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墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Kui's Diary
Dongpeng Province Wuxian County, at the Xiangyun Bus Station in the eastern suburbs of the county town.
I walked out of the sewage-filled bus station with Fatty, covering our noses. Damn, to get to General Township, we had to transfer at another bus station, and the Ticket Seller who had confidently assured us before boarding that there would be no transfers looked at us innocently, speaking in standard plastic Mandarin: "Did I say that? You must have misheard."
As soon as we exited the bus station, a group of middle-aged women surrounded us, speaking in the local dialect. Although I couldn't understand them, the signs they held clearly expressed their intentions.
"Accommodation, twenty-five yuan per night, with air conditioning and hot water."
"Accommodation, free local calls, with Satellite TV."
…
There were about seven or eight of these women, nearly surrounding us. In desperation, I shouted, "Excuse me, we need to transfer, not stay!"
Upon hearing this, the group of women dispersed, but one woman remained, speaking in halting Mandarin: "Where are you going?"
I glanced at her: "We are going to General Township."
"General Township?" The middle-aged woman laughed: "You must be heading to Large Passenger Terminal, right? I advise you not to go there because there is only one Minibus to General Township, which leaves at one-thirty in the afternoon. It’s already two-forty now." She raised her wrist and pointed to her watch.
"We can rent a car to get there!" Fatty said with a smile. "How much would it cost to hire a car to General Township?"
"Renting a car? That might be a bit difficult. The roads leading to General Township are all rocky mountain paths filled with potholes, and the vehicles have low clearance; drivers usually won't go there." The middle-aged woman gestured with her hands to illustrate a bumpy ride. "Unless you rent a minibus."
The car's belly is very low? I quickly realized that she meant the car's chassis was low. If we couldn't rent a car, that would indeed be a troublesome matter.
Fearing that we wouldn't believe her, the middle-aged woman volunteered to take us to the Large Passenger Terminal. I asked a staff member, and sure enough, the bus to General Township was leaving at one-thirty. However, when we looked for taxis at the entrance, the drivers shook their heads vigorously when asked if they were going to General Township. One young driver even said, "Boss, no matter how much money you offer, even if I sell you my car, I can't go there because that road is just too terrible; our kind of vehicle simply can't make it!"
Could we really only wait for tomorrow's bus?
The middle-aged woman smiled and said, "Why don't you two stay at our inn for a night and come back tomorrow?"
"Thank you, beautiful..." Fatty looked at the middle-aged woman and then said, "Thank you for your kindness, but your rooms are only twenty-five yuan a night. I can imagine the environment isn't great, and we wouldn't feel comfortable staying there."
The middle-aged woman suddenly became anxious: "I can ask the boss to give you the best room; I guarantee it's more comfortable than those rooms that cost two or three hundred yuan a night. Plus, at our inn, the poultry and fish are freshly killed, and the vegetables are freshly picked—fresh and green! You have money; isn't this what you care about? By the way, our innkeeper is from General Township. Aren't you going there? He can tell you all about General Township!"
Her last sentence moved me. I followed Fatty as she led us to an inn.
This inn was a three-story building; the first floor was a restaurant, while the second and third floors were for lodging. Above the entrance was a sign made of spray-painted cloth featuring many scantily clad women. In the center were seven large characters reading 'Shangri-La Hotel,' with a line next to it saying 'Snow Beer, buy one get one free.'
To the left of the entrance was the reception desk where a heavily made-up woman sat. Behind the desk was a sofa where a pretty young woman sat, munching on sunflower seeds while glancing up at the television hanging on the wall. In the middle were two round tables, and to the right was a staircase leading upstairs. Below the stairs was a door through which kitchen utensils could be seen; this must be the kitchen.
Seeing that the middle-aged woman brought us in, the woman behind the reception quickly stood up: "Sister Zhang, are these two bosses here for lodging or dining?"
"Both lodging and dining," Sister Zhang replied with a smile and then winked: "Boss lady, you have to give them the best room; these two bosses are from a big place."
Damn it, calling her boss lady and us bosses—what does that mean?
The landlady was momentarily taken aback, but then quickly understood. "Alright, alright," she said, turning to us with a smile. "However, the best room in our hotel costs a hundred yuan per night."
Having traveled the world for many years, I recognized her tactics immediately. It was just a way to fleece unsuspecting customers. All the rooms were likely the same, and they would simply take us to one room, throw in a few bottles of water and some toilet paper, and call it a luxurious stay.
However, I wasn't concerned about these tricks. My main purpose for coming here was to ask the hotel owner about General Township. As for accommodation, after inquiring about the situation, I could just walk away, essentially paying a hundred yuan for directions. But you couldn't just hand over a hundred yuan and ask for directions; if they took the money and fabricated some information, how would you know what was true? Only information that came out unintentionally would be reliable.
Sister Zhang chatted casually with the landlady for a moment before heading out on her own. The landlady led us upstairs to the second floor, opened a room, and invited us in. After sizing us up, she suddenly smiled mysteriously and asked, "Gentlemen, would you like some services?"
"Services? What kind of services?" I asked, somewhat surprised.
The landlady winked playfully. "Come on, don’t pretend. That girl who was sitting behind me watching TV earlier—what do you think? If you're interested, I can have her provide you with services for a flat rate of one hundred yuan!"
Upon hearing this, Fatty chuckled and said, "Landlady, don't try to scam us. I've been around for years; I've stayed in all kinds of inns. In places like yours, that girl is worth at most fifty yuan."
The landlady immediately laughed awkwardly and replied, "That's for both of you!"
I quickly intervened to stop their banter. If Fatty continued down this path, he could go on endlessly without pause. "Landlady, let's eat first; we’ve been on the road for several hours and are quite hungry."
The landlady playfully glanced at me and said, "If you prefer someone more mature, how about me?"
I laughed heartily and replied, "Without food, there's no energy; without energy, nothing can happen. Let's eat first!"
What I really wanted to say but held back was that even if I were full, I still wouldn't be interested in someone like her.
The meal was ready quickly, and I had to admit that the food tasted quite good. After taking a few bites, I asked the landlady to bring over two bottles of beer and invited her to sit down and eat with us. She didn't hesitate and sat beside us, pouring us drinks.
"Landlady, where's your boss?" I casually asked.
"That deadbeat? He's working in Guangzhou!" The landlady shot me a flirtatious glance. "Even if I don't go home to sleep, no one cares."
Ignoring her somewhat suggestive hint, I felt quite frustrated. Damn, the boss isn't here, so why am I wasting my time with you? I thought about getting up and leaving, but then I remembered that since the boss is from General Township, it's possible that the landlady is too. After all, in their era, people didn't marry too far from home.
I chatted with her for a bit more and casually asked Fatty, "Ding Boss, did you bring enough money for the trip to General Township's Cauliflower Village to buy herbs?"
Fatty paused for a moment before confidently patting his chest. "There's plenty of money; I'm just worried they won't have any goods!"
As soon as he said that, the Young Girl sitting nearby watching TV turned her head and looked Fatty up and down.
"You guys are going to General Township?" the landlady asked in surprise.
"Yeah, we just missed the bus and got brought over by that lady," I chuckled.
"Well, I'm actually from General Township," the landlady laughed heartily.
"Oh really? Then tell me, landlady, there aren't any bandits in General Township, right?" I joked.
"Where would there be bandits nowadays? But I've heard that Cauliflower Village hasn't been very peaceful lately," the landlady frowned. "I've heard it's haunted."
"Really?" I pretended to be exceptionally surprised.
"That's right. I heard it's a family with the surname Wei, and they often have limbs that are severed," the landlady said in a lowered voice.
"What's so strange about severed limbs? I've seen plenty of those," I replied dismissively.
"But have you ever seen severed limbs that can move on their own?" At this point, the landlady seemed a bit frightened, shivering slightly as she forced a smile to change the subject. "I'm just passing on what I've heard; it's just a rumor, so don't take it seriously!"
Naturally, I wasn't satisfied with such little information and quickly pressed on. "Limbs that can move by themselves? That's really bizarre. Landlady, please tell us more so we know what to expect. If there really are ghosts, wouldn't we be walking into our own doom?"
However, the landlady refused to elaborate further. No matter how much I coaxed her, she wouldn't discuss any more ghostly matters.
After dinner, I returned to the room with Fatty and closed the door. I frowned and said, "Fatty, there's something off about this landlady."
"Yeah, I noticed too. She definitely seems a bit strange. From my observation, her bust is clearly a B cup, yet she's wearing a C cup bra. How can someone be so dishonest?" Fatty said indignantly.
"Damn, I'm trying to talk about serious matters here," I laughed and scolded him. "Her behavior seems deliberately exaggerated, as if she's trying to pique our interest for some purpose. She must know something."
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