8 Chapter 8
◎Thanks for the air freshener delivered to my door.◎
The investigator who went around to check the roof of a street-facing shop made a gesture, indicating that there was indeed no coldness unique to the strange environment nearby.
Just as he was about to check other places, Lao Li caught a glimpse of a hint of gold hanging in the shop owner's messy hair, and his eyes fixed on it.
It seems like a small amount of money?
Wait, could it be... a strange creature that [Life Money] turned into after it crashed?!
Noticing her gaze, Ye Pingan was puzzled, "Huh? Is there something on my head?"
Lao Li's heart was in his throat, "Don't—"
The destructiveness of the weird things is not as strong as the resurrected weirdness, but if you touch them directly without preparation, something bad may happen!
Before she could stop him, she saw Ye Ping'an smoothing his hair.
"Oh, I almost lost it." Ye Ping'an said thank you while holding the gold foil and copper coins.
The downside to gold leaf being lightweight is that static electricity can easily cause it to come out when you roll around in your sleep. Luckily, the officer saw it, otherwise I wouldn't have known where I'd lost it.
Upon closer inspection, the gold foil lying in the palm of the hand did not have any strange aura. It was bare and did not have the words "Tian Di Tong Bao" that would have been on the original body of the [Life-Buying Money].
Looking left and right, it is clearly no different from the small-weight decorations that everyone loved to buy when small gold pendants were popular before.
Old Li pressed his forehead.
[Money to Buy Life] I haven’t found the strange creature yet, so I’m suspicious of everything.
Seeing that she seemed interested, Ye Ping'an's eyes turned, "Officer, this is a witness to the opening of my business. Although it is only a few grams and worthless, its arrival will bring prosperity to my business——"
Gold shops rarely recycle gold that is even a few tenths of a gram, so you can still make a profit by selling the gold you get for free privately!
Old Li: ...
"No need." Old Li interrupted the shop owner's endless sales talk, thought for a moment, called the investigator who had just returned from patrol, and took the last candle in his hand.
It was about the same size as a birthday candle, but it was off-white and the color was uneven, like some kind of ashes that had been barely condensed together and pinched together.
The candlelight, which should have been orange, was too dim to be seen clearly, with a faint smoke and the faint scent of sandalwood that had accumulated over the years in Taoist temples.
Bai Xuan leaned against the car window and asked quietly, "Is that the Purification Candle? I heard it can remove and weaken the residual ghost energy. Normally, only C-level and above big ghosts will use the Purification Candle. This is the first time I've seen it."
The investigator driving the car nodded. "Of the purifying candles distributed by the General Administration, only a few were distributed throughout Jiang City. If it weren't for the frequent strange appearances in this area, given how clean the strange aura is here, they wouldn't have needed to use the purifying candles to do a thorough cleanup."
The shop owner had encountered a series of strange things passing by, but he hadn't been involved in any of them. It was hard to say whether it was bad luck or good luck. A final candle might as well have been used to ward off bad luck.
"Thank you for your cooperation in the investigation. Boss, you can go back and rest now." Old Li held the candle and waved to Ye Ping'an, reminding him implicitly, "Avoid walking at night recently. Be careful."
The candlelight flickered in front of Ye Ping'an, almost went out, and then slowly burned again before anyone noticed.
Ye Ping'an raised his nose.
The smell of gasoline left by vehicles speeding in the middle of the night has been replaced by the scent of sandalwood.
The store had just run out of air freshener, and the police officers were quite nice, so we had some money left over.
Ye Ping'an asked without hesitation, "Where did you buy your scented candles? They're really good at removing odors. Do you have any other scents? Are they expensive?"
Old Li suppressed the twitching corners of his mouth and said, "...Not for sale to the public."
"You're tracking down criminals and investigating crimes late at night, and you're also responsible for street hygiene... Officer, you've been working hard."
Ye Ping'an's eyes were filled with sincere anticipation for business. "We have wontons in the store. They'll be ready soon. How about some to warm your stomach?"
Old Li still remembers the noodles he had yesterday.
When I first tasted it, I just thought it tasted good, and it warmed my stomach after a cold night, and I feel comfortable when I think about it.
But the cell phone that kept vibrating in her pocket reminded her that the search for sleep paralysis was not over yet.
"No, I still have work to do. We'll go back to the cafeteria to eat later."
After confirming the candles were burned out and returning to the car, Lao Li heard the new investigator's complaining voice, "The captain is really good... He even improved our meals when we were on missions."
Old Li laughed angrily, "After we're done, you can eat whatever you want.
Just got word from the hospital that the victims of sleep paralysis have suddenly awakened from their vegetative states. Captain, you're going to the hospital. You'll follow me as we cover several more locations tonight. We haven't received any calls related to nightmares or suspected sleep paralysis attacks, but Bai Xian has noticed a few locations with strange auras that need to be checked out.
The new investigator was excited. "The victim of the deep impact has awakened... The [Sleep Paralysis] system has unexpectedly crashed? It's a bit strange, but please do more of these strange things!"
"Drive quickly." Old Li urged, his brows relaxing a little.
Watching the convoy leave, Ye Ping'an closed the shop door.
The world I traveled through seemed to have average public security. Yesterday there were counterfeit currency dealers, and today the police were chasing the criminals.
But the world is big, and people's livelihood is the most important, so as long as it doesn't affect her shop, it's fine. The police will investigate the case, and it's not her turn as an ordinary citizen to worry about it.
The sound of cars gradually became heard on the road, and on the other side of the street near the student dormitory, smoke began to rise from the chimney of a breakfast shop.
After being woken up repeatedly, Ye Ping'an lost his sleepiness.
The agricultural wholesale market opens early, so if you take a walk over, you can catch the freshest batch, which can be regarded as morning exercise.
Ye Ping'an had checked yesterday while familiarizing himself with the area. His restaurant wasn't far from the residential areas and the university campus, though it was a bit out of the way from the core business district. After buying groceries, the customers who had the leisure to stroll to the end of the street were almost out.
As long as the basic customer flow is there and people have come, Ye Ping'an will not worry about not having repeat customers.
As soon as I got back to the store, my phone started vibrating one after another, all of which were photos of vegetable fields.
Xia Zihan apologized profusely: "I accidentally fell asleep last night, so I took photos for the boss this morning. Do you like any of these? I'm in the fields right now, I'll pick some and bring them over for you."
Looking at the photos, the vegetables are indeed good and there are many varieties. Unfortunately, probably because I was sick before and didn’t have time to take care of them, the fastest growing leeks are a bit old and can only wait for the next crop.
When Ye Ping'an turned to the bottom of the photo, his eyes lit up. "There are bamboo shoots? Bring some over."
Slowly simmer the chicken soup over low heat, repeatedly fold and roll out the dough that has been proofed, and the unfolded dough should be just soft and elastic.
Ye Ping'an had just finished wrapping a plate of wontons when he heard someone knocking on the door.
"Boss—Is the boss here?"
When I looked over, I saw Xia Zihan coming with a bag of bamboo shoots.
Ye Pingan wiped his hands and took the bag. "How much is it? Why are you here so early? Didn't you say you were going to the temple?"
"Well, no need to go."
Xia Zihan lowered his voice mysteriously, "You don't know, I vaguely remember having a nightmare last night, but I slept soundly afterwards. A-choo! I woke up feeling refreshed this morning. My classmate's family was terribly sleepy yesterday, but they're also full of energy today and haven't felt sleepy at all. A-choo! I thought it was because I bumped into something dirty. I didn't go to the temple, but just praying about it was so effective. It really is true that sincerity can work!"
Ye Pingan poured her a cup of hot water speechlessly. "It worked so well, how come you caught a cold again overnight? People still have to believe in science."
"Ahem, didn't I fall asleep sitting on the floor last night? That's normal, normal." Xia Zihan wiped his nose and looked around the store. "Boss, your store is well decorated. When did you open it? But... why is there no menu? I remember you said yesterday that you serve noodles?"
Ye Pingan picked up the chalk and said, "Today's dish hasn't been written yet. The dishes are different every day, depending on the ingredients."
"Chicken soup/red oil and fresh pork wontons..." Xia Zihan looked at the price and found it was a little more expensive than the chain store's wontons, so he couldn't help but hiss.
The boss is old, is it worth the price?
Forget it, I’m here anyway.
If it doesn't taste good, then at worst she won't promote it, and can just help with the vegetable sales. She couldn't let the public account she had worked so hard to build be ruined by accepting advertisements.
Xia Zihan asked: "How many wontons are there? I want to try both chicken soup and red oil, but I don't have a big appetite this morning..."
"The small portion is ten, and the large portion is sixteen. If you have a small appetite, the small portion will be enough. So, I'll make you two half portions so you don't have too much to finish."
"Okay!" Xia Zihan took a tissue, wiped the table as usual, and was stunned for a moment.
Eh? There's no oil at all. Is it really that clean?
Yes, it just opened, so they probably bought some old solid wood tables and chairs, so they can’t be that dirty.
She was busy replying to the messages she had missed yesterday due to sleepiness when there was a slight sound and two bowls fell to the table.
A hazy heat wafted in, and a spicy fragrance rushed into my nose, which was not very sensitive due to a cold.
"Ah—choo!"
Xia Zihan covered his nose and his eyes lit up.
It smells so good!
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