It's late at night.

Chapter 14: More money needed!

It was smashed again; now it's confirmed that the old man is the source ghost.

If someone were simply killed by falling rocks, would the ghost harbor such great resentment?

The bright red flesh and blood once again brought Xia Yao a physical shock. While feeling nauseous and vomiting, her brain seemed to gradually get used to it and become numb.

Zhou Zean remained expressionless as he reached out and touched Lan Yuanshan's pocket, taking out his phone and room key.

Zhou Ze'an didn't even wipe the blood off his phone and room key before throwing them to Chen Qi.

"what?"

Chen Qi shrank back, too scared to take it.

Zhou Ze'an frowned. "Do you even want to live?"

Xia Yao countered Chen Qi's question, "If you don't want it, do you want to stay in your own room with oranges, or in room 703 where someone died?"

You should know that the potted plants in Xia Yao's room are gone, leaving only broken soil, which means that a ghost has been there. If she sleeps in her own room again, she will inevitably suffer the same fate as 703.

Compared to the bloody 703, Lan Yuanshan's room was clearly much better.

"Thank you, thank you."

Chen Qi seemed to wake from a dream before taking the things.

"Then, the phone?" Chen Qi asked while wiping away the blood.

Zhou Zean turned and left, saying only, "You take it first."

After leaving the crime scene, the two groups of people left the scenic area to investigate, each in their own group.

After making some inquiries, Xia Yao and her group first found the village committee to which the scenic area originally belonged.

Xia Yao pretended to be visiting distant relatives, but because of the construction of the scenic area, she didn't know where they had moved to.

The staff member asked in bewilderment, "They moved here years ago, why did it take you so long to find someone?"

Xia Yao paused for a moment, and when she spoke again, her eyes were red.

"My maternal grandmother and grandfather went to another city and haven't been back for a long time. She's in poor health and has needed care ever since she had a stroke, so we've been too busy to contact my great-uncle. Recently, my grandmother's condition worsened, and the doctor said she only has a few days left. Before she passed away, she wanted to see her brothers, but when she tried to call my great-uncle, she found that his number had changed, which is how we found this place."

Previously, we relied on a phone call; if someone changed their phone number without notifying us, we would lose contact.

Xia Yao spoke with heartfelt emotion, her eyes brimming with tears, which moved the staff members as well.

"Don't worry, what's your great-uncle's name? I'll help you find it."

Xia Yao made up her maternal uncle's name, but she had no idea what the other person's real name was.

However, he thought of the report about the elderly man who was killed by falling rocks. Although the name was not mentioned, the news used "Lin Moumou, an elderly man from Yaoshan Village" to refer to him.

Therefore, the old man's surname is Lin.

So Xia Yao answered in a serious tone, "My great-uncle's name is Lin Lao Er."

The staff member's expression cracked for a moment, but her professionalism led her to ask gently.

"Comrade, is Lin Lao Er your real name?"

"I don't know. I've always called him Uncle, but Grandma is confused now and keeps saying 'Second Brother, Second Brother,' so I thought Uncle was called Lin Second Brother."

Xia Yao's expression was serious, not feigned.

It's perfectly reasonable for a younger person not to know the name of their elder, especially if they are a distant relative, right?

The staff remained silent, unsure of what to do.

There's no name, no contact information, and the person has already moved away. How are they supposed to find them?

"Won't that area be provided with resettlement housing? Sister, tell us where the people from Yaoshan Village moved to, and we'll go and inquire. We should be able to find them."

Zhou Ze'an then spoke up and offered a solution.

There was no other way; this was the only option.

The staff kindly helped them find the address and quickly provided it.

"Go to the old folks' community in the south of the city and ask. Most of the people from Yaoshan Village have moved there. You should be able to find your great-uncle there."

After expressing their gratitude, the group left the village committee and took a taxi to their destination.

Laoxiang Jiayuan is a resettlement housing community. During the day, most of the young people go to work, and only some elderly people stroll around the community.

Instead of rushing to ask someone, they first went to a small shop.

The shopkeeper was an old man with thinning hair, wearing a yellowish white vest, sitting on a bamboo stool by the door, fanning himself with a palm leaf fan.

Xia Yao entered the convenience store and picked up a whole bunch of drinks and snacks.

When paying the bill, Zhou Ze'an chatted casually with the old man, seemingly unintentionally.

"Sir, I heard this is a resettlement community. You must be very wealthy, with several apartments per person, right?"

"Where did these extra apartments come from? They only compensated us with the same area. Luckily, we built two extra floors when we built the house, otherwise it wouldn't be enough for our grandchildren."

Zhou Ze pretended to be surprised.

"Sir, that can't be right. If that's the case, then we'll have to pay more!"

The old man waved his hands repeatedly, "Want more money? Dream on!"

Once he started, the old man began to ramble on and on, pouring out a lot of information like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.

"The developer of that scenic area is Jinsheng Group, which is shady. Since they're the ones who paid for it, they'll naturally try every means to drive down the prices."

"If the price isn't right, you can just disagree," Xia Yao replied casually.

"How could you dare disagree? I'll trip you up a bit, and you'll behave."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man realized he had spoken out of turn and immediately shut his mouth.

It seems to be someone in the know; they've stumbled upon the right person by accident.

"We live in a society governed by the rule of law, so it shouldn't happen, right?"

Xia Yao carefully observed the old man's reaction.

The old man avoided answering, instead filling the bag with his belongings. "140. You've taken a lot of drinks, so it's a bit heavy. I'll put another bag over it for you."

"Okay, thank you, sir." Zhou Ze'an took out two red bills and placed them on the counter.

As the old man was giving change, Zhou Ze'an pulled out five more bills and placed them on the counter.

"What do you want?"

Although he was tempted by the money, the old man still had his principles: "I won't do anything illegal or disorderly."

"Sir, I'd like to ask you about something related to the Yaoshan Scenic Area."

The old man looked at the money on the counter with a complicated expression, as if he was conflicted.

Xia Yao keenly caught the emotions in his eyes, and it seemed there was hope, so she gently coaxed him.

"Sir, your little shop looks nice. How's business?"

The location of this small shop wasn't very good, and some of the goods inside were covered in dust.

Without the land, there was one less source of income, and the compensation was used for renovations, so the small shop business was only so-so.

Now that money is being handed to us, who would complain about having too much?

The old man understood the implication, nervously rubbing his hands together as he carefully examined Xia Yao and Zhou Ze'an.

Are you reporters?

"Is this what you want us to do?" Xia Yao asked instead of answering.

"If you're reporters, then I'll talk to you."

After what seemed like a struggle, the old man made his decision, glancing outside as he spoke to see if anyone else was there.

In the days before the internet was widespread, journalists seemed to be synonymous with justice.

By reporting on various injustices, without seeking popularity or traffic, I write solely for the people.

Seeing an opportunity, Zhou Zean quickly nodded, "Yes, sir, we are reporters from the city's daily newspaper."

"You're lying, none of you have cameras." The old man was clearly a little skeptical.

Amid the old man's confusion, Xia Yao pulled out a small camera from her backpack, and Zhou Ze'an also took out a voice recorder—these were props distributed among the luggage.

The old man was still somewhat skeptical, but then he said the next thing.

"You get paid for these interviews, right? Five hundred isn't enough, you need to pay more!"