Chapter 0030 Urns
After hanging up the phone, I felt particularly down. Bai Mei, a good woman, young and beautiful, had ultimately met a tragic end at the hands of her own husband. It was a tragedy. Her husband had cheated first and then cast a fatal spell. Now that his life was short, he truly deserved his fate. However, in this marital battle, no one was the winner; both had sacrificed their most precious possession.
The next day, my cousin asked me, "Tian Qi, what's wrong? You look unhappy." I didn't want to tell him about Bai Mei, so I lied and said I had a cold and wasn't feeling well.
After that, I often thought that if Bai Mei hadn't acted impulsively that night and had kept the secret of the spell to herself, her husband would have died in another two months. Her life would have been completely new. Regardless of whether I married her or not, she would have at least been a wonderful confidante and lover—what a perfect ending. Alas, in this world, things seldom go as planned. Perhaps I thought too beautifully. Although Bai Mei was initially a victim, she later turned from victim to perpetrator. Maybe this was fate's arrangement.
While in Thailand, I always missed home, and I often checked online news about Shenyang. The world is vast, and strange things happen every day. In the digital edition of the local Shenyang newspaper, Huashang Chenbao (Huashang Morning Post), there were always weird stories, such as "20-year-old burglar specializes in stealing old women's underwear," "Large batch of urns stolen from the spiritual bone tower of the Shenyang Funeral Home," and "Nails found in XXX brand bread."
While following the news, I was also very concerned about the amulet shop. Since I was far away, I didn't know what tricks Sun Xicai was up to, so I messaged him on QQ to ask about the recent business situation. I used to have Wang Jiao's QQ and we often chatted, but ever since she started dating Sun Xicai, she intentionally or unintentionally avoided me on QQ. Clearly, Sun Xicai was afraid I was interested in his girlfriend, even though she was my cousin.
Sun Xicai replied that business was decent. He said he would send me the sales ledger every month and would let me know in advance if they were running low on stock. I was still uneasy, so I asked him to take pictures for me. The photos showed different angles of the various shelves, looking neat and orderly. My sharp eyes noticed a square object faintly visible in the corner of one photo. I had personally handled everything in the amulet shop, and that square object was unfamiliar to me, so I pressed him about what it was.
Sun Xicai's text reply clearly showed panic. After nearly ten minutes, he sent me a picture of a wooden photo frame, claiming he wanted to get a few frames to mount the most expensive amulets and display them prominently so they would look more upscale.
That sounded plausible, but I knew very well that the wooden photo frame was absolutely not the square object in the corner of the previous photo. I suspected Sun Xicai, in his panic, had quickly found a photo frame to temporarily deceive me. Given Sun Xicai's greed and petty cleverness, I knew I wouldn't get a clear answer. As for what trick he was playing, I could only return to Shenyang to investigate personally. So, I told my cousin I was going back to Shenyang to see my parents and secretly bought a flight ticket without telling Sun Xicai.
I arrived home after 10 PM. I quickly ate something, rested for a bit at home, and then headed straight for the amulet shop, aiming for a surprise inspection. The taxi arrived after midnight, past twelve o'clock. None of the shops on either side of the street were lit up; only a few barbecue stalls at the distant intersection were still open. I stood at the shop door and knocked for a long time, but no one opened it. However, I faintly heard a cat meowing inside.
I thought, They're sleeping in the bedroom inside. Even if they're sound asleep, they shouldn't hear absolutely nothing, right? Fortunately, I had the key. I opened the shop door and turned on the lights, only to find the bedroom door open and the bed empty, with only a few pieces of sexy black lace bra and panties carelessly tossed on it. A black and white cat stood at the doorway, watching me alertly, its tail thick and its fur standing on end.
Wang Jiao and Sun Xicai weren't home. Where could they have gone? Maybe they went to a nearby stall for a late-night snack, I thought. I looked at the dozen or so shelves in the shop. The amulets and Guman Thong were neatly arranged, seemingly fine. As I walked back and forth in the shop, seeing the bed where Wang Jiao and Sun Xicai slept, I couldn't help but think of Bai Mei again, feeling a sense of pity.
I suddenly noticed two large cardboard boxes piled up in the corner of the wall, stacked with miscellaneous items. Although there was a lot of stuff, I felt something was off. These items seemed to have been deliberately placed on the cardboard boxes, looking strange. I approached the boxes and saw a damaged hole in one corner. I forcefully ripped the hole open, took out my phone, turned on the flash, and shone it inside. I saw wooden boards painted with deep red paint, but I couldn't tell what it was. I simply started taking down the miscellaneous items piled on top of the cardboard boxes one by one. When I opened the box, I was instantly terrified: inside were about ten urns.
Seeing these urns, my suspicion was finally confirmed. I rushed out of the back room and pulled back the yellow cloth curtain under the shelves. Sure enough, the bottom of the shelves, which was originally blocked, had been converted into small cabinets. Opening the cabinet doors revealed a neat row of urns, large and small, some new and surprisingly some old.
I was both angry and furious. Just then, the shop door opened, and Sun Xicai and Wang Jiao rushed in. The cat let out a loud "Aow!" and darted into the bedroom. Sun Xicai shouted, "Catch the thief! You raise your hands up for me—" He only finished half of his sentence, then swallowed the rest because he saw me.
"Brother Tian, why, why are you here?" Sun Xicai was stunned. When he saw me admiring the urns, his face instantly turned pale, and he started stammering.
I smiled and said, "When did you expand the business scope of the amulet shop? Are you selling urns now? Do you also handle cremation and cemetery plot selection services?"
Sun Xicai quickly said, "See, I told you! If there's money to be made, it's definitely a good idea! Now Brother Tian agrees, so I'll really have to make more contacts in the future!"
Wang Jiao gave him a sharp glare. "Brother Tian is being sarcastic! Can't you tell?" Sun Xicai was taken aback. He quickly looked at me. My face was stern. Only then did Sun Xicai understand. He swallowed a few times and sat down gloomily.
"Where did you get these urns?" I asked.
Sun Xicai said, "Actually, a friend who ran a funeral clothes shop in Tiexi went out of business and put these urns here for consignment sales..."
I said angrily, "You're still lying to me! Even if what you said is true, aren't you afraid of the Industry and Commerce Bureau investigating? An amulet shop's business scope is only supposed to be accessories, while urns are funeral supplies. Are they the same thing? Will you take responsibility if something goes wrong?"
Sun Xicai was defiant. "Who am I doing this for? I just want to improve the business of our shop! What do I get out of it?"
I glared at him. "Don't you know what you're after? Can you give me a single cent of the money you earn from selling urns? Can you pay a dime if the Industry and Commerce Bureau fines us? Get these urns out of here immediately, and don't cause me trouble! If a competitor reports us, what will you do?"
Wang Jiao also said, "Exactly. I told Xicai, but he wouldn't listen. Fortunately, he hasn't sold many."
I asked, "So, how many did you sell?"
Sun Xicai reluctantly replied, "Six or seven."
I was speechless. "Did people actually come to an amulet accessories shop to buy urns?"
Sun Xicai immediately became animated. "Of course! Brother Tian, you don't know this, but we put up those Thai temple scriptures at the entrance, right? Many people think our shop sells sacrificial supplies. They come in and ask if we have paper figures, paper horses, incense burners, or wreaths. So, I casually asked them if they needed urns. Factory direct sales! The prices are much cheaper than the one-stop funeral homes!"
I thought, You get energized as soon as you talk about a bargain. I said, "Regardless of the effect, stop selling them starting tomorrow. Get this stuff out of my sight! It's bad luck! You two are something else, sleeping next to boxes full of urns and actually being able to fall asleep!"
Wang Jiao angrily pointed at Sun Xicai. "Brother, don't even mention it! I'm already timid. Ever since he brought those things back, I haven't been able to sleep well every night. I have nightmares every day. Just having a pile of urns is spooky enough, but there are even used ones. You'd think someone would..." She stopped at the end. I pressed her on what she meant by "used." Sun Xicai quickly interjected, "They're not used! Jiaojiao meant that some of the urns haven't been sold for a long time, so they've become weathered!" As he spoke, he fiercely glared at Wang Jiao from the corner of his eye. Wang Jiao, knowing she had misspoken, said no more.