Old Li took a few deep drags on his cigarette, slowly exhaling. The grief on his face lessened considerably. He said slowly, "This factory belongs to the government. At the time, to avoid causing panic, the incident was suppressed."
"After the factory closed down, Zhao Lijuan also became homeless. Later, she became a beggar sleeping on the streets, and we don't know what happened to her in the end."
"After the factory closed down, the government stepped in, sold all the machines inside, paid some wages to the workers, and also provided some compensation to the few people who died later. The factory became an empty shell and was abandoned for several years. It was only a few years ago that the government reorganized it and started renting it out. Before your courier station moved in, several bosses had rented the factory, but they all ran away because they saw something evil inside and were scared away, losing even their deposits. Later, someone from higher up intervened and found several Taoist priests to perform a ritual, locking the small room with a copper lock. That was the end of the matter. More than a year later, your boss rented the factory to run a courier business, and the second and third floors were rented to the owner of a dance class."
After Old Li finished talking about the factory, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon.
"Changming, it's getting late, go back." Old Li stood up, limped into the inner room, and waved to me.
"Take care, Uncle Li. I'll come to see you again when I have time." I stood up, nodded, and walked towards the wealthy man.
When I arrived at the gate of the courtyard, Old Li suddenly called out to me and said, "Changming, I have something to tell you: no matter what you hear at night, don't go out, and don't be curious to look at it."
"I understand, thank you." I bowed deeply to Old Li and rode away on my electric bike.
On the way back, I kept thinking about what Old Li had said. I never imagined that the knitting factory that was the predecessor of the express station had so many problems that were all covered up. No wonder I had never heard a word about it even though I had worked there for so long.
To be honest, I'm not sure if what Old Li said is true or false, but I don't think Old Li has any reason to lie to me. If he's the kind of person who spreads rumors, why doesn't he expose the knitting factory's affairs? Or is he afraid of making a mess of things?
I can't figure it out, so I'm not going to think about it anymore. I should think about how to get through the night. Old Li told me not to open the door and go out no matter what noise I hear at night, but even if I hide in the house, I probably won't be able to sleep.
When I rode my electric bike back to the courier station with a heavy heart, it was already six o'clock in the afternoon. Xu Dalong and Zhong Lingui had already gone home after get off work. Feng Enbin was sorting the collected packages and loading them onto Zhang Guangyin's truck. A little while later, Zhang Guangyin also drove away.
"Brother, I'm off work too. See you tomorrow," Feng Enbin said with a smile, patting my shoulder.
I nodded to him and said, "See you tomorrow."
A little while later, An Lili also clocked out of get off work, said goodbye to me, and rode her electric bike home.
The teachers and students of the dance class on the second floor had already left at five o'clock sharp.
At this moment, I was the only one left in the courier station. Remembering what Old Li had said, I suddenly felt very uneasy.
I ordered takeout, and after dinner, I went back to that small room, took out the clothes from my suitcase, took a shower in the bathroom of the courier station, washed and hung the clothes to dry. By then it was already dark. I went back to my room, closed the door, lay on the bed, and took out my phone to start playing some games.
For some reason, even though I was playing the game, I kept thinking about what Old Li had told me. If what Old Li said was true, there were probably more than two evil spirits in the courier station right now. One was that little girl named Xu Huihui, and the other should be Fang Lei. I think Xu Huihui is alright, but Fang Lei, if what Old Li said is true, then he must be a very fierce evil spirit. He has harmed so many people and his resentment is simply overwhelming.
After playing on my phone for a while, I really lost interest and couldn't fall asleep. Suddenly, I remembered my good friend Tong Liu, so I dialed his number.
"Hey bro, what's up?" Tong Liu's rough voice came through the phone, accompanied by some music.
"Where are you?" I asked.
"I'm drinking at a bar, there are a few pretty girls there, wanna come?" Tong Liu said loudly.
"Okay, fine, you go ahead and have fun, I won't go, I'll hang up now." I replied and hung up the phone. I originally wanted to ask Tong Liu to come and stay with me for the night, but since he's drinking now, I think I'll pass.
It was already 9 p.m. I put down my phone and lay down on the bed. Because I was scared, I didn't dare turn off the light, but I wasn't used to sleeping with the light on. I tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep no matter what I did. Actually, I was already very tired, both physically and mentally, after all the tossing and turning these past few days, but I just couldn't fall asleep at all.
I closed my eyes tightly, trying to force myself to sleep and stop thinking about the factory. But the more I tried to stop, the more my mind rebelled, constantly replaying what Old Li had told me. At that moment, I really regretted going to see Old Li. Originally, it was just Xu Huihui, but now I've learned about an even more terrifying existence.
I lay in bed with my eyes closed, unable to fall asleep, so I got up and turned off the light. The room suddenly became pitch black, and I became even more frightened.
Just then, I suddenly felt a stomach ache and needed to go to the toilet. Damn it, I deliberately didn't drink much water all afternoon so I wouldn't have to get up to go to the toilet tonight, but now I'm getting an upset stomach. It must be because of that fast food. No wonder the food always tasted weird when I ate it. It must be leftovers.
I picked up my phone and checked the time; it was already 10:30 PM. I squeezed my legs together, trying to hold it in until dawn, but after a short while, I felt I couldn't hold it in any longer. If I didn't go to the bathroom, I figured I'd poop on the bed right away.
"Damn it, whatever, if I don't get out of here soon, I'm going to poop in my pants." I cursed under my breath, giving the fast food restaurant owner a thorough dressing-down, then got up, turned on the light, used my phone for flashlight, and rushed to the toilet in a frantic rush.
On the way, I kept holding it in, afraid that I would poop in my pants before I even got to the toilet. At that moment, I didn't care about being scared at all. I felt that even if there was something dirty in front of me, I could just knock it away.
Fortunately, I arrived in time and didn't poop in my pants. I squatted in the toilet for more than ten minutes before I weakly walked out, mentally cursing the fast food restaurant owner's ancestors for eighteen generations.
I went back to my room and closed the door. Before I could even lie down on the bed, I heard a strange sound, like a baby crying or a child laughing.
I immediately tensed up, my scalp tingled, and I sat motionless on the bed. I tried to force myself not to listen to the sounds outside, but the more I did that, the clearer the sound became, as if it were calling right at my door.
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