Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

"Have someone keep an eye on Lao Sun. If he escapes, you'll be used to fill that well tonight."

Chen Mo reached out and beckoned, and the paper figures transformed back into cards that floated back into his hand.

He didn't look at Scarface's sweaty face, but simply pressed the silver notes in his pocket firmly and stepped out the door.

The sun was very strong after the Mid-Autumn Festival, shining down obliquely from the eaves, making Chen Mo squint slightly.

The wind was stronger than in the morning, swirling a few withered leaves past his feet. The leaves would briefly gleam as they brushed against the dappled sunlight, then disappear into the shadows, leaving only a rustling sound.

The door to courtyard number seven was ajar.

When Chen Mo pushed open the door, Chen Dachuan was squatting in the courtyard smoking a pipe, the pipe hitting the ground and kicking up a small pile of ash. Hearing the noise, he looked up, the worried look on his face still lingering.

"I'm back."

"Hmm, when did you learn to smoke welding fumes?"

Chen Mo closed the door and stared at the well from a distance for a while.

There were three charred marks on the edge of the well, and the shape of the talisman was no longer visible.

Apart from that, there were no other abnormalities.

"When I'm annoyed, I take a couple of puffs."

Chen Dachuan glanced at him, but didn't ask if the matter was settled. He simply tapped his pipe against the sole of his shoe and said, "I went to the street corner to look for Old Zhou."

"Which Old Zhou?"

"Old Zhou, who dredged the wells, used to work in the county government. Later, he switched to cleaning wells for people. He dredged all the wells on this street." Chen Dachuan paused, his brows furrowing further. "When he heard it was courtyard number seven, he didn't even ask the price and just turned around and left."

Chen Mo didn't speak.

"I found two more, one said he wasn't taking any work this year because of the shovel season, and the other said his mother was sick and he couldn't leave." Chen Dachuan tucked his pipe into his belt, stood up, and said, "They're not stupid. It's been all over the neighborhood that people are saying this yard isn't clean."

He didn't look at Chen Mo when he spoke; he was looking at the well under the wooden plank.

"Do you know what's down in this well?" Chen Dachuan's voice was tinged with frustration. He had thought he could find a bargain, but he had misjudged the situation.

"I don't know what it is either." Chen Mo looked away. "It's said that the three people from the Chao Gang who went down there never came back up."

Chen Dachuan's wrinkles deepened, and his eyes revealed guilt. He had just looked at the contract and realized that the person had indeed warned of unusual noises that night.

It seems there's no way to get this loss back.

"Pack your things, we're moving out today."

Chen Mo took out a stack of silver notes from his money bag and placed them on the stone table in the courtyard.

"The other party paid the money, provided by the canal guild, eight thousand silver dollars."

Chen Dachuan was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses.

He rubbed his eyes, picked up the banknotes incredulously and counted them, then looked at his son's face and suddenly felt like he was living a somewhat unsuccessful life.

"And this courtyard..."

"This is no longer our responsibility." Chen Mo turned and walked towards his room. "Pack your things; we have to move before dark."

"Where are we moving to?"

"Let's buy a new house, somewhere as close as possible to the Town Strange Division, but as far away from here as possible."

"Mo'er." He suddenly spoke, calling her by her nickname, clearly with something on his mind.

Chen Mo stopped in his tracks.

"Or should I move back to Linhe County with your Aunt Liu and the others?"

The courtyard fell silent for a moment.

Why?

He turned around and looked at his adoptive father, who had been squatting for most of the day and whose back was hunched over.

"We don't have any regular customers here, business is tough, and we need money for everything – food, drink, and even basic necessities." Chen Dachuan said, head down, rubbing the moss on the ground with the sole of his shoe. "Besides, your mother is buried there, and we have to go visit her grave every Qingming Festival..."

He didn't continue.

Chen Mo stood there for a few seconds, thinking. Now that all the Moon Worshipers in Linhe County had been wiped out, they couldn't cause any trouble for the time being.

Moreover, I heard that a few days ago, the Zhenyi Division was already preparing to take action against the drought demon in the south.

Once the disaster victims have left, returning to Linhe County is indeed an option.

"Alright, there's no danger over there now. You can go back if you want, it's up to you." He didn't force him; sometimes it's more comfortable to live alone.

Chen Dachuan was stunned for a moment, as if he hadn't expected Chen Mo to agree so readily.

"Keep the money for yourself. You should handle the house purchase; I don't have a good eye for it."

He shoved all the silver notes in his hand into Chen Mo's hand. This time, his attempt to get a bargain backfired, leaving him with a bit of psychological trauma.

"I'll leave you a thousand."

Chen Mo took out a 1,000-yuan silver note and handed it over, then put the rest of the silver notes into his own money bag.

"Well... alright then." Chen Dachuan rubbed his hands together, clutching the banknote with an embarrassed expression, and rubbed his thumb back and forth on the banknote a couple of times.

Chen Mo nodded, said nothing more, and turned to go into his room.

By the time everyone had finished packing up, it was almost noon.

After a simple lunch, Chen Dachuan called a few rickshaws over.

It's not far from the pier, only about a ten-minute walk.

. . . . .

After watching the group board the ship, Chen Mo waved to them from the dock.

The steamboat's whistle had already sounded, and muddy yellow waves churned at its stern as it slowly merged into the twilight on the river.

He could see Yuanyuan waving in this direction from the gunwale, while Xiao Wu was tugging at her sleeve, probably afraid she would fall.

Aunt Liu's figure was mostly obscured by the cabin, with only a section of her blue cloth jacket showing.

Chen Dachuan stood at the bow of the boat, his back to the shore, looking at something.

As the boat sailed further and further away, the figures gradually became indistinguishable from one another.

A river breeze blew by, carrying the fishy smell of water.

Chen Mo withdrew his gaze and turned to walk back.

The lights on the dock gradually came on, and porters carrying goods ran past him, shouting their work chants. Children selling evening newspapers waved their newspapers around, calling out, "Read the evening paper! Read the latest news!"

He walked through the bustling area, turned into a back alley, and found an inconspicuous inn.

"Is there a clean room?" Chen Mo asked, placing a few silver dollars on the counter.

The accountant adjusted his glasses, glanced at him, and forced a smile: "Yes, yes, yes, please come upstairs. Have a stool, and hurry up and show us to our guest!"

A young man, barely out of school, led Chen Mo up to the second floor and to a room with the door number Jia 3.

Pushing open the wooden door, its carvings stained with tarnish, a musty smell of wood wafts out.

Chen Mo glanced at the furnishings in the room. A copper bed was covered with a white mosquito net, and there was an eight-immortal table and two armchairs by the window.

The window faces the street, and diagonally opposite is the sign of that brokerage firm. Half of the neon light tube is broken, leaving only the three characters "xx brokerage" lit up, flickering on and off.

The little stool deftly pushed open the window, then turned back to turn on the lampshade on the table.

"Sir, if you need anything, just pull the rope by the bed. The bell will ring in the accounting room downstairs. Hot water is provided twice a day, from 6:00 to 8:00 in the morning and from 7:00 to 9:00 in the evening. If it's after that time, you'll have to boil it yourself."

Chen Mo grunted in acknowledgment and took out a few copper coins from his pocket.

Xiao Dengzi accepted the reward, his smile widening, and he became more talkative: "The outhouse is at the end of the corridor, just turn left and you'll find it."

As he was talking, he realized that Chen Mo didn't seem inclined to respond, so he wisely stopped talking and took two steps back towards the door.

"Then sir, please get some rest. By the way, breakfast includes congee, steamed buns, salted duck eggs, soy milk, and fried dough sticks. If you want some, come downstairs before seven o'clock, or the staff of the foreign company across the street will snatch it all up."

He pointed out the window, "They start work at nine, but come over to eat at eight every day, like they're starving ghosts reincarnated."

"it is good."

Chen Mo dismissed the small stool and sat down by the window.

Looking from here, the door of the pharmacy was half-closed, with two incandescent lamps hanging at the entrance, attracting mosquitoes to swarm around.