Chapter 51 Red Leaves 12
Yingkou Xizunlao Nursing Home is a private nursing home in the western suburbs of Donglan City. It was founded in the 1990s.
Luo Siwei first went to see the old site of the nursing home. The rusty iron gate was locked tightly, and through the gap in the iron gate, he could see the current situation of the nursing home.
The roof of the house inside was missing tiles and was covered with grass. There were cracks as big as fists on the walls. It was already a dangerous building.
What is particularly eye-catching is that there is a very tall red maple tree in the yard of the nursing home. Although it is summer now and the leaves of the maple tree are still green, one can already imagine what a picturesque scene it would be if all the leaves turn red and gradually fall in autumn.
Luo Siwei then took Ni Xiang to a nearby street to find staff to inquire about the situation.
The former director of the nursing home was Qi Yunsheng, a well-respected local elder. He was originally a university teacher, but later left school to start his own business.
At that time, Donglan encouraged the establishment of private nursing homes, so Qi Yunsheng responded to the call. He took advantage of preferential policies from the government, rented an old house, and opened a nursing home after renovation.
When the nursing home first opened, it was small, with only about thirty beds. Later, as society aged and demand grew, the number of beds gradually increased to around eighty. The home quickly became overcrowded. Almost before a resident passed away, someone would reserve a bed and move in that same day.
Mrs. Qi's name is Liu Tong. She is a woman who is very good at budgeting and is a good wife who manages the nursing home in an orderly manner.
At its peak, the nursing home had 15 staff members, including caregivers, cooks, and other related personnel. Its income primarily came from donations from the elderly and some government subsidies.
The nursing home went from prosperity to decline because Liu Tong suddenly died of a cerebral infarction. Since her death, the nursing home gradually showed signs of decline. Qi Yunsheng supported it for a few years, but gradually his expenses were no longer enough to cover his income.
Director Qi began to continuously contribute money from his family to maintain the daily expenses of the nursing home. In the end, he died of a heart attack, leaving behind a mess.
The staff sighed, "Alas, the Qi couple were good people. They were good friends with the elderly people living in the nursing home. It's just a pity that they passed away so early..."
Luo Siwei asked, "What happened next? Who took over the management of this nursing home?"
The street people thought about it and said, "After Director Qi passed away, the nursing home was handed over to her daughter, Qi Moxue. She took over the business for about a year before it went bankrupt."
A female staff member nearby said, "That girl is different from her parents. She's been a good student since she was young. Later, her parents sent her to study abroad. After graduation, she joined a large company and married a foreigner. Dean Qi suddenly became seriously ill and called her back from abroad. She divorced her husband and returned to China. When he was dying, Dean Qi entrusted this nursing home to her. But I think she saw the nursing home as a burden. Otherwise, why would she close it so quickly?"
Someone said: "She wants to reform nursing homes, but that's not easy. She's taking too big a step."
Luo Siwei asked, "How does she want to reform the nursing home?"
The staff member said: "We are all outsiders and don't know the details. They just want to increase fees or something like that. This thing has not been implemented and many people are opposed to it."
Luo Siwei asked: "Then where did the elderly people go when the nursing home closed?"
"Those wealthy elderly people will naturally move to other nursing homes. Those with children will be taken in by their children, and those who have houses will go home on their own. The seriously ill will be taken to welfare homes. The worst off are the elderly who have no houses and no relatives, who have constant minor illnesses but will not die soon..." At this point, the community staff sighed and stopped talking.
When others heard this, they also started complaining.
"This is the cheapest nursing home within dozens of kilometers. Where else can those elderly people go except living here?"
"On the day the hospital closed, many elderly people were crying at the door, and none of them wanted to go back."
"They lived together in a nursing home and had a companion, but if they went back alone, no one would know where they died."
Ni Xiang asked: "How were these elderly people settled later?"
"That's not called settling in. They were basically kicked out. That girl pulled out the bedding and people of the elderly who didn't want to leave, said a few words to them, told them to figure out a way out on their own and go seek refuge with their relatives and friends, and then locked the door and left." The staff member shook his head when he said this, as if he didn't want to recall the situation at that time.
Someone nearby also said, "Then one day it was raining heavily. I passed by and saw some elderly people huddled in a corner crying. They had lived in the nursing home for so many years that they had long considered it their home."
Ni Xiang was recording on the side and curled her lips. She couldn't stand it anymore and felt that this treatment was too cruel.
Luo Siwei asked again: "Did the nursing home keep a list of names at that time?"
She wanted to confirm the whereabouts of Qiao Xiangjun and other elderly people.
The staff member shook his head. "We don't have any in our community. Why don't you ask Qi Moxue? She might have some information. But, so many years have passed. I wonder how many of those old people are still alive."
Luo Siwei asked Tang Xi to investigate carefully. Qi Moxue worked in Donglan City. She was 36 years old, divorced, single, and childless. She was a middle-level manager in a foreign company.
Taking advantage of the time in the afternoon, Luo Siwei made an appointment with Qi Moxue and took Ni Xiang with him to go there again.
Qi Moxue's company was also in the west of Donglan. After contacting them, Qi Moxue asked them to meet in the coffee shop downstairs from the company.
Luo Siwei and Ni Xiang arrived first and chose a seat in the corner of the cafe.
This area of Donglan is full of high-end office buildings with huge floor-to-ceiling windows and high-ceilinged coffee shops. The people coming and going are all well-dressed white-collar workers. It seems like two completely different worlds from the dilapidated nursing home.
Not long after they sat down, they saw a female white-collar worker walking towards them from the elevator.
Qi Moxue has short hair and wears appropriate makeup. She maintains a well-maintained figure and her age is hard to tell.
As she came over, Luo Siwei frowned slightly and pulled back his chair. Qi Moxue had sprayed perfume on her body, which was a bit choking. She was very sensitive to smells, and it made her nose uncomfortable.
Qi Moxue sat down and skillfully called the waiter over. She ordered a raw coconut latte and asked Luo Siwei and Ni Xiang, "What would you like to drink? I'll treat you."
Ni Xiang shook her head, and Luo Siwei asked the waiter for a glass of water.
Luo Siwei briefly explained their purpose. When Qi Moxue heard that the police wanted to inquire about the Red Leaf Nursing Home, her brow furrowed. A wrinkle appeared between her brows. "You want to ask about the nursing home? It's been closed for years."
"During our search, we learned that you once took over a nursing home," Luo Siwei said, "I'd like to check the roster of the elderly residents there back then."
Qi Moxue absentmindedly lowered her head and played with her hands. "Everything that could be cleared out of that nursing home has been cleared out. As for the roster and stuff, maybe there was one back then? But I later sold scrap and got rid of a lot of things. If you ask me now, I don't know."
At this point, the waiter brought over the coffee. Qi Moxue took a sip and looked up. "Besides, it's been so long. Why are you police investigating this? You asked me to cooperate with the investigation. I have the right to know, right?"
"One of the victims in the case currently under investigation by the police is related to the nursing home." Luo Siwei was not giving up and continued to question Qi Moxue, "What other relevant information do you have about the nursing home? For example, the contact information of the caregivers there, the financial statements..."
"Officer, all the cancellation procedures for the nursing home were carried out in accordance with regulations." Qi Moxue held the coffee cup and shook her head slightly. "The information was sold a long time ago, and I also changed my phone. I really don't keep those things."
Luo Siwei asked: "After the nursing home closed, where did the elderly go?"
Qi Moxue said, "I don't know where they went. I cleared out the nursing home and locked the door. A few days later, I went back and the place was empty. Then I went through the cancellation process."
Luo Siwei asked, "Do you remember the names of the elderly people? For example, Qiao Xiangjun."
Qi Moxue listened attentively, her eyelids seemed to twitch slightly, and then she shook her head: "I don't know them. In my eyes, those old people are all the same. I can't even tell who is who."
Luo Siwei continued to ask, "Do you know where they went after leaving the nursing home?"
Qi Moxue shook her head: "So many years have passed. Even if there were any plans at the time, they would have changed long ago."
At this point, she paused, her eyes falling on the coffee cup in her hand, and then her lipstick-coated lips opened: "My experience was so disgusting."
Her words and attitude made it clear that she had no intention of hiding her disgust for the elderly and nursing homes.
Seeing her refusal to cooperate, Luo Siwei hadn't said anything yet, but Ni Xiang, who was taking notes nearby, couldn't help but get angry. She had just listened to the staff's story about the Red Leaf Nursing Home, and she had a very bad impression of this female white-collar worker. Hearing her say this again, Ni Xiang questioned Qi Moxue somewhat rudely: "You took over the nursing home and went through the entire cancellation process. How could you not know anything?"
Qi Moxue was not anxious. She looked up at Ni Xiang and asked her, "Officer, would you keep something from a few years ago that you don't want to see?
Without waiting for Ni Xiang to reply, Qi Moxue put down her coffee cup and said, "You may not know how much this nursing home means to me. Back then, my father was seriously ill, and I had a huge argument with my husband about returning to China. I was divorced and returned alone from abroad. My father's last words were for me to take over this nursing home, but when I arrived at the nursing home with my suitcase, all I saw was a mess..."
At this point, she seemed to be recalling the dire state of the nursing home: "The water and electricity bills had been in arrears for a long time, and the buildings were old and dilapidated, almost dangerous. Whenever it rained, water leaked, and all the buckets and basins were not enough to catch the water. There was a strange smell everywhere, the smell of mold and death."
"Many elderly people who fall ill aren't sent to the hospital for treatment. They just take medicine and lie in bed, waiting to die. They infect one another. The caregivers haven't been paid for six months. Sometimes, when they don't have money to buy vegetables, they go to the market to sweep the floors, pick up the cabbage leaves that farmers discard, and boil them in water. In short, closing this nursing home is the best option."
Ni Xiang frowned and said seriously, "No matter what the situation is, as the person in charge of the nursing home, you should also do all the post-processing work and settle the elderly people down. You kicked them out in the first place, and now you're saying you don't have any information. I hope you will cooperate with our police work!"
It seemed that she was angry because Ni Xiang accused her of being irresponsible.
"If I had the information, it would be so easy to give it to you. Why am I wasting my time explaining it to you?" Qi Moxue glanced at Ni Xiang and emphasized, "And little girl, don't be so self-righteous. I'm not irresponsible. I've thought of ways to restructure the nursing home. I hope it can come back to life so that the elderly can continue to live there. But it's like an elderly person who is terminally ill and whose whole body is failing. It won't be cured by just taking some medicine."
"After making the bankruptcy decision, I used my own savings to fill most of the gap, repay the loan, pay all employees' salaries, and send them home. I also gave advance notice and helped the elderly people contact their families one by one. I contacted social assistance institutions and took away those who met the requirements. I don't owe them anything. As for the rest, it's beyond my ability to take care of them anymore."
Her words showed that she had done all she could.
Ni Xiang still couldn't understand. "But this nursing home is the result of your parents' hard work. The community staff said that they are good friends with many of the elderly here..."
"Heartache?" Qi Moxue smiled bitterly. "I don't understand why my dad is struggling to keep this nursing home going. Is it just so those elderly people can sing his praises? If they hadn't been dragged down by those elderly people and became depressed and sick, how could my parents have died of illness in middle age? Those elderly people have lived much longer than them."
Hearing her say this, Luo Si frowned slightly. She realized something. Maybe Ni Xiang's words stimulated Qi Moxue, so she talked more.
Luo Siwei was not afraid of Qi Moxue speaking, she was afraid that she would not speak.
If Qi Moxue didn't speak, they wouldn't be able to find out the true situation of the nursing home. So if they wanted Qi Moxue to speak, they had to find her pain points and stimulate her...
After formulating a strategy, Luo Siwei deliberately said, "I heard that working in the elderly care industry is quite profitable."
Qi Moxue leaned back on the sofa and sneered, "Make money? Where can I make money? Maybe I can open a nursing home for the rich, but for a low-end nursing home, do you know how hard it is to find caregivers?"
Sure enough, this strategy was successful.
Luo Siwei asked again: "When the nursing home was unable to continue operating, why didn't you raise the price?"
Qi Moxue said, "Because they feel sorry for the homeless elderly, my parents have insisted on not raising the bed fees in the nursing home for ten years. They are kind-hearted people, and occasionally when the elderly are sick or in trouble, they will also donate money to help and reduce the fees. Some elderly people passed away and their families did not come to claim them, so my parents handled the funeral. No matter how simple it is, it is still an expense. My mother also does some projects to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, but my father is not very good at management and likes to swell his face and spread himself out. He can't do accounting, but I can. When I came to the nursing home, I used the computer to make a table, listing the nursing home's expenses and various income."
Luo Siwei continued to ask: "How much will the basic living expenses be?"
Qi Moxue chuckled and listed a series of figures: the nursing home's various salaries, insurance, food and beverage expenses, water, electricity, gas, etc.
She spoke eloquently and quickly, and when she spoke those numbers, it was as if she was giving a report to her leaders. Qi Moxue's earrings swayed beside her cheeks, and her expression was meticulous.
She did some accounting for Luo Siwei and the others.
"...A nursing home like this one in Donglan needs a huge annual budget just to stay afloat. That aside, the bed fee for each resident will need to increase from the 1,200 yuan my father set back then to at least 3,600 yuan. This figure may not sound like much to you, but many elderly people only have fixed savings and a small pension. Aging means they no longer have any other income. If the price goes up, more than half of those elderly people won't be able to afford nursing home living at all. This price alone will drive them to death."
"Then they could... think of something?" Ni Xiang thought, "The elderly probably have pensions or retirement funds, but then she remembered that the pension system isn't perfect. Many self-employed individuals or migrant workers might not have that income when they get older." She also thought, "The elderly could do some simple jobs to earn some extra income, but she couldn't think of anything else those elderly people could do. Picking up trash?"
"You're overthinking it," Qi Moxue said. "Let me give you an example. There's an elderly man living in a nursing home with a monthly pension of 1,800 yuan. He has three high-risk diseases, and his medicine costs him over 100 yuan a month. After deducting the cost of paying the nursing home, buying things like soap, shampoo, and towels, and paying for his cell phone bill, he spends it all every month. And that's even without a price increase at the nursing home."
"There was another mother-in-law who had saved 300,000 yuan when she was 60. That was 300,000 yuan from more than a decade ago, enough to buy a house and much more valuable than it is today. She thought even if she lived off the interest, it would be enough for her retirement. As a result, the money became less and less valuable. At 75, she got a serious illness that cost her more than 100,000 yuan, and the rest of her money was quickly gone."
"These aren't the worst. I won't mention the elderly who lost their money to telecom scams or nephews. There was also an elderly lady who refused to live in a nursing home. She hired a nanny in the countryside. When the nanny noticed she was a little confused, she took her money and ran away. The elderly lady called the police but couldn't provide clear information, and the police were helpless. What happened in the end? Didn't she end up in my place? Even if you have money, when you get old, you can't keep it."
At this point, Qi Moxue sighed: "You haven't aged yet, so perhaps you don't feel this way. Getting old is like life entering winter."
She did a final calculation for the two officers before her: "An average person who retires at sixty, based on current average age and medical conditions, might live to ninety. That means they'll have thirty years of old age. In other words, one-third of a person's life is spent in old age, helpless, sick, lonely, confused, and without a salary."
"If you have money and a house, your relatives and friends will turn into wolves and tigers, staring at your money and wanting to tear you apart. No one can be trusted."
Qi Moxue looked ahead with a blank gaze and said, "Winter is too long."
Luo Siwei asked: "You finally decided to let the nursing home go bankrupt to solve the problem?"
Qi Moxue said, "What else can we do if we don't go bankrupt? At that time, the nursing home had become a dilapidated building and needed about a million yuan for repairs. Where would I get the money? The elderly people could get into trouble at any time. Some were fine in the morning, but suddenly died at noon, paralyzed in bed, on their deathbed. We sent them to the hospital, but the money we deposited was not enough, so the nursing home had to pay for it. We called their relatives, but they either couldn't get through or were too busy, so we could handle it as we pleased. What could we do? Watch them die? In this situation, what do you want me to do? I'm a private nursing home, not a philanthropist."
"Besides, my family has already put in a lot of money." At this point, Qi Moxue sat up straight, her emotions agitated. "I don't want them to die in the nursing home. That would make me feel like an executioner. I can only let them fend for themselves. As long as it has nothing to do with me, that's fine. In a situation like this, I will naturally close this nursing home, otherwise I will be dragged to death by it too."
Luo Siwei understood that the operation of the nursing home had entered a dilemma, especially after the death of the Qi couple, life and money were placed on the scales.
Life and death have become priceless.
Continuing to operate the nursing home would mean huge losses, so Qi Moxue chose to close it.
If Qi Moxue only did what she said, it can only be said that her handling method was a bit cold and hard, and it cannot be said that she was at fault.
After all, Qi Moxue was just a young woman in her twenties back then. Her parents had both passed away, she was an only child, and her husband divorced her. She couldn't afford the nursing home and chose to live her own life. This is also human nature.
Now, not only are these private nursing homes struggling to survive, but public ones are also struggling. Beds are becoming increasingly scarce, and people have to wait in line for a long time. Sometimes, the elderly die before they are admitted to a nursing home.
"But there are other ways, right?" Luo Siwei continued to ask, "We're all old now, so we should have some savings, right? Also, if someone has a house, they can sell it."
This was the information she heard from Qiao Xiangying. In the end, Qiao Xiangjun sold his house.
At this point, Qi Moxue's expression suddenly changed. She looked up at Luo Siwei and said, "Officer, I've told you everything I know. That place is very dirty, and it makes me feel uncomfortable just thinking about it. I don't want to have anything to do with those old people anymore, so please forgive me. As for the list, you can ask someone else."
She spoke as if the incident was a stain on her life, a dirt that suddenly stained her white shirt, and she couldn't wait to get rid of those old people.
Qi Moxue looked at the time and said, "I'm sorry, officer. I have to go back to work. I can't leave my workstation for too long."
Luo Siwei stood up and said, "If you remember anything later, just call the number I contacted you before."
Qi Moxue hummed, gracefully put down the half-drunk coffee, and stood up to leave.
Ni Xiang watched her leave and said, "Why is this woman like this? Hasn't she thought that she will grow old one day?"
Luo Siwei shook his head and said, "She didn't tell the truth."
Qi Moxue, while saying she didn't want to recall the past, went through the nursing home's accounts with them. She also said she didn't understand the elderly and gave them examples of them. Her words and actions were full of contradictions.
Luo Siwei went to provoke Qi Moxue with words, and she began to complain about the difficulties of running a nursing home. It seemed that she was complaining to them about her hardships and that she had no choice but to close the nursing home. But Luo Siwei now thought about it and felt that she seemed to have other motives when she said these words.
And Qi Moxue's final departure was when Luo Siwei asked her about Qiao Xiangjun selling the house. She seemed afraid that she would say too much, so she ran away.
Also, Qi Moxue was educated by the Qi couple. Parents and childhood, these factors have a great influence on a person's ideas. Even if one studies abroad, it will not completely change a person's values.
When Qi Moxue's father passed away, she resolutely returned to China to take over the nursing home even though she had divorced her husband. This shows that she is not a bad person by nature, but was forced to do so by the situation later.
Ni Xiang asked, "Could she be related to our case?"
Luo Siwei shook her head. "I'm not sure. Maybe she knows something else and is an insider... But right now, we don't have any more evidence to point the finger at her."
Luo Siwei vaguely felt that there was something wrong with Qi Moxue, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Suddenly, she remembered something: "Do you have any information about Qi Moxue?"
Ni Xiang rummaged around, took out two sheets of paper and handed them to her: "Here."
Luo Siwei looked at the tax amount on the form. She was a 36-year-old female executive in her prime, and Qi Moxue's salary was around 500,000 yuan per year. She also looked through the real estate records under Qi Moxue's name and found that she had not bought any house.
Luo Siwei looked at the profile of Qi Moxue's husband abroad. The man was disabled, with crippled legs. Qi Moxue had never disliked him, and judging by their photos, they had a harmonious relationship until they had a disagreement about returning to China.
After putting away the information, Luo Siwei had some new speculations in his mind.
After returning home and having dinner, Luo Siwei couldn't stop thinking about the case. She regretted not opening the old nursing home's door to take a look during the day, as she had been so anxious to find Qi Moxue. Perhaps there was a list of names or some important information inside. The more she thought about it, the more she felt she should go check it out.
Luo Siwei looked at her watch and saw that it was past eight o'clock in the evening. It wasn't too late, but she was still a little unwilling.
Luo Siwei wasn't a reckless person. She would pay attention to her own safety and go with her colleagues, so she asked in the department group: "Who's free tonight?"
Huo Cunsheng immediately jumped out: "Captain Luo, what's the matter?"
Luo Siwei said, "I want to go take another look at that nursing home."
Shen Qing said: "I have time, I will go with you."
Seeing that someone agreed and the others didn't say anything, Huo Cunsheng gave a thumbs up and said, "I wish you a happy overtime."
Luo Siwei and Shen Qing agreed to meet at the gate of the nursing home, and then she took a taxi there.
At around nine o'clock in the evening, Luo Siwei arrived first.
She waited at the door for a long time, and was bitten by mosquitoes several times. Then Shen Qing called and said apologetically, "Captain Luo, I'm so sorry. I got a taxi and got stuck in traffic at Xishikou after just a short while... It's late at night, and I don't know why there's a traffic jam."
To prove what he said, he sent me a map with a long dark red line, and the estimated arrival time was forty minutes.
"Don't be anxious, just ask the driver to drive slowly." After Luo Siwei finished replying the message, he looked up at the locked iron gate in front of him. This place was not remote. There were houses on both sides of the small courtyard. Occasionally, someone would pass by, and the orange street lights would be on.
What dangers could there be in going in?
Luo Siwei hesitated for a moment, put her cell phone in her pocket, took a few steps, jumped up, stepped on the lock of the iron gate, used the force to jump up, and grabbed the upper edge of the door with both hands.
Then she used her arms to push herself in and easily flipped in.
After landing lightly, Luo Siwei turned on the light on his mobile phone and looked up from the perspective of the yard. The maple tree was even bigger than it looked from the outside. The thick trunk required several people to hug it.
Luo Siwei surveyed her surroundings and walked into a nearby house. She flicked the light switch, but it had long been turned off, and the light was off. Even after being unoccupied for so long, the empty rooms in the nursing home still had a foul smell.
Luo Siwei carefully searched the rooms one by one. Most of the doors were unlocked, and the room was covered in dust. The beds and some furniture had been moved away, leaving the room very empty.
As Luo Siwei walked into the kitchen, she heard light footsteps coming from outside.
In the dark night, someone suddenly appeared in the empty nursing home. Luo Siwei was startled and quickly turned off the light from her mobile phone. She reached out and grabbed a long stick beside her and hid behind the door.
Perhaps the man also heard the sound of her rummaging and walked straight towards this direction.
Luo Siwei hid and looked outside, and in the moonlight she could vaguely make out that there was a man in the yard.
She was formulating a plan in her mind: if she was in danger, she would call for help. Now the other party was in the open, and she was in the dark. If the other party was not hostile, she would pretend to be a night owl and get away with it. If the other party intended to attack, she would strike first, attack from behind, and knock him unconscious with a stick.
Thinking of this, Luo Siwei turned on the one-touch emergency call function on her phone. She clenched the stick in her hand, held her breath, her heart pounding, waiting for the man to come.
The man had a sturdy build, clearly someone who exercised regularly. He looked around the yard for a moment, determined the direction, and walked towards the room. The next second, he turned on his flashlight, and the dim light illuminated the side of his face...
It’s Chi Li.
Luo Siwei's strength eased, she stopped swinging the stick, and took a step forward. She wanted to say hello, but her mind didn't react, and she blurted out subconsciously: "Meow..."
Chi Li: “…”
He used the flashlight in his hand to shine on Luo Siwei in front of him.
In the dark kitchen, Luo Siwei's face turned red again, and she wished she could bite off her tongue.
The way to open it wasn't right, so he tried again. Luo Siwei threw the stick away, dusted off his hands, and asked as if nothing had happened, "Captain Chi, why are you here?"
Chi Li said: "I couldn't sleep, so I came out for a walk to see if I could pick up a disobedient cat."
Luo Siwei: “…”
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