Chapter 21: The Unsolved Mystery

The next morning, at five o’clock.

Near the Shen family’s house, the neighbor Bao Ya hurriedly pulled up his pants and rushed toward the public toilet to deal with an urgent matter. But he didn’t even make it that far—he couldn’t hold it any longer. Looking around, seeing no one, he ran up to a pit and started to relieve himself.

“Huh? A pit? Where did this big pit come from?”

Bao Ya looked around in confusion. Why did this place feel both familiar and strange at the same time?

Not far ahead was the public toilet, behind was his house… and in the middle, a big pit?

No, wait… the Shen family’s house was supposed to be in the middle!!!

Bao Ya slapped himself and rubbed his eyes. He wasn’t dreaming—the pit was real, and the Shen house was gone! Last night, he had seen the house right there… could it… could it be the ghosts of the Shen or Liu family?

A gust of wind blew by, and Bao Ya’s heart raced even faster. He lifted his head and felt that something was moving in the distance.

“Ah—”

Terrified, Bao Ya’s imagination ran wild. He lost control of his bladder, his legs trembling. Letting out a sharp scream that echoed through the area, he pulled up his pants and scrambled backward, ignoring all social taboos as he shouted while running.

“There’s a ghost! Help! The Shen family disappeared—”

Bao Ya’s words and his experience instantly made the Shen family the hottest topic on the street. Everyone who heard the news rushed over to see what used to be the Shen house, now just a big pit, and opinions were everywhere.

After learning what the Shen family had done last night, combined with Bao Ya’s chaotic story, everyone assumed he really had seen something unclean.

The most common rumor became: the Shen family offended the Liu family’s spirits and were punished; the only surviving bloodline, Liu Xinghe, returned for revenge.

The house vanished overnight, leaving only a pit—proof enough for believers.

Those who didn’t believe in supernatural forces couldn’t explain it, so they concluded it was another unsolved mystery of the world.

Even though society was “breaking the old ways,” most people still privately attributed it to supernatural forces.

The story grew wilder with each retelling. Some even claimed that Liu Ruyan and Liu Dafa had become officials underground and only then had the power to quietly remove the Shen house and its foundation.

Many considered secretly visiting the graves to pay respects or build connections.

It wasn’t just one or two people—several thought the same. After all, seeing was believing, and the Shen family’s disappearance was proof.

In the end, everyone mentally agreed on two things:

One was that the Shen family could no longer be contacted. Who knew one day they would be implicated by their family and their house would be gone in a flash?

The other was that Liu Xinghe was not to be bullied. Liu Ruyan and Liu Dafa might come knocking on their door. She had connections, so cultivating good relationships was paramount.

Later, as Liu Xinghe had breakfast and headed to the steel mill, she noticed several people on the street staring at her with curiosity and excitement, some even looking at her with a hint of awe.

Liu Xinghe touched her face in puzzlement. Was she looking that strange today?

She glanced behind her—there was nothing there.

What was going on? Could it be related to the Shen family incident?

Shrugging, she paid no mind. It didn’t affect her. She walked quickly toward the steel mill, where she met up with Director Zhou and his family at the entrance. Director Zhou introduced her to Zhou Xiaomei and handed over the signed transfer agreement for the use of the “Moyu Team” house to Liu Xinghe.

He also gave her the proof of consent for the transaction from the team.

Only after putting these documents safely away did Liu Xinghe feel partially relieved.

Zhou Xiaomei was friendly and fearless—she immediately linked arms with Liu Xinghe as they walked inside, chatting about the people and events in the “Moyu Team” youth brigade, and sharing which people in the supply-and-marketing cooperative were trustworthy and their personalities.

Liu Xinghe listened carefully and took notes. Whether the information was true or not would require her own judgment—she only recorded objective facts, ignoring subjective conclusions.

The immediate priority was work. She took Director Zhou and his family to Director Qian’s office. Seeing her arrive so promptly with people, Director Qian worried she might have been deceived, and found an excuse to pull her aside.

“Xinghe, are the people you brought reliable? Once these procedures are completed, the work will no longer be your concern. You must have everything in hand before proceeding.”

Liu Xinghe smiled gratefully. “Director, don’t worry. I have everything. This is Deputy Director Zhou from the supply store—we know each other well. Our transaction also has Chief Zhang from the police station as a witness, everything is solid.”

“Alright, as long as you’re confident.”

Hearing that, Director Qian felt reassured and returned to the office to formally handle the work procedures.

Learning that Zhou Xiaomei’s household registration was still in the Moyu Team of Qingyong Commune, Sichuan Province, Director Qian was further reassured that Liu Xinghe wouldn’t suffer losses.

Since the household registration was there, the procedures couldn’t be fully completed that day—there was still room to correct any mistakes.

Liu Xinghe, of course, was fully in control of the situation; she was not the one being deceived. Instead, it was the other side who needed to worry.

Director Qian simply registered Zhou Xiaomei briefly and wrote her a household reception certificate, stamped with the steel mill’s official seal.

“Here. Take this certificate to your team leader to handle your household registration. Once transferred, you can formally start work at the mill.”

“Thank you, Director Qian.”

Director Zhou’s family left in high spirits. Many youth sent to the countryside had struggled to get such a certificate; with it, they could return to the city.

Zhou Xiaomei even cried tears of joy. Despite her spoiled, cherished upbringing, she had suffered, and her family had sacrificed much. It was the cost of her earlier reckless choices.

Seeing their emotions, Liu Xinghe simply told them to meet her at 1 PM at the bus station, and she pulled a box of homemade cookies from her cloth bag as a token of gratitude.

After leaving the steel mill, Liu Xinghe went to visit her maternal grandfather and mother’s graves.

She was surprised to find fresh offerings placed there—sunflower seeds, peanuts, fruits, candies, pastries—and even traces of paper burned, as if someone had secretly paid respects.

Squatting down, she picked up some ashes from the burned paper on the tombstone, puzzled. “Huh? Isn’t it just me left of the Liu family in this world? Where did all this come from?”

The offerings were clearly fresh—could there still be other Liu family members?

Racking her memory, she found no relevant information, shrugged, arranged the offerings, and sat down for a while.

Meanwhile, two neighbors, suspected to be “officials underground,” were anxiously hiding behind a tree, waiting to secretly pay respects to the Liu family.

“When will this Liu girl leave? We really came at the wrong time.”

The other said, “Just wait. Today I’ll pay my respects properly. You wouldn’t believe it—earlier I met Old Wang next door; he said she got the news and came to pay respects. Back home, her annoying old lady almost choked on water. Her sincerity really proved itself.”

“Alright, let’s go, let’s go quickly.”

Wearing straw hats and carrying baskets, they ran stealthily toward the graves like thieves.

Midway, Liu Xinghe, feeling fortunate, turned back and saw two sneaky figures at the grave.

She stepped back. They were strangers, and she had no memory of them. Her curiosity deepened. She asked, “Excuse me, who are you?”

The two, lost in their own thoughts, were startled by her voice. Opening their eyes and seeing Liu Xinghe, they awkwardly chuckled.

One, quick-thinking, said, “We’re friends of your mother, here to pay respects. We’ll leave now.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

They grabbed their baskets, put on their hats, and ran off.

“Hey, you…”

They vanished in an instant. Liu Xinghe shook her head at the two extra sweet potatoes in front of the tombstone and returned home.