Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

The following week, apart from the disappearance of Wang Mazi and his gang at the docks, nothing much happened.

Chen Mo's merit banner quietly gained about ten more ghostly spirits, and his assets increased by about a thousand yuan.

He then used a huge sum of five silver dollars a month to trick Zhou Nian into helping him clean.

Old Ma now treats him like his own father, which has caused the other families to inquire about him privately. If it weren't for the age difference between them, they would all think that Chen Mo is his illegitimate son.

Just after he successfully opened the second Yin Aperture, it was time for the Zhenyi Division to report.

"Just keep an eye on the house for me and clean it when you have time. You don't need to stay here every day."

Chen Mo, carrying a rattan suitcase, handed the spare key to the house to Zhou Nian, saying, "Also, don't go into the room where I sleep."

Zhou Nian gripped the keys, paused for a moment, and the end of her braid swayed on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll just sleep on the floor in the main room and won't wander off anywhere."

Chen Mo had already taken a few steps. Hearing this, he didn't turn around, but simply raised his hand and waved as a sign of agreement.

Sunlight slanted in from the alley entrance, casting a long shadow that stretched all the way to Zhou Nian's feet.

She looked down as the shadow slid across her shoes, and when she looked up again, Chen Mo had already turned the corner and disappeared.

The courtyard fell silent.

Zhou Nian stood there for a while before turning around and going back into the house.

The door closed behind me with a soft creak.

She bolted the door, clutching the key as she stood in the main room, suddenly feeling a little dazed.

This was the first time she had ever been alone in this house.

I came to help with the cleaning a few days ago, all when Chen Mo was home.

She swept the yard, while he tinkered with something inside the house. They each did their own thing, didn't talk much, but the house felt alive.

It's different now.

Zhou Nian put the key in his pocket, stood in the center of the main room, and looked around.

This house is worlds apart from the cramped room she rented.

The floor was covered with dark red wooden flooring, unlike her house, which had a hard, unfinished dirt floor that was always dirty.

The windows were fitted with glass, making it bright and airy.

She tiptoed to the kitchen door and peeked inside.

The stove was covered with white ceramic tiles, polished to a shine, and a tin kettle sat on top of it.

The water tank wasn't big, but it was enough for one person.

What she envied most was the white porcelain sink in the corner, with a copper faucet that provided water as soon as it was turned on, eliminating the need to fetch water from the public water station at the alley entrance.

Zhou Nian thought of her home.

The room her family rented was on the back street of Liuye Lane. It was a tiny space, crammed together with her grandmother, parents, younger brother, and herself.

Cooking was done by setting up a stove at the door, bathing was done by pulling a curtain inside the house, and going to the toilet required walking halfway down an alley to that public toilet that always smelled bad.

When she got up at night in winter, her mother wouldn't let her drink water, saying she was afraid of the dark, but actually she was afraid she would walk alone in that unlit alley.

She reached out and touched the kitchen door frame; her fingertips touched smooth paint, unlike the pitted and worm-eaten door frame in her house.

"Living in such a big house all by yourself, it's really..." she muttered under her breath, not finishing her sentence.

What kind of person can afford to live in a house like this?

There was a separate kitchen and a separate outhouse. She had just seen that the outhouse even had white ceramic tiles and a Western-style flush toilet.

She had only seen pictures of it in the windows of foreign goods stores on the other side of the concession. She had heard that if you pulled the rope, water would gush down and take away all the dirty things.

Zhou Nian withdrew her gaze and glanced at the other end of the main room again.

The door to the room where Chen Mo slept was closed; it was just an ordinary wooden door.

She stared at the door for a while, then remembered the words "Don't go in," and quickly looked away.

If we can't go in, then we won't go in.

She turned and went back into the main room, picked up her bedding roll from the bench, and spread it out against the wall.

If you can live alone in a room, who would want to go back to live in a small house with their family?

The mattress wasn't thick, but it was much more comfortable than the stiff cotton mattress at her house.

She sat on the bedding, untied her braid, and braided it again, her fingers moving rhythmically while her eyes kept glancing around.

This huge main room is now empty except for her.

Zhou Nian finished braiding her hair, lay down on the bedding, and stared blankly at the cement ceiling.

The roof is so high, much higher than hers.

Her house had a wooden roof with cobwebs hanging from the dark beams, and rats would always run around on the beams at night.

Are there rats here?

She turned to her side and buried her face in the pillow.

The pillow had a faint soapy smell, somewhat similar to Chen Mo's scent.

She suddenly remembered what her mother often said—"They're just lucky; we can't compare."

. . . . . .

The tram still runs at the same time.

After getting on the bus, Chen Mo chose a window seat as usual, placed the wicker trunk at his feet, and looked out the window.

Willow Leaf Lane is already far away.

He touched his chest, and the cool sensation in his chest was more active than it had been two days ago.

He counted the number of spirits on the merit banner last night; there were exactly twenty, two more than after what happened with Wang Mazi.

They were all wandering around the dock. One of them was a drowned ghost who was clinging to a cargo ship and wouldn't leave, so Chen Mo just took him.

Old Ma has been visiting him more and more frequently these past few days.

Yesterday evening, he even brought a fish over, insisting on treating him to drinks.

Chen Mo didn't drink the fish, but accepted it. He asked Zhou Nian to make a soup and invited her to have dinner with him.

Old Ma sat in the living room and talked to him for an hour, repeating the same few things over and over: his son was getting married, the bride's family was asking for too much dowry, and his wife was arguing with him every day.

Chen Mo listened, occasionally responding, which satisfied Old Ma. Zhou Nian, on the other hand, listened with great interest, occasionally letting out a few exclamations of surprise.

The tram swayed along, interrupting his reverie. As it passed the City God Temple, Chen Mo glanced out the window.

There was no one gathered at the temple entrance today, but there were a few officials in gray clothes standing there, talking to the temple keeper.

He looked away, not lingering on the matter. The coalition government stipulated that ordinary people were prohibited from worshipping gods in private, which was why the City God Temple was always quite popular.

A few stops later, several young people carrying suitcases like him got on the bus, but they weren't wearing the uniforms of the inspection bureau.

There were three people in total, two men and one woman, all of whom looked to be under twenty years old.

The first one was a round-faced boy who looked around as soon as he got on the bus. When he saw Chen Mo sitting by the window, his eyes lit up and he walked straight over.

Is anyone here?

He shook his head.

The round-faced boy plopped down, shoved his suitcase at his feet, and waved to the other two, "There are seats here, come on over!"

The two walked over; the woman had a medium-length bob and delicate features, and sat down opposite Chen Mo.

The man was tall and thin, with a stern face. He sat next to her, holding a box, and glanced at Chen Mo warily before quickly looking away.