"He returned," he said, and I rolled my eyes. "What do you mean, you returned? Did you just rewatch Shaolin Soccer?"
"Haha!"
Old Tie felt better after realizing the situation and burst into loud laughter. Then he said, "Qing Ge, get us some filled pancakes. Let's keep drinking."
"Are you guys crazy!"
Superstition was deeply rooted in the hearts of ordinary people for thousands of years. To strip away this belief from the minds of believers was not a task for one person, but a project.
"Xu Xiaoting, do you know why I'm so rich?"
Xu Xiaoting blinked and asked, "Why are you talking about this now?"
"The reason I'm so rich is that in the year 2000, I met a ghost?"
"A ghost? You met a ghost."
"Yes, that ghost has been by my side, helping me, teaching me methods, which is how I became who I am today."
Xu Xiaoting didn't believe it and looked at Old Tie, who smiled and said, "That's right, there's a ghost helping him. He told me about it."
With Old Tie's confirmation, Xu Xiaoting went from disbelief to being half-convinced.
"The ghost I met was called the Gluttonous Ghost. Wherever I went, he followed behind me, eating and eating nonstop."
"Aren't you scared?"
"Apart from eating a lot, the Gluttonous Ghost is no different from an ordinary person. What's there to be afraid of? Xu Xiaoting, do you want to hear the story?"
Xu Xiaoting nodded. I looked at Qing Zi, who was also very eager. I held up two fingers, and Old Tie provided the voiceover: "Yeah~"
"Yeah, your ghost ass! What happened to our chemistry?"
"It all went with the liquor."
"Haha, Xu Xiaoting, Qing Ge, two conditions. First, give me the paper money. It doesn't harm me in any way. Second, you two are not allowed to talk about what I'm about to tell you."
Qing Zi and Xu Xiaoting nodded repeatedly. Qing Zi suddenly remembered something and said loudly, "Hold on a moment."
Xu Xiaoting asked in surprise, "Hold on for what?"
"I'll go to the kitchen and see if there's any flour and filling. We can drink and chat."
Hearing Qing Zi's suggestion, I slammed the hangover medicine onto the table: "Alright, I'll accompany you to the death."
Golden filled pancakes, side dishes, beer, and the warm heating in the room. We drank from midnight until dawn. With blurry eyes, I slammed the table forcefully: "So, after the old ghost disappeared, I was restless, so on the second day of the Lunar New Year, I boarded a train to Shandong."
By then, Xu Xiaoting and Qing Zi had fallen asleep, leaning against each other. Old Tie barely opened his eyes and looked at me: "There are so many cows in the sky, and you've blown them all away."
I laughed heartily, closed my eyes, and seemed to be back in that year, the second day of the Lunar New Year, boarding the train to Shandong. A light snow was falling on the platform, and I saw Lin Han.
Opening my eyes, I roared with all my might, "If there were no beauties under the flowers, I would not wish to be born into this world."
"Tsk~"
Old Tie mocked me with his last ounce of strength before falling asleep. I staggered to my feet, found a plastic bag, and packed all the filled pancakes from the table into it. Then, I said to the sleeping Qing Zi, "Qing Ge, Boss Qing, I'm taking these leftovers!"
With that, I picked up the filled pancakes and stumbled out the door, humming a tune. I found a taxi, handed the driver some paper money. The driver was furious but didn't say much, seeing I was drunk. I smiled awkwardly, took out Xu Xiaoting's wallet, and handed a bill to the driver. The driver took it and asked, "Where to?"
"Home."
"Where's your home?"
"I don't know!"
After saying that, I thought for a moment, took out all the money from the wallet, and handed it to the driver, asking, "Do you know where my home is now?"
The driver muttered, "Isn't this wasteful? Don't throw up in my car." Then he asked for my phone.
...
I don't know when I sobered up. When I opened my eyes, I found myself surrounded by stuffed animals. Immediately, I saw Lin Han's smiling face.
"You drank too much yesterday?"
I remained silent, tears welling up in my eyes.
Lin Han pushed the stuffed animals aside and lay down beside me. I nuzzled my head against her shoulder and finally couldn't help but cry.
I cried sadly, perhaps because I had suppressed so much lately. Or perhaps it was tears of joy...
Lin Han accompanied me quietly. An angry voice interrupted us: "Mom, Dad, why did you throw my stuffed animals on the floor?"
"Ah~"
Lin Han and I said simultaneously, "Your mom (dad) did it."
After saying that, we looked at each other and burst into laughter. Only Tang Yi pouted and picked up the stuffed animals angrily.
...
The next day, Old Tie called: "Tang Nan, something very strange has happened."
"What is it?"
"I confirmed it with Xu Xiaoting and Qing Zi. They both don't know about the Haunted House Private Kitchen."
"What is the Haunted House Private Kitchen?"
Old Tie was agitated by my question and exclaimed, "Tang Nan, are you lying to me too?"
I laughed heartily, "I was drunk that day, and I learned a skill I couldn't learn before."
"What?"
"Guess?"
"Hypnosis?"
Before I could answer, I saw Lin Han rush towards the bathroom. I quickly said to Old Tie, "Lin Han is going to the bathroom. She seems unwell. Let's talk later."
"She's just having morning sickness..."
Before Old Tie could finish, I hung up the phone.
...
Life went on as usual. I accompanied Lin Han to her prenatal check-ups. Using my skills as The Schemer, I debated with my mother. My mother said that having a daughter and then a son would be perfect, and asked me to find someone to determine the baby's sex. I asked her if they would abandon the baby if it were a girl.
My mother gritted her teeth and finally said, "It's for the Tang family to continue the lineage."
I looked at my father, "Was this your idea?"
My father looked very troubled: "Our family has had only one son for three generations."
"Then it's like this, keep having children until you have a son."
"But how much will the fine be?" my mother worried.
"Don't we have money?"
"What money do you have? All the money belongs to your wife, you..."
My mother's lecture was about to flow like the Yellow River, but I instinctively looked at my watch and said with utmost seriousness, "Oh, I forgot, Lin Han and I are going to buy a crib today."
"You didn't buy it that day?" my mother asked, surprised. It seemed I had used this excuse before. I thought for a moment and replied very seriously, "I did."
"Then why are you buying another one?"
"I'm afraid of having a daughter, aren't I? So we need more cribs."
My mother's eyes widened in anger: "I'll beat you to death..."
However, the old lady's anger was met with my hearty laughter as I escaped the house.
...
Who would complain about having too much happiness? But it seems to be the fate of The Schemer; it doesn't want you to be idle. Even though I had recovered, I didn't contend with anyone. Yet, trouble still found its way to me.
As soon as I entered the house, I saw guests.
It was an acquaintance, Qin Sisi!
We had participated in Zhu Guang's death game together, and Lin Han was quite familiar with her. When I entered, they were chatting animatedly. Although Qin Sisi was like an older sister, she had never had children. And Qin Sisi envied Lin Han. She was also getting older and wanted to have a child with Shun Ge, but she was too busy.
Qin Sisi was a core member of Gao Ziyan's think tank. For the past year, she had been running around tirelessly, working her fingers to the bone over equity issues. Today, her visit to my home was, of course, also about Gao Ziyan's affairs.
Gao Ziyan had a certain influence in Hong Kong both economically and politically. Therefore, she was invited to Beijing for a meeting. Unexpectedly, she encountered trouble in Beijing and got entangled in a lawsuit.
Such a fabricated lawsuit could usually be resolved by any lawyer. However, the fact that Gao Ziyan was involved in a lawsuit was not a simple matter in itself. Furthermore, the Special Crimes Division was involved.
Qin Sisi had never heard of this department before. When she learned that the head of this department was Wang Ren, she immediately took a private jet to find me for help.
...
"This is Cao Qian's setup?"
"It should be!"
Qin Sisi dealt with Cao Qian in Hong Kong through political and economic channels. With the Gao family's influence in Hong Kong, even Cao Qian couldn't harm Gao Ziyan through criminal means.
When Gao Ziyan first came to Hong Kong, Qin Sisi had considered this possibility. But Gao Ziyan said that if she didn't come to Beijing, people would think she was involved in the recent events in Hong Kong. Therefore, she actively came to Beijing from Hong Kong, only to get involved in a murder case upon arrival.
Hearing Qin Sisi finish, I glanced at Lin Han. Lin Han smiled and said, "You go. With so many relatives at home, I'll be fine."
"I'll be back."
"Okay!"
Hearing the conversation between Lin Han and me, Qin Sisi looked delighted: "Shall we leave now?"
"Now?"
"Yes, I'll tell you the details on the private jet."
Qin Sisi's tone had changed from her usual demeanor, and she spoke to me with increased respect.