So this is the signboard?

Xiao Ran looked at the amount that had arrived, then at Uncle Li beside him.

He understood Old Zhou's words perfectly.

Translated, they meant: "I didn't expose your secret and saved your face, but if you hoard this money instead of sharing it, you risk losing your job. Give everyone the share they're owed; anything extra the client gives you later is your own earned profit."

Well, no wonder they weren't taking a cut.

Seeing the strange look in Xiao Ran's eyes, Uncle Li, without batting an eye, explained, "I didn't make it clear before. Thirteen thousand was the deposit, and this is the final payment. It's forty-three thousand in total. I won't be taking a commission this time."

"Uncle Li, you're too good to me!"

Xiao Ran put on a show of being deeply moved.

In his heart, however, he was immensely grateful to Old Zhou at the door. The man was not related to him by blood or obligation, yet he had helped him out like this. It was a significant favor.

Xiao Ran silently noted this favor, vowing to repay it if he ever had the chance.

As for Uncle Li...

Heh...

If he had been ignorant of the unspoken rules, an outsider who didn't understand their conversation, he would have foolishly attributed this favor to Uncle Li.

He might have even been sold out by Uncle Li, this middleman, and helped him count the money while being taken advantage of.

Uncle Li had intended to exchange a few more pleasantries, but with Old Zhou staring at him, even his thick skin felt embarrassed to respond to Xiao Ran.

"Stop dawdling. I'm about to get off work. If there's nothing else, hurry up and pack up so you don't delay me."

Old Zhou waved his hand, urging them to quickly put the body in the freezer.

"Is your skill passed down through your family?"

Old Zhou's niece, following behind, tugged on Xiao Ran's sleeve. She tilted her head up and boldly extended her hand to Xiao Ran. "Hello, my name is Zhong Yi. Zhong, as in the bell, and Yi, as in wish."

"Xiao Ran."

Xiao Ran looked at Zhong Yi's outstretched hand and shook his head. "Sorry, I haven't washed my hands."

"I just came from the morgue, so it's the same."

Zhong Yi smiled and stepped forward, taking Xiao Ran's hand without any hesitation or disgust.

This girl looked two years younger than Xiao Ran, but she was lively and bold. Other girls would be scared stiff after seeing a corpse, perhaps taking a month to recover.

She, on the other hand, actively sought it out. There were quite a few girls working at the funeral home, but Xiao Ran had never met one as daring as her.

"With such great skills, why don't you work formally at the funeral home?"

"I have my own shop outside. Part-time work suits me better."

"And you?"

"I'm studying forensic science. I'm here for a holiday internship, and it's almost over."

Xiao Ran looked back at Zhong Yi with some surprise. "A forensic science student interning here?"

"Yes, my graduation thesis is about corpses. Where else can I find as many corpses as at the funeral home?"

Both were young and had similar professions, so they chatted comfortably. After they had put Guo Lingfei's body into the cold storage, they exchanged contact information. Xiao Ran then left the morgue with Uncle Li.

They walked out of the morgue and along the tree-lined path towards the funeral home's main entrance.

Neither Uncle Li nor Xiao Ran spoke on the way. Xiao Ran was fiddling with his phone in one hand. Uncle Li glanced at him from time to time, thinking about something, seemingly wanting to say something but unable to open his mouth several times.

"Ding, 12,900 yuan has been deposited."

At this moment, it was Uncle Li who received a deposit notification. He looked at it, and the corners of his mouth couldn't stop lifting. "Ah, Xiao Ran, you're too kind. I already said I wouldn't take a commission for this job."

Although he said it, the joy on his face was undeniable.

"Rules are rules. In our line of work, we must follow the rules."

Xiao Ran narrowed his eyes, staring at Uncle Li. "I'm just afraid some people, relying on favors, forget the rules, right, Uncle Li?"

"Yes, yes, yes. I hate those kinds of people the most."

Uncle Li nodded with a smile, but as he smiled, he suddenly found it hard to continue. He glanced sideways at Xiao Ran, feeling a little uneasy in his heart.

"Uncle Li, it's getting late. I'll treat you to a meal next time."

Xiao Ran waved his hand, hailed a shared bicycle, and slowly rode away into the night.

He returned to his shop.

As soon as he opened the rolling shutter.

Before he could even enter, he heard someone call him from behind.

"Xiao Ran!!"

Xiao Ran turned around and saw a bald middle-aged man on an electric bike stopped in front of his shop.

"Brother Xiao Ran!"

A small head peeked out from behind the electric bike. A girl, about seven or eight years old, with two pigtails on her head and a round, apple-like face, showed Xiao Ran her small mouth with two missing front teeth.

"Brother, want a lollipop? It's delicious, strawberry flavored."

The girl took a lollipop out of her pocket and handed it to Xiao Ran.

"Hahaha, Xiao Qi got fat again. Don't eat so much candy, be careful of cavities."

"I'm not afraid, I can get new teeth anyway."

Xiao Qi proudly tilted her head up, handing the lollipop in her hand to Xiao Ran at the same time.

Xiao Ran took it. "Thanks. I'll buy you something delicious next time."

After speaking, Xiao Ran's smile faded as he looked at the bald man in front of him. "Uncle, do you need something?"

They say rivals in trade are enemies, and this bald man in front of him was one of them.

The bald man was a competitor, running a funeral supplies shop just across the street.

However, perhaps because it was more convenient, his business had far more customers than theirs.

"We've been having serious stock shortages lately. I have some items here, but I can't get them wholesale for a while, so I came to you to get some."

"How much do you need?"

"Here, it's about this much. Ten percent as usual."

The rule for competitors trading goods was that it couldn't be at the wholesale price; Xiao Ran needed to get a certain commission.

That is, for something worth 100 yuan, Xiao Ran would sell it to him for 110, and he would sell it to his customers for 120.

This kind of thing was very common among competitors.

Xiao Ran picked up the list and looked it over. The items were all available and not too much. "Yes, wait a moment, I'll get it for you."

With that, Xiao Ran walked into the shop and soon came out carrying two large black plastic bags, handing the contents to the man.

"That'll be 345."

After speaking, Xiao Ran glanced at the lollipop in his hand. "Alright, just give me 340. This lollipop can cover the change."

"Hahaha, good, good. My daughter really has pull."

The man was overjoyed, as he had been worried Xiao Ran wouldn't help him get the goods.

"Brother, next time you come, I'll give you a discount too!"

Xiao Qi's eyes turned into crescent moons as she said to Xiao Ran with a smile.

"That's called 'dǎ zhé', it's a word with multiple pronunciations!" Xiao Ran grinned and corrected her. He actually didn't have a good impression of the bald man, but he was particularly fond of Xiao Qi. He remembered the first time they met was at the wholesale market.

Xiao Qi, who was about seven years old, was haggling with a vendor alone, pulling her younger brother along, just to save one yuan so she could buy her brother an extra milk candy.

At that time, Xiao Ran felt that the girl was very likable, so he offered to buy it for her. But when the little girl heard that, she turned and pulled her brother away, saying, "I have my own pocket money, I can't take other people's things."

When they met again later, he learned that this little girl was the child from the Jixiang Funeral Supplies Shop down the street.

Although the two shops were competitors, they hadn't reached the point of glaring at each other. Xiao Ran often passed by, and the child gradually remembered him.

So, even though he didn't like the bald man, Xiao Ran was still willing to do Xiao Qi a favor.

"O-okay!" Xiao Qi nodded her little head, firmly remembering the word so she wouldn't say it wrong next time.

It could only be said that affinity is a strange thing, hard to explain!

"Alright, I'll be heading back now. Come over for dinner sometime!" The bald man uttered a standard Chinese polite phrase and then rode off on his electric scooter.

Xiao Ran shook his head. After returning home, he sat behind the counter and began to think about Guo Lingfei.

"Curses, Curse Marks, these things are a bit too extraordinary. What if someone uses this method against me in the future?"

"The other party might need some limitations to kill Guo Lingfei, but some abilities don't. For example, that Old Woman. Who would have thought those gold bars could pin someone down so they could barely move?"

Xiao Ran pondered the Old Woman's methods during the recent Mystery City trial, which were truly unpredictable.

After all, faced with glittering gold, a normal person wouldn't be on guard.

"Hmm... what if I encounter it again next time?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran's brow twitched, and he suddenly felt a sense of unease and crisis.

He then got up and walked to the front of the shop, closing the rolling shutter. He didn't go upstairs but instead opened the door to the backyard.

The backyard was very messy, covered in leaves. In the center of the yard stood a large tree, its branches and leaves lush, casting the entire yard into shadow. Further back was an old house.

The house door was locked, and even the windows were sealed.

Xiao Ran took a key from a tin can nearby and carefully opened the door.

"Buzz..."

As the door opened, a faint light shone through the gap. Inside the room, there were tables, chairs, benches, and other furniture.

"Recalling the past, prosperity is like a fleeting dream, my remaining life hangs by a thread amidst the crashing waves..."

Before he even entered, he heard opera singing from the television. Xiao Ran closed the door and stood at the entrance, adjusting to the light for a moment before saying, "Grandpa, I'm in a bit of trouble."

"Who isn't in trouble while alive?"

Behind Xiao Ran, an old man walked past him leisurely and sat down in a rocking chair. He tapped his feet, and the rocking chair began to sway. He squinted his eyes, listening to the song "Suo Lin Nang" playing on the television, looking completely engrossed.

After a moment, he spoke, "Tell me, what trouble?"

"I..." Xiao Ran organized his thoughts. "I'm worried someone might cast a curse to harm me, so... is there any way to hide my birth details and help me ward off disaster?"

If any ordinary family member had said this, they would probably have been called crazy.

However, the old man merely opened his eyelids, glanced at Xiao Ran, and shook his head. "I can't handle this."

"That's why I'm here to ask for your advice. I'm worried that if others get my birth details, it could be disadvantageous for me."

This is, after all, the information age. Hospital records, police information, even banks, insurance, and academic records all contain relevant information.

If the other party really wanted to kill him, there was no guarantee they wouldn't find a way to obtain his birth details through other channels, especially if the other party was particularly wealthy. In any case, the more safeguards, the better, even if they weren't used.

The old man stretched his legs and rocked his chair, appearing to be asleep. Xiao Ran wasn't in a hurry and stood by waiting. After a while, he heard the old man say slowly, "Go find Paper Man Zhou. Their family can handle this; I can't."

Paper Man Zhou, Loud Music Yang, a blast of the suona and parents' efforts are in vain.

This is something that all the older folks would recite.

Both these families were major players who controlled the funeral industry back in the day.

Even though this industry might seem unremarkable, even somewhat unlucky, its profitability was no less than that of the small gangs who used to collect night soil.

However, they have long since been eliminated from the historical stage.

"Okay, also, Grandpa, there's one more thing. What is this?"

Xiao Ran casually took out the Calamity Suppressing Token and placed it in his hand for the old man to see.

The old man's eyes widened when he saw the iron plaque covered in copper rust. "How did you bring this thing back?"

"I swept it up when I was cleaning."

The old man looked at the iron plaque with disdain, but after thinking about it, he said, "Forget it, find a place to put it. It's not some valuable antique. Back then, our Second-rate craftsman trade couldn't hang a sign, so we hung this plaque at the entrance. Those who recognized it knew what our family did."

"So... this thing is actually our family's sign?"

Xiao Ran weighed the Calamity Suppressing Token in his hand, feeling a little disappointed. He thought it was some remarkable family heirloom, but its origin turned out to be so simple.

Seeing his disappointed expression, the old man mistook it for Xiao Ran thinking it was an antique and grinned, trying to comfort him.

"Something like that. This thing has been around since my great-grandfather entered the trade. Without this plaque, you weren't an officially recognized corpse stitcher. If you stitched corpses privately and were caught by the authorities, you'd be exiled at best, and executed at worst. Dynasties change, but the plaques remain. So, if you want to call this thing an antique, it's not wrong, but I doubt anyone would buy it."

"Even if someone wanted to buy it, I wouldn't sell it."

Xiao Ran thought to himself that his survival to this day was all thanks to this plaque, so how could he possibly sell it.

Putting away the Calamity Suppressing Token, Xiao Ran changed the subject. "By the way, I'm going to find the Zhou family. Why would the Zhou family help me? Do we have any ties with them?"

"No, look at the goods in the shop; I didn't get any from their family. Where would any ties come from?" The old man snorted, seemingly not very fond of the Zhou family.

"Then do they... owe us money?"

Xiao Ran found it a bit amusing even as he said it.

Although the Zhou family had lost their former glory, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. When it came to money, they had much deeper pockets than his family.

As expected, the old man gave him a sideways glance and shook his head. "They don't owe money." He then closed his eyes and said, "But the Zhou family owes our family a favor, from about twenty years ago."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran's face fell, and he stared at the old man. "Are you serious??"

Xiao Ran wasn't sure where the old man got such confidence from. They had no ties, and would a mere favor really be effective?

Moreover, even if there was a favor, it was from their generation. If the Zhou family didn't honor it, he couldn't exactly throw a tantrum on the ground, could he?

He wanted to ask for clarification, but seeing the old man's demeanor—eyes closed, rocking his chair, listening to the sound from the TV, nodding his head—Xiao Ran knew that asking would be futile. He turned and walked towards the door.

"Buzz..."

The door opened, and the sunlight outside shone through the gap, refracting into the room. The music from the TV in the room seemed to have reached its finale. The empty rocking chair gradually stopped swaying