Chapter 69: Chapter 69 The Repair Shop is Really Up to No Good
Eventually, the mother and her three children decided to go and check.
Seeing that the shutter door was pulled down and could not be opened with the key from the outside ant that the bolt was engaged from the inside, which indeed indicated that they were “doing business”. If it had been possible to open the door directly, it would have ant that the door had been locked for so other reason.
This was a secret code known among the family mbers.
They banged on the door forcefully, but no one ca to open it, nor was there any response.
The mother and her three sons couldn’t help but feel a growing panic as they knocked louder and louder, shouting the nas of the husband and older son, but there was still no movent behind the shutter door.
Instead, it attracted the attention of the surrounding neighbors.
...
“Is everything okay? What’s happening?”
“Can’t you open the door?”
“I rember this shop’s been closed all afternoon. Did the boss go off to play cards again?”
“The boss has been really hooked on cards lately. Boss Lady needs to keep a closer eye, can’t be too lax when all four sons are to be married, not good at all.” A housewife, carrying a bowl, ca out to watch the commotion, advising Boss Lady on what to do.
Boss Lady was in no mood to deal with the neighbors, just humd and hawed a couple of vague responses, and sent her youngest son to the nearby tal processing shop to call the owner for help.
“The door is double-locked. We can’t shout it open, and we don’t know whether your dad is dead or alive in there. Just break it down, hurry.”
The youngest son ran off and quickly returned with the shop owner, who brought a saw capable of cutting through the shutter door.
“You don’t need this door anymore? Shall I start cutting then?”
“Cut, cut, cut, that damn door isn’t worth much, I need the people inside!”
Boss Lady’s voice was verging on tears as more and more curious neighbors gathered. Many people who had passed by during the day ntioned that they had seen the shop closed since the afternoon, wondering what the owner was up to, having not seen him doing business for half the day.
“Alright, alright, stand back.”
The tal shop owner started the saw, pressed it against the shutter door, and with sparks flying from the cutting tal, he slowly created a hole big enough for a person to pass through.
“Oh dear, they didn’t even leave a light on inside.”
The owner continued working, the onlookers kept watching, but through the opened crack, it was evident that inside was pitch dark, with no lights on at all.
This made even the neighbors feel a sense of foreboding.
Boss Lady’s legs wobbled, nearly losing her balance, but none of her three sons noticed their mother, all focused on watching the tal shop owner’s activity.
None of the neighbors ca forward to help support her, being old neighbors, everyone knew how the repair shop was doing, and they thought that their family was the only one who didn’t realize it.
It wasn’t as though no one had tried to get a piece of the action before, but those who did never ended up well, so were even never seen again, always said to have moved away.
Whether truly moved away or just a cover-up, that remained to be seen.
Finally, the tal shop owner cut through the last bit, and the piece of the shutter door fell to the ground with a clang. He hadn’t even managed to switch off the saw when he was suddenly bumped hard by the three sons, who were impatient to rush inside, completely disregarding the safety of others.
“Damnit, are you rushing in to die?”
The tal shop owner cursed loudly, shut off the saw, and walked off in a huff.
Too tired to bother with this family’s drama.
He hadn’t gone far when he suddenly felt a light behind him, followed by two loud shouts.
“Dad!”
“Big brother!”
This voice acted like a signal, and the onlooking neighbors hurriedly rushed inside, blocking Boss Lady out.
She hopped with anxiety in the back, but no one would let her through, all eager to get a firsthand look at the commotion.
The tal shop owner also wanted to see what was happening, but looking at the saw in his hand, he thought better of it, considering the potential for injury was high. After all, they were all neighborhood folks; everybody knew everybody.
As the crowd surged into the small repair shop, a wave of exclamatory voices rose and fell, high and low, mingling together like a chorus in a play.
“Oh my gosh, call the police!”
“Quick, call an ambulance, call an ambulance!”
“I didn’t bring my phone, who has a phone?”
“You three idiots, what are you staring at? Make the call!”
“Where’s Boss Lady? Where did she go?”
“Boss Lady didn’t squeeze in,”
“Are you crazy? Blocking Boss Lady outside.”
“Does she have her phone with her? Tell her to go ho and get her phone to call the police.”
In the small secret room where three people had died, three sons stood inside, frantically pulling out their phones to call the police.
anwhile, so nosy neighbors relayed the ssage outside, advising Boss Lady to call the police.
“Old man! My eldest son!”
Upon hearing the terrible news, Boss Lady’s legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground, wailing and screaming.
Inside the small store, the neighbors still hadn’t dispersed, watching the scene and discussing it incessantly.
“Oh dear, how did three grown n die in such a place?”
“The bodies are completely cold, it’s been several hours.”
“It couldn’t have happened right after the shutter was pulled down, could it?”
“Sigh, no one knows how they died—no strange sll, no injuries on their bodies. It certainly can’t be that all three suddenly fell ill and died, right?”
“We’ll know when the police arrive, how they died, we don’t know stuff like that.”
“Hey, there are three people in here, other than the father and son, who is the other person?”
“Don’t know, unrecognizable.”
“Definitely not a resident here.”
“Definitely not.”
“Sigh, let’s go, let’s go, there’s nothing to see, seeing too much is bad luck.”
“Right, right, I was having dinner at ho, ti to go ho and eat.”
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
Having seen enough drama, the neighbors finally dispersed, trickling out through that narrow opening.
Only then did Boss Lady manage to crawl and scramble in to catch one last glimpse of her husband and eldest son.
“Husband! Son! How did you leave?”
“Was soone after you?”
“How did they harm you? Tell in a dream so I can avenge you,”
Her sons shouted impatiently next to her.
“Mom, stop shouting, we’re calling the police, they can’t hear us over there.”
“Calling the police? Right, call the police, it must be soone after our family, quick, call the police.”
Boss Lady, bewildered, looked around and spotted a familiar face. She crawled closer for a better look and realized it was a man who often supplied goods to her husband, then she began screaming in panic.
“No, no, can’t call the police, can’t call the police!”
The sons put down the phone.
“Too late, already called. The police and ambulance will be here any minute.”
“Are you trying to get us killed? Didn’t you even take a good look at this guy’s face? Calling the police with a thief who is often in the police station dead in such a place with your dad and brother, you think the police won’t guess our family is the middle man, the chanic?”
Only then did the three sons look down, and this glance sent a cold sweat down their backs.
“Damn!”
“You didn’t even see who the people were before calling the police? What have I been teaching you all these days? How can you be so foolish?”
“It’s all because those neighbors kept yelling to call the police, call the police. We just saw dad and the eldest brother and panicked, completely missing the other person.”
“You’ve really driven to my wit’s end, calling the police so hastily?”
“When the police co, we just say he was here to nd the car, won’t that work? Even if the police suspect, do they have evidence?” the youngest son retorted unconvincingly.
“He was here to fix the car, where is the car then?”
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