Chapter 0049 Ms. Bao's Situation
While eating lunch, I received a phone call from Uncle Xie in Thailand. He asked why I hadn't sent him any business lately and if I didn't trust him. I claimed that I had been feeling unwell and was taking a break at home in Shenyang, promising to contact him for future work. Uncle Xie asked if I had to turn down a lot of business due to my illness and suggested I forward it to him, splitting the profits fifty-fifty. Hearing this, I was tempted. I also thought that if I wanted to develop more suppliers, I needed to maintain a balanced business relationship. If I only cooperated with Frank Fang and left Uncle Xie out, over time, Uncle Xie probably wouldn't contact me anymore. If something ever prevented me from cooperating with Frank Fang, I needed a backup. So, I told Uncle Xie about the text message I received last night.
Uncle Xie immediately said, "Brother Tian, how could you say you can't? In business, we aim to make money. Besides giving birth, there's nothing we can't handle. If you don't believe me, hand it over. I guarantee customer satisfaction, and we'll earn the money! I just don't know where the customer is. It's quite a distance for me to travel from Thailand. How about this: if the customer's house is relatively close to you, please go ahead and gather the information. As long as the customer is willing to pay and the profit is substantial, I'll take care of everything later. As I said before, as long as they are willing to pay, I can take any job!"
After he put it that way, I thought he had a point. Although the terminology differed, the magic should be related. In the North, it's called Chuma Xian (spirit mediumship), in the South, it's Maoshan Sorcery (Taoist sorcerer), Westerners call it a spiritualist, and in Southeast Asia, it's the Arjans. So, I replied to the text message, asking the sender what specific issue they had.
The person called back. It was a woman, and her tone was very polite: "You must be Mr. Tien Chi. My surname is Bao. I've traveled to Thailand twice and know a little about the local customs, including that they have many powerful Arjan masters. Do you happen to know any?"
Although I was in a bad mood, I habitually rose to the occasion: "I know many Arjans in Thailand. What do you need?"
Unexpectedly, Ms. Bao started crying, sobbing as she spoke: "You have to help us, or we won't have a way to live..."
I quickly asked, "What exactly is wrong?"
Ms. Bao composed herself and said, "Could you come to Dalian? My family situation is quite complicated. It would be best if you could come and see for yourself. I can cover your travel expenses."
I chuckled: "You don't even know if I can solve the problem. Wouldn't that be a wasted trip otherwise?"
Ms. Bao sighed: "To be blunt, I'm treating this as a last resort. You are in Shenyang, which isn't far from Dalian. Please, just consider it a trip, okay?"
Since she put it that way, it was hard for me to refuse. Thinking of Uncle Xie's confident words, I felt reassured and agreed. Because I was being affected by the Mo Yang man's spirit, I knew I wouldn't be very comfortable during this period, and I figured I could use the trip to Dalian to change my mood.
When arranging the time and place, Ms. Bao claimed I would have to find her house myself using the address because her entire family currently dared not leave the house. I quickly asked for the reason, but she stammered and refused to explain, only saying we could discuss it once we met. I was suspicious but didn't press further. The next day, I set off directly for the train station and headed to Dalian.
After arriving and exiting the station in Dalian, the address was easy enough to find. I took a taxi to an upscale garden community. To enter the gate, I not only had to register but also required the security guard to call the owner to verify. Needless to say, this Ms. Bao's family was quite wealthy. I felt annoyed. I couldn't believe how lazy they were; asking me for help, they couldn't even bother to pick me up. Was being rich really that great?
In the community, as I passed a fountain, I saw several middle-aged women clustered together chatting. One woman said excitedly, "Serves them right! This is karma. That's what you get for being so arrogant. People shouldn't be too cocky!"
Another woman chimed in, "Isn't that the truth? Do you think their family offended someone? How could things get like this?"
The first woman angrily said, "Why even ask? They must have offended God! Just you wait. Don't look at all the jumping off buildings and car crashes now—that's nothing. The real show is still to come."
I walked over and asked them for directions to Building XX, Unit X. One woman showed me the way, then asked whose house I was looking for. I said I was looking for a Ms. Bao who lived there. The women exchanged glances, hesitating to speak. The first woman couldn't help but ask, "Young man, do you have business with the Bao family?"
"Oh, nothing major. I heard they had some issues at home, and I'm going to find out more." Hearing my reply, the women fell silent, all looking at me with strange expressions, as if I had horns growing out of my head.
I took the elevator upstairs and knocked for a long time before someone inside, behind the door, asked who it was. I announced my name. The door opened just a gap of less than ten centimeters, but I could already see the luxurious interior decor, though no one showed their face. I peered in to look around and finally saw a woman, probably in her early forties, standing behind the door. She was tall and thin with a worried look on her face.
I asked, "Are you Ms. Bao?"
The woman nodded. She looked as though she had just recovered from a severe illness, looking very uncomfortable. She said weakly, "Quick, quick, close the door!" I quickly closed the door, only to find that she had already slipped into the bedroom, leaving me alone in the living room. This annoyed me greatly. I thought, why didn't she offer me any hospitality? Even if there was no tea or soft drinks, she should at least offer a glass of water, right?
The floor-to-ceiling window in the living room was completely covered by curtains, making the room very dark. I wondered why they insisted on keeping the curtains drawn in broad daylight. I walked to the bedroom door and saw that the curtains in the bedroom were also drawn. Ms. Bao sat on the edge of the bed, hugging herself, trembling constantly. Another person was sitting on the bed, covered from head to toe with a large bedsheet. I couldn't tell what was going on.
I asked Ms. Bao, "Are you alright? What's going on?" She didn't answer, just kept shaking. I was completely speechless, feeling tired and thirsty. I walked to the living room and poured myself a glass of water from the coffee table. The sofa was messy, and the slipcover was crooked and lumpy. I plopped down onto the sofa, but I ended up sitting on something soft. That thing suddenly bounced up and let out a strange "Wow!" sound, startling me and causing the water glass to fall to the ground and shatter.
Looking back, I realized there was actually a small boy lying underneath the sofa cover, and I had just sat on him. The little boy kneeled on the sofa, clutching the slipcover around him, staring at me with a watchful and resentful look. Ms. Bao quickly came out of the bedroom, sat on the sofa, and hugged the little boy tightly: "It's okay, Yangyang, it's okay. Mommy is here..."
"What exactly is going on with you? Can someone speak up? Otherwise, I'm leaving!" I really couldn't stand it anymore.
The person covered with the bedsheet in the bedroom also came out. It was a middle-aged man. He waved his hand impatiently repeatedly: "Go, go, go! Nobody invited you here!"
That remark infuriated me: "If you didn't invite me, why would I come all the way from Shenyang to Dalian? Am I that bored?"
Ms. Bao began to cry softly. The middle-aged man glanced at Ms. Bao, snorted a few times, and went back into the room. I asked Ms. Bao what the situation was. Tears streamed down her face: "We shouldn't have done it, we really shouldn't have bought it."
I pressed her: "Shouldn't have bought what?"
Ms. Bao said, "Shouldn't have bought this house..."
I looked around the house, thinking, could there be something strange about this house? I asked her how long ago she bought the house. Ms. Bao replied, "Less than two months ago. Alas, if it weren't for my husband, it probably wouldn't be like this!" She slowly released the little boy and began to recount the story. Only then did I fully understand why this family was so abnormal.
I hadn't asked the husband's surname, so for ease of narration, I'll refer to him as Mr. Bao. Their son's nickname is Yangyang. Mr. Bao's father died early, and his elderly mother lived with the three of them. Mr. Bao worked in the real estate industry, basically as a construction foreman, and the family was well-off. Mr. Bao's mother was particularly fond of petty gains. Influenced by his mother, Mr. Bao had the same flaw, but he was even worse than his mother—not only did he like to take advantage of people, but he was also unreasonable, especially towards strangers.
Six months ago, Mr. Bao's family didn't live in this community but in an older residential community several streets away. Mr. Bao and his mother were notorious in the community, and not in a good way. One rainy day, the road was slick. Old Mrs. Bao accidentally slipped and fell at the community gate. No one dared to help her, and even the security guard at the gate pretended not to see her. Just then, a young man riding a bicycle passed by outside the gate. She waved for the young man to come and help her. The kind-hearted young man helped her up, but Old Mrs. Bao immediately grabbed him, insisting that he had knocked her down. Mr. Bao immediately called several relatives, refusing to let go, demanding that the young man pay compensation. If it weren't for the surveillance cameras at the community gate and the security guard testifying, the young man really wouldn't have been able to get away.
There were many such incidents. Ms. Bao had a kinder personality and didn't approve of these things, but since she was married to Mr. Bao, she couldn't change anything. However, one conflict, in particular, led to dire consequences.