Chapter 40. Wang Yu looked much more nervous than He Zhao, her whole body even trembling slightly...
Wang Yu seemed much more nervous than He Zhao, even trembling slightly all over. Without anyone reminding him, He Zhao knew: Wang Yu is no good, unreliable, and can't handle this ghost in front of her.
He Zhao knew that Qiao Yanyu was better. Even if Qiao Yanyu was truly wavering and afraid, she would still give He Zhao strength immediately. But He Zhao couldn't blame Wang Yu either. Although she was trembling, she never once had the thought of abandoning He Zhao and running away for her own life at this moment.
He Zhao swallowed hard. Wang Yu was useless; what could he do? He had no choice but to step in himself.
Although the ghost gave off a very eerie and terrifying feeling, He Zhao still thought that the fact that it didn't attack immediately proved that it didn't have any malicious intent towards him. Even if it didn't sit down, the fact that it came to his stall meant that it was probably there to eat.
Since everyone who comes is a guest, and Qiao Yanyu is not here, He Zhao made up his mind that even if this guest wanted to freeload, he would tolerate it and wait until Qiao Yanyu returned before complaining.
She then clung to Qiao Yanyu's leg and cried, "Look at you! You had to leave me behind. The investigator who came to replace you is unreliable. You should have just stayed calm. I can't trust anyone but you!"
Given Qiao Yanyu's excessively high sense of justice and responsibility, upon hearing the details of this matter and He Zhao's cryptic remarks, she would surely feel extremely guilty and might even promise herself that she would never go on missions again and would obediently stay by her side.
However, He Zhao was just thinking about it. She knew that if a task that only Qiao Yanyu could complete was presented to her, Qiao Yanyu would definitely accept it.
There's nothing I can do; my dear Qiao is just such a good person.
These matters will have to wait until Qiao Yanyu returns. Right now, the problem is dealing with the guests in front of us. He Zhao stood up, her feet stepping directly into the puddles. Even through her cotton shoes, she could feel the icy chill. Such a powerful ghost was indeed rare.
He Zhao remained calm and showed no fear, just like the three nights before she met Qiao Yanyu. She was alone facing a ghost whose depths she knew nothing about and who might swallow her whole.
"What would you like to eat, sir? I specialize in white rice here, ten ghost coins a bowl, fair and square."
The sutured water ghost seemed to raise its head. Its hair in front was too long to see its face, but He Zhao felt that it was looking at him and sizing him up. It replied, "I heard that you have extra spicy rice here."
Oh no, I didn't make any today.
He Zhao thought to himself, but showed no fear on his face. He simply said, "Yes, but you need to make a reservation in advance. After all, there are not many customers who like the extra spicy version. We can't even sell one serving a day. If I prepare in advance, it would be a waste of food. If you want to eat it, register. I need to rest for the next few days. Come back in a few days and I will definitely prepare it for you."
He Zhao's current thought was to get the guests off as soon as possible. She was careful with her words and even mentioned that she would take a few days off, but she didn't specify how many days. She was afraid that the ghost would come knocking again before Qiao Yanyu returned.
Relying on Wang Yu, that little Karami, is really not going to work.
The ghost calmly said "Oh," and then continued, "I've also heard that the rice here can awaken the most beautiful culinary memories from one's past life. Is that true?"
"Hey, the customer is just talking nonsense because they think it tastes good. It's just a regular bowl of white rice, how could it have such an effect?"
He Zhao declined repeatedly, but he couldn't resist the guest's insistence on sitting down to eat. In the end, Gui sat down and casually said, "Give me a bowl. I haven't remembered what rice tastes like in a long time."
It's been dead for so long.
Helpless, He Zhao could only wade through the puddles to serve the guests rice, inserting chopsticks as she served it. After finishing, she quickly put the little heater away. As it turned out, the system was reliable; it had cut off the power to the little heater when the guests' puddle spread. However, the little heater was now inevitably wet from being on the ground, and He Zhao felt a little sorry for it. She wondered if the little heater would still work, especially since it was quite expensive.
She put away the small heater, took off her shoes and socks, wiped them clean with a napkin, and then wrapped her feet tightly in a small blanket. It was cold, really cold.
Wang Yu wasn't idle either. While keeping an eye on the guests, she handed He Zhao two hand warmers. Unlike Qiao Yanyu, He Zhao didn't give her a small blanket or share his hand warmer with her. She had been freezing all night, so she was a bit smarter today and knew to bring hand warmers. Unexpectedly, she was now helping He Zhao out.
He Zhao took Wang Yu's hand warmer and felt a little embarrassed.
But the customers ignored their little antics and focused solely on eating. He Zhao hadn't expected her little stall to spread so widely, attracting customers from far and wide. However, He Zhao still hoped that no one would come running just because they'd heard rumors.
After all, who knows if they can handle the guests themselves?
White rice is indeed very attractive to ghosts, just like the water ghost with the stitches had heard before. It can awaken the ghost's most beautiful food memories from its previous life. At first, it couldn't even remember what it was eating, but as it ate more and more deliciously, it remembered what its favorite food was called.
At first, He Zhao didn't understand what the most delicious food in its memory was, but as it ate, He Zhao understood a little: it was either noodles or rice noodles.
In short, it won't be food.
When the stitched-up water ghost ate, water dripped from its hair into its bowl, turning a perfectly good bowl of white rice into watery rice. But the stitched-up water ghost didn't care at all. It awkwardly held the rice with its chopsticks, then lowered its head, picked up the chopsticks, and started slurping the rice.
That's how you eat? He Zhao twisted his own head off.
If it were any other guest, He Zhao would probably ask, "What are you eating that smells so good?" But she wasn't sure about the seam-stitched water ghost in front of her, and besides, Wang Yu next to her wasn't exactly reliable either, so He Zhao didn't mention it and just sat on the stool waiting for it to finish eating.
The sutured water ghost ate incredibly slowly, its eating speed was simply too slow, mainly because of its bizarre eating posture. If it were noodles or rice noodles, it would probably finish them in no time, but it insisted on eating with its chopsticks held flat, scooping noodles from the bowl, which made it impossible to eat quickly.
He Zhao checked the time. This sutured water ghost was the most dawdling eater, taking a full half hour to finish. Only after it finished did it take out ten yuan worth of ghost money and put it on the table. The moment He Zhao saw the ghost money, he didn't even want it anymore. The reason was simple: it had been soaked in water from the sutured water ghost's body, making it wet and its color different from other ghost money.
After the sutured water ghost placed the ghost money, it didn't leave immediately. Instead, it said to He Zhao, "The food you made is delicious, exactly like my grandma's. It's very tasty. Thank you." Only after saying this did it slowly leave.
From this perspective, the sutured water ghost isn't entirely uncommunicative; it's just that the pressure it exerts is immense. The air around it is almost suffocating, creating a feeling of oppression. If you get even slightly closer, the bone-chilling cold emanating from it seems to transcend spatial limitations and reach He Zhao directly.
Fortunately, it left, and the eerie feeling on my body also left.
Not long after it left, the puddle under the stall and at his feet disappeared, but He Zhao still didn't want to put his feet down. It was the dead of winter, and it would be so cold to leave his feet exposed. But he hadn't put away his rice bowl or collected his money yet, so He Zhao had to get up and work.
He Zhao didn't want to work, so she started thinking of crooked ideas. Just then, Wang Yu came knocking on her door: "Boss, you're really amazing! That ghost was so scary. It was full of resentment, you could tell it was an evil spirit just by looking at it. And judging from its appearance, it was quite strong. If a fight had really broken out, I probably wouldn't have been able to protect you. But you actually managed to drive it away with just a bowl of white rice!"
After listening to her talk for a while, He Zhao finally managed to suppress his urge to complain, but at that moment, it burst forth: "You still have the nerve to say that? You were trembling there for ages without saying a word, and now you know how to praise me?"
"I really don't know if the director sent you to replace Sister Qiao to protect me, or to protect you."
She muttered on and on, and Wang Yu felt embarrassed. Her head drooped lower and lower because what He Zhao said was the truth. Compared to Wang Yu, He Zhao was more like the one protecting others. It was thanks to her brilliant and powerful protection that the suture-sealed water ghost didn't attack the two of them.
Because she was embarrassed, Wang Yu kept her head down and let He Zhao scold her.
He Zhao cursed for a while before finally letting out a sigh of relief: "Here's what we'll do: go and get me the bowls and chopsticks it just used and the ghost money it put down."
"Okay, okay!" Hearing that she had a chance to help, Wang Yu raised her head again. Her feet had just been soaked in water, but now she was fine. She stepped off the wet shoes and stood up to collect the bowls, chopsticks, and ghost money.
Following He Zhao's instructions, he put the dishes and chopsticks in the dishwasher and the ghost money in the money box. This money box had some kind of black technology; the ghost money he put in today would disappear after the event ended, which He Zhao reasonably suspected had been transferred by the system. Previously, the system had given He Zhao ghost money, which was also placed directly in the money box.
After putting his things away, Wang Yu sat down on the stool.
She was still shivering, but not noticeably, and He Zhao knew how uncomfortable it was to have wet shoes and socks in this weather. She was just a little temperamental, but being serious didn't make her a bad person. So He Zhao said, "Why don't you go back first and change your shoes and socks, so you don't catch a cold later?"
Wang Yu became more daring, and He Zhao even vaguely saw tears glistening in her eyes. Wang Yu exclaimed, "Boss, you're such a good person! Don't worry, I definitely won't catch a cold!"
"..."
Is it up to you alone to decide whether or not you have a cold?
He Zhao was inexplicably given another "friend zone" card, and he really felt that there were no bad people in Wang Yu's world.
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