Letter from Ziteng Incense Candle Shop

It's still on summer vacation, and I have nothing to do, so I decided to stay and tidy up the shop.The uncle was very happy and said that my cousin would come to help me when he was free.

Before going back, my father told me that if something happened, I must call home.Don't mess around, you have to listen to your uncle and cousin in everything.

My cousin also has a job, so he can't stay in the shop all day.But he taught me a great deal about the work of the shop, and it was not difficult to tidy up.

Next to the door is the counter, and there is a stack of orders on the counter.The order is made of light yellow paper, a bit like the paper money is made of.The strangest thing is that there is a pen made of paper next to the order.

My cousin specifically told me not to mess with that pen.

After counting some of the goods, I sat at the counter and drank water.Picking up the orders at random, they are all written with a brush.Some of the characters are very beautiful, but some of them are ghostly. They should not be written by grandpa, but may be written by the guest himself.

The order was written in great detail, listing the date the order was placed, the last or full name of the deceased, the address, what was purchased, and the time of day to pick it up.

At first I didn't care too much, I just thought it was too old-fashioned for grandpa to still use brushes in this age.Next time I will definitely buy a computer to put in here and can print orders.You can also open an online store to allow customers to shop directly online.The location here is too far away, basically doing business with regular customers, it should be better to sell online.

Slowly I realized something was wrong.It has been more than a week since Grandpa passed away, but there are still orders placed during this time.

It's strange, during this period of time, the uncle should not have time to take care of the shop.Maybe someone put the order in the mailbox, and my uncle took it out yesterday.

I hurriedly prepared the goods that someone came to pick up today.My cousin taught me how to fold lotus flowers and ingots.I used to like origami very much, so I didn't find it difficult at all.

Pack the incense candle paper money and paper bundles listed on the order in bags, and the guests come outside the door.

A woman stood outside the door, accompanied by a young man.The woman looked up at the signboard and looked around, her face was a little hesitant, as if she was not sure that this was the place she was looking for.

"Excuse me, what do you need?" Since there is a business coming, of course we can't let it go.

Seeing that the woman's eyes were red and swollen, and there were white flowers on her hair, it must be because of a funeral at home, so I asked again as kindly as possible, "May I help you?"

She looked at me with hesitation and suspicion in her eyes, which was really odd.Is she worried that I will fail to sell fakes?By the way, will there be counterfeit and shoddy products of this kind of thing?

"My uncle is Mrs. Zhang from XX Village." Said the young man beside the woman.

The first page is this Zhang's order, "Oh. Ten bundles of paper money with a denomination of [-] yuan, ten bundles of ten thousand yuan, fifty gold and silver ingots each, two bundles of incense, lotus holders and candles..."

While talking, I packed the goods and handed them over to the young man.I looked up and found that both the young man and the woman looked at me with wide eyes in disbelief.

"What's wrong?" I frowned, was I really worried that I was selling fakes?

When I was working part-time in the past, when encountering doubts from customers, I had to explain patiently with a smile.This trick can be used now.

"Don't worry. Ours is a time-honored brand, and the paper is made of the best handmade bamboo pulp paper. The deceased will be satisfied after receiving it. The lotus can also help him to reach bliss early..."

Although I think this kind of rhetoric is a bit weird, in order to attract customers, the product still has to be sold.

"Is it an official product designated by the underworld?"

That woman's sudden remark made me almost choke.I have only heard of sports brands' "Olympic Designated Product" and mineral water "Marathon Designated Product", and now even joss stick paper money has the advertising slogan "Official Designated Product of the Underworld", which is really novel.

I don't know, I'll tell you after I die.

Of course I can't say that.Seeing that I was a little embarrassed, the young man was busy trying to smooth things over, "Uncle left suddenly, aunt is too sad, please don't mind."

"It's okay." Handing the goods to the young man, the latter took out his wallet and asked the total price.

"Did you pay a deposit when you placed the order?" There is no deposit on the order, but some deposits are usually charged.

The young man froze for a moment, and the woman suddenly reached out to snatch the order from me.I didn't pay attention and was snatched by her.The woman looked at it carefully several times, and suddenly covered the order in her arms and burst into tears.

What the hell is going on?

For the woman's sudden crying, I can only attribute it to her nervous breakdown.The young man comforted her in a low voice, and the latter muttered something like 'really his words'.

Finally, the two were delivered. In addition to paying the full price of the goods, the young man also handed over a big red envelope before leaving.The red envelope is very thick, and it is full of Grandpa Mao. I am very happy.The first pot of gold, people say that women and children are the best money to earn, but it is unexpected that they will get rich even if they die and do business.

They asked to take that order away and of course I'm okay with that.Continue to organize the goods and wait for the customers to pick them up.Then came an old woman.She didn't place an order, but she should be a regular customer. Knowing that grandpa has passed away, she comforted me a few words.

"Fujizai, I'm lucky that you picked up the Sama shop. If not, I don't know where to buy it. Give me a dead old ghost. It's so deep that it's so sweet that it's left to eat Nidu D incense holder." (Translation see 'The author has something to say')

(Xiao Teng, it’s a good thing you inherited this store. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t know where to buy things for my husband. He is very picky and only wants to eat the fragrance here.)

This dialect is simply more high-end than Martian, and the old lady speaks too fast, I really want to say: Mother-in-law, the people on earth are not used to you, please go back to the outer galaxy.

Then a few customers came, and all the goods in the order were taken away.It was past noon, and I ran out to find a small restaurant for dinner.There are many time-honored brands in this area, and the authentic snacks are super delicious.

I didn't go back to the shop until 02:30 in the afternoon.Standing outside the gate was a middle-aged man with disheveled hair and casual clothes, with a stubble on his chin.But those eyes are very energetic, as sharp as an eagle's.Being swept away by him like that, all the sleepy bugs I ran out because I was full were scared away.

"Sorry, I kept you waiting for a long time when I went out to look for food just now." I opened the door of the shop and invited the man in.

The other party came in and said: "Here are ten pieces of talisman paper, I want A product." After speaking, he handed me the credit card between his fingers.

"What?" I thought I heard wrong.

"Amulet paper. Give me the best product. There's been too much business recently, and the stock is very short." The man seemed very tired, and he sat down on the sofa in the shop, and his whole body seemed to be paralyzed there.

The man's eyes were bloodshot, and there was a dark circle under his eyes, which should be caused by a serious lack of sleep.Even though his face was tired, his tough and resolute facial features, as well as the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes, revealed the unique temperament of a mature man.It's the handsome uncle type that little girls like now.

Seeing that I was still standing there, the man frowned, "What's wrong? Out of stock?"

"No."

Things like talisman paper should be used by magic sticks.But this uncle is wearing a T-shirt, jacket and jeans, no matter how you look at it, he is quite a trendy person.It doesn't match the image of the Ming zodiac gown, the black hat and the goatee.Or is it that the current magic sticks are very modern?

But the store does have some things for magic sticks, such as Mr. Feng Shui's compass, and some weird things.My cousin said it was also part of my grandfather's business.

"Actually, I just took over, I don't know what you want..."

Doubt flashed in the man's eyes, but he still took out a piece of paper from his jacket pocket and handed it to me, "That's what it is."

The rectangular paper is a little yellowish, with a seal and a Chinese ink pen ghost painting on it.It turned out that he was really a stick.I groaned in my heart, remembering that there was indeed such paper in the cabinet.So he took out ten bundles and placed them on the small table in front of him.

"Please count the goods you want."

Unexpectedly, the man snorted twice, "Little brother, although I am tired and dizzy now, Lao Zhang, but you don't want to deceive me by using B goods to hit A goods."

When I heard it, I thought it was terrible. If the customers feel that our home is inferior, the integrity will be lost.Without integrity, you can't do long-term business.

"You misunderstood." I hurriedly explained: "You also know that I don't understand anything when I just took over. Please forgive me, sir."

"Oh. You are what they said, Mr. Du's little grandson, right?" Seeing that I admitted my mistake with a correct attitude, the man frowned and didn't pursue it anymore.

"Yes. Sir, please give me more advice in the future." I opened the cabinet while talking, and there were stacks of papers inside. "Sir, can you tell me which ones are A and which are B? I really can't tell the difference."

This move must be silly in the eyes of others.If the customer deliberately claims that the good product is inferior, and then buys it at the inferior price next time, then I will definitely lose money.

But business integrity is not one-sided.

"Aren't you afraid that I'll lie to you?" Old Zhang squinted at me, seeming to find it interesting.

"I do business without deceit. If I am worthy of the conscience of the world, the customers will trust me. If the customers lie to me, then I can only admit that I am unlucky and spend money to buy a lesson."

Teach your sister a lesson!This is just a formulaic statement to increase the favorability of the guests.If this guy really dares to lie to me, he will definitely be blacklisted in the future, and he will be reported and warned for spreading feudal superstition, deceiving the public with lies, and pretending to be a magic stick to harm people.

"Sure enough, Mr. Du's chosen heir."

Lao Zhang didn't know what I was thinking, and began to tell me the grades of those papers carefully.But I can't see any spiritual power or anything like that.I only know that the level of hand-made is higher than that of machine-made.

After choosing the talisman paper, I gave Lao Zhang a [-]% discount.The other party was very happy, and handed over a business card, "If you encounter trouble in the future, you can find me."

The address and phone number are printed on the business card, and there is even an email address and QQ number. Lao Zhang's name is printed on it: Zero Different Private Detective Agency.

It turns out that the magic stick also works as a private detective part-time, but no matter what, he can't match him with Conan, Kindaichi and the like.

In the evening my cousin came to help me close the shop.He also nervously asked me about today's situation, "Is there any particularly strange guest?"

Seeing his nervousness, I deliberately wanted to scare him.

"Business is good. A special guest..." I deliberately changed my face, making my cousin even more nervous, and asked me how I was doing.

"The wife of Mrs. Zhang in XX Village came to pick up the goods and returned the red envelope." I laughed happily, but I was hit on the head by my cousin.

it hurts...

It was getting dark, my cousin locked the shop, and I said, "Next time, clean up the upstairs room, it's not bad for me to stay here at night."

There is obviously such a big house here, why should I share a bed with my cousin at my uncle's place.My cousin glanced at me, "You mean, you don't feel comfortable living in my house?"

"Adults are wronged, how dare you be a little one." I said while shrinking away, "It's just that someone sleeps too badly and drools in the middle of the night, so he won't be able to get a girlfriend in the future... Wow~~~~ My lord, please forgive me !"

"You boy, stop for me!"

While laughing, I suddenly thought that the young man who accompanied the woman to pick up the goods today seemed to say that his uncle was Mrs. Zhang, and that his uncle had passed away.That is to say, Zhang who placed the order...

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but shudder, thinking that maybe he has many uncles, haha.