Chapter 8: The City That Never Sleeps

The speed at which the ledger is entered is overwhelming, and the writing of pen and ink is faster than that of today's new era of computers.

A fiery curiosity was quickly cooled by this efficient pace of work, and I soon developed visual exhaustion.

Everything is so orderly, where is there any need for me to intervene?

With an inexplicable sense of chagrin and loss in my heart, I walked back to my seat and sat down. It's just that he keeps the whole money village automatic with his eyes wide open, like a statue.

But what I didn't expect was that the tiredness of boredom attacked, and the eyelids became heavier and heavier, and then ......

'Boom'!

There was a sudden thud that frightened me and I jumped forward from the wide Taishi chair, and after a few staggers, I fell to the ground on my side, and only supported the ground with my left hand, resisting my completely unbalanced body.

I only heard the sound of the joint of my left wrist being dislocated, and my face instantly wrinkled into a bitter gourd face.

It seems that you really can't be lazy at work, and you will be damned. This kind of fall caused the joint to be misaligned, which can be regarded as torturing me.

I loosened my tense body and sat down on my knees on the smooth floor, looking pitifully at my sprained wrist like a kitten. The dull displeasure turned into a distraught rage, prompting me to raise my head fiercely and look at the Taishi chair.

Lu Chongguang didn't know when he was already sitting there, looking at me with disdain.

He stroked his beard, casually summoned an account book and turned a few pages, hid the sneer from the corners of his mouth and said, "This day has passed without merit, girl!" ”

Dressed inexplicably, and sprained my hand in a daze, I naturally didn't care about the traditional virtues of respecting the old and loving the young, and replied a little willfully: "I'm done, can you let me go back?" ”

If you want me to be here every day in a daze in order to check the circulation of counterfeit coins, I don't want to kill me!

"Hmph, little girl, yin and yang reincarnation, if you want to go back, you naturally have to follow a fixed number. Go around, and when the hour comes, it will be smooth. Lu Chongguang seemed to see that my wrist was injured, and he didn't waste much time with me, the faint words came slowly, and then he turned into a puff of green smoke and disappeared behind the corridor.

Just as I was about to get up and chase the green smoke, the bluestone floor under my feet suddenly shook.

When the stone slabs collided crisply, it seemed to collapse, and in an instant, the entire money village was turned upside down.

I hurriedly held back the pain and hooked the corner of the Taishi's chair, so that I could escape the chaos in this chaos. The shaking and movement didn't last long, and just as I was about to let go of my hand that was holding the chair, everything was calm again.

The 'Boom ......' chair moved away with another round of slight vibrations, and a round of dark ladders was revealed in the position where the Taishi chair had just been placed.

A refreshing breeze blew out of the dark ladder, with a slight smell of wet grass.

It's just that this dark ladder is so deep that you can't see the end at a glance, let alone see if there is an end. It made me hesitate and wonder all of a sudden.

'Can't go down?' If there is wind, there must be an air outlet...... If you want to go back, why sit here and wait? I moved over a kerosene lamp in the bank, carefully picked up the hem of my skirt and walked slowly down the slippery stone wall, and cautiously into the narrow walkway.

Along the way, I lit the lights that had long been extinguished. The noise in the distance was getting closer, and I had no time to look back to see if the lamp I had lit earlier had gone out.

I only rushed to the front, and I only chased the wind, the sound, and the light that could throw away the lamp.

Finally, a stone door opened at the end, three paces away from me.

What is shown in front of you is a bustling and prosperous ancient street, with continuous selling in the streets and alleys, and a prosperous and chaste scene.

"Sugar gourd, glutinous rice cake, poria pear paste sugar ......"

"Treasures from the north and south, cheap clearance, the long way back, pinch to defend yourself......"

Facing is a three-story wooden building with mahogany glazed green tiles, and the mahogany bakes a strong woody aroma in the orange warm lantern group, just like its name - Tanhuayi.

Upstairs, the cubicles reveal a long shadow of toasting together, and the singing and dancing are also accompanied by the broken pipa jade.

Is it a restaurant?

On the other side, another varnished building was no less impressive, with diamond-shaped vertical signboards tinkling in the wind. The beautiful block script reads the four big characters of 'Comb Rain Chazhai'.

Is it a tea shop?

Between the two buildings, small tables in the open air were neatly decorated, and many people got up and left with a few golden glitters, and the seats were immediately filled.

I was stupidly stunned in front of the door, didn't I come back to my senses, the ghost world is like this? If this is said, who will believe it?

A familiar aroma snorted between the snorts, and the heart and spleen rushed over.

It's not the sandalwood of Tanhuayi, nor the tea fragrance of Chazhai......

What is it? I sniffed to get a clearer smell. The oil lamp in my hand was useless in this bustling street market, so I simply turned it off, freed my two hands, and swaggered in.

Walking around Tanhuayi, all kinds of people and ghosts abound.

There was a guillotine woman wearing a cheongsam, using a long silk scarf to cover the torn wound on her neck; Over there, a man in a white prisoner's trouser belt leading the lower half of his body like a dog was a sinner who had been beheaded in the old era; There was also a bunch of flying heads chasing in the sky, their bodies chasing farther down the street.

'Choke, choke, choke......'

I was still looking at the crowd of people intently, a gong and drum sounded rapidly, looking for the sound, an old man was standing on the tall red lacquer stage, a little monkey on the side was obediently looking at the gong, and after a while, the audience was crowded with people.

"Thank you for your faces, today, can you tell you a story?"

"Good! Good! ”

"Anyway, the Lu family, the largest chamber of commerce in the Northern Song Dynasty, has a Lu family owner......"

There were still a hundred paces to go, and I ran after it curiously, standing at the back of the crowd. It's been many years since I've been on the stage to tell stories like this, so now I can have a good time again.

"If you want to talk about the head of the family, the family has been a big business for a hundred years, and I have fallen in love with the girl of the Yang family, a big family in Bianjing. The girl's face was like snow, and her hair was like silk, but she didn't like to talk. ”

"Alas, alas! Old man, you made up this story, you also said that there was a big businessman and a road owner in the Republic of China, and people also fell in love with the girl of a big weaving family in Yangzhou? Why did another one come out? Before he could say a few words, someone started to heckle below.

was exposed by a word, and the old man on the stage suddenly turned red, as if he couldn't find the bottom of the steps.

There was a burst of boos, and several fruits were thrown from the audience, and slammed on the gong that the little monkey was carrying.

The monkey was startled by the sound and immediately rushed into the old man's arms. The old man watched the crowd gradually disperse, his lips opened and closed slightly, and his eyes showed a look of disappointment.

Just as I was about to leave, the monkey on the stage came over and grabbed the fruit at my feet to eat. It just squatted and ate the fruit and didn't look at me, let alone be afraid of me, as if it was commonplace for people.

I crouched down and leaned on my knees to watch its grumbling cheeks.

Being able to get so close to such a critter is much more fun than visiting a zoo in real life. ’

"Gollum~" looked at it, and his stomach also barked. The subtle sound of the empty stage was very clear, causing several people at the table to look at my embarrassment and laugh.

Looking at the faces of those people, my face couldn't help but turn red, and I wanted to dig a pit and bury myself in it quickly.

"Girl...... Stay! Just as I was busy getting up and trying to run, the voice of the old man on the stage behind me stopped me.

I looked back and saw that the old man had already picked up the monkey that had just eaten the fruit and beckoned to me with a smile.

Dressed in an old Tang costume and a round hat, with his slightly short and chubby figure, he looks like an amiable old grandfather, which makes me not afraid at all.

Naturally, I walked straight over, halfway through but couldn't move even half a step.

Because, just now, when the old man saw me step forward, he gladly stepped down. I was surprised to find that the old man and the little monkey were a thin piece of paper.

It turns out that this place is really 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'......

"Grandpa, is there anything you need me to help with?" I tried my best to put on a smile that didn't show fear, hoping not to make the old man feel sad, but in the end I couldn't do it well. The old man looked at my embarrassed smile, but he only pursed his lips and didn't look embarrassed about me.

The old man looked at me from head to toe, and said with a kind smile: "The girl's clothes are the best material for the Northern Song Dynasty, and I heard the recent souls say that people now wear clothes and pants, and they no longer wear this style of skirts." The girl is still a living person, why is she still wearing this? ”

"This ...... Grandpa, can you smell the fragrance? ”

Asking me so directly where I came from, this old man was really more shy than me, but it did ask me. I scratched my head, not knowing how to answer him, and I immediately changed my mind. Shifting the conversation to the scent that I had smelled earlier, the stage was now filled with the scent of the heart.

"Oh, this is the famous Ningxiangzi. It's the signature spice of the 'Drunken Moon House in the corner alley' over there. The old man seemed to understand my reluctance to answer this question, and answered my question as if accommodating.

"When the girl is hungry, bring a fruit to eat, for here wild vegetables and vegetables are edible to a living man...... probably seeing that I was in a hurry to get there, the monkey in his arms immediately took out a wild fruit and handed it over.

"Ah......h How embarrassing is that? As I spoke, my stomach was screaming, and I humbled on the other hand, and quietly took the wild fruit in the monkey's hand with the other hand.

'It's so embarrassing, I'm going to die after eating, woo woo woo, I'm really hungry. Smoothly holding the wild fruit in my hand, my heart was filled with tears, I was in a foreign country, I really couldn't help myself.

"If the girl is embarrassed, why don't you ......" The old man saw my thoughts, raised his hand and pointed to the table.

Looking in the direction, a standing microphone was placed in the upper right corner of the stage at some point.

Is this asking me to sing? Grandpa, you can't rely on the old to sell the old! Bullying children like this, your ancestors and old man, do you really know the incense everywhere?

"This ...... I still don't eat the fruit with it...... Fill the stomach of the little monkey, he will be scared when he strikes the gong today. "I didn't intend to think about it at all, so I hurriedly stuffed the fruit in my hand back into the little monkey's arms. This is going up to sing, it's not a shame to throw it home, don't do it! I will never do it!

"Don't worry, girl, just owe a song, and if he wants to sing it in the future, he can sing it. No one has been worthy of this wheat for a long time, but the old man thinks that the girl must be suitable. The old man just smiled and waved his hand, asking me to take the fruit back, and then walked back to the stage with the little monkey without looking back.

Seeing him turn around, I hurriedly turned around and rushed to the Zuiyue Building around the corner.

I really don't dare to see what happened to this old uncle before he died, the whole back was peeled off alive, leaving the bloody empty shell of the skin.