After confirming that it was someone who opened the door, Lin Yan finally calmed her violently beating heart.
It wasn't that she was afraid of ghosts, but rather that the scene she had just witnessed was truly eerie.
The person opposite him was not only ashen-faced, but also had dark circles under his eyes.
Most importantly, her brow bone was completely bald, without a single eyebrow!
"Are you frightened, young lady? Our establishment has been closed for a long time and hasn't served men in ages, which is why Lotus isn't wearing makeup and might look a bit scary. But if you're here to catch someone in the act of adultery, you should go to the brothel on West Street."
Lin Yan was speechless at her words and almost forgot the purpose of her visit.
She never expected that the people of the Northwest would be so fierce, with many women daring to go to brothels to catch adulterers in the act!
“Miss, you misunderstand. I did not come to catch them in adultery. I heard that the madam of this brothel once bought young children. I have a distant younger brother who went missing a while ago, so I came here specifically to look for him.”
“Our madam died long ago. All the children we bought were rescued by the prefect. Those who weren’t taken away by their parents are all in the orphanage. You can go there and look for them, young lady.”
Upon hearing that the prefect had saved all the children, Lin Yan's furrowed brows finally relaxed.
"Thank you for telling me, young lady. I'll go look for her later. You just said your madam is dead. Aren't you going to sell this property and find another way to make a living?"
"Several lives have been lost in this building, how could anyone possibly take over our place? Besides, we're all prostitutes, what else can we do outside of this building? We'll just live one day at a time here."
Lotus gave a self-deprecating laugh, radiating intense sadness.
Lin Yan felt as if she were overwhelmed by her sadness. She glanced into the building and saw many girls quietly opening their doors to peek inside.
Suddenly, her eyes met those of a familiar girl, the same girl who had greeted her that day.
However, Lin Yan's gaze did not linger on Tao Hua for even a second, since she did not recognize any of the girls in the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.
How many girls are still living in your building?
"After the murder at Baihualou, some of the sisters were afraid of this place and went to other brothels. Since the indentures had been burned, many more sisters took their saved money and got married. Now, some have left, some have scattered, and only the sixteen of us sisters are left. We are also fortunate that someone died in this brothel, so these days, no man has dared to come here to bully us."
"I wonder if you could gather all the girls together? I have a business to discuss with you."
Seeing the resistance in her expression, Lin Yan guessed that she thought Lin Yan would let them continue working as prostitutes, and quickly added:
"Don't worry, I won't let you do what you did before!"
Only after hearing her words did Lotus feel relieved enough to invite the people into the building and call out all the girls.
"Hello everyone, my name is Lin Yan, and I run a food business. I came here today on business and happened to see this building abandoned, which I find very regrettable. I plan to take over this building and open a hot pot restaurant. I believe you would rather stay in this building where people have died than go to another brothel to resume your old ways, which shows you have a lot of self-respect. Therefore, I will keep you here to help out in the restaurant, although the wages will be low, only two taels a month. If you cannot accept this, you can leave now. If you accept this, you must follow my requirements."
“Miss Lin, we’re willing to stay! We don’t need to be paid, as long as you can let us stay here…”
Lotus is twenty-five years old, the oldest among these dozen or so girls, and their eldest sister.
Therefore, she stepped forward and asked nervously:
"What are your requirements, young lady?"
"My requirements are simple. After all, I run a food business, not a prostitution business. I hope you will forget your old habits from the brothels and, when customers come in, you are not allowed to have any ambiguous physical contact with them as before. Anyone caught doing so will be permanently dismissed. We are running a legitimate business and living with integrity!"
Lin Yan's voice was loud and clear, echoing throughout the entire brothel, and the lobby fell silent.
All the girls were deeply moved by her words about living an upright life.
"Don't worry, young lady! We will definitely live an upright life! It's just that someone has died in our brothel, so even if we open, I'm afraid no customers will come in..."
The problem that Lotus was worried about was actually the same problem that Lin Yan was worried about.
However, to reassure the girls, she didn't show it and confidently assured them:
"Don't worry, I've already come up with a plan. You can continue to live in this building as before, and I'll hire two thugs to protect your safety."
Whether it was Lin Yan's imagination or not, ever since she entered the brothel, Peach Blossom's gaze seemed to be fixed on her...
All afternoon, all the girls were doing a thorough cleaning of the brothel, so Lin Yan went to the government office and bought the brothel at a low price.
Since there were already tables and chairs in the building, she only ordered fifty pots.
This brothel is very large, with sixteen rooms upstairs and fifteen rooms downstairs.
Apart from the eight rooms where the sixteen girls lived, the room where she lived and the room where the thug lived, and the room where the dead men lived, there were twenty rooms left that could be used as private rooms.
Of course, the signboard was also changed to "Lin Family Hot Pot Restaurant".
On the third day, several shops delivered the pots and signboards one after another.
At noon, Lin Yan opened the gate. As firecrackers went off, more and more people gathered at the entrance of the brothel, whispering among themselves.
"What's going on? This brothel is actually planning to open?! So many people have died already, it'll be haunted every day!"
"That's right! I heard those people died horribly, they must be filled with resentment, we'd better stay away from them!"
"Lin Family Hot Pot Restaurant? What's that? Don't they run flower shops anymore?"
"I remember now, I had this hot pot once in Hongyang County, and it was absolutely delicious!"
"It does smell really nice, but I'm too scared to go in..."
Lin Yan overheard every word of their conversation, but she didn't take it to heart.
Instead, he gestured to the Taoist priests that they could begin the "ritual to deliver the wronged souls" to the afterlife.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Those who died in the building were all wicked people. Now that the Taoist priest has seen through the secrets of heaven, they have all gone to hell. You can all come in and enjoy your meal with peace of mind. The first five customers eat for free! The first ten customers get half price."
As soon as Lin Yan finished speaking, the person who had said he had eaten there before was the first to enter the store and start eating hot pot!
With him leading the way and having personally witnessed the Taoist priest performing rituals, more and more people couldn't resist the temptation of free services and flocked to the shop.
Just then, a disdainful female voice suddenly rang out from the crowd:
"Hey! Isn't this that brothel where someone died before? Aren't the people who eat there afraid of getting diseases?"
After saying that, she picked up a handkerchief and held it to her nose, as if she was really afraid of being infected by the polluted air.
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