He's truly worthy of having studied and passed the exam to become a scholar. This Old Fourth really managed to make a living out of the dead!
After this little interlude, Xu Qing's thoughts began to wander. So, he decided to inquire with Lord Li Si to see if there were any channels in the area for selling dead bodies. As long as there was stock, he could take them all.
As for the price, it could be negotiated.
Upon hearing this, Lord Li Si's breath hitched again. This Shopkeeper Xu was a bit wild!
"I must have been blind, not realizing that Shopkeeper Xu is indeed a master."
Previously, there had been rumors in Linhe District about the Corpse Worker Mill. Although the officials had suppressed those rumors, it didn't mean there was no truth to them!
As an official broker, Lord Li Si naturally knew some secrets.
Perhaps this pale young man in front of him was indeed involved in the ghostly profession or had connections with insiders!
"Shopkeeper Xu, I have heard a bit about the business you're interested in. The charity inns outside that transport and store bodies engage in such trades. An ownerless corpse generally goes for about one hundred to five hundred coins.
During the autumn executions, people also collect corpses at the Government Office, but you need to have arrangements in place beforehand since complete bodies and beheaded ones fetch different prices."
At this point, Lord Li Si couldn't help but show a grimace. Despite his vast knowledge, he wasn't deeply familiar with the side-path, ghostly matters.
"Heh, I really don't know what people use these corpses for. Do they go up the mountains to dig coal, or go to mills to grind?"
"But those are not our concern. After all, we brokers only facilitate the transactions. As for how shopkeepers run their business..." Lord Li Si said with a smile, "That's their own affair. We don't meddle in those matters."
Xu Qing understood his implication. Essentially, the brokers only take their cut. Whether the money is clean has nothing to do with them. If trouble arises, he's on his own!
It is said that no business can be done without some trickery, and this was certainly true for brokers and agents!
Although the deal was made, Xu Qing still had some preconditions.
"I trust your expertise, Lord Si. However, I do have certain requirements for the source of the goods. They must be ownerless bodies, not stolen or robbed, or dug up from graves at midnight. I believe that would damage moral integrity.
After all, the dead are still people..."
Though Xu Qing claimed he feared damaging moral integrity, his main concern was to avoid trouble associated with ownerless bodies.
As the saying goes, where there are people, there are conflicts. When a person just dies, the waters of the underworld boil. If you take a body without consent, who knows how the family and friends might react?
So, for the novice Xu Qing, it was best to avoid trouble whenever possible!
Lord Li Si thought it over and had no objections.
There were so many executed criminals each year at the Government Office — most were either buried or sold off. It's rare for a relative to come and claim a body.
After finalizing their deal, Xu Qing seemed to have gained a familiar face. He felt that in the future, if any broker passed away, they might even come to him for the funeral arrangements. After all, they were almost like family, and he might even get a discount then...
Leaving the brokerage, Xu Qing felt much more refreshed.
Within less than half an hour since he set out, he not only managed to acquire a Tooth Card, but he also found a new source for his business.
Could it be that after death, one's luck improves?
Xu Qing chuckled. Perhaps it wasn't that luck improved after death, but that during life, he had been too constrained, affecting his feng shui.
These things were mentioned in both martial and civil studies of geomancy.
Now, as a zombie, with no pressure of car or housing loans, his mind was open and broad, naturally indirectly improving his luck.
Arriving at the Vegetable Market, Xu Qing looked toward a high platform. That was where autumn executions took place, also known as the execution ground.
Currently, it was the beginning of the first month, and the execution ground was empty. However, there were many vegetable and miscellaneous goods vendors below, creating a bustling early market scene.
"The Corpse Nourishing Scripture mentions that old persimmons gather the essence of lunar radiance at night. When they ripen, the extreme yin transforms into yang, turning from astringent to sweet, similar to honey, making them a delicacy for zombies..."
Xu Qing made a round but didn't see any fresh persimmons. However, there were two stalls selling dried persimmons.
"Hiss— Sweet!"
Xu Qing tried a piece of dried persimmon covered in white frost. It filled his mouth with saliva. Though he didn't feel any significant change in his body after eating it, it was indeed a delightful treat.
Besides persimmons, laurel fruits were also part of the zombie diet.
The reason being, laurel fruits also had the ability to gather lunar essence.
This was why every time Xu Qing passed by an Incense and Candle Shop, he felt a strong urge to chew on the candles.
The reason lay in the fact that the candles in the Incense and Candle Shop contained laurel fruit oil and animal fats as ingredients.
And these two ingredients happened to be edible for zombies.
After purchasing ingredients, Xu Qing also picked up a few feng shui items on the street.
Things like the four treasures of the study, wood carvings of auspicious beasts, and he also asked the flower and bird market vendors to send a few pots of clivia and money trees to his shop when they had time.
After all, he wasn't short of money at the moment. Even if he squandered Liu Youdao's emergency funds, he still had the gold and silver pieces obtained when he exorcised beggars at the Corpse Worker Mill.
Of course, he wouldn't take the pieces to hit a lotus drum for begging. He would pawn them at a pawnshop or directly melt them into small pieces of gold and silver. That money would come back again!
It was just unfortunate that the dog-beating stick he received as a reward when he exorcised a beggar was lost.
Back then, to avoid the constables chasing him into an alley, he had no choice but to throw the dog-beating stick and the begging iron bowl outside.
Not that the dog-beating stick was particularly rare, but more so because Xu Qing had never seen such a fancy stick in both his past and present life.
It was like the stick of his dreams; he couldn't forget it in both lives!
Perhaps it was destiny, but just as Xu Qing was lamenting the loss of the dog-beating stick, several patrolling constables walked down the opposite street.
The lead constable was holding a shiny stick and tapping it against his other hand.
Before Xu Qing could take another look, the fierce constable turned to him with a glare.
"Like a delicate girl, all covered in makeup, pfft!"
Patrol Chief Zhao Zhonghe wrinkled his nose and spat to the side.
Xu Qing stumbled at the remark, barely holding back from turning around.
If it wasn't for his disguise for embalming and funeral makeup, who would bother with this?
Holding my stick and still mocking me, Xu Qing noted the constable well.
Just you wait, if the day comes when you're laid out stiff, see if I don't plaster layers of white paint on your face!
Back at the Funeral Shop, Xu Qing removed the four door panels and, while waiting for business, started preparing his next zombie meal.
He sliced the candles bought from the Incense and Candle Shop into thin pieces and arranged them neatly on a plate. The remaining candle tips with wicks were placed in the middle and lit as decoration.
The frost-covered dried persimmons were put on a new plate, drizzled with egg white, instantly turning translucent and snow-white.
The main course was a bowl of steamed pig's blood.
After dinner, lighting a stick of Spirit Incense, he felt wonderful!
The only downside was the lack of business for two consecutive days. Not just Xu Qing's place, but the neighboring Paper Mache Shop and Incense and Candle Shop were also quiet, with hardly anyone visiting.
With nothing to do, Xu Qing began tending to flowers and plants and reorganized the shop's feng shui.
However, he didn't follow the feng shui principles for a Yang Residence but arranged it according to Yin Residence principles.
As a zombie, he had to adapt. The heavier the yin energy in the shop, the more comfortable he felt living there!
One day, Xu Qing opened the shop early. He hoped to get some business before dusk to feel like his business was thriving. Unexpectedly, not long after, two constables brought in a corpse wrapped in old cloth.
Upon questioning their identities and reasons, Xu Qing learned that Lord Li Si had exerted his influence. This corpse was of a prisoner who had died in jail the day before.
"Lord Si said that collecting bodies here is convenient and reasonably priced, so we came. Usually, these bodies would have to be collected at the Government Office, and the price for one corpse is at least two or three taels of silver..."
Xu Qing didn't question the authenticity of their words and directly took out three taels of silver from the counter, handing it over without shortchanging them.
The two constables immediately beamed with joy.
"Lord Si was right. Shopkeeper Xu indeed handles things openly! No doubt, if there's more goods, we'll definitely bring them to you."