I answered without thinking, "Antique shop."
The manager of Yang looked puzzled and asked, "Antique shop?"
I didn't elaborate further; I just mentioned the relevant street to Yang Guanshi and asked him to drive.
By the time we arrived at "vintage," the sky was on the verge of dusk but not yet dark.
I just explained to Manager Yang for a couple more sentences about what vintage clothing is.
Manager Yang gazed at the sign of the store for a long time before saying, "I've seen young people these days, I really have."
I didn't reply, but I went straight inside the store.
The owner, with a face resembling a horse, his eyes long and narrow, was enthusiastically recommending a set of logging worker denim overalls from the 1950s and 1960s to the customers.
The owner's eyes shone brightly, and the price was rather expensive.
The guest was not only not upset by the high price, but he kept nodding in satisfaction.
In my eyes, it seemed that the denim clothes had an un washable corpse oil on them. Although there were no lingering resentment or ghostly presence, the clothes were filled with an extremely heavy and eerie atmosphere. Wearing such clothes for too long would inevitably lead to encountering ghosts.
I and Manager Yang stood by the side waiting.
After the deal was made and the customer left with the aged-looking handbag, the boss smiled warmly and asked me what I was looking for this time.
He remembered me after I had spent a few tens of thousands of yuan on dead people's clothes in the previous batch, which was nothing surprising to him.
I maintained a composed expression and said, "I wonder if the previous item of clothing can still be obtained with the relevant items?"
The store owner was taken aback and then showed a look of distress.
He said awkwardly, "Brother...it's a bit difficult. You've taken the suit and sold the glasses to Kange. My friend only brought these two items over. In fact, as soon as you bought the clothes and flew away, the Buddha pendant owner who put a dove fled also came. He was quite angry and reprimanded me for a while. Then he had me contact my friend, and they met up and chatted by themselves."
I furrowed my brow.
"Buddha pendant?" Manager Yang suddenly spoke up and asked, "What's his name?"
"Ah..." The shop owner shook his head and responded with a look of bitterness, "In our business of opening a shop and making money, when customers come, they are the owners. How can we ask the customers' names if we don't speak up first?"
Manager Yang's expression darkened slightly as he said, "Then give me your friend's contact information as well."
His expression was too stern, almost intimidating the shop owner.
The shop owner was frozen in place for a moment.
I put a hand on Manager Yang's shoulder.
With the other hand, I pointed to a specific area of the hanging clothes, saying, "If you cooperate with us and bring your friend over, there will be no lack of benefits for you. I'm referring to all the clothes here. Manager Yang will pay for them."
The next second, the shop owner's eyes widened in disbelief. He swallowed hard and mumbled, "Is that true?"
I calmly said, "Do we look like people who joke around?"
"Ah! Ah! Good!" The shop owner's excited voice changed its tone. The fear on his face disappeared completely.
"Please wait a moment, honored guests!" He quickly ran towards the cash register and took out his phone to make a call.
Manager Yang's eyelids twitched uncontrollably as he forced out a sentence, "My nephew has quite the nerve."
"Money can make the dead work, and the cemetery doesn't lack this money." I replied without changing my facial expression.
"Naturally, it doesn't lack," Manager Yang coughed and regained a stern expression.
Later, he asked me what to do if someone else had already taken it. People in the Buddha pendant business needed to obtain things from the dead. It was said that ordinary ghost cards were made from the things of the dead, and they could use the dead to accomplish things.
My heart was jolted again. Manager Yang's words had given me a glimpse of Buddha pendant.
However, I still kept my expression unchanged and explained that we were just looking for where the ghost in the dead person's clothing was located, not actually intending to buy anything. Even if the items had been purchased by someone else, it didn't matter. The shopkeeper's friend had something from the family of that ghost in the dead person's clothing, which could definitely lead us to that family.
I clearly stated the key points, and Manager Yang finally understood.
Of course, we spoke very softly so that the owner of the vintage clothing store couldn't hear us. That way, we wouldn't scare him.
A few minutes later, the shopkeeper came over with a smug expression, inviting us to sit on the attic for a while to rest, saying that his friend would arrive soon.
Then the shop owner added, "Perhaps, two of you may have more gains."
"Oh?" Manager Yang asked, "What else could there be?"
Only then did the shopkeeper scratch his head and answer, "The Buddha pendant seller had betrayed my friend. At present, my friend is holding something in his hand that is similar in origin to the suit that was bought by him. It's a legacy of the mental hospital director."
My pupils constricted suddenly.
Manager Yang's expression changed slightly, and he didn't say much anymore.
The shopkeeper made a gesture of inviting us and smiled broadly.
I walked forward with Manager Yang.
There was a small staircase behind the cash register, which was piled high with goods, leaving only a narrow surface on the ladder that could barely accommodate one person.
It was called the attic, but in reality, it was just a storage area partitioned off by a layer of space, filled with goods stacked on top of each other.
There was a square table leaning against the railing, and several round stools.
It was only after I and Manager Yang sat down that we felt a bit better.
Because the ceiling here is too low, it's hard for people to stand up straight.
Sitting here, I could easily glance at the layout of the vintage clothing store through the side of my eyes.
"Then, both of you, shall I go ahead and package the clothes you ordered? It's not urgent to pay the bill; we can discuss it after you've chatted with my friend," the shopkeeper asked with a smiling face.
"Don't call me a boss every time. Just call me Manager Yang. And this is Mr. Luo. What's your name?" Manager Yang asked.
"Fu Jiang. You can call me Xiao Hu or Xiao Jiang." Hu Jiang was even more obsequious, nodding and bowing.
"All right, Hu Jiang, you can go down. I don't need the items anymore; just calculate the amount, and I'll pay directly later." Manager Yang waved his hand.
Hu Jiang was taken aback for a moment, but his eyes became even more excited.
He obediently left the attic, and even partially closed the hall door.
A display of concern for silence, even to the point of not doing business.
Around an hour later, Hu Jiang's friend arrived.
The man was in his thirties, with a small moustache under his chin, wearing casual clothes and a baseball cap, with his hair pressed to the back of his head by the hat.
I and Manager Yang observed him from the attic.
Hu Jiang, on the other hand, was communicating with the person in low tones while closing the shop door.
Soon, Hu Jiang brought the person up to the attic again, introduced them briefly.
I then learned that his friend was named Chen Jun, a local from JinYang.
Chen Jun had an eye condition that allowed him to open only one eyelid, revealing the white part of his eye.
The other eye was as dark and glossy as oil, making him look extremely cunning.
Before I and Manager Yang could ask any further questions, he produced a box and placed it on the table.
The box was wrapped in a layer of brown silk brocade, giving it a very retro appearance.
"Presumably, the Buddha pendant boss who stood me up won't be coming either. I haven't been able to get in touch with him for days."
"Boss, you also have the surname Luo. You're related to that guy by family name. Would you like to take a look at the items?" Chen Jun licked his lips, his face filled with anticipation.
My heart skipped another beat. The surname Luo? Plus Buddha pendant?
Could it be Luo Pot?
Though I thought about it, I did not ask further questions, nor did I reach out to touch the box on the table.
