Records of the Halls of Ten Thousand Affairs: Chapter 76

Zheng Kai had originally been about to head out to meet his little lover. He hadn’t expected to open the door to such a scene. For a moment he didn’t even react, and Xu Wei’s mother tackled him to the ground.

But after all, one was a middle aged woman in her fifties, and the other was a young man in his prime. Once Zheng Kai came to his senses, he quickly turned the tables, broke free from Xu Wei’s mother’s grip, and shoved her hard to the ground.

Xu Wei’s mother fell flat on her back, her whole body going limp. Her arms and legs went numb. Her vision went black for a good while, and a long buzzing sound rang in her ears.

For an instant she thought she was going to die just like that from the fall. Human life was sometimes that light and fragile. Someone her age could lose their life from a single tumble. Fortunately, she came around.

She found herself lying on the cold floor of Zheng Kai’s home, discarded in some corner like a dead dog.

From the other room came the sound of Zheng Kai talking to someone on the phone: “That old hag went crazy and rushed into my house trying to strangle me. I can’t let her keep going like this.”

“Nursing home? Psych ward? That costs money. Why should my money go to supporting her?”

“I didn’t kill her, and that counts as me doing a good deed. She’s messing with me like this… She just took a fall and hasn’t woken up yet. I think she’s still breathing. She probably won’t die.”

“Fine, just lock her up and give her some food. As long as she doesn’t starve to death, that’s enough. You want me to serve her good food and drink too?”

“I already got the phone. There’s no evidence left. Let’s see how she keeps causing trouble now.”

…

“After I took that fall, I had no strength left at all. I could only watch helplessly as I was locked into that broken down house.” Xu Wei’s mother leaned against the headboard, calmly recounting the violence she had experienced: “I cried to heaven and heaven didn’t answer. I cried to earth and earth didn’t respond. Several times I felt like I was going to starve to death. But I kept holding on to one breath in my heart. My daughter couldn’t just die like this. I had to get revenge for her.”

After she finished speaking, it was quite a while before she looked at the group with genuine emotion: “I really thank you all. You’re all good kids. Good things will come your way.”

Chen Jiu had heard the whole story and now had a better grasp of things. She only told her to rest easy here, get her body back in shape a bit, and then think about what came next. They would do everything within their power to help her. Chen Jiu also contacted a locksmith from the street. He should arrive within two hours to unlock the chains.

Leaving Su Xiao Yu to chat with Xu Wei’s mother, Chen Wu pulled Chen Jiu outside.

She felt around all her pockets and gave Chen Jiu all the paper bills and coins she had earned from her stall. Then she opened her phone, checked her balance, and transferred money to Chen Jiu.

Chen Jiu: “…Wait, what are you doing?”

“The commission fee for Xu Wei’s mother.” Chen Wu said sheepishly: “I just don’t have much money on me right now. I’ll give you this first, and when I earn more from my stall later, I’ll pay you the rest.”

“Go away.” Chen Jiu transferred all the money back to her: “I’m not short on your little bit.”

Chen Wu’s mouth went flat, and she started rubbing her eyes: “Xiao Jiu, you’re so good to me…”

Chen Jiu was truly afraid of her. She quickly took her hand and said: “Let’s not talk about this. Let’s discuss what we do next.”

During this time, several batches of customers came to the shop. But they were all just buying some talismans, pills, or getting their fortunes told. One order was even handled by Su Xiao Yu stepping in. Overall, it wasn’t very busy.

“At this point Zheng Kai probably hasn’t discovered that the auntie is missing yet. We need to figure out a way to get the phone first.” Chen Jiu said.

Chen Wu had a sudden bright idea: “I know, we still need to stake out at his house, right? When he goes out to check on the auntie, we sneak into his house and search.”

Chen Jiu: “Yeah, the best outcome is finding that phone in his house. If he’s been carrying it on him all along, then we’ll have to use extreme measures.”

Chen Wu asked: “Extreme measures? What kind of measures?”

Chen Jiu crooked her finger, had her lean in close, and whispered a secret plan.

“This is great!” Chen Wu’s expression instantly relaxed. She clapped her hands several times, itching to rush over and grab Zheng Kai right now.

The locksmith arrived on time, and in no time at all had the chains unlocked.

“What’s going on here…” He looked at the group of women with some hesitation.

Xu Wei’s mother said breezily: “My family did it. I just escaped. Big brother, just pretend you never saw me.”

There were still some injuries on her face and neck. It really looked like the real deal.

The locksmith showed a knowing expression, nodded, and said with concern: “These days… even the police can’t handle everything. It’s good you escaped. Don’t worry, big sister. My mouth is the tightest.”

Chen Jiu settled the bill, gave him a bottle of water, and politely sent him off.

Su Xiao Yu took it at face value, grabbed Xu Wei’s mother’s hand and blew on it a few times, then frowned and said: “Auntie, your family treats you so badly. Don’t go back.”

“I’m not going back.” Xu Wei’s mother looked at her, as if she were seeing little Xu Wei from long ago. Her eyes went slightly red.

She didn’t have a home to go back to anyway. With her daughter gone, her family had fallen apart.

Xu Wei’s mother raised the corners of her mouth, patted Su Xiao Yu’s head, and said: “I always said daughters are good. Daughters know how to care for people.”

After some small talk, Chen Jiu gave Su Xiao Yu some instructions, then said to Xu Wei’s mother: “We’re heading out for a bit. If you need anything, tell this little girl. She knows how to handle things.”

“Okay, okay.” Xu Wei’s mother walked them to the door uneasily, knowing the two were going to clear her daughter’s name.

Chen Wu and Chen Jiu exchanged a look, then turned back and said: “Auntie, we’ll do our best. Don’t worry too much right now. Rest well and try to get your body back in shape.”

“Alright.” Xu Wei’s mother responded, stubbornly watching the two leave.

Su Xiao Yu pulled her back inside and asked if she was afraid of dogs. Xu Wei’s mother shook her head. She was now all alone. She really didn’t know what there was left to be afraid of. Not even death scared her anymore.

So Su Xiao Yu chuckled and led Bing Bing out from the backyard. Bing Bing wagged his tail and went up to Xu Wei’s mother, sniffing.

This two legged creature smelled bitter too.

Xu Wei’s mother’s gaze went back and forth between Su Xiao Yu and Bing Bing, and she said gently: “This is nice.”

On the other end, Chen Jiu took Chen Wu around Qiu City for a spin.

Chen Wu kept a close eye on Zheng Kai’s updates across all platforms, making sure she could get his location at the fastest possible speed.

“What’s the point of him playing this persona?” Chen Wu couldn’t understand: “Isn’t it tiring to pretend? He’s clearly a bad person, but he insists on acting like the world’s best man.”

“Traffic is king.” Chen Jiu said: “Did you forget? When he was talking to that woman that day, he mentioned his shop. Maybe soon he’ll start doing live sales.”

Chen Wu found it even more baffling: “Who would actually buy his stuff? What kind of audience is that?”

Chen Jiu scratched her chin and said offhandedly: “People who buy into romantic narratives… and people waiting to take their shot?”

A refresh notification sounded. Zheng Kai had posted another update.

This time it was photos of him enjoying the sea breeze. A book, a cup of coffee. Chen Jiu roughly checked. This beach scenic area was in the neighboring city. That meant today Zheng Kai likely had no intention at all of going back to check on Xu Wei’s mother. He was leaving her to endure hunger and cold, exhaustion and unconsciousness.

“How can someone like this live so carefree!” Chen Wu was almost crying with anger. In her fury she punched her own leg hard, then yelled in pain.

Chen Jiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Don’t be mad. If it really comes down to it, we’ll grab him and lock him up in that old house too. I’ll get you a bean whip, and you can whip him as hard as you want.”

“Deal.” Chen Wu rubbed her leg and responded with a wronged look.

He wasn’t home. That made things easier.

The two reached their destination. Chen Jiu got out first to check the surveillance cameras on all the routes.

Chen Wu followed carefully behind her and asked: “What can I help you with right now?”

“Nothing for now. Wait a bit, and I’ll open the door for you in a moment.” Chen Jiu memorized as she went: “His house is actually pretty big. We’ll really need to search for a while.”

After memorizing the routes, Chen Wu’s stomach rumbled again.

The two fell silent at the same time.

Chen Jiu: “Does your stomach know how to time things?”

“Well… I can’t really control it either.” Chen Wu fidgeted with her fingers.

Chen Jiu checked the time. It would be better to move when it was a bit darker. They might as well eat first anyway. Zheng Kai wasn’t planning to come back today.

The two wandered around the street stalls. It was already mealtime, and the street was packed with small vendors.

Passing by a fried noodle stall, Chen Jiu was suddenly called out to.

The woman said warmly: “Little Master Chen! Is that you? What a coincidence.”

Chen Jiu turned around. It was actually Wang Xiu Lan. She was completely different from the depressed and defeated person she had been at their first meeting. Now she was all tidied up, with a healthy glow, wearing an apron and a mask, standing behind the fried noodle stall and waving her over.

Wang Xiu Lan nimbly finished frying and packing up noodles for the previous customer, then quickly cracked several eggs into the pan and said: “Come, Little Master Chen. This is your friend, right? Sit down. I put up two small tables in the back. I’ll treat you.”

Chen Jiu wanted to support her business too, so she didn’t refuse. She waved Chen Wu over to sit down together.

Chen Wu pulled out a tissue to wipe the table and said with curiosity: “Xiao Jiu, who is this? She’s so warm. The noodles smell amazing too.”

“A client from the last case.” Chen Jiu said: “She’s an impressive woman. I didn’t expect her to bounce back this fast.”

Before long, Wang Xiu Lan brought over two large plates of fragrant fried noodles, loaded with sausage, egg, and meat. Very generous portions.

“Oh my.” Chen Wu’s eyes went wide: “So much!”

Wang Xiu Lan laughed heartily: “Of course. Talking with you young people is just… just top notch, yeah!”

Chen Jiu said: “Thanks, sis.”

Wang Xiu Lan waved her hand and went back to tending to her business. There were a decent number of people in front of her stall. The business looked like it was getting by okay.

After finishing the fried noodles, Chen Wu was so full she kept hiccupping.

Chen Jiu took out her phone and scanned the QR code from a distance. While Wang Xiu Lan was still busy, she finished the payment, grabbed Chen Wu, and ran.

Chen Jiu said: “Run! Run fast! Chen Wu, you should catch up and execute firmly!”

Chen Jiu was afraid of what Chen Wu might do? She didn’t know what was going on, but she ran firmly anyway.

Wang Xiu Lan heard the notification sound, quickly looked down, and saw the several hundred yuan transfer on her phone. Her eyelids twitched: “This kid…”