Though only a little over a hundred kilometers from Huanghai City, the road to Haikou Township was rough and difficult to navigate, especially since the driver had never been there before. As expected, the journey took longer than anticipated. Knowing he would need to stop and ask for directions, the driver had deliberately added extra time to his estimate. In reality, they arrived at Qilitun Village just before 11:20 a.m.
11:20 a.m. was around lunchtime for many households.
Since there were no taxis available in the area, Shui Miao asked the driver to wait and went directly to the home of Liao Jifen.
Upon arrival, however, they learned that Liao Jifen had passed away two years earlier. Her son, though, was very helpful and brought out a small notebook that contained his mother’s notes and final wishes.
In the past, Liao Jifen had worked as a cleaner at Zhonghai General Hospital through a relative’s recommendation. There, she met Liu Hongmei, a local nurse at the hospital, and even rented a room in her home. The two women had become close friends.
One day, Liu Hongmei told Liao Jifen that there were often miscarried children at the hospital and asked if she wanted one. Some of these babies could still be saved, and once they were healthy, they could be sold for a good price. As a reward, Liu Hongmei could also get a cut of the profit.
Believing it to be true, Liao Jifen thought this was a good idea—after all, if the babies were unwanted, raising them and then selling them shouldn’t be illegal, right?
So, she agreed.
The next night, Liao Jifen was called to the hospital’s back entrance, where Liu Hongmei handed her a blood-covered baby. In the dark and under pressure from Liu Hongmei’s nervous urgency, Liao Jifen didn’t get a good look and hurried away. When she returned home, she discovered it was a very healthy baby boy. Confused, she waited for Liu Hongmei to return and was told it was a miscarried child and that she should take it back to her hometown immediately. If she didn’t want it, Liu Hongmei said she would give it to someone else.
Liao Jifen had no reason to suspect anything and returned to her hometown the next morning with the baby.
A few months later, she introduced the boy to Chen Jianguo and sold him for 3,000 yuan.
Normally, this should have brought her joy, but instead, she felt uneasy.
The more she thought about it, the more she doubted that the child had actually been a miscarriage.
Half a month later, Liao Jifen returned to Zhonghai City and confronted Liu Hongmei with her concerns. But to her surprise, Liu Hongmei flew into a rage, angrily demanding what she meant by such words. Liao Jifen, being a simple and honest person, quickly apologized when she saw Liu Hongmei’s anger.
Liao Jifen returned home, but her unease remained.
By coincidence, one day she met Xiong Ying, a feng shui master hired by a wealthy family in the village. She invited Xiong Ying to her home and shared her worries. To ease her conscience, she even handed over the 3,000 yuan she had received from selling the child, asking Xiong Ying to take care of the boy. At the time, Xiong Ying was already a notorious gambler, and at the sight of money, he readily agreed.
Later, when Chen Jianguo tried to sell Shui Miao, Xiong Ying just happened to be there and rescued him.
In theory, Liao Jifen should have felt relieved, but she still suspected that Liu Hongmei had lied to her.
Time passed, and with family responsibilities holding her back, Liao Jifen never returned to Zhonghai City. Before she died, she wrote down everything and included Liu Hongmei’s address, instructing her son to give it to the child if he ever came looking, along with a heartfelt apology.
Reading Liao Jifen’s final words, Shui Miao was deeply shocked.
Suddenly, everything made sense—why his grandfather had always been cold toward him and so stingy with money. It was because the money from selling him had been gambled away.
The world was cruel and harsh.
Yet, instead of feeling anger toward Liao Jifen, Shui Miao felt deep gratitude. If it hadn’t been for her, he might have ended up in a trash bin at the hands of the heartless Liu Hongmei.
From the tone of the notes, Shui Miao sensed Liao Jifen’s doubts and a deeper conspiracy. Liu Hongmei was clearly no good.
Without hesitation, Shui Miao immediately bought a large amount of joss paper at a nearby store and burned it at Liao Jifen’s grave.
Before leaving, he handed 30,000 yuan to Liao Jifen’s son, Liao Cheng, addressing him respectfully as “Brother.”
Moved to tears, Liao Cheng refused to accept the money at first, but eventually, unable to resist Shui Miao’s insistence, he accepted only 3,000 yuan as a symbolic gesture.
Back on the provincial highway, the trio got off their minivan and boarded a long-distance bus. By 5:00 p.m., they arrived at the western bus station of Zhonghai City. Despite the late hour, Shui Miao wasted no time and led the group directly to Xinze Village in Putuo District.
Zhonghai was an international metropolis of towering skyscrapers and endless streams of traffic. With a population density of over 4,000 people per square kilometer and a total of 30 million permanent residents, it was the most densely populated city in the country. Millions more were migrant workers. The most expensive parts of the city were out of reach for most people, making suburban areas like Putuo District popular among migrant workers seeking affordable housing. Even so, the rent was steep—200 yuan per month per square meter.
On the eastern side of Xinze Village ran a major north-south road called Qilian Mountain Road.
The taxi stopped in front of a thirteen-story hotel. Shui Miao had once applied for a job there and knew that cheap, temporary accommodations were hard to find nearby, so he booked two rooms for the night.
Two rooms cost 800 yuan—nothing fancy.
In the past, Shui Miao would have hesitated to spend so much, but he didn’t care about the cost now, not wanting to let his younger sister, Chenxiang, suffer. Besides, it had already been a long day, and he had no time to search for cheaper housing. They would rest, eat, and then continue.
Shui Miao shared one room with Chen Bing, while Chenxiang had a room to herself.
After taking showers and locking their doors, they went downstairs and found a small restaurant. They ordered four dishes and a soup, along with steamed rice. After eating, Shui Miao followed the address given by Liao Jifen to Number 77 Xinze Village.
“Wow! This Liu Hongmei’s house is huge!”
As night fell, Chen Bing couldn’t help but exclaim when they saw the house number. The building was a three-story structure with small partitioned rooms inside and outside the courtyard. Not counting the larger rooms, there were at least thirty small ones. At the local rent rates, that meant an astronomical income.
“Shh! Don’t make a scene. Let’s observe first,” Shui Miao glanced around and whispered to Chen Bing, “Say we’re nightclub waiters looking to rent two rooms. Don’t speak—let me do the talking.”
“Brother, why pretend to be from a nightclub?” Chenxiang asked curiously.
Shui Miao raised an eyebrow. “Nightclub waiters earn more. If we said we worked at a small restaurant, no one would believe we could afford to rent here.”
“Oh, I see!”
Chenxiang blinked, wondering how Shui Miao knew so much about nightclub wages. Could he have worked in one before? In her mind, nightclubs were places of vice and temptation.
Without further explanation, Shui Miao walked into the courtyard.
At this hour, many rooms had their lights on. In a fast-paced city like Zhonghai, few people lingered outside. Most were busy with work or relaxing in their rented rooms watching TV or reading magazines. Others were washing clothes or preparing for sleep. Cooking was generally not allowed in the smaller rooms, so tenants had to buy food outside.
However, the larger rooms upstairs were different. Some were thirty to forty square meters, even bigger. Rent for a small family or couple could reach seven or eight thousand yuan a month, and cooking was permitted.
As Shui Miao entered the courtyard, he looked up. On the east and west corners of the third floor hung bright sun lamps, illuminating the entire yard.
After a while, a woman’s voice called from upstairs: “Hey! What do you want?”
Following the voice, Shui Miao saw a woman in her fifties, wearing a pink nightgown, a cigarette dangling from her lips. With curly hair and holding a few pieces of white lace lingerie, she was in the middle of collecting laundry.
Eating, collecting rent, and playing mahjong—these were the daily routines of many local women in Zhonghai.
She was clearly just returning from a game of mahjong and had only now come to collect her laundry. Living so comfortably, who else could she be but the landlord?
“Oh, we’re wondering if you have any rooms available for rent?”
Shui Miao responded naturally, looking up. In this area, it was common to see people wandering around asking about housing. He himself had done the same many times while searching for a cheap place to live.
“Wait a minute…”
Seeing that they were well-dressed, the woman quickly finished hanging her laundry and came downstairs, cigarette still in her mouth. Upon seeing how young they were, she frowned in annoyance. “What do you do for work? These rooms aren’t cheap. Can kids like you even afford it?”
“Auntie, we have money.”
Shui Miao smiled and waved a bundle of cash.
At the sight of the money, the woman’s face lit up. “Haha, good, good! Money talks! But just so you know, the rent here is high—250 yuan per square meter.”
Normally, landlords wouldn’t be so direct.
But this was a special case. She only had two rooms left, and if no one rented them, she would just use them for mahjong games anyway. Hence, the extra 50 yuan per square meter.
“Auntie, can we see the room first?” Shui Miao smiled politely. Years of hotel service training had taught him to always greet guests with a warm, friendly smile.
“Oh, by the way, Auntie, do you go by the surname Liu? A sister of mine once rented from someone named Liu Hongmei. She said your place was clean, hygienic, and quiet.”
“Ah! You hit the nail on the head! My place *is* clean, hygienic, and quiet!” The woman seemed to take a liking to Shui Miao, laughing heartily while eyeing him up and down.
“Ah… well…”
Shui Miao scratched his head, feigning shyness. “Sorry, Auntie, but my sister insisted I rent from Auntie Liu. Would you mind showing us your ID? If you’re really Auntie Liu, I’ll rent the most expensive room you have.”
“Haha! Of course! Come upstairs with me, I’ll get it for you. There’s only one Liu Hongmei in Xinze Village—me!”
And with a laugh, the woman led them upstairs.
She was none other than Liu Hongmei herself.
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