Chapter 122: 122

122 "Did you do less after you died?"

After digesting this news, Tushan Tu reminded her again: "This year you still haven't gone out to peddle knives—don't forget."

Knife peddlers walk the streets selling knives; they leave a prophecy, and only when that prophecy comes true do they appear to collect payment—this is well known to the public.

Why bring this up again? Because it's their tradition.

Every year, the knife peddlers must once go into the secular market, and in this way tell the world that their profession exists.

That's why, to many people, knife peddlers are those who mysteriously appear out of nowhere in a place, lay out their knives, hawk their trade, and leave a prophecy—giving them an air of mystery.

However, at that time, the prophecies they usually left were about relatively distant future events.

For example, 'I'll come collect payment when housing prices reach fifty thousand per square meter,' or 'I'll come collect when someone in your family dies a violent death ten years from now,' or, 'When everyone is stuck at home with no doors to exit and no roads to travel, then I'll come collect payment,' and so on.

These are all major matters closely tied to people's livelihoods.

Because the timeframe for fulfillment is far off, many people think they're just swindlers and don't take them seriously.

Moreover, some people have even used the guise of knife peddlers to sell merchandise, which has caused more and more people to view knife peddlers unfavorably.

By the time of Tushan Tu's generation, they had completely given up.

But the rules left by the ancestors cannot be broken.

Thus Tushan Sheng proposed not prophesying such distant events, keeping the timeframe recent.

The good news is it worked well; the bad news is that the inheritors of the knife‑peddling trade are dwindling.

So they still haven't managed to break people's stereotypical thinking.

That's why, upon hearing 'knife peddler,' the vast majority of people still first think they're just a gimmick for selling knives.

It's been over a year since Tushan Jiu and her grandfather last went out to peddle knives on their own initiative.

The solar year has just over two months left, and she really needs to hurry.

Tushan Jiu feels she's never had a moment's rest, busy with one thing after another.

After she uttered that complaint, Tushan Tu flicked her forehead and said, "Young people, can you have a little energy? When you're alive you don't work—do you only work after you die?"

Tushan Jiu pouted and said indignantly, "Did you do less after you died?"

"Ugh…" Tushan Tu was left speechless.

What she said makes perfect sense.

But he selectively turned deaf, saying, "Whatever, just don't forget—this is our inheritance. You're now the sole 'Knife‑Peddler Commander' of the living world; if you don't do it, who will? Hurry up, or I'll go call your great‑great‑great‑great‑great‑grandfather!"

Tushan Jiu: "……"

Every time she can't win an argument, she finds something else to nitpick about; she snorted in her heart, "Damn old man!"

Tushan Jiu rolled her eyes and suddenly recalled the expression Tushan Sheng had the last time she teased him.

She grabbed her grandfather's hand, curled her lips into a smile, and said:

"Fine, I'll do it. You've come all this way to rest—don't make it a wasted trip. I'll take this chance to report to you on my relationship with Xie Shiyu. Before I came down the mountain, you kept urging me, so come on, let's hurt each other!"

Tushan Tu's heart skipped a beat; he thought, "Oh no," and hurried to run.

But Tushan Jiu wouldn't give him the chance.

They gave her a small stool to sit on and listen!

Tushan Tu couldn't run off; he sat properly, hands clasped around his knees on the small stool, watching Tushan Jiu speak.

However, the corner of his mouth kept turning up in a slight arc.

His granddaughter's happiness is better than anything.

Because he was closely related to her, he didn't know back then whether arranging this marriage for Tushan Jiu would bring her happiness or be right or wrong.

But at that time he had no choice.

Rather than happiness, as her grandfather he could not bear to watch her lose her life to that curse.

He couldn't take that risk!

But now he can truly relax—his eldest granddaughter is very happy and joyful, and that's enough.

After Tushan Jiu finished speaking at length, she was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open.

Seeing this, Tushan Tu also picked up his small stool, preparing to leave.

Tushan Jiu recalled something and reminded him: "Grandpa Xie brought you some good wine; it's on my table. Let me 'burn' it for you—later you remember to take it away yourself……

She hadn't finished speaking when she vanished with a swoosh into her dream.

Tushan Jiu didn't even need to think—her grandfather must have gone to get the wine.

The old man's fate isn't good either—while alive he couldn't enjoy good food, drink, or luxuries; now that he's below, he's no longer bound by his fate, so from now on we should send him more good wine and tea.

She remembered that the ledger seemed to have entries for a winery and a tea factory; when she has free time she'll go ask for the……bill……

Thinking and thinking, she drifted into deep sleep.

And the two bottles of wine on her desk also vanished with a swoosh into thin air.

The next day, Tushan Jiu set out early for the office.

Today she had quite a bit to do: first collect the millennium ghost force, then register for a change of form, and finally go pick up her points.

But after collecting her points, she discovered her points were off.

Tushan Jiu bluntly asked, "Isn't my score wrong? I should have seventy‑two points, but it shows eighty‑two here—did you make a mistake?"

The staff member in charge of distributing rewards and registration chuckled and explained, "That's right. The extra ten points are from last night's black‑blemish points; Xu Lao stayed up all night filing a report with the netherworld, after all we can't let you work for free, right?"

Tushan Jiu understood, thinking, "This is the proper way to help." Back in the matter involving Cheng Xiujuan, she had seen that the people at the Nan Cheng Office were very righteous, and indeed she hadn't misjudged them.

If they need her help again in the future, she'll be happy to do it.

In interpersonal relations, reciprocity rules: if you treat me well, I naturally won't slack off.

Tushan Jiu: "I see, thank you, and thanks for your hard work."

That staff member is a young woman, about five or six years older than her, a bit shy, her face slightly flushed; she quickly shook her head: "Don't mention it—it's just what I should do. Um… I hope you pass the exam soon next year, so we can be colleagues—I think you're really cool!"

Tushan Jiu was stunned, well, well, it seems this young lady is also one of her fans?