New Year's Eve, the last day of the lunar year.
Every household is busy cleaning their houses and hanging up lights and decorations.
Many people stay at home, making dumplings, buying New Year's goods, and preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner.
The clanging sound of chopping boards was incessant, and the aroma wafted out of the windows of residential buildings, making people's mouths water.
The aroma of braised pork lingered at Bai Liu's nose, and his stomach grew, feeling empty.
Not many people were working on New Year's Eve, and every household was welcoming the New Year, but he was still busy with work.
He rushed from the northeast to the south city without eating anything along the way. He was so hungry that his slow thinking became even more sluggish.
He exhaled, and the water vapor condensed into white mist when it got cold. He felt a little expectant, but also a little uneasy.
He is a very nostalgic person. He has lived in his little nest for so long and refused to move. Now he has made up his mind to move from his hometown to another city to work. He would be lying if he said he was not nervous.
Is his job good? Is his place warm? Will the promise his boss made for him come true?
Countless speculations popped up in his mind as he got closer and closer to South City.
At this time, the electronic advertising screens hanging on the commercial street came into view. "In the past, there was a ferocious monster called Nian. People were afraid of Nian, so they lit candles and oil lamps on New Year's Eve and stayed up all night, gradually forming the habit of staying up all night to celebrate the coming of the new year. Another name for Nian is Xi Beast, and Xi'an Eve means getting rid of Nian Beast. At the same time, Xi'an Eve also represents getting rid of the old year and ushering in the new year."
This is not an isolated case. Many shops on this commercial street have Nian Beast signboards at their doors and Nian Beast stickers on their windows. They also hang Spring Festival couplets and auspicious characters.
Bai Liu paused, feeling a little unreal.
Every household, including businesses, put up couplets to welcome the New Year. Was the New Year celebration such a big deal in the past?
It seems not.
When he was in college, his classmates celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas and gave each other apples. Christmas trees were placed in front of the shops, with ribbons and socks hung on them. As the saying goes, foreign monks are better at chanting sutras, and foreign festivals are also more fashionable.
However, according to the official financial report released this year, consumption of New Year's goods such as couplets increased by 700% year-on-year.
Even a slow-witted person like Bai Liu could sense the changes. Folklore in the country's traditional culture was gaining more and more attention.
At the same time, the country has also introduced many corresponding laws and regulations to regulate this industry.
Traditional culture emphasizes taking the essence and discarding the dross. Folk customs that are not in line with public order and morality or even very horrible are strictly prohibited. Some folk customs that have been proven to be very useful, such as worshiping ancestors, are preserved.
Compared to last year, the existence of the Special Management Bureau is no longer a secret. Now when many people encounter metaphysical problems, they will not call the police directly, but call the official Special Management Bureau phone number, which is much more efficient than before.
This is a collision between traditional culture and modern culture. What will eventually emerge from this collision remains to be seen with time.
After all, the gods of other countries have not revived, only their own country has made some movements. Our country is the first to march, and there is no way to cross the river by feeling any country, so everything can only be done by ourselves.
While thinking about this, Bai Liu hurried towards the address An Rugu sent him, and soon arrived at the agreed Wanhe Building.
After receiving his message, An Rugu went to the door to pick him up. The three animal fox fairies, Gray Fairy and Yellow Fairy, in the Monster House were very curious about Bai Liu. It happened that dinner was not served yet, so they followed him out.
Considering that the restaurant might not allow animals to be brought in for meals, An Rugu asked them to transform into human form.
The fox fairy and the gray fairy were both around 7 or 8 years old. The human form of Wong Tai Sin was the oldest, over 1.7 meters tall, looked to be in his twenties, and dressed in very simple clothes.
Even though he had enough money to buy clothes, he still wore his usual gray jacket and melon-shaped hat.
The three immortals stood at the door, looking at Bai Xian with curiosity in their eyes.
Huang Daxian was shocked: "How did you get here so fast? Faster than a mouse."
The Northeast is a long way from South City. He ran until he was exhausted and it took him many days to get there.
An Rugu just finished his live broadcast this morning, and in the blink of an eye he was already in South City. Did he fly here with wings?
Gray Fairy didn't care, he took the melon seeds from the free fruit plate and gnawed them with his big front teeth. After gnawed for a long time, he finally gnawed out a small melon seed kernel, which was not enough to fill the gap between his teeth.
Being a thrifty person by nature, he looked down at his human body and sighed. It was better to be a mouse, as I could eat a little and be full. If I were a human every day, I would not know how much food I would have to save to have enough to eat.
Bai Liu looked at the three immortals, his eyes froze. The three of them could fool the waiter, but they couldn't fool him. The aura on them clearly showed that they were monsters, and they were the Northeast Five Immortals who were as famous as himself.
He had never seen many spirits in his life, but today when he came to Izumo Temple, he saw three of them at once.
The fox fairy had taken the wrong path before, and now after his cultivation was abolished, he started over again. He has laid a very good foundation, and his base is more solid, and now he is extremely powerful.
Gray Fairy was a wild person before, and he had to learn everything by himself. He didn't know the system of cultivation, nor did he know how to worship the moon to absorb the essence of the sun and the moon. He was lucky to learn something from such a random learning, and he was also very talented. Since Gray Fairy joined the Monster House, he has been guided by two seniors, and his knowledge about cultivation has been improved, making it easier for him to practice.
Bai Liu thought he was powerful enough, but he didn't expect that these three were more powerful than each other, making it impossible for him to see through their cultivation levels.
How could Izumo Temple be so full of talented people?
Bai Liu was extremely shocked. After coming to his senses, he said truthfully: "I was not in a hurry. I came here normally."
The three animals looked at each other, and their impression of Bai Liu was completely changed.
My goodness, he is even faster than the gray fairy who is good at traveling. It is a waste of talent to be a doctor.
"Do you have any secrets for traveling?"
"Yes, I have."
The three animals were very curious. Even the Gray Fairy, who was not interested at first, raised his head and pricked up his ears, waiting for his secret.
Huixian was a little excited. He was already very good at traveling. It took him many days to get here from the northeast. If he could learn Baixian's secret of traveling, he would definitely be faster in the future and be able to help his boss do more things.
Bai Xian covered his head, pressed his fluffy hair, and said with a smile: "I came here by high-speed train."
Three immortals: “???”
Huang Daxian was stunned for a moment, and fell into a daze: "What is this high-speed rail?"
Before he came to the Monster House, he had been living in the mountains and forests, and he had no idea about humans and their technological creations. When he first came down the mountain, he was scared by the steel monster and ran away.
Later, he began to have some trauma. Even when An Rugu asked them to read more relevant information, he read very little.
In short, it is an antique from the old times.
The fox fairy was busy with cultivation, and was oblivious to what was happening outside. He was only focused on reading books of sages and knew nothing about high-speed rail.
Huixian once lived in the countryside and had never seen what a high-speed rail looked like, nor did he know what it was.
The three animals were very curious. Could this high-speed rail be a very powerful mount?
"You don't even know this?" Bai Xian was surprised.
Seeing that the three of them didn't answer, An Rugu guessed what they were thinking, so she tried to smooth things over for them: "They are usually busy with work, so they don't know."
The three immortals all felt a little ashamed. It was so embarrassing to be rescued by the boss.
They seemed to have embarrassed their boss in front of outsiders.
They couldn't help but feel a little regretful, thinking they should have read more books earlier!
"Oh." Bai Xian suddenly realized and tried to explain: "High-speed rail is a technological product invented by humans. The train I took traveled 350 kilometers per hour. It was very fast to get here from the northeast!"
Three hundred and fifty kilometers per hour?
The three animals were shocked. "This is too fast! How did you do it?"
Gray Fairy was worried, thinking silently: "Will I be unemployed then?"
"That's right, and it can attract a lot of people, hundreds of people at a time." Bai Xian said.
The three immortals took a deep breath, their hearts filled with disbelief. This was ten thousand times more powerful than a horse or ox cart. How could human society have developed to this level?
The three of them fell into deep thought. It didn't seem like a good idea for them to practice in seclusion. They still had to listen to An Rugu and learn more about human society.
We can't just work in isolation.
The three decided to add a general knowledge class to their already packed curriculum.
......................
An Rugu took the new Bai Xian to the lobby on the first floor.
Wanhelou is an old restaurant. It does not close during the Chinese New Year and even holds a New Year's Eve dinner in the evening.
The main door is a revolving door with clear glass. Walking through the main door feels like entering a palace. The roof is high with a gorgeous chandelier hanging overhead.
There are now hundreds of employees in Izumo-kan, and they can only reserve the main hall to accommodate them.
Two hundred Nian beasts, two star gods, the white dragon, Shang Yue, and little zombies...
The Nian beasts had never seen such a luxurious restaurant and were immediately shocked.
The scene was very dreamy, and it was completely different from the barren deep sea where they were staying, which made people shocked. Not only them, but even some modern ghosts who had never been to Wanhe Building exclaimed "Fuck" several times.
"No wonder it's called the best building in South City, awesome!"
"I heard that the head of state received foreign guests here before. Maybe the seat I'm sitting in is the same one he sat in before."
The hall is surrounded by gray marble, with giant pillars painted with lively birds and animals. The carved railings and painted buildings retain the ancient splendor while also incorporating modern conveniences.
The meal was about to be served. The waiters put the tall glasses away, folded the tablecloths underneath, and placed sterilized napkins on them.
An Rugu found a seat and sat down, with the little zombie on his left and the little white dragon on his right.
This trip will definitely cost a lot, but it's the New Year and the employees have worked hard for half a year, so it's no problem to indulge themselves occasionally.
This is their company's annual meeting!
Soon, waiters came in with trays of food.
Dongpo pork, four-joy meatballs, braised lion's head, West Lake vinegar fish, dry pot shrimp, garlic spareribs...
There is a dazzling array of dishes, filling the entire table, which is dazzling.
There were endless exclamations, these dishes were simply delicious!
The little white dragon heard the exclamations of the crowd and quietly raised its dragon head, with its back as straight as its waist, its heart filled with pride.
Aren't these dishes delicious? They are all certified by him!
An Rugu didn't care much about food and didn't know much about the dishes at Wanhelou, so he left the task of ordering to Xiaobailong. Every dish here was Xiaobailong's favorite.
Fortunately, Xiao Bailong had good taste and picked out only the dishes that tasted good. All the fancy and unpalatable dishes were discarded.
What's the use of having good looks? What matters is whether the food tastes good. Xiaobailong is very pragmatic when it comes to eating.
After An Rugu gave everyone some words of blessing, she asked everyone to start eating.
After the host spoke, everyone immediately picked up their chopsticks and grabbed the dishes they wanted to eat.
Everyone ate with relish, and they couldn't even raise their heads. No one spoke for a while, and everyone's mind was on the food in Wanhelou.
The staff of Izumoguan Co., Ltd. also surprised the service staff and guests of Wanhelou.
Manager Zhang looked at the strange people in the room and fell silent. Manager Zhang was also a friend of An Rugu. The number of rooms for the New Year's Eve 300,000 yuan and the building was very limited, but An Rugu was able to book a hall, and there was also this reason.
She knew that she had an Izumo company under her, which was usually veiled and hard to understand, and very mysterious.
When I saw it today, it was indeed mysterious.
He looks good, but his behavior is so strange, as if he hasn't eaten for hundreds of years.
Looking at how they were eating with such delicious taste, even she began to doubt herself, is the food in their restaurant really so delicious?
The guests passing by the hall were even more fascinated. The food they ate was so delicious, and the satisfied and happy expressions on their faces didn't look fake, which was more appetizing than eating live broadcasts.
For a moment, everyone's appetite was whetted.
The portions at Wanhelou were not large, so no one was full.
An Rugu had no choice but to ask Manager Zhang to order more dishes.
It may be that the heavier the prototype, the more energy it needs. The Nian beasts have a big appetite, and the little white dragon and the king of Nian beasts have an even bigger appetite.
After she added more food once, not long after, An Rugu asked her to add more food again.
In the end, the entire service team was at a loss. They couldn't remember how many times they had added extra meals and all they knew was to keep urging the kitchen staff.
The hall needs more dishes, please serve them quickly, the guests can't wait!
Finally, the chef rushed out in an apron with a sad face, "We really can't add any more dishes. There's not a single one left. I fried the last handful of greens for you to eat. We won't have any staff meals for lunch."
"You don't look like big eaters, so why is your stomach connected to a black hole?"
Manager Zhang: “…”
An Rugu: “…”
.........................
Izumo Co., Ltd.
An Rugu sighed deeply. It was really too much to eat up all the staff meals at Wanhe Building.
But the Nian monsters, monsters, ghosts... were all very happy, with joy written all over their faces.
An evil Buddha picked his teeth with a toothpick: "Oh, that lion's head is so delicious, it smells so good, I have never eaten such delicious meat in my life."
Another companion nodded seriously, with hatred on his face: "I should have left Master Jingkong and regained my freedom long ago. I was controlled by him for so long in vain. Otherwise, I would have been able to eat such delicious food a long time ago. I am so unlucky!"
Ghosts can't eat physical things, they can only eat taste, and the things they have eaten will become bland and tasteless. Even so, it doesn't stop them from being happy.
Before they came to Izumo-kan, they were like rats in a ditch, having to avoid the light to survive. How could they enjoy such a luxurious feast?
For a moment, everyone was deeply moved by how correct their previous choices were.
This is a really good job!
Even though An Rugu later took his employees to many places for team-building, they still could not forget today's Wanhe Building.
The first time is always special!
Seeing how excited they were, An Rugu did not spoil their fun. After sending them back to the dormitory of Izumo Co., Ltd., he turned around and left.
She returned to her room, feeling inspired, and took out a notebook to write down a summary of the previous year and her outlook for the future.
There are many ghosts in the haunted house now, and tourists from all over the country come here to experience it every day. Many people think that the journey is too far and hope that the haunted house can be opened in their city.
She thought about it, made a check mark behind the plan, and decided to open a chain of haunted houses in the future!
The Monster House is now a cat cafe and pet business. Several immortals are very famous on the Internet. Who doesn't like furry and spiritual things?
Many people come to the Monster House to send their pets to Wong Tai Sin for pet classes. Pet classes are expensive, but people are eager to get them and it is difficult to get a class.
Bai Xian will be a doctor in the Monster House in the future, not only treating the various employees of Gyuyun Co., Ltd., but also treating people with predestined relationships.
The Buddhist currently has a name registered at the Shenxian House and is studying hard, but is not taking any business at the moment.
The two star gods have been impatient to start their business. It is said that the situation is good and they have earned some merits and a lot of commission fees.
Nian is now working closely with government departments, handling cases and salvaging sunken ships. Maybe he can get a job in the future. He came the latest, but he was ahead of other employees.
Xiaobailong is probably the laziest one. Until now, he is still staying in Izumo Temple. He has never thought about cooperating with the government and only helps her run errands occasionally. After all, he is an amphibious aircraft and can run faster than the gray fairy.
She silently said in her heart: "Master, I have many friends too."
She is a rather independent person and always goes to school alone, unlike other girls who go to the bathroom hand in hand.
When the master was alive, he once told her to make more friends, after all, more friends mean more paths.
But making friends depends on fate, she didn't force it. After her master passed away, she quickly made more and more friends, a little too many.
She ran to the tablet of the master and lit three incense sticks, and placed two apples on it. This was the master's favorite fruit, which symbolized peace and safety.
"Master, Happy New Year."
............
The little zombie was fostered by her father in a Taoist temple. Her parents are now in the cell of the Special Management Bureau.
It was New Year's Day. An Rugu thought about it, asked the little zombie for her opinion, and took her to visit the prison.
The people from the Special Management Bureau brought the two of them out together.
A man and a woman were extremely thin, but after seeing their daughter, their eyes were filled with tears and they kept calling her name.
Father Su: "Xiaozhi, do you blame your father?"
Mother Su: "It was Mom who failed to protect you."
Su Zhi pursed her lips and remained silent.
After coming back, she felt depressed and not as happy as before. She subconsciously pulled at the corner of her clothes and followed her closely.
An Rugu touched her soft whorl of hair and said nothing. The little zombie was quite clever. Shang Yue said she was shrewd and clever every day. Children may know more than adults.
It's normal to feel resentful towards such weird parents.
She touched her twin ponytails and saw that they were a little messy, so she braided them again.
The little zombie was stunned for a long time, then suddenly clenched his fists and said tentatively: "Sister, I seem to have become stronger, and my hands feel stronger."
Then he lifted his feet, and the originally stiff joints became much more flexible.
An Rugu looked down and saw that the evil spirit lingering around the little zombie suddenly became heavier. The black energy was like substance, so black that ink could drip out.
She recalled the information about zombies and tried to explain, "Zombies are created by combining the essence of the sun and the moon and resentment. Maybe you have absorbed a lot of the essence and resentment recently, so your abilities have become stronger."
Yuan Mei's "Continuation of Zi Bu Yu" says: "The corpse first changes into a drought demon, and then changes into a 犼."
It is said that above the unmelted bones is the drought demon, and above that is the drought demon.
However, these two have never appeared in the world, and experts only regard them as legends.
The little zombie's eyes widened and became extremely bright.
If you feel resentful, isn't that just being angry?
Wow, it turns out that being angry can make you stronger?
"Then I will be angry every day from now on!"
"...That's not necessary."
At the same time, the moisture on the ground under the little zombie's feet seemed to have evaporated, and the ground was like cracked skin.
Flowers, plants and trees gradually lose water and begin to wither.
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