OBS Chapter 27 You dare to buy a haunted house?
Chapter 27 You dare to buy a haunted house?
The house issue needs to be dealt with, but making money can't be delayed either.
Qin Yanlin went to run errands, while Deng Xiuzhen found someone to repair the roof.
In the afternoon, I found a craftsman to come and take a look. After the craftsman looked at it, we agreed on a price and decided to start work the next day.
After her master left, Deng Xiuzhen prepared to go home. But Chen Ma called her back.
"Has Juxiang left? Did she ask you to watch the house for her?" Chen Ma asked Deng Xiuzhen, looking at the driver who had already walked away.
"She didn't just look at the house; she sold it to me."
"Sold to you? You dare to buy this house? It's a haunted house, and you dare to buy it?" Chen's mother asked in surprise.
“Houses are for living in; every house has its share of elderly people,” Deng Xiuzhen said dismissively.
"But she hanged herself!" Chen Ma's voice rose noticeably.
Deng Xiuzhen didn't respond. She felt that this Aunt Chen didn't want her to buy it, but she didn't seem to care about her.
Perhaps realizing she had gone a bit too far, Chen Ma seemed somewhat disgruntled.
"Thank you for reminding me. I only bought it because I felt sorry for the mother and child." Thinking that no one lived in her house, she didn't want to offend anyone, even if she had to look after the neighbors. What if someone vandalized it? Deng Xiuzhen put on a warm smile and said.
“You silly girl, I’m doing this for your own good. Houses and haunted houses are fine as long as you’re not afraid. The key is…” Chen Ma paused, looked around, and pulled Deng Xiuzhen into the house to whisper, “The key is that Chen Guohu. If he comes out to demand the house, the money you spent on the house will be wasted.”
"I paid for it, do you think he'd come back for it? The police station isn't a pushover!" Deng Xiuzhen deliberately provoked Chen Ma. She realized that Chen Ma wasn't a bad person, but simply liked gossip and seemed to want to talk to someone.
"You have no idea, Chen Guohu is a real scoundrel. If he weren't like that, Juxiang wouldn't have divorced him, and she wouldn't have taken the child back to her hometown alone. He's coming back demanding the house, and you can't refuse him. He'll make your life miserable." Chen's mother was indeed opened up and started talking.
"Is Juxiang from Yuncheng? How did she come to Pucheng? Did her mother bring her?" Deng Xiuzhen asked, feigning curiosity.
"Come, come to my house, I'll tell you everything." The old woman pulled Deng Xiuzhen to her house, asked her to sit down, and poured a cup of tea for both of them, preparing for a long talk.
Then she began her story: "Let me tell you, Juxiang isn't Qiuxian's biological daughter. She was found during the famine when she was only a few months old. As people gossip, it was to find Guohu a child bride."
Qiu Xian is from a big city, and I heard she used to be a rich young lady.
Guo Hu's father met her in a big city while he was working in the revolution, and later brought her to Pucheng.
She's a real pampered young lady, but she can't do anything. She can't even wash clothes or cook. She's completely dependent on Guo Hu's father for support.
Guo Hu's father spoiled her, not only not letting her do any work, but also letting her have only one child.
Guohu was a really good-looking kid when he was little. He loved to laugh, and his two little dimples were so cute when he smiled. He was the cutest kid in the whole neighborhood.
His father doted on him like a precious gem, treating him with utmost care and affection. He'd even build a ladder to pluck the stars from the sky for him if he wanted them.
Deng Xiuzhen listened without interrupting, while Chen Ma took a sip of water and continued, "If you ask me, how can you teach a child like that? I tried to persuade him, but Old Chen wouldn't listen. Qiu Xian is someone who doesn't care about anything, and as a result, the child has become more and more distorted."
When I was a kid, I did petty theft, fighting, and getting into trouble.
I advised Old Chen that the child needed to be taught a lesson, otherwise problems would arise. As the old saying goes, "If you punish a child with a needle, he'll grow up to steal gold." The child needed to be corrected as early as possible.
But Old Chen wouldn't listen. He just doesn't use his brain. He treats his wife like a treasure, and his son is the most precious treasure of all. He spoils him rotten and won't listen to anyone.
As I predicted, Guo Hu really did turn out badly when he grew up; he smoked, drank, fought, and caused trouble.
I'll never be able to find a wife outside the marriage. Who wants that kind of reputation?
Then we talked about Juxiang. Juxiang has many habits like Qiuxian, but their personalities are different. She's more stubborn than Qiuxian and refuses to marry Guohu. Even when Guohu begged her and said he would definitely change, she still wouldn't marry him.
Later, I don't know what Qiu Xian said to her, but she agreed. After getting married, Guo Hu really did improve a lot.
That kid was quick-witted. He did business with some friends and made a lot of money. Back then, his family lived a life of blissful happiness, which was the envy of many.
Old Chen always goes out with his head up and eyes looking down, smug about it all the time.
"On such a good day, how could the two of them still get divorced? Where is Chen Guohu's father?" Deng Xiuzhen asked hurriedly when she saw Chen's mother stop.
"Why are you in such a hurry, child? Let me have a sip of water and I'll tell you."
Chen Ma took a sip of water, cleared her throat, and said, "A few years ago, Guo Hu met some friends and somehow got addicted to drugs. Child, let me tell you, you really can't get involved with drugs. Once you do, there's no way to get out."
After Guo Hu started using drugs, he completely changed. He not only neglected his family but also asked them for money.
His father forced him to quit drugs, and he asked his father for money, causing chaos every day.
One night, I heard the father and son arguing, and they were arguing very fiercely.
The argument went off track. People said that Guohu was having a drug relapse, so he shamelessly went to beg his dad, saying that he was all the old man's fault and asked his dad to give him some money so he could do it one more time and then he would quit and never hang out with Sanlin and his gang again.
His father disagreed and tied him up. Then a few days later, his father somehow fell into the river and died.
The police station investigated and found it had nothing to do with Guo Hu. When his father died, he was working in a brothel in the east of the city, which I heard was some kind of red-light district. You know what a red-light district is, right? It's a place where you do shady business; in the past, it was called a brothel.'" Aunt Chen said with a disdainful look.
Deng Xiuzhen had lived two lives, so she wasn't some rural woman who had just come from the countryside. She certainly knew about the red-light district, but she still looked at Chen Ma with a blank expression.
Chen Ma felt that she had finally found a good listener today. Such a good listener was hard to find, unlike Ju Xiang, who always seemed indifferent to what she said.
So Chen Ma continued with great enthusiasm: "Once Guo Hu's father died, no one could control him anymore."
Juxiang is a strong-willed girl. She told Guohu: "Either we get a divorce, or I quit drugs, or we die together."
Then they divorced, and Juxiang left with the child. Later, I heard that she went to Yuncheng to find her biological parents. I don't know if she found them or not, but she hasn't returned for several years.
"A perfectly good family, now only Qiu Xian and Guo Hu are left. Guo Hu not only became addicted to drugs but also gambled. All of that costs money. Once the family was penniless, he started swindling and cheating. I heard you were also scammed?"
"Yes, he was scammed out of money. Aunt Chen, do you know who the old man Guo Hu was talking about is?" Deng Xiuzhen had heard Tian Guoqiang mention the old man before, so she was particularly sensitive to the term "old man."
“I don’t know that. I’ve heard that drug addicts are all desperate people. We have children and grandchildren, who would dare to ask about their family affairs?” Chen’s mother shook her head repeatedly.
"Haven't you asked enough questions?" Deng Xiuzhen thought to herself, but said politely, "Of course, someone as smart as you would never do something so foolish. It wouldn't be good to get into trouble."