Midnight Bookstore

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

There was only one customer for the night. The gross profit was a hundred yuan, and the cost was a cup of water.

However, one could argue that electricity and rent should be included in the cost too…

But then again, the cost had existed when Xu Le was still around, but his revenue was basically negligible. It was necessary to find appropriate comparisons in order to boost a person’s confidence with a sense of accomplishment.

Speaking of which, Zhou Ze had only learned it was Valentine’s Day from the girl with the corgi.

He opened WeChat and found Doctor Lin’s contact. He was thinking of giving her a red packet, but he realized he had less than 1314 yuan. He did have enough for a red packet of 131.4 yuan, but it would make him look petty.

{TL Note: WeChat has the functionality of sending people money. 1314 (yi san yi si) sounds very close to ‘一生一世’ (yi sheng yi shi) which means forever in Chinese.}

Besides, the woman did not want to sleep in the same bed as him. Forget it, he decided not to send the money.

——

Zhou Ze put the phone aside and randomly picked a book from the bookshelf nearby and flipped through it. He remained in the same posture until morning came.

He went to the restaurant and ordered some dumplings. He had no clue if the dumpling skin was too thin or if the fillings were enough. He ate the dumplings exactly the same way he ate the noodles, by wolfing them down after drinking a bowl of plum juice, and holding his neck tightly while taking deep breaths to withhold the urge of vomiting the food out.

Zhou Ze grieved when he realized that he would have to suffer every time he wanted to eat.

Zhou Ze recalled the man that was struggling to eat the porridge in the clip and let out a sigh. Food was meant to be one of the greatest pleasures in the world, but it was now beyond his reach.

He wondered if there was an Anorexia Club somewhere. The members would sit at a table, and give anyone that was able to swallow a mouthful of food a thumbs up. Well done! That’s f**king brilliant!

Zhou Ze took a deep breath. He was already terrified by the thought of it.

Either way, Old Dao and the man that was eating porridge in the clip he watched yesterday were still none of his concern for now.

——

Chinese New Year’s Eve came after Valentine’s Day, it was the last day of the lunar year. Normally, the district would be decorated with lanterns and colored banners to liven up the atmosphere, but the place was deserted as usual.

It was the same as life; there were good times and bad times. Zhou Ze remembered that the place was crowded with people when it first opened, but it was almost lifeless now.

Xu Qinglang’s restaurant was rather busy today, most likely because most of the restaurants nearby were not open today. He was still doing takeaways even though it was New Year’s Eve, thus it was quite obvious that he was going to have more orders since the customers did not have many options.

Young men in uniforms kept coming in and out of the restaurant to pick up the takeaways. Zhou Ze crouched in front of his bookstore and smoked a cigarette.

If only Xu Le had decided to open up a braised chicken rice shop…

The cultivators that had ascended in novels always liked to say, A day in the Heavens is the same as a year in the mundane world.

As a matter of fact, Zhou Ze did agree with that since it was the same as Hell.

He remembered the day he died in the car crash… no, it should be the day he was burned to ashes. It was only International Children’s Day, but it was already Chinese New Year’s Eve now.

Half a year had passed so quickly, it felt like he had just woken up from a dream, even though it was more like a nightmare on his way to the Yellow Spring.

He had already finished smoking a few cigarettes while he was thinking about his past. He soon felt a little tired. He took out his phone to see if there were any new films being released lately. The cinema was just around the corner. He could easily kill some time there.

“Yo, do you have any newspapers?” Xu Qinglang who finally finished a round of takeaway orders came out of the restaurant and asked.

“What do you need them for?”

“To paper the walls,” Xu Qinglang said.

“Trying to save money?” Zhou Ze said.

“It helps to set the mood in the restaurant, don’t tell me you’ve sold them all?” Xu Qinglang said.

“I still have some left. Wait, I’ll go look for them.” Zhou Ze said.

Zhou Ze went into the bookstore and found a pile of newspapers beside his freezer. He carried them down and handed them to the waiting Xu Qinglang.

“You’re not going home for Chinese New Year?” Xu Qinglang asked.

“I’m keeping the books company.” It was a pity that Zhou Ze did not have a goatee, nor did he have alcohol in his hand to make himself sound more convincing.

“You’re not going home either?” Zhou Ze asked after he was done admiring himself.

“I have more than twenty properties, which home should I go back to?” Xu Qinglang sighed.

“…”

The two fell silent for a moment. Zhou Ze broke the silence and said, “Let me tell you a story.”

“Sure thing,” Xu Qinglang nodded. He seemed quite reserved. His hair was a little long, a few strands were hanging low in front of his face and were caught in his mouth. He reached his hand out to move the hair away gently in a feminine manner.

The sight of it was not something worth mentioning to others.

“Once, on a Chinese New Year’s Eve just like today, a man stumbled into the richest person in the area on the street late at night. The rich man was very drunk. The first man asked the rich man, “Why didn’t you go home?” The rich man answered, “Home? Where is my home? My close ones and relatives are no longer around. Are you referring to the biggest manor in the city as my home?”

Xu Qinglang nodded, having a similar impression.

“The first man then pushed the rich man to the ground and beat the crap out of him while yelling, “That’s what you get for being show-offff!” Zhou Ze finished.

Xu Qinglang was left speechless. The conversation between the two of them came to an end.

—

Zhou Ze went back to his bookstore. It was warm inside, as the heater was still on. Zhou Ze went through his contacts and found no one he could call.

He was initially planning to visit the orphanage, but he soon decided against it. He did not have much money on him.

Meanwhile, someone came into the bookstore. It was a young man in a blue uniform and a safety helmet. He pushed the door open and walked inside, before asking in a shy voice, “Hello, can I read books here? What is the rate?”

“Go ahead, you can give as much as you wish,” Zhou Ze waved his hand, signaling the man to make himself at home.

“That’s great, do you have novels here?” the man said cautiously, “I like novels, web novels.”

Zhou Ze pointed at a box behind the bookshelves, “You can find them there.”

The man went to the box and flipped through it. He seemed rather happy, but some novels were still sealed in a cover.

“Just open them, I won’t charge you,” Zhou Ze said generously.

“Sure thing.” The young man found himself a web novel and started reading it on a plastic stool.

Zhou Ze sat behind the counter and cut his nails while the young man was reading the book. Half an hour later, the young man stood up and gave Zhou Ze a cigarette.

“It’s nothing too good, hope you don’t mind.”

“Heh, cigarettes were never a good thing, so it doesn’t really make any difference to me.” Zhou Ze received the cigarette. The man took another cigarette out. He went outside the bookstore and smoked in the cold wind.

Zhou Ze was going to smoke indoors, and was startled. He put the cigarette aside and continued to cut his nails.

The young man came back after he was done smoking. He did not sit on the plastic stool, but on the ground against the wall instead.

The heater was on, but the tiles on the floor were still quite cold. The young man did not seem to be bothered. He must have gotten used to it.

Fifteen minutes later, four other men in blue uniforms came into the bookstore. The eldest among them seemed under thirty, while the youngest was only around seventeen.

The man leaning against the wall waved at the group of men. He must have called them here.

The men greeted Zhou Ze, who nodded perfunctorily before placing his attention back on his nails.

Zhou Ze decided to buy a set of professional nail-trimming tools in order to take good care of his nails.

Unfortunately, most delivery services had stopped and most stores were closed for Chinese New Year too. He had no choice but to wait until they were open again.

Zhou Ze raised his head and saw the five men were each reading a novel while sitting on the ground.

He could easily tell they were all reading web novels, judging from the covers of the books. Most of the novels were fantasy, apart from one that was reading a horror novel. He was biting his nails while reading the book. He seemed caught up in the story.

However, Zhou Ze was not too fond of the man’s habit of biting his nails. People that knew how to take good care of their nails would treat their lives as more precious.

The men would burst out laughing occasionally while reading the novels.

There were quite a few people in the bookstore, but it was very quiet. There was some noise at times, but it was not disturbing.

In the evening, Xu Qinglang came in with a bowl of dumplings. He blurted out as soon as he entered, “Why hello, it’s quite lively inside here.”

Zhou Ze nodded smilingly.

“Brothers, fancy some food?” Xu Qinglang asked the men.

The men exchanged glances with one another, not knowing what to do.

“Forget it, dinner is on me,” Xu Qinglang was a man with more than twenty properties, after all. “It’s tough that you guys are not going home for Chinese New Year because you have to stay for work. It’s my honor to treat you to a meal.”

“Thanks, boss, I hope that you make a fortune,” the eldest man stood up and expressed his gratitude.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” Xu Qinglang placed Zhou Ze’s dumplings down and went back to his restaurant.

—

Zhou Ze took a sip of the soup and forcibly swallowed two dumplings. Xu Qinglang had forgotten to bring the plum juice, thus he was struggling to eat the dumplings.

He picked up his pack of cigarettes and walked out from behind the counter.

“Go ahead and read as much as you like. There should be a whole series; my bookstore has been making a loss anyway, so please make yourself at home.”

Zhou Ze gave the men a cigarette each.

The men humbly accepted the cigarettes.

The men rose to their feet and headed toward the entrance. They squatted outside the bookstore in a row to smoke the cigarettes. They did not want to dirty the bookstore.

Zhou Ze hesitated for a moment before going outside too. The wind was a little cold outside. He crouched beside the men and smoked too.

The men were chatting. Those that were married talked about their wives and children. Those that were single shared about their love interests. They were teasing and mocking one another.

Even though the men were already familiar with one another, they still had lots of topics to chat about. Judging from their accents, they were not from the same place.

Tongcheng was close to Shanghai, and part of the Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone. It was not as developed as Shanghai, but the demand for manual labor was still quite high. As long as people were willing to bear the hard physical work, there were lots of jobs available.

Zhou Ze gave the men cigarettes another two times before he said, “Brothers, are you seriously not going home?”

“Nope, they are doing just fine.”

“It’s quite troublesome to go back and come out again. We have to work soon anyway, and the boss is giving us red packets, too. It’s a waste if we don’t take them. We can send some money back, too.”

“HAHA, it’s been a good day so far anyways, there are novels to read and cigarettes to smoke. It isn’t too bad spending the last day of the year here.”

“Boss, when are you closing?” one of the men asked.

“I’m not closing today,” Zhou Ze answered.

“You’re not going home either?”

“My wife has been unreasonable lately, so I’m not going home.” Zhou Ze immediately felt a rush of blood.

The men raised their thumbs at Zhou Ze and cheered for him!

That being said, they did not go along with the topic. They could easily tell Zhou Ze was a local judging from his accent, and he was the owner of a bookstore instead of a fruit stall.

There must be a reason if a local was staying at the shop instead of going home on New Year’s Eve, hence the others did not tease him about it.

Besides, they were the backbones of their families. They had come to the city to earn a living for their families, while their wives had to take care of the old folks and the children. The men were doing hard work, but it was difficult for their wives, too.

Their families had endured hardships for generations. It was never easy to earn a living for the family.

—

Zhou Ze was about to light up another cigarette when he heard a yell from the distance.

“Xu Le!”

Zhou Ze lifted his gaze and rose to his feet. He saw a familiar Porsche Cayenne parked opposite the bookstore. It was his wife’s car.

The person yelling was his sister-in-law. She was almost scared to death by Zhou Ze in the bathroom, but she had returned to normal. There was no way she would believe that her brother-in-law was a ghost, thus she simply convinced herself that she had imagined it out of fear.

As such, she was holding a grudge against Zhou Ze, as he had made her wet her pants. How embarrassing was that!

“Xu Le, time to go home!” the sister-in-law yelled.

“I’m not going back, I’m busy here,” Zhou Ze waved his hand.

What a joke, asking him to go and see his annoying parents-in-law? Being mistreated by his sister-in-law? Most importantly, having to sleep on different beds with his wife? What did they think he was, a masochist?

“Sister, is there something wrong with him? He’s unreasonable, ridiculous, and stubborn too!” The sister-in-law twisted her lips on the backseat.

Doctor Lin smiled. “Let’s go home and eat with our parents first.”

“Oh, so you’re coming back here later?”

“I’m still his wife, after all,” Doctor Lin did not say any more. She started the engine and drove the car away.

Seeing the car disappearing into the distance, Zhou Ze said to the men nearby, “Brothers, is my wife pretty?”

“She is!”

“Lucky you!”

“She’s so beautiful!”

“HAHAHAHA.”

Xu Qinglang came out of his shop with a huge platter. “Your braised pork rice is ready. Let’s eat!”

The men seemed reserved and slightly troubled. The eldest among them said ashamedly, “We didn’t bring any…”

“I already told you, it’s on me! If you mention money again, it means you aren’t treating me as a brother. Perhaps there will be a time when I will ask you for a favor in return.”

“Sure!”

“Just say it if you need any help!”

“You have to visit my home one day…”

“Let’s eat!”

The men each got themselves a huge bowl of the braised pork rice and went inside the bookstore. They placed the bowls on the plastic stools and wolfed down the food.

One of the men was eating while reading the novel. Another man beside him hit the first man on the head with the chopsticks and snapped, “You ungrateful prick, how is the owner going to sell the novels if you end up dirtying it?”

“You’re right, let’s eat first.”

The bookstore was extremely lively. Zhou Ze went back to the counter and ate another three dumplings that were already cold. For some reason, perhaps because of the atmosphere, the disgust was not as strong as before.

——

After dinner, the men continued to read their novels.

The bookstore had central heating and novels to read. It was very cozy inside. It was already 10 PM before anyone realized.

The eldest man stood up and stretched, “Friends, it’s time to go home. Let’s tidy up the place before we go.”

“Sure thing!”

The five men proceeded to clean the place.

“Boss, we are leaving. Thanks for today.”

“You’re welcome,” Zhou Ze waved his hand.

The men left. Unlike the girl with the corgi who had left a hundred yuan even though she had only spent a short time in the bookstore, the men were here for almost the whole day, but they did not leave a single yuan behind.

However, Zhou Ze was not bothered at all.

—

Zhou Ze stretched. He was planning to ask Xu Qinglang to take the dishes back. He saw Xu Qinglang reading newspapers inside the restaurant.

They were the newspapers that Zhou Ze had given him that morning.

Xu Qinglang was wearing spectacles with golden frames. He looked rather educated with spectacles on, as expected of the man with more than twenty properties.

Such temperament!

“Come and collect the dishes,” Zhou Ze said.

“Sure, right away.” Xu Qinglang took off the spectacles and rubbed his eyes, before going to the bookstore to retrieve the dishes.

On top of the stack of newspapers was the Yangtse Evening Post. It was from seven days ago.

The headline written in huge, bold letters was, Residential building caught on fire, courageous men touch the world.

A heavily-populated residential building had suddenly caught on fire last week.

Five men that were working at a nearby construction site went to the rescue despite the danger and saved more than twenty elders, women, and kids. Unfortunately, they failed to return after going back into the building again.

The newspapers had a photograph on the front. It was a group photo of the five men that had sacrificed themselves.

They were standing close together with old-school peace signs. The photograph was taken behind a shed that seemed to be the place they were staying.

Their faces already had some wrinkles despite their young ages. Some were smilingly reservedly, but some of the smiles were very wide.

—

Xu Qinglang walked into the bookstore and saw the five bowls of rice on the plastic stools. Not one was eaten, the rice was long cold. Each bowl had a pair of chopsticks stuck into the rice.

“Brothers, eat well and drink well,” Xu Qinglang murmured.

Fireworks exploded in the sky.

Fireworks were not banned in Tongcheng. The sky was filled with colors and loud blasts of the fireworks.

Zhou Ze raised his head and glanced outside. He said softly, “It’s the New Year…”