Chapter 498

Jia Dongxu was woken up eight times.

When he got up in the morning, Jia Dongxu had two large dark circles under his eyes.

"Dongxu, isn't it just a failed matchmaking attempt?"

"Don't overthink it; in a few days, I'll introduce you to someone even better."

Seeing Jia Dongxu's listless state, Yi Zhonghai assumed he was still brooding over the matchmaking.

"First Elder, come here."

Jia Dongxu pulled Yi Zhonghai to the roadside and looked left and right; as long as two people spoke in low voices, there was no way a third person could hear them.

He recounted the incident where Jia Zhangshi encountered a ghost last night.

Discussing ghosts is feudal superstition!

If someone else heard them and reported them, both of them would be in trouble!

Must be careful!

"Where would there be a ghost?"

"I reckon it was a bird!"

Yi Zhonghai did not believe it.

Plus, it was broad daylight now, and the road was full of people, so he didn't feel afraid.

If it were night, it might be a different feeling!

"First Elder, it couldn't have been a bird."

"My mother said that thing was quite large and didn't make a sound at all."

"Think about it, if a large bird were flying right beside you, could it really be completely silent?"

"I thought about it all night and came up with a clue; I think someone might be playing a prank to scare my mother. What do you think?"

Jia Dongxu stated his guess.

Yi Zhonghai nodded slightly.

He had initially suspected Wan Ping'an, who had five Gyrfalcons—all aerial overlords—making it far too easy to scare Jia Zhangshi.

But then he thought it wasn't right.

When Gyrfalcons fly, the sound of their flapping wings moving the air is not small.

Jia Zhangshi couldn't have failed to hear it.

Excluding Wan Ping'an, there were only two possibilities: either there really was a ghost, or it was a prank.

The former was basically impossible.

He also suspected the latter.

"Do you have any plans?"

Yi Zhonghai asked.

"First Elder, I want to catch the person."

"You don't know, last night my mother woke up eight times, and I was woken up eight times, until morning when it got bright, she finally fell asleep."

"She can sleep during the day, but I can't."

"The person playing the prank must be caught; if I drag him in front of my mother and let her know there's no ghost, she won't be scared awake at night anymore."

Jia Dongxu gritted his teeth.

His current state was very dangerous.

When working, he had to operate a machine tool.

He wasn't well-rested and his spirit was low; if he got even slightly dazed, he could be pulled into the machine.

At best he'd be injured, at worst disabled, and he could even lose his life.

"Fine!"

"In a while, when we get to the workshop, I'll talk to the team leader for you and let you do some lighter work."

Yi Zhonghai used to be a Level 6 worker; even though he was demoted to Level 4, the team leader still had to give him some face.

Everyone knew clearly that only his title was demoted, not his technique; testing back up was just a matter of time, and sooner or later he would be Level 6 again.

He was only forty, in the prime of his life, and still had plenty of room for advancement.

Becoming a Level 7 worker was inevitable.

Level 8 was also possible!

As long as it wasn't a matter of principle, the people in the workshop would, in most cases, give him some face.

Afternoon.

Time to get off work.

Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu returned to the Sihe Academy.

Yi Zhonghai went to see Jia Zhangshi; she had truly been terrified this time, and hadn't recovered yet, always being suspicious of everything.

Yi Zhonghai left the Jia house and gathered Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui together for a meeting!

He told them about Jia Zhangshi's situation.

Haha!

Liu Haizhong couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I'm not laughing at Jia Zhangshi, I just thought of something happy."

Liu Haizhong explained with a smile.

Yi Zhonghai glared at Liu Haizhong; an explanation is just a cover-up, who doesn't know you're gloating?

Yan Fugui didn't laugh out loud, but was laughing silently.

"I'm thinking this way: the person playing this prank could scare Jia Zhangshi yesterday, so they could scare anyone today, perhaps you or me."

"This person must be caught!"

"The three of us are the Elders of the courtyard; if we three catch the person, the people in the courtyard will surely be more convinced by us."

"Don't you think so?"

Yi Zhonghai wanted to take the opportunity to strengthen his prestige.

The two men nodded.

The three reached a consensus.

Night.

The three quietly began their operation; Yan Fugui brought Yan Jiecheng, Liu Haizhong brought Liu Guangqi, and Yi Zhonghai exuded the sour smell of jealousy.

Both of them had sons.

Only he was a lone commander.

For the entire middle of the night, the five of them gained nothing.

The five had no choice but to go back to sleep.

Tomorrow the adults have to work and the children have to go to school; if they don't sleep, no one can hold up.

The next day after work, the three Elders gathered together again.

"I've figured one thing out."

"Last night we made a mistake; we only thought about catching people, but no one went out to be bait, so even if someone was playing tricks, they had no opportunity to strike..."

"If they don't strike, how can we catch them?"

Yan Fugui had figured it out.

"Why didn't you figure that out sooner?"

"Didn't we squat for nothing all night?"

Liu Haizhong complained.

"Who should be the bait?"

Yi Zhonghai asked a key question.

All three fell silent.

They only suspected someone was playing a prank; what if it wasn't a prank?

The person acting as bait had a certain amount of risk.

At this moment.

Yan Jiecheng was at Wan Ping'an's house.

"Brother Ping'an, we waited all night yesterday and didn't wait for anything; you don't think there really is a ghost, do you?"