin.)

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After a while, Zhang Dabiao was taken to the home of Elder Chen (a figure similar to a village chief or clan head, though there is no such title here). The villagers gathered around and looked the newcomer up and down.

Zhang Dabiao, stumbling and stammering, explained his background to Uncle Chen while glancing at the notes in his small notebook—

Roy Cheung is an American of Chinese descent who grew up in the beautiful Chinatown of San Francisco. His grandparents came from Beijing, so he doesn't speak Cantonese and is still learning.

My English isn't very good either, because the older generation all speaks the Beijing dialect.

My family runs a pastry shop, but I studied art and am a freelancer, doing some painting and writing for newspapers.

I bought this house in Hong Kong because I enjoy traveling and felt that this place was suitable for my long-term development, so I bought it from a friend and settled down here.

I went on a trip to the surrounding area for a few months recently and just got back.

Now that I've become a member of this village, I hope to get along well with everyone in the future.

Furthermore, he showed his ID card and the red deed to the house to Mr. Chen to prove his identity.

So Zhang Dabiao gave the gifts he had prepared to Uncle Chen, who then forwarded them to everyone. They were all food items, and Uncle Chen distributed them to the younger generation. Everyone was overjoyed.

Chocolate, milk candy, wafer biscuits—who doesn't love them? And they're all imported!

In addition, the appearance of "Roy Cheung" in a suit, leather shoes, and thin-rimmed glasses is quite convincing.

In those days in Hong Kong, only the elite dressed like this; such an outfit must have cost a lot of money.

Old Man Chen, representing the villagers, welcomed "Zhang Yaoyang" to settle here, but frowned and spoke seriously about the house: "Young man, your house is really haunted!"

Upon hearing this, several village elders began to speak mysteriously, saying that there was light in his house at night, freshwater fish on the ground, the stool suddenly disappeared, and there was something behind the window that he could see but not touch, as if something was blocking the view out of thin air. They even invited a Taoist priest to perform a ritual, but it didn't work.

Old Chen took a sip of tea with a worried look on his face: "Young man, you're now part of our Agongyan Village. We wouldn't dare hide this from you, and there's no way we could hide it from you anyway!"

"You should quickly find the person who sold you the house and get a refund if possible!"

"That room is really eerie; I wouldn't dare stay there even for a moment!"

Zhang Dabiao smiled and asked, "Refund the house?"

How is that possible?

This is exactly the effect I wanted!

"Uncle Chen, my father is a Taoist priest, and I've always had a strong destiny since I was a child. Ordinary ghosts and monsters don't dare to come near me. Don't worry, it's hard to say about other people living here, but if I live here, those ghosts and monsters will definitely suffer!"

"I'll just seal that wall up when the time comes. By the way, have you ever seen any ghosts or monsters from that house come out and harm people?"

Upon hearing this, everyone agreed. Although the house was said to be haunted and had strange windows, no one had ever come out of it.

No one in the village was harmed by the strange occurrences in this house. Even the Taoist priest who was hired said that as long as one didn't enter the house or approach the window, everything would be fine; he had already performed a ritual, and the evil spirits inside couldn't leave the courtyard. (This could also be the Taoist priest's excuse.)

Since they weren't going out to harm anyone, no one cared, since the surrounding village houses were more than ten meters away anyway.

But one of the clever ones suddenly asked, "Didn't you say your family owns a pastry shop? How come your father is a Taoist priest?"

"My grandfather ran a dim sum shop in Chinatown, my father apprenticed with an old Taoist priest in Chinatown, and I studied art in university. What's the conflict?"

"Brother, what era are we living in? Does it really have to be the son who inherits the father's business?"

After hearing this, and seeing Zhang Yaoyang's well-dressed and elite appearance, no one asked any more questions. Why should you care what he wants?

Old Chen nodded, indicating that they had gotten to know each other, and said that if Zhang Yaoyang needed anything, he could come to the village to find him, and everyone would help each other.

Finally, I asked if we should invite the Taoist priest who performed the ritual in the house back to come and take another look.

Zhang Dabiao smiled and refused, saying that if they really tried to figure out anything, then it would be all over.

However, Old Man Chen kept asking about this...

Do we need to pay back the money we spent on hiring the Taoist priest?

But Zhang Dabiao didn't have a single penny on him, not even Hong Kong dollars.

Zhang Dabiao borrowed someone—the same Da Congming who had just asked the question—to act as his guide, showing him around the area and promising him some compensation.

So Old Man Chen waved his hand, letting Da Congming take "Zhang Yaoyang" for a stroll.

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Agongyan Village is not far from the foot of the mountain. Although the road has not been built yet, it only takes about ten minutes to walk to the foot of the mountain. Moreover, you can hear the sound of blasting construction from time to time. According to Da Congming, they are building a road called Agongyan Road. Once it is completed, it will be more convenient for the villagers to come and go.

Da Congming's real name is Chen Weixiang, but everyone calls him A Xiang. He works as a helper in the fishing village at the foot of the mountain.

Along the way, Ah Xiang rambled on about the commercial area below the village. Back in the 20s, Shau Kei Wan had already developed into areas like Ai-Chi Street and Factory Street through small-scale land reclamation. It gradually evolved into an industrial area, and the tram terminus was moved here. This was a suburban community integrating fishing villages, factories, shipyards, markets, and squatter areas. The market met the daily shopping needs of nearby residents like the villagers of Ah Kung Ngan Village, but there were no modern shopping malls or large shops. At this time, Ah Kung Ngan itself was gradually transforming into an industrial area, with media-related industries such as the *Sing Tao Daily* and *Sing Tao Daily* establishing themselves here, but this did not drive commercial upgrading and development in Shau Kei Wan at the foot of the mountain.

Simply put, this is a semi-rural area by the sea, but it has many factories, shipyards, and markets, except for the lack of high-rise buildings.

Anything.