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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 6: The Formal Contract
"No, these bizarre cases are confidential and cannot involve a third party. It's just the two of us as partners. I can be your partner, and you can be mine. It's that simple."
"Alright, it's a deal."
I shook Qin Jian's hand to signify our pleasant cooperation. Mi brought in the food, and seeing our excited expressions, she asked in surprise, "Did you two win the lottery?"
Qin Jian rarely showed humor, but this time he winked mischievously and lowered his voice, saying mysteriously, "Don't tell her; we'll continue after dinner."
The meal was quite enjoyable. This was Qin Jian's first time tasting the dishes Mi had personally cooked. He praised the food while eating when suddenly his phone rang. It was Chi Xinrong calling.
"Rongrong, are you coming for dinner?" he answered, glancing at Mi to see if there was any extra food. Mi nodded, and he immediately said, "Come on, Mi's cooking is too delicious. If you don't come, you're missing out."
Chi Xinrong was still as wild as ever—passionate and bold. Recently she had been very busy; Mi had gone to Honor Guard to learn new dances, and since she couldn't find us to hang out with, she latched onto Qin Jian.
Qin Jian watched a movie with her, laughing and crying while munching loudly on popcorn.
Mi and I were laughing so hard when Chi Xinrong arrived. She got out of the car and rushed in, asking, "What delicious food are you having? You didn't wait for me." She had brought some stewed dishes from Old Wang. With Chi Xinrong joining us, our meal became lively and filled with laughter.
After eating, Mi went to wash the dishes with Chi Xinrong, while Qin Jian and I continued our earlier conversation.
Qin Jian: "Why not just hand over the shop directly to Fat? With Peng Yan supervising, it should be fine."
"Yeah, Fat hasn't mentioned gambling lately, and he's not as impulsive as before. He just hasn't fully grasped some of the basic principles of being a Mortician. Actually, I've quietly done a divination between Peng Yan and Fat; Peng Yan has completely filled in the gaps in Fat's fate. It's surprising how seemingly unrelated people are destined to be together."
"Since that's the case, what else are you worried about?"
"Nothing at all. I'm also planning to hand over the shop to them..." Deep down, I truly hesitated to leave the shop entirely in Fat Hand's care without oversight. The grudges between Grandpa and Li Gui had finally come to a close. Those recurring nightmares still lingered in my mind—really, no one knew if after Li Gui, there would be Zhou Gui, Wang Gui, or some other trouble lurking around.
"Can Fatty handle it?"
Chi Xinrong stepped out, her hands seemingly coated with lotion, leaving a faint fragrance in the air. She didn’t glance at me or Qin Jian, but continued to apply lotion, saying, "Ma Qi, if it were me, I would agree without hesitation. Staying in this godforsaken place is simply a waste of talent."
"You don’t know anything."
Chi Xinrong was relentless, pulling Mi over to me and saying, "Ask Mi; she doesn’t want you to stay here either."
I looked at Mi. She bit her lip and said, "Brother Qi, if possible, could you agree to Qin Jian? Please?"
I felt quite disappointed. I really didn’t want Mi to look down on the profession of Mortician. However, I loved her and had promised to give her happiness; I couldn’t go back on my word. If she wanted me to leave this place to do something proper, I could certainly give it a try.
With that thought, I felt calm inside and picked up the pen to sign my name with a few strokes. Qin Jian laughed heartily as he put away the contract. "A word is worth a thousand pounds. This contract has been in my bag for half a month, and now it’s finally settled. We are officially partners; we should celebrate."
"We just had a meal; where are we going to celebrate? Besides, I still have orders to finish; we can’t go."
Qin Jian rubbed his nose and relaxed his brow. "Alright then, I’ll save some money."
"No way! We have to go. Someone's bleeding, and someone doesn’t want to play; we’re going." I realized Chi Xinrong was taking advantage of the situation to drag us out. I continued to refuse. "Can Mi go?" Chi Xinrong asked playfully while linking arms with Mi.
Qin Jian shrugged, looking quite helpless.
Chi Xinrong made a smug face.
I sighed. "Fine, you all go; I’ll finish my work."
Qin Jian took Chi Xinrong and Mi out with him while I continued working. Not long after, Fatty and Peng Yan arrived as well.
Peng Yan was now a skilled paper effigy maker. Whatever Fat could do, she could do as well. It was unclear whether the couple had honed their skills in bed or if they had been sharing tips privately for some time. In any case, they were now inseparable, working together with remarkable synergy.
Peng Yan was comparing the sizes of the floral wreaths.
Fat seemed to have something to say to me, lingering by my side but not managing to spit it out.
"If you have something to say, just say it."
"Brother Qi, I want Peng Hai to come help at the shop."
Fat's suggestion caught me off guard. We had already seen Peng Hai, but Fat was still unaware of that. I glanced at Peng Yan; although she was busy, she was eavesdropping on our conversation.
If I refused, Fat would surely persist.
If I agreed, it would be best if Peng Hai could work seriously here; otherwise, it would be troublesome.
"Brother Qi, we're relatives now. He has nothing to do and is just sitting idle at home. That's not a long-term solution. I want to help him, just like I helped his sister back then." I felt a pang of guilt about this matter; if it weren't for my meddling, Peng Yan would likely still be thinking of me.
That kind of infatuation that disregards life and death was terrifying. I was genuinely afraid—especially after witnessing her erratic behavior, which seemed to draw her spirit out of her body just to see me. Yet she hesitated to come to the Funeral Home because of the Bagua Mirror hanging at the entrance.
"Alright, let him come."
If Fat hadn't brought up the idea of having Peng Hai come over, I would have planned to formally transfer Ma Wu Funeral Home into his name tonight, with me only retaining shares until the end of the year for dividends. But since Fat suggested bringing Peng Hai in, I decided to put off the transfer and observe for a while.
I agreed to let Peng Hai come to the shop, and the happiest person was Peng Yan. She set down her work and walked directly up to me. "Thank you, Brother Qi! I will make sure Peng Hai works hard and won't embarrass you."
"Not at all; it's not about embarrassing me—it's for everyone's benefit."
“Hmm.”
“You go do your thing, I still have something to say to Fatty.”
Peng Yan continued with the Paper Figurine.
“Fatty, can you scare Peng Hai?” With that big head of his, I think it’s unlikely that Fatty could intimidate Peng Hai.
“Hey, hey, I’m at least his brother-in-law. Can’t he listen to me?”
“That’s true. You let him know to come over; it just so happens Ming has something to do.”
Fatty happily agreed and went off to handle other matters. I was estimating the expenses for the second funeral when Peng Yan suddenly said, “I haven’t seen Mi!”
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