Chapter 051: Cemetery Bones (7)
As soon as he entered the street, a young couple rushed out of a roadside coffee shop and grabbed him without saying anything: "Boss, I finally found you. Where have you been? I can't contact you. Is this coffee shop still open?"
When there are many people around, even though others can't see it, the clouds above his head will disappear, probably because they are afraid of disturbing him.
Tao Xing really didn't have time to talk to He Lin at this moment. He saw that the two of them were wearing the same aprons and plastic hats, so they should be coffee shop employees. The coffee shop was quite large, and the original wood decoration style was very elegant.
"Wow, I'm the boss." He was delighted. Running a coffee shop wasn't bad, but why was the balance in the account so bleak?
"Of course you are the boss." The female clerk said, "But didn't you say a few days ago that there was no business? You also said that you were going to marry into a wealthy family. You're not going to open the shop anymore. Give us a definite answer whether you are going to open the shop or not. We can't keep wasting time here with you."
Looking through the glass, there were indeed not many customers in the store, but it would be a shame to throw away such a good location and well decorated. Tao Xing said, "I was joking. I was going to make it."
"Then you should give us money to buy the raw materials, and also pay us our wages."
Tao Xing checked the balance: "How much is it?"
The clerk was slightly stunned. He used to be reluctant when asked for money, but why is he so generous today?
When she told him the amount, Tao Xing breathed a sigh of relief: "Not bad, it's enough."
After confirming his identity and transferring the money, he was about to go into the store to take a look when someone came over and pulled his arm.
The original owner was quite busy and knew a lot of people.
Tao Xing turned around and saw a woman in her forties, wearing a light purple cheongsam, with her hair tied up in a low bun. There was a red cloth strip on her shoulder with the word "Volunteer" written on it, and a row of small characters below it said "xx Street".
Tao Xing understood clearly what was going on with the neighborhood committee.
The lady from the neighborhood committee was elegant but anxious, "Xiao Tao, forget about your store for now and go home. Your rich brother has been here several times. I just saw their car drive in again. I wonder if it will embarrass your grandma."
Upon hearing this, Tao Xing quickened his pace and headed home.
The original owner's home was on this street, not far from the coffee shop. It took a few minutes to run to it. It was an elegant courtyard. There were several cars parked in front of the door, and many people were watching, so it was very crowded.
He squeezed in and saw several people standing in the yard in a proud manner. The one leading them was wearing a long windbreaker. As expected, it was the original owner's brother Tao Chi.
At this moment, Tao Chi was looking coldly at an old man on the steps.
The older woman, wearing a knitted shawl and glasses, sat in a chair with a calm expression: "I haven't seen him for a few days. I really don't know where he is."
Tao Xing slowly closed the gate, rolled up his sleeves and walked up.
Tao Chi also said viciously to the man on the steps: "Old man, don't play tricks. If I can't even find you, where else can I find you? What's wrong with marrying into the Lin family? He was obviously very happy at the beginning, but he changed his mind at the engagement, which made both families lose face. He must bear this responsibility. Before the Lin family breaks the contract, he must go back and get married!"
The old woman raised her glasses and said, "If this marriage is really that good, why don't you go? Everyone knows that the young master of the Lin family is famous for being arrogant and domineering. I don't know how Xiao Xing would have been bullied in the past. It's good that he escaped."
"Me?" Tao Chi smiled contemptuously, "My sweetheart is about to return to China, how can I marry someone else? This marriage is related to the survival of the Tao Group. I will find him no matter what. Old man, are you really not going to tell me?"
"I don't know."
Tao Chi was furious: "Then don't blame me for being rude..."
"Why are you being so rude?" He suddenly heard a harsh voice behind him. The voice was not loud, but it carried an indescribable oppressive force that made him shiver.
Tao Chi turned around to see who was coming, and was stunned for a moment before reacting: "Great, you finally showed up!"
"Yes, I'm back." Tao Xing raised her eyebrows.
Tao Chi walked over with gritted teeth: "I called you so many times, why didn't you answer any of them?"
"Oh, I was staying somewhere else these days, so there was no signal and I didn't hear it."
"Huh, three days ago I told you to go home, why didn't you come?"
"Three days ago?" Tao Xing thought about it. Oh, it was the day he ran away from his marriage when he was sitting in a taxi and answered the phone. "I didn't hear it."
I really didn't hear it. The car was stuck in a trance at that time and the signal was chirping.
"My father, I, and the Lin family have been waiting for you all night!" Tao Chi shouted.
"I didn't ask you to wait. You didn't hear me after I told you. Besides, whether you heard me or not, I didn't say I would come back."
Tao Chi got even more furious, and grabbed his shoulders and said, "Stop talking nonsense, and come with me to apologize to the Lin family right now. I think we should not get engaged. The longer the night, the more trouble we will have. Let's just get married and go!"
Tao Xing raised her hand to brush him away and walked forward: "No."
"How dare you? It's not your turn to say 'no'."
Tao Xing stamped his feet, turned back, and said word by word: "Do you think I dare?"
"You..." The man behind him felt the pressure again. He swallowed, clenched his fist, and waved his hand, "Come on, everyone."
Upon hearing this, several others rushed forward.
Tao Xing's eyes were stern. Fang Fang raised his hand. Suddenly, there was a "crash" sound and a strong wind blew in the yard.
"What's going on?" The thugs looked around in shock.
Tao Xing looked up, smiled knowingly, walked to the woman, and said softly, "Grandma, it's okay."
It's indeed okay, there is no change in their eyes.
However, in the eyes of Taochi and the others, they saw the sunlight disappearing into the clouds, and the surroundings suddenly became dark, and the sunny day was plunged into darkness in the blink of an eye.
The few of them couldn't see the direction clearly and were turning around in place. They wanted to take out their mobile phones to light up, but then they heard sobbing, distant and ethereal, as if ghosts were crying. In the darkness, there was a faint green flame jumping, and it was getting closer and closer along with the sobbing sound.
Several people were horrified and trembling: "What is that? No...it can't be a ghost?"
"Nonsense, how can there be ghosts in broad daylight?"
"A ghost that can appear in broad daylight must be more powerful. It must be the legendary evil ghost..."
"Don't say any more..."
They hugged each other tightly. Tao Chi was squeezed in the middle and could hardly breathe. He said stubbornly, "How could there be a ghost? I don't believe it..."
The will-o'-the-wisp fire suddenly approached, and fell quietly on their necks, bringing gusts of cool air. Tao Chi suddenly stopped talking, his upper and lower teeth chattered, and he dared not say any more.
Through the flickering will-o'-the-wisp fire, they saw some white marks looming in the darkness. Several people stared in horror, and when the white marks came closer, they were suddenly startled.
They were skeletons, staggering towards them crookedly, with sharp fingers opening and closing, as if they were going to tear them to pieces in the next moment.
"Ah..." A shrill scream was heard in the yard. Several people fled frantically. After bumping into the courtyard wall several times, they finally found the gate, ran out and fled.
When the gate was pushed open, the sun was shining brightly outside, but the people were too frightened to pay attention. They just screamed and got into the car, urging the driver to drive faster.
The people outside were talking about what happened. They all looked pale, as if they had seen a ghost.
The farce was over and the onlookers gradually dispersed. Tao Xing closed the gate to block out the sounds from outside.
Then, he raised his eyes and whispered, "Helin, is that you?"
A pink cloud appeared above his head, with a line of words floating in it: [It is me, using the spirit energy left in you to teach them a lesson. My power is limited, so I can only help you this much.]
"Thank you."
[Why are you being so polite to me?]
Tao Xing smiled and returned to the woman: "Grandma, I'm sorry, I've been hiding outside for a few days and couldn't contact you. I've caused you trouble again."
Grandma was slightly startled, and looked at him for a long time with her glasses, her eyes slightly moist: "Xiao Xing has grown up, and has become polite now."
Tao Xing: “…”
The original owner seemed to be quite unscrupulous.
Grandma wiped her tears, held his hand and said, "If you're not here, it's useless for them to embarrass me. They only came to clamor twice. But, didn't you say before that Young Master Lin is pretty and his family is so rich, so this marriage is not a loss at all, and the relationship can be cultivated? Then why did you suddenly run away again? What do you think?"
The pink cloud above his head shook twice, but no words appeared. The other party seemed to have something to say, but said nothing.
Tao Xing said, "At first I was blinded by money, and you thought I was too ignorant. Now I..." He raised his eyes slightly and raised his voice, "I will not develop feelings with that young master."
The pink cloud shook again.
Tao Xing smiled secretly.
"That's good. I wasn't optimistic about this marriage in the first place, but your brother obviously won't give up and insists that you marry him instead. The Lin family hasn't made any move yet, and I don't know what they will say. What if they force the marriage?"
"This brother was pretty scared today. I don't think he would dare to come again. As for the Lin family, that young master doesn't like me and I don't like him either. Why would he force a marriage? What's more, it's just an engagement party. There's no marriage, no legal relationship, and the business dealings brought by the marriage haven't even started. What right does he have to force me?" This has been found out from the original owner's phone. The Lin family promised to support the Tao family, but it has not yet been fulfilled.
Moreover, what does supporting the Tao family have to do with him, who left the Tao family when he was young?
Tao Xing pressed his hand: "Don't worry about me." The skin under his fingertips was rough. He lowered his eyebrows and looked at it, slightly startled: "Grandma, are you sick?"
There were some needle marks on the back of the hand.
"It's an old problem. It has always been like this. It won't kill you, and it won't get rid of it." Grandma looked at him with relief, "Xiao Xing has really grown up and knows how to care about me."
Tao Xing pursed her lips and sighed again, saying that the original owner was really a reckless person.
"It's late and cold outside. Let me help you into the house." He helped the old man into the living room and then went to the kitchen to cook.
He is not very good at cooking, so he looked up some recipes and hurriedly made something that looked pretty good. Judging from grandma's expression, it didn't taste bad.
After dinner, I went out to buy tools for repairing the cemetery.
After shopping, I went to the coffee shop. Normally there would be more people at night, but it was still deserted with only two or three people.
He walked in and a young woman leaning against a bookshelf greeted him: "Boss Tao is here."
The woman was wearing a smart suit, typing away on a computer and taking a sip of coffee from time to time. She was probably a workplace elite.
Tao Xing nodded: "Well, hello."
The crackling sound stopped, and the woman raised her eyes and smiled, "I haven't seen you for a few days. You don't even call me Sister Xu anymore. I just want to get you."
Oh, it's a regular customer. Tao Xing quickly said, "Hello, Sister Xu."
Sister Xu raised her eyebrows: "I heard that your store is going to close down. I'm waiting to buy it when it closes."
"Then you will be disappointed, Sister Xu. I don't plan to close." Tao Xing smiled, walked to the front desk, looked at the machinery and raw materials, and then took the price list.
There's nothing special about the raw materials, the price is not low, and the variety is limited. It would be a miracle if this business could continue.
There are so many coffee brands. If you want customers to remember yours, you have to have your own characteristics. Tao Xing was thinking about ways to improve it. He talked with two shop assistants and then rearranged the layout of the store. It was not something that could be done in one day, so he had to take it slow.
It was past nine o'clock in the evening when he returned. The wind was clear and the moon was bright. He walked slowly on the street, and the clouds above his head moved slowly with him.
The cloud said: [Your life is so lively.]
Tao Xing smiled: "It's quite lively there too."
The cloud was silent for a while: [Is there moonlight tonight?]
"Yes, the moonlight is beautiful."
[I really want to do it again...] The words in the cloud appeared halfway and then disappeared.
Tao Xing had already reached the door of her house, gently pushed the gate open, and said in a gentle voice, "I really want to dance with you under the moon again."
The clouds swayed slightly a few times and then disappeared, as if shy.
Tao Xing smiled secretly, closed the door, and saw that his grandma had fallen asleep. He tiptoed to wash up and returned to his room.
The room is not big, but it is very clean and warm. I don’t know whether the original owner cleaned it himself or his grandmother has been cleaning it.
The bed was next to the window, and the moonlight just happened to fall on him. He lay with his hands behind his head. The clouds had not yet appeared. He smiled helplessly and said softly, "Good night."
A pink cloud appeared floating in the air, revealing two words: [Good night.]
Tao Xing couldn't help but reach out and touch it. He knew there was no touch, only cold water vapor brushing against his skin, but it still made his heart soft.
Early the next morning, he prepared meals for his grandma, then went to the coffee shop to make some arrangements. Then, he picked up his tools and started to repair the cemetery.
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