Chapter 147 Pyramid Scheme (ETL) Part 1
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Chapter 147 I’ll Make You a Sow in Your Next Life!
The old lady’s youngest son, Ruan Yuanfeng, was in his thirties. He was highly educated and worked as a doctor at a children’s hospital. After lunch time, Xie Cheng called him and asked, “Dr. Ruan, when do you get off work?”
Dr. Ruan assumed Xie Cheng was a patient’s family member and would invite him to dinner or give him a red envelope, so he told him directly, “I’m busy this evening. If someone is sick, just bring your child to see a doctor. You don’t need to prepare anything.”
Hearing that, Xie Cheng was amused. This doctor had a rather straightforward personality. “I’m not bringing my child to see a doctor; I have something to discuss with you.”
At this moment, Gu Ye took the phone and straightforwardly said, “We are metaphysic Masters, the kind of people you often call Taoist priests or Yinyang Master. I saw your mother last night. The old lady said she had a few words for me to tell you.”
Xie Cheng grinned; who would believe that!
Sure enough, upon hearing this, the other party simply said one word, “Get lost!” and hung up.
Xie Cheng laughed, “See? If we’re so direct, they’ll definitely think we’re scammers. They’re already showing good manners by not accusing and scolding us of making fun of someone’s deceased mother.”
Gu Ye clicked his tongue. “So young, how can you be so impatient? Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
Xie Cheng rolled his eyes at Gu Ye. “Come on, be serious.”
This time, Gu Ye called using his own phone, and his attitude remained the same. When the call connected, he immediately said, “Believe it or not, your mom gave me your phone number. Your mom is now a ghost, still selling straw cushions in the ghost realm. She told me to tell you that she doesn’t blame you for not having time, and that you shouldn’t feel guilty. If you’re interested, we can talk.”
The other person was silent for a moment, then asked in a deep voice, “You can really see her?”
Gu Ye said calmly, “I am Gu Ye, the fortune teller online. If you want to see me, go to the senior health management center at 6.00 pm. We will be waiting for you there.”
Gu Ye hung up first. This was the only time his reputation would come in handy.
Xie Cheng was unsure. “Will he come? Doctors don’t believe in ghosts and spirits.”
“His silence when we talked about his mother’s words meant he already half believed them. If the doctor going to that shop was him, he definitely would have come.”
When Gu Ye and Xie Cheng arrived at 6.00 pm, they saw a white private car parked in front of the gate from afar. Gu Ye glanced at it and smiled, “Isn’t this it? He has arrived.”
Rolling down his window, Gu Ye waved at the car and gestured for it to follow. The car immediately pulled up, and the three of them found a quiet little restaurant. After looking at Gu Ye’s car and then at Gu Ye’s face, Ruan Yuanfeng confirmed that it was indeed Gu Ye and lowered his guard. After all, given Gu Ye’s identity, there’s no need to lie to him.
After sitting down, Ruan Yuanfeng asked with concern, “You really saw my mother? What did she say?”
Seeing the anxiety in the other person’s eyes, Gu Ye smiled and said, “Just like I said, she’s doing well over there. She told you not to blame yourselves, that she’s never blamed you, and that you should live your lives well.”
After listening, Ruan Yuanfeng remained silent for a while. Then he said dejectedly, “If we had spent more time going back to see her, she would still be alive now.”
Gu Ye said calmly, “That’s fate, isn’t it? Everyone’s fate is different.”
Ruan Yuanfeng nodded. “You’re so young, yet you’re so open-minded.”
Gu Ye chuckled. Life and death are beyond his control. Every time he empathized, he felt a brush with death. So he rarely used this method now; it was too emotionally taxing.
Ruan Yuanfeng held his teacup, drinking water to calm himself down. “My mom… what did you say she’s doing? Selling cushions?”
Gu Ye narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, 3,500 each. Business is pretty good; a lot of ghosts want to buy from her. It’s said it can cure all diseases, even missing limbs.”
Upon hearing this, Ruan Yuanfeng’s expression changed. He asked irritably, “Those mugwort cushions?”
“Yes.”
Ruan Yuanfeng’s face was ashen, and he gripped his water glass tightly. Then he said angrily, “She was killed by this thing! Even in death, she still wanted to do this kind of thing. What was she thinking?”
Gu Ye followed up on this, asking, “Did she die because of this?”
Xie Cheng added, “She said she died of liver cancer and lamented that if only she had used the cushion earlier.”
Ruan Yuanfeng said wearily, “If she hadn’t used this, she might have lived a few more years. It was using this that delayed her treatment, which led to it developing into liver cancer.”
Gu Ye said slowly, “What’s going on? Can you tell me? I suspect her death is related to these products. We’re investigating, but unfortunately, we don’t have many leads.”
Ruan Yuanfeng got angry just talking about it. His face darkened. “My mom’s really kind-hearted, has a good personality, and lots of friends. At first, when we heard she was attending a health lecture with her friends, we didn’t stop her. We’re busy with work; my brother and sister-in-law are teachers, and my wife and I are doctors. We don’t have time to go home. She’s home alone, so it was fine for her to go out with her friends. Who knew she’d get so caught up in that?”
“Later, we found out that she went there to attend classes every day, like a gathering, punctually showing up. She even went on trips with them. After coming back, she started buying these kinds of things, not just mats, but also mattresses, health-preserving cups, and so on. By the time we found out, she had already been using them for 7 or 8 months and had bought quite a few.”
Xie Cheng asked, “She said she used to have leg problems, and this cured her?”
“What? I bought her some medicated plaster, and it cured her!”
At this point, Ruan Yuanfeng became even angrier. “She used to have chronic leg pain, and I had a traditional Chinese medicine doctor prepare a medicated plaster for her. She applied it for over a year, but at first it didn’t work. Everyone knows that traditional Chinese medicine works slowly. And since it was a chronic condition, it couldn’t have cured her all at once. Just then, she bought that cushion, and her leg got better in no time. She’s convinced that the cushion cured her.”
Ruan Yuanfeng sighed. “In terms of health maintenance, mugwort does have some effects. It can warm the meridians, dispel dampness and cold, relieve cold pain, and even repel insects and kill bacteria, but it’s not as miraculous as they say. Your symptoms are already showing, and yet you don’t take the right medicine; just using this cushion won’t help. Furthermore, this shouldn’t be used for self-moxibustion; it’s also unsuitable for people with yin deficiency and blood heat1. We told her that, but she wouldn’t listen. It’s like she’s been brainwashed; she just thinks this thing can cure diseases. You can imagine, a bunch of people must have brainwashed her; everyone told her she was cured because of this.”
Ruan Yuanfeng sighed again, saying regretfully, “Her liver has always been bad. When it got worse, she didn’t tell us; she just treated herself haphazardly. She’d try moxibustion here one day, there the next, and by the time it got worse, and she finally got proper treatment, it was too late.”
Xie Cheng nodded, “So this shop delayed her treatment. If she had received treatment earlier, the old lady might still be alive now.”
“Yes, I’ve been to that shop a few times, trying to find out more. But they don’t take young people; they only target the elderly. After all, at that age, their health isn’t what it used to be, they’re worried about money, and they’re afraid of dying. They all want to spend less money and live a few more years without suffering. But thinking about it, is there really such a good thing? If there were, wouldn’t the government have made it universally available?” Ruan Yuanfeng said wearily, “I went several times and was rejected every time. There’s nothing I can do; we don’t dare to find an elderly person to try. We can’t bear the responsibility if something goes wrong.”
Xie Cheng asked, “Did you report it to the police?”
“I reported it, but the police couldn’t find anything wrong. They were too thorough; they didn’t even let people pick up the goods from the store. Besides, selling these things doesn’t kill anyone, so evidence is hard to find. Sigh!”
“Selling a cushion that costs about 100 or so yuan for 3,500 yuan, claiming it can cure all diseases—that’s evidence,” Xie Cheng said and ate peanuts. “The problem is, they’re selling to brainwashed people. Nobody will think the price is wrong. The older folks who are still normal don’t even know they’re selling these things.”
Ruan Yuanfeng thought for a moment, “I’ll ask my mom’s friends if they’ve bought it before, and gather some evidence.”
While the two were talking, Gu Ye remained silent and didn’t eat anything until they finished speaking. “Actually, it’s not like there’s no way,” Gu Ye asked meaningfully, “Hasn’t one of the people involved already been arrested?”
Xie Cheng asked seriously, “Should we go see him when he’s released?”
Gu Ye picked up his teacup and took a sip. “No, once he’s in, he shouldn’t come out.”
The tea didn’t taste as good as the one at home. Gu Ye only took a small sip and put it down. He’d really had too many good days and couldn’t bear the hardships of the past anymore. Gu Ye sighed helplessly. Resting his chin on his hand, he tapped his finger on the table as he slowly racked his brains for a solution.
Xie Cheng instinctively moved away from Gu Ye, afraid of being implicated.
Ruan Yuanfeng asked, puzzled, “How do we do it?”
Gu Ye narrowed his eyes. “Now that we understand the situation, we need to resolve this as soon as possible. You don’t need to worry about it anymore. We have our own way of handling it. We won’t target the victims; we’ll target those bastards.” Gu Ye stood up and looked at Xie Cheng. “Let’s go.”
Ruan Yuanfeng also stood up. “The things that my mother said, I’ll keep in mind. Thank you.”
“Okay, if the police contact you…”
“I’ll cooperate fully.”
“What about your older brother?”
“I’ll pass on the message.”
“Good!” Gu Ye liked this kind of straightforward person. “Bye.”
After coming out, Xie Cheng leaned against the car and asked seriously, “How do we do it?”
Gu Ye looked at Xie Cheng intently. “I… haven’t eaten enough.”
“What?” Xie Cheng didn’t react immediately. What was he saying with such a serious expression?
“The food wasn’t good, I’m not full.” Gu Ye pointed to the roadside. “There’s a place selling roasted sweet potatoes over there.”
Xie Cheng was speechless. “You’d rather eat roasted sweet potatoes than those dishes?”
Gu Ye rubbed his stomach. “It really wasn’t good!”
Xie Cheng chuckled. “Actually, I wasn’t full either. I only ate the plate of peanuts.”
A few minutes later, the two of them, each holding a roasted sweet potato, were eating them in the luxury car. “They’re actually quite sweet.”
“Yeah, better than the dishes.”
“What are you planning to do? That old lady doesn’t even know she’s been scammed; she can’t help us.”
“Then we won’t use her. Let’s go all out.” Gu Ye finished his last bite, took a sip of his milk tea, and summoned the ghost child.
Raw word count: 6362 (whole chapter)
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