Since Gu Yiyi took the initiative to ask, Zuo Si didn’t hold back and told her about the job.
“Great!” Gu Yiyi not only didn’t refuse but was rather pleased: “I was worried I wouldn’t be scary enough and would be disliked. Now, I have my own job!”
‘This girl is truly understanding,’ Zuo Si sighed inwardly, bringing Gu Yiyi to Operating Room No. 3, hoping she could keep Meng Miaoxue company.
After inquiring with Meng Miaoxue and obtaining her consent, Zuo Si placed the watermelon hairpin in Operating Room No. 3.
If these two poor girls could become friends, that would be a good thing.
Once Gu Yiyi was settled, Zuo Si found Liu Wenguang and assigned him the tasks of restoring props and cleaning up.
Finally, Zuo Si could rest. He hadn’t slept all night and was now both sleepy and tired.
He set an alarm and took a nap in the staff corridor until noon.
After lunch, Zuo Si sent Lu Tao back to the funeral home to work; the ticket-selling job was sufficient with him and Ding Ruxiao.
The afternoon business was also good.
While Zuo Si was selling tickets, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.
“Bro! I came to find you!”
Looking up, he was surprised to see Lin Zihao.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to check out your haunted house. Didn’t you say I could come play when you had time?” Lin Zihao looked in good spirits, evidently having rested well after a nap in the morning.
“Playing is fine, but I won’t waive the ticket price.”
“Come on! How much could a ticket be worth? Actually, I have another important matter this time.”
“What matter?”
“Bro, are you hiring? I want to work here.”
“Work here? Why?”
“Um…” Lin Zihao thought for a moment and said, “You might not believe it, but ever since I first saw you, I felt a special sense of familiarity.”
“Get lost! I’m not into that,” Zuo Si waved his hand to shoo him away, then pointed at Ding Ruxiao beside him and whispered, “See? This is my girlfriend, very pretty.”
“Bro, don’t misunderstand! I really just want a job.”
Seeing Lin Zihao’s distressed expression, Zuo Si couldn’t help but ponder. ‘Lin Zihao seems like a decent guy; I might as well let him give it a try.’
He nodded and said, “Alright! The monthly salary is three thousand, no insurance, but if the haunted house performs well, you’ll get a commission.”
“Thank you, bro! Thank you!” Lin Zihao immediately took the ticket from Zuo Si’s hand and began helping to sell.
Since not many tickets were being sold, one person was actually enough for this job.
Zuo Si pulled Ding Ruxiao to a shady spot, moved a table and chairs, and they both sat down.
“What are you doing?” Ding Ruxiao looked at Zuo Si in surprise.
“From now on, your job is to sit here and pose. Let that kid handle the ticket sales; with a beauty like you as the face of the business, how could we not do well?”
“But, but it’s so boring just sitting here all the time.”
“That’s true.” Zuo Si rubbed his chin: “If you get bored, just help that kid out.”
“What about in the haunted house? Can you manage by yourself?”
“Don’t worry about that; I’ve arranged for other staff in the haunted house.”
Zuo Si brewed a cup of tea and chatted with Ding Ruxiao while watching Lin Zihao busily selling tickets.
It was quite pleasant; this feeling of being a boss was simply wonderful.
With all the work arranged, Zuo Si only had to occasionally get up to lead guests into the horror scenes; he didn’t have to do anything else.
He murmured, “Once the funds are sufficient, I’ll buy a refrigerator to store some alcohol and drinks; drinking tea all the time can get boring.”
Ding Ruxiao shot Zuo Si an exasperated glance: “You haven’t even made any money yet, and you’re already thinking about enjoying yourself. You’re going to turn into a bad person once you have money.”
Zuo Si quickly explained, “Impossible, impossible! I’m naturally kind-hearted, and I’m particularly devoted when it comes to feelings…” As he spoke, his voice grew softer, stealing glances at Ding Ruxiao’s reaction.
Ding Ruxiao lit a cigarette, tossed her hair back, and teased, “Devoted to feelings? Devoted to whom? Who’s your girlfriend? When will you introduce me?”
“Uh…” Zuo Si wanted to say, “I’m devoted to you,” but after much hesitation, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
The sun gradually sank lower, with an hour left before the amusement park closed.
Creak… Creak…
A mobile snack cart was slowly approaching the haunted house.
Zuo Si was taken aback and quickly looked up, instantly feeling a sense of familiarity!
This cart! He seemed to have seen it before!
“Could it be the pancake old lady from last night?”
“No, that can’t be right. Am I mistaken? After all, snack carts all look pretty much the same!” Zuo Si stood up and scrutinized it closely. He couldn’t help but gasp in shock; the one pushing the cart was indeed that old lady, grinning at him with her big yellow teeth.
Zuo Si looked up at the sky; the sun had not yet set, which meant this old lady wasn’t a ghost? Or was it that this ghost was more advanced than others? Not afraid of sunlight?
“Pancakes…”
“Pancakes…”
“Anyone want pancakes…”
The old lady croaked her sales pitch, but none of the young people around showed any interest in buying. Although everything she had was tidy, her wrinkled face and large yellow teeth were quite off-putting, especially as her left hand trembled in a sickly manner.
The old lady slowly approached Zuo Si and stopped beside him, sniffing the air vigorously. With a cheerful smile, she said, “Oh, young man, we meet again!”
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“Hey, I’m just an old woman, what else could I want? If you’re asking for my name, I can tell you; I’m called ‘Shen Xiujuan,’ but you can call me Granny Shen.”
“Granny Shen?”
“Yes, good boy! Hehehe!” Shen Xiujuan shook her shoulders and cackled, looking anything but normal.
“What do you want from me?”
“Who said I was looking for you? I’m just here by chance to sell pancakes.”
“Heh.” Zuo Si sneered, thinking, ‘This old woman is so old, with limited mobility and poor eyesight, yet she keeps ‘coincidentally’ running into me. This is definitely not simple.’
“Young man, are you hungry? Want some pancakes? I won’t even charge you.” Shen Xiujuan asked with a smile.
“I’m not hungry; you can leave.”
Ignoring Zuo Si’s dismissal, Shen Xiujuan turned to Ding Ruxiao and exclaimed, “This girl is really beautiful, even prettier than I was when I was young.” As she spoke, she reached out to touch Ding Ruxiao’s face.
“What do you want!?” Zuo Si stepped in front of Ding Ruxiao and pushed Shen Xiujuan away. However, he didn’t expect to push too hard, causing Shen Xiujuan to fall to the ground.
“Ow!” Shen Xiujuan cried out as she landed on her backside. Many people witnessed this scene and stepped forward to criticize Zuo Si.
“What are you doing? How could you be so rough with an old lady!”
“It’s not easy for an old lady to come out and do business; if you don’t want to buy, just don’t, why push her?”