Chapter 2: The Matter of Buying Land

"Is it never going to end?" Seeing the phone ring again, the boy cursed silently, decided to take the plunge, swiped the answer key with one hand, tossed the device aside, and quickly shut his laptop, which was still flashing with endless messages of "beautiful greetings." He was about to head straight out; this place was too terrifying. The phone kept playing that familiar BGM in his mind, making his skin crawl. If he wasn't scared, that would be a ghost story.

"Hello, good day. Is this Mr. Jia? Regarding the land you purchased from our company, when will you come to take possession?" The voice on the phone was not the ghost he had imagined, but an ordinary human, even sounding somewhat respectful. This clearly indicated a big client; otherwise, he wouldn't have been treated this way, nor would he keep calling relentlessly.

Unfortunately, the moment someone answered, they ignored it. He didn't even turn on the speaker, let alone pick up the call to hear the sound.

"Hello? Hello?" Beep—the call ended on its own, only to ring again shortly after. This was something the boy never expected. He seemed to realize something: ghosts probably wouldn't hang up on their own. Maybe, perhaps, probably... Well, maybe I should just listen to what they have to say first.

He did have a bit of curiosity, but the scare earlier made him prone to overthinking. Now that he was shaken awake again, he wasn't so afraid. He had no money, no house; a ghost shouldn't be so fixated on him, right? It was just the misery of life, being bullied so easily. So, he had to pull himself together!

Just answer it. Maybe this long introduction is just a ruse; they might just be running a scam. Phew, conjuring up this comforting thought, he finally calmed down. He even wanted to switch to his "mouthy" mode and try to bluff the other person, as revenge for being scared earlier.

His fingers trembled as he reached out. Amidst the continuous ringing, he quickly swiped the screen to the right again, but this time added an action: turning on the speakerphone. Then, honestly, he moved closer to the stairs by his bed. Saying he wasn't afraid was impossible; being farther away felt safer. Anyway, the speaker was on; he could just shout.

"Hello, is Mr. Jia there? Hello? Hello?" Liang Kang, who made the call, was the one truly panicking. This was the first time a call was answered with no sound. He was even hesitating whether to call the police. After all, a connected call with no response could mean bad things; the probability was too high, making it hard not to overthink.

Especially with the silence, it made people even more nervous. Even though he was the cemetery manager, it wasn't surprising. He didn't live there; encountering something eerie would make anyone extremely tense. If there was still no response now, he wouldn't mind telling the police about it. Otherwise, he couldn't get past this mental hurdle. Plus, it would be a pity to lose a big client. Sigh, all regrets!

"Who are you? Did you dial the wrong number? Why are you calling me constantly?" The boy fired off three soul-searching questions directly. Upon hearing the voice from the other end of the phone, he stopped moving and asked quickly. Without an answer, his heart was in a panic.

He was a law-abiding, good citizen. How could he possibly be involved with a cemetery? That was just playing around. As for family members entering coffins, that was even more nonsense. So, receiving such a call out of the blue made it impossible not to feel nervous or afraid.

"Phew, hello, Mr. Jia. Here's the situation: At 4 PM this afternoon, you purchased a plot of land from our company. The procedures just haven't been finalized yet. We have already contacted the relevant personnel; you only need to go to the management office to take possession, and it can be used normally. Of course, this site is for burial purposes only and cannot be used for building houses. We hope you understand!" The manager breathed a huge sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was a living person. He had seen countless cases and also believed in ghosts and gods.

If this job didn't pay such a high salary, he would have quit long ago. After all, in the middle of the night, after being scared like that, he didn't even know if he dared to use the toilet later.

"4 PM? Purchased land?" The boy was very confused. Did he have that kind of spare money to buy land? Or was it a place for the dead to be buried? That was just asking for trouble. Yet, he felt a vague impression, stuck in his brain, neither coming in nor going out, which was quite headache-inducing.

"Mr. Jia, can you hear me? Do you need me to repeat it? As long as you are free, you can come to take possession anytime. We serve you 24 hours a day; please rest assured on that point." Since the boy didn't respond for so long, the manager Liang Kang started chattering again. As a salesperson, one had to talk more, and it could also ease some tension. Why not?

"I didn't buy any land. You must have remembered wrong." The boy was very certain. If he had that kind of money, he wouldn't have to calculate every meal so carefully. He could even reduce his daily spending to 1.5, surviving on water alone. This computer was saved up without eating or drinking. One could only say that a person's perseverance was strong enough; what miracle couldn't be created?

However, this also meant his nutrition hadn't kept up. Although he was 1.7 meters tall, his weight was less than 55 jin. He could be described as skin and bones. Sometimes, one really had to worry if a gust of wind would blow him away.

"That's correct, Mr. Jia. You can check the message. The specific time was... 4:03 PM. There is evidence to follow. If you still don't believe it, you can come to Jiayuan Cemetery to verify. We absolutely treat everyone fairly, young and old alike." The manager didn't expect the big client to turn around and deny such a huge order; he was really anxious. He could get a few percentage points as commission. If the order was wrong, what was the difference between a wrong order and losing a hundred million?

The circles of wealthy people were basically connected. If he canceled the order here, the other party might find out. Then one would tell ten, ten would tell a hundred, and their cemetery would get a bad reputation. By then, it would be like drawing water with a bamboo basket—all in vain, and Bai Da. So, they had to serve every customer with full dedication; this was the service tenet, which could not be violated. Since the client questioned the existence of the order, they had to provide evidence. Even if this tycoon was being unreasonable, they had evidence to refute. However, all of this had to follow the client's requirements; otherwise, the deal would definitely fall through, with no room for negotiation.

"4:03 PM?" The boy's memory seemed to unlock. He hurriedly left the stairs; he wanted to check the message. He remembered having an impression, or maybe not; his whole brain was hazy, a bit unclear.

After all, if you are playing a game nicely and suddenly get a call saying you bought a plot of land at a cemetery, who would believe that? Even a ghost wouldn't believe it, let alone a poor ghost like him.

"Yes, yes. You can check. Since you are the first big client in our company's history, we specially offer a one-stop funeral service, including transportation, grave relocation, unlimited joss paper, and other special arrangements. It is our responsibility to escort your worship journey." To prevent this order from falling through, the manager exerted all his strength. It was obvious what people did when they bought a cemetery plot; therefore, they had to reduce others' troubles by arranging everything in a one-stop manner. This way, not only would the other party feel comfortable, but they could also completely sell the largest cemetery plot. It was simply too brilliant.

"..." Damn, why do I feel like hitting this manager? Hearing this, the boy's face turned as black as coal. What kind of one-stop funeral service was this? Putting aside the issue of involution for now, is this appropriate? Shouldn't you understand the family situation first?