As he spoke, he pointed at Tian Guoqiang and others behind him, his eyes squinting into two extremely annoying and repulsive little slits, clearly bursting with pride. Tian Guoqiang and the others turned their faces away in annoyance; if it weren’t for their hope of getting some free sunflower seeds, they might have rushed forward and smacked the bastard with a pot.
“Hehehe,” Chen Bighead was long accustomed to Liu Dashao’s personality and didn’t take offense. He simply lowered his head and quietly asked, “Kid, tell your uncle, how much did you win?”
“Three yuan!” Liu Dashao whispered back proudly.
“What? Impressive! You’ve got the same flair I had back in the day. Just for that, I’ll give you an 80% discount on the sunflower seeds—you only pay 1.1 yuan!” Chen Bighead generously offered.
“Hehe, still my uncle is the best!” Liu Dashao quickly thanked him, but inwardly grumbled, “Hmph! You stingy old skinflint, a lousy iron chicken! What good is an 80% discount? Why not just give me a few packs for free?”
If Liu Dashao had known that his generous discount offer would be met with curses, Chen Bighead would probably have used his oversized head to ram into Old Liu’s ancestral shrine out of frustration.
Liu Dashao hurriedly took out a handful of loose change from his pocket, spat on his fingers, and counted carefully before handing a few bills to Chen Bighead.
“Count it. Is it enough?”
Chen Bighead happily reached out to receive his first sale of the day, but when his sharp eyes caught sight of the banknotes, he visibly recoiled. His smile vanished, replaced by a mixture of seven parts surprise and three parts anger. His gaze then fixated on the pile of money in Liu Dashao’s hand.
“What’s wrong?” Liu Dashao asked, puzzled. He couldn’t figure out why Chen Bighead suddenly looked like that—was he having a fit or an epileptic seizure?
Chen Bighead hesitated for a moment before picking out a few notes from the pile and waving them in front of Liu Dashao’s face, then pushed the rest back.
“Why won’t you take these?” Liu Dashao asked in confusion. “What the heck is this old man up to now?”
“You look at them yourself!” Chen Bighead’s face darkened as he glared at Liu Dashao.
“What am I supposed to look at?”
“Ah, Master Dog, you…” Goudan, who was sitting closest to him, suddenly cried out, pointing at the money remaining in Liu Dashao’s hand, his eyes wide with shock. Everyone followed his finger and looked over. When they saw the stack of money, they were all startled. But Liu Dashao himself was still clueless.
“What the hell? In broad daylight, how can you pull out a stack of ghost money? It’s creepy at first glance!” Xiaomazi shoved Liu Dashao and scolded.
“What? Ghost money? These are all my secret savings I won last night! Where’s the ghost money here?”
Liu Dashao looked down at the money in his hand, screamed, and immediately threw it to the ground, hopping back in fear. On the ground lay several poorly printed banknotes, but instead of featuring any great leader’s portrait, they bore the face of King Yama, with a line of tiny Chinese characters below: “Underworld Bank.”
Ghost money—it was really ghost money!
The four of them stared at each other in shock, and the atmosphere that had just begun to ease instantly froze again.
Standing there, shopkeeper Chen Bighead sneered coldly, now fully convinced that these four good-for-nothing brats had conspired together to play a trick on him.
After a long while, Tian Guoqiang stepped forward to break the silence. “Master Dog, you really went too far with your joke. It’s not easy for Uncle Chen to run a shop. Why would you try to cheat him with ghost money?”
“I really didn’t do it! Don’t you believe me?” Liu Dashao’s face turned a deep red, his neck veins bulging as he became visibly agitated. He wanted to defend himself, but when he opened his mouth, he couldn’t explain the whole story. To be precise, even he himself didn’t understand how the real money in his pocket had turned into colorful ghost money after just one night.
Tian Guoqiang, being the oldest among the four and having been influenced by his village chief father’s observation skills, quickly realized that Liu Dashao’s expression didn’t seem fake. He understood immediately that something must have gone wrong.
He quickly exchanged glances with the chattering Goudan and Xiaomazi, signaling them not to speak further. Then he turned to shopkeeper Chen Bighead with an apologetic smile, paid the missing amount from his own pocket, and resolved the matter. Originally quite upset, Chen Bighead couldn’t really say anything more, after all, you don’t hit someone who smiles at you.
“Master Dog, maybe you were just too nervous today and accidentally picked up a note like that?” After finishing these things, Tian Guoqiang pulled Liu Dashao aside and patted his shoulder.
“No way. Although I did go to burn paper offerings at my family’s ancestral graves earlier, they were just paper and gold ingots—no ghost money. Besides, why would I carry such ominous stuff around in my pocket?” Liu Dashao replied.
“Alright, don’t think too much about it. It’s all over now,” Tian Guoqiang said, trying to change the subject and comfort him.
“But you have to believe me!”
“Okay, okay, I believe you, I believe you…”
“But…” Just as the word left his mouth, Liu Dashao suddenly seemed to remember something. A chill ran down his spine, cold sweat pouring down his skin, soaking his cloth shirt to his body.
“Master Dog! What’s wrong with you? Why do you look so pale?” At this moment, Liu Dashao’s complexion could truly be described as pale as yellow paper—deathly white, completely devoid of color. Tian Guoqiang couldn’t help but panic.
“Could it be… could it be…” Liu Dashao didn’t even hear Tian Guoqiang’s words. His voice trembled as he muttered repeatedly, finally covering his face and whispering to himself: “Was that kid who sold lanterns really a ghost? Was he really a ghost?”
“Big brother, buy a lantern.”
“Wuwuwu…”
“Big brother, buy a lantern.”
The scenes from last night’s return trip vividly replayed in his mind like a movie reel, over and over again—first time, second time, third time, fourth time…
This feeling was not just physical fear, but more deeply rooted in a shiver from the soul.
“Big brother won’t buy a lantern. If you don’t tell me where you live, I’m leaving.”
“Okay then. It’s over there.”
Where was “over there”? The dialogue stuck at this line, and Liu Dashao’s fingers slowly parted into two slits. Following his memory, facing the direction he had stood and the way the little boy had pointed, he slowly opened his eyes.
That… that hillside—how could there be any houses there? Looking at the vague outlines in the distance, Liu Dashao almost burst into tears. That was his mother’s graveyard!
Realizing this, Liu Dashao froze completely. Ten seconds later, a strange clattering sound emerged. Tian Guoqiang was puzzled, not knowing what the kid was up to now. But then he saw Liu Dashao slowly remove his hands from his face—and lift his head up.
Tian Guoqiang, Goudan, and Xiaomazi all jumped back in fright.
As he spoke, he pointed at Tian Guoqiang and the others behind him, squinting his eyes in a manner that was both irritating and lecherous, and said with a smug expression. Tian Guoqiang and the others turned their faces away, barely holding back from rushing forward and smacking this jerk with a pot, if not for the hope of getting some free sunflower seeds.
“Hehe,” Chen Da Nao, who was used to Liu Dashao’s personality, didn’t mind. He just lowered his head and quietly asked, “Kid, tell your uncle, how much did you win?”
“Three yuan!” Liu Dashao whispered back.
“Damn, impressive, you’ve got the style of your Uncle Chen back in the day. For that, I’ll give you a 20% discount on the sunflower seeds, only charging you one yuan and ten cents!” Chen Da Nao said generously.
“Hehe, Uncle, you’re the best!” Liu Dashao quickly thanked him, though he grumbled in his heart, “Ugh! Stingy old man, a 20% discount is useless, why not just give me a few packs to munch on?”
If Chen Da Nao, who was smiling at the moment, knew that his goodwill discount had earned him a curse, he would probably have used his big head to bang against the Liu family’s ancestral hall!
Taking the fragrant sunflower seeds and candies, Liu Dashao quickly pulled out a handful of loose change from his pocket. He spat on his fingers, counted the money, and then handed a few bills to Chen Da Nao.
“Count it, is it enough?”
Chen Da Nao happily reached out to take the first business of the day, but when his shrewd eyes caught sight of the bills, they noticeably narrowed. The smile on his face faded, replaced by a mix of surprise and anger. His gaze fixed on the money in Liu Dashao’s hand.
“What’s wrong?”
Liu Dashao was puzzled. He couldn’t understand why Chen Da Nao suddenly made such an expression. Was he sick, or had he had a seizure?
Chen Da Nao was stunned for a moment, then he took a few bills from the loose change, waved them in front of Liu Dashao’s face, and pushed the rest back: “I don’t want these.”
“Why not?” Liu Dashao was completely baffled. What the hell was this old man up to?
“Take a look for yourself!” Chen Da Nao’s face darkened as he glared at Liu Dashao.
“What am I supposed to look at?”
“Ah, Dog Shao, you…” The closest one, Gou Dan, suddenly shouted, pointing at the remaining bills in Liu Dashao’s hand, his eyes wide with shock. Everyone followed his finger and looked over. When they saw the stack of money, they were all startled. But Liu Dashao himself was clueless.
“Damn, why are you carrying a stack of ghost money in broad daylight? It’s creepy at first glance,” Xiao Ma Zi shoved Liu Dashao and scolded.
“What? Ghost money? This is the money I won last night, where did ghost money come from?”
Liu Dashao looked down at the money in his hand, and with a shout, he threw it to the ground, jumping back to avoid it. On the ground lay a few crudely printed bills, but instead of the image of a great leader, there was the face of the King of Hell, with a line of small characters below: “Bank of the Underworld.”
Hell money, it really was hell money!
The four of them looked at each other, the atmosphere that had just been lighthearted now frozen solid.
Meanwhile, the shop owner, Chen Da Nao, stood there sneering. He was convinced that these four troublemakers had conspired to play a trick on him.
After a long while, Tian Guoqiang stepped forward to break the deadlock: “Dog Shao, this joke of yours is way too much. Uncle Chen is just trying to run his shop, why are you messing with him with ghost money?”
“I… I really didn’t! Don’t you believe me?” Liu Dashao’s face turned beet red, the veins on his neck bulging, clearly agitated. He wanted to explain, but no matter how he opened his mouth, he couldn’t articulate a coherent reason. To be honest, even he hadn’t figured out how the money he had in his pocket overnight had turned into colorful ghost money.
Tian Guoqiang, being the oldest among the four and having learned a thing or two from his village chief father, had a knack for reading people. Seeing Liu Dashao’s expression, he knew this wasn’t a prank.
He quickly gave a look to Gou Dan and Xiao Ma Zi, signaling them to keep quiet. Then, with an apologetic smile, he made up the shortfall out of his own pocket. With the money paid and apologies made, Chen Da Nao, who had been fuming, couldn’t say much more. After all, you don’t hit someone who’s smiling at you.
“Dog Shao, were you too stressed today? Did you accidentally pick up this kind of money?” After handling the situation, Tian Guoqiang pulled Liu Dashao aside and patted his shoulder.
“No way, I just went to burn paper money at our family’s grave, but it was just regular paper and gold ingots, not hell money. And why would I carry this cursed stuff around?” Liu Dashao said.
“Alright, don’t think too much about it, it’s over now,” Tian Guoqiang didn’t want to dwell on the topic and brushed it off with a comforting tone.
“But you have to believe me!”
“Alright, alright, I believe you, I believe you…” Tian Guoqiang nodded.
“But…” Just as the word left his mouth, Liu Dashao suddenly remembered something, a chill running up his spine, cold sweat soaking through his clothes.
“Dog Shao! What’s wrong? You look terrible!” At this moment, Liu Dashao’s face was as pale as paper, completely devoid of color, making Tian Guoqiang anxious.
“Could it be, could it be…” Liu Dashao wasn’t listening to Tian Guoqiang, his voice trembling as he rolled his tongue over and over, finally covering his face with his hands and muttering to himself, “That kid selling lanterns, was he really a ghost? A real ghost?”
“Big brother, buy a lantern.”
“Wuwuwu…”
“Big brother, buy a lantern.”
The scenes from last night’s journey home flashed before his eyes like a movie reel, playing over and over in his mind, first time, second time, third time, fourth time…
This feeling wasn’t just physical fear, but a deep, soul-shaking terror!
“Big brother won’t buy a lantern, if you don’t tell me where your home is, I’m leaving.”
“Alright then! Over there.”
Over there, where is over there? The dialogue stopped at this point, and Liu Dashao’s fingers slowly parted. Following his memory, he opened his eyes, looking in the direction the little boy had pointed.
That… that hillside, how could there be any houses there? Looking at the faint outline in the distance, Liu Dashao almost cried out—it was a damn graveyard!
At this thought, Liu Dashao froze completely. Ten seconds later, a strange “gegege” sound came from him. Tian Guoqiang was puzzled, wondering what this guy was up to now. But then he saw Liu Dashao slowly move his hands away from his face and—look up.
Tian Guoqiang, Gou Dan, and Xiao Ma Zi jumped in fright.
Liu Dashao’s eyebrows were furrowed into a deep “川” shape, his lips unnaturally curled, as if he was both laughing and crying. The “gegege” sound was coming from his mouth, his teeth chattering. Then, in a voice on the verge of tears, he said, “Qiangzi, I’ve been haunted.”
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