Pei 6 4: Chapter 4 Mr.
The next day, morning.
Perhaps because he had experienced a terrifying brush with death yesterday, Zhang Xiaoman slept very soundly.
No nightmares, no alarm clock, he slept just like on a regular day off, waking up naturally.
He checked the time on his phone, and it was already past 10 a.m.
He had slept for nearly ten hours, and now he felt fully energized and refreshed.
He glanced at his phone and, as expected, there was a pile of missed calls and messages.
Casually sending a text back to his boss, Zhang Xiaoman decisively blocked him.
He had wanted to do this for a long time to the Mediterranean who had always been a thorn in his side.
He opened the chat group where he had sent the last message yesterday; he wanted to see if his message had any effect—though he knew that hope was slim.
Indeed, when he saw the responses in the group chat, Zhang Xiaoman almost burst into laughter from anger.
Xiao You, “Zhang Xiaoman, you’re getting bolder, aren’t you?
Aren’t you afraid Old Ma will pick on you?”
Xiao Wei, “Xiao Man, brother, I know the corridor isn’t clean, who can blame the property’s lazy cleaning staff?
But you didn’t have to specially mention it at night!”
Xiao Xian, “Brother Man, what exactly did you encounter yesterday, a banana peel or an apple core?
Does walking alone increase the chances of stepping on something?”
I’m dying of laughter, no, no, I have to turn Brother Man’s classic quotes into a JPG.”
Following that, Zhang Xiaoman saw a screenshot in the chat record.
It was the corridor of the office, where someone had placed a trash bag right in the center, and the image was captioned with the phrase he had sent before—
“There’s something dirty in the corridor…”
“What a bunch of rainbow serpents!”
Zhang Xiaoman’s forehead was now covered in metaphorical black lines.
He wished he could rush to the company immediately and give each of these people a fatherly iron fist, not believing that his sincere warning had been turned into a JPG.
But he had said what needed to be said.
Since they didn’t want to believe it, there was nothing he could do; he had issued the warning and sought only to be at peace with himself.
He closed the chat group feeling a bit depressed and called Brother Hero again; he wanted to confirm whether this guy had taken his warning to heart at all.
The call ended quickly since Brother Hero was at work and it wasn’t convenient for him to chat.
But this time, he did receive what could be considered a comforting piece of news—the elevator in the office building had finally been fixed that morning.
Zhang Xiaoman let out a long sigh of relief.
His concern for the company’s building issues, aside from having a friend like Brother Hero, was actually due to the fear of his secret being discovered.
He knew that there was indeed a mysterious presence in the company that he couldn’t understand.
And if someone were to be harmed because of it, the police would inevitably have to get involved at some point.
Moreover, in his panic when using the hearthstone yesterday, he didn’t know if he had been caught on camera.
If the footage of him disappearing out of thin air were to be discovered, the consequences would be unimaginable.
He got up with a heavy heart, finished washing up, took his dog out for a walk, and upon checking his watch, he realized it was already noon.
His mother had gone to work early this morning.
Even though she was now the mother of a man with the System, she hadn’t quit her job immediately.
In her words, until they made some money, the job couldn’t be lost.
Regarding this, Zhang Xiaoman could only sigh helplessly.
He had thought about making money using the hearthstone.
But after a long night of deep meditation, he was greatly frustrated to find that his hearthstone didn’t seem to have that ability.
Of course, this was based on playing it safe.
If he really wanted to pursue profit by any means, there were plenty of ways.
But he didn’t think it was necessary.
One reason was his own mentality, and the other was that having the System, he didn’t have to commit bad deeds for the sake of a quick profit while risking exposure.
With a sigh, Zhang Xiaoman looked at the meager balance in his wallet and decisively gave up the idea of ordering takeout for lunch; he decided to find a place to scrounge a meal.
Qionghua City, the old district.
Zhang Xiaoman rode his somewhat old electric bike through the bustling, noisy alleys.
He turned past a grocery store adorned with strings of candied haw, parked his bike, and walked into a small courtyard with a rickety, old mahogany door propped open.
The courtyard was small but decently arranged.
There were flowers, a well, and a single bare little peach tree.
Beneath the peach tree, a lean old man in his seventies was reclining in a sun lounger.
In front of him was a small wooden table with several stacks of dishes and a bottle of brandless white alcohol.
The old man picked at the dishes with chopsticks from time to time and took occasional sips of the liquor, looking very content.
In the yard, a large black dog ran out from under the shadow of the eaves and started barking at the newcomer.
“Go away, go play over there.”
Zhang Xiaoman waved his hand at the dog before turning his attention to the old man shaking his crossed legs, smiling, and saying:
“Master Liu, you’re eating?
How about we eat together?”
The old man squinted his eyes and cocked his head, glancing sideways at the visitor:
“It’s you again, you cheeky kid, trying to mooch food and drink.
Go away, can’t you see even Xiao Tian doesn’t welcome you?”
Zhang Xiaoman shamelessly rushed over and grabbed a small stool, sitting down at the other end of the table and saying with a smile:
“Master Liu, what are you talking about?
You’re my Sixth Grandpa; can’t I come and check on you?”
As he spoke, he also poured a small bag of peanuts into a little dish on the table.
Then he fished out a pair of chopsticks from the bamboo container, grabbed a couple of dishes, and stuffed them into his mouth in one gulp.
Master Liu, your cooking skills are still top-notch!”
But Master Liu just rolled his eyes and scolded:
“You ungrateful little thing, you always bring just this tiny bag of peanuts.
I’m afraid I’ll never live to see the day you buy that old goose!”
As he spoke, he propped himself up into a sitting position and picked out a peanut to eat with his drink.
“Alright, what’s your plan this time coming over here?”
Zhang Xiaoman smiled, poured him a full glass of alcohol, and said:
“I was thinking of borrowing your pushcart for a bit.”
“Borrow the pushcart?”
Then, Zhang Xiaoman shared his recent plans with him.
Because he had quit his job, Zhang Xiaoman had no source of income.
He didn’t know when the System would be able to help, so for now, he had to find something to do on his own.
Of course, he couldn’t possibly tell Master Liu about the System.
He merely shared an idea he’d had for a long time.
“You want to sell sushi!
Sixth Grandpa immediately waved his hands in refusal after hearing the plan.
“This is the tool I use for eating; how can I lend it to you to wreak havoc?”
Zhang Xiaoman asked in surprise, “Didn’t you retire from fortune-telling and all that business?”
Sixth Grandpa paused and then said:
“That’s beside the point.
This cart has been with me for half my life; it’s like my son.
How could I possibly lend my son to you?
No lending, no lending!”
“Master Liu, you’ve got it wrong!
Precisely because it’s like your son, you shouldn’t let this pearl gather dust!”
Zhang Xiaoman implored earnestly.
oh no, you lend your son to me, and I’ll get it a new outfit later on.
Then keep taking it onto the battlefield, galloping into the fray.
Wouldn’t you gain a reputation for your magnanimity?”
“Moreover, a great steed is common, but a discerning master is not.
Your son and I have some destiny; do you really have the heart to let it spend the rest of its days in this small courtyard?”
“Furthermore, Brother Che and I hit it off instantly, sharing a bond as if we were seeing eye to eye, ready to ‘swear brotherhood.’ As the saying goes, better to dismantle ten temples…”
Sixth Grandpa hastily waved his hand to interrupt him.
“I’ll lend it to you, just stop talking.
If you keep going, by tomorrow you’ll want to marry it, and I don’t want to be doubly related to you.”
Zhang Xiaoman let out a sly laugh, and seeing he had achieved his goal, said nothing redundant and started to dig in with his chopsticks.
“Hey, you kid, after not seeing you for a while, how come you’ve become so smooth-tongued?
You’ve even managed to wear me out with your talk.”
Sixth Grandpa sipped his drink and commented.
Zhang Xiaoman threw a chicken bone to the big black dog beside him and said nonchalantly:
“Isn’t that our family’s genetics, inherited through the generations?”
Sixth Grandpa didn’t ask further and shook his head, munching on peanuts.