When the round-faced woman saw the jade that Shi Jinzhe handed over, her eyes narrowed into slits with laughter. "Come on, come with me. This is a real bargain. Anyone else want to come along?"
“I’ll stay here too.” A man in a gray casual shirt stepped forward. “Can I pay for my room with my watch?”
The round-faced woman took the watch, examined it from all angles for a long time, but couldn't tell if it was good or bad. The dial had all sorts of things on it, making it look messy, except for the watchband, which was alright.
She reluctantly smacked her lips, "Just for one night."
“Okay.” The man in the gray shirt readily agreed. He recognized Shi Jinzhe and Shehe, and he was happy as long as he could follow them.
Once it happened, it started again. Others took out their valuables to offset the room fee. The round-faced woman was initially quite happy, but her face fell later.
"They all look like they're from big cities, but they don't even have any money..."
She muttered under her breath, rolled her eyes, turned around, and led the way, "Follow me."
The round-faced woman crossed the main road of the county town and turned into a side street from the entrance of a damp, dripping alley. As she walked, she answered Shi Jinzhe's question, "Are you here to find your relatives?"
"Yes." Shi Jinzhe skillfully fabricated an identity for himself: "My wife and I are here to fulfill my great-grandfather's last wish. Before he passed away, he kept calling out the name Apu. We only had time to find out the county, so we are now completely clueless and don't know how to find this person. Have you heard of this name?"
The round-faced woman sized up his clothes, thinking they were quite expensive. She then looked at Shekh, who resembled a wealthy woman from a big city who employed ten or eight nannies.
She suppressed her impatience and said, "I've never heard of 'Apu.' Which 'pu' are you asking about? If it's the one with the grass radical, then it'll be hard to find."
"It's the character '蒲' with the grass radical. Haven't you heard of it?"
“It’s not that I haven’t heard of it, it’s just that there are too many people with the surname Pu in our county. Ah Pu, Little Pu, Old Pu, even my husband’s surname is Pu. With that name, if you call out, even the dogs at the village entrance will give you a second look.”
Upon hearing this, Shekh asked, "What's your last name?"
Round-faced woman: "My surname is Sun, just call me Boss Sun."
Shi Jinzhe said, "Boss Sun, tell me about this place. If there are any fun things to do, my wife and I will stay a few more days." He produced a gold bracelet from somewhere and pretended to put it on Shehe's wrist. The round-faced woman stared wide-eyed at the large gold bracelet, which was half the width of a rubber band.
She had no specific concept of what these people were using as collateral for their properties, nor did she know how valuable it was, but she recognized gold, and this one must be incredibly expensive.
Boss Sun's attitude did a complete 180-degree turn, and his face flushed again. "There's not much to do here. It's usually just a place for truck drivers to rest. If you want to have some fun, go to the reservoir. You can swim there."
"Time flies, laughter fades; swimming in the reservoir"—these four words sound like they're full of problems.
"Are there any things I should be careful about, like what time I shouldn't go out?" A woman in a black fitted suit seized the opportunity to ask.
Boss Sun glanced at her exposed legs, his eyes scanning her from top to bottom. He twisted his neck and snorted, "No, but there's no one on the street after seven o'clock, plus there are a lot of cars coming and going. I advise you not to go out and wander around. If someone kidnaps you and sells your heart or kidney, you won't be able to find them again."
"Mr. Sun, have you seen anything strange happening around here?" The man in the gray shirt also inquired about what he wanted to hear.
Mr. Sun chuckled, "I find your group of people quite strange."
The man in the gray shirt: "Haha..."
Mr. Sun didn't really want to talk to her and led his group to a three-story building.
The sign for Xin Xin Hotel is quite old; the plastic sheeting on the billboard has a large tear, revealing a rusty iron frame underneath. The walls of the small building are peeling, and each window has a safety railing.
Shi Jinzhe looked around and saw that there was an adult products store next door, which was separated from the hotel by only one wall. The handwritten sign was hanging on the window. The store was very small and the door was in a very hidden location.
Shi Jin tugged at Shehe's arm and gestured for her to look at the shop, saying, "It's very out of place."
In the original world, these kinds of shops were only introduced to China in the 1990s. When they opened, there were media interviews and criticisms. Let alone buying one, anyone who just strolled around the neighborhood would have countless versions of the story spread by their relatives.
Back then, people in big cities were afraid of losing face, let alone in remote county towns. So, in this scenario reminiscent of the 1990s, in an inconspicuous small county town, could this kind of shop really generate revenue?
This is completely unreasonable.
Shekh squinted. The wooden shelves inside looked old, and the items on them were covered in a layer of dust. The shop had been open for a while; it wasn't a new shop.
She looked at the other players, but they all stared straight ahead, observing their surroundings as if they couldn't see the shop at all.
That's really strange.
"Hey, come in!" Boss Sun stood hidden behind the door, a bunch of keys jingling in his hand.
She picked the best room for Shi Jinzhe and Shehe, "303, this room has better lighting and isn't damp. There's a thermos in the room, so if you need hot water, go downstairs."
Shi Jinzhe took the room, ignoring the players waiting to be assigned rooms, and led Shehe upstairs first.
The staircase has no windows and is very narrow. It's clear the owner has tried hard to expand the space. If he were to carry luggage, he would have to walk one in front of the other.
Upon arriving on the third floor, Shi Jinzhe immediately felt that the house was very oppressive. There was a doorway at the entrance of the third-floor staircase, and the nearest doorway was a public washbasin, which was very damp.
All six rooms on the first floor have interior windows, meaning that when you open the windows you see the corridor, not the actual exterior view. If you want natural light, you can only rely on the two windows on the corridor side; otherwise, you have to turn on the lights.
He arrived at the door of room 303. The interior window of this room was diagonally opposite the corridor window, and it could barely be considered to have any natural light if the curtains were not drawn and the door was not closed.
Shekh pushed open the door and went in. He didn't see a separate bathroom; it was just an ordinary, simple little room with a bed and a table.
She drew half of the curtains, and the room immediately darkened. Shi Jinzhe closed the door behind her and casually drew the other half of the curtains.
The two did not turn on the lights, leaving only a gap of less than ten centimeters between the two curtains.
Shi Jinzhe swept through the gap and walked towards Shekh.
It was still light outside, but inside it was as if it were dawn; at night it would be pitch black.
Just as the two were checking the rooms, a conflict almost broke out on the first floor over room assignments.
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