Chapter 16 Even if the recluse cannot appear, we cannot let my wife...

The ears, which had drooped in protest, immediately perked up the moment they saw the two ghosts, and the furry face froze.

An awkward atmosphere filled the air.

“Miss, the dog is very well-behaved. Thank you for letting it play with us.” The young woman who had spoken earlier stepped forward again.

"No need to be so polite. My surname is Jiang. If you'd like, just call me sister. This is my brother." The young ladies were polite, lively, and adorable. Such children are likable, and Jiang Yuzhi was no exception.

"Hello, Sister Jiang and Brother Jiang. My name is Zhong Ci'an. It was Mr. Zhong who gave me this name."

"Sister Jiang, Brother Jiang, my name is Zhong Ciyu, which was given to me by Mr. Zhong!"

"Me too, me too, my name is..."

They rushed forward, introducing themselves like two ghosts. Xie Bi'an, whose face had been gloomy for many days due to numerous affairs and his troublesome younger sister, relaxed and put on a friendly smile again.

Under the cover of the young ladies, Di Ting stood up, shook its fur, and obediently squatted down in place as if nothing had happened.

"Alright, alright, children, stop crowding around. Go find Mr. Zhong; it's time to check your homework."

The young women obediently went into one of the rooms.

Mr. Zhong, who had just said a word, had disappeared without a trace.

"Madam, and who is Mr. Zhong?"

It had been mentioned so many times by those children that Jiang Yuzhi became curious.

“Miss, just call me Madam Yu. Mr. Zhong is the lady who carries the winnowing basket. She came to the orphanage a few days ago. She’s a nice person, just a little shy. Oh, she can read and write, and she can cook. She named all the children in the orphanage, and they are all very nice. She also teaches the children to read. In the past, young ladies never had such treatment.”

When Madam Yu got excited, she took Jiang Yuzhi's hand and kept sighing.

“Look at me, who keeps guests talking at the door? Come, come, let’s go inside and talk.”

Jiang Yuzhi pondered how to answer. She rarely interacted with such enthusiastic women; she didn't dislike them, but she also lacked experience.

Madam Yu led them to the inner room. As they passed Di Ting, Xie Bi'an glared at it fiercely, thinking, "I'll deal with you when we get back."

Di Ting immediately shrank its neck and pressed itself tightly against Jiang Yuzhi's calf, moving itself in an attempt to protect it.

The inner room was where the young ladies studied. Several neat long tables were set up, and against the wall were stacks of wooden trays filled with sand for learning to read.

After Yu Niangzi's introduction, Jiang Yuzhi learned that this place was originally used for eating, but after Mr. Zhong came, it was used for two purposes.

The young ladies and Mr. Zhong lined up in a corner of the room, taking turns to check each other's homework.

The content is very simple: just read the words in the book.

They had only been learning for a few days, but they were all very serious and cherished this hard-won opportunity.

Jiang Yuzhi remained silent, quietly waiting for them to finish.

Madam Yu whispered that she needed to prepare dinner and left first.

The young ladies learned very well and remembered the material well. They passed the test in no time and cheered as they went out together to continue playing with Di Ting.

Surrounded by others, Di Ting timidly glanced at Xie Bi'an, and only after receiving a look of permission did she demurely walk out with them with light steps.

After a while, its excited barking reached Xie Bi'an's ears. Did it really think it was a dog?

Mr. Zhong's eyes darted around, and the two people opposite him remained silent for a long time. After struggling with her thoughts, she gritted her teeth and took the initiative to say, "Hello, what can I do for you?"

The two ghosts were only focused on Di Ting, who had just left, and came back to their senses when they heard Mr. Zhong's words.

Xie Bi'an's eyes widened. How come there's yet another person with a problematic soul? This person clearly doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of their underworld.

As the White Impermanence, he could easily sense the sense of disconnect in Mr. Zhong.

Mr. Zhong felt his hair stand on end from his gaze, thinking he was there to investigate her and had figured out the problem.

“I’m registered at the government office. I was recruited from outside the city as a migrant worker. It’s legal. My name is Zhong Yuxiu. The government office can check it. I’ve registered as a temporary female householder. I can become a permanent householder in two years. I’ve never done anything illegal. Really.”

He was clearly frightened.

"Brother Xie, go outside and wait for me. Look how scared you've scared him."

When Jiang Yuzhi saw Zhong Yuxiu start rambling on and on, she knew that what Zhang Niangzi said was true; she was indeed very shy, and it was also Xie Bi'an's fault for making such an exaggerated expression.

It wasn't appropriate to say directly that another problem household had been discovered, so Xie Bi'an silently went to stand at the door, becoming unhappy if he went any further.

"Don't be nervous. We're not here to check your household registration. We've heard the young ladies mention you all the time, so we'd like to get to know you. My name is Jiang Yuzhi."

Jiang Yuzhi tried her best to be friendly, and she really had no other purpose than to get to know the clever and capable young lady.

"Oh, I see. Hello." Zhong Yuxiu visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"You said you were recruited as a migrant worker?"

"Well, they said we needed someone who could read. I could barely read a few words, so I volunteered to come here. Madam Zhang and the children are very kind to me. They give me food, and I want to repay them, so I teach them to read and cook some food for them."

"That's great, you can live a good life on your own."

"Really? Hehe, when I first arrived, I was unfamiliar with the place, hungry and cold. Luckily, I met a kind person who brought me here."

Zhong Yuxiu hadn't interacted with women her own age for a while, and once she started talking, she couldn't stop.

"But things are much better now. We have enough to eat and wear, and we can even have some entertainment."

The unfamiliar term, which Jiang Yuzhi had never heard before, made her wonder, "Entertainment activities?"

"Yeah, it's just for killing time. I made a deck of cards. We can play together sometime. I'll teach you. It's a lot of fun."

“Okay, I have a funeral clothing shop on Caomen Street. If Yuxiu doesn’t mind, you can come and find me.”

Jiang Yuzhi also had a good impression of her; they were a rare playmate of the same age.

"Uh-huh!"

Xie Bi'an, who was standing at the door, heard them finish their conversation and urged them, "Xiao Zhi, it's getting late, we should go back."

"Okay, I'm coming. I'm off now."

Zhong Yuxiu was somewhat reluctant to leave, but she didn't try to stop her.

The two ghosts and the dog bid farewell to everyone at the orphanage, but Xie Bi'an secretly slipped a paper figure into a corner of the orphanage before leaving.

Di Ting didn't dare to speak the whole way.

Back in the backyard, Xie Bi'an immediately mocked sarcastically, "Oh, so Lord Di Ting knows to come back with us? Did you have a good time outside? You probably forgot what you came here for."

Di Ting's large tail drooped, and it muttered softly, "I'm happy, but Zhi Zhi didn't encounter any threats either."

"If we really encounter a threat, will we wait for you to arrive?"

"I……"

The dog and Wuchang were about to start arguing when Jiang Yuzhi sighed and said, "Brother Xie, you know what kind of person A-Ting is. Don't fight."

"I haven't even mentioned you yet. Do you know Zhong Yuxiu? Her name probably isn't even on the Book of Life and Death. She's most likely a hermit. Even Di Ting, a mythical beast, didn't notice that."

Xie Bi'an was furious and revealed all of Zhong Yuxiu's unusual behavior.

The stunned Di Ting and the bewildered Jiang Yuzhi stared at him in disbelief.

A person from beyond the mundane world? So that's why she couldn't understand some of the words Yuxiu used. What kind of place did she come from? She wanted to be friends with her even more.

Jiang Yuzhi was not wary at all; on the contrary, she seemed to be getting more and more interested, and her eyes gradually lit up.

Although he didn't know what she was thinking, Xie Bi'an could tell from her expression that it wasn't anything good.

"You'd better not get any funny ideas," he immediately warned Jiang Yuzhi.

"I know what Brother Xie is going to say. Anything that is unclear is dangerous. I remember that very clearly."

"You'd better be." Xie Bi'an said this to her countless times over the course of several days.

"Yes, of course." Danger may be danger, as long as you don't put yourself in danger, that's fine. Yuxiu doesn't have any ill intentions towards her at the moment. They get along very well and there is no threat to her.

Jiang Yuzhi was resolute.

"As for your trip to Zuo Huai, you must wait until I return to the underworld to report before you can set off."

"I will, Brother Xie. Is the underworld very busy? You should go quickly."

Xie Bi'an, who had originally pushed the matter to Fan Wujiu, was the one who was forcibly brought out. He repeatedly gave her instructions and left reluctantly.

Di Ting finally collapsed to the ground, looking utterly pathetic.

"I'm not afraid of him if he doesn't find fault with me, hmph."

Jiang Yuzhi took the opportunity to rub its belly, "But you really should eat less, what if the little clothes I just altered don't fit you anymore?"

Upon hearing this, Di Ting secretly inhaled, but this time his soft belly remained unchanged.

Oh no, it's really gotten fat.

For several days in a row, no news came from Xie Bi'an. Instead, A Zhao brought Zhou's mother and son to their door.

They said that the mother and son were willing to help look after the shop, and they were very grateful for Jiang Yuzhi's help, and would definitely do their best to help her.

There was one variable: Bai Yan figured she wouldn't want them to live with her, so she bought a small house behind the shop for them to live in.

The house was much smaller than the backyard, but the three rooms were more than enough for two people to live in, enough to make the Zhou family mother and son grateful to them.

As a result, the area of ​​the barrier was not large enough. Fortunately, Di Ting was more skilled in the art of barriers than Xie Bi'an.

It easily expanded its influence, even encompassing the neighboring Bai Family Cloth Shop across the street.

The official reason given was to facilitate the observation of Zhou Yong's movements.

Bai Yan was held back by something and couldn't come himself, so he had A Zhao come every day to make his presence known.

The ghosts from the underworld came again, but it wasn't Xie Bi'an; it was Fan Wujiu.

It seems that Hei Wuchang has finally won the round in the standoff over who should stay behind to handle the mountain of official business.

Fan Wujiu did not come alone; a cat named Xiao Jin followed him at his feet. It had a gold back and a silver bed.

Xiao Jin is a cat ghost, chosen to help her keep an eye on Zhou Yong.

It is said to be brave and skilled in battle, bold yet meticulous, and has even helped a new ghost messenger catch ghosts, standing out among all the fox spirits.

The problem is that Di Ting doesn't get along with it, because it's a healthy male cat.

Xiao Jin was afraid of Di Ting's aura and would usually avoid it. The two lived peacefully together for a while.

Occasionally, Zhong Yuxiu would overcome her psychological barrier and bring playing cards and homemade dried fruit to see Jiang Yuzhi. She would also stare enviously at Xiao Jin and Di Ting, who were separated in two corners, and murmur, "It's so good to have both a cat and a dog at such a young age."

Jiang Yuzhi just smiled and said that if they liked them, they could come often.

A note from the author:

----------------------

Minor repairs