Midnight Bookstore

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was most likely a most painful moment for Xu Qinglang!

A man always liked to show off in front of a woman, to bluff about what they could do, like an orangutan beating its chest and crying out when it was trying to get the attention of the females.

Zhou Ze believed it was his first time seeing Xu Qinglang, who always acted so femininely, trying to get the attention of a girl.

Unfortunately, Zhou Ze swore he heard something breaking into pieces after the woman’s “your properties are the compensation that my father’s company gave you” statement.

Thump! Xu Qinglang held his chest and fell to his knees in pain.

It was painful, very painful. The pain had filled up his heart.

The girl slowly rose to her feet and said, “Boss, let’s add one another on WeChat. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in being business partners with me.”

“Sure!” Zhou Ze had no reason to reject that.

——

The girl left with her corgi after adding Zhou Ze on WeChat.

Xu Qinglang let out a sigh and waved his hand. He slowly turned around and left the bookstore.

The man needed some time to recover from the pain.

Zhou Ze smiled. It seemed like he would not hear Xu Qinglang bragging about having over twenty properties for some time…

He turned around and saw Bai Yingying daydreaming on the plastic stool. Actually, she was not daydreaming. She was reading a book called Stories about the Ming Dynasty.

“Boss, what did ‘the water is too cold’ mean when you were talking to the ghost?”

The gyonshi had inherited Madam Bai’s memories. Back then, the variety of books that women were allowed to read was limited. As such, women were less knowledgeable compared to men, who were interested in making a name for themselves through the imperial exam.

As for the scene in A Dream of Red Mansions where a bunch of knowledgeable women had gathered together, it was only possible in books.

“The man was once a leader of the literary world toward the end of the Ming Dynasty. I think he was once the Director of the Board of Rites, too. When the enemy soldiers broke through the defense, meaning that the era of the Ming Dynasty was coming to an end, the man decided to die with his country. His beloved concubine Liu Rushi decided to follow him. However, he was reluctant to jump into the water, even though his wife had already jumped. He said that the water was too cold. He ended up surrendering himself to the Qing Dynasty.”

“He was such a jerk. Boss. Were you trying to mock the ghost when you brought that up?” Bai Yingying asked.

“As a matter of fact, even though Qian Qianyi surrendered himself to the Qing Dynasty, he was actually supporting the anti-Qing Dynasty movement behind the scenes. He even passed on confidential information to the people. The Qing Dynasty once interrogated him because of it.”

“Well…” Bai Yingying had no clue how she should describe the man. She was too naive, like how the old folk and kids liked to comment while watching TV, He’s the good guy, he’s the bad guy…

To many people, the world was either black or white. They simply ignored the gray areas because they were too complicated or incomprehensible.

“The guy that I just sent to Hell was pretty similar to Qian Qianyi,” Zhou Ze smiled. He got himself a cup of tea and sat down behind the counter.

“Then why did you still send him to Hell?” Bai Yingying asked, confused. “Isn’t it fine if you just turned a blind eye and let him stay a little longer in the living world?”

Zhou Ze shook his head, “Are you taking pity on him?”

“The water is too cold… it’s pretty normal for a person to behave that way,” Bai Yingying twisted her lips. “I’m just a gyonshi since I’m dead now, but if I was alive, I believe I have the right to decide if I wanted to die with the emperor and the dynasty. I would be commended if I chose to die, but it’s understandable if I chose to live, too.”

“The underworld judge was right that the man was supposed to die on that day,” Zhou Ze placed the cup of tea down. “I was dead, but I’ve reincarnated by claiming someone else’s body. I was meant to be trying my best to live on in degradation. I shouldn’t have the right to decide someone else’s fate. Is that what you think?”

Bai Yingying nodded.

“Whenever you’re trying to understand a person’s thoughts, you have to put yourself in their shoes, too. If you’re trying to understand a predecessor, you have to take into consideration the culture, customs, and everything else about the era that the person was from. Currently, it’s clear that every tribe in China has been united as a country. However, during the end of the Ming Dynasty, everyone had their own stance. The way you are seeing it is like a commoner during ancient times assuming the emperor was eating ten deep-fried dough sticks and ten meat buns every morning. It’s wrong and inappropriate to see the famous figures in history from our perspectives. It is true that Qian Qianyi contributed a lot to the anti-Qing Dynasty movement after he surrendered himself to the Qing Dynasty. He even mocked the Qing Dynasty in some of the literature he wrote, but none of it was enough to justify his deeds.”

“Not enough? Is dying really the only way?” Bai Yingying asked, confused.

“He had to die,” Zhou Ze declared in a serious voice. “The ghost that I just sent to Hell, he had to die too!” Zhou Ze took a deep breath and continued, “It’s acceptable if they don’t die, but they should have just left and lived somewhere else like a nobody.”

“Why is that?” Bai Yingying clearly disagreed with Zhou Ze’s arguments. “Everyone has the right to choose their own lives!”

“When the enemy invaded Nanjing, Qian Qianyi was the highest authority in Nanjing, yet he led the people and knelt down to receive the enemy soldiers to surrender to them. He should not have surrendered, nor did he have the right to. His reputation, his status, his power, his position, his wealth; everything he had was from the dynasty; you could think of it as the government. The more benefits you received, the higher the responsibilities you have to bear. He had taken so much from the country as an official. Even when he had aged, he still wanted Liu Rushi to be his concubine for his own desires!

“When the country needed him, it was his responsibility to fulfill his role. It was part of the obligations he had to honor. The rise and fall of a nation is the concern of every citizen, but no one would blame the commoners for surrendering. However, the officials that submitted themselves to the dynasty and were paid from the taxes on the people; they were obliged to steer the boat of the country back when it was about to sink at all costs, even if it meant sinking with it. It’s hard to be a hero, but easy to be a traitor. We should compliment the heroes more, instead of trying to justify what the traitors did. We shouldn’t relate to the traitors because we feel it’s too difficult to be a hero. It’s not supposed to be like that.”

Bai Yingying nodded, although she did not really seem to understand it all.

“For example, the ghost at the Confucian Temple. He was just an imperial censor during the Ming Dynasty, which is equivalent to a public prosecutor in current society. He became one of the Nine Ministers, which is similar to the ministers nowadays. He was actually doing better after he surrendered. Don’t you think he deserved to die? A great official of the Ming Dynasty once claimed ‘weren’t the soldiers well-trained and taken care of for years just so they could die for the honor of the country when needed?’ It was referring to the same thing!”

“I’m starting to get a headache.” Bai Yingying shook her head.

“You are at a bookstore. Even though most of the books are novels, you can still find some other books,” Zhou Ze cracked his neck and added, “It’s not like you have anything else to do.”

Bai Yingying rolled her eyes at Zhou Ze, as if saying, It’s not like you have anything to do, either.

—

Zhou Ze went to the washroom to wash his face. He saw Bai Yingying pouring him a cup of tea when he came out. Bai Yingying asked, “By the way, boss, what happened to the official that claimed ‘the soldiers were well-trained and taken care of for years just to die with honor’?”

“Oh, the emperor sent his royal guards to beat the crap out of him at the Gate of Blending Harmony,” Zhou Ze said. He sneezed and added, “And that’s about it.”

“…” Bai Yingying.

It was rare to see the master and servant discussing history and their worldviews. That being said, it did not last for long, as the gyonshi soon put her book down and started playing Arena of Valor on her phone.

——

A customer came in through the door. He was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a black mink coat. His facial features were rough, and his clothes were a little rugged. He seemed like an honest man.

“Boss, can I put a poster on your bookstore?” the man asked Zhou Ze humbly.

“What poster?” Zhou Ze asked.

“A poster to look for someone,” the man replied.

“Go ahead,” Zhou Ze went to the entrance and watched the man putting up a poster on the noticeboard.

“No picture?” Zhou Ze looked at the missing person poster, which only had words.

“She was only a few months old when she was taken away. We didn’t have a photo of her,” the man rubbed his hands and gave Zhou Ze a cigarette. “Please take it.”

Zhou Ze took the cigarette and asked, “Was she kidnapped?”

“No, we gave her away. She already had a sister back then. The two-child policy wasn’t rolled out yet, and I couldn’t afford the penalty or to lose my job, so we had no choice but to give her away. We’ve been missing her since then. We hope to see her again, but we didn’t try to contact her since we’ve already given her away. It’s fine as long as she’s well taken care of. We didn’t want to disturb her life.”

“Oh,” Zhou Ze nodded.

“But unfortunately, her brother has leukemia. I only know that the family that took her was living in this area when they took her, so I can only try looking for her around this area. Her elder sister’s stem cells aren’t suitable, so we have no choice but to look for her. Our family can finally reunite, too.”

“Her brother?” Zhou Ze frowned. He asked, “How old is she?”

“Seventeen.”

“How old is her brother?”

“Sixteen.”

“Poor kid,” Zhou Ze sighed.

“Yeah, to contract leukemia at such a young age. Boss, please keep an eye out for her on my behalf. I’ll be going to stick the posters up elsewhere. I’ve already contacted the media. They will be interviewing us tomorrow. I think we should be able to find her soon. Our family will be able to reunite, and her brother will be saved too,” the man said with a smile.

He soon left and disappeared into the distance.

Zhou Ze glanced at the poster on the wall and mumbled, “Poor kid,” then reached out and tore the poster down.