Chapter 005: Guizai

On the third floor, besides the foyer, there was a living room, a dining room, and four bedrooms.

Liang Kefeng had a clear goal and headed straight for the master bedroom. She needed to understand the actual situation in this house to prepare for what was to come.

As a top-tier spy, picking locks was a minor task for Liang Kefeng, but using the keys directly was still more convenient. When she sent Zhu Fengping out earlier, she had surreptitiously grabbed her keys.

So at this moment, she easily entered the master bedroom.

The master bedroom wasn’t large; it contained a double bed, a big wardrobe, and a desk connected to a vanity. Compared to the furniture outside, the furnishings in the master bedroom seemed to be newly purchased.

She opened the desk drawer, and the first compartment was filled with items: iron medicine oil, red envelopes, and old account books.

Inside the red envelope was a photo—a family portrait of Liang Yaozu, Zhu Fengping, and their family, looking very cheerful. On the back, it noted the date of the photo: June 1, 1972.

This photo was taken three years ago, so Liang Yaozu and Zhu Fengping’s family had known each other for quite some time, hadn’t they? But during breakfast, Zhu Fengping said she had only known her father for a little over a year. Why would she lie?

Besides that, there was nothing else of value.

The second drawer was locked. Liang Kefeng quickly compared the large set of keys from Zhu Fengping, reasoning that there should be a key for this drawer. She picked out two smaller keys and was about to try one when a noise came from outside!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Someone was knocking forcefully on the iron gate!

Could it be that Zhu Fengping had discovered the keys were missing and had come back to look for them?

Liang Kefeng hurriedly put everything back in its place, gently locked the master bedroom door, and pretended to have just woken up as she slowly made her way to the door.

When she reached the staircase, she saw a boy about thirteen or fourteen years old standing outside. He had a large backpack and was impatiently knocking on the iron gate with a piece of sugarcane.

This boy was the one in the family photo—he should be Zhu Fengping’s son, Yuan Baoquan. She had heard them chatting and mentioned he was called Yuan Baoquan. He had been staying at his aunt’s house for a few days and had just returned today.

“Who are you? The new maid? Why are you wearing a hat in broad daylight?” Yuan Baoquan’s tone was impatient and extremely rude. “Hurry up and open the door! I’m exhausted!”

Faced with this boy who was disrupting her plans, Liang Kefeng did not give him a good look. “Who are you looking for?”

“Tsk! Who am I looking for? I’m your young master! Stop babbling and open the door!”

He truly didn’t see himself as an outsider!

Liang Kefeng refused to open the door. “My dad only has one daughter—me. There’s no son and no young master. You’ve got the wrong place!”

“You’re talking nonsense! My dad has two daughters and only one son! Are you going to open the door or not? Dad! Mom! Mom! Open the door!” Yuan Baoquan shouted. “Do you believe I can have my parents fire you?”

“If you can’t speak nicely, then keep barking here. There’s only me inside; no one is going to come open the door for you,” Liang Kefeng said before turning around to leave.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Yuan Baoquan angrily struck the iron gate with his sugarcane. “Open the door right now! If you don’t, I’ll have my mom deal with you!”

“What’s going on? Why is there such a commotion? Oh, is Young Master Baoquan back?”

It was Uncle Kun’s voice.

Liang Kefeng turned back, having already taken a few steps inside, and saw Uncle Kun coming upstairs with a doctor. There were also two staff members from the shop peeking curiously from the stair railing.

Yuan Baoquan usually didn’t like these older staff members, as he felt like a burden in their eyes. But seeing Uncle Kun now seemed like a stroke of luck; he complained, “I don’t know where my mom found this maid! She’s deliberately not opening the door for me.”

“Young Master Baoquan, this is our young lady, the boss’s daughter. You must not have spoken properly. She doesn’t know who you are, so she didn’t open the door.”

Young lady? Yuan Baoquan looked at Liang Kefeng in disbelief. Seeing her staring back at him, he quickly looked away, his arrogant demeanor instantly deflated. He coughed awkwardly.

He cursed at the staff peering around the corner for a bit of courage. “What are you looking at?!”

The staff quickly shrank back at the sound!

Uncle Kun smiled to ease the tension. “The staff is cleaning.”

Afterward, he asked Liang Kefeng, “Young lady, are you feeling better today? Dr. Lin is here to change your dressing.”

Liang Kefeng had no choice but to open the door. “I’m much better; is the dressing change for this morning?”

Dr. Lin smiled. “Miss Liang, I have things to do this afternoon, so I came early to change your dressing. Did your high fever subside?”

“It went down last night.”

“That’s good.”

*

After the dressing change, Liang Kefeng escorted Dr. Lin and Uncle Kun downstairs.

After the doctor left, Liang Kefeng didn’t rush to return. She stood at the store entrance, looking outside, and casually remarked to Uncle Kun, “This street is really lively.”

Uncle Kun nodded with a smile. “It’s quite busy here; more people come in the evening.”

“More people come in as the day goes on.”

In the morning, the mahjong parlor had fewer customers, but it wasn’t quiet; the sound of mahjong tiles clacking was sharp and clear.

Liang Kefeng smiled and asked, “I heard this is where my dad started his business.”

“Yes, the boss started out here. He used to often share stories about building his empire with us. Do you know what business he was in when he first came to Hong Kong?”

This wasn’t mentioned in the original book, so Liang Kefeng shook her head. “I was still young then; I didn’t hear my grandfather mention it.”

“He sold cockroach poison! What is the most abundant thing in this cursed place? Cockroaches! The boss would wholesale cockroach poison to other vendors and made quite a bit of money. During the day, he would wholesale the poison, and at night he would set up a stall at the end of this street selling sweet soup. The mulberry, lotus seed, and egg tea he made was simply exquisite! It was very popular!”

The book mentioned that this sweet soup was a family tradition of the Liang family.

Liang Kefeng asked, “Is the mulberry, lotus seed, and egg tea delicious?”

“Delicious! The boss used to often make it for us employees, but he hasn’t made it in the past year. After the boss saved enough money, he opened this shop, and later his business grew bigger, leading him to open six more mahjong parlors. He has guts—he’s really impressive!” Uncle Kun spoke passionately about the boss’s journey, indicating he genuinely admired Liang Yaozu.

Liang Kefeng nodded in agreement. “Dad really did start from scratch; that’s quite impressive.”

A large wave of customers came into the shop, making it quite noisy. Liang Kefeng walked toward the stairs. “It’s been so many years, and it’s also thanks to your help, Uncle Kun. Without my dad alone, it would have been difficult for him to succeed.”

Uncle Kun followed behind her, humbly smiling. “You think too highly of me, young lady. I’m just an employee. The boss often said that he could succeed because he had his daughter motivating him. He always said he wanted to earn enough money for his daughter so he could find a way to bring you over, letting you live a carefree life without worrying about money. He has a photo of you from when you were little in his wallet, and he often takes it out to look at. Young lady, you are the boss’s motivation to work hard!”

Yes, that was what the book said about the original father, but now Liang Yaozu was unwilling to face his daughter, viewing her as a burden. No, she was even less than a burden.

Could it really be true that, as the saying goes, with a stepmother comes a stepfather?

Liang Kefeng paused and tentatively said, “But… some things seem to have changed!”

Uncle Kun was slightly taken aback; he probably guessed what Liang Kefeng meant and couldn’t help but sigh, “The boss was in a car accident last year and hurt his head, and his personality has changed since then.”

“What kind of car accident?”

“I’m not sure of the specifics; I was busy renovating the branch at Sifang City at the time. I heard that after the accident, it was Sister Ping who took care of the boss. Later… Sister Ping’s family moved in here.”

So Liang Yaozu had been in a car accident.

Liang Kefeng asked again, “Uncle Kun, you just said my dad’s personality changed after the accident. How did it change?”

Uncle Kun felt a bit embarrassed to speak ill of the boss in front of Liang Kefeng. She could tell and said, “Uncle Kun, feel free to speak your mind. Don’t worry; I won’t tell my dad.”

Only then did Uncle Kun say, “After the boss hurt his head, he lost a lot of his ambition. He had originally planned to open another mahjong parlor this year, but now he won’t. In the past, when he had free time, he loved chatting with us and was very concerned about the employees. Whenever someone had a wedding or a funeral, he would always help organize things. Now… the boss hardly comes downstairs when he has nothing to do, and our relationship is becoming more distant. But…”

“But what?”

“It’s strange; the boss is particularly close to Sister Ping and her family. He treats her children like his own. Sister Ping’s three kids are very close to him; it’s as if they’re related by blood. If you didn’t know, you’d think they were his real children. The staff often joke that our boss has been possessed by Sister Ping!”

“Possessed?”

“Everyone is just joking; it’s not like we’re performing a play. How could he really be possessed!”

This was indeed a new direction!

When Liang Kefeng confirmed she had entered the book after her death, the system had given her a chance to draw a lottery. Unfortunately, her luck was bad, and she only drew a single bag.

Inside the bag was just one sentence: she would meet a man who would be very important to her in this new world—a man who had returned from the dead.

Could it be that Liang Yaozu was reborn after the car accident?

Uncle Kun closely observed Kefeng’s changing expressions and softly advised, “Young lady, you don’t need to worry too much. Now that you’re here, you are the boss’s biological daughter; he knows that.”

Liang Kefeng felt a mix of emotions, but she couldn’t explain it in detail to anyone. She could only smile and nod. “Thank you, Uncle Kun. By the way, where do you live?”

“I usually stay in the dormitory, but after I finish the accounts here tomorrow, I’ll go to the Sifang City branch to oversee things. I probably won’t be back until after the New Year. Young lady, don’t rush too much; you can get your ID after the New Year. I’ve already spoken to Dr. Lin; he’ll come every day to change your dressing. After resting for ten to fifteen days, you’ll definitely recover.”

It seemed Liang Yaozu was indeed planning to send Uncle Kun away as discussed with Zhu Fengping in the morning before the New Year.

Having reached the iron gate, Liang Kefeng said, “Uncle Kun, please leave me a phone number for the Sifang City branch. I might need to contact you directly in the future.”

Uncle Kun hurriedly searched his pockets; he had a pen but no paper.

“Just tell me, and I’ll remember it.”

“332366, it’s easy to remember.”

Liang Kefeng repeated the phone number, “I got it.”

*

Yuan Baoquan was in the living room, eating sugarcane while watching television with the volume turned up loud.

Liang Kefeng returned to her room, and since there were people at home, she could do nothing but rest.

It was still early, and she didn’t want to waste the large set of keys she had just acquired, so she put on the coat Zhu Fengping had given her last night, adjusted her hat to cover the bandage on her head, and went downstairs again.

Once downstairs, she took advantage of the counter’s distraction and quickly stepped outside.

After wandering around the street for a while without finding a place to copy keys, she noticed an elderly woman selling socks and gloves by the roadside. She bought a pair of gloves to wear and asked the old woman, “Grandma, do you know where I can get a key made around here?”

As the old woman gave her change, she pointed behind her. “Just two streets over, there’s a key-making stall on Fengwei Street.”

Fengwei Street?

Isn’t that the street where Guizai lives?

“Thank you.” Liang Kefeng took the change and walked in the direction the old woman pointed.

When she arrived at Fengwei Street, she indeed found the key-making stall.

Liang Kefeng had a complete copy made of the large set of keys from Zhu Fengping.

Afterward, she found No. 20 Fengwei Street, which was an old building, four stories high, with seven or eight households on each floor.

Liang Kefeng stood downstairs for a while, ultimately deciding to go upstairs.

Upon reaching the third floor, she saw clothes hanging in the corridor, and there were bamboo poles extending out to hang bed sheets and quilts.

Her gaze scanned around, and finally, it landed on a pair of army-green pants with a hole in the corner.

At the most cornered household, an elderly woman was peeling water chestnuts at the door, while a woman in her forties was wiping a baby’s bottom.

If she guessed correctly, this could be Guizai’s grandmother and mother.

She approached and softly asked, “Excuse me, is Guizai home?”

Both women turned to look at her in surprise, stunned to see a girl dressed elegantly and looking like a celestial beauty come to find their somewhat useless child.

It was Guizai’s mother who reacted first: “Are you looking for Agui? He hasn’t gotten up yet. Please wait a moment.”

As she spoke, she picked up the child and went inside, calling out, “Agui! Get up! There’s a girl here to see you!”

“Guizai Grandmother sized up Liang Kefeng; the girl not only looked good but also seemed familiar. She wondered where her grandson had met this person. With a beaming smile, the old lady handed over a water chestnut. ‘Agui will be out soon. Have a water chestnut; it’s very sweet.’”

Liang Kefeng looked at the old woman’s face, which was covered in age spots, and thought of her own great-aunt who had raised her. She felt a strange sense of familiarity and accepted the old lady’s kindness. “Thank you, grandma!”

How sweet! The old lady was even more delighted, her smile showing more teeth than eyes.

At that moment, Guizai, who had just returned home at dawn and had only slept for two or three hours, walked out of the house. He was bleary-eyed and wore an expression of impatience. “Who’s there?”

Just as he finished speaking, he caught sight of the “Mother Night Demon,” smiling and eating water chestnuts at his front door, which instantly scared him out of his wits.

The sun was shining brightly today, pouring in through the doorway and blinding him!

Guizai’s facial muscles seemed to lose control; his knees went weak, and he nearly collapsed.

Seeing this, Liang Kefeng quickly reached out to support him. She whispered, “Get dressed and bring your ID. I’ll wait for you outside.”

Why do I need my ID? Having seen Guizai’s frightened state, he didn’t dare ask and certainly didn’t dare refuse.