The matter of hiring ghosts was settled. Afterwards, An Yinong traveled all over the country for two years. Wherever he went, there were little ghosts to greet him.
So much so that there was a rumor that the ghost king who once dominated the land found a human as a partner and became a henpecked husband who obeyed his orders.
“I don’t know what kind of stunning beauty she is, who can attract this hero who has not been tempted for hundreds of years to fall in love with the gentle land and do such an incredible thing.”
“It is rumored that it is a man.”
“What? Absolutely impossible!… Does he have a male fetish?”
The disturbances of the outside world did not affect Gu Zhengzhong and An Yinong, nor did they affect the subordinates who were hired.
In fact, they thought it was quite good to be employed. Many forgotten ghosts had received incense and all-you-can-eat meals. In addition to satisfying their basic needs, they could also get paper villas, clothes, and BMWs…
To be honest, the paper offerings provided by the “madam” were very beautiful and practical, with many styles. In just two years, these offerings occupied half of the luxury goods market in the ghost world.
Even some already famous evil ghosts and beautiful ghosts came here because of their reputation: “It doesn’t matter whether there is money or not. We mainly want to feel the taste of work. … By the way, the set of soldier siege suits/makeup combination paper is still available, right?”
In order to make these “incense supplies”, An Yinong also set up a special incense workshop and a paper workshop to provide jobs for some lonely elderly people and “hard-lived” people in the area.
The work of grinding wood pulp in the incense workshop had become very simple because of the existence of the water mill, and the paper objects were all designed by An Yinong himself, covering everything from food, drink, and entertainment.
The various products were not only sold far and wide in the ghost world, but also sold to humans. The serious master Gu Zhengzhong never thought that his subordinates would be obsessed with these strange things, even to the point of being unable to extricate themselves.
“Maybe it’s because I have rich experience in dealing with otakus of both genders.” An Yinong smiled.
In addition, An Yinong also found several wealthy families with clay mines, and cooperated with them to develop pencils and improve paper. Pencils and special paper for writing came out of nowhere, and several merchants restrained each other, so the prices of pencils and paper were also sold cheaply.
As for An Yinong, he took a one-time patent fee, gained fame, and used the pencils himself, killing three birds with one stone.
After two years of travel, An Yinong had to go to the Imperial College in the capital as agreed. He reorganized the information he had gathered along the way, revised the interesting chapters that were readable and compiled them into a book, “Ten Thousand Miles of Splendor”, which was printed and published at his own expense.
There were more than ten illustrations in the book, all of which were drawn by An Yinong using modern sketching, printed by workers, and then colored, so the three-dimensional sense was very strong.
He brought several hardcover editions and the good ink he collected to visit several teachers in the Imperial College in Beijing.
An Yinong, who was already 22 years old, wore a cloth scarf on his head, wore fine cotton, and only had a jade pendant and a sword representing a gentleman’s tool hanging on his waist. He was as clear as the moon, and people feel good when they see him.
“Student greets the teacher.” He was a student of the Imperial College, and calling them teachers was closer.
Some of these teachers originally had complaints about his travels, but after talking with him, they let go of their grudges-this student did not go out to play.
After reading this travelog, they were even more amazed. There was no other reason, An Yinong’s book was really interesting, with one small story after another, which could not only reflect the local customs and people, but also was very interesting.
These stories were either novel, thrilling, beautiful, or dreamy… They make people unable to stop reading.
That day, several teachers in the Imperial College had dark circles under their eyes, and they looked at each other: “Is it you?” Well, they all stayed up late to read books.
“Hah, this student is really talented.”
Later, when the chief priest came, his face was bruised. He covered his face with his sleeves: “I accidentally bumped it.” But the fact was that he lost the fight with his wife for a book.
This book was so addictive that you can’t put it down. It’s just magical. After that, his travel notes really became popular in the capital, and some parents even bought it for their children to read before bed. After becoming famous with this book, An Yinong once again entered the preparatory stage of the third year of high school in the Imperial College.
The system strengthened his soul and body, and his memory and comprehension ability far exceeded that of ordinary people. In addition, he was diligent, so An Yinong went from Class B to Class A in three months.
However, the students in Class A were all top students selected from all over the country, and An Yinong had always been in the middle of the class.
If inspiration comes, his literary talent will burst out, and those articles will be posted. Every time at this time, An Yinong had to hide in his room, or walk past the display board quickly: the classmates were so cute that it was hard to resist, and the shame was off the charts.
In addition, An Yinong’s riding, shooting, calculation, piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting were also remarkable, especially calculation, piano, and painting, which are recognized by the chief priest.
“But there are also shortcomings in this beauty.”
“What are the shortcomings?”
The classmates smiled and looked at An Yinong: “Brother Yinong is such an elegant and handsome talent. In the past, people threw perfumed handkerchiefs and flowers when he went out. But there is no beauty in the house to add fragrance. Isn’t it a shortcoming?”
“Yes, yes.” Everyone knew that An Yinong had a good temper and could take jokes, so they all made fun of him.
“Brother Haoran, what you said is wrong,” An Yinong turned around with the book in his hand, “When don’t I have a beauty to add fragrance to my body? My beauty is in my room.”
Everyone laughed even more happily when they heard it.
The Imperial College had always been a room for two people. In An Yinong’s room, there was only a fish tank besides his newly married roommate and necessary things.
“You want to say that the few goldfish in your room are beautiful, but they are not human beings, and cannot warm your bed and fold your quilt. If the fish can really jump out of the pond and turn into a beauty, this icy body, brother Yinong would not dare to enjoy it, right?”
After that, there was another round of “you understand and I understand” laughter.
An Yinong smiled and shook his head. He thought that icy body and jade bones are cool to touch.
It’s a pity that the sweetheart who has communicated with each other was afraid of getting close to him to shorten his life. After a few years, he was only at the level of affection and courtesy. Occasionally, he kissed him and calls him “Mr.”, and he was at a loss. How come his subordinates were so afraid of such an interesting and lovely person?
In the Imperial College, An Yinong’s private life had become a topic of discussion. Except for a few talented young scholars, most of the students in the Imperial College had married and had children. An Yinong was a rare single person at the age of marriage.
At first, they thought he was waiting for a good price, waiting to marry a high-ranking official with a wife, but An Yinong was not just not marrying? He was not interested in women or men, and lived like a Taoist priest.
Many people asked about this matter, and An Yinong told them:
“It is rare for a person to live to 70. Even if I can live to 70, I have to subtract 10 years of physical infancy and 10 years of old age, which leaves 50 years. Half of these 50 years have to be spent sleeping and resting, which leaves 25 years.”
“In just 25 years, in addition to studying, I have to realize my ambitions, and occasionally go out for a walk. It’s not enough for myself, so how can I have time to get married and have children?”
His perverse reasoning convinced many people, and An Yinong’s life suddenly became much quieter – they finally stopped being curious about his sexual orientation and needs.
However, every ten-day holiday (one day off every ten days), his classmates would still actively pull him out, and it was common for them to hold a poetry meeting or a dinner. On this day, his roommate pulled him out to attend a party again, and the two played until dark. At this time, there were no pedestrians on the street, only a full moon hanging in the sky.
“In fact, if you sleep there for a night and go back early the next morning, the teacher won’t say anything.” The roommate drank a little and walked unsteadily.
“If you go to school with a smell of alcohol, even if the teacher doesn’t say anything, others will.” An Yinong walked along the wall. He had to be careful not to run into patrolling soldiers.
There is a curfew in this dynasty. If you are caught walking in the middle of the night, even if you don’t go to jail, you will inevitably be educated.
“Come on, follow me.” Unlike An Yinong, who broke the rules for the first time, his roommate was an old man who knew the way. Under his guidance, An Yinong climbed through several alleys and soon arrived at the back door of the Imperial College.
“Uncle Liu!” The roommate lowered his voice.
After a while, a narrow wooden door was pushed open, and an old man holding a lantern came out. He glanced at the two of them with sharp eyes, and muttered: “It’s always like this when the ten-day holiday comes.”
“Uncle Liu, I brought you some roast chicken.” The roommate took out an oil paper bag, and the aroma of roast chicken wafted out. Uncle Liu’s expression became more amiable, and he reached out to take the food. Just as he was about to say something, a foul smell suddenly wafted over.
Following the source of the smell, a man appeared in the alley pushing a cart with several large wooden barrels on it, walking with difficulty under the cold moonlight.
“Bad luck, it’s Ye Xiang Lang.”
Ye Xiang Lang is the person who comes to empty the toilet in the middle of the night. Because he is stained with smell after work, and the smell is very strong, he is looked down upon and is a person of lower status in this city.
Even when his roommate was drunk, he had to pinch his nose to avoid it, which showed how strong the smell is. An Yinong also retreated to the door. He was going to go back and take a good bath to get rid of the smell of alcohol on his body.
“Chen Er, you move it carefully and don’t pour it out. If there is a smell, I will find someone else to pour it.” The strange voice of the old man pinching his nose came from behind.
Chen Er? An Yinong turned back subconsciously.
The small lantern illuminated the man, but he couldn’t see his appearance clearly from such a distance.
“Don’t worry, Brother Liu, I will be very careful.” The man who poured Ye Xiang nodded and bowed, submissive.
“Yinong, why aren’t you leaving yet?” The roommate in front called him.
“Oh.” An Yinong temporarily put aside his doubts and walked along the path to the dormitory.
The next day, he was still thinking about this matter. He felt that the man just happened to be called Chen Er. There are so many people with the surname Chen, and anyone could be called Chen Er.
After a night of tossing and turning, he still went to ask the old man guarding the door on the third day.
“Chen Er? I don’t know the details. I only know that he is a foreigner and has a gambler son who is idle all day long. He had his leg broken a few days ago. But he works carefully. What’s wrong with this person?”
“Oh, nothing.” An Yinong shook his head.
“Host, do you suspect that they are the father and cousin of the original owner?” The system popped up.
“Just want to confirm.”
After another nine days, the second ten-day break of this month, the local students went home, and students from other places also went out to relax. An Yinong went out early in the morning. He followed the address he asked about and headed north.
The capital could be roughly divided into four districts. The east was the residential area for kings and high officials, the west was the wealthy merchants, the south was the ordinary people, and the north was the poverty-stricken area.
Chen Er rented a house in the north, where the rent was low and there are the most people from all walks of life. An Yinong deliberately glued a beard onto his face and walked into the most mixed area in the north.
As soon as you step into the north district, it is like stepping into another new capital. The neat streets were gone, replaced by a road surface that had long been broken, and there was sewage on the road surface.
In addition, there are few shops on both sides of the street. They were all shabby and narrow houses, crowded together like fish scales. There were also many more people on the street than outside. Their clothes were patched, but they had smiles on their faces, which showed that they were still full of expectations for the future.
“Kid, I have a question for you.” An Yinong stopped several children running on the road and took out a bag of maltose. “Whose family is Chen Er, the night incense seller?”
“Go along this road, turn right at the third alley, and it’s the second one. Are you looking for his house to sell night incense? Be careful, my mother said her son is a bad boy and has provoked evil people.” Under the temptation of maltose, several children talked about the location and gossiped.
After thanking them, An Yinong went to Chen Er’s house. He saw a somewhat shabby three-sided courtyard with clothes and some dry food drying in the yard, and people living on three sides.
“Who are you looking for?” A woman who was washing clothes in the yard asked. There were many basins of clothes next to the woman, all of which were blue-gray. It seemed that she was helping people wash clothes.
An Yinong looked around and suddenly saw a young man lying on a recliner outside the door of the west wing. He had a scruffy beard and sallow skin, and a cane was placed next to the chair. The young man was looking at this side with a ferocious face.
An Yinong recognized the nephew of the Chen family at first sight, despite the fact that he looked terrible, every strand of hair showed desolation and hardship.
A few years ago, these two people looted all the valuables in the house and ran away. In the plot, they even took all the food. If the original owner was a person with no luck, he might have died of hunger before escaping the famine.
At that time, these two people would not have thought of their current situation. One was a gambler who broke his leg because of debt, and the other was with Ye Xiang and had to suffer threats from time to time, just for the nephew who “continued the family line”.
“Who are you looking for?” The laundry lady asked again.
“Sorry, I went to the wrong place.” An Yinong turned and left. He did not gloat or sympathize, but only felt calm after getting a certain answer: you reap what you sow, that’s all.
“What a weirdo.”
WhiteMoon x BlackSun 