New Times, New Hell

Chapter 25 - Group Order Business

The next day, as soon as Yu Zhengdu arrived at work, he felt that the entire office was covered in a gloomy atmosphere. All his ghost coworkers seemed stressed and depressed, a complete 180 from how happy they were before the holiday.

Kang Jin had even put his wig on crooked.

All of Yu Zhengdu’s motivation disappeared upon seeing them. He asked, “No way, is your post-holiday depression so serious?”

Even though going to work makes one feel the same way as going to visit a grave, didn’t you guys just come back from visiting your graves……

As soon as Kang Jin saw him, he immediately wuwa’d and clung onto him. “Xiao Yu, the quality of our lives in the future is entirely dependant on you.”

Yu Zhengdu reached a hand out to catch his wig that had fallen off and looked at his oily and shiny bald head. He felt that his eyes had just suffered a tremendous injury, so hurriedly put the wig back on and chaffed, “Say what you will, don’t use your hands and feet.

Kang Jin pitifully put his wig back on and said, “These past couple of years the country has been strongly advocating for civilized paying of respects and have banned burning things outside. The amount of offerings we received this year decreased greatly from last year. And a lot of people have been influenced by American dramas too, so they’ve started paying their respects with fresh flowers instead. My family brought me two bouquets of chrysanthemums, but not even a single new set of clothes……”

The more he spoke, the more depressed he got. “I won’t be the most fashionable man in the Underworld anymore……”

Yu Zhengdu couldn’t hold himself back and said, “You never were……”

Kang Jin: “……”

His mouth twitched; two teardrops were about to fall, but didn’t. “In the past I won first place for the Underworld’s Mr. Fashionable competition every year……”

After he spoke, Yu Zhengdu’s eyes widened. He didn’t know to be shocked that the Underworld had that type of competition first, or shocked that Kang Jin could win the champion’s title first. Another coworker, Qu Lv, quickly solved the riddle for him. “He left out a word. It’s the ‘Underworld’s Old Mr. Fashionable’ competition. The contestants are all 70 to 80 year old grandpas, and the judges are all grandmas……”

Yu Zhengdu: “……Seems like life in the Underworld is pretty laid back.”

Qu Lv finished complaining about Kang Jin, but was also worried himself. “What will we do, I still have ten years before reincarnation. At the rate things are going, life will get harder and harder in the next couple of years. We won’t even have a change of clothes anymore.”

Hearing this, Yu Zhengdu was quite exasperated too. “There’s nothing we can do. Burning things outside is really very dangerous, so what they’re advocating for is right. The laws will only get stricter from here on out.”

After saying this, everyone became more stressed.

Yu Zhengdu thought about it, then said, “How about after I get paid, I’ll burn a new set of clothes for all of you.”

Kang Jin wanted to jump on Yu Zhengdu again. “Having a living person in our company is really too awesome!”

Qu Lv sighed, “We have Xiao Yu to help us, but all the other ghosts can only depend on their luck.”

They spoke for a bit, before Lu Lingxi notified Yu Zhengdu that Wei Xiao and his friends had arrived.

The two people that came with Wei Xiao were the CEOs of Wind Riders Technology, which worked in the development of AI, and Excellent Jade Corporation, which was a company that dealt in general entertainment. Their names were Cui Jianlan and Yang Xin, respectively.

These two were very close with Wei Xiao and knew exactly what the circumstances involving his daughter were like. Thus, when Wei Xiao brought up Luofeng’s luck-changing stones to them, they were among the first to want to place an order.

But this time, they had personally come to visit Luofeng for the Underworld Energy Detector.

What had happened was, last time, Wei Xiao had bought the new Underworld energy detection service offered by Luofeng just to try it out. But the results exceeded his expectations.

His 70 year old mother had suffered from senile foot chilliness for a while. As soon as Wei Xiao became successful, he hired an innumerous amount of famous doctors to treat his mother, but none of them could detect that anything was wrong. He never expected that after simply scanning with Luofeng’s detector, they discovered that his mother didn’t have senile foot chilliness at all; instead, her leg had been covered with Underworld energy. Subsequently, Luofeng performed an in-depth analysis and predicted the time that the Underworld energy had attached itself to her. His mother thought about it and realized that the time coincided with when she had been working the night shift in her youth. After work, she always had to pass by a graveyard to get home.

As soon as the time frames matched, Wei Xiao’s family’s trust in them immediately rose to 90%. Later, Luofeng gave them a method to remove old and stubborn Underworld energy residue. Now, after one treatment, the senile foot chilliness that had bothered Wei Xiao’s mother for years had become much better.

Cui Jianlan and Yang Xin had originally both bought the jade, but remained suspicious about the new Underworld Energy Detector. Thus, neither of them bought it at first.

But not much later, they began to regret it. There was no other reason, except for the fact that after buying the jade, they realized this company had true prowess. As people who spent a majority of their lives in the business field, they had more or less offended others before. There were often people who plotted against them behind their backs. After several years, their mental states had deteriorated from always being so alert. Ever since they started carrying the jade around, though, the stuffy feeling that had bothered them for so long suddenly lessened.

Upon hearing about the situation with Wei Xiao’s mother, they truly began to regret their decisions and hurriedly asked Wei Xiao to be the middleman in their attempts to purchase this service. But Luofeng’s workload had started becoming heavier, so none of the workers had time to visit them and perform the service anymore. Thus, the two could only request for Wei Xiao to lead the way so they could drop by and get an examination.

……

Yu Zhengdu performed the Underworld energy detection very adeptly for Cui Jianlan and Yang Xin. The detection program they were using now was one that had been upgraded several times; the results were precise and professional. The analysis could even be presented in the form of a report.

After seeing the results, Cui Jianlan and Yang Xin offered an abundance of praise. They couldn’t help but be impressed.

Especially Yang Xin. His results indicated that there was a hint of Underworld energy on him. Not from running into a ghost, but according to Luofeng’s analysis, likely because he had recently been to a graveyard that no longer housed any ghosts. Though the ghosts had already left, there was still some residual energy left in the earth.

Yang Xin thought of what he had done in the past few months, then immediately asked his secretary for some materials.

Their corporation dealt in general entertainment, which included business in entertainment estates. Last year, they had just purchased a piece of land in Chuandong, and were preparing to build an amusement park on it. Yang Xin had previously spent a great deal of time there.

After his secretary sent the materials over, he finally learned that the land had been a battleground during the Sino-Japanese War. A lot of people had died there, but because it was so far in the past, not many knew about it. He only found out after hiring a specialized investigations department.

Yang Xin was thoroughly impressed. He and Cui Jianlan felt that they were in the company of otherworldly masters.

Yang Xin was still worried, so asked again: “Oh right, according to this, it seems that our land in Chuandong still has some Underworld energy. I don’t know if your company could help us go and remove it.”

“We don’t offer that service.” Shang Que lifted his gaze. “Just get a Daoist monk to cast some spells for you.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Xin felt pity. “Ey, I already asked a religious master to check the fengshui for that piece of land. But they really didn’t pay as much attention to detail as you guys do. I trust you guys a bit more.”

Shang Que put his hands out. “We really don’t do that.”

Yang Xin paused, then suddenly said, “How about this, it doesn’t matter whether or not you guys offer this service. I just want to ask you to go to Chuandong to take a look. Our company will cover all transportation costs and pay you 200,000 RMB on top of that. Is that okay?”

This time, before Shang Que could speak, Yu Zhengdu did first. He declared, “Okay.”

Shang Que slowly looked at Yu Zhengdu, then nodded. “Then fine.”

After he finished speaking, he grabbed a printed barcode cutout that merchants used and held it up to Yang Xin and Cui Jianlan. “Today’s detection fee. Please pay it first.”

Yang Xin: “……”

Cui Jianlan: “……”

Yu Zhengdu was speechless. “……When did you make a fee collection barcode?”

Shang Que slightly smiled, “I just got it two days ago!”

Now that the company was receiving a lot of income, it would be a lot faster and easier to use a fee collection barcode. It was truly very advanced.

Yang Xin and Cui Jianlan silently took out their phones and scanned the payment code.

To be honest, as such big bosses, they rarely had to personally pay for things anymore. Normally, they would pay through the company. In this moment, they finally felt that they were equivalent in rank with everyone else.

After collecting their money, Shang Que immediately wanted to see the guests out. Only for Cui Jianlan to suddenly lean forward and seriously inquire, “Mr. Shang, Student Xiao Yu, I want to add this Underworld energy detection to the health checkups of my company’s employees. I don’t know if you guys accept group orders?”

Yang Xin, Wei Xiao: “……???”

Yu Zhengdu was stunned too. “Employee checkup? How many people are in your company?”

“Of course, it’s not for all the employees,” Cui Jianlan said. This was mainly because Luofeng’s Underworld energy detection service wasn’t cheap. It was even more expensive than a general health checkup. Purchasing it for the whole company wasn’t reasonable. “Mainly just for some older employees and those above a certain position. There are around 300 to 400 people in our company who meet those conditions.”

Yang Xin and Wei Xiao thought about it and were convinced too. Old and high ranking employees were the backbones of each company. When things occasionally happened to them, the losses suffered had to be calculated in ten thousands. Though adding an Underworld energy detection checkup would cost a lot, it would be worth it in the long run. Thus, the two of them also spoke up, “I want to do this for my employees too.”

“Exactly exactly, I want to get this service for my company as well.”

That would be a large order; Yu Zhengdu was more eager than them.

Shang Que wanted to earn money too, but also felt troubled. “We don’t have that many people……”

Yu Zhengdu immediately cut him off. “We can hire people!”

Shang Que looked over, only to see a bright fire burning in Yu Zhengdu’s eyes. “Boss, it’s time for us to expand!”

But that wasn’t all. Yu Zhengdu then turned to look at the other three people. “These three bosses, our company will be releasing a new Underworld communications service soon. As long as you meet the conditions, you will have the opportunity to talk with your already deceased family and friends once more. We’re still in the preorder phase, but since you’re all old customers, you can be the first to test it out.”

All three CEOs: “…………?????”

Though they didn’t really understand what service he was talking about, the three bosses were only bewildered for a moment before resolutely nodding. “We’ll buy it.”

Shang Que: “…………”

Yu Zhengdu was truly a good employee who always had the company’s best interests in mind!

……

That day, all ghosts who hadn’t reincarnated yet received a hiring message on their phones:

【Hiring: 1. Operations specialist: Contacting several large companies, providing on-site service, providing health check-ups for customers. Requirements: Good appearance, no tragic ways of dying, no green-faced black-lipped ghosts.

2. Customer service specialist: Providing customer service before and after purchase. Requirements: Good attitude with plenty of patience, no ghosts dying of cardiovascular or other diseases.

3. Communications service specialist: Carefully looking through customers’ information, selecting customers with the right to communicate with the Underworld and also providing the service. Requirements: Has good writing and speaking skills, no careless ghosts.

The above positions will all be paid in the currency of the mortal realm. We will also provide the service of purchasing items in the mortal realm; ghosts can use their salary to buy things in the mortal realm. Our company has a professional department that can perform sacrifices and burn offerings in your stead.

Things to keep in mind: After being hired, everyone will go through training. We will also provide the employee benefit of “able to be seen by mortals”, but employees must follow the company’s regulations. It is strictly forbidden for employees to use this benefit to see their relatives in the mortal realm.

Attached is our company’s introduction: Luofeng Life Management Ltd. Co. has great prowess and honest benefits. We also have patented communications technology between the two worlds, along with the only living employee in the Underworld. We are your best choice for employment.

Please send your resume to: [email protected]***.com】

Yu Zhengdu after reading this text: ????? Can you not include me in your promotions? I don’t want to become famous among the ghosts!