Volume 6: Summer Chapter 17 Chicken Legs
Jiang You and the other two went to Fatty Hu's restaurant.
Fatty Hu was very happy to see Jiang You. He said, "I haven't seen you for a long time."
"Here I am," Jiang You looked around the store. Business was as good as ever, and the first floor was almost full. "I'll go upstairs. Is there any private room available?"
"It's empty."
They went upstairs and entered the private room.
After sitting down, Meng Xianyang looked at the mobile phone connected to the power bank. It was already charged to 5 percent, so he turned it on.
Many messages came in. After replying to a few messages in a hurry, he said to Jiang You and Zou Zhichao a little embarrassedly: "I'm going to make a phone call. You guys can order whatever you want."
Having said that, he stood up and walked out.
Jiang You took the menu and said, "He needs to eat more meat to replenish his body."
Zou Zhichao watched Jiang You write down four meat dishes on the menu. He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "He may not have eaten since yesterday or the day before yesterday. Will he feel uncomfortable eating such greasy food?"
"Then let's order some winter melon and pork ribs soup," Jiang You put down his pen after writing down the name of the dish, "You don't usually communicate with him?"
"Not much. He often works overtime. Sometimes I wake up at night and hear some noise. It turns out he is back from work. Only on weekends will we order takeout together." Zou Zhichao still has some doubts. "When I was a child, my grandma told me some ghost stories, but I never believed them. Do you think I should also burn some incense or something?"
"The amulets from Jinguang Temple are quite effective." Jiang You often solicits business for his neighbors.
"Really?"
"Really? People in our area all believe in Jinguang Temple."
Fatty Hu went upstairs, and Jiang You handed him the menu, paper, and pen, "That's all for now."
After Fatty Hu left, Zou Zhichao said, "For people like us, if something really happens and we get sick and can't get up, we can't count on anyone. Our parents are back home, our friends have their own things to do, and our colleagues are even more distant. Like this time, he and I lived in the same house, just separated by a wall. I had many opportunities to find out that something was wrong with him. I only needed to ask one more question or chat with him on WeChat..."
“I can’t imagine that.”
"I dare not disturb him. It's different from my hometown. There are many nosy people. I used to feel annoyed and thought I should keep my privacy. Now I think about it," Zou Zhichao shook his head. "I have a relative who broke his leg at home. His children are all out of town. He doesn't know how to use a mobile phone. There is only one phone in the house, which is in the room. He is too old to move it. Then, a card-playing partner of his found that he didn't go out to play cards. The phone couldn't be reached, so he went to look for him. He knocked on the door and thought no one was home, so he asked his neighbors and the community security guard. They all said they didn't see him go out, so they called the police and opened the door to rescue him."
"Then we should thank his poker partner," Jiang You said as he sent a text message to Taoist Qingyang, identifying himself and asking if he could answer the phone. After receiving a positive reply, he looked up and said to Zou Zhichao, "I want to make a call, too."
"You go ahead."
Jiang You walked downstairs and outside the store. He saw Meng Xianyang standing not far away with his phone in his hand. He bent over and said, "I'm sorry. OK, OK, I'm sorry. I'll do it tonight. OK, I won't do it again. This time, I really won't..."
After Jiang You glanced at him, he walked about ten meters to the other side, and then he dialed Taoist Qingyang's number.
After more than forty seconds, the call was connected.
Jiang You briefly told Taoist Qingyang about his tenant being possessed by a sinister object, and asked whether he would be at Baihe Temple tomorrow.
Taoist Qingyang agreed at first, but when Jiang You was about to hang up, he said, "I'll go over tomorrow, to your office, or to your store, you choose the place."
Jiang You thought about it and booked the place at the Bug House.
When Jiang You returned to the private room, Meng Xianyang had not returned yet, and the goose meat pot had already been served on the table.
Jiang You opened the tableware, picked up a piece of goose meat and chewed it in his mouth. After swallowing it, he said: "There is a reason why this restaurant has been doing so well for so many years. They don't mess around when cooking. Look at this goose meat stew. Most of the meat in it is whole. Other places may only have a few good pieces, and the rest are scattered. The meat is also fresh, with gravy and elasticity when you bite it..."
As they were talking, Meng Xianyang walked in and sat down. "Something happened at the company. Originally, it was next week..."
"Do you want to work overtime?" Jiang You interrupted him.
"I want to go to the company in the evening. The file is on the company computer. It will probably take an hour..."
"Don't go," Jiang You looked into his eyes, "When a person dies, there is nothing left."
Meng Xianyang was stunned for a moment.
"I just made an agreement with the abbot of Baihe Temple. He will come to my store at noon tomorrow to exorcise the evil spirits for you. Today, you should eat more meat," Jiang You put a large piece of goose meat into his bowl, "and then don't think about anything else and have a good sleep."
After hearing Jiang You's words, Meng Xianyang asked in horror: "Is he still in my body?"
Hearing this, Zou Zhichao also looked up at Jiang You.
The waiter brought in the boiled pork slices.
"There are some residues left. If you get enough sleep, your spirit will be stable. If you eat enough, your blood will be abundant, and the evil spirits will not possess you." Jiang You took a piece of meat and put it into his mouth. "You saw it just now. As soon as I entered your room, the thing disappeared, right?"
"Do you know magic?" Meng Xianyang asked.
Zou Zhichao also looked at him curiously.
"If I knew this, why would I work so hard to open a store?" Jiang You swallowed the meat. "I remember you are twenty-six this year, right?"
Meng Xianyang nodded.
"At your age, and as a man, you normally wouldn't be pestered. The food is getting cold, so you should eat it quickly to get rid of the heat."
"Oh, okay." Meng Xianyang also picked up a piece of meat, chewed it twice and swallowed it.
"I guess you were very sad because your grandfather passed away. You had to keep watch and travel back and forth. You didn't eat well and sleep well. You might also be busy with work. Your body was always tired and your mind was unstable. That's why you were taken advantage of. Look at me," Jiang You pointed at himself, "I ate well and slept well, and my blood and qi were strong, so it got scared immediately."
"Is that so?"
"Then why am I useless? I also talked to Xianyang this morning." Zou Zhichao asked.
"You, you work too hard."
Upon hearing this, Zou Zhichao picked up a piece of goose meat and took a big bite.
"So your task now is to eat well and sleep well, and then come to my store before noon tomorrow." Seeing Meng Xianyang's hesitant expression, Jiang You's tone became heavier, "If you listen to me, the worst that can happen is that you lose your job and your life. If you don't listen to me, you lose both. What are you going to choose?"
Zou Zhichao also helped to persuade Meng Xianyang, "Brother Jiang is right. Look, it's been two days since you came back yesterday and today. If you were really that important and the company couldn't function without you, they would have come to find you a long time ago. The address is in the HR department."
"It's not that I think I'm that important, but my colleagues have been doing my work for me during the days I was away. Now, if something goes wrong because I'm away for the past two days, he will have to share the responsibility with me if it's not handled properly."
"You have to make a choice," Jiang You said.
Meng Xianyang thought for a moment, and finally he made up his mind and nodded, and he said: "I will go to bed after I finish eating."
“Is your grandfather a Taoist priest?”
"Yes, my ancestors were all Taoist priests."
"Can Taoist priests get married?" Zou Zhichao was a little skeptical.
"It seems to be a Taoist priest living in a fire house. I don't know whether it is orthodox or not. When I was a child, I lived with my grandfather. The village would ask my grandfather for help in ceremonies and feng shui. I remember that once during a funeral, the coffin could not be lifted, so my grandfather ordered a big rooster to be killed," Meng Xianyang fell into memories, "I ate that chicken for many meals. The meat on the chicken legs is particularly firm and fragrant..."
