"I need more and even greater power!" Henry looked at the massive cloud of black matter on the horizon of The Upside Down. That substance, which dissipated like black flowing clouds yet swarmed like black bees, contained immense power and information of The Upside Down. It was also his medium for controlling and perceiving The Upside Down, and one of his current primary sources of power.
A cold, cruel light leaked from Henry's sinister eyes. With a flick of his phantom hand, he peeled away a mass of black matter roughly the size of an average adult male. His low voice murmured eerily to itself, "It's time for the eyes to play a further role. Uncooperative eyes make it difficult for me to observe the world today. As for eyes, it's truly better if they are controlled by me."
...Richard had recently discovered that those objects possessed by vengeful spirits weren't actually entirely a bad thing. One must always look at things with a dialectical eye. Even though objects possessed by vengeful spirits were ominous and cursed items, from a certain perspective, they solved problems that even 21st-century AI scholars and energy scientists couldn't complete.
Energy-free fully automatic washing machines, non-modified self-navigating bicycles, automatic filling-and-answering pens... Richard found that although these vengeful spirits had heaven-shaking resentment, after being induced by the illusionary influence applied by the Phantom Haunting Spirit—much like psychological suggestion—the persistent influence made the spirits willing to obey Richard's orders. Then, they became extremely useful.
Thanks to them, Richard felt that living with cursed objects seemed to make life a bit better... Most furniture without heating functions could be used while saving electricity. In the late 20th century, he could experience the "self-navigating bicycle" that one would normally only ride in the 21st century. Every day when Richard rode his bike to school, he felt like the "coolest kid" on the road. Because the bicycle ghost had been a street racer in life who loved speeding and often didn't control its pace, one could well imagine This fellow Li's hairstyle.
In terms of academics, Richard's performance took off directly. There were several high-achieving students among the group of vengeful spirits. They resided in Richard's stationery and directly helped him solve problems and answer questions. Richard felt that he was helping them experience the feeling of returning to their youth and being human again.
Helping the vengeful spirits after death—those who had nothing to do because they couldn't reincarnate—to find a sense of belonging in life again could be considered a great merit.
"Oh, my most excellent student, Mr. Li. Your grammar has improved by leaps and bounds recently, and your writing style has made great progress." The Spanish Teacher handed out the essay quiz from the day before yesterday. When she reached Richard, she couldn't help but look at him with a teasing gaze. "You even changed your handwriting; it looks quite delicate and pretty."
She didn't doubt that the essay wasn't written by Richard himself because she had been staring at him the whole time he was writing the paper during the quiz. With her moderate OCD, she really couldn't stand Richard's "eccentric and ever-changing" penmanship and had been prepared to correct his word choices and sentence structures at any moment. However, she hadn't expected Richard to give her a surprise.
Of course, the Spanish Teacher was still more inclined to believe that Richard had simply happened to memorize or practice an article that fit the quiz topic outside of class.
Either way, at least she was relieved to think that this boy's Spanish class could still be saved.
Richard smiled "bashfully" and said, "Oh, my goddess, my dear teacher. I know my writing style is terrible, so I specifically practiced my handwriting. This is for the sake of your beautiful and spirited eyes."
"Then I really hope your consideration could have come sooner; the past trauma has already left a shadow on me, Mr. Li." The Spanish Teacher smiled slightly and patted Richard's shoulder. "Keep up the good work."
Richard nodded, and the "Bixian" in his hand also moved as if nodding, but no one noticed any of this.
In the blink of an eye, another month was about to pass, and the "Heihe Tea" shop jointly operated by Richard and Steve was about to open.
Today was December 24th, Christmas Eve. The primary and secondary schools in Hawkins had already started their holidays two days ago for a two-week period, which could be understood as the Western Spring Festival.
However, while everyone else was relaxing on holiday, Richard and Steve had to experience the hardships of being workers in advance. They would have to keep the shop open for at least half of the holiday.
The computer that had been at home was moved back to the shop. Richard created an ordering and billing system and installed it on the computer. Originally, he hoped to make the computer smarter and wanted to stuff a vengeful spirit into it, but none of the spirits knew how to use a computer. Coupled with safety considerations for the shop, he dismissed that brilliant yet dangerous idea.
On the official opening day, countless fans who had come because of the movie "demon child creel" had already surrounded the shop entrance, with the line even stretching around the corner to the next street. Everyone came both because the temporary servers in the shop were the movie's creative team and because they were curious whether Chinese tea drinks could be delicious and popular enough to rival their Western street tea drinks.
On the first day of business, after a very Chinese ribbon-cutting ceremony, Richard and the others finally opened the shop doors and welcomed customers to place their orders.
Looking at the menu framed in transparent plastic like a picture frame, as well as the pictures of delicious-looking drinks hanging on the wall behind the counter, the dazzling array of choices made the first-time customers feel a bit overwhelmed.
However, since today was Christmas Eve, most people naturally prioritized purchasing the Christmas Special Series of tea drinks. Thus, everyone was happy to use their stamped movie tickets to buy the most expensive new Christmas products at the original price, seeking something fresh and auspicious.
As the drink mixer in the back kitchen, Richard's techniques were exquisite. Additionally, his Eastern face easily gave people who didn't know the truth a bit of a "mystique buff." When customers saw those fancy mixing techniques, they felt dizzy and dazzled by the brilliant display. Yet, Richard's production speed was not slow at all; making five cups at once was no problem. Not only did they get to enjoy an impressive "perfect performance," but they also quickly received beautiful drinks that matched the photos. Almost every customer gave the shop a perfect impression score in their hearts.
Afterward, when the first batch of customers tasted the rich Christmas Snow-Top Bobo Treasure Tea for the first time, the silkiness of the milk tea, the ample toppings, mixed with the sweetness of the ice cream, the rich texture and deliciousness crazily stimulated everyone's taste buds.
"Oh my God! My Virgin Mary!" a balding middle-aged man exclaimed, his eyes wide.
"This! This is the first time I've ever tasted such delicious milk tea! It's so fragrant, so delicious!" a handsome blonde middle-aged male customer also exclaimed with a look of amazement after tasting it.
A trendy woman with permed hair also shared her taste experience with everyone immediately after tasting: "Hahaha, the toppings inside are so rich and interesting! Some are tender and bouncy, while others are crunchy and popping. It really is a mouthful of treasure!"
"It's so delicious!" x N
Customers one after another expressed their approval, instantly won over by the drink-mixing techniques of the mysterious Eastern youth busy in the back kitchen. They thought that perhaps only people like them in this world could create such a Chinese tea drink with Eastern charm and such unique characteristics.
Later, a reporter from the Hawkins Post, who conducted street interviews every Christmas holiday, also noticed the explosion of Heihe Tea. They joined the "hype-building" fan base, directly boosting the popularity of Heihe Tea to another level on the second day of business. The shop's popularity would continue for an entire week... The success of Heihe Tea made Steve and Richard a fortune once again. On the last day of business, the two of them counted money in the shop, getting happier the more they counted. Compared to the joy of making money, the day's hard work seemed like nothing.
Unfortunately, most of their friends were not in Hawkins Town right now. Nancy, Robin, and the others had almost all left Hawkins Town on the afternoon of Christmas Eve to go back to their hometowns to see their grandparents. At this moment, the two of them also wanted to share the joy and some of the money they had earned with everyone, but unfortunately, everything would have to wait until they returned.
"Chade, there are still a few days of fun left. Do you want to go to New York with me? I'll introduce my grandparents and other relatives to you, and take you out to play with some of my cousins. By the way, I have a female cousin who is very beautiful; I believe you two would be a great match, heh." After they had packed away the money, Steve put his arm around Richard's shoulder, his eyes full of the excitement of "I'm going to travel everywhere after making money."
"Stop trying to be a matchmaker." Richard rolled his eyes. He thought for a moment and felt that the proposal was actually feasible, so he nodded and agreed. "But alright, I accept your invitation. How do you plan to get there?"
"Hehe, I knew you'd agree. You'd be all alone if you stayed in town anyway, so you might as well go out and have fun. The plane tickets are already booked. We'll drive to a hotel near the airport, and then take a taxi to the airport for a direct flight!" The two walked out of the shop and headed home together. Steve put his arm around Richard's shoulder, laughing as they walked.