Chapter 134
Chapter 134
By the time I stepped out of the park, the sun had already risen.
Despite the early hour, the park was buzzing with activity. There were people doing their morning exercises, people out for a stroll, and even people handing out flyers.
Surrounded by so many people, I felt a twinge of loneliness. I preferred the silence of the previous night.
After leaving the park, I originally intended to ask Meng Yifan for some time off so I could go home and sleep; it wasn’t like the shop had any business anyway. However, Meng Yifan wouldn’t grant the leave. He told me to come to the shop instead, and it seemed he had called Song Xiaotian over as well. He wouldn’t say what was wrong over the phone, keeping it all very mysterious.
Sleep was out of the question now; I had to go.
When I arrived at the shop, Song Xiaotian had just pulled up as well. Both of us were curious about what was going on. Meng Yifan had called us here at the crack of dawn with a look of intense secrecy on his face.
Without saying a word, Meng Yifan handed us several folders.
Song Xiaotian and I took them and looked through the contents. Even in our morning daze, we were startled by what we saw. I didn’t know where he had sourced these listings, but none of them were normal houses. They were all Stigmatized Properties where people had died.
“What are you planning?”
Song Xiaotian and I hurriedly shoved the files back at him, feeling a wave of bad luck just touching them.
“Don’t you see it?” Meng Yifan asked with a dead-serious expression. “Business! This is money! Remember He Tao’s house? We made 250,000 yuan total from that. Even though I gave his mother another 50,000 later, we still made a killing.”
“The profit margins on these are way higher than normal houses. Can’t you see the hidden business opportunity here? This is pure, unadulterated profit!”
“Profit my ass,” Song Xiaotian snapped at him. “What’s more important, money or your life?”
Meng Yifan sighed. “I only have one life… but if I lose it in this one, I’ll have another in the next. Money, on the other hand-I’m not making any. The shop is on the verge of bankruptcy. Now that there’s a chance to actually make some cash, you tell me: what’s more important, money or life?”
I was speechless.
Song Xiaotian was equally at a loss for words. “How do you think your shop ended up like this? It was because of that Stigmatized Property. Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?”
“Hey, you can’t look at it that way. We can’t let one bad experience scare us off forever.”
Meng Yifan shifted into brainwashing mode. “If every ghost in every Stigmatized Property was like Du Yuwei or Li Xiumei, the world would be in total chaos by now, wouldn’t it?”
“Actually, most ghosts are like He Tao. You don’t hear about people dropping dead just because they moved into a haunted house, do you? Besides, we have experience now. I honestly think we were born for this!”
Song Xiaotian retorted, “Go to hell. How can you have zero respect for the supernatural? Aren’t you afraid of being the first one to kick the bucket?”
“Wrong, totally wrong.”
In his effort to persuade us, Meng Yifan was pulling out every bit of rhetoric he knew. “We have Seventh Master and Chen Mo. What the hell is there to be afraid of?”
I just stared at him.
Meng Yifan continued, “Chen Mo, I know your grandfather left you a book. You start studying today. Study hard. From now on, you’re in charge of catching the ghosts.”
I remained silent.
“Think about it,” Meng Yifan urged. “The real estate industry is already saturated. There are giants everywhere. Even in our niche as agents, there are several leading corporations. We have no power and no connections; it’s impossible for us to make the big bucks the traditional way.”
“Why does Du Ruhai get to be so arrogant? It’s because he has money. In this society, money makes you the boss. It makes you the master. Don’t you guys understand that?”
Song Xiaotian was actually amused now. “What, you’re planning to surpass Boss Du?”
“Are kings and nobles born to their titles?” Meng Yifan said with a look of supreme confidence. “Was Du Ruhai born a blue-blood? He used to be a broke loser just like us. He only got where he is today by seeking fortune amidst danger. There’s no reason we can’t do the same.”
“Brothers, don’t look down on yourselves!”
I could see it now-Meng Yifan had his heart set on this. He was determined to walk that path.
He still couldn’t stomach the blow his business had taken and was ready to seek fortune in danger.
“You need to think this through. The Seventh Master might not be willing to get down in the dirt with us.”
I spoke to him with earnest sincerity. “Maybe what you’re describing is a good opportunity to make money, but while ‘fortune is found in danger,’ it’s also ‘lost in danger.’ For every one person who finds it, nine lose everything. Besides, our ancestors said we must have a heart of reverence toward ghosts and gods. This isn’t your average risk. Today we only dealt with someone like He Tao, but what if we run into a ‘buffed’ version of Li Xiumei tomorrow? How will you handle that?”
Meng Yifan gave a bitter laugh. “Brother, what industry doesn’t have risks? People can choke to death just eating a meal. I was running my shop perfectly fine when someone messed with me out of the blue. Who am I supposed to go to for justice?”
“Take a gamble and turn that bicycle into a motorcycle! If we can earn 250,000 today, we can earn 260,000 tomorrow. Next year, maybe it’ll be two million. In seven or eight years, we’ll be talking about hundreds of millions!”
The more he talked, the more ridiculous it got. It seemed he had truly lost his mind.
“Brother Tian, you don’t have a job right now. Even though your family has a bit of money and you might not have to worry about food or drink for the rest of your life, think about it. You’re just living off your parents. Even if your dad doesn’t say anything, do you think he feels good about it in his heart?”
Meng Yifan began a targeted brainwashing session on Song Xiaotian. “But if you earn your own money-big money-won’t your dad have to admit you’re a total badass?”
Song Xiaotian thought about it, and suddenly, he stopped arguing.
I realized things were going south; the brainwashing was working.
“Besides, how many years have you been driving that Buick? Once we make it big, the three of us will each have a Ferrari. Wouldn’t that be sweet? Wouldn’t that be badass?”
“Badass!” Song Xiaotian sat up straight. He suddenly grabbed me and said, “Chen Mo, I think he has a point.”
I was speechless.
It was a real loss for the pyramid schemes of the world that they hadn’t hired Meng Yifan to give lectures.
“But the Seventh Master…”
“Stop bringing up the Seventh Master.”
Meng Yifan interrupted me. “I already called him. I discussed my grand blueprint with him last night. He said there’s nothing wrong with my plan, and he’ll be here in a moment.”
My eyes widened in disbelief.
He actually managed to talk Old Zhao Seven into this?
I was skeptical, but my doubt was short-lived.
Old Zhao Seven had already arrived. With his hands behind his back, he strolled into our storefront and sat down opposite us with an air of swagger.
“I’m incredibly busy. What business do you have calling this Master here?”
“Seventh Master, it’s about what we discussed last night.”
Meng Yifan smiled with fawning servility as he hurried to pour tea for Old Zhao Seven. “I’ve already told them, but they insist on deferring to you. They’ll only agree if you do.”
I looked at Old Zhao Seven. I didn’t think it was likely he would agree to Meng Yifan’s scheme.
But I was quickly proven wrong again. Old Zhao Seven nodded. “Young people with ideas-very good. I agree.”
I wondered if the Seventh Master was just being contrary because of what happened with Du Yuwei. I said, “Seventh Master, he’s crazy, and you’re going to be crazy right along with him?”
“How can you call this crazy?”
Old Zhao Seven looked solemn. “What is the point of learning these things in our profession? Isn’t it to help people resolve matters of Yin and Yang? It’s just that times have changed, and the format has changed. Our methods and approaches must also change.”
“If you don’t keep up with the times, you’ll be discarded by them. Therefore, one must know how to progress with the era.”