The most regrettable situation is that of Tian Qing and Xing Yufen's family. What an enviable and happy family they were! Both husband and wife had stable jobs and a lovely son who had just started kindergarten. Tian Qing even brought her parents to live with her in the county town to help take care of the child…
I really don't know what they're thinking. What else could they possibly be dissatisfied with in life? Why are they so greedy for money, so stubborn and foolish, that they've gone astray and think they can get away with all those illegal and unethical things?
Don't they care about their own families?
What will happen to these families in the future? It's all unknown. What is certain is that, for the foreseeable future, these families will be immersed in pain from which they will find it difficult to escape.
Xu Zhengyang suddenly shook his head with a wry smile, realizing that he had indeed developed a somewhat compassionate and sympathetic mindset.
It's just a pity for Hao Peng and his heinous criminals, and their families.
It wasn't that Xu Zhengyang felt any remorse; in his quest to avenge Cheng Jinchang and his wife, and in his sense of duty and conscience, he had destroyed several other families. The fault lay with Hao Peng and his group; they should be the ones filled with regret. Xu Zhengyang simply pitied their families.
One person's mistake caused so many people to suffer and be hurt.
Xu Zhengyang lost interest in reading, got up and walked into the house, summoning the county register and making the souls of Cheng Jinchang and his wife appear on it.
Lying on the bed, Xu Zhengyang said thoughtfully, "If you two were given a chance to be reborn as human beings, would you be willing to take on more responsibility?"
The two ghosts were taken aback, wondering what the official meant by his words. They were also secretly delighted, wondering if there was any hope of surviving.
"It's not certain yet, I'm not absolutely sure either." Xu Zhengyang sighed softly and said, "Let me give you a heads-up: if you can continue to live as human beings, you'll have to shoulder more responsibilities and take care of more people... Are you willing?"
"I'm willing," the two ghosts replied happily without hesitation.
"Alright, I'll do my best. I just hope you won't regret it in the future." Xu Zhengyang put away the county register, closed his eyes, and was really sleepy.
In fact, everyone hopes to live and does not want to die; more precisely, everyone hopes to live happily.
However, no one wants to bear more pressure and responsibility.
It's only natural that everyone wants to live an easy life and be happy until old age.
Volume Two, Gong Cao, Chapter 69: Leaders Inspect Gu Xiang Xuan
As the sun rises, its fiery rays stream into the alleyway.
The low courtyard walls and the back walls of the houses in front, along with the black slag-paved road, all shimmered with a peaceful hue under the sunlight, giving one a sense of auspicious purple clouds rising from the east when walking among them or looking from the street into the alley.
The gate to Xu Zhengyang's house was tightly closed, and a large brass padlock was firmly locked on the rusty door knocker and chain.
At the alley entrance, on the side of the main street, Xu Neng and Yuan Suqin, dressed neatly, stood looking south.
Xu Neng was wearing a brand-new brown short-sleeved T-shirt, dark blue trousers, and shiny black leather shoes. Well, I have to say a few more words about this very rural, older-generation look: his freshly shaved hair was short, and his beard was clean-shaven, but the wrinkles on his face and his slightly embarrassed and uneasy eyes still gave him a rustic air. The most striking thing was how he wore his trousers; in rural parlance, it's called "li cha ba," meaning the T-shirt was tucked into the trousers. A brand-new black belt was cinched at his waist… pulling the trousers up quite high, roughly above his abdomen, near his chest.
Yuan Suqin had dressed up deliberately today. She wore a gold necklace, gold earrings, and gold rings, and her not-so-long hair was tied in a short braid, making her look very energetic. She also wore a short-sleeved shirt that her daughter, Xu Rouyue, had picked out for her—a black shirt with large blue, white, and red flowers printed on it, embroidered with gold edges that shimmered in the sunlight; loose black capri pants and black mid-heeled shoes. Unlike her husband, she didn't seem uncomfortable at all; instead, she seemed rather smug and proud.
Several neighbors came out of their homes with their rice bowls in their hands, ready to gather together to eat and chat.
Upon seeing Xu Neng and his wife's attire, they both looked surprised and greeted them with smiles.
"Oh, Sister Suqin, are you going to visit relatives today?"
"Tsk tsk, Brother Xu Neng looks so stylish today, he looks more than ten years younger..."
Xu Neng was a little awkward, and gave an embarrassed chuckle.
Yuan Suqin, on the other hand, looked up and smiled smugly as she replied, "Why are you visiting relatives? I'm going to the city today. My husband Zhengyang opened an antique shop there, and it's been almost a month since we last visited. We'll go take a look today."
"Really? Zhengyang is such a promising child. You two are so lucky!"
"Yes, yes, I've said it before. Zhengyang is a smart and capable kid. Look, he's even opened a shop in the city!"
What do antique shops do?
Xu Neng chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "This kid's just fooling around, it's nothing, it's nothing..."
“Hmm, you guys don’t know what an antique shop is? It’s where they buy and sell antiques. Ever heard of antiques? They’re incredibly valuable…” Yuan Suqin wasn’t as modest and honest as her husband. She walked over and chatted with a few neighbors, showing off a bit. “Originally, my husband and I thought it was just a short walk to the main road, a few minutes’ walk, like taking a stroll. We could just walk to the roadside and take the bus. But that brat Zhengyang said he was worried I’d get tired and insisted on calling a taxi to pick me up. Tell me, isn’t that a waste of money…”
So the neighbors all looked on with envy and jealousy, praising Yuan Suqin for being so lucky and for having such a promising son.
Then one person asked how much the clothes cost and where they were bought. Another asked if the gold necklace, earrings, and ring were bought by their son and how much they cost.
Yuan Suqin grew increasingly smug. She introduced and boasted with great enthusiasm, yet feigned embarrassment.
Xu Neng stood not far away, forcing a smile as he watched his wife chat with the neighbors, feeling increasingly embarrassed. Even when visiting relatives, he had never dressed like this. In all his life, he had never worn shoes costing over 300 yuan a pair, trousers costing over 200 yuan a pair, a T-shirt costing over 600 yuan a piece, or a belt costing over 100 yuan… He hadn't been able to bring himself to wear them since he bought them.
This is so awkward to wear! I can't sit or stand properly.
A black Volkswagen Santana sedan drove from the south and stopped at the entrance of the alley. Xu Zhengyang got out of the car, and the driver drove ahead to make a U-turn.
The neighbors greeted Xu Zhengyang with smiles and compliments, while also asking how much money he could make opening a shop in Fuhe City. They also inquired why they rarely saw him visiting the shop.
Xu Zhengyang chuckled and replied that it was nothing, he wouldn't make much money, and there were people watching the shop.
Yuan Suqin said, "Sigh, I've told him so many times, why don't we just take good care of our own shop? Why do we have to spend money to hire someone to watch the shop? But this kid insists on hiring someone. You tell me, isn't this just a waste of money..."
The neighbors all laughed and said that this is how it is nowadays. What boss does the work himself? They all hire people. The boss just sits around managing people and collecting money. Have you ever seen Han Dashan wielding a shovel and working in his cement products factory?
Xu Zhengyang chuckled sheepishly, offering no explanation. He knew his mother was just like that; as long as she was happy, let her show off. It wasn't bragging, after all; the family was genuinely wealthy now, and the shop in Fuhe City was indeed open. Although… his mother's nouveau riche attitude might make the neighbors uncomfortable.
So what? Who cares? You can't possibly have something like this.
After exchanging a few more polite words, Xu Zhengyang urged his parents to get in the car.
After the family of three got into the car, Yuan Suqin didn't forget to wave goodbye to her neighbors through the car window.
The Santana sped off towards the edge of the village.
In the car, Xu Neng said, "Look at you. What are you showing off for? You're making a fool of yourself."
"A joke? What's so funny?" Yuan Suqin curled her lip in disdain and said, "They used to laugh at us, but look at how they fawn over us now. I did this on purpose to annoy them. Have you forgotten how they used to constantly belittle our family?"
"Sigh, you're overthinking things. Nobody's trying to put us down." Xu Neng sighed, though he knew in his heart that what his wife said was true.
Yuan Suqin didn't say anything more, just smiled, and then chatted with her son sitting in front of her about the shop in Fuhe City: "Do you want Mom to come over and help you watch the shop? We need someone in the family there to feel at ease, right? At least Mom doesn't know anything else, but she can clean the shop for you every day, right?"
Xu Zhengyang chatted idly with his mother, feeling both amused and exasperated.
Taking my parents to their shop in Fuhe City today was a last resort. My mother has been kicking him out of the house every day for the past two days, making him go to the shop to watch over things. Last night she even said that my husband and I would go check on it tomorrow. After all, our son owns the shop, even if it's a partnership, he's still practically a co-owner. If we, as his parents, haven't even been there, won't we be laughed at by the neighbors?
Helpless, Xu Zhengyang had no choice but to agree. After all, it was only right for his parents to check on his shop.
It's been open for so long and my parents haven't been there yet, which is really a bit unreasonable.
So early in the morning, he called a taxi driver in Futou Town who often waited for fares at the Chengfeng intersection and asked him to come pick him up and take him to Fuhe City.
After all, he had a sign at the Futou Town Police Station that said he was a member of the joint defense team. So all the local taxi drivers had handed him their business cards.
Although Xu Zhengyang was practically a part-owner of "Gu Xiang Xuan," he hadn't really taken it seriously. Especially since the antique shop opened, he hadn't had much time to pay attention to it. First, he went to Beijing to see his sister off, then he was busy with Hao Peng's drug trafficking case. These past few days, he'd been reading books and pondering the application of divine power and the various duties and obligations of gods, all for the sake of Cheng Jinchang and Cui Yao. It wasn't that he was stupid enough not to figure things out after all this time, nor that he hadn't tried to put it into practice; it was just that Tian Qing and Xing Yufen were still in detention. Until the case was investigated and closed, these suspects would absolutely not be released.
However, seeing that Cheng Jinchang and Cui Yao didn't have much time left to live, Xu Zhengyang was also somewhat anxious. But he couldn't directly go to Zhong Shan and tell him to stop investigating Tian Qing and Xing Yufen and let them go. Firstly, he couldn't bring himself to say such a thing, and secondly, who knew if he could truly possess and resurrect someone?
So he's considering whether to think of other candidates or even animal candidates.
Chatting along the way, we soon arrived at the antique market on the north side of Fuxing Street in Fuxing District, Fuhe City.
After getting off the bus, Xu Zhengyang led his parents toward "Gu Xiang Xuan".
It wasn't even nine o'clock yet, but the sun was already high in the sky. There weren't many people coming and going in the antique market. Shop assistants stood at their doorways chatting idly with their colleagues, and a few cars were parked scattered around in front of a few shops. In the middle of the market, there were three rows of stalls, mostly selling handicrafts and folk art. Only in the formal shops on the three sides of the market were you truly dealing in genuine antiques.
As Xu Zhengyang walked, he gave his parents a brief introduction to what the various shops in the market mainly dealt in, and what the different types of antiques were.
It was like he was just learning and applying what he had just learned; he only knew these basic things because he had gotten a little knowledge from Yao Chushun.
“Hey, look how nice that shop is! It’s the biggest and most impressive one!” Yuan Suqin said, pointing to Tianbaozhai, the southernmost shop.
"Yes, it's the largest antique shop in our Fuhe City, and it's famous throughout the province," Xu Zhengyang nodded and said.
"Really? Which shop is yours? I wish you could open a shop this big someday." Yuan Suqin asked while sighing.
Xu Zhengyang pointed to Gu Xiang Xuan, which was not far away, and said, "That's it, Gu Xiang Xuan."
Xu Neng and Yuan Suqin followed Xu Zhengyang's finger and looked in that direction.
Gu Xiang Xuan's shop is not small, especially among the row of shops, it stands out, especially with its antique-style exterior decoration, which makes it stand out from the crowd.
"Not bad, not bad at all. I think it's not much worse than that other shop." Yuan Suqin nodded in satisfaction, and her pace quickened.
"How much will it cost to open such a big store?" Xu Neng asked with some worry.
"It's a rented house," Xu Zhengyang said with a smile.
"Oh, the rent must be very expensive."
"Not expensive, just over 80,000 a year..."
"What?" Xu Neng was taken aback, then lowered his head and frowned. He didn't know what else to ask, but he felt really bad and heartbroken.
As they were talking, they arrived at the door of Gu Xiang Xuan. Xu Zhengyang stepped forward, pushed open the door, and then stepped aside to let his parents go in first.
Yuan Suqin walked in happily, while Xu Neng looked around, wondering what was so great about this shop? Why was it so expensive? More than 80,000 yuan in rent a year. That's enough to build such a large two-story building.
"Hey uncle and auntie, what are you looking to buy? Or do you have a treasure you'd like to sell?"
When Jin Qiming, a waiter in the shop, saw someone come in, he quickly stood up and greeted them with a smile. Then he saw Xu Zhengyang and hurriedly said, "Brother Yang, you're here."
"Yes, yes." Xu Zhengyang nodded and introduced, "These are my parents, they've come to the store for a visit."
"Oh, Uncle, Aunt, how are you?" Jin Qiming looked surprised and happy as he hurriedly came out from behind the counter, inviting Yuan Suqin and her husband to sit down at the round glass table. He then made tea and poured water. "Uncle, Aunt, I've been wondering why you two haven't come to visit even though we've been running the shop for so long. I was just thinking about it when you two showed up."
Xu Zhengyang chuckled from the side, "Dad, Mom, this is Xiao Jin, the shop assistant."
"This kid has a sweet tongue and is very eloquent. He's a good buddy, not bad at all. How old is he?" Yuan Suqin was clearly pleased with what Jin Qiming had just said and asked with a smile.
"Nineteen." Jin Qiming was very good at reading people's expressions and immediately put on a slightly immature expression.
"Wow, so young!" Yuan Suqin said cheerfully. "Work hard, you'll be twenty after the New Year, and I'll find you a wife..."
Xu Neng and Xu Zhengyang exchanged a glance and both smiled bitterly.
Jin Qiming nodded gratefully and said, "I'll go upstairs and call Uncle Yao."
Xu Zhengyang smiled and nodded, then sat down and softly introduced the various antiques and jade items in the shop to his parents.
"Oh dear, oh dear, brother and sister-in-law are here! Zhengyang, you should have called ahead!" Yao Chushun rushed downstairs, extending his hands from afar. He walked up to Xu Neng and proactively grabbed Xu Neng's hands, who was still awkwardly hesitating to raise his hand. "I've been complaining to Zhengyang about not bringing you guys. It's perfect that you're here today. We'll book a table at the Yunlai Hotel for lunch..."
After exchanging a few polite words, Xu Zhengyang noticed Yao Chushun giving him a wink, so he called Jin Qiming over to introduce various antiques to his parents, while he and Yao Chushun went upstairs.
Xu Neng and Yuan Suqin had no complaints about this. In their view, it was inconvenient for the two business owners to know too much about what they wanted to say. Besides, even if they said it to their faces, they wouldn't understand. So the couple happily browsed the various counters in the shop, listening to Jin Qiming's enthusiastic and detailed introductions to the origins, value, benefits, and so on of various antiques.
The second floor is divided into three small rooms: a small bedroom, a room for displaying expensive antiques, and a small living room.
Sitting in the wicker chair, Xu Zhengyang lit a cigarette and smiled, "Master Gu, what's wrong now?"
"Things have been a bit strange these past few days!" Yao Chushun frowned and sighed.
"What? Has Zou Mingyuan sent people to cause trouble again?" Xu Zhengyang asked.